tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44139358138924415532024-03-19T03:54:26.970-05:00real economicseconomics of, by, and for the producing classesJonathan Larsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05217670446743983955noreply@blogger.comBlogger3206125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-73367976011818473172024-03-17T13:14:00.001-05:002024-03-17T13:14:18.479-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 17, 2024<p class="">Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 17, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/03/13/if-something-requires-us-to-cease-production-we-will-do-that-faa/" target="_blank" title=""> “‘If something requires us to cease production, we will do that:’ FAA</a></strong> <br /></p><p class="">[Leeham News & Analysis, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-13-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering whether to suspend the Production Certificate of Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) if it’s not satisfied changes to its safety culture are sufficient, LNA has learned. It’s the “nuclear option” LNA has written about on previous occasions following the Jan. 5 in-flight accident/explosive decompression of a Boeing 737-9 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines. Already under heightened scrutiny by the FAA, Boeing took yet another in a series of safety blows when a special panel of experts appointed by the FAA to independently review Boeing’s safety culture issued a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/02/26/breaking-news-congressionally-mandate-safety-study-finds-flaws-at-boeing/" data-original-title="" href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/02/26/breaking-news-congressionally-mandate-safety-study-finds-flaws-at-boeing/" target="_blank" title="">scathing report</a> on Feb. 26.” Lambert Strether: “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/02/200pm-water-cooler-2-27-2024.html#faa" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/02/200pm-water-cooler-2-27-2024.html#faa" title="">See Water Cooler here</a>; document is now readable.] More: “The FAA levied fines—and suspended some of them—for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/03/05/pontifications-boeing-violating-previous-faa-oda-sms-demands-been-there-done-that/" data-original-title="" href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/03/05/pontifications-boeing-violating-previous-faa-oda-sms-demands-been-there-done-that/" target="_blank" title="">previous safety violations 36 times</a>, according to a tracking website. And despite pledges and actions taken to improve safety following the 2018-2019 MAX crisis, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/02/27/boeings-safety-improvement-since-the-2018-19-max-crisis-needs-more-work/" data-original-title="" href="https://leehamnews.com/2024/02/27/boeings-safety-improvement-since-the-2018-19-max-crisis-needs-more-work/" target="_blank" title="">Boeing still has fallen short</a>.” FAA’s leverage: “So, what’s the ultimate hammer the FAA has? It’s suspending the PC 700 certificate, and this is under consideration, LNA is told…. Boeing holds what’s known as a Production Certificate, named PC 700. This allows Boeing Commercial Airplanes to produce commercial airlines and military aircraft that are based on airliners…. If the FAA imposed a full suspension of PC 700, all 7-Series airliners would be affected. So would the commercially-based P-8 and KC-46A. Deliveries of the inventoried aircraft likely would be suspended. The FAA could choose to segregate the PC 700 more narrowly.” And: “It’s an election year. There is bipartisan Congressional criticism of Boeing, including from Congressional members from Washington State where the 737, 767, KC-46A, P-8A, and 777 are built. Despite the bipartisan nature, if the FAA suspended the PC 700 authority, the damage to Boeing and the affected supply chains would undoubtedly be subject to criticisms of President Joe Biden by Republicans.”<strong></strong><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.startribune.com/airplanes-and-engineering-the-way-we-were/600345144/" target="_blank" title="">Airplanes and engineering: The way we were</a></strong> <br /></p><p class="">[Star-Tribune, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-12-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">When it changed: “Working for Honeywell in Minneapolis, I was involved in product developments for several Boeing aircraft: new platforms B-757, B-767, B-777 and B-787, and revisions on older designs, including the B-737. Each of these developments involved an intimate relationship between Boeing and Honeywell across multiple levels of organization. At the heart of the work were the customers’ requirements. Meeting these drove daily decisions in the project planning…. One afternoon, we started calling our contacts in Boeing Engineering. Engineering had prioritized the bidders and assured us Honeywell was their first choice. However, they would not confirm that Boeing management had signed off on the selection. We still believed we would win the program. In the past, Boeing always selected the highest technical bidder then renegotiated the price as the program phased into volume production. It was the best process to meet Boeing’s and the passengers’ quality demands… we were notified we were not selected for the program. Through several discussions with the Boeing engineering managers, we later found out that Boeing’s procurement process had changed. Boeing supply management downgraded the engineering assessment from prioritized capability to either meeting or not meeting the requirements. Then, procurement would select the lowest bidder from this pool of suppliers meeting the requirements. <ins>Engineering was no longer needed to sign off on the selection</ins>. (We heard that Boeing engineers wore a black armband for a month protesting the selection for this program.) <ins>The selection process could now be done in a spreadsheet</ins> with no account for the uncertainty that engineering often expected and hoped to have some insurance against. This would become a fundamental change in the aircraft industry.” <br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://aeon.co/essays/why-governments-and-business-like-to-offload-risk-to-individuals" href="https://aeon.co/essays/why-governments-and-business-like-to-offload-risk-to-individuals" target="_blank">Who bears the risk?</a> </strong></p><p>[aeon, via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024] Important.</p><p>Under the guise of empowerment and freedom, politicians and business are offloading lifethreatening risk to individuals….</p><blockquote><p>In <em>Individualism and Economic Order</em> (1948), F A Hayek wrote: ‘if the individual is to be free to choose, it is inevitable that he should bear the risk attaching to that choice,’ further noting that ‘the preservation of individual freedom is incompatible with a full satisfaction of our views of distributive justice.’ Over the past several decades, Hayek’s position has gone mainstream but also become somewhat emaciated, such that individual freedom substantively means consumer choice – the presumed sanctity of which must be preserved across all sectors. But devolved responsibility favours those with more capacity to evaluate and make decisions about complex phenomena – those of us, for instance, with high levels of education and social access to doctors and investment managers to call for advice. And indeed, it’s striking that the embrace of responsibilisation as a form of individual ‘empowerment’ has accompanied the deepening of inequality in Western democracies.….</p><p>Whether you find (like Thaler and Sunstein) that humans are poor decision-makers who need to be nudged toward virtue, or affirm (like Gigerenzer) that better public numeracy can improve our risk calculations, an antisocial logic clings to the actuarial self. Security becomes an individual privilege procured through the marketplace rather than a public right achieved at the social level. When it comes to personal safety, people of means are encouraged to manage risk by engaging in various kinds of social insulation (what I have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thebrooklyninstitute.com/podcasts/podcast-for-social-research-episode-54-night-of-ideas-security-hoarding-moving-beyond-the-culture-of-constant-vigilance/" href="https://thebrooklyninstitute.com/podcasts/podcast-for-social-research-episode-54-night-of-ideas-security-hoarding-moving-beyond-the-culture-of-constant-vigilance/" target="_blank">called</a> security hoarding), while those without are largely transformed into the ‘risks’ themselves. The uptick in vigilante acts and paranoid shootings in the US for ringing the wrong doorbell is a symptom of this antisocial logic taken to its natural, bloody end. The privatisation of security and violence are also forms of responsibilisation – ones where we can clearly see the costs associated with this form of ‘freedom’.</p><p>The good news is that there are wonderful alternatives to the hyper-individualised world of the actuarial self: apprehensions of security that think at the level of communities, neighbourhoods and towns or cities or nations. In a world facing rising temperatures, pandemics and a globalised financial system, many have come to recognise the highly individualised approach to risk as a relic of an irresponsible and iniquitous era. Building more capacious forms of security and networks of care will require looking beyond the actuarial self and the fundamentally conservative political agenda it serves.</p></blockquote><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/working-class" target="_blank" title="">'Working-Class People Aren't Lazy, They're Fed Up,' UAW Leader Tells Senate </a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Jessica Corbett, March 15, 2024<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">Shawn Fain slammed "the Wall Street freeloaders, the masters of passive income," for "how little they contribute to humanity."….<br /></p><p>Fain [testified] during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/workers-should-benefit-from-new-technology-and-increased-productivity-the-need-for-a-32-hour-work-week-with-no-loss-in-pay" data-original-title="" href="https://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/workers-should-benefit-from-new-technology-and-increased-productivity-the-need-for-a-32-hour-work-week-with-no-loss-in-pay" target="_blank" title="">hearing</a> on a 32-hour workweek. "And I know what people and many in this room will say. They'll say, 'People just don't want to work,' or, 'Working-class people are lazy.'"</p><p>"But the truth is, working-class people aren't lazy, they're fed up. They're fed up with being left behind and stripped of dignity as wealth inequality in this nation, this world, spirals out of control," he continued. "They're fed up that in America... three families <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/11/08/three-richest-americans-now-own-more-wealth-bottom-half-us-combined-report" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/11/08/three-richest-americans-now-own-more-wealth-bottom-half-us-combined-report" target="_blank" title="">have</a> as much wealth as the bottom 50% of citizens in this nation. That is criminal. America is better than this."</p><p>"So, I want to close with this: I agree there is an epidemic in this country of people who don't want to work; people who can't be bothered to get up every day and contribute to our society, but instead want to freeload off the labor of others," Fain added. "But those aren't blue-collar people; those aren't the working-class people. It's a group of people who are never talked about for how little they actually work and produce, and how little they contribute to humanity. The people I'm talking about are the Wall Street freeloaders, the masters of passive income."</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179867/ceo-pay-tax-dodging-corporations" target="_blank">Elon Musk Leads America’s Top Tax-Dodging CEOs</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Jason Linkins, March 16, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">A new study reveals a staggering number of companies pay their CEOs more than they pay in taxes….<br /></p><div><p>...For a report released Wednesday, the Institute for Policy Studies teamed up with Americans for Tax Fairness <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ips-dc.org/report-corporations-that-pay-their-executives-more-than-uncle-sam/" href="https://ips-dc.org/report-corporations-that-pay-their-executives-more-than-uncle-sam/" target="_blank">to spelunk into the balance sheets</a> at some of America’s best-known tax scofflaws between 2018 and 2022. What they <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Corporations_That_Pay_Their_Executives_More_Than_Uncle_Sam_March_13_2024.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://ips-dc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Corporations_That_Pay_Their_Executives_More_Than_Uncle_Sam_March_13_2024.pdf" target="_blank" title="">found was pretty consistent</a>: The firms took home high profits and lavished their top executives with exorbitant pay, all while stiffing Uncle Sam.<br /></p></div><div><p>The excess is stunning. “For over half (35) of these corporations,” the study reports, “their payouts to top corporate brass over that entire span exceeded their net tax payments.” An additional 29 firms managed this feat for “at least two of the five years in the study period.” Eighteen firms paid a grand total of zero dollars during that five-year span, 17 of which were given tax refunds. All in all, the 64 companies in the report “posted cumulative pre-tax domestic profits of $657 billion” during the study period, but “paid an average effective federal tax rate of just 2.8 percent (the statutory rate is 21 percent) while paying their executives over $15 billion.”</p><p class="">Which firms are the worst of the worst? You can probably guess the company that tops the list because it’s the one run by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177695/elon-musk-scoundrel-year-2023-new-republic" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177695/elon-musk-scoundrel-year-2023-new-republic" title=""><em>The New Republic</em>’s 2023 Scoundrel of the Year</a>. During the five years of the study, Tesla took home $4.4 billion in profits as CEO Elon Musk carted off $2.28 billion in stock options, which, since his 2018 payday, have ballooned to nearly $56 billion—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178631/elon-musk-tesla-compensation-ruling" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178631/elon-musk-tesla-compensation-ruling">a compensation plan so outlandish</a> that the Delaware Court of Chancery canceled it. Tesla has, during that same period of time, paid an effective tax rate of zero percent through a combination of carrying forward losses from unprofitable years and good old-fashioned offshore tax dodging.<br /></p><p class="">It’s hard to match Tesla in terms of its rapaciousness, but the other nine firms on the IPS’s “Terrible Ten” include some household names: T-Mobile, Netflix, Ford Motor Company, Metlife, and Darden Restaurants (owners of Olive Garden); a trio of energy companies (Nextera, Duke Energy, First Energy); and the shining star of the 2008 financial crisis, bailout baby AIG….<br /></p><p class="">What sort of innovations have these CEOs wrought from this well-remunerated period? T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert presided over the Sprint merger that led to $23.6 million in stock buybacks and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://vice.com/en/article/m7adpn/t-mobile-promised-its-megamerger-would-create-jobs-it-laid-off-5000-workers-instead" href="https://vice.com/en/article/m7adpn/t-mobile-promised-its-megamerger-would-create-jobs-it-laid-off-5000-workers-instead" target="_blank">5,000 layoffs</a>. Netflix’s Reed Hastings poured $15 billion in profit into <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/14/22884263/netflix-price-increases-2021-us-canada-all-plans-hd-4k" href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/14/22884263/netflix-price-increases-2021-us-canada-all-plans-hd-4k" target="_blank">jacking up subscription rates</a>. Nextera Energy has devoted $10 million in dark money in a “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2021/12/02/florida-power-light-execs-worked-closely-with-consultants-behind-ghost-candidate-scheme-records-reveal-special-report/" href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2021/12/02/florida-power-light-execs-worked-closely-with-consultants-behind-ghost-candidate-scheme-records-reveal-special-report/" target="_blank">ghost candidate scheme</a>” to thwart climate change candidates. Darden Restaurants has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/sanders-raise-the-wage-2023-bill-draws-national-restaurant-association-opposition/689059/" href="https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/sanders-raise-the-wage-2023-bill-draws-national-restaurant-association-opposition/689059/" target="_blank">fighting efforts to raise the minimum wage</a>. Metlife has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/life-insurers-binge-us-financing-aimed-helping-housing-2023-12-05/" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/life-insurers-binge-us-financing-aimed-helping-housing-2023-12-05/" target="_blank">diverting government money</a> meant to fund low-cost housing into other, unrelated buckraking ventures. And some First Energy executives from the study period are embroiled in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/February-2024/Former-PUCO-Chairman-Former-FirstEnergy-Executives" href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/February-2024/Former-PUCO-Chairman-Former-FirstEnergy-Executives" target="_blank">a corruption scandal</a> that’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/business/firstenergy-indictment-ohio-bribery.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/business/firstenergy-indictment-ohio-bribery.html" target="_blank">so massive</a> that even Musk might find it to be beyond the pale.<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong>Power in the shadows</strong></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/gladio-role-in-aldo-moro-murder-confirmed?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=552010&post_id=141645788&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2cqri&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">Gladio Role in Aldo Moro Murder Confirmed</a></strong></p><p>Kit Klarenberg, March 12, 2024 [Active Measures]</p><blockquote><p class="">On March 4th, leading Italian daily La Repubblica published an <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.repubblica.it/politica/2024/03/04/news/da_moro_a_gheddafi_i_segreti_del_generale_roberto_jucci-422244985/?ref=RHLF-BG-P1-S1-T1" href="https://www.repubblica.it/politica/2024/03/04/news/da_moro_a_gheddafi_i_segreti_del_generale_roberto_jucci-422244985/?ref=RHLF-BG-P1-S1-T1">astonishing interview</a> with Roberto Jucci, veteran “general of top secret missions”, who over his lengthy career worked at the highest echelons of Rome’s security and intelligence apparatus, while enjoying an intensive “relationship of trust” with many of the country’s most powerful political figures and government agencies. Along the way, he exposed how US “centers of power”, in conjunction with notorious Masonic Lodge P2 (Proganda Due), were responsible for the murder of left-leaning statesman Aldo Moro….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/china-outpacing-us-defense-industrial-base" data-original-title="" href="https://www.csis.org/analysis/china-outpacing-us-defense-industrial-base" target="_blank" title="">China Outpacing U.S. Defense Industrial Base</a> </strong></p><p>[Center for Strategic and International Studies, via Naked Capitalism 03-14-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://globalsouthperspectives.substack.com/p/global-south-repositioning" target="_blank">Global South Repositioning: A few notes from Tunis</a></strong></p><p class="">Fadhel Kaboub, March 13, 2024 [via Mike Norman Economics</p><blockquote><p class="">I explained why the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2023/12/decolonising-the-global-economic-architecture-the-prerequisite-for-a-just-transition/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2023/12/decolonising-the-global-economic-architecture-the-prerequisite-for-a-just-transition/" title="">Global South must decolonize the global economic architecture</a> and I presented the main arguments from the <em><a data-cke-saved-href="http://justtransitionafrica.org/" href="http://justtransitionafrica.org/">Just Transition </a></em>report (available in English & French) that we publish last May (published by The Independent Group of Experts on Just Transition & Development), and most importantly I discussed the role of Global South diplomacy in crafting a major geopolitical bargaining chip in this particular moment of geopolitical repositioning….</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>And last but not least, I presented “<em>The Colonial Roots of Climate Injustice in Africa: A United Front for Strategic Repositioning of the Global South,</em>” at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cematmaghrib.org/" href="https://www.cematmaghrib.org/">CEMAT</a>, which was followed by a lively discussion moderated by my colleague Max Ajl. However, the main reason for the entire visit to Tunis this week was to record an interview for Habib Ayeb’s upcoming documentary about climate change titled <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/en-attendant-la-pluie-waiting-for-the-rain" href="https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/en-attendant-la-pluie-waiting-for-the-rain">Waiting for the Rain</a></em>, which we did on Saturday afternoon at the CMAT library. I can’t wait to see the full documentary, but I must also urge all of you to watch his brilliant documentary on food sovereignty: <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://vimeo.com/243519793" href="https://vimeo.com/243519793">Seeds of Dignity</a></em> (subtitled in English).</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/4527284-haiti-ariel-henry-blinken-us-policy/" data-original-title="" href="https://thehill.com/policy/international/4527284-haiti-ariel-henry-blinken-us-policy/" target="_blank" title="">Haiti crisis boils over, forcing pivot in US policy</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Hill, via Naked Capitalism 03-14-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www-nachdenkseiten-de.translate.goog/?p=112154&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp" data-original-title="" href="https://www-nachdenkseiten-de.translate.goog/?p=112154&_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp" target="_blank" title="">How did Ecuador go from an “island of peace” to a “failed state”?</a> </strong></p><p>[Nachdenkseiten, via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong></strong><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/bidens-options?utm_source=brevo&utm_campaign=Backchannel%20NEW%20TEMPLATE%20281&utm_medium=email" target="_blank"><strong>Biden’s Options</strong></a><br /></p><p>Josh Marshall, March 13, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p class="">There’s a good <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-13/ty-article/.premium/would-a-u-s-arms-embargo-on-israel-really-stop-the-war-in-gaza/0000018e-36c2-d8f9-a98e-7ec381950000" href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-03-13/ty-article/.premium/would-a-u-s-arms-embargo-on-israel-really-stop-the-war-in-gaza/0000018e-36c2-d8f9-a98e-7ec381950000">article</a> in Haaretz today about the limits of U.S. sway over Israel with any kind of cut-off in U.S. weapons supplies…. <br /></p><p>The other point is one that I think has bulked much larger in U.S. decision-making than some suspect. The U.S. wants Israel to wind down its operations in Gaza. But it doesn’t want a war between Israel and Hezbollah in the north. Specifically, it doesn’t want to restrict the sale of weapons Israel would need in such a war. If Israel is seen as vulnerable on that front it could spur Hezbollah to initiate a war it has so far clearly wanted to avoid. Similarly if Israel believed it would face slowly dwindling stockpiles of critical munitions and thus grow weaker over time, that might spur Israel to strike preemptively while it still feels it is strong. In a way it’s the same difference: The central goal of U.S. policy from the start of this war has been to prevent a larger regional conflict. And a cut off or restriction of U.S. weapons supplies to Israel aimed at Gaza would be deeply destabilizing to the largely frozen conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.</p><p><em>Late Update:</em> Here’s a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-avalanche-of-netanyahu-criticism-us-looks-to-keep-rift-from-snowballing-further/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/after-avalanche-of-netanyahu-criticism-us-looks-to-keep-rift-from-snowballing-further/" title="">good Times of Israel piece</a> about whether there’s a “red line” from the U.S. about an Israeli attack on Rafah….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/schumer-on-netanyahu-in-context" target="_blank" title="">Schumer on Netanyahu in Context</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Josh Marshall, March 14, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">There was really quite a stunning development in the Senate this afternoon. Schumer went to the floor to call for new elections in Israel, calling Netanyahu “an obstacle to peace” and going on to say he is pursuing “dangerous and inflammatory policies that test existing standards for assistance.” If Netanyahu remains in power after the war, the US should “play a more active role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the present course.”….<br /></p><p class="">That said, those managing the shift on the US side certainly won’t forget Netanyahu’s undisguised and brazen alliance with the GOP, meddling in the politics of what is, after all, the Great Power in the relationship.…<br /></p><p class="">Schumer is clearly running interference for Joe Biden and the policy shift he is trying to achieve. It is one clearly informed by the domestic situation in the United States. But it would be a basic error to reduce it to only that… The White House has been signaling this pivot for weeks. Biden is a strong supporter of Israel going back literally half a century, though not of Netanyahu. He has also gone to great lengths, to his obvious political peril, to back Israel in recent months. But he’s still not Chuck Schumer. Schumer is Jewish and as the senior senator from New York comes from the cradle of American Jewry, New York City. Even today, with Jews decamped throughout the United States, New York City has the largest Jewish population of any city in the world, including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem….</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/03/11/out-of-touch-with-reality-white-house-fails-to-navigate-the-israeli-re-calibration/" data-original-title="" href="https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/03/11/out-of-touch-with-reality-white-house-fails-to-navigate-the-israeli-re-calibration/" target="_blank" title="">‘Out of Touch With Reality’ – White House Fails to Navigate the Israeli Re-calibration</a> </strong></p><p>Alastair Crooke [Strategic Culture Watch, via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024]</p><blockquote><p class="">...The problem however, is the converse: It is that U.S. policy is deeply flawed, and wholly incongruent with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240131-72-of-israelis-say-aid-deliveries-to-gaza-must-be-stopped-survey-finds/" href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240131-72-of-israelis-say-aid-deliveries-to-gaza-must-be-stopped-survey-finds/"><u>majority public sentiment</u></a> in Israel. Many Israelis feel they are fighting an existential struggle, and must not become ‘just fodder’ (as they see it) to a U.S. Democratic electoral strategy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The reality is that Israel is rupturing with Team Biden – not the converse.</p><p class="" style="text-align: justify;">Biden’s key plan which rests on a revitalised Palestinian security apparatus is described – even in the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/05/palestinian-authority-security-forces-gaza/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_todayworld&utm_campaign=wp_todays_worldview&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3cf9688%2F65e7f9a01c99264ac92d08c8%2F596a495a9bbc0f0e09e976aa%2F42%2F60%2F65e7f9a01c99264ac92d08c8" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/05/palestinian-authority-security-forces-gaza/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_todayworld&utm_campaign=wp_todays_worldview&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3cf9688%2F65e7f9a01c99264ac92d08c8%2F596a495a9bbc0f0e09e976aa%2F42%2F60%2F65e7f9a01c99264ac92d08c8"><u><em>Washington Post</em></u></a> – as ‘improbable’. The U.S. tried a PA security ‘revitalising’ <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ecf.org.il/issues/issue/169" data-original-title="" href="https://ecf.org.il/issues/issue/169" title=""><u>initiative</u></a> under U.S. General Zinni in 2002 and Dayton <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/mideast/R40664.pdf" href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/mideast/R40664.pdf"><u>in 2010</u></a>. It did not work – and for good reason: Palestinian Authority security forces are simply viewed by most Palestinians as the hated stooges enforcing continued Israeli occupation. They work to Israeli security interests, not Palestinian security interests.<br /></p><p class="" style="text-align: justify;">The other main components to U.S. policy is an even more improbable ‘de-radicalised’ and anaemic ‘two-state solution’, buried within a regional concert of conservative Arab States acting as its security overseer. This policy approach reflects a White House out of kilter with today’s more eschatological Israel, and one failing to move on from perspectives and policies hailing from decades past which, even then, were failures.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The White House therefore has resorted to an old trick: To project all of <u><em>its own</em></u> policy failings onto a foreign leader for not making the ‘unworkable’ work, and to try to replace that leader with someone more compliant.…</p><p class="" style="text-align: justify;">...U.S. administration officials heard from Gantz the <em>very same policy agenda</em> that Netanyahu has repeated to them in recent months: Gantz also warned that trying to ‘play him off’ against Netanyahu was pointless: He might very much wish to replace Netanyahu as prime minister at some point, but his policies wouldn’t be substantively different from those of the present government, he explained….</p><p class="" style="text-align: justify;">Team Biden urgently needs to reassess its approach, starting from the understanding that <em>it is Israel</em> that is rupturing from the stale, ill-judged U.S. consensus. Most Israelis agree with Netanyahu, who said again yesterday that <em>“the war is existential and must be won”.</em></p><p style="text-align: justify;">How is it that Israel can contemplate severing from the U.S.? Possibly because Netanyahu understands that the ‘power structure’ in the U.S. – as in Europe – that controls much, if not most of the money shaping U.S. politics, and particularly the stance of Congress, is heavily <em>dependent</em> on the Israeli ‘<em>cause</em><em>’</em> existing, and continuing to exist, and it is not therefore the case that Israel is wholly dependent on the U.S. power structures and its ‘good will’ (as Biden pre-supposes).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The ‘<em>cause</em><em> of Israel’</em> both gives domestic U.S. structures their political meaning, their agenda and their legitimacy. A ‘No Israel’ outcome would pull the carpet from under them, and would leave U.S. Jews experiencing existential insecurity.</p><span style="text-align: justify;"></span></blockquote><p class="" style="text-align: justify;">[TW: Crooke may be correct — and I suspect he is — but left unanswered is what to do about the Palestinians. If saving Israelis from “existential insecurity,” involves the genocide of the Palestinian people, that is clearly unacceptable. Can the world community come up with enough hundreds of billions of dollars to convince Egypt to give a part of Sinai to the creation of a Palestinian state? And if Israelis are, as Cooke implies, nearly united in their opposition to a two-state solution, then perhaps it's time to contemplate extending the U.S. nuclear umbrella to include Israel, thus guaranteeing Israel's survival with the threat of the ultimate weapons. It might be the only way to get the Israelis to stop thinking of an independent Palestinian state as an existential threat.]</p><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/senators-biden-israel-aid" target="_blank" title="">'That's the Law': Senators Say Biden Must End Arms Sales If Israel Keeps Blocking Aid</a></strong><br /></p><p class=""><strong></strong>Jake Johnson, March 12, 2024 [CommonDreams]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>"The severe humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza is nearly unprecedented in modern history," the eight senators—led by Sens. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/bernie-sanders" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/bernie-sanders" title="">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)—wrote in a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-President-Biden-on-enforcement-of-Section-620I-of-the-Foreign-Assistance-Act3.pdf" href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/Letter-to-President-Biden-on-enforcement-of-Section-620I-of-the-Foreign-Assistance-Act3.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> to U.S. President Joe Biden. "Your administration has repeatedly stated, and the United Nations and numerous aid organizations have confirmed, that Israel's restrictions on humanitarian access, both at the border and within Gaza, are one of the primary causes of this humanitarian catastrophe."</p><p>The senators argued that the Israeli government's <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/siege-and-starvation-how-israel-obstructs-aid-to-gaza/" href="https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/siege-and-starvation-how-israel-obstructs-aid-to-gaza/" target="_blank">systematic obstruction</a> of aid deliveries violates U.S. law, pointing specifically to Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. The law states that "no assistance shall be furnished... to any country when it is made known to the president that the government of such country prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance."</p><p>Biden administration officials have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/halalflow/status/1765093487123575117" href="https://twitter.com/halalflow/status/1765093487123575117" target="_blank">admitted</a> that Israel is impeding aid deliveries to desperate Gazans.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/03/14/2024/the-white-house-knew-schumers-israel-speech-was-coming-israel-will-notice-that" target="_blank" title="">The White House knew Schumer’s Israel speech was coming. Israel will notice that</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">[Semafor, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-15-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">“The White House reviewed, but didn’t block, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer’s sharp attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday. While the administration has not embraced his explosive call for new elections, the lack of apparent pushback signaled a growing split between the two countries’ leaderships….. Both Netanyahu’s political allies and opponents pushed back hard against the comments coming out of Washington, charging they were designed to tip the political scales in Israel. ‘Regardless of our political opinion, we strongly oppose external political intervention in Israel’s internal affairs,’ former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote on X. “We are an independent nation, not a banana republic.'”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="">Lambert Strether: “Lol, “external political intervention.” What we really ought to do is set up an IAPAC (Israeli America Public Affairs Committee) in Israel, and lavishly pump campaign contributions to Israeli politicians through it, including especially the <del>real estate speculators</del> goat sacrificers. Cheaper than sending in a wet team, and far less dangerous.” ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/world/2024-03-14-aipac-talking-points-revealed/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/world/2024-03-14-aipac-talking-points-revealed/" target="_blank" title="">AIPAC Talking Points Revealed</a></strong><strong> </strong><br /></p><p class=""><strong></strong>Luke Goldstein, March 14, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>NATIONAL HARBOR, MARYLAND – This week, approximately 1,600 foot soldiers from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) congregated inside the garish yet functional Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, for the PAC’s annual policy conference. It took place this year amid Israel’s bloody war in Gaza, which has left at least 30,000 Palestinians dead and is turning into a critical wedge issue in the 2024 elections.</p><p>Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed attendees by videocast, along with Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog. According to an incomplete speaker list, the entire Democratic and Republican leadership in Congress delivered remarks—Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell and Reps. Hakeem Jeffries and Mike Johnson. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) were both in <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/timburchett/status/1767367297516118071" href="https://twitter.com/timburchett/status/1767367297516118071" target="_blank">attendance</a></u>, among other representatives.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/03/08/michael-brenner-the-wests-reckoning/" href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/03/08/michael-brenner-the-wests-reckoning/" target="_blank">The West’s Reckoning?</a> </strong></p><p>Michael Brenner [ScheerPost, via Naked Capitalism 03-10-2024]</p><blockquote><p>...Taken together, the actions by Western leaders – supported by their nations’ political elites – are indicative of a behavior pattern that has parted ways with reality. They derive deductively from dogmas unsubstantiated by objective fact. They are logically self-contradictory, impervious to events that shift the landscape, and radically unbalanced in weighting benefits/costs/risks and probabilities of success. How do we explain this ‘irrationality’? There are background conditions that are permissive or encouraging of this flight from sound reasoning. They include: the nihilistic socio-cultural trends in our contemporary post-modern societies; their susceptibility to collective hysteria/overwrought emotional reactions to unsettling events – 9/11, Islamic terrorism, the fable about Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election among other political matters, the conjuring of the menacing Chinese dragon, scary predictions of inevitable war with the PRC, outlandish claims that Putin is planning to launch an all-out campaign to conquer Europe up to the English Channel. The last two are fed by the free-floating anxieties, i.e. dread, engendered by the earlier bouts of mass psychopathology. Those allegations, in fact pure fictions, have gained currency among senior military figures, heads of government, and among strategic ‘thinkers.’</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong></p><p><strong>E<a data-cke-saved-href="https://mishtalk.com/economics/expect-another-surge-in-food-prices-fueled-by-dynamic-pricing/" data-original-title="" href="https://mishtalk.com/economics/expect-another-surge-in-food-prices-fueled-by-dynamic-pricing/" target="_blank" title="">xpect Another Surge in Food Prices Fueled by Dynamic Pricing</a></strong> </p><p>Michael Shedlock [via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/a-year-in-crises/" href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/a-year-in-crises/" target="_blank">A Year in Crises</a> </strong></p><p>[Phenomenal World, via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024]</p><blockquote><p>...After overhauling its internal investment regime, the US has thwarted any meaningful structural changes to the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/global-financing-pact/" href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/global-financing-pact/">global financial architecture</a>. On IMF quotas, voting shares, taxation, and even on its measly contribution to the new <a data-cke-saved-href="https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-carbon-notes-9-slouching" href="https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-carbon-notes-9-slouching">Loss and Damage Fund</a>, the US has been conservative and isolationist. There have been a few consolation prizes—Barbados’s PM Mia Mottley won debt payment <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/cop28-african-development-bank-international-partners-commit-climate-resilient-debt-clauses-67000" href="https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/cop28-african-development-bank-international-partners-commit-climate-resilient-debt-clauses-67000">pauses</a> for natural disasters; the IMF will give slightly more <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/12/15/pr23454-imf-pr-imf-executive-board-temporarily-increases-access-limits-under-prgt" href="https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/12/15/pr23454-imf-pr-imf-executive-board-temporarily-increases-access-limits-under-prgt">interest-free loans</a> to low-income countries—but, on the whole, the global financial safety net continues to ensnare, rather than rescue, the most vulnerable countries.</p><p>For every $1 the IMF provides to poor countries for social spending, it <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the-gigantic-austerity-drive-underway/" href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the-gigantic-austerity-drive-underway/">demands</a> $4 in cuts in public spending. Countries do everything they can to delay and avoid bailouts since, when they come, they reduce domestic policy space and autonomy, and force countries to choose between debt repayments, social spending and climate.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2024/03/09/part-time-jobs-no-benefits-the-real-state-of-the-working-class/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2024/03/09/part-time-jobs-no-benefits-the-real-state-of-the-working-class/" target="_blank" title="">Part-time jobs, no benefits: The real state of the working class</a> </strong></p><p>[Struggle La Lucha, via Naked Capitalism 03-14-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1766109789266882959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1766109789266882959%7Ctwgr%5E2bd0f7072d833d3701108720ba1461d0d70dcfc6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F03%2Flinks-3-10-2024.html" href="https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1766109789266882959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1766109789266882959%7Ctwgr%5E2bd0f7072d833d3701108720ba1461d0d70dcfc6%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F03%2Flinks-3-10-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 03-10-2024]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Holy. Shit.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I thought this was a typo…&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;In just February, 1.2 million immigrants (legal and illegal) gained a job. Meanwhile, 500k native-born Americans LOST their job.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Since Covid, native-born workers have actually LOST 2 million jobs. All of the net job gains are immigrants. &lt;a href="https://t.co/Rkg9viZsv9"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Rkg9viZsv9&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/1766109789266882959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 8, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1766109789266882959" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1766109789266882959&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2024%2F3%2F11%2F2228852%2F-&sessionId=464ed8364d6051e496bfb8e6700606166dcbfb49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 749px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory finance</strong></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/fdic-data-contradicts-fed-chair-powell-shows-real-estate-problems-have-skyrocketed-at-largest-u-s-banks-not-the-smaller-regionals/" target="_blank" title="">FDIC Data Contradicts Fed Chair Powell: Shows Real Estate Problems Have Skyrocketed at Largest U.S. Banks, Not the Smaller Regionals</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Pam Martens and Russ Martens, March 08, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong></p><p class=""><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/secretary-state-ai-election-misinformation-00146137" target="_blank" title="">America’s election chiefs are worried AI is coming for them</a></strong> </p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-11-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“A false call from a secretary of state telling poll workers they aren’t needed on Election Day. A fake video of a state election director shredding ballots before they’re counted. An email sent to a county election official trying to phish logins to its voter database. Election officials worry that the rise of generative AI makes this kind of attack on the democratic process even easier ahead of the November election — and they’re looking for ways to combat it. Election workers are uniquely vulnerable targets: They’re obscure enough that nobody knows who they really are, so unlike a fake of a more prominent figure — like Joe Biden or Donald Trump — people may not be on the lookout for something that seems off. At the same time, they’re important enough to fake and just public enough that it’d be easy to do. Combine that with the fact that election officials are still broadly trusted by most Americans — but don’t have a way to effectively reach their voters — a well-executed fake of them could be highly dangerous but hard to counter.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-tiktok-problem-is-not-what-you" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-tiktok-problem-is-not-what-you" target="_blank" title="">The TikTok Problem Is Not What You Think</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 03-15-2024] <br /></p><blockquote><p>While I support the bill, and find most of these objections lacking in credibility, there is some legitimacy to the skepticism, which I’ll get into. But what I want to offer is some basic framing, which is that this legislation has to be understood not as a substitute to a broader movement for reform of social media and privacy, but as part of it. And there are two basic points here. The first is while it’s true that Congress hasn’t passed a ‘comprehensive Federal privacy law,’ it’s also true the Biden administration is orchestrating a remarkable revolution in privacy protections by resurrecting old legal tools. There are reasons you haven’t heard of this revolution that have to do with the incentives of privacy scholars, but the litigation here is fierce and deeply bitter. The second is those who say ‘we can’t even regulate social media and now you want to divest TikTok’s ownership!’ have it 180 degrees backwards. Being able to address Chinese ownership of one video sharing platform is part of the movement to reform all platforms.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://alethonews.com/2024/03/15/why-the-tiktok-ban-is-so-dangerous/" data-original-title="" href="https://alethonews.com/2024/03/15/why-the-tiktok-ban-is-so-dangerous/" target="_blank" title="">Why the TikTok Ban is So Dangerous</a> </strong><br /></p><p class="">Matt Tabbi, via Naked Capitalism 03-16-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>A “foreign adversary controlled application,” in other words, can be any company founded or run by someone living at the wrong foreign address, or containing a small minority ownership stake. Or it can be any company run by someone “subject to the direction” of either of those entities. Or, it’s anything the president says it is. Vague enough?</p><p>As <em>Newsweek</em> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/banning-tiktok-power-grab-deep-state-opinion-1878579" href="https://www.newsweek.com/banning-tiktok-power-grab-deep-state-opinion-1878579">reported</a>, the bill was fast-tracked after a secret “intelligence community briefing” of Congress led by the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/fbi" href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/fbi">FBI</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/department-justice" href="https://www.newsweek.com/topic/department-justice">Department of Justice</a>, and the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dni.gov/" href="https://www.dni.gov/">Office of the Director of National Intelligence</a> (ODNI). The magazine noted that if everything goes as planned, the bill will give Biden the authority to shut down an app used by 150 million Americans just in time for the November elections.</p><p>Say you’re a Democrat, however, and that scenario doesn’t worry you. As <em>America This Week </em>co-host Walter Kirn notes, the bill would give a potential future President Donald Trump “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/walterkirn/status/1768330807280861649" href="https://twitter.com/walterkirn/status/1768330807280861649">unprecedented powers to censor and control the internet</a>.” If <em>that</em> still doesn’t bother you, you’re either not worried about the election, or you’ve been overstating your fear of “dictatorial” Trump.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="">[<a data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1767911324141449685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1767911324141449685%7Ctwgr%5Ee0cdf739b6305cc300b99b756cf637efe2e7ac02%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F03%2F200pm-water-cooler-3-13-2024.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-13-2024]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Lead sponsor of the TikTok bill, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) admits the real reason they&amp;#39;re rushing to ban TikTok -- because it&amp;#39;s &amp;quot;becoming the dominant news platform for Americans under 30&amp;quot; and the US government doesn&amp;#39;t control it like other platforms &lt;a href="https://t.co/MQcD3PQd51"&gt;pic.twitter.com/MQcD3PQd51&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Michael Tracey (@mtracey) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1767911324141449685?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 13, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1767911324141449685" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1767911324141449685&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2024%2F3%2F11%2F2228852%2F-&sessionId=464ed8364d6051e496bfb8e6700606166dcbfb49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 624px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/7.4" data-original-title="" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/15/7.4" target="_blank" title="">15 CFR § 7.4 – Determination of foreign adversaries</a> </strong></p><p>[Legal Information Institute, via Naked Capitalism 03-14-2024]</p><blockquote><p>In the TikTok legislation, I questioned what “foreign adversaries” were. There’s a list, determined by the Secretary of Commerce, driven by Blob Vibes (“(4) Reports and assessments from the U.S. Intelligence Community, the U.S. Departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security, and other relevant sources“).</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="">[<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1768335106538680674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1768335106538680674%7Ctwgr%5Ecc16b670d45c386111a7539fe346d0852e048b9d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F03%2Flinks-3-15-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 03-15-2024]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Here is USAID deliberately targeting &amp;quot;gaming sites&amp;quot; for censorship to stop ordinary citizens from forming &amp;quot;interpretations of the world that differ from &amp;#39;mainstream&amp;#39; sources.&amp;quot;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;This is the US gov&amp;#39;t, using your tax dollars, plotting to stop people from disagreeing with the media. &lt;a href="https://t.co/1sehpzuJ1d"&gt;https://t.co/1sehpzuJ1d&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/8jJTjrtilF"&gt;pic.twitter.com/8jJTjrtilF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBenzCyber/status/1768335106538680674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 14, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1768335106538680674" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1768335106538680674&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2024%2F3%2F11%2F2228852%2F-&sessionId=464ed8364d6051e496bfb8e6700606166dcbfb49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 1005px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="">.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wired.com/story/hpsci-us-protests-section-702-presentation/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/hpsci-us-protests-section-702-presentation/" target="_blank" title="">US Lawmaker Cited NYC Protests in a Defense of Warrantless Spying</a> </strong><br /></p><p class="">[Wired, via Naked Capitalism 03-16-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a href="https://thekennedybeacon.substack.com/p/meta-google-as-extensions" target="_blank">Big Tech’s Election Interference: Why Google and Meta Went Shopping for Former US Intelligence Officers</a></strong> <br /></p><p class="">[The Kennedy Beacon, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-12-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">“The number of former Intelligence Community staff hired by Google and Meta since 2018 is significant. Before then, there were only a few, but now the numbers are much higher: CIA – 36, FBI – 68, NSA – 44, DHS/CISA – 68, State Department – 86, DOD – 121.” No cites for those numbers, though. More: “The presence of Jacqueline Lopour as Google’s Head of Trust & Safety and Aaron Berman as Meta’s Head of Elections Content/Misinformation Policy, both with backgrounds in the CIA, highlights the significant influence exerted by the agency over online censorship.” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/googles-gen-ai-search-threatens-publishers-with-2b-annual-ad-revenue-loss/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.adweek.com/programmatic/googles-gen-ai-search-threatens-publishers-with-2b-annual-ad-revenue-loss/" target="_blank" title="">Google’s Gen AI Search Threatens Publishers With $2B Annual Ad Revenue Loss</a></strong> </p><p>[AdWeek, via Naked Capitalism 03-14-2024] Outright theft by Google </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://garlandrnixon.substack.com/p/youtubers-getting-crushed-by-massive?utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true" data-original-title="" href="https://garlandrnixon.substack.com/p/youtubers-getting-crushed-by-massive?utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true" target="_blank" title="">YouTubers Getting Crushed By Massive Copyright Violation Scams</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Garland Nixon, via Naked Capitalism 03-16-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.unilad.com/technology/news/what-does-im-not-a-robot-button-mean-589504-20240309" data-original-title="" href="https://www.unilad.com/technology/news/what-does-im-not-a-robot-button-mean-589504-20240309" target="_blank" title="">People shocked after finding out what clicking ‘I’m not a robot’ actually does </a></strong></p><p>[Unilad, via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://terikanefield.com/invented-narratives-and-the-outrage-industry/" data-original-title="" href="https://terikanefield.com/invented-narratives-and-the-outrage-industry/" target="_blank" title="">The Outrage Industry</a> </strong></p><p>Teri Kanefield [via Naked Capitalism 03-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="http://%3Chttps//defector.com/the-locusts-of-the-newspaper-world-how-fortress-investment-group-decimated-newspapers-before-gutting-vic" data-original-title="" href="http://%3Chttps//defector.com/the-locusts-of-the-newspaper-world-how-fortress-investment-group-decimated-newspapers-before-gutting-vic" target="_blank" title="">“The Locusts Of The Newspaper World”: How Fortress Investment Group Decimated Newspapers Before Gutting Vice</a> </strong></p><p>[Defector, via Naked Capitalism 03-12-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/wall-street-mega-banks-have-drawn-a-law-free-zone-around-themselves-the-media-is-complicit/" target="_blank" title="">Wall Street Mega Banks Have Drawn a Law-Free Zone Around Themselves – The Media Is Complicit</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Pam Martens, March 13, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...One key factor stands out in our mind as to why today’s Wall Street mega bank era is so much more corrupt and dangerous than earlier times: the failure of mainstream media to do its job.</p><p>For the past decade, mainstream media has failed to adequately report to the American people the activities of the Wall Street mega banks and the insidious role of the Federal Reserve in being their secret bailout kingpin. Consider what happened with the Fed’s so-called repo loan bailouts in the last quarter of 2019.…</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/global-warming-is-still-accelerating" data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/global-warming-is-still-accelerating" target="_blank" title="">Global Warming Is Still Accelerating, in Three Graphs</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p class="">Thomas Neuburger, March 13, 2024 [God's Spies]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/links-for-friday-march-15?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=141197&post_id=142626817&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=2cqri&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">We’ve now experienced<strong> 365 days of continuous all-time highs</strong> at the surface of the world’s oceans.</a><strong></strong><br /></p><p class="">Thomas Neuburger, March 15, 2024.<br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7a36550b-f108-4e78-b6f5-2072b6bf23e7_1100x730.png" target="_blank" title="">GRAPH. </a></strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/blogs/energy-transition/030724-forces-shaping-the-future-of-energy" data-original-title="" href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/blogs/energy-transition/030724-forces-shaping-the-future-of-energy" target="_blank" title="">Forces shaping the future of energy</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[S&P Global, via Naked Capitalism 03-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/13/climate/electric-power-climate-change.html" title="">A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[New York Times, via Thomas Neuburger, March 15, 2024]</p><blockquote><p>Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in. […]</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://renewablesnow.com/news/us-installs-record-338-gw-of-clean-power-capacity-in-2023-851178/" target="_blank" title="">US installs record 33.8 GW of clean power capacity in 2023</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">[Renewables Now, via American Clean Power 3-12-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/view/808066/?sc=rsla" data-original-title="" href="https://www.newswise.com/articles/view/808066/?sc=rsla" target="_blank" title="">Brain Waves Travel in One Direction When Memories are Made and the Opposite When Recalled</a></strong><strong> (press release)</strong> </p><p>[Columbia University, via Naked Capitalism 03-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://phys.org/news/2024-03-high-temperature-superconducting-magnets-ready.html" data-original-title="" href="https://phys.org/news/2024-03-high-temperature-superconducting-magnets-ready.html" target="_blank" title="">Tests show high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion</a> </strong></p><p>[Phys.org, via Naked Capitalism 03-10-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“A new type of magnet, made from high-temperature superconducting material, achieved a world-record magnetic field strength of 20 tesla for a large-scale magnet. That’s the intensity needed to build a fusion power plant that is expected to produce a net output of power and potentially usher in an era of virtually limitless power production.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/james-webb-telescope-confirms-there-is-something-seriously-wrong-with-our-understanding-of-the-universe" data-original-title="" href="https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/james-webb-telescope-confirms-there-is-something-seriously-wrong-with-our-understanding-of-the-universe" target="_blank" title="">James Webb telescope confirms there is something seriously wrong with our understanding of the universe</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">[LiveScience, via Naked Capitalism 03-16-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-simple-way-to-prevent-life-threatening-birth-defects/" data-original-title="" href="https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-discover-simple-way-to-prevent-life-threatening-birth-defects/" target="_blank" title="">Scientists Discover Simple Way To Prevent Life-Threatening Birth Defects</a> </strong><br /></p><p class="">[SciTech Daily, via Naked Capitalism 03-16-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/opinion/covid-economy-safety-net.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/opinion/covid-economy-safety-net.html" target="_blank" title="">Is This What Happens When You Build a Real Social Safety Net, Then Take It Away?</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 03-14-2024]</p><blockquote><div>In 2019, unemployment insurance kept <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p60-272.pdf" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/demo/p60-272.pdf" target="_blank">500,000 people</a> out of poverty; in 2020, that figure was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-275.pdf" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-275.pdf" target="_blank">5.5 million</a>. Yes, the program was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://prospect.org/coronavirus/the-journey-of-the-jobless/" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://prospect.org/coronavirus/the-journey-of-the-jobless/" target="_blank">riddled with problems</a>, particularly <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/06/899893368/gov-says-floridas-unemployment-system-was-designed-to-create-pointless-roadblock" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/08/06/899893368/gov-says-floridas-unemployment-system-was-designed-to-create-pointless-roadblock" target="_blank">technological ones</a>, that made it difficult for many people to get enrolled quickly. But once they were covered, “They saw something close to the actual level of benefits that they deserve,” Mr. Díez said.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>It was short-lived. By July 2020, the extra $600 in benefits had <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/25/politics/unemployment-benefits-congress-600-dollars/index.html" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/25/politics/unemployment-benefits-congress-600-dollars/index.html" target="_blank">lapsed</a>, and it wasn’t until <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/300-unemployment-benefit-congress/index.html" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/14/politics/300-unemployment-benefit-congress/index.html" target="_blank">December 2020</a> that Congress approved $300 payments with new restrictions. By May, some states started <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/15/states-are-ending-federal-unemployment-benefits-early-what-to-know.html" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/15/states-are-ending-federal-unemployment-benefits-early-what-to-know.html" target="_blank">opting out</a>, leaving their residents with the paltry benefits they would have gotten prepandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>…In the pandemic, the country created the most robust safety net we had seen in decades, buffering people against <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/opinion/sunday/eviction-covid-pandemic-housing.html" href="https://archive.is/o/qvQLJ/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/30/opinion/sunday/eviction-covid-pandemic-housing.html" target="_blank">eviction</a>, poverty, hunger and other suffering. Americans’ lives were materially and appreciably improved. Then we took it all away.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>The message received is that the government could have done these things all along but had chosen not to — and has chosen once again to withdraw that kind of security. Before March 2020, Americans were used to piecing a living together without much government help, but now they’ve seen that it doesn’t have to be that way…. </div></div></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian / (anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179776/heritage-foundation-viktor-orban-trump" target="_blank" title="">How Viktor Orbán Conquered the Heritage Foundation</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Casey Michel, March 15, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made waves by flying to the United States to meet with Donald Trump—but not with sitting president Joe Biden. It was, at a minimum, a severe breach of diplomatic protocol, and one that threatens to unravel Budapest’s strained relations with Washington even further….<br /></p><p class="">But there was one other meeting that Orbán took while in the U.S. that hasn’t received enough attention—and points directly to how Orbán has cultivated American conservatives to his cause and created a beachhead for Hungarian influence in Washington. On Friday, he spoke at a closed-door meeting at the Heritage Foundation’s headquarters in the nation’s capital. Joined by Heritage president Kevin Roberts and failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, Orbán spoke, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/pm-orban-takes-part-in-panel-discussion-in-washington" href="https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/pm-orban-takes-part-in-panel-discussion-in-washington" target="_blank">according to a readout</a>, in front of an audience that “included renowned U.S. right-wing politicians, analysts and public personalities.”….<br /></p><p class="">The Budapest-based Danube Institute is largely unknown in the U.S., but it has transformed in recent years into one of the premier mouthpieces for propagating Orbánist policies. While it is technically independent, it is, as Jacob Heilbrunn notes in his <a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/not-just-putin-why-the-right-falls-in-love-with-dictators.html" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/not-just-putin-why-the-right-falls-in-love-with-dictators.html" target="_blank">new book</a> on the American right’s infatuation with dictators, located “next to the prime minister’s building and funded by Orbán’s Fidesz party.” Indeed, the Hungarian think tank is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://english.atlatszo.hu/2023/12/14/orbanism-exported-to-america-through-a-public-interest-foundation/" data-original-title="" href="https://english.atlatszo.hu/2023/12/14/orbanism-exported-to-america-through-a-public-interest-foundation/" target="_blank" title="">overseen by a foundation</a> directly bankrolled by the Hungarian state—meaning that the Danube Institute is, for all intents and purposes, a state-funded front for pushing pro-Orbán rhetoric.…<br /></p><p class="">Most important, however, is the man <a data-cke-saved-href="https://danubeinstitute.hu/en/authors/o-sullivan-john" data-original-title="" href="https://danubeinstitute.hu/en/authors/o-sullivan-john" target="_blank" title="">currently running</a> the Danube Institute: John O’Sullivan, a British conservative who once <a data-cke-saved-href="https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/john-osullivan" data-original-title="" href="https://iop.harvard.edu/fellows/john-osullivan" target="_blank" title="">served as the director of studies</a> at—<em>you guessed it</em>—the Heritage Foundation. “With his extensive connections in the conservative universe, [O’Sullivan] became Orbán’s conduit to the American Right,” Heilbrunn noted.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="">[TW: “a British conservative" I’m always suspicious when the British are involved. Just look at the results of their handiwork in Palestine.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong>Economics as cultural warfare</strong></p><p class=""><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.md/kDTve#selection-157.0-157.78" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.md/kDTve#selection-157.0-157.78" target="_blank" title="">Gov. DeWine signs bill requiring ‘free market capitalism’ be taught in schools</a> </strong><br /></p><p class="">[Cleveland.com, via Naked Capitalism 03-16-2024]<br /></p><p><br /><strong>(anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/project-2025-trumps-rnc-bloodbath-with-federal-government" target="_blank" title="">Critics Warn RNC 'Bloodbath' a Preview of What Project 2025 Would Do If Trump Reelected</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Thor Benson, March 12, 2024<br /></p><blockquote><p>Over 60 staffers at the Republican National Committee have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/bloodbath-at-rnc-trump-team-slashes-staff-at-committee-00146368" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/11/bloodbath-at-rnc-trump-team-slashes-staff-at-committee-00146368" target="_blank">reportedly</a> been let go following the change in leadership instigated by presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump, and critics warn this could be a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/realsandibachom/status/1767371364539789327" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/realsandibachom/status/1767371364539789327" target="_blank" title="">preview</a> of what Trump would do to the federal government should he win reelection in November.</p><p>"In a letter to some political and data staff, Sean Cairncross, the RNC's new chief operating officer, said that the new committee leadership was 'in the process of evaluating the organization and staff to ensure the building is aligned' with its vision. 'During this process, certain staff are being asked to resign and reapply for a position on the team,'" <em>Politico</em> reports.</p><p>For some political observers, the purge at the RNC should serve as a preview of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/project-2025" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/project-2025" target="_blank" title="">Project 2025</a>, an initiative led by The Heritage Foundation and Trump allies, that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-loyalists-2024-presidential-election" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-loyalists-2024-presidential-election" target="_blank">would</a>, in part, replace over 50,000 civil servants in the federal government with Trump loyalists. This would be accomplished through an executive order referred to as Schedule F that would allow Trump, if back in the White House, to fire large numbers of career government workers who currently have protected status….</p></blockquote><p class=""><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179819/abortion-rights-voting-rights-democracy-trump" target="_blank" title="">The Right-Wing Attack on Democracy Is Not Limited to Donald Trump</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Melissa Gira Grant, March 14, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">Attacks on abortion rights and LGBTQ rights are part of a broader assault on democratic norms….<br /></p><p class="">The new report, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.mapresearch.org/file/Freedom-Under-Fire-report-MAP.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.mapresearch.org/file/Freedom-Under-Fire-report-MAP.pdf" target="_blank" title=""><em>Freedom Under Fire: The Far Right’s Battle to Control America</em></a><em>,</em> released Wednesday by MAP [Movement Advancement Project], considers the connections between different kinds of attacks on freedom. “These varied attacks may seem disparate and disconnected, but in fact they are part of a coordinated campaign,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.mapresearch.org/2024-freedom-under-fire-press-release" data-original-title="" href="https://www.mapresearch.org/2024-freedom-under-fire-press-release" target="_blank" title="">noted</a> Tessa Juste, a MAP researcher. The report identifies six overarching categories of attack: “restricting health care and the right to make decisions about one’s body”; “restricting freedom of ideas and the ability to obtain a comprehensive education”; “restricting travel and the ability to exist freely in public places”; “restricting the legal recognition of people’s identities”; “restricting freedom of the press, speech, and assembly”; and “restricting the right to vote.” The goal of all of these types of attacks is twofold and mutually supporting: “mainstreaming exclusion and undermining democracy.”….<br /></p><p class="">Another new report this week exemplifies the more typical approach to defining the “defense of democracy” problem. In “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://brightlinewatch.org/courts-campaigns-and-confidence-in-american-democracy/" data-original-title="" href="https://brightlinewatch.org/courts-campaigns-and-confidence-in-american-democracy/" target="_blank" title="">Courts, campaigns, and confidence in American democracy</a>,” the group Bright Line Watch asked close to 700 political scientists (as well as “a representative sample of 2,798 Americans”) to assess “current and future threats to democracy,” including what they thought of “the performance of U.S. democracy” and current legal actions against Trump. They asked about the likelihood of scenarios like Trump invoking the Insurrection Act to use the military on protesters or Trump attempting to remain president beyond his term. The consensus is, unsurprisingly, not great: Most of the experts surveyed said they believed Trump would invoke the Insurrection Act (59 percent) and attempt to remain in office (60 percent)….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="">[TW: I looked through <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.mapresearch.org/file/Freedom-Under-Fire-report-MAP.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.mapresearch.org/file/Freedom-Under-Fire-report-MAP.pdf" target="_blank" title=""><em>Freedom Under Fire: The Far Right’s Battle to Control America</em></a><i>. </i>It is perhaps useful as a compilation of the many right-wing efforts to limit and control the democratic process, but it does not really address the question of motive. As I have argued before, it is major mistake to ignore the fact that the right-wing has developed a coherent philosophy of political economy that explicitly rejects the Founders' civic republican philosophy of establishing justice, promoting the General Welfare, and doing good works. Greatly simplified, the right-wing philosophy is individualism constrained only by institutional traditionalism. I think any attempt to oppose right-wing efforts to limit and control the democratic process will be inevitably crippled if there is not also careful and continual scrutiny of the funding sources, such as below.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/follow-money-behind-capitol-riot" target="_blank" title="">Follow the Money Behind the Capitol Riot</a></strong></p><p class="">Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, January 25, 2021 [Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Let’s start at the top with President Trump, who egged on a crowd to go to the Capitol and “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/annotated-trump-speech-jan-6-capitol/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/annotated-trump-speech-jan-6-capitol/" target="_blank">fight</a>,” moments before they did just that. During the 2020 election, he was supported by two super PACs, America First Action and Preserve America PAC, according to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/10/super-pacs-hammer-trump/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2020/10/super-pacs-hammer-trump/" target="_blank" title="">Open Secrets</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C00756882&cycle=2020" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C00756882&cycle=2020" target="_blank">Preserve America PAC</a> was primarily bankrolled by the late Sheldon Adelson — perhaps best known as the founder, chairman, and CEO of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sands.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.sands.com/" target="_blank" title="">Las Vegas Sands Casino</a> — who contributed $90 million.</p><p>Meanwhile, American First Action received significant donations from three related Florida sugar companies: $725,000 from Fanjul Corp (which sells the Florida Crystals brand of sugar), $450,000 from New Hope Sugar Co., and $450,000 from Osceola Farms. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.vital_pharmaceuticals_inc.e8beef320ced4ac533707705b25a8f39.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.vital_pharmaceuticals_inc.e8beef320ced4ac533707705b25a8f39.html" target="_blank" title="">Vital Pharmaceuticals</a>, which produces the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/b/vpx-vital-pharmaceuticals/N-9cv" href="https://www.vitaminshoppe.com/b/vpx-vital-pharmaceuticals/N-9cv" target="_blank">Bang</a> brand of energy drinks, gave American First Action $250,000 during the 2020 election cycle. Three other Florida agricultural firms — Agro-Industrial Management, Americas Export Corp, and Sem-Chi Rice Products — gave the super PAC $350,000, $350,000, and $250,000, respectively. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C00637512&cycle=2020" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/contrib.php?cmte=C00637512&cycle=2020" target="_blank">America First Action</a> also received a mysterious $1 million donation from “Deuterium Electron LLC,” which seems to have no other online presence.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2024-03-15-ken-paxton-america-first-legal-project-2025/" target="_blank" title="">Ken Paxton, America First Legal, and Premonitions of Project 2025</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Toni Aguilar Rosenthal, March 15, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">Over his nearly ten years serving as the attorney general of Texas—almost nine of which he has been under <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/16/attorney-general-ken-paxton-securities-fraud-indictment-trial/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/16/attorney-general-ken-paxton-securities-fraud-indictment-trial/" target="_blank" title="">criminal indictment</a></u>—Ken Paxton has pushed steadily more extreme, right-wing policies to deprive Texans of their rights…. In these efforts, Paxton has had help from right-wing influence networks. In recent years, that has been especially true of the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI). This partnership is important in its own right, but it also gives us a preview of what <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.semafor.com/article/02/20/2024/heritage-recruits-an-army-to-build-a-trump-presidency-playbook" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/02/20/2024/heritage-recruits-an-army-to-build-a-trump-presidency-playbook" target="_blank">Project 2025</a></u>—the Republican program for a second Trump presidency—looks like at the state level…. <br /></p><p class="">For readers who haven’t heard of it before, CPI is a Wall Street–backed conservative incubator and training organization that continuously challenges the Biden administration in court. It is also a holding tank for right-wing extremists, replete with former (and potentially future) Trump staffers, like Mark Meadows and Cleta Mitchell. It has seven sub-organizations spanning many issue areas and advocacy styles, including those detailed in Project 2025’s notorious <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.project2025.org/policy/" href="https://www.project2025.org/policy/" target="_blank">policy agenda</a></u>. CPI’s organizations include the Center for Renewing America (CRA), the Election Integrity Network (EIN), the State Freedom Caucus Network (SFCN), America First Legal (AFL), the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), American Cornerstone Institute, and American Moment (AM)….<br /></p><p class="">It is no surprise that this dubious cast of characters has used AFL’s immense resources— entrusted to it <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://readsludge.com/2022/11/17/trump-backed-maga-hub-growing-rapidly-tax-docs-reveal/" href="https://readsludge.com/2022/11/17/trump-backed-maga-hub-growing-rapidly-tax-docs-reveal/" target="_blank">in part</a></u> via CPI’s own donor network, such as the <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23584941/ed-uihlein-family-foundation_990_2021.pdf" href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23584941/ed-uihlein-family-foundation_990_2021.pdf" target="_blank">Uihlein Foundation</a></u>, <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174090-lynde-harry-bradley-foundation-2020-990" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21174090-lynde-harry-bradley-foundation-2020-990" target="_blank">Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation</a></u>, and the <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/306068334/202301329349102450/full" href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/306068334/202301329349102450/full" target="_blank">Rizzuto Foundation</a></u>—to litigate in support of the most extreme hard-right positions on a broad spectrum of local, state, and federal issues.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.au.org/the-latest/church-and-state/articles/dark-shadows-for-more-than-40-years-christian-nationalist-groups-have-worked-to-topple-the-church-state-wall-are-they-about-to-succeed/#" target="_blank" title="">Dark Shadows: For More Than 40 Years, Christian Nationalist Groups Have Worked To Topple The Church-State Wall. Are They About To Succeed?</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Liz Hayes, November 01, 2022CHURCH & STATE MAGAZINE<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/hedge-fund-titan-john-paulson-made-1-billion-in-an-illegal-goldman-sachs-deal-trump-is-now-floating-him-for-treasury-secretary/" target="_blank" title="">Hedge Fund Titan John Paulson Made $1 Billion in an Illegal Goldman Sachs Deal; Trump Is Now Floating Him for Treasury Secretary</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, March 14, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179851/beat-donald-trump-broken-legal-system" target="_blank" title="">We Have to Beat Donald Trump. Clearly, the Broken Legal System Won’t.</a></strong><br /></p><div><p class="">Michael Tomasky, March 15, 2024[The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>...When we talk about what’s wrong with our democracy, we talk about our political structures and processes. We talk about the Senate. We talk about the Electoral College. We talk about gerrymandering. And of course all these problems are real.</p><p>We don’t talk about our legal system. We should. The American legal system doesn’t uphold the values of democratic rule like equality. It far more often corrupts and perverts them. Rich people like Trump twist the system into a pretzel and win delay after delay after delay. Corporations pay fines, usually not that large when considered against their bottom line, and they admit no wrongdoing, even after their practices have killed people. Poor people, meanwhile, get pushed around by the system constantly.</p><p>There is no such thing in this country as equality before the law, and everyone knows it. And I would argue that this legal inequality does more damage to democracy than all the political inequities for the simple reason that they’re more visible. And they’ve never been more visible than they are now with Trump. If he is able to push all these cases back past November, or at least three of them (the Bragg case should proceed this summer), and then especially if he wins the White House and pardons himself, that will constitute the biggest failure of the rule of law in the history of the country.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-s-new-maga-rnc-has-a-stark-message-for-minority-voters-the-party-s-over" target="_blank" title=""></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/make-the-rnc-white-again-gop-ends-minority-outreach-program" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/make-the-rnc-white-again-gop-ends-minority-outreach-program" target="_blank" title="">Make the RNC White Again’: GOP Ends Minority Outreach Program</a></strong><strong>.</strong> <br /></p><p class="">Roger Sollenberger, March 13, 2024 [via downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p class="">“The program at issue is an initiative from the 2022 midterms where RNC field staff engaged voters through gatherings and events held at community centers in areas with heavy minority populations, most specifically Latino communities. The RNC had announced it would be redoubling its efforts in this arena and would be “opening 40 new centers in Latino, Black, Asian American, Native American, Jewish, and veteran communities across the country. That would include establishing outposts in key battlegrounds like Las Vegas, Nevada, Tuscon, Arizona, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Allentown, Pennsylvania… Jaime Florez, the RNC’s Hispanic communications director, told The Messenger that ‘Democrats have taken the Hispanic community for granted for far too long’ and vowed that the RNC planned to capitalize on those opportunities. ‘Republicans will continue to make historic investments in Hispanic voter outreach, from opening more community centers to launching Deposita Tu Voto, that will further our gains with Hispanic voters and deliver Republican victories in 2024,’ Florez said at the time.”<strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-s-new-maga-rnc-has-a-stark-message-for-minority-voters-the-party-s-over" target="_blank" title=""></a></strong><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179653/roundup-cancer-monsanto-pesticides" target="_blank" title="">Sick Because of Roundup? These Bills Could Make Suing Impossible</a></strong><br /></p><p class="">Nick Tabor, March 12, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p></div><div><div data-lazy-pixels="650" data-prebid="0x0:ROS-mobile|900x0:ROS-tablet|1024x0:ROS-desktop" data-refresh-max="20" data-refresh-secs="15" data-refresh="viewable" data-sizes="0x0:300x50,320x50,300x100,320x100,300x250|900x0:300x250,728x90|1024x0:728x90,970x90,970x250,300x250" data-targeting="{" data-unit="ROS" id="htlad-8"><div data-google-query-id="CKCdiK-T-4QDFZusywEd62gBdA" id="htlad-8-gpt"><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p class="">...<span style="color: initial;">Since January, bills to shield pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits have been filed in three states where Bayer has a major corporate presence: Missouri (where Monsanto is headquartered), Idaho (where it has a phosphate mine), and Iowa (where it has a manufacturing plant). Daniel Hinkle, an attorney with the American Association for Justice, who works with trial lawyer associations throughout the country, predicted that if these bills succeed, Bayer will push similar legislation in a number of other states next year.</span> <br /></p><p class="">The company’s efforts have been supported by other agribusiness allies. Legislation of the kind they’re promoting would have implications for <em>all</em> pesticide manufacturers—especially Syngenta, one of Bayer’s competitors, which is facing a lawsuit over the pesticide paraquat from some <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.millerandzois.com/products-liability/paraquat/" href="https://www.millerandzois.com/products-liability/paraquat/" target="_blank">5,300 </a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.millerandzois.com/products-liability/paraquat/" href="https://www.millerandzois.com/products-liability/paraquat/" target="_blank">patients</a> with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179099/epa-pesticide-parkinsons-cancer-roundup-paraquat'" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179099/epa-pesticide-parkinsons-cancer-roundup-paraquat'">Parkinson’s disease</a>. Hinkle believes the bills would “condone” these companies’ “reported history of deception and fraud,” while putting the public at greater risk.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div></div></div><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong></p><p class=""><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2024-03-15-judge-shopping-ended/" target="_blank" title="">Judge Shopping Ended—by Judges Themselves</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ryan Cooper, March 15, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>For many years now, one of the most outrageous aspects of the American legal system… has been the practice of “judge shopping.” Interested parties can file lawsuits in particular locations and be certain or quite likely to draw a judge friendly to their case. This has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-07-06-trump-judge-effectively-names-himself-president/" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-07-06-trump-judge-effectively-names-himself-president/">played hell</a> with federal policy in all sorts of arenas.</p><p>But this practice will be rolled back somewhat thanks to a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/12/federal-courts-move-against-judge-shopping-00146594" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/12/federal-courts-move-against-judge-shopping-00146594" target="_blank">recent decision</a> from the Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets internal policies for the federal judiciary. Now, thanks to this change, any lawsuit attempting to overturn national legislation or regulation will be randomly assigned to one of the whole population of judges….</p><p>It’s hard to exaggerate how offensive judge shopping is to basic principles of the rule of law and democratic values. Government is supposed to be based on the consent of the governed, and the principal focus of the judiciary should be ensuring the law is applied in a consistent and coherent fashion rather than acting as an unelected legislature. That holds double when it comes to any one of 677 district court judges, who have no business whatsoever dictating terms to the people as a whole.</p><p>But with judge shopping, a random handful of extremists can file a lawsuit based on crackpot nonsense or actual lies, present their case to a carefully chosen friendly judge who will automatically rule in their favor, and seize control of some national policy.</p><p>Take a recent ruling from probably the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-07-06-trump-judge-effectively-names-himself-president/" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-07-06-trump-judge-effectively-names-himself-president/">most feral</a> right-wing district court judge in the country, Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas. (His district is situated such that if you file your case in Amarillo, you were guaranteed to get him, until this reform.) ….</p></blockquote><p><span style="text-align: justify;"></span><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-10517283450746344182024-03-10T13:11:00.002-05:002024-03-16T01:27:24.633-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 10, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 10, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong></strong>[<a href="https://twitter.com/battleforeurope/status/1765331455025016841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1765331455025016841%7Ctwgr%5Ea31bb2b7412935d1f51919def6a19a37e5ba9ec1%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F03%2Flinks-3-6-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 03-06-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Very interesting interview with Russo-Ukrainian political scientist Rostislav Ishchenko on why the collapse of the West is a big problem for Russia as well: &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;“Our enemies’ problems are growing. The Western system is no longer able to stabilise itself. It is self-destructing… &lt;a href="https://t.co/faWTWELe4G"&gt;pic.twitter.com/faWTWELe4G&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Thomas Fazi (@battleforeurope) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/battleforeurope/status/1765331455025016841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;March 6, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1765331455025016841" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1765331455025016841&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2024%2F3%2F4%2F2227373%2F-&sessionId=42fed2193ce65bb95fdbed68e4ea99f49749e6ad&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 699px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/ukraine-war-and-western-systems-fatal" data-original-title="" href="https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/ukraine-war-and-western-systems-fatal" target="_blank" title="">Ukraine war and Western system’s fatal flaw</a><a href="https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/ukraine-war-and-western-systems-fatal" target="_blank"> </a></strong><br /></p><p>Alex Krainer, Marck 6, 2024 [substack]<br /></p><blockquote><p>One of the talking points that has been making rounds among the West’s true believers, is that we can outspend Russia by a factor of 10 in military expenditures….</p><p>As the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/13/us/politics/russia-sanctions-missile-production.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/13/us/politics/russia-sanctions-missile-production.html" title="">New York Times reported</a> last September, Russia is producing at least seven times more ammunition than the US and its Western allies combined, and she is producing it at about 1/10th of the cost of western manufacturers. For example, while the cost per round for a Russian 152 mm round is about $600, NATO must budget between $6,000 and $8,000 per each 155 mm round.</p><p>Not only is Russia vastly ahead in terms of sheer production volumes but also in terms of innovation, quality and overall effectiveness. Her arsenal spans a very large array of weaponry from ultra-sophisticated hypersonic precision-guided missiles, world's most effective air-defense complexes and cheap but deadly drones, to the basic stuff like field artillery and ample ammunition to keep it firing 24/7 for months on end. At the same time, the United States and NATO still rely on legacy weapons systems that were state-of-the art in the 1990s, but are in large part obsolete today.</p><p><strong>Purpose-driven vs. profit-driven systems: it’s no match</strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p>In a superb and important piece of analysis referencing the recent US Department of Defense <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessdefense.gov/NDIS.html" href="https://www.businessdefense.gov/NDIS.html">National Defense Industrial Strategy</a></strong> (NDIS), former Marine and military affairs analyst <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://journal-neo.su/2024/02/15/fatal-flaws-undermine-americas-defense-industrial-base/" data-original-title="" href="https://journal-neo.su/2024/02/15/fatal-flaws-undermine-americas-defense-industrial-base/" title="">Brian Berletic dissected</a></strong> many of the reasons why the combined West is now clearly losing the arms race, not only against Russia but also against China. He points out the key differentiator: while Russia's defense industry is <em>purpose-driven</em>, that of the West is <em>profit-driven...</em>.</p><p><strong>The undiagnosed malignancy</strong><br /></p><p>... Even as it endeavors to maintain a dominant geostrategic position in the world, Western powers have cannibalized their own capability to enforce and defend that position. The inescapable conclusion is that there is a deep, systemic flaw in the Western model of governance.</p><p>For generations, we'd all been educated to worship at the altar of private capital's unrestrained pursuit of profit for the greatest benefit of its shareholders, as <strong>Milton Friedman</strong> argued in his 1970 essay entitled “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits” (<a data-cke-saved-href="http://umich.edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman.pdf" href="http://umich.edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman.pdf">PDF</a>). No other considerations can shape the development of production and distribution of goods and services in our economies, else someone will shriek, SOCIALISM! Worse, we’ve even allowed ourselves to become convinced that individuals’ unrestrained pursuit of their own interests can somehow automagically lead to the best possible outcome for the whole society.</p><p>As it turns out, those ideas were the owner class’s self-serving delusions that incubated the fatal flaw within their system, rendering it fragile and weak. The flaw has festered as an undiagnosed malignancy because it enabled the interests who own our Military Industrial Complex and other key industries (the big banks, big tech, big ag, and big pharma) to become extremely wealthy. They also became deeply entrenched in society’s power networks. As such they’ve grown and wholly resistant to any curtailment of their extraordinary privileges, even when it becomes clear that they are driving their nations to destruction….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.intellinews.com/long-read-china-and-russia-the-industrial-production-superpowers-that-could-win-a-war-314926/?source=ukraine" data-original-title="" href="https://www.intellinews.com/long-read-china-and-russia-the-industrial-production-superpowers-that-could-win-a-war-314926/?source=ukraine" target="_blank" title="">China and Russia, the industrial production superpowers that could win a war</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[bne Intellinews, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]<br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Threat of World War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.19fortyfive.com/2024/03/how-western-troops-could-be-sent-to-ukraine-and-not-start-world-war-iii/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.19fortyfive.com/2024/03/how-western-troops-could-be-sent-to-ukraine-and-not-start-world-war-iii/" target="_blank" title="">How Western Troops Could Be Sent To Ukraine And Not Start World War III</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[1945, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024] <br /></p><p>[Lambert Strether: “Mercs! Yeah, that’s the ticket!” ]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/comments/2228038/88192276#comment_88192276" target="_blank" title="">JayBat, Mar 07, 2024 [comment on DailyKos]</a><br /></p><blockquote><p><strong></strong>The population of the Gaza Strip in 2023 was roughly the same as the population of West Berlin in 1948, and there are already sick and starving children in Gaza with no medicine, no food, and no clean water. Nothing short of a seagoing equivalent of the Berlin Airlift level of effort will make a meaningful difference to those children now; if the USA and allies can pull that off in the face of Israeli resistance, they’ll be making movies about it 10 years from now, and (at least some of) the Palestinian people will remember.<strong></strong><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA369479.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Global Supply and Maintenance for the Berlin Airlift, 1948-19491 (pdf)</a></strong><br /></p><p>Department of the Air Force, <em>Air Force Journal of Logistics</em>, October 18, 1999</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-789709" data-original-title="" href="https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-789709" target="_blank" title="">Tactics and strategy in the war with Hezbollah</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Jerusalem Post, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/2024-03-03-hamas-delegation-in-cairo-aims-to-reach-ceasefire-deal/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/2024-03-03-hamas-delegation-in-cairo-aims-to-reach-ceasefire-deal/" target="_blank" title="">Israel opts out of Cairo ceasefire talks</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Business Live, via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.breakingnews.ie/israel-hamas/cracks-widen-in-netanyahus-government-as-top-political-rival-arrives-in-us-1596236.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.breakingnews.ie/israel-hamas/cracks-widen-in-netanyahus-government-as-top-political-rival-arrives-in-us-1596236.html" target="_blank" title="">Cracks widen in Netanyahu’s government as top political rival arrives in US</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Breakingnews.ie, via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thegrayzone.com/2024/03/06/leaked-israel-lobby-officials-war-gaza-mass-rape/" data-original-title="" href="https://thegrayzone.com/2024/03/06/leaked-israel-lobby-officials-war-gaza-mass-rape/" target="_blank" title="">Leaked Israel lobby presentation urges US officials to justify war on Gaza with ‘Hamas rape’ claims</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Grayzone, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://48hills.org/2024/02/what-the-billioniares-want/" data-original-title="" href="https://48hills.org/2024/02/what-the-billioniares-want/" target="_blank" title="">What the billionaires want</a> </strong></p><p>[48 Hills, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]</p><blockquote><p>...But these folks aren’t just rich people trying to make this a better city. They have a real policy agenda—and I think if most San Franciscans understood it, they would realize it’s going to fail, going to make things worse for many residents—and is based on the idea that many people who currently live in this city don’t belong.</p><p><strong>Understanding that agenda involves kind of a complicated</strong> dive into the politics of the last 45 years and the concept of neoliberalism. But it’s critical if we want to figure out not just <a data-cke-saved-href="https://missionlocal.org/2024/02/explore-big-money-san-francisco-growsf-togethersf-neighbors-larsen-moritz-tan-web/" data-original-title="" href="https://missionlocal.org/2024/02/explore-big-money-san-francisco-growsf-togethersf-neighbors-larsen-moritz-tan-web/" title="">who these Big Tech and Real Estate folks are</a>, but why they are putting up so much money to try to control the city.…</p><p>The big money coming into SF politics at a level I have never seen in more than 40 years as a journalist comes with an agenda. Let me try my best to explain what it is.</p><p>First of all: Most of the very rich people in the US (with the exception of, say, George Soros, who is one of the folks who conspiracy theorists love to link to the left), almost universally refuse to accept the idea that any serious efforts at social, economic, and climate reforms will require them to give up some, even a little, of their wealth, and not through philanthropy (which is tax-exempt) but through taxes.</p><p>Some may be socially liberal, and support some good causes. But overall, they agenda they are pushing starts with the idea that the free market is the best way to address almost anything, that government intervention in the market (particularly the regulation of tech and finance) is almost always bad and stifles innovation.</p><p>We have seen this at work since 1981. Neoliberalism, which was considered something of a joke before the 1970s, has been the economic law of the land since Reagan’s election—under both Democrats and Republicans.</p><p>We have, as they say, data on this.</p><p>The explosion in homelessness—which really didn’t exist in most major cities in the 1970s—and the opioid epidemic, which comes in part from Big Pharma but also in significant part from economic desperation, are the results of what I sometimes too optimistically call late-state neoliberal capitalism.</p><p>In 1960, the effective tax rate on corporate profits was 50 percent. The marginal tax rate on very high incomes was 80 percent. That left the government with money to fund social programs like the Great Society and the War on Poverty (and free college education in California). But it also put a cap on riches; there weren’t a lot of billionaires or even millionaires….</p></blockquote><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/22/tax-evasion-by-wealthiest-americans-tops-150-billion-a-year-irs.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>IRS chief: Tax evasion by millionaires and billionaires tops $150 billion a year</strong></a><br /></p><p>[CNBC, via The Big Picture 03-03-2024]</p><blockquote><p>The nation’s millionaires and billionaires are evading more than $150 billion a year in taxes, according to the head of the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, with billions of dollars in new funding from Congress, has launched a sweeping crackdown on wealthy individuals, partnerships and large companies, Commissioner Danny Werfel told CNBC. “We have to make investments to make sure that whether you’re a complicated filer who can afford to hire an army of lawyers and accountants, or a more simple filer who has one income and takes the standard deduction, the IRS is equally able to determine what’s owed,” he said.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/the-plutocrats-plot-to-control-america/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Plutocrats’ Plot To Control America </strong></a><br /></p><p>Amos Barshad, March 5, 2024 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>Under the banner of voting reform, a tycoon’s plan could give the rich even more power to buy elections….<br /></p><p>Troiano fronts an organization that has spent more than $70 million <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.uniteamerica.org/strategy" href="https://www.uniteamerica.org/strategy" target="_blank"><u>since 2019</u></a> pushing through electoral reforms. Unite America’s core demands are open primaries, meaning one non-partisan primary open to all candidates, and ranked-choice voting, where voters rank all eligible candidates in order of preference.</p><p>When these reforms are passed, Unite America contends, they boost moderate candidates that appeal to an “exhausted majority” of centrist voters alienated by current modes for extremism within the Democratic and the Republican parties. While the reforms may sound anodyne, Unite America is not humble in its aims: To Troiano, this is about nothing less than the salvation of our nation.</p><p>America has a “partisan polarization problem” that has become a “threat to our democracy itself,” Troiano says.…</p><p>But critics fear that reforms like the ones pushed by Unite America are, in actuality, a path to possible plutocracy. Opponents say that under the guise of saving democracy, Unite America wants to mute the power of political parties altogether, and what that may leave is a playing field ostensibly open to all but in reality quickly dominated by the ultra-rich. Lee Drutman, Senior Fellow at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/new-america-foundation/" href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/new-america-foundation/" target="_blank"><u>the left-of-center think tank</u></a> New America, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://leedrutman.substack.com/p/a-healthy-democracy-requires-healthy" href="https://leedrutman.substack.com/p/a-healthy-democracy-requires-healthy" target="_blank"><u>has argued that under open primaries</u></a>, parties “become brands anybody can purchase for enough money.”</p><p>One of Unite America’s most prominent boosters is the co-chair of its board: Kent Thiry, a <em>Three Musketeers</em> obsessive and the former CEO of DaVita, the Denver-based dialysis giant that has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.whistleblowerinfo.com/news/davita-healthcare-partners-announce-495-million-whistleblower-settlement" data-original-title="" href="https://www.whistleblowerinfo.com/news/davita-healthcare-partners-announce-495-million-whistleblower-settlement" target="_blank" title=""><u>paid out nearly $1 billion in settlements since 2012</u></a> in lawsuits alleging everything from Medicare fraud to wrongful deaths….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://darkfutura.substack.com/p/americas-super-elite-disconnect" data-original-title="" href="https://darkfutura.substack.com/p/americas-super-elite-disconnect" target="_blank" title="">America’s Super-Elite Disconnect</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Simplicius the Thinker, via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Last month came a fascinating <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rmgresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Elite-One-Percent.pdf" href="https://www.rmgresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Elite-One-Percent.pdf">new report</a></strong> from the institute of Scott Rasmussen, founder of the famed Rasmussen Reports polling center. Its aim was to, for the first time, quantitatively define the true ‘elite’ of society, which control most of our social narratives, politics, and general ‘orthodoxy’.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p><strong>Power in the shadows</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/07/mi5-miners-strike-national-archives-security-service-government" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/07/mi5-miners-strike-national-archives-security-service-government" target="_blank" title="">For years, I suspected MI5 interfered in the miners’ strike. The truth was even more shocking than I thought </a></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/07/mi5-miners-strike-national-archives-security-service-government" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/07/mi5-miners-strike-national-archives-security-service-government" target="_blank" title=""></a>[Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 03-09-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...buried in the National Archives at Kew is a secret document that casts new light on Rimington’s account of MI5’s role during an industrial dispute that represented the most serious challenge to Margaret Thatcher’s premiership….</p><p>Stamped “Secret and Personal”, the document was a memo by Robert (later Lord) Armstrong, the then cabinet secretary, sent to Thatcher in February 1985. I discovered the report while working on a Channel 4 series about the miners’ strikes, which threatened the British state as nothing had since the second world war. I always suspected MI5 had played a more interventionist role, but coming across this document was a revelation.<br /></p><p>Armstrong detailed a series of secret meetings in Whitehall with an unnamed MI5 officer. Their conversation did not concern foreign spies, subversion, national security or official secrets. The agenda was how to find the funds and assets of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). A lawsuit – orchestrated by David Hart, the machiavellian political adviser to Thatcher – had succeeded in declaring the dispute illegal because a national ballot had not taken place. When the NUM refused to call off the strike, the high court found the union guilty of contempt of court and issued a £200,000 fine. And when the NUM refused to pay up, a judge ordered its funds to be seized by the court-appointed sequestrator.</p><p>In anticipation of the court order, the NUM had transferred the union’s £8.7m through seven countries before it ended up in banks in Dublin, Zurich and Luxembourg. It was a covert and deliberately convoluted operation involving NUM officials taking private flights from Jersey to obscure banks in Luxembourg.</p><p>At first, the complex scheme to hide the miners’ cash was successful. The accountancy firm Price Waterhouse, in charge of the investigation, could not trace the movement of the money. And so its senior partner Brian Larkins asked the government for help.</p><p>In circumstances of strict secrecy, Armstrong introduced an MI5 officer to Larkins in the cabinet office. Larkins did not know his name or which agency he worked for – only that he would receive secret intelligence that would trace the miners’ funds. In exchange, Larkins agreed to provide information to MI5 that might help the agency identify any foreign backers of the NUM.</p><p>Suddenly, Price Waterhouse was able to track down obscure NUM bank accounts and freeze the assets, sometimes without the union even realising. Bankers were mystified.…<br /></p><p>The answer is contained in Armstrong’s secret memo to 10 Downing Street: MI5 leaked confidential details of NUM bank accounts and the movements of union officials to Price Waterhouse, seemingly based on covert surveillance and phone tapping….<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.revolutionarycommunist.org/britain/labourtrade-unions/4276-tew-030316" target="_blank" title="">The Enemy Within - MI5 and the miners' strike</a></strong><br /></p><p>03 March 2016 [revolutionarycommunist.org, via Naked Capitalism comments 03-09-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fondfbr.ru/en/articles/mi6-cia-russian-opposition-en/" data-original-title="" href="https://fondfbr.ru/en/articles/mi6-cia-russian-opposition-en/" target="_blank" title="">ON THE LEASH OF THE US STATE DEPARTMENT AND MI6: HOW WESTERN MILITARY-INTELLIGENCE STRUCTURES FINANCE AND ARM THE RUSSIAN OPPOSITION TO FOMENT CHAOS AND TERROR IN THE COUNTRY</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Foundation to Battle Injustice, via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://tomdispatch.com/is-tehran-winning-the-middle-east/" data-original-title="" href="https://tomdispatch.com/is-tehran-winning-the-middle-east/" target="_blank" title="">Juan Cole, How Washington’s Anti-Iranian Campaign Failed, Big Time</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Tom Engelhardt [via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/when-the-musics-over?utm_campaign=email-post&r=jz47a&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">When The Music's Over … Turn out the lights.</a></strong></p><p>AURELIEN, March 6, 2024 [comment on Naked Capitalism 03-06-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/the-political-effects-of-neoliberalism/" data-original-title="" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/the-political-effects-of-neoliberalism/" target="_blank" title="">The Political Effects of Neoliberalism</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[LPE Project, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/energy/power-outage" data-original-title="" href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/energy/power-outage" target="_blank" title="">Power Outage: On the thermodynamics of history.</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Lewis Lapham [via Naked Capitalism 03-04-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/02/homeless-mortality-report/" data-original-title="" href="https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2024/02/homeless-mortality-report/" target="_blank" title="">It’s now significantly more deadly to be homeless. Why are so many people dying?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Cal Matters, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory finance</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/wall-street-mega-banks-have-created-a-circular-firing-squad-with-credit-derivatives-and-capital-relief-trades-with-the-feds-blessing/" target="_blank" title="">Wall Street Mega Banks Have Created a Circular Firing Squad with Credit Derivatives and Capital Relief Trades – with the Fed’s Blessing</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, March 06, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>On June 11, 2015, the Office of Financial Research (OFR) <a data-cke-saved-href="http://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/OFRbr-2015-04-bank-capital-reflief-trades.pdf" data-original-title="" href="http://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/OFRbr-2015-04-bank-capital-reflief-trades.pdf" title="">released a sobering report</a> on how banks were reducing their requirements to hold adequate capital against potential losses by engaging in non-transparent “capital relief trades” with potentially questionable counterparties….<br /></p><p>Buried in the June 2015 OFR report was a bombshell. When JPMorgan Chase was initiating hundreds of billions of dollars in risky derivative trades in London in 2012, using deposits from its federally-insured bank in the U.S., it was attempting to engage in tricked-up capital relief trades. The insanity of this gamesmanship resulted in $6.2 <em>billion</em> in losses at the bank; an investigation by the FBI; embarrassing Senate hearings; <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/REPORT%20-%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Whale%20Trades%20(4-12-13).pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/REPORT%20-%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Whale%20Trades%20(4-12-13).pdf" title="">a scathing 300-page report by the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations</a>; charges of engaging in “unsafe and unsound” banking practices by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; and the payment of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/19/jp-morgan-920m-fine-london-whale" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/sep/19/jp-morgan-920m-fine-london-whale">$920 million in fines to its regulators</a>.</p><p>Credit derivatives are frequently used in capital relief trades. In an effort to curb the <em>trillions</em> of dollars in credit derivatives that the Wall Street mega banks are using for non-transparent purposes with non-transparent counterparties, on July 27 of last year the FDIC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Reserve <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/boardmeetings/fact-sheet-basel-20230727.pdf" href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/boardmeetings/fact-sheet-basel-20230727.pdf">released a proposal</a> to require higher capital levels at banks with $100 billion or more in assets; (only 37 banks would be impacted). Community banks will not be impacted at all by the new proposals according to the federal regulators.</p><p>On September 12, 2023, the banking cartel made its anger and intention to push back known <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/SECRS/2023/September/20230912/R-1813/R-1813_091223_154704_493500277597_1.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/SECRS/2023/September/20230912/R-1813/R-1813_091223_154704_493500277597_1.pdf" title="">in a 7-page letter</a>. The cartel demanded that the three federal agencies turn over all “evidence and analyses the agencies relied on” in making the proposal….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/03/steve-mnuchin-trumps-treasury-secretary-foreclosure-kingpin-joins-with-hedge-fund-guys-to-grab-a-teetering-federally-insured-bank-for-2-a-share/" target="_blank" title="">Steve Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury Secretary/Foreclosure Kingpin, Joins with Hedge Fund Guys to Grab a Teetering, Federally-Insured Bank for $2 a Share</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, March 07, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/06/nycb-why-private-equity-has-been-involved-in-every-recent-bank-deal.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/06/nycb-why-private-equity-has-been-involved-in-every-recent-bank-deal.html" target="_blank" title="">Why private equity has been involved in every recent bank deal</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[CNBC, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The $1 billion-plus injection that <span data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NYCB/" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NYCB/">New York Community Bank</a></span> announced Wednesday is the latest example of private equity players coming to the need of a wounded American lender.</p><p>Led by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ir.mynycb.com/news-and-events/news-releases/press-release-details/2024/NEW-YORK-COMMUNITY-BANCORP-INC.-ANNOUNCES-OVER-1-BILLION-EQUITY-INVESTMENT-ANCHORED-BY-FORMER-U.S.-TREASURY-SECRETARY-STEVEN-MNUCHINS-LIBERTY-STRATEGIC-CAPITAL-HUDSON-BAY-AND-REVERENCE-CAPITAL/default.aspx" href="https://ir.mynycb.com/news-and-events/news-releases/press-release-details/2024/NEW-YORK-COMMUNITY-BANCORP-INC.-ANNOUNCES-OVER-1-BILLION-EQUITY-INVESTMENT-ANCHORED-BY-FORMER-U.S.-TREASURY-SECRETARY-STEVEN-MNUCHINS-LIBERTY-STRATEGIC-CAPITAL-HUDSON-BAY-AND-REVERENCE-CAPITAL/default.aspx" target="_blank">$450 million</a> from ex-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s Liberty Strategic Capital, a group of private investors are plowing fresh funds into NYCB. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/06/new-york-community-bancorp-tumbles-40percent-and-is-halted-as-troubled-bank-reportedly-seeking-cash-infusion.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/06/new-york-community-bancorp-tumbles-40percent-and-is-halted-as-troubled-bank-reportedly-seeking-cash-infusion.html" title="">The move soothed concerns</a> about the bank’s finances, as its shares closed higher on Wednesday after a steep decline earlier in the day.</p><div><div data-module="mps-slot" id="BoxInline-ArticleBody-5"><br /></div></div><p>That cash infusion follows last year’s acquisition of PacWest by Banc of California, which was anchored by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://warburgpincus.com/2023/07/banc-of-california-and-pacwest-announce-transformational-merger-and-400-million-equity-raise-from-warburg-pincus-and-centerbridge/" href="https://warburgpincus.com/2023/07/banc-of-california-and-pacwest-announce-transformational-merger-and-400-million-equity-raise-from-warburg-pincus-and-centerbridge/" target="_blank">$400 million</a> from Warburg Pincus and Centerbridge Partners. A January merger between FirstSun Capital and HomeStreet also tapped <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sunflowerbank.com/about-us/news/firstsun-capital-bancorp-and-homestreet,-inc-announce-transformational-strategic-merger/" href="https://www.sunflowerbank.com/about-us/news/firstsun-capital-bancorp-and-homestreet,-inc-announce-transformational-strategic-merger/" target="_blank">$175 million</a> from Wellington Management.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: One fundamental point in the political economy of civic republicanism is that concentrations of private economic power are always dangerous and unacceptable. Therefore, a revival of civic republicanism involves a suppression of private equity and the blocking of most corporate mergers and acquisitions. ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream economics </strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://profstevekeen.substack.com/p/soul-searching-by-a-soulless-discipline-5e0" data-original-title="" href="https://profstevekeen.substack.com/p/soul-searching-by-a-soulless-discipline-5e0" target="_blank" title="">Soul-searching by a soulless discipline</a>: Chapter 2 from Rebuilding Economics from the Top Down</strong><br /></p><p>Steve Keen [via Naked Capitalism 03-09-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...At a Festschrift for another economics "Nobel" recipient, Joseph Stiglitz, Solow delivered a dismissive judgment on micro-founded macroeconomics, in a paper provocatively entitled "Dumb and Dumber in Macroeconomics".11F He began with the question of "So how did macroeconomics arrive at its current state? The answer might provide a lead as to where it ought to go". He continued:</p><p>“The original impulse to look for better or more explicit micro foundations was probably reasonable… What emerged was not a good idea. The preferred model has a single representative consumer optimizing over infinite time with perfect foresight or rational expectations, in an environment that realizes the resulting plans more or less flawlessly through perfectly competitive forward-looking markets for goods and labor, and perfectly flexible prices and wages.</p><p><em>“How could anyone expect a sensible short-to-medium-run macroeconomics to come out of that set-up</em>?” (Solow 2003. Emphasis added)</p><p>He also disparaged the assumption of equilibrium through time—which is imposed on a model that in fact has an unstable equilibrium—stating that "This choice between equilibrium and disequilibrium thinking may be a false choice". He continued with the colourful metaphor that:</p><p>“If I drop a ripe watermelon from this 15th-floor window, I suppose the whole process from <em>t<sub>0</sub></em> to the mess on the sidewalk could be described as some sort of dynamic equilibrium. But that may not be the most fruitful—sorry—way to describe the falling-watermelon phenomenon.” (Solow 2003)</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/uaws-southern-strategy-union-revs-up-drive-to-get-workers-employed-by-foreign-automakers-to-join-its-ranks" target="_blank" title="">UAW’s Southern Strategy: Union Revs Up Drive To Get Workers Employed By Foreign Automakers To Join Its Ranks</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Bob Bussel, March 9, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nacla.org/strategic-cross-border-labor-alliance" data-original-title="" href="https://nacla.org/strategic-cross-border-labor-alliance" target="_blank" title="">A Strategic Cross-Border Labor Alliance</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[NACLA, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/minneapolis-stpaul-minnesota-unions-labor-strike" data-original-title="" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/minneapolis-stpaul-minnesota-unions-labor-strike" target="_blank" title="">The Most Important Labor Story Right Now Is in Minnesota—It Might Be the Model We All Need</a> </strong></p><p>[In These Times, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]</p><blockquote><p>A major network of unions and community groups in Minneapolis and St. Paul lined up bargaining processes for new contracts—and in some cases, strike votes—around a March 2 deadline, deliberately set in order to maximize their leverage and win collectively-determined community demands around four key issues.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.efinancialcareers.com/news/bankers-tax" data-original-title="" href="https://www.efinancialcareers.com/news/bankers-tax" target="_blank" title="">“I worked in banking. This is how to get the wealthy to pay more tax”</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[efinancialcareers, via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/0151b496-a5c2-4dd5-bdc3-09f94524ff0e" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/0151b496-a5c2-4dd5-bdc3-09f94524ff0e" target="_blank" title="">America’s most powerful union leaders have a message for capital</a></strong> FT, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2024/03/04/signal-app-username-phone-number-privacy/" data-original-title="" href="https://theintercept.com/2024/03/04/signal-app-username-phone-number-privacy/" target="_blank" title="">How to Defend Yourself Against the Powerful New NSO Spyware Attacks Discovered Around the World</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Intercept, via Naked Capitalism 03-05-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/did-google-facebook-and-amazon-endorse?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/did-google-facebook-and-amazon-endorse?" target="_blank" title="">Did Google, Facebook, and Amazon Endorse Jim Crow?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 03-03-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/iowa-newspaper-website-ai-generated-clickbait-factory/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How a Small Iowa Newspaper’s Website Became an AI-Generated Clickbait Factory</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Wired, via The Big Picture 03-03-2024]</p><blockquote><p>When two former Meta employees dug into why the website of Iowa’s Clayton County Register was spewing dubious posts about stocks, they uncovered a network of sites slinging seemingly AI-made content. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://coloradosun.com/2024/03/06/colorado-ai-regulations-national-conversation/" data-original-title="" href="https://coloradosun.com/2024/03/06/colorado-ai-regulations-national-conversation/" target="_blank" title="">AI pervades everyday life with almost no oversight. Colorado and other states are scrambling to catch up</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Associated Press, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024] <br /></p><blockquote><p>Wherever you encounter a PMC gatekeeper operating off a checklist (and maybe interviews), that gatekeeper’s position is a candidate for replacement by an AI. Bad as the current systems are, imagine trying to reach a human <em>and never being able to</em>.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreverwars.ghost.io/my-robotic-doppelganger-is-the-grim-face-of-journalisms-future/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreverwars.ghost.io/my-robotic-doppelganger-is-the-grim-face-of-journalisms-future/" target="_blank" title="">My Robotic Doppelganger Is The Grim Face of Journalism’s Future!</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Spencer Ackerman [ForeverWars, via Naked Capitalism 03-09-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>As journalism endures catastrophic financial collapse, I watch software seize my long-lost archives, erase my name—or attribute my work to a fake person. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/m9den" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/m9den" target="_blank" title="">“The Locusts Of The Newspaper World”: How Fortress Investment Group Decimated Newspapers Before Gutting</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Vice Defector, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024] Well worth a read on private equity.<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20240307-february-was-ninth-straight-month-of-record-breaking-heat-worldwide" data-original-title="" href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20240307-february-was-ninth-straight-month-of-record-breaking-heat-worldwide" target="_blank" title="">‘Uncharted territory’: February was ninth straight month of record-breaking heat worldwide</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[France24, via Naked Capitalism 03-07-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/donor-cash-went-in-antitrust-budget-cut-came-out/" target="_blank" title="">Donor Cash Went In, Antitrust Budget Cut Came Out </a></strong><br /></p><p>Freddy Brewster, March 6, 2024 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>Companies facing antitrust scrutiny funneled big money to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen before her aides tried to defund regulators’ budget.<strong></strong><br /></p><p>Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s aides quietly drafted legislation that would gut federal antitrust enforcers’ budget — a move that could benefit some of the lawmaker’s major finance, weapons, and health care industry donors whose industries are facing the prospect of tougher scrutiny from those antitrust regulators.</p><p>Some of those donors’ companies have been actively lobbying Congress on antitrust issues in the lead-up to Shaheen’s proposed cut, according to federal disclosures reviewed by <em>The Lever</em>.</p><p>Shaheen aides slipped the budget-cutting provision into a must-pass <a data-cke-saved-href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240304/HMS31169.PDF" data-original-title="" href="https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240304/HMS31169.PDF" target="_blank" title=""><u>1,050-page bill</u></a> to keep the government open. The language would strip the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division of nearly $50 million, or roughly <a data-cke-saved-href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/f/?id=00000189-ae21-dee7-a7ab-ee7971150000" data-original-title="" href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/f/?id=00000189-ae21-dee7-a7ab-ee7971150000" target="_blank" title=""><u>18 percent</u></a> of its resources….</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2024-03-07-conflicts-of-interest-doj-antitrust-budget-cut/" target="_blank" title="">Conflicts of Interest Surround the DOJ Antitrust Budget Cut </a></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, March 7, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The Senate Appropriations Committee, which struck the deal to cut the Antitrust Division’s budget, has a revolving-door problem.<br /></p><p>On Tuesday, 31 members of Congress in two different letters registered strong opposition to the appropriations package provision that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-03-05-congress-poised-kneecap-antitrust-division/" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-03-05-congress-poised-kneecap-antitrust-division/">cuts $45 million in funding</a> to the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division and undermines a law increasing premerger filing fees that overwhelmingly passed Congress in 2022. And the anger boiled over onto the Senate floor.…<br /></p><p>Currently, the Antitrust Division is funded in part by filing fees from companies seeking to merge. But the appropriations package caps DOJ Antitrust’s budget at $233 million, forcing all fees above that number to go into the DOJ’s general fund, permanently reversing a process that has been in place since 1989. This could cost the division hundreds of millions of dollars over time. The division currently operates with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/biden-seeks-100-million-budget-increase-for-doj-antitrust-unit" data-original-title="" href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/biden-seeks-100-million-budget-increase-for-doj-antitrust-unit" target="_blank" title="">fewer employees</a> than they had in 1979, when the economy was about <a data-cke-saved-href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDPC1/" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDPC1/" target="_blank">a third as large</a> as it is today….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/11/joe-bidens-last-campaign" target="_blank" title="">Joe Biden’s Last Campaign</a></strong><br /></p><p>[The New Yorker, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-05-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Unsurprisingly, Biden’s aides reject the idea that the White House is insular or dismissive of reality. Zients, who succeeded Ron Klain as chief of staff last year, pointed to Biden’s reputation for soliciting opinions from critics. ‘Just the other day, he picked up the phone and called Larry Summers,’ Zients said. As outreach goes, it was relatively safe; Summers, despite his critical comments, is a longtime adviser to Presidents. Biden’s other occasional calls range from the columnist Thomas Friedman to the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. ‘<ins>That’s how you pressure-test decisions</ins>,’ Zients said.” <strong></strong><br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: Larry Summers? ! ? Borrowing Douglas MacArthur's phrase: old oligarch fellators never die, they just fade away.” Not fast enough, in Summers’ case. And not at all balanced by meeting with Senator Sanders (see below), because bad economic ideas are <em>always</em> bad economic ideas despite the appearance of political equilibrium.] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/5FWtV" target="_blank" title="">Bernie Sanders’s private warning to Biden about the 2024 campaign</a></strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/5FWtV" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/5FWtV" target="_blank" title=""></a>Washington Post<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/5FWtV" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/5FWtV" target="_blank" title=""></a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-07-2024] <br /></p><blockquote><p>“In the roughly hour-long meeting, Sanders urged Biden to affirm the public’s frustration over the economy and focus on identifying the political opposition to enacting the president’s agenda — such as big businesses and pharmaceutical firms — rather than convince the public they should be pleased with current circumstances. Sanders also quoted to Biden a line from a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/5FWtV/https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5105/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/5FWtV/https://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5105/" target="_blank" title="">1937 address by Roosevelt</a>, still two years from the end of the Great Depression: ‘I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.’ Sanders has personally reiterated the message multiple times since then, including in another meeting at the White House with top officials last week, the people said.”</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/03/aipac-israel-spending-democratic-primaries-00144552" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/03/aipac-israel-spending-democratic-primaries-00144552" target="_blank">AIPAC uncorks $100 million war chest to sink progressive candidates</a> </strong></p><p>[POLITICO, via Naked Capitalism 03-04-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>State of the Union address</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179513/state-union-biden-working-class" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Biden’s Best Possible State of the Union Is a Populist Street Fight</strong></a><br /></p><p>Michael Tomasky, March 4, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><p>[TW: President Biden's State of the Union address was exactly what was needed. The problem remains that some Democrats still want bipartisanship. Even worse, too many Democrats still believe the economic neoliberalism of Clinton and Obama, and fail to see that President Biden has an entirely different, much better, economic philosophy. So, even though Tomasky’s article was posted the day before Biden delivered his State of the Union address, it is the best article I’ve seen so far explaining thet the importance of the speech goes far beyond showing that Biden is not senile, but quite combative and eager to bring the fight to the Trump and his gang of (anti)Republicans.]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Biden is in a near-disaster zone with working-class voters, it’s true…. It’s maddening because middle-out economics—the economic theory that Biden embraces and promotes—is entirely about shifting wealth from the top back to the middle and working classes. The whole idea in a nutshell is that growth comes not from cutting rich people’s taxes and waiting for them to invest, but from making private and public investments, financed in part by rich people’s money, directed toward the middle and working classes so that these people have a fair shot at fulfilling their potential and living better and more secure lives. Throw in his passionate support of labor unions [like the railroad workers], and Biden is more on the side of working-class people than any president since arguably Harry Truman. But the fact that he’s not getting a lot of credit is not puzzling, because either (a) nobody knows about this wealth transfer or (b) they kind of know it, but they don’t really believe it. There are reasons for this: First, Biden has not been a very effective salesman for his ideas and accomplishments. He also suffers for the fact <strong>that his party, writ large, isn’t entirely on the same page.</strong><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo/joe-biden-2024-state-of-the-union-address-republicans" target="_blank" title="">GOP Stunned To Discover It’s Not Running Against A Cadaver In 2024</a></strong><br /></p><p>David Kurtz, March 8, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian / (anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/inside-a-secret-society-of-prominent-right-wing-christian-men-prepping-for-a-national-divorce" target="_blank" title="">Inside A Secret Society Of Prominent Right-Wing Christian Men Prepping For A ‘National Divorce’</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Josh Kovensky, March 9, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><blockquote><p>A secret, men-only right-wing society with members in influential positions around the country is on a crusade: to recruit a Christian government that will form after the right achieves regime change in the United States, potentially via a “national divorce.”</p><p>It sounds like the stuff of fantasy, but it’s real. The group is called the Society for American Civic Renewal (the acronym is pronounced “sacker” by its members). It is open to new recruits, provided you meet a few criteria: you are male, a “trinitarian” Christian, heterosexual, an “un-hyphenated American,” and can answer questions about Trump, the Republican Party, and Christian Nationalism in the right way. One chapter leader wrote to a prospective member that the group aimed to “secure a future for Christian families.”….</p><p>Group members hold a distinct vision of America as a latter-day ancient Rome: a crumbling, decadent empire that could soon be replaced by a Christian theocracy. To join, the group demands faithfulness, virtue, and “alignment,” which it describes as “deference to and acceptance of the wisdom of our American and European Christian forebears in the political realm, a traditional understanding of patriarchal leadership in the household, and acceptance of traditional Natural Law in ethics more broadly.” More practically, members must be able to contribute either influence, capability, or wealth in helping SACR further its goals.</p><p>“Most of all, we seek those who understand the nature of authority and its legitimate forceful exercise in the temporal realm,” a mission statement reads.</p><p>Once in the group, the statement says, members can expect perks: “direct preferential treatment for members, especially in business,” and help in advancement “in all areas of life” from other members.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/gop-voter-purges-2024" target="_blank" title="">Warning: The Great GOP Voter Purge of 2024 Is Underway</a></strong><br /></p><p>Thom Hartmann, March 07 2024 [CommonDreams] <br /></p><blockquote><p>...Alexandra Berzon and Nick Corasaniti <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/us/politics/trump-voter-rolls.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/03/us/politics/trump-voter-rolls.html" target="_blank" title="">wrote</a> for last Sunday’s <em>Times</em>:</p>“A network of right-wing activists and allies of Donald J. Trump is quietly challenging thousands of voter registrations in critical presidential battleground states, an all-but-unnoticed effort that could have an impact in a close or contentious election.”<p>...there’s virtually no evidence of voter fraud in any of the states targeted by this new group, which is run by “former Trump lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, and True the Vote, a vote-monitoring group with a long history of spreading misinformation,”….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things-stand/election-truthers-learn-a-lesson-from-stalin-as-they-look-toward-november" target="_blank" title="">Election Truthers Learn A Lesson From ‘Stalin’ As They Look Toward November</a></strong><br /></p><p>John Light, March 7, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Like a movie villain pausing to explain in detail his evil plan just before lowering the hero into the shark tank, election truthers keep talking and talking about their efforts to make sure they are happy with the results of the 2024 election. The scheme, in short: They want to be the ones counting the votes.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179688/rnc-michael-watley-lara-trump" target="_blank" title="">It’s Official: Abraham Lincoln’s Political Party Died Today </a></strong><br /></p><p>Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, March 8, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The Republican National Committee elected a pair of new leaders on Friday and, surprise surprise, they were both hand-selected by Donald Trump. Their introduction to the higher echelons of conservative fundraising stands as a marking point: Trump’s takeover of the party is now complete.</p><p>North Carolina GOP Chairman Michael Whatley was elected to replace outgoing RNC Chair (and expired Trump favorite) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177701/worst-employee-year-ronna-mcdaniel" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177701/worst-employee-year-ronna-mcdaniel" title="">Ronna McDaniel</a>, while the former president’s daughter-in-law, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179558/lara-trump-rnc-hereditary-dictatorship" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179558/lara-trump-rnc-hereditary-dictatorship">Lara Trump</a>, was selected as co-chair….</p><p>...Even though the RNC typically functions to back campaigning officials all the way down the ballot, the co-chair has already <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179565/lara-trump-warning-republicans-back-trump" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179565/lara-trump-warning-republicans-back-trump">sworn</a> the RNC’s cash will help cover the presumed GOP presidential nominee’s legal woes….</p><p>“There will be zero money available for any candidates down ballot. Zero,” Liz Mair, a Republican strategist, told<em> </em><em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/08/donald-trump-gop-rnc-lara-trump/72885304007/" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/08/donald-trump-gop-rnc-lara-trump/72885304007/" target="_blank">USA Today</a></em>. “All of it will be funneled into the presidential, and despite what (Trump aide) Chris LaCivita says, I’m pretty sure as much of it as can be will actually be funneled into covering Trump lawsuit costs.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republicans’ commitment to cruelty </strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/death-panel" target="_blank" title="">House GOP Advances 'Death Panel' for Social Security in Election Year</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Jessica Corbett, March 08 2024 [CommonDreams] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/florida-water-breaks" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Florida Legislature Approves Law Banning Water Breaks and Cooling Measures for Workers</strong><br /></a></p><p>Julia Conley, March 08 2024 [CommonDreams] <br /></p><blockquote><p>Displaying "punitive cruelty" toward Florida residents who work outdoors, the Republican-controlled state House on Friday approved a bill that would ban local governments from requiring that workplaces provide water breaks and other cooling measures.</p><p>The state Senate <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/08/florida-bill-extreme-heat-worker-protection" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/08/florida-bill-extreme-heat-worker-protection" target="_blank">passed the measure</a> on Thursday, with Republicans pushing the bill through as Miami-Dade County was scheduled to vote on local water break protections. If signed into law by the Republican governor, the proposal will preempt the county's vote.</p><p>Roughly 2 million workers are expected to be affected by the legislation in Florida, where parts of the state experienced record-breaking heat last year. Meteorologists <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/alarming-heat-streak-continues-as-february-shatters-temperature-record" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/alarming-heat-streak-continues-as-february-shatters-temperature-record" target="_blank" title="">found</a> that last month was the hottest February ever recorded globally, and the ninth straight month to set such a record….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/border-wall" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/border-wall" title="">Migrant Drownings in Pacific Soared 3,200% After Trump Raised Border Wall: Study</a></strong></p><div>Brett Wilkins, March 08, 2024 [CommonDreams] </div><blockquote>...The study—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2816211" data-original-title="" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2816211" target="_blank" title="">published</a> in <em>JAMA</em>, the American Medical Association's journal—found that 33 people drowned while trying to swim across the southern border between 2020-23, compared with just one death in the previous four years. Researchers tied the soaring fatalities to the Trump administration's decision to raise the height of the border wall from 17 feet to 30 feet as part of its "zero tolerance" immigration agenda.<br /></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179682/trump-rant-biden-speech-maga-ugliest-scam" target="_blank" title="">Trump’s Angry Rant About Biden’s Speech Showcases MAGA’s Ugliest Scam</a></strong><br /></div><div>Greg Sargent, March 8, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></div><blockquote><div>...Trump and his GOP allies in the MAGA movement have pulled off a truly monumental scam. They’ve managed to persuade large swaths of our media and political elites that their primary concern on the issue is with <em>border security,</em> which has served as cover for a different, more politically extreme preoccupation: the impact of migrants on the demographic makeup of the country….</div><div><br /></div><div>Here’s the bottom line: All this does not amount to a position that prioritizes “border security.” It’s a position that prioritizes ensuring that far fewer migrants settle in the country. Trump and Republicans rejected the prospect of a <em>more</em> secure border because the means of achieving it wouldn’t sufficiently slash <em>orderly and legal</em> immigration.<br /></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/health/2024-03-07-controlling-birth-control/" target="_blank">Controlling Birth Control</a></strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong>Gabrielle Gurley, March 1, 2024 [American Prospect] <strong></strong><br /></div><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p>By the end of March, Americans will be able to walk into drugstores, supermarkets, and other retailers that carry contraceptive products and purchase the birth control pill known as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/opill-0075mg-oral-norgestrel-tablet-information" href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/opill-0075mg-oral-norgestrel-tablet-information" target="_blank">Opill</a> without a prescription. The Food and Drug Administration’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/opill-0075mg-oral-norgestrel-tablet-information" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/opill-0075mg-oral-norgestrel-tablet-information" target="_blank" title="">green light</a> for the brand-name drug containing the hormone norgestrel means new conveniences that release people from doctors’ visits and prescription refill calendars. But the debut of over-the-counter birth control pills raises new fears: If abortion and in vitro fertilization are already under attack, can an all-out war on birth control be far behind?<br /></p><p>In the two years since the Supreme Court’s <em>Dobbs</em> decision, Ohio, Kansas, and Kentucky voters have tossed out proposals to further restrict abortion. Vermont, California, and Michigan voters added constitutional protections for abortion. Alabama Supreme Court justices tethered in vitro fertilization to a “theologically based view of the sanctity of life” (expanding on <em>Dobbs</em>’s reliance on medieval and 17th-century English jurists), and the impacts have reverberated far beyond the Deep South.</p><p>...specific contraception rights only exist in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-right-to-contraception-state-and-federal-actions-misinformation-and-the-courts/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-right-to-contraception-state-and-federal-actions-misinformation-and-the-courts/" target="_blank" title="">13 states</a>. New state proposals bear watching. Last week, the Virginia General Assembly passed <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB609ER" href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+HB609ER" target="_blank">legislation</a> that would protect the right to obtain and use contraception, and also allows the attorney general and private individuals to pursue civil actions against any law, regulation, or policy that violates this new plan. The House of Delegates<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/03/01/a-bill-protecting-birth-control-access-is-headed-to-virginias-governor-heres-why-republicans-said-they-opposed-it/" href="https://www.pilotonline.com/2024/03/01/a-bill-protecting-birth-control-access-is-headed-to-virginias-governor-heres-why-republicans-said-they-opposed-it/" target="_blank"> saw</a> some Republicans join Democrats to pass the bill. The Senate, however, where Democrats have a two-seat majority, hewed to party lines. A second <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=241&typ=bil&val=sb237" href="https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?ses=241&typ=bil&val=sb237" target="_blank">bill</a> that would require health insurance companies to cover the cost of contraceptives and related devices passed by healthier bipartisan margins.</p><p>Both bills <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bluevirginia.us/2024/03/with-just-a-few-days-left-in-2024-general-assembly-session-planned-parenthood-advocates-of-virginia-provide-update-on-reproductive-health-care-legislation-headed-to-governor-glenn-youngkin" href="https://bluevirginia.us/2024/03/with-just-a-few-days-left-in-2024-general-assembly-session-planned-parenthood-advocates-of-virginia-provide-update-on-reproductive-health-care-legislation-headed-to-governor-glenn-youngkin" target="_blank">now sit</a> on Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk. He has 30 days after the end of the session on March 9 to sign or veto the contraception access bill, but he must act on the health insurance coverage bill by 11:59 p.m. on March 8. Youngkin’s decision may tell Americans quite a bit about how prominent, ambitious Republicans plan to proceed on contraception.</p><p>Some states are about to unleash more chaos. An Oklahoma Republican has proposed <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/oklahoma-anti-abortion-bill/" href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/oklahoma-anti-abortion-bill/" target="_blank">a ban</a> on birth control that is not provided by a doctor. The original target is emergency contraception options like Plan B, but that raises questions about the new class of birth control pills. In Tennessee, a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bill-protect-ivf-treatment-access-contraceptives-dies-tennessee-house" href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bill-protect-ivf-treatment-access-contraceptives-dies-tennessee-house" target="_blank">bill</a> that would have clarified that the state’s current abortion regulations do not encompass IVF or contraceptives never made it out of a House committee….</p></blockquote><div><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts shreds the 14th Amerndment</strong><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://originalismblog.typepad.com/the-originalism-blog/2024/03/the-originalist-disaster-of-trump-v-andersonmike-rappaport.html" data-cke-saved-name="anderson" data-original-title="" href="https://originalismblog.typepad.com/the-originalism-blog/2024/03/the-originalist-disaster-of-trump-v-andersonmike-rappaport.html" name="anderson" target="_blank" title="">The Originalist Disaster in Trump v. Anderson</a></strong></div><div>[The Originalism Blog, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 03-07-2024]<br /></div><blockquote>“The Supreme Court opinion says that nothing in the Constitution delegates to the states the power to disqualify federal candidates. But this is obviously mistaken under the original meaning. The Constitution says that ‘each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.’ This provision allocates to the states the power how to run their presidential elections. State legislatures could decide not to hold elections at all but could assign their electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing. States have broad authority to structure their presidential elections. While this authority might be subject to other constitutional limitations, the Court does not point to any such limitation here…. It is true that presidential elections have come to be viewed as national elections. This view has led many people to view the electoral college as inconsistent with such national elections and to argue for a national popular vote method instead. But that is not the system that the Constitution establishes. Instead, the Constitution grants significant authority to states over presidential elections. That is the original meaning.” <br /></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179525/supreme-court-trump-disqualification-clause" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179525/supreme-court-trump-disqualification-clause" target="_blank">The Supreme Court Butchered the Disqualification Clause</a></strong></div><div>Matt Ford, March 4, 2024 [The New Republic]</div><blockquote><p>The Supreme Court’s ruling in <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-719_19m2.pdf" href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-719_19m2.pdf" target="_blank">Trump v. Anderson</a></em> is a disaster for the American constitutional order. It paves the way for insurrectionists to run for and hold federal office despite the Constitution’s categorical language that disqualifies them. It decides questions that weren’t before the justices in this case in the first place, and the answers they gave will only immunize these and future insurrectionists from potential consequences. It blatantly twists text and history to reach a preferred outcome….</p><p>Then the court’s five male conservative justices went even further to insulate Trump from the clause’s language. They held that federal candidates and officeholders can <em>only</em> be disqualified if Congress passes a law to affirmatively enforce the clause. That would appear to forestall disqualification by other means—if, for example, a Democratic-led Congress refuses to count Trump’s electoral votes next January because he is disqualified….</p><p>“Although federal enforcement of Section 3 is in no way at issue, the majority announces novel rules for how that enforcement must operate,” Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in their joint concurring opinion. “It reaches out to decide Section 3 questions not before us, and to foreclose future efforts to disqualify a Presidential candidate under that provision. In a sensitive case crying out for judicial restraint, it abandons that course.”</p><p>… to avoid disqualification for Trump, the Supreme Court effectively rewrote the clause and ignored how the rest of the Constitution works. Here’s how it normally works: The Constitution gives states the power to hold elections for House and Senate seats. State legislatures are also empowered to hold elections to decide their state’s slate of presidential and vice presidential electors in the Electoral College. In some early presidential elections, state lawmakers simply chose electors without public input.</p><p>As part of that process, the states are also empowered to disqualify candidates who can’t hold the offices that they seek. States can and have excluded would-be presidential candidates who don’t meet various age requirements and who aren’t natural-born citizens, for example. The Colorado Supreme Court logically concluded that participating in an insurrection or rebellion was another one of these requirements and acted accordingly….</p></blockquote></div><p><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-36209627475642402302024-03-03T13:28:00.002-06:002024-03-09T07:03:43.936-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 3, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – March 3, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178156/amitav-ghoshs-reckoning-opium-smoke-ashes-book-review" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178156/amitav-ghoshs-reckoning-opium-smoke-ashes-book-review" target="_blank" title="">Amitav Ghosh’s Reckoning With Opium.</a></strong></p><p>Alexander Zaitchik, March 1, 2024 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>His new book, Smoke and Ashes, traces the ravages of British opium on India from the eighteenth century to the present.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: I April 2016 I <a data-cke-saved-href="http://real-economics.blogspot.com/2016/04/commerce-christianity-and-civilization.html" data-original-title="" href="http://real-economics.blogspot.com/2016/04/commerce-christianity-and-civilization.html" title="">posted an excerpt</a> from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.org/details/commercechristia00care" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.org/details/commercechristia00care" title=""><em>Commerce, Christianity, and Civilization, Versus British Free Trade. Letters in Reply to the London Times</em></a>, by Henry C. Carey. Philadelphia, Collins, 1876. Though Carey today is rarely mentioned in economics textbooks, he was the leading USA economist of the mid-nineteenth century, a staunch protectionist who was probably the single greatest proponent of what was then called the <a data-cke-saved-href="http://real-economics.blogspot.no/2015/11/michael-hudson-on-american-school-of.html" data-original-title="" href="http://real-economics.blogspot.no/2015/11/michael-hudson-on-american-school-of.html" title="">American School of Political Economy</a>. <br /></p><p>[American protectionism was much more than simply a rejection of the <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.ianwelsh.net/free-trade-is-elties-betraying-their-own-populations/" data-original-title="" href="http://www.ianwelsh.net/free-trade-is-elties-betraying-their-own-populations/" title="">concept of comparative advantage</a>. Michael Hudson explains in the Preface to his 2010 book <em>America’s Protectionist Takeoff: The Neglected American School of Political Economy</em>:<br /></p><blockquote>The protectionist doctrine that shaped America's industry and agriculture... went beyond the narrow boundaries of today's economics discipline by deeming public policy and technology central to economic theorizing, not "exogenous." Analyzing what was needed to increase productivity, the American School emphasized that wages and prices had to be high enough to sustain rising living and educational standards for labor, and investment in rising energy mobilization by capital."</blockquote><p>[But the American School even went beyond that. Carey and other American School economists always kept in view the ultimate goal of economic policies: the establishment and enhancement of <em>civilization</em>. And unlike the competing British School of Adams, Ricardo, and Mill, a central element of the American School was morality. Note the heavy tone of scorn and sarcasm Carey uses in his fifth letter to the editors of the <em>Times of London</em>, as he reviews and condemns the British opium trade and its disastrous consequences for China. -TW]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-28/japan-new-low-birth-rate-falls-to-record-low-demographics-worsen/103520202" data-original-title="" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-28/japan-new-low-birth-rate-falls-to-record-low-demographics-worsen/103520202" target="_blank" title="">Japan’s new births fall to record low as demographic woes worsen</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[ABC Australia, via Naked Capitalism 02-28-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Power in the shadows</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/cia-ukraine-exchange-pre-divorce" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/cia-ukraine-exchange-pre-divorce" target="_blank" title="">CIA, Ukraine Exchange Pre-Divorce Propaganda</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Matt Taibbi, via Naked Capitalism 02-28-2024] Important<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/29/patrick-lawrence-the-cia-in-ukraine-the-ny-times-gets-a-guided-tour/" data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/29/patrick-lawrence-the-cia-in-ukraine-the-ny-times-gets-a-guided-tour/" target="_blank" title="">The CIA in Ukraine — The NY Times Gets a Guided Tour</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[ScheerPost, via Naked Capitalism 03-02-2024] <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><br /><p></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/2024.02.24-074819/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-02-22/ty-article-opinion/.premium/netanyahus-messianic-coalition-partners-want-an-all-out-regional-war/0000018d-d237-d06c-abbd-daf733870000" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/2024.02.24-074819/https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-02-22/ty-article-opinion/.premium/netanyahus-messianic-coalition-partners-want-an-all-out-regional-war/0000018d-d237-d06c-abbd-daf733870000" target="_blank" title="">Netanyahu’s Messianic Coalition Partners Want an All-out Regional War. Gaza Is Just a First Step</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehud_Olmert" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehud_Olmert" target="_blank" title="">Ehud Olmert</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Haaretz, via Naked Capitalism 02-25-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Gaza is just the introductory chapter, the platform this gang wants to build as the foundation upon which the real fight they are eyeing will be conducted: the battle for the West Bank and the Temple Mount.</p><p>The ultimate aim of this gang is “purging” the West Bank of its Palestinian inhabitants, cleansing the Temple Mount of its Muslim worshippers and annexing the territories to the state of Israel. The way to achieve this goal is blood-soaked. Israeli blood, in the state and in the territories it has been controlling for 57 years now, as well as Jewish blood in places elsewhere in the world. As well as a lot of Palestinian blood, of course, in the territories, in Jerusalem and if there is no alternative – also among Arab citizens of Israel.</p><p>This aim will not be achieved without extensive violent conflict. Armageddon. All-out war. In the south, in Jerusalem, in the territories of the West Bank and to the extent necessary also on the northern border. Such a war will bolster the impression that we are fighting for our lives, for our very existence. In a war for survival, it is permissible to do insufferable things, and the hilltop youth are proving daily that among them are many who are capable of precisely that.</p><p>This gang of pogromists has been successful in the first stage prior to the uproar and all-out war that they apparently hope will erupt here. They have taken control of the government of Israel and have made the man who heads it into their servant. The possibility that they will dismantle the government and kick the prime minister out of running the matters of state is not outlandish. It is a process that is taking place at this very moment, step by step.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/iraq-war-architects-gaza" target="_blank" title="">Architects of the Disastrous Iraq War Want a Do-Over in Gaza</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jim Lobe, March 2, 2024 [CommonDreams]</p><blockquote><p>Several key architects of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq 21 years ago are presenting a plan for rebuilding and “de-radicalizing” the surviving population of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza">Gaza</a>, while ensuring that Israel retains “freedom of action” to continue operations against Hamas and Islamic Jihad.</p><p>The plan, which was published as a report Thursday by the hard-line neo-conservative <a data-cke-saved-href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/jewish_institute_for_national_security_affairs/" data-original-title="" href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/jewish_institute_for_national_security_affairs/" target="_blank" title="">Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs</a>, or JINSA, and the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://vandenbergcoalition.org/experts/amb-eric-edelman/" href="https://vandenbergcoalition.org/experts/amb-eric-edelman/" target="_blank">Vandenberg Coalition</a>, is calling for the creation of a private entity, the “International Trust for Gaza Relief and Reconstruction” to be led by “a group of Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates” and “supported by the United States and other nations….</p><p>The task force that produced the report consists of nine members, four of whom played key roles as Middle East policymakers under former President George W. Bush and in the run-up to and aftermath of the disastrous Iraq invasion in 2003.</p><p>The group is chaired by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/john-hannah/" href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/john-hannah/" target="_blank">John Hannah</a>, who served as deputy national security advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005 and then as Cheney’s national security advisor (2005-2009), replacing <a data-cke-saved-href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/lewis-libby/" href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/lewis-libby/" target="_blank">Lewis “Scooter” Libby</a>, who resigned his position after being indicted for perjury. Libby, who was later given a full pardon by former President Donald Trump, is also a member of the Gaza task force.</p><p>Another prominent member of the task force is the founder and chairman of the hawkish Vandenberg Coalition, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/elliott-abrams/" href="https://militarist-monitor.org/profile/elliott-abrams/" target="_blank">Elliott Abrams</a>, who served as the senior director for Near East and North African Affairs in the National Security Council under Bush from 2002 to 2009 and more recently as the Special Envoy for Venezuela and Iran under Trump. Ironically, Abrams, who also served as the NSC’s Senior Director for Democracy under Bush, played <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/04/gaza200804" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/04/gaza200804" target="_blank">a key role</a> in supporting an attempted armed coup by Hamas’s chief rival, Fatah, in 2007 after Hamas swept the 2006 Palestinian elections. The coup attempt sparked a brief but bloody civil war in Gaza, which eventually resulted in Hamas’ consolidation of power in the Strip.</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://vandenbergcoalition.org/experts/amb-eric-edelman/" href="https://vandenbergcoalition.org/experts/amb-eric-edelman/" target="_blank">Amb. Eric Edelman</a> (ret.), a fourth member of the task force, served as Cheney’s principal deputy national security adviser from 2001 to 2003 and then as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, the number three position at the Pentagon, under Rumsfeld and his successor, Robert Gates, from 2005 to 2009, as U.S. troops struggled to contain the mainly Sunni resistance to the U.S. occupation in Iraq….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/what-can-the-us-do-to-bring-the-israel-hamas-war-to-and-end" target="_blank" title="">What Can the US Do To Bring the Israel-Hamas War to An End?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Josh Marshall, March 1, 2024 [talkingpointsmemo]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...First, why is the U.S. sending arms and munitions to Israel at all? Israel has an incredibly powerful military and huge stockpiles of weapons of all sorts. Set aside the policy or moral questions. Why is it even necessary? </p><p>...The U.S. was focused on preventing a broader regional conflict in the whole region. That was always the core U.S. goal and national priority. The U.S. sent two aircraft carrier groups to the eastern Mediterranean, <em>a massive show of force</em>, to deter Hezbollah or other Iranian proxies from opening a second front against Israel, which would have triggered massive Israeli retaliation against Lebanon and possibly Iran.</p><p>I suspect supplying weapons played a similar role. All Israeli military doctrines hold that Israel’s wars must be rapid and decisive because the country has no strategic depth (geography) and has a mass reserve army which can’t remain long in the field. Above all else that means maintaining the military initiative and not allowing adversaries to choose when conflicts occur.</p><p>How does that play out in this case? I suspect U.S. planners envisioned a scenario like this. Israel is fighting in Gaza and perhaps on a more limited level in the North against Hezbollah. It’s keeping its army in the field, reducing its readiness, drawing down its weapons stockpiles. That makes it increasingly vulnerable to escalation from Hezbollah or directly from Iran. With time operating against it like that, and feeling acute vulnerability over October 7th, Israeli military doctrines favor decisive attacks against potential enemies while Israel is still at peak readiness and strength. There’s your regional war which the U.S. sees as its core interest to avoid. That’s why you have the aircraft carrier groups off the cost and the resupply of weapons and munitions: to give Israel the backing that allows them not to default to their strike first/no long wars doctrines.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thefloutist.substack.com/p/starvation-as-a-weapon-of-war" data-original-title="" href="https://thefloutist.substack.com/p/starvation-as-a-weapon-of-war" target="_blank" title="">“Starvation as a weapon of war.”</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Floutist, via Naked Capitalism 03-02-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-for-wiping-out-month-of-ramadan-/3152467" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-for-wiping-out-month-of-ramadan-/3152467" target="_blank" title="">Israeli minister calls for ‘wiping out’ month of Ramadan </a></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-for-wiping-out-month-of-ramadan-/3152467" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israeli-minister-calls-for-wiping-out-month-of-ramadan-/3152467" target="_blank" title=""></a>[Anadolu Agency, via Naked Capitalism 03-02-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1762618322124681506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1762618322124681506%7Ctwgr%5E2cac90daf200843af21b242c33dbc77f0daf7800%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2Flinks-2-28-2024.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 02-28-2024]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Biden is in the pocket of Zionist mafia don Haim Saban and other billionaire Israel supporters. In case it wasn’t clear why he was ignoring his base in rejecting a ceasefire, he’s literally being bribed to support genocide. &lt;a href="https://t.co/Bfg2MNquRZ"&gt;https://t.co/Bfg2MNquRZ&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1762618322124681506?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 27, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1762618322124681506" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1762618322124681506&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2017%2F1%2F3%2F1616650%2F-&sessionId=725a1fe7ae900df480c0b910af1b0fd2f196ce87&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 907px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a href="https://twitter.com/ecomarxi/status/1763330092116181236" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 03-01-2024]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The old world is no longer dying, it is dead.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;There is no going back to how things were after this genocide has been live-streamed in high definition and Technicolour for the world to see and our leaders to endorse. The bloodthirsty status quo has been revealed to too many…&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Tiberius (@ecomarxi) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ecomarxi/status/1763330092116181236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 29, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1763330092116181236" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1763330092116181236&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2017%2F1%2F3%2F1616650%2F-&sessionId=725a1fe7ae900df480c0b910af1b0fd2f196ce87&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 369px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-announces-massive-35-billion-deal-uae-develop-ras-el-hekma-north-coast" data-original-title="" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/egypt-announces-massive-35-billion-deal-uae-develop-ras-el-hekma-north-coast" target="_blank" title="">Egypt announces $35bn deal with UAE to buy premium Mediterranean area</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Middle East Eye, via Naked Capitalism 02-25-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/egypt" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/egypt" target="_blank">Egypt</a> has agreed to a $35bn deal with the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/united-arab-emirates" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/united-arab-emirates" target="_blank">United Arab Emirates</a> to develop the area of Ras el-Hekma on its northwestern coast, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Friday after weeks of speculations.</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cairo24.com/1961190" href="https://www.cairo24.com/1961190" target="_blank">Madbouly</a> said at a news conference, which was attended by Egyptian and Emirati officials, that Egypt will receive an advance amount of $15bn in the coming week, and another $20bn within two months.</p><p>The deal is the largest foreign direct investment in an urban development project in the country's modern history, the prime minister said…. </p></blockquote><p>[TW: With enough money, Egypt will sell part of Sinai where a Palestinian state can be created.]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newatlas.com/architecture/elanan-neom-saudi-arabia/" data-original-title="" href="https://newatlas.com/architecture/elanan-neom-saudi-arabia/" target="_blank" title="">Neom continues transformation of Saudi Arabia with lush desert oasis</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[New Atlas, via Naked Capitalism 02-28-2024]</p><p>[TW: With enough money, a Palestinian state in Sinai can flourish.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-02-28-kissinger-revisited/" target="_blank">Kissinger Revisited</a></strong><br /></p><p>Rick Perlstein, February 28, 2024 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>The former secretary of state is responsible for virtually every American geopolitical disaster of the past half-century….<br /></p><p>“Stability”; the “self-regulating mechanism”: These were supposed to be the hallmarks of Kissinger’s diplomatic framework. By setting force against force, perfect equipoise could be achieved, controlled by us, simultaneously achieving America’s desired strategic aims. The opening to China, alongside simultaneous détente with the Soviet Union, was to be this model’s apotheosis. It was supposed to set off a rivalry in which China and the USSR raced to impress America by becoming the first to withdraw their sponsorship of the Communist belligerents in Vietnam, which would in turn allow America to settle the war on militarily favorable terms.</p><p>The plan had been gestating in Kissinger’s mind for a long time: “In a subtle triangle with Communist China and the Soviet Union,” as Kissinger wrote for his then-patron Nelson Rockefeller in 1968, “we can ultimately improve our relations with each, as we test the will for peace of both.”</p><p>Instead, America lost in Vietnam. Then, the entire region fell to nearly anarchic instability, a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Fields" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_Fields" target="_blank">genocide</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Vietnamese_War" target="_blank">two regional wars</a> within four short years.</p><p>Meanwhile, on the China side of the ledger, if you believe the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aforeignaffairs.com+china" data-original-title="" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aforeignaffairs.com+china" target="_blank" title="">entirety of the American foreign-policy establishment</a> that economic rivalry with China is just about the most dangerous long-term challenge America now faces—well, maybe blame Henry for that, too.…</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/29/us-news/msnbc-legal-analyst-says-first-amendment-makes-us-vulnerable-calls-for-common-sense-speech-restrictions/" data-original-title="" href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/29/us-news/msnbc-legal-analyst-says-first-amendment-makes-us-vulnerable-calls-for-common-sense-speech-restrictions/" target="_blank" title="">MSNBC legal analyst says First Amendment makes US ‘vulnerable,’ calls for ‘common sense’ speech restrictions</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[NY Post, via Naked Capitalism 03-01-2024]</p><p>[TW: The First Amendment makes US vulnerable so long as the rich can maintain their plutocratic kleptocracy through bribery and have us accept it as "free speech." We need ‘common sense’ speech restrictions on the rich. We really do. I would prefer these restrictions imposed not by legislating, but by a cultural shift resulting from a revival of civic republicanism and sense of civic virtue (and NOT the civic virtue defined by conservatives and libertarians, which is contorted beyond recognition to preserve the dominance of self-interest, aka selfishness). Too bad "the left" has turned its back on civic republicanism. So here we are....]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/journalist-kara-swisher-burns-bezos-gates-tech-culture-in-memoir/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/business/journalist-kara-swisher-burns-bezos-gates-tech-culture-in-memoir/" target="_blank" title="">Journalist Kara Swisher ‘burns’ Bezos, Gates, tech culture in memoir</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Seattle Times, via Naked Capitalism 03-02-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Swisher, then a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, was visiting Seattle to tour one of Amazon’s first warehouses in the mid-1990s. Bezos, eager to score prominent coverage of his fledgling company, “skittered around … like a frenetic mongoose,” Swisher recalled in her new book, published Tuesday under the title “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story.”</p><p>Bezos was a numbers guy who was more sophisticated, and more performative, than many of the startup founders making a splash at that time, Swisher wrote. Whereas Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin were silly, littering their offices with scooters, Bezos was serious. Whereas Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates was “outwardly difficult,” Bezos “kept his bare-knuckled characteristics in public check.”</p><p>“Still, from the start, I had no doubt that Jeff Bezos would eat my face off if that is what he needed to do to get ahead,” Swisher wrote.</p></blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-2-2024" href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-2-2024" target="_blank">Heather Cox Richardson, March 2, 2023 [Letters from an American]</a></p><blockquote><p>...In 1904 the Supreme Court ruled that the Northern Securities Company was an illegal monopoly and that it must be dissolved, and by 1912, Roosevelt had come to believe that a strong federal government was the only way for citizens to maintain control over corporations, which he saw as the inevitable outcome of the industrial economy. He had no patience for those who hoped to stop such combinations by passing laws against them. Instead, he believed the American people must create a strong federal government that could exert public control over corporations.</p><p>In a famous speech at Osawatomie, Kansas, in 1912, he called for a “new nationalism.”</p><p>“The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have called into being,” he said. He warned that “[t]here can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains…. We must have complete and effective publicity of corporate affairs, so that the people may know…whether the corporations obey the law and whether their management entitles them to the confidence of the public.”</p><p>Roosevelt had come to believe that a strong government must regulate business. “The absence of effective State, and, especially, national, restraint upon unfair money-getting has tended to create a small class of enormously wealthy and economically powerful men, whose chief object is to hold and increase their power,” he said.</p><p>After all, he said, “[t]he object of government is the welfare of the people.”</p></blockquote><p>Heather Cox Richardson, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-1-2024" href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-1-2024" target="_blank">March 1, 2023 [Letters from an American]</a></p><blockquote><p>...This week, a new report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonprofit think tank that focuses on tax policy, suggested that the cost of tax cuts should be factored into any discussions about the budget deficit.</p><p>In 2017 the Trump tax cuts slashed the top corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and reined in taxation for foreign profits. The ITEP report looked at the first five years the law was in effect. It concluded that in that time, most profitable corporations paid “considerably less” than 21% because of loopholes and special breaks the law either left in place or introduced.</p><p>From 2018 through 2022, 342 companies in the study paid an average effective income tax rate of just 14.1%. Nearly a quarter of those companies—87 of them—paid effective tax rates of under 10%. Fifty-five of them (16% of the 342 companies), including T-Mobile, DISH Network, Netflix, General Motors, AT&T, Bank of America, Citigroup, FedEx, Molson Coors, and Nike, paid effective tax rates of less than 5%.</p><p>Twenty-three corporations, all of them profitable, paid no federal tax over the five year period. One hundred and nine corporations paid no federal tax in at least one of the five years.... </p><p>...In June 1889, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie published what became known as the “Gospel of Wealth” in the popular magazine <em>North American Review</em>. Carnegie explained that “great inequality…[and]...the concentration of business, industrial and commercial, in the hands of a few” were “not only beneficial, but essential to…future progress.” And, Carnegie asked, “What is the proper mode of administering wealth after the laws upon which civilization is founded have thrown it into the hands of the few?”</p><p>Rather than paying higher wages or contributing to a social safety net—which would “encourage the slothful, the drunken, the unworthy,” Carnegie wrote—the man of fortune should “consider all surplus revenues which come to him simply as trust funds, which he is called upon to administer…in the manner which, in his judgment, is best calculated to produce the most beneficial results for the community—the man of wealth thus becoming the mere trustee and agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves.” </p><p>“[T]his wealth, passing through the hands of the few, can be made a much more potent force for the elevation of our race than if distributed in small sums to the people themselves,” Carnegie wrote. “Even the poorest can be made to see this, and to agree that great sums gathered by some of their fellow-citizens and spent for public purposes, from which the masses reap the principal benefit, are more valuable to them than if scattered among themselves in trifling amounts through the course of many years.”</p><p>Here in the present, Republicans want to extend the Trump tax cuts after their scheduled end in 2025, a plan that would cost $4 trillion over a decade even without the deeper cuts to the corporate tax rate Trump has called for if he is reelected. Biden has called for preserving the 2017 tax cuts only for those who make less than $400,000 a year and permitting the rest to expire. He has also called for higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, which would generate more than $2 trillion.</p><p>Losing the revenue part of the budget equation and focusing only on spending cuts seems to reflect a society like the one the late-nineteenth-century industrialists embraced, in which a few wealthy leaders get to decide how to direct the nation’s wealth. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-millennial-women-preventable-death-decline-wellbeing-previous-generations-2023-12" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-millennial-women-preventable-death-decline-wellbeing-previous-generations-2023-12" target="_blank" title="">US millennial women are now more likely to die in their late 20s and early 30s than any generation since the World War II era: report</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism 02-26-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/voters-want-the-rich-to-pay-their-fair-share-want-a-gaza-ceasefire-but-congress-refuses-to-budge" target="_blank" title="">Voters Want The Rich To Pay Their Fair Share & Want A Gaza Ceasefire— But Congress Refuses To Budge</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, March 2, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">A <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2024/2/dfp_ssw_commission.pdf" href="https://www.filesforprogress.org/datasets/2024/2/dfp_ssw_commission.pdf" target="_blank">new poll</a> from Data For Progress released on the day millionaires and billionaires have reached the $168,600 taxable amount limit and stopped paying into Social Security, shows that most Americans— 69% of Democrats, 60% of Republicans and 57% of independents— want to see Social Security benefits increased. Only 5% think they should be decreased (to reduce the national debt). Asked if increasing taxes on the wealthy is the right way to decrease the national debt, 78% liked the idea— including 93% of Dems, 74% of independents and even 66% of Republicans— while just 18% of our countrymen oppose the idea.</span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block6"><span style="text-align: initial;">As far as the Republican decision to create a new commission to cut Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors, opposition is strong (70%— including 73% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 66% of independents) and just 23% of voters like the idea.</span></div><div data-hook="rcv-block6"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div></blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=20176" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=20176" target="_blank" title="">The Origins of Enduring Economic Inequality</a> (forthcoming) (PDF)</strong> <br /></p><p>[Journal of Economic Literature, via Naked Capitalism 02-26-2024] From the Abstract:</p><blockquote><p>We survey archaeological evidence suggesting that among hunter-gatherers and farmers in Neolithic western Eurasia (11,700 to 5,300 years ago) elevated levels of wealth inequality occurred but were ephemeral and rare compared to the substantial enduring inequalities of the past five millennia. In response, we seek to understand not the de novo “creation of inequality” but instead the processes by which substantial wealth differences could persist over long periods and why this occurred only at the end of the Neolithic, at least four millennia after the agricultural revolution. Archaeological and anthropological evidence suggests that <ins>a culture of aggressive egalitarianism may have thwarted the emergence of enduring wealth inequality</ins> until the Late Neolithic when new farming technologies raised the value of material wealth relative to labor and a concentration of elite power in early proto-states (and eventually the exploitation of enslaved labor) provided the political and economic conditions for heightened wealth inequalities to endure.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: I believe recreating “a culture of aggressive egalitarianism” is one of the major reasons we should revive the philosophy of civic republicanism.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID4709394_code1750482.pdf?abstractid=4709394&mirid=1&type=2" data-original-title="" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID4709394_code1750482.pdf?abstractid=4709394&mirid=1&type=2" target="_blank" title="">Constitutional Clash: Labor, Capital, and Democracy</a> (PDF)</strong> <br /></p><p>Northwestern University Law Review, via Naked Capitalism 02-26-2024] From the Abstract:</p><blockquote><p>In the last few years, workers have engaged in organizing and strike activity at levels not seen in decades… Viewed collectively, these efforts—”labor’s” efforts for short—seek not only to redefine the contours of labor law. They also present an incipient challenge to our constitutional order. If realized, labor’s vision would extend democratic values, including freedom of speech and association, into the putatively private domain of the workplace. It would also support the Constitution’s promise of free labor… this Article shows that contemporary fights about labor are also inherently fights about constitutional law</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory finance</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/87-million-buys-this-for-jamie-dimon-david-boies-cant-utter-the-words-jpmorgan-chase-in-a-jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-case/" target="_blank" title="">$87 Million Buys This for Jamie Dimon: David Boies Can’t Utter the Words “JPMorgan Chase” in a Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Case</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, February 18, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>On Friday, February 16, ahead of a three-day weekend, JPMorgan Chase quietly filed its 10-K (annual report) with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document carried the bombshell that the bank had paid an astonishing $1.4 <em>billon</em> in legal expenses in 2023 – a 426 percent increase over the prior year’s legal expenses.</p><p>While the bank didn’t break down the names of the law firms that received the lion’s share of those legal expenses, public records can fill in most of the blanks.</p><p>Throughout 2023, JPMorgan Chase was paying the expensive lawyers at WilmerHale to defend it against a federal lawsuit brought by the David Boies law firm, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, on behalf of the raped, assaulted, and sex trafficked underage victims of Jeffrey Epstein. JPMorgan was also paying WilmerHale lawyers throughout 2023 to defend it against Epstein-related charges brought by the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In both cases, the plaintiffs credibly alleged that the bank was actively-engaged in facilitating Epstein’s criminal sex-trafficking enterprise by providing the financial services and hard cash necessary to keep it going while willfully violating its duty to report the cash transactions to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>This is plutocracy, not capitalism</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/4zFTP" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/4zFTP" target="_blank" title="">How Panera Bread Ducked California’s New $20 Minimum Wage Law</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-28-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“Billionaire Greg Flynn, who made his fortune running one of the world’s largest restaurant franchise operations, is getting a new boost from sourdough loaves and brioche buns That’s because a California law that’s about to raise the state minimum wage at fast-food spots to $20 an hour from $16 offers an unusual exemption for chains that bake bread and sell it as a standalone item. Governor Gavin Newsom pushed for that break, according to people familiar with the matter. Among the main beneficiaries is Flynn, a longtime Newsom donor whose California holdings include two dozen Panera Bread locations.”</p></blockquote><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://ilsr.org/municipal-broadband-skyrocket-as-alternative-to-private-models/" data-original-title="" href="https://ilsr.org/municipal-broadband-skyrocket-as-alternative-to-private-models/" target="_blank" title="">New Municipal Broadband Networks Skyrocket in Post-Pandemic America As Alternative To Private Monopoly Model</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[ISLR, via Naked Capitalism 02-27-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-new-blue-divide/" target="_blank">The New Blue Divide</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jacob S. Hacker. Paul Pierson, February 28, 2024 [Boston Review]</p><blockquote><p>A dramatic transformation has taken place in the U.S. Democratic Party. For several decades it was moving rightward on economic issues, following the same trend as many center-left parties in wealthy democracies. But over the past few years it has made a sharp U-turn, boldly embracing broad and costly economic programs, industrial policy, and active regulation. Indeed, in 2021 Democrats pursued the most ambitious and redistributive economic agenda their party has attempted in more than half a century. Contrary to frequent denunciations of Democratic “wokeness” (whether from the right or the left), economic issues—not cultural ones—have become the core of the party’s agenda.</p><p>This shift is surprising because of another striking development: Democrats have simultaneously sought out and won over an increasing share of affluent suburban voters—the very voters who might be expected to oppose bold redistribution and constrain the party’s economic ambitions. Now, more than ever, the Democrats’ racially diverse electoral coalition is a mix of the affluent and economically struggling….<br /></p><p>...Democrats are now much less clearly the party of the “have nots.” In 2021–22, they represented twenty-four of the twenty-five congressional districts with the highest median household income—a striking change from the past. (Documentation for most of the statistics in this piece can be found in a recent academic <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/bridging-the-blue-divide-the-democrats-new-metro-coalition-and-the-unexpected-prominence-of-redistribution/3FD0D61D57DB06630D9046DC9348159D" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/bridging-the-blue-divide-the-democrats-new-metro-coalition-and-the-unexpected-prominence-of-redistribution/3FD0D61D57DB06630D9046DC9348159D" target="_blank">article</a> we wrote with Amelia Malpas and Sam Zacher.) At the presidential level, Democrats now win counties that produce the lion’s share of the nation’s economic output; some 71 percent of GDP came from the 1 in 6 counties that backed Biden in 2020. Indeed Biden won every one of the twenty-four most economically productive metro areas, and forty-three of the top fifty.</p><p>The result is a pronounced U-shaped coalition. On one side are voters driving the party’s recent suburban gains: highly educated and mostly white workers thriving in the knowledge economy. On the other side are less affluent denizens of metro America, disproportionately workers of color and their families, who have limited access to high-wage knowledge sectors. These voters struggle with rising metro costs—especially housing costs—even as they are effectively excluded from the wealthiest, highest-opportunity suburbs….</p><p>The Biden administration also veered left in important regulatory domains. Perhaps the clearest is its embrace of a more vigorous stance on antitrust issues, signaled by the appointment of Lina Khan to head the Federal Trade Commission. Khan’s ambition to tackle corporate concentration and unequal market power was aided by fellow legal academic Sabeel Rahman, who—as acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in 2023—rewrote cost-benefit rules that had tilted the deck against more active regulation in fields as diverse as environmental and climate policy and financial and consumer protection. Khan and Rahman were not outliers in the Biden administration; virtually every regulatory agency was encouraged and empowered to do more….<br /></p><p>...As the Democratic coalition reaches into higher income deciles, the party brings in voters who might worry they will have to foot the bill for expensive new programs. Democratic elites clearly recognize this risk. In his 2020 campaign Biden pledged to avoid raising taxes on households with annual incomes below $400,000—a figure significantly higher than the cutoff Obama promised in his 2008 run ($250,000, or around $300,000 in 2020 dollars), and one that essentially ruled out new taxes on all but the richest 2 percent of Americans.</p><p>Still, the magnitude of this constraint can easily be overstated. Thanks, ironically, to the incredible concentration of wealth and income in the United States, the revenues needed to pursue an ambitious economic agenda can come exclusively from corporations and the very rich, at least in the short- to medium-term. As a result, Democrats do not have to tax most top-decile households to raise substantial sums, and indeed their 2021 plans—costing more than $4 trillion over ten years in their most expansive form—honored Biden’s $400,000 threshold, with much of their financing linked to repealing 2017 GOP tax cuts. The party’s reluctance to tax all but the very rich has real costs; it makes contributory social insurance programs like Social Security—wildly popular and long the party’s signature—nearly impossible to design, and it will be hard to sustain indefinitely, especially if Democrats manage to reduce inequality. But for now, they can credibly propose more spending for everyone while promising to protect all but the richest voters from higher taxes….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/health/2024-02-27-scenes-from-bat-cave-steward-health-florida/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/health/2024-02-27-scenes-from-bat-cave-steward-health-florida/" target="_blank" title="">Scenes From the Bat Cave</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Maureen Tkacik, February 27, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>How Steward Health left a Space Coast community hospital in a literal world of shit...<br /></p><p>Rockledge is just one of 32 hospitals operated by Steward Health, which the Democratic mayor of Haverhill, Massachusetts, recently <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/steward-plans-to-close-stoughton-new-england-sinai-hospital-dph-meeting-holy-family/46593117" href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/steward-plans-to-close-stoughton-new-england-sinai-hospital-dph-meeting-holy-family/46593117" target="_blank">described</a></u> by saying, “I think we are, perhaps, the victims of a Ponzi scheme.” Nurses say the hospital is chronically out of heart valves, urology lasers, Impella catheters, cardiac catheterization balloons, slings for lifting heavier patients, blood and urine test reagents, and most recently, prescription paper. Medical equipment used in lifesaving treatment has been <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/25/business/steward-health-care-mother-death/" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/01/25/business/steward-health-care-mother-death/" target="_blank">repossessed</a></u>, as have Pepsi machines and even, according to one account from an alleged longtime employee posted on Reddit, a quantity of <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/1agc1j4/comment/kolicqo/" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/1agc1j4/comment/kolicqo/" target="_blank">Boar’s Head deli meats</a></u>. And Steward has been sued by dozens of vendors and service providers, from landscaping services to revenue cycle managers to a long list of physician and nurse staffing agencies, for failing to pay its bills.<br /></p><p>Even the bills Steward does manage to pay often involve weirdness. The Rockledge cardiothoracic unit recently got a couple of weeks’ worth of supplies delivered after Steward paid off a vendor using five separate $1 million checks. Just over a year ago, the whole nursing staff’s paychecks came from a random hospital in Utah. Until last year, Steward owned five hospitals in Utah; last month, two former minority owners sued the hospital chain for allegedly “sweeping” out more than $18 million, using it on unrelated expenses, and leaving the hospitals with a <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/business/2024/02/19/big-hospital-chain-sold-its-utah/" href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/business/2024/02/19/big-hospital-chain-sold-its-utah/" target="_blank">pile of unpaid bills</a></u>. A lawsuit filed in December by a large physician staffing agency to which Steward allegedly owes $1.66 million claims Steward executives repeatedly lied about having already transmitted payments owed to the company’s doctors, at one point in August even furnishing photos of two fake checks to “prove” the payments were on their way, 22 days before any promised funds materialized. (Eventually, a check showed up, for less than half the amount Steward said it had paid, which was in turn a fraction of the amount it allegedly owed.)<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(24)00003-3/fulltext" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(24)00003-3/fulltext" target="_blank" title="">The effect of health-care privatisation on the quality of care</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Lancet, via Naked Capitalism 03-02-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/health/2024-03-01-zoomer-hackers-shut-down-unitedhealthcare/" target="_blank" title="">Zoomer Hackers Shut Down the Biggest Extortion Ring of All </a></strong><br /></p><p>Maureen Tkacik, March 1, 2024 [American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Standing between pharmacies and reimbursement checks for the drugs they dispense include the administrators of managed care programs, the tyrannical triumvirate of dominant pharmacy benefit managers that represent about 85 percent of all health plans, and Change Healthcare, the electronic data clearinghouse—or “switch,” as pharmacists call them—she uses to access the computer ecosystems of these middlemen. Until last week, Witzal viewed Change as one of the least-bad gatekeepers in the pharmacy business, though that was starting to change in the aftermath of its 2022 acquisition by UnitedHealth Group, the $372 billion Minnesota <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-08-02-health-cares-intertwined-colossus/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-08-02-health-cares-intertwined-colossus/" title="">health care leviathan</a></u>, which axed hundreds of tech and call center employees immediately after closing the deal. “It was getting harder and harder to get someone on the phone,” she says.</p><p>Then just over a week ago, Change abruptly shut down for Witzal and 67,000 other pharmacies it services. The company, it turned out, had been attacked by an extortion ring of its own, a hacker UnitedHealth initially identified in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing as a “suspected nation-state-associated cyber security threat actor” but has since emerged as the ransomware gang BlackCat/ALPHV, whose affiliates cybersecurity experts have previously <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-09-22/power-influence-notoriety-the-gen-z-hackers-who-struck-mgm-caesars" href="https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2023-09-22/power-influence-notoriety-the-gen-z-hackers-who-struck-mgm-caesars" target="_blank">described</a></u> as native English speakers from predominantly “Western countries” between the ages of 17 and 22.…</p><p>Just consider the targets of some of the most disruptive ransomware attacks of recent years. Colonial Pipeline had <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-14/colonial-pipeline-has-been-a-lucrative-cash-cow-for-many-years" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-14/colonial-pipeline-has-been-a-lucrative-cash-cow-for-many-years" target="_blank" title="">paid out dividends in excess of its profits</a></u> to owners like Koch Industries for years leading up to the hack that caused a nationwide run on gas stations. Prospect Medical <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pestakeholder.org/news/after-paying-658-million-in-dividends-and-fees-to-investors-prospect-medical-holdings-received-283-million-in-federal-covid-19-aid-2/" data-original-title="" href="https://pestakeholder.org/news/after-paying-658-million-in-dividends-and-fees-to-investors-prospect-medical-holdings-received-283-million-in-federal-covid-19-aid-2/" target="_blank" title="">paid out $658 million in dividends</a></u> to private equity owners while shirking its ambulance gas bills in the years before its crippling August ransomware attack. The casino conglomerate <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/mgm-caesars-incident-responses-required-brutal-choices" href="https://www.darkreading.com/application-security/mgm-caesars-incident-responses-required-brutal-choices" target="_blank">Caesars</a></u> and the hospital chain <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/ardent-health-struggles-get-systems-back-online-hospitals-reopen-emergency-rooms" href="https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/health-tech/ardent-health-struggles-get-systems-back-online-hospitals-reopen-emergency-rooms" target="_blank">Ardent Health Services</a></u> were both <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PE_Rural_Health_Jan2023.pdf" href="https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/PE_Rural_Health_Jan2023.pdf" target="_blank">strip-mined</a></u> by confederations of private equity firms and real estate investment trusts in the years before their ransomware attacks last fall. The enterprise software company Citrix was taken private in a <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/power/griftrix-citrix-systems-debt-deal-private-equity/" href="https://prospect.org/power/griftrix-citrix-systems-debt-deal-private-equity/">mind-bending buyout deal</a></u> so overleveraged the company could not afford to make its first interest payment even <em>after </em>laying off 1,000 workers, just a year before a ransomware gang <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/14/citrix-bleed-critical-bug-ransomware-mass-cyberattacks/" href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/14/citrix-bleed-critical-bug-ransomware-mass-cyberattacks/" target="_blank">developed a customized hack</a></u> called “CitrixBleed,” targeting customers from Comcast to a major mortgage servicer.</p><p>Change was strapped for cash when UnitedHealth acquired it, because its owners had been raiding its balance sheet for years. When it <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1756497/000119312519076886/d638353ds1.htm#rom638353_18" href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1756497/000119312519076886/d638353ds1.htm#rom638353_18" target="_blank">went public</a></u> in 2019, $450 million of its $3 billion in annual revenue was being siphoned off into interest expenses on its massive debt load and pseudo-dividends to its owners, which were called “tax receivable agreements.” UnitedHealth cut still deeper, according to pharmacists and online reports. In October, a trade publication collected <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/layoffs-hit-optum.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/layoffs-hit-optum.html" target="_blank" title="">ten separate reports</a></u> of widespread, high-level layoffs at Change’s new parent company Optum, and message boards like Reddit and <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thelayoff.com/unitedhealth-group" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thelayoff.com/unitedhealth-group" target="_blank" title="">TheLayoff</a></u> are full of online accounts suggesting United <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TwinCities/comments/16wphos/is_unitedhealth_trying_to_conduct_layoffs_in/" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TwinCities/comments/16wphos/is_unitedhealth_trying_to_conduct_layoffs_in/" target="_blank">deliberately</a></u> conducts rolling, mass layoffs “in secret.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/julian-assanges-grand-inquisitor" data-original-title="" href="https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/julian-assanges-grand-inquisitor" target="_blank" title="">Julian Assange’s Grand Inquisitor</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Chris Hedges Report, via Naked Capitalism 02-29-2024]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/links-for-friday-march-1?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=141197&post_id=142214901&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=2cqri&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">Consider the following as one of Assange’s great sins</a></strong><br /></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, March 1, 2024 [God's Spies @ Substack]<br /></p><blockquote><p>• <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vault_7" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vault_7" title="">Vault 7</a></strong> (Wikileaks via Wikipedia)….<br /></p><p>First, from the Wikileaks <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/" data-original-title="" href="https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/" title="">Vault 7 main page</a>:</p><p>“Recently, the CIA lost control of the majority of its hacking arsenal including malware, viruses, trojans, weaponized "zero day" exploits, malware remote control systems and associated documentation. <strong>This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA.</strong> The archive appears to have been circulated among former U.S. government hackers and contractors in an unauthorized manner, one of whom has provided WikiLeaks with portions of the archive….</p><p>”Vault 7 is a series of documents that WikiLeaks began to publish on 7 March 2017, detailing the activities and capabilities of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to perform electronic surveillance and cyber warfare. The files, dating from 2013 to 2016, include details on the agency's software capabilities, such as t<strong>he ability to compromise cars, smart TVs,[1] web browsers including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera,[2][3] the operating systems of most smartphones including Apple's iOS, and Google's Android, and computer operating systems including Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux.</strong>[4][5] A CIA internal audit identified 91 malware tools out of more than 500 tools in use in 2016 being compromised by the release.[6] The tools were developed by the Operations Support Branch of the C.I.A.….</p><p>“The Vault 7 release led the CIA to redefine WikiLeaks as a "non-state hostile intelligence service."[8] In July 2022, former CIA software engineer Joshua Schulte was convicted of leaking the documents to WikiLeaks,[9] and in February 2024 sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment.[10]”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/28/government-buying-your-data-00143742" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/28/government-buying-your-data-00143742" target="_blank" title="">The Government Really Is Spying On You — And It’s Legal</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-29-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91024985/spyware-companies-helping-governments-hack-their-citizens" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91024985/spyware-companies-helping-governments-hack-their-citizens" target="_blank" title="">The Companies Helping Governments Hack Citizens’ Phones: a ‘Thriving’ Industry</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Fast Company, via Naked Capitalism 02-27-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/02/online-ads-more-annoying/677576/" target="_blank"><strong>Something Went Terribly Wrong With Online Ads</strong></a><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/02/online-ads-more-annoying/677576/" target="_blank">.</a> <br /></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 03-02-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The internet has long been clogged with advertising, but something different is happening today. Gone are the days of simple banner ads; even the sponsored Instagram posts invading my feed have started to feel quaint. Now nothing is safe from brands trying to sell us stuff. Open the Uber app mid-ride to check your ETA, and you might first have to wait out a 90-second video. Search for healthy snack in the grocery-delivery app Instacart, and perhaps you’ll see a screen-clogging ad for That’s It bars made of 100 percent fruit. Hotel chains, airlines, pharmacies, and basically every other kind of business are also cashing in on online ads. The end result is an internet adpocalypse that has become impossible to escape. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/i-wrote-what-googles-ai-powered-libel" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/i-wrote-what-googles-ai-powered-libel" target="_blank" title="">I Wrote What? Google’s AI-Powered Libel Machine</a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Taibbi, Racket News, via Naked Capitalism 03-01-2024]<br /></p><p>ChatGPT hallucinates an entire news cycle. <br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/if-ai-thinks-george-washington-is" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/if-ai-thinks-george-washington-is" target="_blank" title="">If AI Thinks George Washington is a Black Woman, Why Are We Letting it Pick Bomb Targets?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Matt Taibbi, Racket News, v, via Naked Capitalism 03-01-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-state-of-the-culture-2024" data-original-title="" href="https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-state-of-the-culture-2024" target="_blank" title="">The State of the Culture, 2024</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Honest Broker, via Naked Capitalism 03-01-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The fastest growing sector of the culture economy is <em>distraction</em>. Or call it scrolling or swiping or wasting time or whatever you want. But it’s not art or entertainment, just ceaseless activity.</p><p>The key is that each stimulus only lasts a few seconds, and must be repeated….</p><p>The tech platforms aren’t like the Medici in Florence, or those other rich patrons of the arts. They don’t want to find the next Michelangelo or Mozart. They want to create a world of junkies—because they will be the dealers. Addiction is the goal.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newatlas.com/environment/surrey-cooling-effects-green-spaces-waterways/" target="_blank" title="">Botanical gardens can cool city air by an average of 5 °C</a></strong><br /></p><p>[The New Atlas, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-27-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/biden-henry-jackson-cold-war-liberalism/" target="_blank" title="">Biden’s Cold War Nostalgia Is Dooming His Presidency</a></strong><br /></p><p> Jeet Heer [The Nation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-28-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“The paradox of the Biden presidency is that he and his foreign policy team (notably Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and White House aide Brett McGurk) are the last Scoop Jackson Democrats, a crew of neoconservatives and liberal hawks who are pursuing a wildly anachronistic policy. This was evident long before October 7, when the Hamas massacre and Biden’s ensuing support for Israel’s devastation of Gaza brought the problem into stark relief. The killing fields of Gaza are only making visible the horrific and ongoing human costs of Biden’s long-standing commitment to an obsolete Cold War liberalism that is completely inadequate to the challenges of the 21st century. Like Scoop Jackson, Joe Biden is an over-eager and uncritical enthusiast for military Keynesianism—the use of arms spending to fuel economic growth. The ideal of Cold War liberalism was to fuse foreign and domestic policy, creating an integrated warfare/welfare state. Jackson, who became known as ‘the senator from Boeing’ for his ardent support for the airplane manufacturer—a major employer in Washington State—was the leading exponent of the idea that lavish government funding of armament production was the best path for creating a large unionized workforce force and a robust domestic manufacturing sector. The logic here is not so much ‘guns and butter’ but that if you manufacture enough guns, you will create enough high-paying jobs that will allow Americans to buy butter. Underlying this project is the brute political reality that it is easier to get bipartisan consensus and elite comity (which Biden, still a man of the Senate in his worldview, always seeks) if you push for defense spending rather than social spending. Further, it is much easier to get funding for social spending (as in the buildup of universities after the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957) if you can make the case that national security depends on it.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian / (anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/magas-plan-to-steal-the-2024-election-legally" target="_blank" title="">MAGA's Plan to "Legally" Steal the 2024 Election</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Thom Hartmann, February 27, 2024 [CommonDreams]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Here’s what I’m hearing Republicans are planning in the event Joe Biden wins re-election and Democrats hold the Senate and take the House this November:</p><p>First, Republicans need to make sure they’re in control of the House of Representatives on January 6, 2025, when the new president will be certified.</p><p>To do that, even though Democrats might have won enough seats to take back the House in the 2024 election, Speaker Mike Johnson will refuse to swear into Congress on January 3 a handful of those Democrats, claiming there are “irregularities” in their elections that must be first investigated.…</p><p>Then, regardless of how many votes Biden won by, electoral or popular, the House simply refuses to certify the electoral college votes of enough states that the minimum of 270 isn’t reached. Under the 12th Amendment, like with the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://hartmannreport.com/p/trumps-secret-plan-was-no-secret" data-original-title="" href="https://hartmannreport.com/p/trumps-secret-plan-was-no-secret" target="_blank" title="">election of 1876</a>, that throws the election to the House, where each state has one vote.</p><p>While a majority of Americans live in a state run by Democrats, a majority of the states themselves are run by Republicans. Each state gets one vote for president in the House, and right now 26 state delegations are GOP-controlled, meaning that a majority of the House would simply vote to put Trump back into the White House, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ballotpedia.org/Election_results,_2022:_Comparison_of_state_delegations_to_the_117th_and_118th_Congresses" href="https://ballotpedia.org/Election_results,_2022:_Comparison_of_state_delegations_to_the_117th_and_118th_Congresses" target="_blank">26-23</a> (Pennsylvania’s delegation is 50/50). All totally legal….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179333/anti-abortion-voter-suppression-movement" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Voter Suppression Is the Anti-Abortion Movement’s Secret Sauce</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Ana Marie Cox, February 29, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Forced-birth advocates know their ideas are broadly unpopular with the public. That won’t matter if the public doesn’t get to have a say.<br /></p><p>The Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos are human beings under state law staked out a new ideological claim that threatens the future of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, treatments. This is tragic. What it reminds us about the right’s plans for our future is horrifying. But their trajectory is locked in, as are the means by which they plan on accomplishing their goals: They will continue to pursue policies that few Americans support because their vision is an America in which people who don’t agree with them just don’t get to vote….<br /></p><p>...Solidifying minority rule is part of the ugly feedback loop that enables the repression of bodily autonomy, as lack of access to reproductive care just compounds the systemic barriers to fully participate in democracy. Remember, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/majority-americans-pro-choice-red-states.html" data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/majority-americans-pro-choice-red-states.html" target="_blank" title="">majorities in almost every state</a>—including Texas, Alabama, and Florida—believe that abortion should be legal in “all or most” cases. (Only in seven states do most voters disagree—and even there, the most uneven split is 42–58.) In Ohio, a statewide ballot initiative enshrined the right to an abortion in the Ohio Constitution; Republicans <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ohio-gop-senate-candidates-federal-abortion-bans-rcna139950" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/ohio-gop-senate-candidates-federal-abortion-bans-rcna139950" target="_blank" title="">started looking for workarounds</a> a week later, and Republican candidates for the Ohio Senate nomination have come out in favor of a federal ban. States’ rights for thee and not for me, or something.</p><p>These subversions of popular will can get wildly granular: The Tennessee state House of Representatives <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179317/tennessee-republicans-bill-kick-out-democratic-lawmakers" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179317/tennessee-republicans-bill-kick-out-democratic-lawmakers" title="">just passed a bill</a> preventing local jurisdictions from sending back to the legislature any lawmaker previously expelled for “disorderly behavior.” The bill is a procedural temper tantrum over the House Republicans’ ineffectual dismissal of two representatives whose pro–gun control activism (and, let’s face it, the fact they were Black) drew conservative ire but who had such solid local support they were both reinstated by district councils (and have now been reelected).</p><p>Obviously, the primary method for ensuring minority rule has been to place voting rights under attack. Here, the GOP has proceeded, in recent years, to unleash a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.citizen.org/article/corporate-sponsors-of-voter-suppression-state-lawmakers-50-million/" href="https://www.citizen.org/article/corporate-sponsors-of-voter-suppression-state-lawmakers-50-million/" target="_blank">well-funded effort</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/voting-restrictions-republicans-states/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/voting-restrictions-republicans-states/" target="_blank" title="">to roll back voting rights</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/great-vote-suppression-campaign-2021" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/great-vote-suppression-campaign-2021" target="_blank" title="">across the country</a>….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/the-fuhrer-next-time?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=112019&post_id=142176841&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2cqri&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">The Führer Next Time</a></strong><br /></p><p>John Ganz, March 1, 2024 [Unpopular Front]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Way back in 1982, Samuel Francis, a former fellow at the Heritage Foundation and legislative assistant to Senator John East of North Carolina, tried to give intellectual shape to a fractious and lumpy New Right coalition that delivered Ronald Reagan to Washington. In an essay called “Message from MARs: The Social Politics of the New Right”—MARs stands for Middle American Radicals, the lower middle class strata that Francis identified as the Republican base—he proposed that the right should abandon its “inertial conservatism,” which centered on “intermediary institutions” like the Congress and the courts . Instead, the New Right should instead pursue what he called “Caesarism” and “favor a populist-based presidency able to cut through the present oligarchical establishment…” of “cosmopolitan” liberalism, using the power of the executive to break the power of the “entrenched elite whose values and interests are hostile to the traditional American ethos and which is a parasitical tumor on the body of Middle America.” Francis was still a little vague on how to do this in concrete terms, but insisted that “only the presidency has the power and resources to begin the process and to mobilize popular support for it.” In any case, the Reagan administration wasn’t really it: the Gipper turned out to be a disappointment for Francis and his fellow hardliners, who’d come to label themselves “paleoconservatives.” Their type of guy wouldn’t come along till much later, long after Francis was dead and buried.</p><p>These days, the demand for a “Caesarism” has gone from the cry of a lone voice in the wilderness to having a whole <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/01/red-caesar-authoritarianism-republicans-extreme-right" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/01/red-caesar-authoritarianism-republicans-extreme-right">chorus</a> of right-wing supporters. And now we can see very clearly something like what Francis would have wanted in policy terms. Carlos Lozada of <em>The New York Times </em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/project-2025-trump-administration.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/project-2025-trump-administration.html" title="">recently</a><em> </em>read the Heritage Foundation’s entire 887 page, "Mandate for Leadership,” essentially their plan for a second Trump administration. (Francis, as it so happens, contributed the “Intelligence Community” section for the original <em>Mandate for Leadership.</em>) Here’s what he found:.….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-election-judges-threats/" target="_blank" title="">Judges in Trump-related cases face unprecedented wave of threats</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Reuters, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-29-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“As the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – and a defendant in four criminal cases alleging 91 felonies – Trump has fused the roles of candidate and defendant. He attacks judges as political foes, demonizes prosecutors and casts the judicial system as biased against him and his supporters. These broadsides frequently trigger surges in threats against the judges, prosecutors and other court officials he targets, Reuters found. Since Trump launched his first presidential campaign in June 2015, the average number of threats and hostile communications directed at judges, federal prosecutors, judicial staff and court buildings has more than tripled, according to the Reuters review of data from the Marshals Service, which is responsible for protecting federal court personnel. The annual average rose from 1,180 incidents in the decade prior to Trump’s campaign to 3,810 in the seven years after he declared his candidacy and began his practice of criticizing judges.” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2024-02-29-gun-death-cult-takes-on-administrative-state/" target="_blank" title="">The Gun Death Cult Takes On the Administrative State</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ryan Cooper, February 29, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The conservative movement is outraged that Donald Trump did too much in response to the Las Vegas mass shooting.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://theweek.com/articles/914220/conservative-victimhood-complex-made-america-impossible-govern" target="_blank" title="">The conservative victimhood complex has made America impossible to govern</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ryan Cooper, May 14, 2020 [TheWeek]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...For conservative zealots and media figures, the pandemic is quickly becoming just another culture war battleground — an axis of postmodern symbolic conflict, another vent for bottomless grievance, and fuel for a screeching victimhood complex. The practical effect will be to fuel infection and hamstring economic recovery. It's a stark obstacle before fixing this or any other crisis.</p><p>Let's take mask-wearing. As research about the coronavirus <a data-cke-saved-href="https://theweek.com/articles/911389/what-coronavirus-studies-suggest-about-result-easing-lockdowns" href="https://theweek.com/articles/911389/what-coronavirus-studies-suggest-about-result-easing-lockdowns">has developed</a>, the effectiveness of masks in slowing the spread of the disease has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/dont-wear-mask-yourself/610336" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/04/dont-wear-mask-yourself/610336">become clear</a>, above all in confined indoor spaces. Studies have found that being outdoors is relatively low-risk, and most infections happen when people are in proximity to each other indoors for a long time — but also that masks can drastically reduce the possibility of infecting others if you happen to be contagious…. Yet a developing narrative on the right holds that masks are a sign of weakness and cowardice….<br /></p><p>Conservative media probably <a data-cke-saved-href="https://theweek.com/articles/902018/conservative-movement-public-health-hazard" href="https://theweek.com/articles/902018/conservative-movement-public-health-hazard">just can't help itself</a>. The entire "perpetual misinformation machine," as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://splinternews.com/the-long-lucrative-right-wing-grift-is-blowing-up-in-t-1793944216" data-original-title="" href="https://splinternews.com/the-long-lucrative-right-wing-grift-is-blowing-up-in-t-1793944216" title="">Alex Pareene calls it</a>, runs on whipping <a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/i-gathered-stories-of-people-transformed-by-fox-news.html" data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/i-gathered-stories-of-people-transformed-by-fox-news.html" title="">elderly white conservative</a>s into a frothing rage over whatever is happening. Plus today, the president and half of the Republican congressional caucus are themselves eager right-wing propaganda addicts, forming a perfectly-sealed loop of insanity. It was likely inevitable that the pandemic would get sucked into the hysteria industrial complex, because that's what right-wing media does with everything.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-02-28-ken-cuccinelli-persuasive-pervasive-politics-cruelty/" target="_blank" title="">Ken Cuccinelli and the Persuasive, Pervasive Politics of Cruelty</a></strong><br /></p><p>Chris Lewis, February 23, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Over the past 15 or so years, the far-right faction of the Republican Party has fully taken over the party, and in the process managed to center the conservative political imagination on gleeful, vindictive cruelty. Back in the early Obama years, the so-called Tea Party rose to prominence supposedly as an angry backlash to his hesitant attempts to rescue Detroit and underwater homeowners—but the “birther” conspiracy theory claiming Obama was not a real citizen indicated deeper, more visceral roots of their grievance.<br /></p><p>The rise of Donald Trump removed any pretext. As journalist Adam Serwer pointed out in his essay “<u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/" target="_blank">The Cruelty Is the Point</a></u>,” Trump and his supporters rejoiced in the utter depravity of his actions. Very often, this meant <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.npr.org/2019/08/13/750726795/immigration-chief-give-me-your-tired-your-poor-who-can-stand-on-their-own-2-feet" href="https://www.npr.org/2019/08/13/750726795/immigration-chief-give-me-your-tired-your-poor-who-can-stand-on-their-own-2-feet" target="_blank">altering </a></u>the Emma Lazarus poem to institute “merit based” immigration or a <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/ken-cuccinelli-wanted-to-end-birthright-citizenship-and-militarize-bordernow-hes-trumps-immigration-chief" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/ken-cuccinelli-wanted-to-end-birthright-citizenship-and-militarize-bordernow-hes-trumps-immigration-chief" target="_blank">plan</a></u> to end the Constitution’s promise of birthright citizenship.</p><p>Aside from Trump himself, there is no greater example of conservatives wallowing in cruelty for its own sake than former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.</p><p>From his humble <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=7271" href="https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=7271" target="_blank">beginnings</a></u> as a Fairfax-area state senator, known for his belief that LGBTQ folks were <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/feb/18/20040218-100439-2568r/" href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/feb/18/20040218-100439-2568r/" target="_blank">trying</a></u> to “get education about homosexuals and AIDS in public schools,” to his stint as the state’s top cop working to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/06/in-supreme-court-brief-ken-cuccinelli-warned-of-a-slippery-slope-from-gay-marriage-to-polygamy" href="https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/06/in-supreme-court-brief-ken-cuccinelli-warned-of-a-slippery-slope-from-gay-marriage-to-polygamy" target="_blank">prevent</a> same-sex marriage, to his <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/25/americas/mexico-photo-of-father-and-daughter-dead-in-rio-grande/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/25/americas/mexico-photo-of-father-and-daughter-dead-in-rio-grande/index.html" target="_blank">callous response</a></u> to the deaths of a migrant father and daughter, time and time again Cuccinelli engaged in the politics of cruelty and was rewarded for it. These days, Cuccinelli is back in the <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/22/greg-abbott-immigration-invasion-declaration/" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/22/greg-abbott-immigration-invasion-declaration/" target="_blank">news</a></u> for his <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americarenewing.com/about/" href="https://americarenewing.com/about/" target="_blank">role</a> at the Trump-aligned Center for Renewing America (CRA). At CRA, he has egged on the intensifying Texas border disputes, after originally <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://americarenewing.com/issues/policy-brief-how-states-can-secure-the-border/" href="https://americarenewing.com/issues/policy-brief-how-states-can-secure-the-border/" target="_blank">concocting</a></u> the idea of using the National Guard to wage war against migrants in 2021. It’s worth looking back at how Cuccinelli became a trailblazer for today’s distinct flavor of cruelty politics.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/the-cruelty-is-the-point/572104/" target="_blank" title="">The Cruelty Is the Point </a></strong><br /></p><p>Adam Serwer, October 3, 2016 [TheAtlantic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>President Trump and his supporters find community by rejoicing in the suffering of those they hate and fear.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: I decided to include these links on the [anti]Republican Party’s cruelty because that cruelty — especially its cultivation and deployment for political gain — contrasts so sharply with the American School economists discussed near the beginning of this wrap, who “always kept in view the ultimate goal of economic policies: the establishment and enhancement of <em>civilization</em>.” Note the intended effects of some of the guidelines Benjamin Franklin articulated for his Philadelphia group of friends in the 1730s, which the called “the Junto”, below/ Note especially how these guidelines are fundamentally at odds with a society ruled by elites chosen by bloodline, not merit : ]<br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088" target="_blank" title="">Standing Queries for the Junto, 1732</a></strong><br /></p><blockquote><div id="BNFN-01-01-02-0088-sn"><p>Printed in Benjamin Franklin, <em>Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces</em>, ed. Benjamin Vaughan, (London, 1779), pp. 533–6; also draft: Historical Society of Pennsylvania.</p></div><div><p>In the fall of 1727 Franklin “form’d most of my ingenious Acquaintances into a Club for mutual Improvement, which we called the Junto.” An important inspiration for it was the deep influence which Cotton Mather’s <em>Essays to do Good</em> had had on Franklin.<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0002" data-original-title="" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0002" title="">3</a> Mather had proposed voluntary associations to promote religion and morality; he outlined their nature and form and even suggested an order of business.<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0003" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0003">4</a> Franklin took the suggestion, secularized it, gave it a practical and specific purpose….</p><p>1. Have you met with any thing in the author you last read, remarkable, or suitable to be communicated to the Junto? Particularly in history, morality, poetry, physic, travels, mechanic arts, or other parts of knowledge….<br /></p><p>6. Do you know of any fellow citizen, who has lately done a worthy action, deserving praise and imitation? or who has committed an error proper for us to be warned against and avoid? ….<br /></p><p>11. Do you think of any thing at present, in which the Junto may be serviceable to <em>mankind</em>? to their country, to their friends, or to themselves?<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0009" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0009">1</a></p><p>12. Hath any deserving stranger arrived in town since last meeting, that you heard of? and what have you heard or observed of his character or merits? and whether think you, it lies in the power of the Junto to oblige him, or encourage him as he deserves?<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0010" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0010">2</a></p><p>13. Do you know of any deserving young beginner lately set up, whom it lies in the power of the Junto any way to encourage?</p><p>14. Have you lately observed any defect in the laws of your <em>country</em>, [of]<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0011" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0011">3</a> which it would be proper to move the legislature for an amendment? Or do you know of any beneficial law that is wanting?</p><p>15. Have you lately observed any encroachment on the just liberties of the people?….</p><p>...Any person to be qualified, to stand up, and lay his hand on his breast, and be asked these questions; viz.<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0012" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0012">4</a></p><p>1. Have you any particular disrespect to any present members? <em>Answer</em>. I have not.</p><p>2. Do you sincerely declare that you love mankind in general;<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0013" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0013">5</a> of what profession or religion soever? <em>Answ</em>. I do.</p><p>3. Do you think any person ought to be harmed in his body, name or goods, for mere speculative opinions, or his external way of worship? <em>Ans</em>. No.</p><p>4. Do you love<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0014" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0014">6</a> truth for truth’s sake, and will you endeavour impartially to find and receive it yourself and communicate it to others? <em>Answ</em>. Yes.<a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0015" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-01-02-0088#BNFN-01-01-02-0088-fn-0015">7</a></p><p>Also note how uncongenial these Junto guidelines are to somebody like Jeff Bezos, whom Kara Swisher (in a link above) characterized thus: “I had no doubt that Jeff Bezos would eat my face off if that is what he needed to do to get ahead,” — TW]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179317/tennessee-republicans-bill-kick-out-democratic-lawmakers" target="_blank" title="">Tennessee Republicans Have a Devious New Plan to Kick Out Democrats</a></strong><br /></p><p>Tori Otten, February 27, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The Tennessee House of Representatives has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/26/tennessee-three-bill-house-gop-passes-block-local-governments-appointing-expelled-lawmakers/72745406007/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/26/tennessee-three-bill-house-gop-passes-block-local-governments-appointing-expelled-lawmakers/72745406007/" target="_blank" title="">passed</a> a bill prohibiting local governments from reappointing lawmakers who were expelled for “disorderly behavior,” a clear jab at two Democratic representatives in particular.</p><p>House Bill 2716 passed the Republican-dominated chamber Monday by a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB2716" data-original-title="" href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB2716" target="_blank" title="">vote</a> of 69-22. The measure, which now moves to the Republican-controlled Senate, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/HB2716.pdf" href="https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/113/Bill/HB2716.pdf" target="_blank">states</a> that if a local legislature needs to elect a successor for a vacant seat in the state General Assembly, “and the vacancy was created due to the expulsion of a member for disorderly behavior, then the local legislative body shall not elect the expelled legislator to be the successor to fill the vacant seat.”</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://joycevance.substack.com/p/the-supreme-court-disappoints?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=607357&post_id=142154505&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2cqri&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">The Supreme Court Disappoints</a></strong></p><p>Joyce Vance, February 28, 2024 [substack]<br /></p><blockquote><p>This afternoon, the Supreme Court told us that it will hear Trump's presidential immunity appeal. After sitting on it for two and a half weeks, they've issued a brief grant of certiorari, scheduling argument for the week of April 22. It’s a major disappointment for people who believe justice can be done and presidents are not above the law. And understand, this is not about politics. This is not about using a criminal prosecution in an unfair way against a candidate for office. This is about seeking justice and accountability, the core functions of our criminal justice system….<br /></p><p>What does the Supreme Court’s decision mean? It’s increasingly unlikely we’ll have a trial, let alone a verdict in this case, before the election….<br /></p><p>This isn't a hard case. The substantive argument Trump makes—that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for anything they do in office and more specifically, for trying to steal an election—has to be a loser. As we’ve discussed before, if it’s not, our claim to be a democracy is no longer viable....<br /></p><p>Here’s where the Supreme Court has left us: People in some of the key states are likely to be finalizing decisions about who to vote for while a trial is still ongoing or perhaps even before it begins. A verdict could happen only after some or all of the country votes. The Supreme Court’s message to us is, “Hey voters, we’re leaving this up to you.”<br /></p></blockquote><p> [TW: What I have concluded is along the lines indicated, but not fully discussed, by Vance. The conservative majority on the Supreme Court may dislike Trump’s theory that a President has unlimited immunity, but they also dislike the prospect of increasing popular discontent with the Supreme Court. So, they will refuse their role of preserving Constitutional guard rails, and let the voters go first. If the election is a Trump win, and even close enough as Bush v. Gore in 2000, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court will go along with Trump’s theory of unlimited immunity. If the election is a clear majority rejection of Trump, the Supreme Court will brace themselves for another four years of undermining the republic by shifting the philosophy of government in a conservative / reactionary direction. After all, the (anti)Federalist Society has succeeded in stuffing the judiciary full of conservative / reactionary ideologues. ]<br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-48910272575262251412024-02-25T13:16:00.002-06:002024-02-29T08:09:32.129-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 25, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 25, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-16/rafah-gaza-hospitals-surgery-israel-bombing-ground-offensive-children" data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-16/rafah-gaza-hospitals-surgery-israel-bombing-ground-offensive-children" target="_blank" title="">Opinion: I’m an American doctor who went to Gaza. What I saw wasn’t war — it was annihilation</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Los Angeles Times, via Naked Capitalism 02-22-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/davidpgoldman/status/1759213630371799081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1759213630371799081%7Ctwgr%5E52ef115840dcdeaf099167607ee44827fdebd20b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F%3Fp%3D266994" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 02-19-2024]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Russia&amp;#39;s 7:1 advantage in arms production over combined NATO is a big accomplishment. In part it is due to a reshaping of global trade and finance flows in response to US sanctions. China&amp;#39;s exports to Russia tripled, while Turkey and the former Soviet republics are reexporting…&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; David P. Goldman (@davidpgoldman) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/davidpgoldman/status/1759213630371799081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 18, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1759213630371799081" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1759213630371799081&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2224592%2Fedit&sessionId=4e53e7dc3256948fdd280b45b4930918917b93a6&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 345px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2024/02/17/scott-ritter-mike-turners-folly/" data-original-title="" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2024/02/17/scott-ritter-mike-turners-folly/" target="_blank" title="">SCOTT RITTER: Mike Turner’s Folly</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 02-18-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/bjC1m#selection-295.0-295.83" target="_blank" title="">You paid more in income taxes last year than a corporation with billions in profits</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Popular Information, via The Big Picture 02-18-2024]</p><blockquote><div>On February 2, for example, General Electric (GE) reported <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/40545/000004054524000027/ge-20231231.htm%23if2092b9b2d904d44b27e92b75eb3740e_268" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/40545/000004054524000027/ge-20231231.htm%23if2092b9b2d904d44b27e92b75eb3740e_268" target="_blank" title="">about $7 billion in profits</a> for 2023. GE CEO and Chairman H. Lawrence Culp Jr. was effusive. "In 2023, our teams delivered an excellent year, more than tripling earnings and generating almost 70 percent more free cash flow," Culp said in a statement. Culp noted the company was able to fatten the pockets of its shareholders by spending $7 billion on "dividends, buybacks, and retiring our preferred equity."</div><div>You might expect that, with such a profitable year, GE sent a giant check to the federal government. Instead, GE received <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000040545/831d83f3-0df3-43cb-b8e2-c27b5ad73941.pdf" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0000040545/831d83f3-0df3-43cb-b8e2-c27b5ad73941.pdf" target="_blank">a refund of $423 million</a>. </div><div>Data from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://americansfortaxfairness.org/big-corporations-paid-shockingly-little-taxes-last-year/" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://americansfortaxfairness.org/big-corporations-paid-shockingly-little-taxes-last-year/" target="_blank">Americans for Tax Fairness</a> shows that GE is not an anomaly. Earlier this month, T-Mobile reported over <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1283699/000128369924000008/tmus-20231231.htm%23i5738056250da41429872081f98976250_13" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1283699/000128369924000008/tmus-20231231.htm%23i5738056250da41429872081f98976250_13" target="_blank" title="">$10.9 billion in profits in 2023</a> but paid just $42 million in federal income taxes, an effective tax rate of just 0.4%. Meanwhile, Tesla recorded <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828024002390/tsla-20231231.htm" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.sec.gov/ixviewer/ix.html?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1318605/000162828024002390/tsla-20231231.htm" target="_blank">$3.2 billion in domestic profits in 2023</a> but paid just $48 million in federal income taxes, an effective tax rate of 1.5%. </div><div>The 2023 annual reports of public companies will be filed throughout the year. But in 2020, "55 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes… despite enjoying substantial pretax profits in the United States," according to a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-zero-corporate-tax/" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-zero-corporate-tax/" target="_blank">report</a> by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Those 55 companies collectively brought in over $40 billion in pre-tax domestic profit. But instead of paying federal income taxes, they received $3.5 billion in rebates from the federal government. </div><div>Another ITEP <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-under-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act/" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-under-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act/" target="_blank">report</a> found that 39 profitable companies paid no taxes over the three-year period from 2018 to 2020. This group included FedEx, Salesforce, Penske, and Advanced Micro Devices. And T-Mobile paid no taxes over that three-year period <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-under-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act/" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/corporate-tax-avoidance-under-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act/" target="_blank">despite collecting $11.5 billion in profits</a>. Another 79 profitable corporations paid less than half of the statutory rate of 21% between 2018 and 2020. </div><div><p class="is-empty-p"></p><div>Companies are able to pay little or no taxes in part due to "<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-zero-corporate-tax/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-zero-corporate-tax/" target="_blank" title="">long-standing tax breaks preserved or expanded by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act</a>," the signature tax policy of former President Trump. Companies can continue to take advantage of tax loopholes, including huge write-offs for giving executives stock options, shifting profits off-shore, and accelerated depreciation of equipment purchases. But the statutory tax rate was also reduced from 35% to 21%. So, companies are taking these deductions off of a much smaller base. </div><div>The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was supposed to "<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/what-happened-base-broadeners-congresss-tax-cut-bill" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/bjC1m/https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/what-happened-base-broadeners-congresss-tax-cut-bill" target="_blank" title="">broaden the base</a>" by eliminating loopholes and lowering the rate. It ended up just lowering the rate and keeping most of the loopholes. As a result, many companies are paying little to nothing.<span><a name='more'></a></span> </div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gchelwa.substack.com/p/thanks-to-the-imf-zambias-fuel-prices?" data-original-title="" href="https://gchelwa.substack.com/p/thanks-to-the-imf-zambias-fuel-prices?" target="_blank" title="">Thanks to the IMF, Zambia’s fuel prices have nearly doubled in two years</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Grieve Chelwa [Africa Watch, via Naked Capitalism 02-18-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/education/2024-02-23-why-four-million-student-borrowers-got-debt-relief/" target="_blank">Why Four Million Student Borrowers Got Debt Relief</a></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, February 23, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>It’s just a matter of Biden’s Education Department fixing existing forgiveness programs that previous presidents failed to follow for decades.<br /><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/corporate-taxes-make-america-stronger" target="_blank" title="">Restoring the 52% Corporate Tax Bracket Would Make America Stronger</a></strong><br /></p><p>ThomHartmann, February 22, 2024 [CommonDreams]</p><blockquote><p>...just the mostly tech companies listed in the S&P 500 bought back <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/business/dealbook/biden-stock-buybacks.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/business/dealbook/biden-stock-buybacks.html" target="_blank" title="">$882 billion</a> of their own shares in 2021 and over <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/business/dealbook/biden-stock-buybacks.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/business/dealbook/biden-stock-buybacks.html" target="_blank" title="">$1 trillion</a> in 2022. And that’s nearly $2 trillion spilling out of just one or two market sectors! Two trillion dollars is four times the cost to <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.georgetown.edu/news/less-than-3-percent-of-gdp-could-end-u-s-poverty-new-research-shows/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.georgetown.edu/news/less-than-3-percent-of-gdp-could-end-u-s-poverty-new-research-shows/" target="_blank" title="">eliminate all poverty</a></em> in the United States.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/how-should-an-equitable-society-deal-with-people-who-insist-on-having-private-jets" target="_blank" title="">How Should An Equitable Society Deal With People Who Insist On Having Private Jets?</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, February 24, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...<span style="text-align: initial;">corrupt conservatives— bribed by several industries— have written the e tax code to encourage private and corporate jet use is through depreciation rules which allow businesses to deduct the cost of assets over time, including the cost of purchasing or leasing aircraft. The tax code provides favorable depreciation schedules for business aircraft, allowing owners to recover the cost of the aircraft more quickly through tax deductions. On top of that, businesses are generally allowed to deduct the expenses incurred in the operation of the business, including the easily abused expenses related to business travel. That includes the cost of operating and maintaining corporate jets, such as fuel, maintenance and pilot and other crew salaries. These deductions incentivize businesses to invest in corporate jets for executive travel and other business purposes. The notorious Section 179 of the tax code allows businesses to deduct the full cost of certain qualifying property, including aircraft, in the year it is placed in service, rather than depreciating it over time. This provision can provide significant tax benefits for businesses purchasing or leasing aircraft.</span></p><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><span style="text-align: initial;">On top of that, conservatives rigged the tax code to give exemptions for the personal use of corporate aircraft by employees and executives….</span></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>Last year, our friends at Patriotic Millionaires put together <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ips-dc.org/report-high-flyers-2023/" href="https://ips-dc.org/report-high-flyers-2023/" target="_blank">a report</a> that has become a must read for anyone looking at this topic. In their intro, they noted that “Private jets have rightfully earned their reputation as symbols of excess. As society’s wealth has concentrated in fewer hands over the last several decades, there has been an explosion in private jet purchases and travel. This expensive, carbon-intensive form of travel is bad for both the earth and the taxpayers who subsidize it for the ultra-rich… Billionaire Elon Musk, to take one example, took one private jet flight about every other day in 2022, producing 2,112 tons of carbon dioxide emissions last year alone. That’s 132 times more than the entire carbon footprint of an average individual in the United States. That’s why lawmakers in a number of countries are now preparing to levy new taxes on the sale of private aircraft, short flights, and related emissions.”<span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block20">[TW: Klein ends with 7 proposals to change the tax treatment of business aircraft.]<br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-02-22-americas-richest-men-ask-courts-make-unions-illegal/" target="_blank" title=""><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>America’s Richest Men Ask the Courts to Make Unions Illegal</a> </strong><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><strong></strong>Harold Meyerson, February 22, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></div><blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block20">... the rulers of the new economy, who, having already downsized that middle class by appropriating an ever larger share of the proceeds from its work for themselves, actually want to strike down the NLRA. In the past few weeks, three pillars of that economy—Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’s Amazon, and the Albrecht family’s Trader Joe’s—have all asked federal courts to declare the core functions of the NLRA unconstitutional, on the grounds that the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) administrative courts, like those of other regulatory agencies, mix judicial functions with executive branch functions. In actual practice, what those bodies do is hear and rule on cases such as those brought by workers on organizing campaigns who’ve been illegally fired. What Elon and Jeff would prefer is that federal courts hear such cases directly, which guarantees that by the time they reach the bench, those organizing campaigns will have become a dim memory. Or maybe, they want no one to hear such cases. Or perhaps, given the deep hatred that Sam Alito holds toward unions, they hope that Alito can persuade enough of his colleagues to toss the NLRA altogether, as he did with <em>Roe v. Wade</em>.<br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20">Their arguments are the same that came before the Court in 1937, when the most reactionary corporate overlords of that era sought to destroy the threat of some modestly countervailing worker power, which then had been rising for several years. That same dynamic clearly threatens the Musks and Bezoses today, with unions’ approval rating at its highest levels in 60 years, with young workers particularly bent on winning a say in their work lives, and with Joe Biden’s NLRB working to restore some teeth to the NLRA, which had been largely defanged by decades of decisions from pro-corporate courts.<br /></div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><br /><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><br /></div><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/wall-street-law-firm-sullivan-cromwell-gets-sued-over-allegations-it-aided-and-abetted-the-ftx-crypto-fraud/" target="_blank" title="">Wall Street Law Firm Sullivan & Cromwell Gets Sued Over Allegations It Aided and Abetted the FTX Crypto Fraud </a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens: February 21, 2024 [WallStreetonParade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The 144-year old Wall Street go-to law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, may be getting rich on the FTX bankruptcy legal fees, but it’s also doing a helluva job destroying its reputation as a prudent law firm. Last Friday, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Complaint-Edwin-Garrison-v-Sullivan-Cromwell-Plus-Exhibits.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Complaint-Edwin-Garrison-v-Sullivan-Cromwell-Plus-Exhibits.pdf" title="">a federal lawsuit was filed</a> against the law firm alleging civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting fraud, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and violations of civil federal racketeering law in regard to its work for the collapsed crypto exchange, FTX, which looted customer funds to the tune of billions of dollars…. Sullivan & Cromwell had previously represented the kingpin of the fraud, Sam Bankman-Fried, who was convicted in November 2023 on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. <br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: Sullivan & Cromwell is one of the pillars of the old “Eastern Establishment.” in the 1880s, Sullivan & Cromwell steered John Pierpont Morgan in consolidation of Edison General Electric and later U.S. Steel. In the 1950s, Allen Dulles and John Foster Dulles were both partners — while Sullivan & Cromwell “represented” United Fruit Co. ] <br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/02/20/svfl-f20.html" target="_blank" title="">Data analyst Greg Travis speaks on COVID pandemic-related excess deaths in the US</a></strong> [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/02/20/svfl-f20.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/02/20/svfl-f20.html" target="_blank" title="">WSWS</a>]. <br /></p><p>[WSWS, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-20-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“One of the critical byproducts of the ‘forever COVID’ policies implemented by the ruling elites, abandoning any fight against the pandemic and even dismantling monitoring of COVID cases by public health agencies, has been the emergence of a layer of principled health care experts, data analysts and researchers who are providing real-time information on the actual state of the pandemic. The COVID-19 infection trackers maintained by Dr. Mike Hoerger and data scientist Jay Weiland, with modeling based on wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2, have documented the massive scale of infections that have been sweeping across the United States and the rest of the world. Their weekly reports underscore the continuing high rates of daily infections, giving a glimpse into the public health catastrophe that is taking place under a complete media blackout of the pandemic. Viral sleuths like Ryan Hisner, Raj Rajnarayanan and others have turned to their social media channels, which function as information hubs to accumulate information on the latest subvariants and their mutations. Many of their initial reports, such as on Pirola in August and then JN.1 in September 2023, were critical in giving the world a substantive alert on the massive wave of infections that has since washed over the globe, while national public agencies like the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were taking pains to cover up these developments.” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/americans-paid-11-billion-to-make-drugs-you-cant-afford/" target="_blank" title="">Americans Paid $11 Billion To Make Drugs You Can’t Afford</a></strong><br /></p><p>HELEN SANTORO [The Lever]<br /></p><blockquote><p>A bombshell report reveals that taxpayers spent billions developing medicines that drugmakers say shouldn’t face Medicare price negotiations.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/18/artificial-intelligence-health-care-fda-00141768" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/18/artificial-intelligence-health-care-fda-00141768" target="_blank" title="">Artificial intelligence is making critical health care decisions. The sheriff is MIA</a> </strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 02-20-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://grist.org/protest/keystone-pipeline-fbi-government-documents/" data-original-title="" href="https://grist.org/protest/keystone-pipeline-fbi-government-documents/" target="_blank" title="">How the US government began its decade-long campaign against the anti-pipeline movement</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Grist, via Naked Capitalism 02-18-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/15/24074214/justice-in-forensic-algorithms-act-democrats-mark-takano-dwight-evans" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/15/24074214/justice-in-forensic-algorithms-act-democrats-mark-takano-dwight-evans" target="_blank" title="">New bill would let defendants inspect algorithms used against them in court</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Verge, via Naked Capitalism 02-18-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/20/the-us-justice-department-must-drop-spy-charges-against-julian-assange" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/20/the-us-justice-department-must-drop-spy-charges-against-julian-assange" target="_blank" title="">The US justice department must drop spy charges against Julian Assange</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Margaret Sullivan [The Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 02-22-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task" target="_blank" title="">Google reneged on the monopolistic bargain</a></strong><br /></p><p>Cory Doctorow [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task" data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2024/02/21/im-feeling-unlucky/#not-up-to-the-task" target="_blank" title="">Pluralistic</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-21-2024] <br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/" target="_blank">How Google is killing independent sites like ours</a></strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/" data-original-title="" href="https://housefresh.com/david-vs-digital-goliaths/" target="_blank" title="">HouseFresh</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-21-2024] <br /></p><p>[Lambert Strether: “A must-read, that clearly demonstrates how both Better Homes and Gardens and Real simple faked product reviews of air purifiers. Fake labs, fake photos, fake experts, fake everything, doing great in SEO and infesting everything, including Reddit threads. Hat tip, private equity.” ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2024/2/14/6-rules-for-actually-changing-peoples-minds" target="_blank" title="">6 Rules for Actually Changing People’s Minds</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Strong Towns, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-20-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“We all know on some level that there’s a big difference between being right and being convincing. Yet in practice, a lot of us are confident in the former but unstrategic about the latter. When we find that being right in a public forum is not enough to bring people around, we respond by trying to be right more forcefully, aggressively, or exasperatedly. Results are predictably poor…. 1. People are persuaded by stories, not by facts… 2. The spread of beliefs is a social process, not an individual one…. 3. Our minds are changed by trusted messengers…. 4. Nobody trusts a jerk (except the jerk who’s already on their side)…. 5. Our fundamental beliefs are changed bit by bit, not all at once…. 6. Social consensus is less solid than it seems.” More on point 6: “What appears to be a monolithic consensus often isn’t: rather, it’s a handful of loud voices in a feedback loop with each other, and many others who fall somewhere between passive mild agreement and choosing to just stay quiet. Arguing directly with the loudest and most demagogic participants in such a community—and thus with the apparent social consensus—doesn’t work very well. So what does? How do you start to shift that social consensus if you think that there’s a whole community that has got something basically wrong? You start to crack open some doors. Point out things that aren’t at 180-degree odds with the majority view, but that complicate it or introduce nuance. Point out a perspective that isn’t usually heard (those of renters in a conversation dominated by homeowners; those of people who walk or use wheelchairs or strollers in a conversation dominated by drivers). Don’t be preachy or obnoxious about it. Don’t act like you’re trying to win a debate. Do it with an awareness of the core narratives of the space you’re in. Do it in a way that one or two of the group’s trusted messengers—those who are prominent voices but also appear amenable to nuance and disagreement—will hear you as a basically friendly countervailing voice.”<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian / (anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/19/us/utahs-sovereignty-act-overrule-federal/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/19/us/utahs-sovereignty-act-overrule-federal/index.html" target="_blank" title="">Utah’s new ‘Sovereignty Act’ sets up a process to overrule the federal government. But is it constitutional?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[CNN, via Naked Capitalism 02-20-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179132/west-virginia-republicans-house-bill-librarians-jail?" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179132/west-virginia-republicans-house-bill-librarians-jail?" target="_blank" title="">West Virginia GOP Passes Deranged Bill That Could Put Librarians in Jail</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Tori Otten, February 19, 2024 [New Republic]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/oklahoma-pols-want-a-database-of-everyone-who-has-an-abortion" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/oklahoma-pols-want-a-database-of-everyone-who-has-an-abortion" target="_blank" title="">Oklahoma Pols Want a Database of Everyone Who Has an Abortion</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Daily Beast, via Naked Capitalism 02-21-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179122/alabama-supreme-court-bible-embryo-ruling-ivf" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179122/alabama-supreme-court-bible-embryo-ruling-ivf" target="_blank" title="">Alabama Supreme Court Cites the Bible in Terrifying Embryo Ruling</a> [</strong><br /></p><p>Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, February 19, 2024 [New Republic]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2024/02/23/koch-injected-nearly-500-million-into-hundreds-of-colleges-and-universities-between-2018-and-2022/" target="_blank" title="">Koch Injected Nearly $500 Million into Hundreds of Colleges and Universities Between 2018 and 2022</a></strong><br /></p><p>Colleen Scerpella, February 23, 2024 [Center for Media and Democracy]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Nonprofits controlled by Charles Koch funneled $458.7 million to 338 higher education beneficiaries between 2018 and 2022, according to a Center for Media and Democracy analysis of IRS filings by the donor conduits.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-operation-lone-star-border-national-guard-soldiers_n_65c4f0dce4b093b2e782abd8" data-original-title="" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texas-operation-lone-star-border-national-guard-soldiers_n_65c4f0dce4b093b2e782abd8" target="_blank" title="">Texas Soldiers Say Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Is ‘A Show</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Huffington Post, via Naked Capitalism 02-21-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/18/donald-trump-megadonor-campaign-republican" target="_blank" title="">Rightwing mega-donors drift back to Trump as election rematch looms </a></strong><br /></p><p>[The Guardian, via downwithtyranny.com 02-19-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Donald Trump’s efforts to court and cajole rightwing billionaires into financing his presidential campaign are bearing fruit as even sceptical conservative mega-donors face up to the prospect he will again be the Republican candidate…. Trump’s campaign is pushing the inevitability of his victory over the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, the last remaining challenger in the Republican primaries, in order to shift the focus to the general election as he pursues Wall Street and Silicon Valley money. <br /></p><p>Trump successfully wooed the biggest donor to the Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s failed presidential campaign during a visit to Las Vegas last month, the billionaire developer Robert Bigelow. After meeting Trump and then joining his motorcade through Las Vegas to a political rally, Bigelow pledged $20m to the former president’s campaign – the same amount he gave to DeSantis – along with another $1m toward the mounting costs of his myriad legal problems. Trump also won commitments from other well-heeled donors on the Las Vegas trip while the billionaire investor John Paulson held a dinner for the former president and major Republican party contributors earlier this month, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/30/trump-big-donors-00138498" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/30/trump-big-donors-00138498" target="_blank" title="">according to Politico</a>.” ….</p><p>in October, Trump’s representatives were pointedly excluded from a meeting of the American Opportunity Alliance, a conservative donor network founded by Griffin and another Wall Street billionaire, Paul Singer, while aides from rival Republican primary campaigns were present. In 2016, Singer was the biggest donor to a super political action committee focused on stopping Trump winning the Republican nomination.</p><p>But, in a sign that at least some donors have shifted their focus to November, Trump’s aides were invited to an AOA meeting in Florida last month. The <em>New York Times</em> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/us/politics/haley-trump-donors.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/us/politics/haley-trump-donors.html" target="_blank">reported</a> that a majority of those donors still backed Haley, including Griffin after he lost confidence in DeSantis’s inept campaign. But the presence of [Trump’s] representatives was taken as evidence that they were going to have to support him if they wanted to lever Biden out of the presidency….<br /></p><p>The Adelsons were Trump’s single largest donor at the last election and the former president has held regular meetings with Miriam Adelson to ensure that continued support since her casino magnate husband, Sheldon, died three three years ago. It’s highly likely that Miriam, who is estimated to be worth more than $30bn, will support Trump again principally because of his position on Israel.</p><p>Miriam, who is Israel’s richest woman, has<a data-cke-saved-href="https://worldisraelnews.com/opinion-miriam-adelson-thanks-donald-trump/" href="https://worldisraelnews.com/opinion-miriam-adelson-thanks-donald-trump/"> praised Trump</a> for his policies as president such as recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the US embassy there from Tel Aviv as well as cancelling the Iran nuclear deal which had been strongly opposed by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. In 2018, Trump awarded Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.</p><p>Trump will also be looking to the billionaire industrialists Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein. The couple have been among the most enthusiastic financial backers of political groups and elected officials pushing conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. They were the largest conservative donors in the 2022 midterm elections, giving about $90m according to the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/biggest-donors">Center for Responsive Politics</a>.</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/it-may-have-been-a-hostile-takeover-but-there-was-virtually-no-opposition-so-not-too-hostile" target="_blank" title="">It May Have Been A Hostile Takeover But There Was Virtually No Opposition... So Not TOO Hostile</a></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Howie Klein, February 19, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">A little over a week ago, conservative columnist David Books penned a column about The GOP: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/opinion/trump-republicans-immigration.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/opinion/trump-republicans-immigration.html" target="_blank" title="">Trump Came For Their Party But Took Over Their Souls</a>. “[T]he party of Eisenhower, Reagan and McCain is just stone cold gone— and not only among House Republicans, but apparently among their Senate colleagues too. My progressive readers are now thinking: Have you not been paying attention? Donald Trump has owned this party for years. If he told them to kill the immigration compromise because he needed a campaign issue, they were going to kill that proposal. To which I respond: I don’t think you quite understand what just happened. This wasn’t just about Republicans cynically bending their knee to Trump. Rather, I’m convinced that Trumpism now pervades the deepest recesses of their minds and governs their unconscious assumptions. Their fundamental mental instincts are no longer conservative, but Trumpian.” Again, this guy hasn’t been paying attention. Souls? The GOP? Ha! He noted that to assume their new personas they had to agree to 5 core MAGA principles:</span><br /></p></div><div data-breakout="normal"><ul><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Democracy is for suckers</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Entertainment over governance</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Foreigners don’t matter</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Lying is normal</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">America would be better off in a post-American world</span><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p></div></li></ul></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trumps-show-me-the-money-campaign-full-yolo-in-2024" target="_blank" title="">Trump’s ‘Show Me the Money’ Campaign—Full YOLO in 2024</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Talking Points Memo, February 23, 2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...A friend this morning pointed me to an <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-cash-strapped-trump-campaign-is-trying-to-get-away-with-a-new-donor-loophole?ref=home?ref=home" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-cash-strapped-trump-campaign-is-trying-to-get-away-with-a-new-donor-loophole?ref=home?ref=home" title="">article</a> in The Daily Beast as an example of things to come, both at the Trump campaign and now at the RNC. It requires a bit of explanation. But it’s worth it.</p><p>National political campaigns usually must refund substantial amounts of money, often totaling into the hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. The need to do this is straightforward. Political contributions in the United States exist under various donation limits. A donor may contributes too much money, or a recurring donor may donates again and the new donation goes over this or that donation limit. The accounts likely haven’t been reconciled at the front end. So the money passes into the campaign’s coffers. But once they’re tabulated it becomes clear that Joe Jones has given over his limit. So the campaign refunds back to Joe the sum of money necessary to come back under the limit. That means giving up a small but not insignificant amount of money and it also provides a clue to outside observers about how many of the candidates’ regular donors are maxing out and thus not available to give more.</p><p>The problem is that Trump’s campaign and affiliated committees have essentially stopped issuing refunds. There’s simply no way a campaign of that scale doesn’t have a vast scale of refunds to make. So by analyzing the available evidence and finding hints in various FEC filings, political money advocates and the Beast conclude that Trump has just stopped coughing up the money and instead resorted to either handing off the money to other Trump entities or ascribing it to other non-tapped out donors. How can this possibly be okay?</p><p>….Key parts of this amount to what is best termed illegal. But who knows?, the Trump operation seems to reason. They a legal theory. And if the FEC decides in 2025 or 2026 that it’s not okay they’ll deal with it then. For now, they’re doing it. And in their defense the FEC not infrequently decides that things that look pretty illegal are in fact fine. And it may not even matter since Republican Commission members have generally prevented the FEC from making such decisions or enforcing them for years.…</p><p>The point here isn’t this one non-refunding gimmick. It’s better seen as an example of the kind of at best shady, bust-out style stratagems the Trump campaign seems to be resorting to. In other cases noted by the Beast, the campaign seems to be just holding on to the cash as long as it can, or until someone forces them to give it back without any particular accounting gimmick at all. The campaign and the RNC are already in a bit of a cash crunch. Some part of that may be tied to a lack of enthusiasm on the part of potential donors — something that is affecting both campaigns, at least to some degree. But the big driver is the fact that Trump has had a contested primary whereas Joe Biden has not. Second is the fact that Trump and his various committees have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-spent-millions-legal-fees-2024-presidential-campaign-3384cbfc2df69d3e97ba9e47c2384312" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-spent-millions-legal-fees-2024-presidential-campaign-3384cbfc2df69d3e97ba9e47c2384312">already spent a staggering $76.7 million on legal expenses</a> over the last two years.</p><p>That is an almost unimaginable amount of money for a campaign to be paying to expenses entirely unrelated to the campaign. Pay a few grand in campaign dollars to pay your mortgage and you can go to prison. Fork over $100 million to pay your legal bills and it’s fine.…</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/20/donald-trump-allies-christian-nationalism-00142086" target="_blank" title="">Trump allies prepare to infuse ‘Christian nationalism’ in second administration</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-20-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“An influential think tank close to Donald Trump is developing plans to infuse Christian nationalist ideas in his administration should the former president return to power, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. Spearheading the effort is Russell Vought, who served as Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget during his first term and has remained close to him. Vought, who is frequently cited as a potential chief of staff in a second Trump White House, is president of The Center for Renewing America think tank, a leading group in a conservative consortium preparing for a second Trump term…. One document drafted by CRA staff and fellows includes a list of top priorities for CRA in a second Trump term. “Christian nationalism” is one of the bullet points. Others include <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/" target="_blank">invoking the Insurrection Act on Day One</a> to quash protests and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/17/us/politics/trump-plans-2025.html" target="_blank" title="">refusing to spend authorized congressional funds on unwanted projects</a>, a practice banned by lawmakers in the Nixon era…. Vought, who declined to comment, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/conservatives-aim-to-restructure-u-s-government-and-replace-it-with-trumps-vision" data-original-title="" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/conservatives-aim-to-restructure-u-s-government-and-replace-it-with-trumps-vision" target="_blank" title="">is advising Project 2025</a>, a governing agenda that would usher in one of the most conservative executive branches in modern American history. The effort is made up of a constellation of conservative groups run by Trump allies who’ve constructed a detailed plan to dismantle or overhaul key agencies in a second term. Among other principles, the project’s ‘<a data-cke-saved-href="https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Mandate for Leadership</a>‘ states that ‘freedom is defined by God, not man.'” • An, “Mandate for Leadership.” In 2004, Bush the Younger prattled about his mandate. Google bombing was still possible, back in the day, so I arranged for Mandate magazine to be the top hit for a search on “Bush Mandate”; a gentleman wearing a sailor’s cap, if I recall. I hope the same thing happens to these guys, except a lot worse.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-christian-nationalists" target="_blank" title="">Theocratic Trump Tells Right-Wing Christians They Will Have Power at 'Level You've Never Used Before'</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jon Queally, February 24, 2024 [CommonDreams]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/donald-trump-cpac-judgement-day" target="_blank" title="">Trump Vows 'Judgement Day' for Opponents and 'Largest Deportation in History' If Elected</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jon Queally, February 24, 2024 <strong></strong>[CommonDreams]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/cpac-2024-even-worse-than-just-a-nest-of-anti-american-traitors" target="_blank" title="">CPAC, 2024-- Even Worse Than Just A Nest Of Anti-American Traitors</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, February 24, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...NBC News <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nazis-mingle-openly-cpac-spreading-antisemitic-conspiracy-theories-fin-rcna140335" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nazis-mingle-openly-cpac-spreading-antisemitic-conspiracy-theories-fin-rcna140335" target="_blank">reported</a> that “Nazis appeared to find a friendly reception at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year. Throughout the conference, racist extremists, some of whom had secured official CPAC badges, openly mingled with conference attendees and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories. The presence of these individuals has been a persistent issue at CPAC. In previous years, conference organizers have ejected well-known Nazis and white supremacists such as Nick Fuentes. But this year, racist conspiracy theorists didn’t meet any perceptible resistance at the conference where Donald Trump has been the keynote speaker since 2017….</p><p>...In 2012, the John Birch Society, the original GOP neo-Nazi conspiracy nuts, had been banned from CPAC. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/john-birch-society-cpac-conservatism/677542/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/john-birch-society-cpac-conservatism/677542/" target="_blank">They’re back</a>. Elaina Plott Calabro wrote that “The John Birch Society, once the scourge of some of the nation’s most prominent conservatives, relegated to the outermost edges of the movement, now fits neatly into the mainstream of the American right. David Giordano, another field coordinator for the organization who was attending CPAC, credited Trump for hastening the shift, challenging the global elite in ways that past Republican presidents had only ever talked about doing. ‘What were the things they said about him? “Racist” and “anti-Semitic”— that got my attention,’ Giordano told me, smiling. ‘What’d they say about the John Birch Society? “Racist” and “anti-Semitic.” That’s when you know you’re over the target.’….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/power/2024-02-21-oversight-republican-state-attorneys-general/" target="_blank">Where Is the Oversight for Republican State Attorneys General? </a></strong><br /></p><p>Toni A. Rosenthal, February 21, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Often a stepping stone to higher office, Republican AG offices have played host to a repeated set of scandals in recent years.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/alito-2667332214" target="_blank" title="">Alito Renews Threat to Overturn Marriage Equality</a></strong><br /></p><p>Julia Conley, February 21, 2024 [CommonDreams]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Trial attorneys in the U.S. frequently stop potential jurors from serving on cases based on their stated biases, but U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito indicated on Tuesday that he was disturbed by a case out of Missouri in which three people were eliminated from a jury after expressing homophobic views—and suggested the high court should reconsider marriage equality to prevent such outcomes.</p><p>The Supreme Court <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/alito-supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/20/us/alito-supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html" target="_blank">declined</a> to take up <em>Missouri Department of Corrections v. Jean Finney</em>, with none of the justices dissenting. But Alito appeared reluctant in his agreement with the other eight justices and released a five-page statement saying the case "exemplifies the danger that I anticipated in <em>Obergefell v. Hodges</em>," the 2015 case in which the court ruled 5-4 that same-sex couples in the U.S. had the same right to marry as heterosexual couples.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Civic republicanism</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/20/founding-fathers-demagogues-civic-virtue/" target="_blank" title="">The Founders’ antidote to demagoguery is a lesson for today</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jeffrey Rosen, February 20, 2024 [Washington Post]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...When they drafted the Constitution, the Founders’ greatest fear was that a populist demagogue would flatter the mob, subvert American democracy and establish authoritarian rule. “The only path to a subversion of the republican system of the Country is, by flattering the prejudices of the people, and exciting their jealousies and apprehensions, to throw affairs into confusion, and bring on civil commotion,” Alexander Hamilton <a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-12-02-0184-0002" data-original-title="" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-12-02-0184-0002" target="_blank" title="">wrote to George Washington in 1792</a>. “When a man unprincipled in private life[,] desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper … is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity … It may justly be suspected that his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ‘ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’….</p><p>Thomas Jefferson agreed with Hamilton about very little, except for the danger of populist demagogues. After he read a draft of the Constitution, his main concern was that an unscrupulous candidate in the distant future might lose an election and refuse to leave office. “If once elected, and at a second or third election outvoted by one or two votes, he will pretend false votes, foul play, hold possession of the reins of government, be supported by the States voting for him,” Jefferson <a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0454" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0454" target="_blank">wrote to James Madison in 1787</a>.</p><div data-qa="article-body"><p>In the Founders’ view, the only thing standing between America and an authoritarian demagogue was the virtuous self-control of citizens who would find the wisdom to choose virtuous leaders. “I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-11-02-0101#:~:text=But%20I%20go%20on%20this,government%20can%20render%20us%20secure" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-11-02-0101#:~:text=But%20I%20go%20on%20this,government%20can%20render%20us%20secure" target="_blank">Madison said at the Constitutional Convention</a>. “Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks — no form of government can render us secure.”</p></div><div data-qa="article-body"><p>When the Founders talked about the need for virtuous citizens and leaders, they were referring to the four classical virtues: prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice. (By contrast, the three theological virtues are faith, hope and charity.) Following the classical and Enlightenment moral philosophers, the Founders believed that personal self-government was necessary for political self-government. In their view, the key to a healthy republic begins with how we address our own flaws and commit to becoming better citizens over time….</p><div data-qa="article-body"><p>The Founders believed that virtuous self-mastery was necessary for both personal and political happiness. Today, we think of happiness as the pursuit of pleasure. But classical and Enlightenment thinkers defined happiness as the pursuit of virtue — as <em>being</em> good rather than <em>feeling</em> good. Just as individuals can use their powers of reason to achieve psychological happiness, so can groups of citizens use theirs to achieve political happiness.</p></div><div data-qa="article-body"><p>Washington made the connection between public and private virtue and happiness repeatedly in his career. “Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-20-02-0440-0002" data-original-title="" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-20-02-0440-0002" target="_blank" title="">he warned in his Farewell Address</a>. In his <a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11404" data-original-title="" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-11404" target="_blank" title="">Circular to the States in 1783, he said that four things were necessary</a> for the people’s political and social happiness: an “indissoluble Union,” a “sacred regard to public Justice,” a “proper Peace Establishment,” and the cultivation of private virtue, which he defined as “the prevalence of that pacific and friendly disposition among the people of the United States, which will induce them to forget their local prejudices and policies” and “to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the community.”…</p><p>It remains to be seen whether Americans today can find the virtuous self-restraint to put the public interest before the angry partisanship the Founders most feared. What’s clear, however, is that nothing less than the future of the Republic is at stake. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-04-02-0206" data-original-title="" href="https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-04-02-0206" target="_blank" title="">As Madison wrote in Federalist 57</a>: “The aim of every political Constitution is or ought to be first to obtain for rulers, men who possess most wisdom to discern, and most virtue to pursue the common good of the society; and in the next place, to take the most effectual precautions for keeping them virtuous, whilst they continue to hold their public trust.”<br /></p></div></div></blockquote><p><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-79788201021936346262024-02-18T13:30:00.002-06:002024-02-24T01:15:36.869-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 18, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 18, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Who will guard the guardians? </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://public.substack.com/p/us-government-is-hiding-documents" data-original-title="" href="https://public.substack.com/p/us-government-is-hiding-documents" target="_blank" title="">U.S. Government Is Hiding Documents That Incriminate Intelligence Community For Illegal Spying And Election Interference, Say Sources</a> </strong></p><p>Public, via Naked Capitalism 02-15-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“Former CIA Director Gina Haspel blocked the release of ‘binder’ with evidence that may identify her role in the Trump-Russia collusion hoax.”</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://public.substack.com/p/cia-had-foreign-allies-spy-on-trump" data-original-title="" href="https://public.substack.com/p/cia-had-foreign-allies-spy-on-trump" target="_blank" title="">CIA Had Foreign Allies Spy On Trump Team, Triggering Russia Collusion Hoax, Sources Say</a> </strong></p><p>Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, and Alex Gutentag [via Naked Capitalism 02-14-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[TW: I want to put forward the observation that given <strong>Trump’s close association with Roy Cohn, and business dealings with the Russian mafia</strong>, it would have been malpractice for USA intelligence agencies NOT to make such requests. The real problem with this is that there is no longer any reason to believe the the CIA, FBI, NSA and other intelligence agencies actually serve the General Welfare of the citizens of USA. </p><p>Or to put it another way, how would we want an intelligence agency to have dealt with Aaron Burr when Burr was running for president? Or how about dealing with Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in the 1850s as the sectional crisis worsened? What do we want an intelligence agency to do when one such appears headed for the highest office in the land? Or actually wins it?</p><p>There are many people who have a knee jerk reaction against intelligence agencies. Are we to abolish any and all intelligence agencies? I have no doubt that there are many people who immediately answer with an emphatic “yes!” I would ask them to take the time to read <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10363" data-original-title="" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10363" title="">James Fenimore Cooper’s The Bravo</a>/ It is Cooper’s “novel” of how the secret service of Venice blackmails a poor man into being an assassin. At the very least, read Cooper’s Introduction; there is nothing fictional there at all. Cooper explains that he wrote the novel to explore the process of cultivating evil in the dark recesses of government power, and how that contrasts to the process of acculturation in civic values that is supposed to occur in a real republic. <br /></p><p>In the case of Trump, we know that his behavior and character was molded in profoundly evil ways because Trump was tutored in Cohn’s methods and philosophy of government. But, again, what are we to do about this when we no longer have government institutions steeped in the civic values of republicanism? Recall that Jeffrey Epstein’s first troubles with law enforcement were dissipated by the intervention of intelligence agencies with the district attorney in Florida who wanted to bring charges. <br /></p><p>Lambert Strether applauds (anti)Republicans for opposing the campaign of the intelligence agencies against Trump, but I do not think these (anti)Republicans are acting from any moral commitment to the good. Rather, their position is part of their partisan warfare against the Democrats, calculated to gain a political advantage. The excesses and coups of the CIA, let us remember were committed as much, if not more, under Republicans as Democrats. The names Dulles, Helms, Colby and Casey come to mind. And then there is George Bush Sr., who was both CIA director and POTUS. And I think it is a mistake to assume that only the Democrats thought they would benefit from the RussiaGate operation. Trump is as much a danger to the Republican establishment as he is to the Democratic Party. Nobody yet has been much interested in looking for a RussiaGate connection to the Bush family apparatus yet, but I suspect there are some important stories there waiting to be uncovered.</p><p>It is useful to look at the history of intelligence activities before the formal establishment of intelligence agencies — and especially the creation of the national security state — beginning with Franklin’s and Washington’s espionage operations during the Revolutionary War. Why were there no scandals arising from those operations? Or from the Union Army and Pinkerton operations during the Civil War? I contend that a large part of the reason was that the guardrails of public duty as defined by civic republicanism were still in place and quite robust.<br /></p><p>In the final analysis, the only real way to “guard the guardians” is to make sure that the doctrines and values of civic republicanism a suffused throughout the nation. But capitalism, and its single-minded emphasis on self-interest, is a strong and dangerous corrosive element that must be reckoned with. — TW]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/02/16/death-of-aleksei-navalny-the-brits-did-it/" data-original-title="" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/02/16/death-of-aleksei-navalny-the-brits-did-it/" target="_blank" title="">Death of Aleksei Navalny: the Brits did it!</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 02-17-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...In all of the false flag operations that have been directed by the West against Russia over the past decade or more, I have argued that the old Roman investigative principle of <em>cui bono</em> militated against the Kremlin having been involved in any way. So it is today: why would Putin want to murder Navalny, when the man is now largely forgotten within Russia. Navalny is yesterday’s news and his ‘anti-corruption’ campaign is irrelevant to Russians in the midst of an existential struggle with the Collective West that is being fought on the territory of Ukraine? However, the murder of Navalny clearly serves the interests of that same Collective West.…</p><p>Let us go beyond the <em>cui bono</em> argumentation to circumstantial evidence that is damning for the Brits. As the Americans like to say, there are ‘fingerprints’ of the Brits all over this death of Navalny.</p><p>A fair number of the poisonings and other assorted deaths of people who could be said were ‘inconvenient’ to the Kremlin happened in the U.K., after all. That is where Boris Berezovsky, the exiled oligarch who opposed Putin tooth and nail, was ‘suicided’ and it occurred in 2013 at his London estate when it was widely rumored he was looking for forgiveness for his treachery and was preparing to return to Mother Russia with a trove of documents. Earlier still, the U.K. is where the Berezovsky employee Alexander Litvinenko met his death in 2006 from polonium poisoning in a very British cuppa tea.</p><p>However, more recently there were incidents in the U.K. which bear directly on the fate of Navalny, and their timing is very relevant. I am thinking about the Novichok poisoning of former Russian spy Alexander Skripal in Salisbury at the start of March 2018, ahead of the 18 March presidential elections in Russia that year, when Putin was making his return to power following the interregnum when Dmitry Medvedev was president….<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.usni.org/2024/02/08/maersk-ceo-says-military-operations-cant-guarantee-safety-of-ships-in-red-sea" data-original-title="" href="https://news.usni.org/2024/02/08/maersk-ceo-says-military-operations-cant-guarantee-safety-of-ships-in-red-sea" target="_blank" title="">Maersk CEO Says Military Operations Can’t Guarantee Safety of Ships in Red Sea</a></strong><br />HEATHER MONGILIO, February 8, 2024 [USNI News]</p><blockquote><p>The military operations in the Red Sea cannot guarantee the safety of commercial shipping in the region, the chief executive officer of a major shipping company said on Thursday.</p><p>During a 2023 third-quarter earnings call, Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc mentioned the lack of guaranteed safety in the Red Sea, which has come under several attacks by the Yemen-based Houthis <a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shipping-bosses-warn-maritime-security-122457200.html" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/shipping-bosses-warn-maritime-security-122457200.html">in a Thursday interview on <em>Bloomberg T.V.</em></a></p><p>Clerc said disruptions in the Red Sea have affected about a third of the company’s container volume, which was less than the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>“We’ve not seen the level of threat peak, to the contrary,” Clerc said. “The amount or the range of weapons that are being used for these attacks is expanding and there is no clear line of sight to when and how the international community will be able to mobilize itself and guarantee safe passage for us.”</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.usni.org/2024/02/08/russia-expanding-munitions-production-says-norwegian-foreign-minister" data-original-title="" href="https://news.usni.org/2024/02/08/russia-expanding-munitions-production-says-norwegian-foreign-minister" target="_blank" title="">Russia Expanding Munitions Production, Says Norwegian Foreign Minister</a></strong><br />JOHN GRADY, February 8, 2024 [USNI News]</p><blockquote><p>Russia has ramped up its capacity to produce munitions, despite two years of war draining its stockpiles and increasingly severe economic sanctions, to continue its fight in Ukraine, Norway’s foreign minister said Wednesday.</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/02/12/patrick-lawrence-the-crisis-at-the-new-york-times/" target="_blank" title="">Patrick Lawrence: The Crisis at The New York Times</a> </strong></p><p><strong></strong><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-02-12T00:49:33-08:00">February 12, 2024 [Scheerpost]</time><br /></p><blockquote><div><span color="initial"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-02-12T00:49:33-08:00">...I</time>t has been evident to many of us since the genocide in Gaza began Oct. 7 that Israel risked asking too much of those inclined to take its side. The Zionist state would ask what many people cannot give: It would ask them to surrender their consciences, their idea of moral order, altogether their native decency as it murders, starves and disperses a population of 2.3 million while making their land uninhabitable.</span><br /></div><div><span color="initial"></span><br /></div><div><span color="initial"></span>The Israelis took this risk and they have lost. We are now able to watch videos of Israeli soldiers celebrating as they murder Palestinian mothers and children, as they dance and sing while detonating entire neighborhoods, as they mock Palestinians in a carnival of racist depravity one would have thought beyond what is worst in humanity—and certainly beyond what any Jew would do to another human being. The Israeli newspaper <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-12-12/ty-article/.premium/graphic-videos-and-incitement-how-the-idf-is-misleading-israelis-on-telegram/0000018c-5ab5-df2f-adac-febd01c30000" data-original-title="" href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2023-12-12/ty-article/.premium/graphic-videos-and-incitement-how-the-idf-is-misleading-israelis-on-telegram/0000018c-5ab5-df2f-adac-febd01c30000" title="">Haaretz reports</a>, as American media do not, that the Israel Defense Forces covertly sponsor a social media channel disseminating this degenerate material in the cause of maintaining maximum hatred.…<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p>Post–Gaza, apartheid Israel is unlikely ever to recover what place it enjoyed, merited or otherwise, in the community of nations. It stands among the pariahs now. The Biden regime took this risk, too, and it has also lost. Its support for the Israelis’ daily brutalities comes at great political cost….<br /></p><p>Max Blumenthal thinks the crisis inside The Times reflects a deep divide between the newsroom, where there seems to be a surviving cohort of conscientious journalists, and the upper reaches of management, where the paper’s ideological high priests reside. I have not been inside the Times building in well more than a decade, but there is a history to support this thesis. It goes at least as far back as the 1950s, when Aurthur Hays Sulzberger, as publisher, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.carlbernstein.com/the-cia-and-the-media-rolling-stone-10-20-1977" href="https://www.carlbernstein.com/the-cia-and-the-media-rolling-stone-10-20-1977">signed a secrecy agreement </a>with the Central Intelligence Agency and gave tacit approval to correspondents who wanted to work for the agency. </p><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-02-12T00:49:33-08:00"></time><br /></div></blockquote><div><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2024-02-12T00:49:33-08:00"></time><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47828/11" data-original-title="" href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47828/11" target="_blank" title="">Israel and Hamas 2023 Conflict In Brief: Overview, U.S. Policy, and Options for<br />Congress (pdf)</a></strong></p><p>Congressional Research Service, November 30, 2023</p><p>[TW: Where there is no vision the people perish.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/gaza-and-end-rules-based-order" data-original-title="" href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/gaza-and-end-rules-based-order" target="_blank" title="">Gaza and the End of the Rules-Based Order</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Foreign Affairs, via Naked Capitalism 02-16-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/15/palestine-demilitarized-israel-postwar" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/15/palestine-demilitarized-israel-postwar" target="_blank" title="">Why a Demilitarized Palestine Won’t Work</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Foreign Policy, via Naked Capitalism 02-16-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy </strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/0ec8089d-df7c-4331-8c45-0f70a1f3cb8b" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/0ec8089d-df7c-4331-8c45-0f70a1f3cb8b" target="_blank" title="">Inside European finance’s most secretive society</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Financial Times, via Naked Capitalism 02-11-2024]</p><p>FT. The Institut International d’Etudes Bancaires.<br /></p><blockquote>The IIEB was founded in Paris in 1950 by the heads of four lenders from across the continent — Crédit Industriel et Commercial, Union Bank of Switzerland, Société Générale de Belgique and Amsterdamsche Bank — with the aim of holding regular top-level discussions on developments in the banking sector, as well as the economy and monetary system. It was part of a raft of cross-border institutions set up during that period to encourage closer ties between organisations from countries that had recently been at war with one another…. Ilaria Pasotti, a researcher who has studied the organisation’s early archives, <br /></blockquote><div><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/crazy-privatize-mountain-montana-crazies-land-rural-west-gentrification" target="_blank" title="">How To Privatize a Mountain</a></strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong>Jospeh Bullington, February 15, 2024 [In These Times] <br /></div><blockquote><div>A great many inholdings, including Crazy Peak and the meadows below it, had recently been sold to Switchback Ranch LLC, owned by billionaire private equity investor David Leuschen. And the company had <em>plans</em> for this property. One day, I followed a helicopter to a cabin construction site by an alpine lake on one of the company’s inholdings, 8,000 feet up and miles from a road. The area bristled with fresh “No Trespassing” signs. <br /></div><div>Meanwhile, down in the foothills, other landowners were choking off public access routes and effectively privatizing vast swaths of the mountains.</div><div><p>What was going on here?</p><p>The Crazies, it seems, have been swept up in the wave of wealth and gentrification that is reshaping the West — driving up housing costs in nearby towns, displacing working-class residents and carving up the landscape for profit. Among the newcomers to the Crazies is CrossHarbor Capital Partners, which owns the Yellowstone Club, an ultra-exclusive residential development near Big Sky that boasts the only private ski and golf resort in the world and where membership costs millions of dollars. In 2021, CrossHarbor bought (through one of its subsidiary companies) the 18,000-acre Crazy Mountain Ranch and later announced plans for two golf courses. “As incredible a setting [as] there will ever be for the game of golf,” says the website. The company plans to run the ranch as “a private membership experience.”</p></div></blockquote><div><strong></strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/donald-cohen-exposing-the-lies-that-protect-power-and-wealth-in-america/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/donald-cohen-exposing-the-lies-that-protect-power-and-wealth-in-america/" target="_blank" title="">Donald Cohen Exposing The Lies That Protect Power And Wealth in America</a></strong></p><p>[Corporate Crime Reporter, February 14th, 2024]</p><blockquote><p>...“As remarkable as this political progress has been, the political rhetoric surrounding the minimum wage remains surprisingly unchanged,” Hanauer writes in his new book (co-authored with Donald Cohen and Joan Walsh) titled <em>Corporate Bullshit: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths that Protect Profit, Power and Wealth in America</em> (The New Press, 2023). </p><p>“Minimum wage opponents continue to deride every proposed increase as a surefire job-killer, while reporters and pundits reliably characterize the passage of every minimum wage ordinance and statute as a dangerous experiment that threatens to harm the very people it’s intended to help.”</p><p>….How did the book get started?</p><p>“It grew out of a project I was working on called <a data-cke-saved-href="https://crywolfproject.org/" href="https://crywolfproject.org/" target="_blank">The Cry Wolf Project</a>,” Cohen told <em>Corporate Crime Reporter</em> in an interview last week.</p></blockquote><strong></strong><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/2024-02-16-stories-corporations-tell-williams-waterhouse-review/" target="_blank" title="">The Stories Corporations Tell </a></strong><br /></p><p>Adam M. Lowenstein, February 16, 2024 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>Two new histories of American capitalism reveal how alluring narratives have nurtured corporate power.<br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780393867237" data-original-title="" href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780393867237" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em>Taming the Octopus: The Long Battle for the Soul of the Corporation</em></strong></a></p><p>By Kyle Edward Williams</p><p><em>Norton</em></p><p><em></em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780393868210" data-original-title="" href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780393868210" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em>One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America</em></strong></a></p><p>By Benjamin C. Waterhouse</p><p><em>Norton</em></p><p><em>….</em><br /></p><p><em>Taming the Octopus</em>, which gets its title from a 1904 cartoon that depicted the Standard Oil trust as a sprawling, uncontrollable sea creature with tentacles reaching toward every corridor of power, traces the centuries-long American debate about the purpose of the corporation in society. It documents how the notion that private companies, rather than governments, should solve public problems—“corporate social responsibility” to most; “woke capitalism” to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/19/vivek-ramaswamy-the-ceo-of-anti-woke-inc" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/12/19/vivek-ramaswamy-the-ceo-of-anti-woke-inc" target="_blank">Vivek Ramaswamy</a> and other <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/172636/esg-house-oversight-conspiracy" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/172636/esg-house-oversight-conspiracy" target="_blank" title="">Republican politicians</a></u>—is a feel-good story that company bosses, academics, journalists, and “thought leaders” have been honing for decades.</p><p>Another new book, Benjamin C. Waterhouse’s <em><u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393868210" data-original-title="" href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393868210" target="_blank" title="">One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America</a></u></em>, charts the rise of the “persistent myth,” as the author puts it, that individual entrepreneurs and small businesses anchor the U.S. economy, and that every American would be better off “going it alone.”</p><p>Together, these histories trace the emergence and entrenchment of ideas about capitalism that have deeply infiltrated the American psyche. As a consequence, countless people live under the gnawing weight of economic precarity, and the notion that we might solve problems through collective action and democracy has been shattered….</p><p>One conclusion that emerges from Williams’s detailed and timely history is that little of today’s chatter about “<u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/20/stakeholder-capitalism-jp-morgan-walmart" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/nov/20/stakeholder-capitalism-jp-morgan-walmart" target="_blank">stakeholder capitalism</a></u>” or “<u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/economy/what-esg-investing-and-ozy-media-have-in-common/" href="https://prospect.org/economy/what-esg-investing-and-ozy-media-have-in-common/">ESG investing</a></u>” (investing based on environmental, social, and governance standards) is as new, or as transformational, as the hype suggests. Time and time again, Williams demonstrates matter-of-factly, corporations have responded to public criticism with increasingly well-honed storytelling campaigns, designed primarily to resist momentum for new laws and regulations. And time and time again, journalists, professors, and thought leaders have been ready to endorse polished assurances that corporations really are different now.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: One example of the idea of collective action having been shattered is the Obama administration’s refusal to discuss or even consider public works programs during the economic crises resulting from the financial crash of 2007-2009. In January 2008, I wrote about how Harry Hopkins, director of President Franklin Roosevelt’s Civil Works Administration (CWA), prevented mass starvation by <strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2010/1/8/822995/-Roosevelt-created-4-million-jobs-in-one-month-updated" target="_blank" title="">putting over four million American on government payrolls in the winter of 1933-34</a></strong>. A commenter noted that “1934 was the last midterm congressional election when the Democrats gained seats in Congress with a Democrat in the White House.” A useful contrast: After Roosevelt, we got a half century of Democratic Party dominance that cemented in place Social Security and other New Deal programs. After Obama, we got a <a data-original-title="" href="https://www.kff.org/report-section/ehbs-2023-section-1-cost-of-health-insurance/#:~:text=Over%20the%20last%20ten%20years,compared%20to%2027%25%20wage%20growth." target="_blank" title="">47 percent increase</a> in the cost of health insurance … and Donald Trump. ]</p><p>[TW: And just in case you forgot exactly how we got here, with the (anti)Republicans fighting to use the issue of immigration as a bludgeon against Democrats in the 2024 election: ]</p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmxox3oqRZo" target="_blank" title=""></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmxox3oqRZo" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmxox3oqRZo" target="_blank" title=""><b>Blame the poor and immigrants - clip from the closing scenes of <em></em></b></a><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmxox3oqRZo" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank" title=""><em>The Big Short</em></a><strong><em></em></strong><br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive-16by9%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"><div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="#" href="#">x</a></div><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="false" data-original-title="" href="false" title=""><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nmxox3oqRZo" width="500"></iframe></a></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 0px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>.</strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-disaster-american-businesses-greedy-broken-stock-market-wall-street-2024-2" target="_blank" title="">Boeing is a wake-up call: America’s businesses gambled that ‘greed is good.’ Now they’re losing that bet, big time.</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Business Insider, via The Big Picture 02-17-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cadtm.org/South-Africa-s-failed-infrastructure-privatisation-and-deregulation" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cadtm.org/South-Africa-s-failed-infrastructure-privatisation-and-deregulation" target="_blank" title="">South Africa’s failed infrastructure privatisation and deregulation</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[CADTM, via Naked Capitalism 02-13-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mronline.org/2024/02/15/the-economics-teacher-of-the-new-generation-cryptocurrency-ideology/" data-original-title="" href="https://mronline.org/2024/02/15/the-economics-teacher-of-the-new-generation-cryptocurrency-ideology/" target="_blank" title="">The Economics Teacher of the New Generation: Cryptocurrency Ideology</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[MR Online, via Naked Capitalism 02-16-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The widespread ownership of crypto currencies has created the grounds for a very reactionary economic understanding among broad social segments, especially among young people.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/torching-the-google-car-why-the-growing" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/torching-the-google-car-why-the-growing" target="_blank" title="">Torching the Google car: Why the growing revolt against big tech just escalated</a></strong><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>[</strong>Blood in the Machine, via Naked Capitalism 02-15-2024]</p><blockquote><p>...we know that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-americans-confidence-in-technology-firms-has-dropped-evidence-from-the-second-wave-of-the-american-institutional-confidence-poll/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-americans-confidence-in-technology-firms-has-dropped-evidence-from-the-second-wave-of-the-american-institutional-confidence-poll/" title="">trust in Silicon Valley in general is eroding</a>, and anger towards the big tech companies — Waymo is owned by Alphabet, the parent company of Google — is percolating. Not just at self-driving cars, of course, but at generative AI companies that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/03/27/from-lawsuits-to-tech-hacks-heres-how-artists-are-fighting-back-against-ai-image-generatio" data-original-title="" href="https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/03/27/from-lawsuits-to-tech-hacks-heres-how-artists-are-fighting-back-against-ai-image-generatio" title="">critics say hoover up copyrighted works</a> to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/23/1082189/data-poisoning-artists-fight-generative-ai/" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/23/1082189/data-poisoning-artists-fight-generative-ai/">produce plagiarized output</a>, at punishing, algorithmically mediated work regimes at the likes of Uber and Amazon, at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4436208-parent-anger-at-social-media-companies-boils-over-ahead-of-tech-ceo-hearing/" href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4436208-parent-anger-at-social-media-companies-boils-over-ahead-of-tech-ceo-hearing/">the misinformation and toxic content</a> pushed by Facebook and TikTok, and so on.</p><p>It’s all of a piece. All of the above contributes to the spreading sense that big tech has an inordinate amount of control over the ordinary person’s life — to decide, for example, whether or not robo-SUVs will roam the streets of their communities — and that the average person has little to no meaningful recourse.</p><p>Especially when government seems incapable or unwilling to push back. In the case of the robotaxi, even after <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/technology/san-francisco-driverless-cars.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/technology/san-francisco-driverless-cars.html">public opposition from San Francisco city officials, firefighters and emergency responders</a> and months of activist protest, a state body, the CPUC, overrode the city’s concerns and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-approves-permits-for-cruise-and-waymo-to-charge-fares-for-passenger-service-in-sf-2023" href="https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/news-and-updates/all-news/cpuc-approves-permits-for-cruise-and-waymo-to-charge-fares-for-passenger-service-in-sf-2023">approved allowing more on the streets</a>. Around the same time, California governor Gavin Newsom <a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/california-self-driving-trucks-newsom-veto-b585941fa05fc2c6b3a1965bcec3ee73" data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/california-self-driving-trucks-newsom-veto-b585941fa05fc2c6b3a1965bcec3ee73" title="">vetoed a bipartisan bill</a> that would have required a human operator in self-driving trucks. Shortly after both decisions, the Cruise car hit the pedestrian.</p><p>When people feel like their backs are against the wall, that their voices are not being heard, that those who profit from the deployment of invasive technologies are being given free reign, well, it creates the kind of conditions in which we might not be surprised to see more drastic measures taken up directly against those technologies.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-uninstall-copilot-i-dont-want-to-disable-it/b301b77d-b879-4433-9979-f8795805e9f1" data-original-title="" href="https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-to-uninstall-copilot-i-dont-want-to-disable-it/b301b77d-b879-4433-9979-f8795805e9f1" target="_blank" title="">how to uninstall copilot? i dont want to disable it i want to completely remove it from my system its a waste of space to me.</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Microsoft, via Naked Capitalism 02-16-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Co-pilot is Microsoft’s new AI tech, which is now “integrated with operating system” exactly as Internet Explorer once was.<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-02-16-bipartisan-bid-to-stop-surveillance-reform/" target="_blank" title="">The Bipartisan Bid to Stop Surveillance Reform</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Luke Goldstein, David Dayen, February 16, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Rep. Mike Turner may have overstepped by publicly warning about Russian space nukes, but Democrats were also trying to use the intelligence to influence the vote on warrantless spying.<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/australia-free-assange" target="_blank" title="">‘Enough Is Enough’: Australia Says Free Assange</a></strong><br /></p><p>Amy Goodman, Denis Moynihan, February 18, 2024 [CommonDreams]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory Finance</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/five-wall-street-banks-hold-223-trillion-in-derivatives-83-percent-of-all-derivatives-at-4600-banks/" target="_blank" title="">Five Wall Street Banks Hold $223 Trillion in Derivatives — 83 Percent of All Derivatives at 4,600 Banks</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, February 13, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p>[TW: USA 2021 GDP was $23.3 trillion; world 2021 GDP was $96.5 trillion.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/diffuse-derivatives-crisis" target="_blank" title="">How to Diffuse the Derivatives Time Bomb</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ellen Brown, February 18, 2024 [CommonDreams]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/13/lina-khan-monopolies-ai-media-ftc" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/2024/02/13/lina-khan-monopolies-ai-media-ftc" target="_blank" title="">FTC Chair Khan: Stop Monopolies Before They Happen</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism 02-14-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/02/bill-lerach-on-litigating-corporate-wrongdoing-the-system-is-set-up-to-defeat-deterrence.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/02/bill-lerach-on-litigating-corporate-wrongdoing-the-system-is-set-up-to-defeat-deterrence.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Bill Lerach on Litigating Corporate Wrongdoing: “The System Is Set Up to Defeat Deterrence”</strong></a> </div><div>[Corporate Crime Reporter, via Naked Capitalism, February 15, 2024]</div><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p>LERACH: “The Democratic administration – because politically they are dependent on corporate money, Wall Street money, the accounting firm money, corporate community money – they have become soft on prosecuting big corporate cases.”</p><p>“On the other hand, these cases are hard to prosecute. These corporate executives are smart. They are surrounded by lawyers and experts. They get opinions. They insulate themselves. To us, we might say – the conduct there is so bad they ought to be prosecuted. But when you get into it, proving criminal intent can be difficult.”</p><p>“So what are the results? A system whereby deferred prosecution agreements and big fines paid with corporate shareholder money, not the individual wrongdoers money, create headlines, create statistics for the prosecutors and a perfectly acceptable world for the corporate criminals where they can just go on with their conduct paying for it with the shareholders’ money. Now that’s not a good system.”</p><p>….</p><p>CCR: If Congress were to act to control corporate wrongdoing ... what would you propose<br />that they do?</p><p>LERACH: I would re-establish aiding and abetting liability for professionals. I’d get rid of the strong inference subjective test in the PSLRA [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Securities_Litigation_Reform_Act" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Securities_Litigation_Reform_Act" target="_blank">Private Securities Litigation Reform Act</a> of 1995]. I would get rid of the ability to appeal interlocutory and class certification orders. I would get rid of the Morrison decision so that the poor class action cases don’t lose half their damages when they are filed because many investors are foreign or are buying on foreign exchanges. You do those things, you will see bigger recoveries, more lawsuits and more justice.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences/major-new-study-to-identify-kleptocratic-red-flags-and-craft-new-anti-corruption-rules/" data-original-title="" href="https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-humanities-arts-and-social-sciences/major-new-study-to-identify-kleptocratic-red-flags-and-craft-new-anti-corruption-rules/" target="_blank" title="">Major new study to identify Kleptocratic “red flags” and craft new anti-corruption rules</a> </strong></p><p>[University of Exeter, via Naked Capitalism 02-14-2024]</p><blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p>Professor Heathershaw said: “Lawyers, accountants, company service providers and other professionals often play essential roles in the movement of illicit wealth. They can be enormously powerful and effective at resisting both scrutiny and regulation. This influence, along with the complexity of this terrain, has led to a lack of consensus around what counts as “enabling” activity and what consequences should follow.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><strong><a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/social-housing-new-york-crisis-shortage" target="_blank">Public Ownership of Housing Could Be Closer Than You Think</a></strong><br /></p><p>Mindy Isser, February 15, 2024 [In These Times] </p><blockquote><p>Forget private developers—cities and states could just build their own housing to solve the crisis. In New York, now there’s a bill to do it….<br /></p><p>New York is not the only state dealing with a housing crisis, which legislators and activists around the country are working creatively to solve. In <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/resources/EconomicDevelopment/affordable.html" href="https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/COUNCIL/resources/EconomicDevelopment/affordable.html" target="_blank">Montgomery County, Maryland</a>, an affluent suburban area outside of Washington D.C., legislators resolved to increase <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2024/2/10/24065342/social-housing-public-housing-affordable-crisis" href="https://www.vox.com/policy/2024/2/10/24065342/social-housing-public-housing-affordable-crisis" target="_blank">the affordable housing stock</a> by using public money to create a revolving fund that would finance the building of nearly 9,000 new units. It’s a relatively new plan, passed by the Montgomery County Council in 2021, but so far it appears to be working: the first publicly-funded project opened in April 2023, and is 97% rented. And last February, voters in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://council.seattle.gov/2023/04/28/meet-the-13-people-appointed-to-bring-social-housing-to-seattle/" href="https://council.seattle.gov/2023/04/28/meet-the-13-people-appointed-to-bring-social-housing-to-seattle/" target="_blank">Seattle</a> approved an initiative to create the Seattle Social Housing Developer, a public development authority to create social housing in the city.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/california-dem-defends-call-for-50-federal-minimum-wage-just-barely-enough-democrat-senate-race-2024-politics-chipotle-prices-progressive-woke-ted-cruz-economy-diane-feinstein-debate" data-original-title="" href="https://thenationaldesk.com/news/americas-news-now/california-dem-defends-call-for-50-federal-minimum-wage-just-barely-enough-democrat-senate-race-2024-politics-chipotle-prices-progressive-woke-ted-cruz-economy-diane-feinstein-debate" target="_blank" title="">Barbara Lee calls for $50/hour federal minimum wage</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[National Desk, via Naked Capitalism 02-17-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The representative continued, citing a United Way report that showed $127,000 is “just barely enough to get by” for a family of four in the San Francisco Bay Area. Another individual making $104,000 annually would be classified as low income, Rep. Lee said, citing another report.</p><p>“Just do that math. Just do that math,” Rep. Lee said. “Of course we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage. You’re talking about 20, 25 dollars, fine. But I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/kara-swisher-burn-book-excerpt-silicon-valley-media.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Over Three Decades, Tech Obliterated Media</strong><strong>: My front-row seat to a slow-moving catastrophe.</strong> </a><br /></p><p>Kara Swisher [New York Magazine, via The Big Picture 02-11-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In the early 1990s, I was a reporter at the Washington <em>Post. </em>Having just turned 30, I was the “young” person in the newsroom, so when the digital-media start-ups appeared, I got what many reporters looked at as the short end of the beat. They had no interest in understanding the massive changes that were happening. As I learned more, it often fell to me to explain what this newfangled internet was as if I were trying to explain a tree to a child….</p><p>In 1995, a quirky programmer in San Francisco named <a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/internet/15500/" href="https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/internet/15500/">Craig Newmark</a> started emailing friends a list of local events, job opportunities, and things for sale. The next year, he turned Craigslist into a web-based service and eventually started expanding it all over the country and the world.<br /></p><p>It was clear this list was a giant killer, and I told everyone who would listen to me at the <em>Post</em> that we needed to put all the money, all the people, and all the incentives into digital. I insisted that the bosses had to make readers feel like digital was the most important thing. But the bosses never did because the business they knew was the physical paper….<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newatlas.com/energy/minesto-tidal-kite/" data-original-title="" href="https://newatlas.com/energy/minesto-tidal-kite/" target="_blank" title="">28-Ton, 1.2-Megawatt Tidal Kite Is Now Exporting Power To the Grid</a> </strong></p><p>[New Atlas, via Naked Capitalism 02-13-2024]</p><blockquote><p>...Just as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newatlas.com/fraunhofer-nts-kite-wind-power/24843/?itm_source=newatlas&itm_medium=article-body" data-original-title="" href="https://newatlas.com/fraunhofer-nts-kite-wind-power/24843/?itm_source=newatlas&itm_medium=article-body" title="">land-based wind energy kites</a> fly in figure 8 patterns to accelerate themselves faster than the wind, so does the Dragon underwater. This, says Minesto, lets the Dragon pull more energy from a given tidal current than other designs – and it also changes the economic equations for relevant sites, making slower tidal flows worth exploiting.</p><p>These are by no means small kites – the Dragon 12 needs to be disassembled to fit in a shipping container. It rocks a monster 12-meter (39-ft) wingspan, and weighs no less than 28 tons. But compared to other offshore power options like wind turbines, it's an absolute minnow, and extremely easy to install using a single smallish boat and a sea bed tether.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://news.sky.com/story/chernobyls-mutant-wolves-appear-to-have-developed-resistance-to-cancer-study-finds-13067292" target="_blank" title="">Chernobyl’s mutant wolves appear to have developed resistance to cancer, study finds</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Sky News, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-13-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p> “Dr Cara Love, an evolutionary biologist and ecotoxicologist at Princeton University in the US, has been studying how the Chernobyl wolves survive despite generations of exposure to radioactive particles….. The researchers discovered that Chernobyl wolves are exposed to upwards of 11.28 millirem of radiation every day for their entire lives – which is more than six times the legal safety limit for a human. Dr Love found the wolves have altered immune systems similar to cancer patients undergoing radiation treatment, but more significantly she also identified specific parts of the animals’ genetic information that seemed resilient to increased cancer risk.” <br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/179095/democrats-blowing-2024-election-media" target="_blank" title="">The Democrats Are Blowing the 2024 Election</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jason Linkins, February 17, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Joe Biden’s reelection hopes have been ill served by his complacent colleagues—who are currently getting pummeled by their more vigorous Republican counterparts….<br /></p><p>There are always good reasons to complain about the political press—and Republicans do their own share of carping. But Democrats too often operate as if the media they’d prefer to have—temperate and fair, dedicated to substance and nuance, committed to preserving democracy—is the one that actually exists. Republicans don’t believe that the press is a noble institution and they don’t treat its members that way. Instead, they innately understand that the political press is just a ravenous, insensate maw looking for its next hot meal of crassness, chaos, conflict, and controversy—and Republicans always come with a heaping plate.<br /></p></blockquote><p><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/what-would-happen-if-biden-stepped-aside" target="_blank" title="">What Would Happen If Biden Stepped Aside?</a></strong></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, February 13, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...If Biden were to remove himself from the race, the answer to what would happen is already before us. Just examine the 2016 primary race between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, and consider the role of superdelegates….<br /></p><p><span style="text-align: initial;">Consider a state like Michigan, where Sanders won the popular vote. The pledged delegate allocation was 67-63 Sanders. But with superdelegate preferences added in, Clinton won the state — it was reported as such on the national news — and the delegate distribution changed to 75-67 Clinton. Several states went from the Sanders column to the Clinton column in this way. </span></p><div data-hook="rcv-block23"><span style="text-align: initial;">But worse, consider states won by Clinton in the popular vote, Iowa, for example. The pledged delegate count was 23-21 Clinton. With superdelegates added in, the count went to 29-21 Clinton. In Connecticut, 28-27 Clinton became 43-27 Clinton. The differences are most striking in states like California and New York, with their large delegate totals. </span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block23"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block23"><span style="text-align: initial;">In all, with a total of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries#Superdelegate_endorsements" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries#Superdelegate_endorsements" target="_blank" title="">712 superdelegates available</a>, Clinton started the race with an opening lead of 572-42. <strong>In the end, without her superdelegates, Clinton would </strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries#/media/File:2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries_delegate_count.svg" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries#/media/File:2016_Democratic_Party_presidential_primaries_delegate_count.svg" target="_blank"><strong>not have won on the first ballot</strong></a><strong>,</strong> even with the skewed reporting that served to depress the Sanders vote….</span></div><div data-hook="rcv-block23"><p class="is-empty-p"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span></p><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">I’ve often written that had Sanders won the Democratic nomination, he’d have beaten Trump handily in the general election. </span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block35"><span style="text-align: initial;">There are many arguments for this, including the fact that in many “open” primaries, where a voter could choose either a Democratic or a Republican ballot, Sanders beat Trump in most of them. </span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block35"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block35"><span style="text-align: initial;">For example, in the open same-day primary on March 8 in Michigan, these are the popular vote totals:</span></div><ul><li data-hook="rcv-block39" style="text-align: start;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Sanders: 595,222</span></li></ul><div data-breakout="normal"><ul><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Trump: 483,751</span><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">….</span><br /></p></div></li></ul></div></div><div data-breakout="normal"><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"><strong>A Biden Pre-Convention Withdrawal</strong></span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block56"><span style="text-align: initial;">The rules for superdelegates have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate#Reform_of_superdelegates" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdelegate#Reform_of_superdelegates" target="_blank">changed a little</a> since 2016. They’re now not allowed to vote on the first ballot. In this case, though, that wouldn’t matter. Since the Democratic leaders chose not to hold a real primary, almost no one but Biden will enter with a delegate count. Without Biden to vote for, the convention would be brokered from the start, and anyone could win — so long as they had superdelegate support….</span></div><div data-hook="rcv-block56"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block56"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><strong>If Biden Drops Out After the Convention</strong><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block56"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>If Biden drops out after the Convention, the voters would have no say at all. According to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.leefang.com/p/if-biden-steps-aside-lobbyists-poised" data-original-title="" href="https://www.leefang.com/p/if-biden-steps-aside-lobbyists-poised" target="_blank" title="">Lee Fang in a paid post</a>, superdelegates would “maintain direct control of the process if Biden were to step down after the convention.”<br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block56"><br /></div></div></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.leefang.com/p/if-biden-steps-aside-lobbyists-poised" target="_blank" title="">If Biden Steps Aside, Lobbyists Poised to Select Democratic Presidential Nomination </a></strong><br /></p><p>Lee Fang, February 12, 2024 [via Thomas Neuburger]</p><blockquote><p>If President Biden steps aside after the convention, the Democratic nomination is entirely in the hands of a small set of DNC insiders and corporate lobbyists….<br /></p><p>Following Biden’s election in 2020, the president, as the de-facto leader of the Democratic Party, appointed former corporate lobbyist Jaime Harrison as DNC chairman. Harrison used his role to bring more business representatives into superdelegate positions and voted down proposals to limit the influence of special interests within the party.<br /></p><p>Rather than limit the influence of lobbyists, the DNC doubled down. Harrison’s appointments DNC members include Lacy Johnson, who leads the lobbying practice at Taft’s Public Affairs Strategies Group, a firm that assists <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/06e4227d-f4be-4821-9722-5e2d8a049981/print/" data-original-title="" href="https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/06e4227d-f4be-4821-9722-5e2d8a049981/print/" target="_blank" title="">Koch Industries</a> and a trade group for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/a116b7dc-f7de-43e8-8b7d-c4c266d70439/print/" href="https://lda.senate.gov/filings/public/filing/a116b7dc-f7de-43e8-8b7d-c4c266d70439/print/" target="_blank">oil refineries</a> with government outreach; Marcus Mason, a lobbyist who <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/lobbyists/summary?cycle=2021&id=Y0000011411L" href="https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/lobbyists/summary?cycle=2021&id=Y0000011411L" target="_blank">represents</a> Google and Navient; and Nicole Isaac, a former Meta and Google official, now leads Cisco's global lobbying operations.<br /></p><p>The Harrison-led DNC has blocked efforts to curb corporate influence in the party. The Rules and Bylaws Committee has instead concentrated more power to a select group of DNC insiders. The committee is also responsible for the decision to remove Iowa and make South Carolina the first official primary election….<br /></p><p>Minyon Moore, co-chair of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, is an influential lobbyist who <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.deweysquare.com/team/minyon-moore/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.deweysquare.com/team/minyon-moore/" target="_blank" title="">previously</a> served as an aide to Bill and Hillary Clinton and now works at Dewey Square Group. DSG has worked for a variety of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://energyandpolicy.org/firstenergy-lobbyists-behind-testimony-supporting-bailout-bill/" href="https://energyandpolicy.org/firstenergy-lobbyists-behind-testimony-supporting-bailout-bill/" target="_blank">corporate interests</a>. Lyft <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-08-16-democratic-national-convention-chairs-firm-helps-companies-block-labor-laws/" href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-08-16-democratic-national-convention-chairs-firm-helps-companies-block-labor-laws/" target="_blank">tapped</a> DSG to fight proposals in California and Massachusetts that would force the company to provide benefits and minimum wages to its drivers….<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/02/new-york-special-election-suozzi-george-santos-pilip-democrats-republicans-jay-jacobs.html" target="_blank" title="">Democrats Have Themselves a Victory in New York. But They Also Have a Problem </a></strong><br /></p><p>[Slate, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-16-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“The key to this race was the money. Democrats spent nearly $14 million, almost double the GOP’s $8 million investment in the race. According to AdImpact, the total ad spend for just this Long Island district totaled an eyewatering $21.4 million. That’s more than quadruple the outlay of the 2022 race that yielded Santos…. Waiting for the national party to airdrop a spending advantage of millions of dollars is not a sustainable way to win elections. The difficulty of this win and the price tag show the cost of the New York State Democratic Party’s refusal to reconcile with the failures of the party apparatus after the 2022 midterms. This district will also have to go back to the polls for this same race in November. How many millions will that cost? It could be a problem for Biden too. He may be old. He may be unpopular. But New York Democrats are a millstone around his neck, not the other way around. ‘This should not be a close race,’ said Klein, the progressive organizer, on election day. “It makes me very nervous for November.” <br /></p></blockquote><p>[Lambert Strether adds: “Lots of not-very-encouraging detail on NY Democrats.”]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/2/13/2223170/-Breaking-Talking-Points-Memo-has-details-of-the-legal-warfare-to-keep-January-6-going-for-days?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/2/13/2223170/-Breaking-Talking-Points-Memo-has-details-of-the-legal-warfare-to-keep-January-6-going-for-days?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Breaking: Talking Points Memo has details of the legal warfare to keep January 6 going for days</a></strong></p><p>xaxnar, February 13, 2024 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p><strong>Talking Points Memo</strong> has gained access to a trove of documents that lay out how <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Chesebro" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Chesebro" target="_blank">Kenneth Chesebro</a></strong> and other Trump attorneys planned to keep the 2020 election from being certified for days, until the Supreme Court would be forced to step in to settle….</p><p>”Today, we published a <a data-cke-saved-href="http://r.mail.talkingpointsmemo.com/mk/cl/f/sh/1t6Af4OiGsEag4IUF3smJlmMVwz57L/skxrEgdHQUE7" href="http://r.mail.talkingpointsmemo.com/mk/cl/f/sh/1t6Af4OiGsEag4IUF3smJlmMVwz57L/skxrEgdHQUE7" target="_blank">story</a> — the first in a three-part series based on the documents — which reveals Trump’s attorneys theorizing about how a never-ending Jan. 6 could be engineered, and what it might look like. They envision hearings in Congress over the endless, mythical voter fraud claims which abounded after Trump refused to concede the 2020 election and, most of all, appeals to the Supreme Court to do in 2020 what it did in 2000: step in and resolve the count in favor of the GOP.</p><p>“Chesebro appears to have live-tweeted his plans along the way, via an account I uncovered called “Badger Pundit.” He cuts a bizarre figure: a well-credentialed outsider, willing to take on the persona of influential White House attorney at exactly the moment when the Trump campaign is desperately searching for a legitimate-seeming means to postpone the inevitable: recognizing that it lost the election.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/the-great-defiance-how-the-world-took-on-the-british-empire-by-david-veevers/" target="_blank" title=""></a><strong><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/trumps-immigration-plan-is-even-more-aggressive-now/677385/" target="_blank">Trump’s ‘Knock on the Door'</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ron Brownstein, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/trumps-immigration-plan-is-even-more-aggressive-now/677385/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/trumps-immigration-plan-is-even-more-aggressive-now/677385/" target="_blank" title="">The Atlantic</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-13-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/trumps-immigration-plan-is-even-more-aggressive-now/677385/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/02/trumps-immigration-plan-is-even-more-aggressive-now/677385/" target="_blank"></a>“[Stephen Miller, Trump’s top immigration adviser] outlined the Trump team’s plans for a mass-deportation effort most extensively in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.truthnetwork.com/show/the-charlie-kirk-show-charlie-kirk/72387/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.truthnetwork.com/show/the-charlie-kirk-show-charlie-kirk/72387/" target="_blank" title="">an interview he did this past November on a podcast</a> hosted by the conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In the interview, Miller suggested that another Trump administration would seek to remove as many as 10 million ‘foreign-national invaders’ who he claims have entered the country under Biden. To round up those migrants, Miller said, the administration would dispatch forces to ‘go around the country arresting illegal immigrants in large-scale raids.’ Then, he said, it would build ‘large-scale staging grounds near the border, most likely in Texas,’ to serve as internment camps for migrants designated for deportation. From these camps, he said, the administration would schedule near-constant flights returning migrants to their home countries. ‘So you create this efficiency by having these standing facilities where planes are moving off the runway constantly, probably military aircraft, some existing DHS assets,’ Miller told Kirk. In the interview, Miller acknowledged that removing migrants at this scale would be an immense undertaking, comparable in scale and complexity to ‘building the Panama Canal.’ He said the administration would use multiple means to supplement the limited existing immigration-enforcement personnel available to them, primarily at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE. One would be to reassign personnel from other federal law-enforcement agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DEA. Another would be to ‘deputize’ local police and sheriffs. And a third would be to requisition National Guard troops to participate in the deportation plans.” Interestingly: “If Trump invoked the Insurrection Act, which dates back to 1792, he would have almost unlimited authority to use any military asset for his deportation program. Under the Insurrection Act, Trump could dispatch the Indiana National Guard into Illinois, take control of the Illinois National Guard for the job, or directly send in active-duty military forces, [Joseph Nunn, a counsel in the Liberty & National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School] said. ‘There are not a lot of meaningful criteria in the Insurrection Act for assessing whether a given situation warrants using it, and there is no mechanism in the law that allows the courts or Congress to check an abuse of the act,’ Nunn told me. ‘There are quite literally no safeguards.'” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179011/supreme-court-deray-mckesson-protest" target="_blank" title="">The Right to Protest Is in Peril at the Supreme Court</a></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/the-great-defiance-how-the-world-took-on-the-british-empire-by-david-veevers/" target="_blank" title=""></a>Matt Ford, February 15, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/are-you-an-activist-do-you-have-a-dilemma-what-are-we-going-to-do-about-the-genocide-in-gaza" target="_blank" title="">Are You An Activist? Do You Have A Dilemma? What Are We Going To Do About The Genocide In Gaza?</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, February 12, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Robb Willer is a much admired Stanford sociologist who studies, among other things, the effectiveness of activists’ tactics. I heard him on NPR talking about it yesterday. It didn’t surprise me when he said that when passionate activists use violence or aggressive disruption to protest their cause, they tend to turn off more people than they recruit to that cause— and it’s not even close. I wish I could have talked to him about how to protest the urgency of something <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/genocide-is-always-indefensible-and-so-is-enabling-it-with-complacency" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/genocide-is-always-indefensible-and-so-is-enabling-it-with-complacency" target="_blank" title="">as existential as genocide</a>….</span></p><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>Four years earlier, Willer and Feinberg had already conducted 6 studies with over 1,300 participants. Willer told the <em>Stanford News</em> that they found “the most effective arguments are ones in which you find a new way to connect a political position to your target audience’s moral values… Moral reframing is not intuitive to people. When asked to make moral political arguments, people tend to make the ones they believe in and not that of an opposing audience— but the research finds this type of argument unpersuasive.” Feiberg added that “Our natural tendency is to make political arguments in terms of our own morality. But the most effective arguments are based on the values of whomever you are trying to persuade.”<span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: initial;">Willer laid out this part of their research (more reframing) well as part of a TEDTalk he did in 2017. <strong><a href="https://youtu.be/6V6p1tgHfm0" target="_blank">Watch</a></strong>:<br /></p></blockquote></div><p><strong></strong><strong><em></em></strong><em></em><em></em><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-12514381324554177552024-02-11T13:23:00.003-06:002024-02-20T04:56:37.868-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 11, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 11, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/gaza-heritage-sites-cultural-heritage" data-original-title="" href="https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/gaza-heritage-sites-cultural-heritage" target="_blank" title="">Israel’s Relentless Bombing Erases Gaza’s Heritage Sites</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Wide Walls, via Naked Capitalism 02-09-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theconversation.com/the-war-in-gaza-is-wiping-out-palestines-education-and-knowledge-systems-222055" data-original-title="" href="https://theconversation.com/the-war-in-gaza-is-wiping-out-palestines-education-and-knowledge-systems-222055" target="_blank" title="">The war in Gaza is wiping out Palestine’s education and knowledge systems</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Conversation, via Naked Capitalism 02-09-2024]</p><blockquote><p>In the past four months, all or parts of Gaza’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/how-israel-has-destroyed-gazas-schools-and-universities#:%7E:text=Palestinian%20news%20agency%20Wafa%20reported,university%20in%20Gaza%20in%20stages." href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/how-israel-has-destroyed-gazas-schools-and-universities#:%7E:text=Palestinian%20news%20agency%20Wafa%20reported,university%20in%20Gaza%20in%20stages.">12 universities</a> have been bombed and mostly destroyed.</p><p>Approximately <a data-cke-saved-href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-102-enarhe" href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-102-enarhe">378 schools</a> have been destroyed or damaged. The Palestinian Ministry of Education has reported the deaths of over <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.unicef.org/media/151126/file/State-of-Palestine-Humanitarian-Situation-Report-No.15-(Escalation)-17-January-2024.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.unicef.org/media/151126/file/State-of-Palestine-Humanitarian-Situation-Report-No.15-(Escalation)-17-January-2024.pdf" title="">4,327 students, 231 teachers</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6108/Israel-kills-dozens-of-academics,-destroys-every-university-in-the-Gaza-Strip" href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6108/Israel-kills-dozens-of-academics,-destroys-every-university-in-the-Gaza-Strip">94 professors.</a></p><p>Numerous <a data-cke-saved-href="https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/?fbclid=IwAR1VqwE8t9HEb46IFQDPJhl8ZFReHyyzgCAXjPfMPIGoThfbSXBEsy-Trog" data-original-title="" href="https://librarianswithpalestine.org/gaza-report-2024/?fbclid=IwAR1VqwE8t9HEb46IFQDPJhl8ZFReHyyzgCAXjPfMPIGoThfbSXBEsy-Trog" title="">cultural heritage sites</a>, including libraries, archives and museums, have also been destroyed, damaged and plundered.</p></blockquote><p><strong>Oligarchs' war on the experiment of republican self-government</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/republican-plot-against-america" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Republican Party and Their Billionaire Backers’ Plot Against America</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Thom Hartmann, February 8, 2024 [Common Dreams]</p><blockquote><p>...The most appealing thing about a dictator is that he can “get things done.”</p><p>Dictators don’t have to worry about bureaucracies hindering them, or pesky laws and regulations. They don’t care about local opposition to their projects, or their impact on the environment.</p><p>From making the trains run on time to building an autobahn and a car company to go with it, dictators famously “get things done.”</p><p>The corollary to that old nostrum is that when things are going well, when things are working smoothly, when the people are getting what they want from their government, there is little interest in putting a dictator into office.</p><p>You have to break government pretty badly before people are willing to trade in a normal democracy for a dictatorship, but it’s sure happened before.<br /></p><p>Germany wouldn’t have embraced Hitler if it weren’t for the depression the country had slid into because they lost World War I and were hit with fierce sanctions in the Treaty of Versailles.…<br /></p><p>One of the most successful ways the forces of autocracy and authoritarianism have risen to power throughout history is by creating or stepping into a crisis and promising to be the “strongman” who will fix things and fix them <em>now</em>.</p><p>Which, of course, is why right-wing billionaires and the Republicans they own have been working so hard in the decades since the Reagan Revolution to break our government.</p><p>They <em>want</em> a series of terrible crises. And if they don’t happen organically, right wingers are more than happy to create them, as we saw this week when Republicans in the House of Representatives refused to do anything about our southern border or to fund aid to Ukraine and the Palestinians….</p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178442/republicans-rewrite-constitution-radicalism-beyond-trump" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178442/republicans-rewrite-constitution-radicalism-beyond-trump" target="_blank" title="">Warn Voters About the Radicalism Beyond Trump </a></strong></p><p>Nancy MacLean, February 8, 2024 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>...Promoters have been methodically lining up <a data-cke-saved-href="https://progressive.org/magazine/far-right-plan-for-a-new-confederacy-maclean-pearson-20231211/" href="https://progressive.org/magazine/far-right-plan-for-a-new-confederacy-maclean-pearson-20231211/" target="_blank">authorizations</a> from the states since the 2012 election showed them that most Americans reject the kind of society they seek, even Mitt Romney’s mild version. So strategists concluded that the only way to permanently entrench minority rule by plutocrats and theocrats is to encase it in a dramatically altered Constitution….</p><p>If Republicans control Congress, they won’t have to bother with litigation, because it would be up to the majority in control to determine the validity of the applications—and Article V lacks the guardrails to prevent this manipulation.</p><p>Seriously? Yes, alas. House Speaker <a data-cke-saved-href="https://washingtonspectator.org/how-christian-nationalists-big-oil-and-the-big-lie-seized-the-speakers-gavel/" data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonspectator.org/how-christian-nationalists-big-oil-and-the-big-lie-seized-the-speakers-gavel/" target="_blank" title="">Mike Johnson</a>, who would be in a position to call it, is a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/10/mike-johnson-rewrite-constitution-00126157" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/10/mike-johnson-rewrite-constitution-00126157" target="_blank">longtime ally</a> of COS….</p><p>So how exactly would a convention nullify the Democratic agenda, past and current? The six <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/24/mock-constitutional-convention-reveals-far-rights-vision-for-rewriting-the-u-s-constitution/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/24/mock-constitutional-convention-reveals-far-rights-vision-for-rewriting-the-u-s-constitution/" target="_blank">amendments adopted</a> by the Simulated Convention held in Williamsburg, Virginia, on August 4, 2023, would dismantle reforms We the People have won over generations. The centerpiece amendment, entitled “Fiscal Restraints,” is a one-two punch to knock out popular programs such as Social Security, unemployment insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid. By mandating that two-thirds of both houses of Congress would have to agree to any tax increase, it would force annually balanced budgets, while making it all but impossible to raise revenue from the wealth-hoarding ultrarich who back this radical agenda.</p><p>Another amendment takes dead aim at all federal regulation <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/690690" href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/690690" target="_blank">since 1937</a> and civil rights and environmental policies since then. It would obliterate the “administrative state,” the bugbear of the hard-right coalition. The measure would in short order end fair labor standards, antitrust enforcement, environmental protections, safeguards for workers who choose to unionize, civil rights on the job and in public accommodations, and the Affordable Care Act, among other hard-won reforms that ease hardship and protect us from corporate domination.</p><p>Still another <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/24/mock-constitutional-convention-reveals-far-rights-vision-for-rewriting-the-u-s-constitution/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/24/mock-constitutional-convention-reveals-far-rights-vision-for-rewriting-the-u-s-constitution/" target="_blank" title="">amendment</a> would allow a simple majority of state legislatures “to abrogate any action of Congress, President, or administrative agencies.” That could stop federal intervention to ensure the equal citizenship rights established in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments….</p><p>But this is madness, you will say. These reactionaries could never get away with rewriting the Constitution!</p><p>Except they could. First, because the instigators have already adopted a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/31/voters-have-no-role-to-play-in-the-rights-vision-of-a-constitutional-convention/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/31/voters-have-no-role-to-play-in-the-rights-vision-of-a-constitutional-convention/" target="_blank">representation scheme</a> for the convention based on one-vote-per-state, chosen by the legislatures; it gives near-empty states like Alaska and Wyoming the same power as California and New York. Second, because by crooked counting (“<a data-cke-saved-href="https://fedsoc.org/fedsoc-review/counting-to-two-thirds-how-close-are-we-to-a-convention-for-proposing-amendments-to-the-constitution" data-original-title="" href="https://fedsoc.org/fedsoc-review/counting-to-two-thirds-how-close-are-we-to-a-convention-for-proposing-amendments-to-the-constitution" target="_blank" title="">aggregating</a>”) of ancient authorizations with those recently obtained, planners claim that the threshold needed to call a convention under Article V has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/12/08/alec-policy-summit-features-push-to-legally-force-a-constitutional-convention/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/12/08/alec-policy-summit-features-push-to-legally-force-a-constitutional-convention/" target="_blank" title="">already been met</a>: two-thirds of the states. Third, because most of us aren’t even aware that this is happening….</p><p>For the American people to realize how much is at stake will require vast and to-the-point popular education. While the right has been tutoring its base in its version of the Constitution for years, the left has dropped this ball badly, particularly on such vital but wonky matters as how interpretation of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/commerce_clause#:~:text=The%20Commerce%20Clause%20refers%20to,and%20with%20the%20Indian%20tribes.%E2%80%9D" data-original-title="" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/commerce_clause#:~:text=The%20Commerce%20Clause%20refers%20to,and%20with%20the%20Indian%20tribes.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank" title="">Commerce Clause</a> after 1937 enabled all the federal regulations demanded by voters…. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/if-trump-decides-on-a-national-divorce-how-much-of-the-republican-party-will-follow-along" target="_blank" title="">If Trump Decides On A National Divorce, How Much Of The Republican Party Will Follow Along?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, February 9, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>A few days ago I saw an interesting substack by Thomas Zimmer about <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/domination-or-dissolution-rule-or" data-original-title="" href="https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/p/domination-or-dissolution-rule-or" target="_blank" title="">the far right secession fantasy</a>, which he worries is more serious than “just silly, pathetic cosplay from a bunch of grifters, buffoons, and lost souls…The trucker convoy fiasco also doesn’t change the fact that the border standoff is acting as a catalyst for the pervasive lusting for civil war and ubiquitous fantasizing about secession on the Right. This isn’t confined to extremist online fringes either. South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, for instance, fabulated we would ‘have a war on our hands were president Biden to federalize National Guard troops. Kevin Stitt, the Republican Governor of Oklahoma, argued that the Texas National Guard was merely ‘protecting their homeland’ from the federal government. And Representative Clay Higgins posted on Ex-Twitter that ‘the feds are staging a civil war, and Texas should stand their ground.’ These aren’t just outlier voices. Texas, with the explicit support from 25 .<span style="text-align: initial;">…</span><br /></p><p><span style="text-align: initial;">:[A]ll this secessionist fantasizing has been flanked by an increasingly violent political rhetoric— and open endorsement of political violence. In the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections, Georgia Representative <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1576315800079712257" href="https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1576315800079712257" target="_blank">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> campaigned on the idea that “Democrats want Republicans dead and they have already started the killings.” If someone were to truly believe that the president of the United States, the party in power, and the forces dominating a sinister “deep state” are engaged in a campaign to murder all members of the opposition party— what are they supposed to do? Just last week, Greene’s fellow Georgia Representative Mike Collins casually <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/05/republicans-far-right-extremists-augusto-pinochet-helicopters" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/05/republicans-far-right-extremists-augusto-pinochet-helicopters" target="_blank">called for an extrajudicial killing</a> styled after a foreign authoritarian regime’s terror campaign: “Or we could buy him a ticket on Pinochet Air for a free helicopter ride,” Collins posted on Ex-Twitter, referring to a man who had allegedly been involved in an attack on New York City police officers. This was a reference to the authoritarian military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile. After overthrowing the democratically elected Allende government in September 1973, the Pinochet regime persecuted dissidents and “disappeared” them. One way of doing that was to throw them out of aircraft, usually into the ocean. The practice of “disappearing” people had been a key tactic of the military dictatorship in Argentina; it was the focus of an international human rights campaign against Chile in the 1970s. “Make Leftists Disappear Again” has been a meme on the Far Right for several years— you’ll see it on t-shirts that sport the slogan plus the silhouette of a helicopter. That’s what this translates to: Let’s kill those “leftist” enemies here in America, like Pinochet did in Chile.</span><br /></p><p><span style="text-align: initial;">”The line between far-right extremism and the power center of conservative politics was always, at best, a permeable membrane. Now it has been completely eviscerated, to the point where no one should be surprised that a GOP congressman is openly propagating such ideas. The Republican Party doesn’t just tolerate such extremist figures in an attempt to appease the fringe— this isn’t simply a matter of acquiescence out of cowardice. This sort of radicalism is widely seen as justified on the Right. The GOP has abandoned and is now actively assaulting the foundations of democratic political culture. Accepting the legitimacy of the political opponent and denouncing the use of political violence: Republicans are delighting in crossing those essential lines.”</span><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p></blockquote><p><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178774/loper-bright-chevron-fishing-offshore-wind-supreme-court" target="_blank" title="">The Supreme Court’s Big Chevron Case Could Hamstring Federal Government. Here’s How It Got Started</a></strong><br /></p><p>Kate Aronoff, February 9, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Bright, Reichle, and Axelsson’s case, <em>Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo,</em> as well as a companion case before the court called <em>Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce,</em> ostensibly challenges a requirement that fishing boat owners pay for the federal observers who ensure companies aren’t overfishing. The government <a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/01/supreme-court-phony-fish-case-chevron.html" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/01/supreme-court-phony-fish-case-chevron.html" target="_blank">abandoned</a> that requirement last year and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/01/supreme-court-to-hear-major-case-on-power-of-federal-agencies/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/01/supreme-court-to-hear-major-case-on-power-of-federal-agencies/" target="_blank" title="">reimbursed</a> fisherman who had paid observer fees. The Supreme Court took these two cases anyway, so as to rule on a much broader question: whether to overturn a long-standing legal precedent known as the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R44954.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R44954.pdf" target="_blank" title=""><em>Chevron</em> deference</a>, wherein courts defer to the expertise of federal agencies to interpret congressional statutes. If they succeed in killing <em>Chevron,</em> this will be a massive victory for corporations looking to evade regulation….<br /></p><p>The group is being represented pro bono by lawyers at the Cause of Action Institute, as well as by Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general and conservative legal activist. Ryan Mulvey—part of the plaintiffs’ legal team—serves as both counsel for Cause of Action Institute and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americansforprosperity.org/bio/ryan-p-mulvey/" href="https://americansforprosperity.org/bio/ryan-p-mulvey/" target="_blank">policy counsel</a> for the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the education and research arm of the Koch brothers–backed lobby group Americans for Prosperity. Two other attorneys representing the plaintiffs, Eric Bolinder and James Valvo, who serve as counsel and executive director, respectively, at the Cause of Action Institute, also work for the Americans for Prosperity Foundation. According to the foundation’s most recently published Form <a data-cke-saved-href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521527294/202343199349301434/full" href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/521527294/202343199349301434/full" target="_blank">990 tax filing</a>, it granted $200,000 to the Cause of Action Institute in 2022.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-competition-between-west-and-the-rest-is-already-over/" target="_blank" title="">The Competition Between West And The Rest Is Already Over</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p><b></b>Ian Welsh<b>, </b>February 10, 2024<b></b><br /></p><blockquote><p>This is what people refuse to get: the West has already lost. It’s over. It’s done. There’ll be some shooting, but it doesn’t matter.</p><p>China has the world’s largest economy by all statistics that matter. It has by far and away the most manufacturing. It has way more shipbuilding capacity than the entire West.</p><p>China is the premier trade power. Most of the global “South” would rather trade with it: it gives better deals and it interferes less with internal politics. This will continue….<br /></p><p> It’s over. We lost without most of us even realizing we’d lost. When we decided to send our industry to China in exchange for some of our elites getting richer faster for three decades, we decided to give up our centuries old hegemony.</p><p>This isn’t to say all is woe, or that Western countries who are smart can’t maintain good standards of living. But we can only do so if we stop pretending we’re #1, the hegemonic civilization and everyone else has to kiss our asses or else….</p><p>...decay always begins at home. We gave our lead away, deliberately and as policy…. our elites need to be defenestrated as a class if the rest of us are to have any chance at decent lives.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/the-newer-world-order" data-original-title="" href="https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/the-newer-world-order" target="_blank" title="">The Newer World Order</a> </strong></p><p>Aurelien [via Naked Capitalism 02-10-2024]</p><blockquote><p>...We therefore face a problem which is, I think, unique in western history. It can be summarised as follows. A shallow and incapable ruling class and its parasites are confronted with a series of subtle changes in the way the international political and economic system works, some linked, some not, that require the sort of careful analysis and thoughtful reactions of which they are inherently incapable. At the same time, the machinery of politics and economics in their own countries is breaking down, and they have no idea why, or what to do about it. These two points—the inability to imagine alternatives and the incapacity to understand even what is going on in front of their eyes—are the two themes I want to develop in the essay….</p><p>...Likewise, the conviction of “unipolarity” or “hegemony” replacing the “bloc-to-bloc” logic of the Cold War seems to be very deeply ingrained now in the strategic mind. This hegemony is sometimes attributed to the West, sometimes to the United States alone, by critics as much as by proponents, and is assumed now to be the natural order of things. It is indirectly derived from the (dominant) Realist and Neo-realist schools of international relations theory, which postulate an anarchic international system with endless conflict of different sorts among states, and, naturally enough, strong states controlling weaker ones. And if you believe that the US now “rules the world,” in a system like this, and that the structure of the system itself is natural and will endure, then the only alternative you can imagine is another global hegemon….</p><p>In turn this is because the US is an extreme case of a political reality found everywhere: it is better to be wrong with the majority than right on your own. After all, given western control of media discourses (reducing markedly in fact) who is going to remember who was right and who was wrong in five years time, or even necessarily what the question was? More than any other major capital, Washington resembles a closed box made of mirrors where people talk entirely to each other, and where what matters is whether you have the right opinions, and can win battles against your peers. The rest of the world, I sometimes think, is just another lobby group, and reality just another factor to be taken into account. After all, you can have a Doctorate in Political Science theory with a brilliant reinterpretation of Leo Strauss, decide to specialise in Iran, and go on to a distinguished and lucrative career in think-tanks and universities with stints in government and NGOs, all without having visited Iran or speaking Farsi, because the public you can appeal to in your own country is so large.</p><p>Most countries suffer from at least a diluted version of this problem. But the West, and within the West the United States particularly, seems these days to be incapable of long-term thinking, or of sustaining any memory of even the relatively recent past. This means that almost any unexpected event is destabilising and inexplicable, because nobody has been studying long-term trends. Such disparate examples as the Chinese-brokered rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, or the rebuilding of the Russian defence industry over the last fifteen years, were prepared and undertaken in plain sight: it’s just that nobody was paying attention to them until their irruption into the news cycle made them unmissable. Likewise, nobody in the West can really analyse their long-term consequences properly, because we no longer have the capability or the inclination to do long-term thinking.</p><p>The result is panic and confusion, and the search for simple explanations, because the myopic western system cannot accommodate the almost infinite complexity of the real world….</p><p>What we have seen in the West over that period, and to some extent in other areas of the world as well, is not a conspiracy or a centrally directed programme, but the result of a common purpose, itself drawn from strong similarities in education, and interactions, and shared life experiences and social and economic circumstances, among a small but powerful group of people. The widespread trend towards highly educated professional politicians from comfortable backgrounds, with economically and socially liberal ideas, has created what I usually refer to as the Party, which has effective power in most of the world today. Through privatisation of public assets, the movement of capital and jobs around the world, the consolidation of media empires and many other factors, the Party’s members are just as likely to be found in business, the media or NGOs as in political life: indeed, it would not be inappropriate to describe them as a Communist Party-style <em>nomenklatura.</em> Highly educated, travelling and living internationally, they see only each other, and imbibe the same ideas. Reading the same newspapers and internet sites, attending the same conferences and workshops, lunching, dining and of course working together, they hear only the same opinions they themselves hold.</p><p>Less obvious is the impact of the small “pro-western” class found in many countries of the Global South today. These are people who have often been educated in the West, work for western-funded organisations, speak western languages and have assimilated dominant western Liberal ideas, either because they genuinely believe them, or because it is expedient for them to do so. In many cases they occupy important positions in politics, government, the media and business. The West fools itself into the belief that such people are representative of their societies, and is serially confused and disappointed when this proves not to be the case….</p><p>The Russians and Chinese, along with many other nations, are not looking to dominate the world, but rather to a world where different sorts of power are diffused in different ways, and decisions are taken by discussion and bargaining between groups that are much more equal. We do not have to assume that the leaders of such countries are animated by the highest moral sentiments: they see national advantage in moving towards a world where power is more dispersed, that’s all. But the process as a whole is likely to be uncomfortable for the West, stuck as it is with rigid and often unsophisticated assumptions about how the system works now, let alone what it is likely to evolve into. Dealing with that change is going to be a massive challenge for the political systems of the West. I’m not sure they are necessarily up to it.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://strategic-culture.su/news/2024/01/31/will-hegemon-ever-accept-new-westphalian-world-order/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Will the Hegemon Ever Accept a New Westphalian World Order?</strong></a> <br /></p><p>Pepe Escobar, February 1, 2024 [Strategic Culture Foundation, via Mike Norman Economics, January 17, 2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;">Pepe Escobar reviews Prof. Glenn Diesen's new book, </span><em style="text-align: start;">The Ukraine War & The Eurasian World Order….</em><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Poviding context, Diesen needs to engage in an obligatory detour to the basics of the Great Game between the Russian and British empires. What stands out is how Moscow already was pivoting to Asia all the way to the late 19<sup>th</sup> century, when Russian Finance Minister Sergei Witte started to develop a groundbreaking road map for a Eurasia political economy, <strong>“borrowing from Alexander Hamilton and Friedrich List.”</strong></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Witte “wanted to end Russia’s role as an exporter of natural resources to Europe as it resembled ‘the relations of colonial countries with their metropolises’”.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And that implies going back to Dostoyevsky, who argued that “Russians are as much Asiatics as European. The mistake of our policy for the past two centuries has been to make the people of Europe believe that we are true Europeans (…) It will be better for us to seek alliances with the Asiatics.” Dostoyevsky meets Putin-Xi.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Diesen also needs to go through the obligatory references to Mackinder’s “heartland” obsession – which is the basis of all Anglo-American geopolitics for the past hundred and twenty years.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Mackinder was spooked by railway development – especially the Trans-Siberian by the Russians – as it enabled Moscow to “emulate the nomadic skills of the Scythians, Huns and Mongols” that were essential to control most of Eurasia.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Mackinder was particularly focused on railways acting “chiefly as feeders to ocean-going commerce”. Ergo, being a thalassocratic power was not enough: “The heartland is the region to which under modern conditions, sea power can be refused access.”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And that’s what leads to the Rosetta Stone of Anglo-American geopolitics: to “prevent the emergence of a hegemon or a group of states capable of dominating Europe and Eurasia that could threaten the dominant maritime power.”</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-carlson-putin-interview/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/the-carlson-putin-interview/" title="">The Carlson/Putin Interview</a></strong></p><p><strong></strong>Ian Welsh, February 9, 2024<br /></p><blockquote><p>Whatever you think of Putin, at least he’s educated and speak in complete sentences and has a historical understanding (whether you agree with it or not.) He makes Trump and Biden look like the idiots they are.</p><p>In fact, Putin makes almost every Western leader look like an ill-educated moron…. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/02/09/tucker-carlson-interview-with-putin-what-went-wrong/" data-original-title="" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/02/09/tucker-carlson-interview-with-putin-what-went-wrong/" target="_blank" title="">Tucker Carlson interview with Putin: what went wrong?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 02-10-2024] A marked contrast from the fawning over Tucker on some sites. Some very astute observations.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/02/in-the-middle-east-the-us-has-reached-the-end-of-its-abilities.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/02/in-the-middle-east-the-us-has-reached-the-end-of-its-abilities.html" target="_blank" title="">In The Middle East The U.S. Has Reached The End Of Its Abilities</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Moon of Alabama, via Naked Capitalism 02-06-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://johnmenadue.com/americas-displacement-anxiety-and-the-decade-of-living-dangerously/" data-original-title="" href="https://johnmenadue.com/americas-displacement-anxiety-and-the-decade-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" title="">America’s displacement anxiety and the decade of living dangerously</a> </strong></p><p>[Warwick Powell, Pearls & Irritations, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/02/ukraine-sitrep-an-unliked-new-commander-a-critical-lack-of-infantry.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/02/ukraine-sitrep-an-unliked-new-commander-a-critical-lack-of-infantry.html" target="_blank" title="">Ukraine SitRep: A Hated New Commander – Critical Lack Of Infantry</a> </strong></p><p>[Moon of Alabama, via Naked Capitalism 02-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/democrats-are-demented-genocidal?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/democrats-are-demented-genocidal?" target="_blank" title="">Democrats Are Demented Genocidal War Sluts</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Caitlin Johnstone [via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wolfstreet.com/2024/02/08/us-trade-deficit-in-2023-dropped-19-as-goods-deficit-with-china-plunged-29-imports-exports-of-goods-services/" data-original-title="" href="https://wolfstreet.com/2024/02/08/us-trade-deficit-in-2023-dropped-19-as-goods-deficit-with-china-plunged-29-imports-exports-of-goods-services/" target="_blank" title="">US Trade Deficit in 2023 Dropped 19%, as Goods Deficit with China Plunged 29%: Imports & Exports of Goods & Services</a> </strong></p><p>Wolf Richter [via Naked Capitalism 02-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>COVID</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donotpanic.news/p/mass-disabling-event-denial" href="https://www.donotpanic.news/p/mass-disabling-event-denial" target="_blank">Mass Disabling Event Denial</a></strong></p><p>Nate Bear [Do Not Panic!, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-09-2024] </p><blockquote><p>“In 2022 scientists said covid was likely to be a mass disabling event. Mass media articles <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/06/long-covid-chronic-illness-disability/661285/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/06/long-covid-chronic-illness-disability/661285/" target="_blank">covered</a> this forecast <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/newsletter/2022-07-26/todays-headlines-long-covid-todays-headlines" href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/newsletter/2022-07-26/todays-headlines-long-covid-todays-headlines" target="_blank">widely at the time</a>…. Four years later, these forecasts are becoming our reality. The number of long-term sick in the UK was revised upwards this week to a record high of more than 2.8 million after falling consistently until 2020…. In the US the numbers are skyrocketing. On current trends the number of Americans registered as having a disability will top 10 million sometime next year. In Canada 27% of people now have a registered disability. The same thing is being seen in countries around the world. All since 2020. The mass disabling event we were warned of is here. But instead of headlines warning us that yes, indeed, those forecasts we wrote about are becoming reality, something strange is happening. The very same media and politicians who warned about the threat of covid as a mass disabling event are now blaming everything other than the virus for the mass disability.” </p></blockquote><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/broadwaybabyto/status/1754738510957830364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1754738510957830364%7Ctwgr%5E982cc6b0e10060a0ef730174cbb1e75287b18666%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2F200pm-water-cooler-2-6-2024.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/broadwaybabyto/status/1754738510957830364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1754738510957830364%7Ctwgr%5E982cc6b0e10060a0ef730174cbb1e75287b18666%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2F200pm-water-cooler-2-6-2024.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-06-2024]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="4" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Covid prevention is 100% a class struggle. Respirators, HEPA filters, nose sprays, tests, single dwelling homes… they all cost money. We need to acknowledge this &amp;amp; push for free respirators for everyone who wants/needs one &amp;amp; clean air in all public places. &lt;a href="https://t.co/3ngCmWvpyj"&gt;https://t.co/3ngCmWvpyj&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Kelly (@broadwaybabyto) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/broadwaybabyto/status/1754738510957830364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 6, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754738510957830364" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754738510957830364&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2221727%2Fedit&sessionId=f910d5b47904511ce081e01afe8d33d601ef7a6a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 863px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>.</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w32040" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w32040" target="_blank" title="">What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across The U.S.</a> </strong></p><p>National Bureau of Economic Research, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024] </p><blockquote><p>From the abstract: “Spending on basic infrastructure (such as HVAC) or on the removal of pollutants raises test scores but not house prices; conversely, spending on athletic facilities raises house prices but not test scores.”</p></blockquote><p><strong><a href="https://itsairborne.com/clean-air-delivery-rate-is-all-that-matters-5a5a064c211e" target="_blank">Clean Air Delivery Rate Is All That Matters!</a></strong><br /></p><p>Joey Fox [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://itsairborne.com/clean-air-delivery-rate-is-all-that-matters-5a5a064c211e" data-original-title="" href="https://itsairborne.com/clean-air-delivery-rate-is-all-that-matters-5a5a064c211e" target="_blank" title="">Medium</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-05-2024] :<br /></p><blockquote><p>A clean air delivery rate (CADR) is the measurement of how quickly air that is free of a pollutant is supplied to a space. It is specified as a volume of air per unit of time. For example, it can be measured as cubic feet of clean air per minute (CFM), or liters of clean air per second (lps), or cubic meters of clean air per hour (m³/h). Because the amount of air supplied and removed from the space are the same, the CADR can also be thought of as the dirty air removal rate. Despite many marketing claims, the CADR is the only relevant measurement of air cleaner effectiveness. Unfortunately, not just air cleaner salespeople, but even academics and health experts are often mistaken on this issue. It needs to be addressed once and for all….. ‘The dose makes the poison.’ It’s a simple enough concept. Anything in quantities too low is harmless. Anything in quantities too high can be lethal. The same is true for air pollutants…. Reduce the dose by reducing the concentration. Reduce the concentration by increasing the removal rate. It’s that simple. When assessing the risk of the space from an air quality perspective, all that matters is the CADR.” <br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/yBUwF" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/yBUwF" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Decabillionaire </strong></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/yBUwF" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/yBUwF" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Dynasties: These Are The Richest Families In America</strong></a> </p><p>[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-08-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/robkhenderson/status/1755237805503214013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1755237805503214013%7Ctwgr%5Ef46e27af380857a7cc8450ab37948770e60b4dbb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2F200pm-water-cooler-2-8-2024.html" href="https://twitter.com/robkhenderson/status/1755237805503214013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1755237805503214013%7Ctwgr%5Ef46e27af380857a7cc8450ab37948770e60b4dbb%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2F200pm-water-cooler-2-8-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-08-2024]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Firefighters and MBA students were asked how they&amp;#39;d feel if they bought a new car, showed their friend, and next day the friend buys the same kind of car &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;% who report they&amp;#39;d feel:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Upset&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Firefighters: 3%&lt;br&gt;MBAs: 47%&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Betrayed&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Firefighters: 13%&lt;br&gt;MBAs: 47% &lt;a href="https://t.co/nbiuOgLlfd"&gt;https://t.co/nbiuOgLlfd&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/zirExILK0u"&gt;pic.twitter.com/zirExILK0u&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Rob Henderson (@robkhenderson) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/robkhenderson/status/1755237805503214013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 7, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1755237805503214013&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2221727%2Fedit&sessionId=7e70e151e4216c3a85821d07d319aeed06ea7739&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-15390-008" data-original-title="" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2007-15390-008" target="_blank" title="">Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class.</a></strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/6tA4A" target="_blank" title="">Could a Rogue Billionaire Make a Nuclear Weapon?</a></strong> </p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-05-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“It would take as little as a billion dollars’ investment and five years to produce the first bomb, the [Office of Net Assessment] study concluded [in 2018]</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p><strong>Predatory Finance</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/jamie-dimon-has-spent-117-billion-propping-up-jpmorgans-share-price-with-buybacks-in-10-years-hes-counting-on-trumps-maga-crowd-to-rescue-him/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/jamie-dimon-has-spent-117-billion-propping-up-jpmorgans-share-price-with-buybacks-in-10-years-hes-counting-on-trumps-maga-crowd-to-rescue-him/" target="_blank" title="">Jamie Dimon Has Spent $117 Billion Propping Up JPMorgan’s Share Price with Buybacks in 10 Years; He’s Counting on Trump’s MAGA Crowd to Rescue Him</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, February 5, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]</p><blockquote><p>...Running to the aid of Dimon in his battle to stop the proposed new capital rules by federal regulators – which would impact just the 37 banks (out of 4,600) in the U.S. that hold $100 billion or more in assets – is the MAGA-controlled House Financial Services Committee. Its website is so brazenly pro-Trump that <em>yesterday</em> it featured under a heading of “Latest on Twitter” a <em>2020</em> Tweet heaping praise on Trump along with a photo of Trump in the Oval Office. (See screenshot to the right.)</p><p>On January 31, the MAGA-dominated House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on the proposed new capital rules under the biased title: “Rules Without Analysis: Federal Banking Proposals Under the Biden Administration.”</p></blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/bank-fraud-enters-a-new-era-bank-to-bank-wire-transfers-loot-customers/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/02/bank-fraud-enters-a-new-era-bank-to-bank-wire-transfers-loot-customers/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Bank Fraud Enters a New Era: Bank-to-Bank Wire Transfers Loot Customers</strong></a></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, February 2, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/6fb1602d-a08b-4a8c-bac0-047b7d64aba5" target="_blank" title="">‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Cory Doctorow, FT, via Naked Capitalism 02-08-2024]</p><blockquote><div>Last year, I coined the term “enshittification” to describe the way that platforms decay. That obscene little word did big numbers; it really hit the zeitgeist. The American Dialect Society made it its <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/97dg2/https://americandialect.org/2023-word-of-the-year-is-enshittification/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/97dg2/https://americandialect.org/2023-word-of-the-year-is-enshittification/" target="_blank" title="">Word of the Year</a> for 2023….</div><div><br /></div><div>So what’s enshittification and why did it catch fire? It’s my theory explaining how the internet was colonised by platforms, why all those platforms are degrading so quickly and thoroughly, why it matters and what we can do about it…. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But in case you want to be more precise, let’s examine how enshittification works. It’s a three-stage process: first, platforms are good to their users. Then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers. Finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, there is a fourth stage: they die….<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="is-empty-p"></p><div>When a whole bunch of independent entities all change in the same way at once, that’s a sign that the environment has changed, and that’s what happened to tech. Tech companies, like all companies, have conflicting imperatives. On the one hand, they want to make money. On the other hand, making money involves hiring and motivating competent staff, and making products that customers want to buy. The more value a company permits its employees and customers to carve off, the less value it can give to its shareholders.</div><div><br /></div><div>The equilibrium in which companies produce things we like in honourable ways at a fair price is one in which charging more, worsening quality and harming workers costs more than the company would make by playing dirty. There are four forces that discipline companies, serving as constraints on their enshittificatory impulses….<br /></div></div></blockquote><div><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thefifthestate.com.au/the-conversation/is-capitalism-dead-yanis-varoufakis-thinks-it-is-and-he-knows-who-killed-it/" data-original-title="" href="https://thefifthestate.com.au/the-conversation/is-capitalism-dead-yanis-varoufakis-thinks-it-is-and-he-knows-who-killed-it/" target="_blank" title="">Is capitalism dead? Yanis Varoufakis thinks it is – and he knows who killed it</a> </strong></p><p>[The Fifth Estate, via Naked Capitalism 02-08-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Traditional capitalists, he proposes, have become “vassal capitalists”. They are subordinate and dependent on a new breed of “lords” – the Big Tech companies – who generate enormous wealth via new digital platforms. A new form of algorithmic capital has evolved – what Varoufakis calls “cloud capital” – and it has displaced “capitalism’s two pillars: markets and profits”….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/does-techno-fascist-how-much-of-it-does-and-how-inevitable-is-that" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/does-techno-fascist-how-much-of-it-does-and-how-inevitable-is-that" target="_blank" title="">Does Techno = Fascist? How Much Of It Does And How Inevitable Is That?</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, February 4, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>I’ve been experimenting with Bard, Google’s AI interface, and I’ve come to the conclusion that between 70 and 80% of questions that require research, result in wrong answers. That’s a lot of wrong answers. I got into a discussion with it yesterday about why there are more wrong answers now than there were 6 months ago. The response was mostly more bullshit: “I deeply apologize for my repeated irrelevant responses and understand your frustration. There is something wrong with my ability to process this specific topic, and I am working on identifying the issue… It appears there is still an issue with my ability to properly process this specific topic and provide relevant information. I am currently undergoing evaluation and troubleshooting to identify and fix the root cause of these errors.” Later in the discussion, it added “I appreciate your offer to speak directly with my programmers, but unfortunately, I don't have direct access to them and wouldn't be able to facilitate a call. However, I'm taking your feedback very seriously and it will be relayed to the appropriate teams working on improving my abilities.”</p><p>I spoke with a Member of Congress today who told me several hours of his life were consumed by a tech company’s customer service department. “Growing up,” he told me, “who would have ever imagined in one day you’d speak to someone in the Philippines, two people in India and one in Uruguay? In just the course of a few hours?” He was very frustrated and his problem remains unsolved….</p><p><span style="text-align: initial;">Adrienne LaFrance’s <em>Atlantic</em> feature <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/03/facebook-meta-silicon-valley-politics/677168/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/03/facebook-meta-silicon-valley-politics/677168/" target="_blank" title="">The Rise of Techno-Authoritarianism</a> is not about a crazed club dj playing <a data-cke-saved-href="https://youtu.be/t0r4wejRY0U?si=awR-G12-20c-mw1p" href="https://youtu.be/t0r4wejRY0U?si=awR-G12-20c-mw1p" target="_blank">RazorMaid remixes</a> all night. No, it’s about what LaFrance referred to as Facebook being a “digital imperialist superpower” and Zuckerberg’s mantra “Company over country.”</span></p><div data-hook="rcv-block12"><span style="text-align: initial;">LaFrance wrote that “Facebook (now Meta) has become an avatar of all that is wrong with Silicon Valley. Its self-interested role in spreading global disinformation is an ongoing crisis. Recall, too, the company’s secret <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/" target="_blank">mood-manipulation experiment</a> in 2012, which <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/" target="_blank">deliberately tinkered</a> with what users saw in their News Feed in order to measure how Facebook could <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1320040111" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1320040111" target="_blank">influence people’s emotional states</a> without their knowledge. Or its participation in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://time.com/6217730/myanmar-meta-rohingya-facebook/" href="https://time.com/6217730/myanmar-meta-rohingya-facebook/" target="_blank">inciting genocide in Myanmar</a> in 2017. Or its use as a clubhouse for planning and executing the January 6, 2021, insurrection. (In Facebook’s early days, Zuckerberg listed “revolutions” among his interests. This was around the time that he had a business card printed with ‘I’m ceo, bitch.’) And yet, to a remarkable degree, Facebook’s way of doing business remains the norm for the tech industry as a whole, even as other social platforms (TikTok) and technological developments (artificial intelligence) eclipse Facebook in cultural relevance.”….</span></div><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;">The new technocrats are ostentatious in their use of language that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/henry-kissinger-ai-could-mean-the-end-of-human-history/559124/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/06/henry-kissinger-ai-could-mean-the-end-of-human-history/559124/" target="_blank">appeals to Enlightenment values</a>— reason, progress, freedom— but in fact they are leading an antidemocratic, illiberal movement. Many of them profess unconditional support for free speech, but are vindictive toward those who say things that do not flatter them. They tend to hold eccentric beliefs: that technological progress of any kind is unreservedly and inherently good; that you should always build it, simply because you can; that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/twitter-pause-button/592762/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/08/twitter-pause-button/592762/" target="_blank">frictionless information flow</a> is the highest value regardless of the information’s quality; that privacy is an archaic concept; that we should welcome the day when machine intelligence surpasses our own. And above all, that their power should be unconstrained. The systems they’ve built or are building— to rewire communications, remake human social networks, insinuate artificial intelligence into daily life, and more— impose these beliefs on the population, which is neither consulted nor, usually, meaningfully informed. All this, and they still attempt to perpetuate the absurd myth that they are the swashbuckling underdogs.<br /></p><blockquote></blockquote></div></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/thomas-linzey-community-rights-democracy-citizens-united-fairy-tales" data-original-title="" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/thomas-linzey-community-rights-democracy-citizens-united-fairy-tales" target="_blank" title="">No More Fairy Tales: Why the United States Needs a Whole New Operating System</a> </strong></p><p>[In These Times, via Naked Capitalism 02-08-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“Because corporations have constitutional ”rights,” if a community makes a decision to stop a bad project that has been permitted by the state or federal government, a corporation has the ability to sue the community to force its project into the town. There’s no self-government at work here.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-dirty-business-of-clean-blood?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-dirty-business-of-clean-blood?" target="_blank" title="">The Dirty Business of Clean Blood</a> </strong></p><p>[BIG, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024] by Matt Stoller</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.somo.nl/hungry-for-profits/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.somo.nl/hungry-for-profits/" target="_blank" title="">Hungry for profits</a> </strong></p><p>[SOMO, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“How monopoly power tripled the profits of global agricultural commodity traders in the last three years.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/over-2-percent-of-the-uss-electricity-generation-now-goes-to-bitcoin/" data-original-title="" href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/over-2-percent-of-the-uss-electricity-generation-now-goes-to-bitcoin/" target="_blank" title="">Over 2 percent of the US’s electricity generation now goes to bitcoin</a> </strong></p><p>[ars Technica, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health </strong><span color="initial"><b>crises</b></span></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/how-the-nursing-home-lobby-uses-its?" data-original-title="" href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/how-the-nursing-home-lobby-uses-its?" target="_blank" title="">How the nursing home lobby uses it’s political prowess to kill would-be regulations and line the industry’s pockets</a> </strong></p><p>Wendell Potter [via Naked Capitalism 02-06-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-republicans-privatize-medicare-1234960808" data-original-title="" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-republicans-privatize-medicare-1234960808" target="_blank" title="">Republicans Are Planning to Totally Privatize Medicare if Trump Wins</a> </strong></p><p>Andrew Perez [Rolling Stone, via downwithtyranny 02-06-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Last year, for the first time ever, a majority of Americans eligible for Medicare were on privatized Medicare Advantage plans. If Republicans win the presidential race this year, the push to fully privatize Medicare, the government health insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities, will only intensify. Conservative operatives have already sketched out what the GOP’s policy agenda would look like in the early days of a new Donald Trump presidency. As <em>Rolling Stone</em> has detailed, the proposed Project 2025 agenda is radically right-wing. One item buried in the 887-page blueprint has attracted little attention thus far, but would have a monumental impact on the health of America’s seniors and the future of one of America’s most popular social programs: a call to ‘make Medicare Advantage the default enrollment option’ for people who are newly eligible for Medicare.…<br /></p><p>Such a policy would hasten the end of the traditional Medicare program, as well as its foundational premise: that seniors can go to any doctor or provider they choose. The change would be a boon for private health insurers— which generate massive profits and growing portions of their revenues from Medicare Advantage plans— and further consolidate corporate control over the United States health care system. …<br /></p><p>Under traditional Medicare, enrollees are free to visit any doctor who accepts Medicare (nearly all physicians do). Medicare Advantage plans, by contrast, often have limited networks of doctors that patients can choose from, and many providers have stopped accepting the private plans because they so often deny the prior authorization requests they require before patients can receive services.</p></blockquote><p><br /><a href="https://prospect.org/health/2024-02-08-bernie-sanders-congress-high-drug-prices/" target="_blank"><strong>Bernie Sanders Isn’t Thankful for High Drug Prices</strong></a><br /></p><p>David Dayen, February 8, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Sen. Sanders has a different view. He noted that Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb, two of the companies participating in today’s hearing, spent more on stock buybacks, dividends, and executive compensation in 2022 than on research and development. Moreover, their innovation often goes to “me-too drugs,” where, as Sanders said, “they are trying to make minor alterations to get another patent and maintain their monopoly.” Indeed, the HELP Committee report found that Merck put 168 different patents on Keytruda, 64 percent of them after it received FDA approval. These “patent thickets” are designed to extend the exclusivity period.<br /></p><p>Two of the three drugs in the crosshairs of Sanders’s investigation—Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis—are among the first ten drugs selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for price negotiation in Medicare. Both companies have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/johnson-johnson-becomes-4th-big-pharma-file-suit-against-ira-drug-price-negotiations" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/johnson-johnson-becomes-4th-big-pharma-file-suit-against-ira-drug-price-negotiations" target="_blank" title="">filed suit against the U.S.</a> to block the price negotiation, which is the crown jewel of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/04/business/medicare-drugs-part-d.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/04/business/medicare-drugs-part-d.html" target="_blank">drug reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act</a>. Other reforms for Medicare beneficiaries include a cap on out-of-pocket drug costs (down to $3,300 this year and $2,000 in 2025), a $35-per-month cap on insulin, and a rebate from drug companies on price increases that exceed the rate of inflation.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/ai-cannot-be-used-to-deny-health-care-coverage-feds-clarify-to-insurers/" data-original-title="" href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/02/ai-cannot-be-used-to-deny-health-care-coverage-feds-clarify-to-insurers/" target="_blank" title="">AI Cannot Be Used To Deny Health Care Coverage, Feds Clarify To Insurers</a> </strong></p><p>[ars technica, via Naked Capitalism 02-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.arlnow.com/2024/02/06/report-arlingtons-first-guaranteed-income-pilot-boosted-quality-of-life-for-poorest-residents/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.arlnow.com/2024/02/06/report-arlingtons-first-guaranteed-income-pilot-boosted-quality-of-life-for-poorest-residents/" target="_blank" title="">Report: Arlington’s [Virginia] first guaranteed income pilot boosted quality of life for poorest residents</a> </strong></p><p>[ArlNow, via Naked Capitalism 02-08-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Parents with children under 18, earning less than $46,600 annually, reported that the additional $500 monthly helped them obtain better-paying jobs, address basic needs and improve their overall well-being, according to a new <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.arlcf.org/arlingtons-guarantee/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.arlcf.org/arlingtons-guarantee/" title="">report</a> by the Arlington Community Foundation (ACF), the local nonprofit that oversaw the pilot.</p><p>Moreover, the monthly payments enabled individuals to invest in certifications and educational advancement and tackle their medical bills, credit card debt and student loans.</p><p>Between September 2021 and last December, ACF provided the monthly stipend to families earning 30% of the area median income so they could continue living in Arlington, which is known for having some of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.arlnow.com/2023/07/27/report-arlington-has-tenth-highest-rent-in-the-u-s/" href="https://www.arlnow.com/2023/07/27/report-arlington-has-tenth-highest-rent-in-the-u-s/">highest living costs</a> in the nation.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178917/wage-theft-law-journalism-economy" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178917/wage-theft-law-journalism-economy" target="_blank" title="">The Corporate Crooks Who Got Caught Stealing Workers’ Wages</a></strong></p><p>Jason Linkins, February 10, 2024 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>...Back in September, I highlighted a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/thousands-of-new-york-workers-have-been-victims-of-wage-theft?mc_cid=e73368124d&mc_eid=UNIQID" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/thousands-of-new-york-workers-have-been-victims-of-wage-theft?mc_cid=e73368124d&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank">blockbuster report from ProPublica</a>, who, working in a partnership with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nywagetheft.com/?mc_cid=e73368124d&mc_eid=UNIQID" href="https://www.nywagetheft.com/?mc_cid=e73368124d&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank">Documented New York</a>, dug through federal and state databases and uncovered a staggering degree of wage theft: From 2017 to 2021, “more than $203 million in wages had been stolen from about 127,000 workers in New York.”</p><p>But the best thing about all that reporting is that it’s been put to very good use. As ProPublica reported this week, New York state lawmakers have proposed <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/wage-theft-law-new-york-violators-doing-business" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/wage-theft-law-new-york-violators-doing-business" target="_blank">a battery of bills</a> that will bring the hammer down on wage thieves by allowing state agencies to strip scofflaws of their ability to do business.</p><p>One bill, centered on the restaurant industry—where workers in New York had <a data-cke-saved-href="https://documentedny.com/2023/08/22/wage-theft-restaurants-new-york-nyc/" href="https://documentedny.com/2023/08/22/wage-theft-restaurants-new-york-nyc/" target="_blank">$52 million stolen</a> from them between 2017 and 20201—would allow the “New York State Liquor Authority to suspend liquor licenses for bars and restaurants that the Department of Labor has determined owe more than $1,000 in back wages to their workers.” The second bill “would enable the Department of Labor to place a stop-work order on any business that has a wage theft claim of at least $1,000”; this has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/press/2023/20230914_wages.shtml" href="https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/press/2023/20230914_wages.shtml" target="_blank">an effective punishment</a> in other cases. Finally, the third bill “allows the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to suspend a business’s certificate of authority—which allows it to collect sales tax and conduct business—in cases where wage theft exceeds $1,000.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2024-02-08-judges-consumer-worker-advocates/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Judges Who Were Consumer or Worker Advocates? Not Many.</strong></a><br /></p><p>Ramenda Cyrus, February 6, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Indeed, according to an Alliance for Justice <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://afj.org/article/economic-justice-judges-and-the-law/" href="https://afj.org/article/economic-justice-judges-and-the-law/" target="_blank">report</a></u>, Biden’s nominations have been 75 percent women and more than 60 percent people of color. But even with the administration’s commitment to diversifying the bench, professional diversity remains scarce. Judges typically come from private law firms, or from a past profession of litigating corporate issues, or having worked as a prosecutor. Rarely have nominations come from what Alliance for Justice calls the “economic justice” side of the legal system, or from civil rights lawyers, or public defenders.</p><p>Biden’s record on professional diversity has been marginally better than his predecessors’, as he has nominated more public defenders and civil rights lawyers than the norm. Ketanji Brown Jackson, whom Biden nominated and saw confirmed as the first Black woman Supreme Court justice, came from a public defender background. As Alliance for Justice noted, Jackson had been one of five public defenders appointed to the appeals circuit under Biden.</p><p>This nearly doubled the number of former public defenders on the appeals courts, and marked the first Supreme Court Justice to have worked as a public defender,” the report stated. The report, “Economic Justice, Judges, and the Law,” found that while the bench has been diversifying, there is still a lack of judges with “economic justice” experience, which AFJ categorizes to include consumer protection and union-side labor law. Overall, the report found that just 6 percent of judges had economic justice experience, while more than 80 percent had experience representing corporations. In 2022, just 11 of 171 federal appellate judges had economic justice experience.<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>"<a data-cke-saved-href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/solar-panels-save-teachers-raise" data-original-title="" href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/solar-panels-save-teachers-raise" title="">A School Bought Solar Panels And Saved Enough To Give All Its Teachers Raises</a>: <em>'</em></strong><br /></p><p><strong><em></em></strong>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://futurism.com/" href="https://futurism.com/" target="_blank">futurism.com</a>, via <a href="https://avedoncarol.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Avedon's Sideshow</a>, 01-28-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p><strong><em></em></strong><em>The Sun Is Going To Be Shining Anyway, So Why Not Cash In On That?'</em> A rural school district in Batesville, Arkansas generated enough solar energy to give every teacher a raise, CBS News reports. Salaries were only averaging around $45,000 at the Batesville School District, with many teachers leaving as a result. It was also proving difficult to attract new teachers to the town of just 10,000 people. But then the school district, which included a high school and five other education centers, turned an unused field into a solar energy farm back in 2017. It also covered the front of the high school in 1,500 panels. After installing the solar array and investing in other new energy infrastructure, Climatewire reports that the district turned a $250,000 annual budget deficit into a $1.8 million surplus — enough, according to CBS, to give every teacher a raise of up to $15,000."<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/02/08/jury-awards-climate-scientist-michael-mann-1-million-in-defamation-lawsuit/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/02/08/jury-awards-climate-scientist-michael-mann-1-million-in-defamation-lawsuit/" target="_blank" title="">Jury awards climate scientist Michael Mann $1 million in defamation lawsuit</a> </strong></p><p>[Orlando Sentinel, via Naked Capitalism 02-09-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gcaptain.com/new-report-sheds-light-on-rapid-expansion-of-arctic-shipping/" data-original-title="" href="https://gcaptain.com/new-report-sheds-light-on-rapid-expansion-of-arctic-shipping/" target="_blank" title="">New Report Sheds Light on Rapid Expansion of Arctic Shipping</a> </strong></p><p>[gCaptain, via Naked Capitalism 02-08-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.universetoday.com/165651/nasas-jpl-lays-off-hundreds-of-workers/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.universetoday.com/165651/nasas-jpl-lays-off-hundreds-of-workers/" target="_blank" title="">NASA’s JPL Lays Off Hundreds of Workers</a></strong> </p><p>[Universe Today, via Naked Capitalism 02-10-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sciencealert.com/its-confirmed-laser-fusion-experiment-hit-a-critical-milestone-in-power-generation" data-original-title="" href="https://www.sciencealert.com/its-confirmed-laser-fusion-experiment-hit-a-critical-milestone-in-power-generation" target="_blank" title="">It’s Confirmed! Laser Fusion Experiment Hit a Critical Milestone in Power Generation</a> </strong></p><p>[ScienceAlert, via Naked Capitalism 02-07-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.popsci.com/science/3d-printed-brain-tissue/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.popsci.com/science/3d-printed-brain-tissue/" target="_blank" title="">Scientists Have 3D Bioprinted Functioning Human Brain Tissue</a> </strong></p><p>[Popular Science, via Naked Capitalism 02-07-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div data-breakout="normal"></div><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/The_Acumen/status/1754874863326556484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1754874863326556484%7Ctwgr%5E982cc6b0e10060a0ef730174cbb1e75287b18666%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2F200pm-water-cooler-2-6-2024.html" href="https://twitter.com/The_Acumen/status/1754874863326556484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1754874863326556484%7Ctwgr%5E982cc6b0e10060a0ef730174cbb1e75287b18666%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2F200pm-water-cooler-2-6-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-06-2024]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="5" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Watching Democrats in blue run cities/states give us policy and legislation they told us to be afraid Republicans would pass. This is a direct attack on protesters and creating more mass surveillance. &lt;a href="https://t.co/PlpzZGQcKR"&gt;https://t.co/PlpzZGQcKR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— AshleyStevens (@The_Acumen) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/The_Acumen/status/1754874863326556484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 6, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1754874863326556484" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1754874863326556484&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2221727%2Fedit&sessionId=f910d5b47904511ce081e01afe8d33d601ef7a6a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 907px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>.</p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian / (anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texasobserver.org/greg-abbott-border-crisis-climate-change-refugees/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.texasobserver.org/greg-abbott-border-crisis-climate-change-refugees/" target="_blank" title="">Abbott’s Border Standoff Fueled by a Climate Crisis He Helped to Create</a> </strong></p><p>[Texas Observer, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/ron-desantis-has-been-dreaming-of?" data-original-title="" href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/ron-desantis-has-been-dreaming-of?" target="_blank" title="">Ron DeSantis has been dreaming of complete military power for three years. Florida lawmakers may finally give it to him.</a> </strong></p><p>[Seeking Rents, via Naked Capitalism 02-04-2024]</p><p>[TW: One thing that particularly stuck me in reading about the years leading to the Civil War, is how the slaveholding states quietly raised, armed, and prepared their state militias, while no such activity was occurring in the northern states. Not surprisingly, when the shooting actually began, the Confederate states were more effective on the field of battle. On the other hand, these pre-war preparations for war helped fuel the delusions of Confederate leaders that they could militarily defeat the north. As historian and World War 2 war correspondent Fletcher Pratt pointed out, eventually the socially stratified southern society was completely unable to replace its military leadership, while after some initial stumbling the north relentlessly turned out swarms of highly trained and capable combat leaders. ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-elections-2024" target="_blank" title="">Feds 'All F—king Tied Up in Knots' Over How to Handle Election Threats</a></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>JESSICA CORBETT, February 09, 2024 [Common Dreams]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>Just nine months away from the U.S. general election, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/09/politics/biden-officials-exercise-2024-election-chaos/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/09/politics/biden-officials-exercise-2024-election-chaos/index.html" target="_blank" title="">reporting</a> published Friday by <em>CNN</em> suggests the federal government is poorly prepared to respond to "<a data-cke-saved-href="https://x.com/IsaacDovere/status/1756025612894879860?s=20" data-original-title="" href="https://x.com/IsaacDovere/status/1756025612894879860?s=20" target="_blank" title="">nightmare scenarios</a>," from violence at the polls to disinformation created with artificial intelligence.</p><p>One U.S. official familiar with a previously unreported meeting at the White House Situation Room in December told <em>CNN</em>'s Sean Lyngaas that in terms of a coordinated federal response to an election-related threat, "we're all f—king tied up in knots."</p><p>Citing four unnamed sources, Lyngaas reported that leaders from the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and departments of Homeland Security and Justice gathered for a first-of-its-kind drill featuring two simulations: "What if Chinese operatives created a fake AI-generated video showing a Senate candidate destroying ballots? And how should federal agencies respond if violence erupts at polling stations on Election Day?"</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>14th Amendment</strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/supreme-court-hears-trump-14th-amendment-case-election?taid=65c249938b17820001a51959&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" title="">Disenfranchisement and Chaos’: The Supreme Court Hears Pivotal Case on Whether Trump Is Eligible to Run for President</a></strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/supreme-court-hears-trump-14th-amendment-case-election?taid=65c249938b17820001a51959&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter" data-original-title="" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/supreme-court-hears-trump-14th-amendment-case-election?taid=65c249938b17820001a51959&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" title="">Pro Publica</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-06-2024] <br /></p><blockquote><p>“The 14th Amendment bans insurrectionists from serving as a ‘Senator or Representatives in Congress,’ ‘electors of President and Vice President,’ or in ‘any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State.’ There is no direct mention of the presidency. It applies to anyone who took the oath of office to defend the Constitution, including anyone who was “an officer of the United States.” One camp of legal scholars argues that it would be nonsensical and inconsistent with the intent of those who drafted the amendment to say that it excluded the presidency…. Other scholars say the omission of the presidency from the 14th Amendment is so glaring that it can be read as an intentional decision. ‘It’s very strange to name the Senate and House but not the president,’ said Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, characterizing this position. ‘If you list a bunch of things and you omit one thing, you probably did it on purpose.'” And: “In an amicus brief in the Trump v. Anderson case, Hasen, Ohio State law professor Ned Foley and longtime Republican election lawyer Ben Ginsberg lay out a chilling scenario in which the court deferred to Congress [via Section Five] on the question of Trump’s eligibility. If Trump were to win the presidential election and Democrats were to win control of Congress, then those Democratic lawmakers could, in theory, vote to disqualify Trump in January 2025 if they believe he engaged in insurrection, as many Democrats have said they do. ‘What would it mean for a Democratic Congress to say, ‘Donald Trump can’t serve even though he won?” Hasen said. ‘To me, that’s a recipe for potential political violence.'” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-14th-amendment-insurrection-supreme-court-colorado-2b9d5b628cb2779fc84212cdc651e4e7" target="_blank" title="">Here’s how 2 sentences in the Constitution rose from obscurity to ensnare Donald Trump</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Associated Press, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-06-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“In the summer of 2020, Gerard Magliocca, like many during the coronavirus pandemic, found himself stuck inside with time on his hands. A law professor at Indiana University, Magliocca emailed with another professor, who was writing a book about overlooked parts of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. He decided he would research the history of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8" data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-insurrection-14th-amendment-2024-colorado-79373b5043976588b599fc00ede049e8" target="_blank" title="">two long-neglected sentences</a> in the post-Civil War addition that prohibit those who ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion’ from holding office. Magliocca posted a copy of his research — which he believed was the first law journal article ever written about Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — online in mid-December of 2020, then revised and re-posted it on Dec. 29. Eight days later, President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol to prevent the certification of his loss to Joe Biden. Magliocca watched as Republicans such as Sens. Mitch McConnell and Mitt Romney described the attack as an ‘insurrection.’ That night, Magliocca composed a quick post on a legal blog: ‘Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,’ he wrote, ‘might apply to President Trump.’… Once she had dried her tears after watching rioters storm the Capitol, Norma Anderson sat down with one of the multiple copies of the Constitution she keeps around her house in the Denver suburbs and reread the 14th Amendment. ‘I made the connection,’ Anderson, now 91, said in an interview. Anderson is a former Republican leader of Colorado’s General Assembly and state Senate, and eventually would become the lead plaintiff in the case now before the Supreme Court… Anderson didn’t yet have the chance to spread the word beyond her own circle, but in the days after Jan. 6, thanks to scholars such as Magliocca and the University of Maryland law professor whose book project had inspired him, Mark Graber, Section 3 started its slow emergence from obscurity…. It took months before the first mention of Section 3 in a public document. Free Speech For People, a Massachusetts-based liberal nonprofit, sent letters to top election officials in all 50 states in June 2021, warning them not to place Trump on the ballot should he run again in 2024 because he had violated the provision.” </p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-686037915937775262024-02-04T13:12:00.002-06:002024-02-10T14:35:32.086-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 4, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – February 4, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trader-joes-attorney-nlrb-unconstitutional_n_65b41e7ae4b014b873b11cc2" data-original-title="" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trader-joes-attorney-nlrb-unconstitutional_n_65b41e7ae4b014b873b11cc2" target="_blank" title="">Trader Joe’s Attorney Argues National Labor Relations Board Is ‘Unconstitutional’ </a></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trader-joes-attorney-nlrb-unconstitutional_n_65b41e7ae4b014b873b11cc2" data-original-title="" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trader-joes-attorney-nlrb-unconstitutional_n_65b41e7ae4b014b873b11cc2" target="_blank" title=""></a>HuffPo, via Naked Capitalism 01-29-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://youtu.be/7exjLSxKenE?si=AJyj_HWa4aFByX2a" data-original-title="" href="https://youtu.be/7exjLSxKenE?si=AJyj_HWa4aFByX2a" target="_blank" title="">Everything You’re Told About The Global Economy Is Wrong</a></strong><strong> (interview)</strong> </p><p>Philip Pilkington, YouTube, via Naked Capitalism 02-02-2024] Grab a cup of coffee. Or two cups. Starting with the Houthis and moving on from there:</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/29/opinion/destruction-of-homes-crime-domicide.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/29/opinion/destruction-of-homes-crime-domicide.html" target="_blank" title=""></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/29/opinion/destruction-of-homes-crime-domicide.html" data-original-title="" title="">Domicide: </a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/29/opinion/destruction-of-homes-crime-domicide.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/01/29/opinion/destruction-of-homes-crime-domicide.html" target="_blank" title="">The Mass Destruction of Homes Should Be a Crime Against Humanity</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 01-30-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/jan/30/how-war-destroyed-gazas-neighbourhoods-visual-investigation" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2024/jan/30/how-war-destroyed-gazas-neighbourhoods-visual-investigation" target="_blank" title="">How war destroyed Gaza’s neighbourhoods – visual investigation</a> </strong></p><p>[Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 02-01-2024] </p><blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gaza.jpeg" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/gaza.jpeg" target="_blank" title="">Satellite image with destroyed buildings in red</a></strong></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/28/israeli-ministers-attend-resettle-gaza-conference/" data-original-title="" href="https://news.antiwar.com/2024/01/28/israeli-ministers-attend-resettle-gaza-conference/" target="_blank" title="">Israeli Ministers Attend ‘Resettle Gaza’ Conference</a> </strong></p><p>[Antiwar.com, via Naked Capitalism 01-30-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/davidsheen/status/1752222388383555917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1752222388383555917%7Ctwgr%5E084ca7fcf87d7b4423a1c67846d0b469e4c5beb8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F01%2Flinks-1-31-2024.html" href="https://twitter.com/davidsheen/status/1752222388383555917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1752222388383555917%7Ctwgr%5E084ca7fcf87d7b4423a1c67846d0b469e4c5beb8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F01%2Flinks-1-31-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/links-1-31-2024.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/links-1-31-2024.html" target="_blank" title="">Naked Capitalism Links 01-31-2024</a>]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Uzi Sharbaf, convicted terrorist murderer who shot and bombed to death Palestinian college students in Hebron, led a conference of Israeli government lawmakers and ministers calling to complete the ethnic cleansing of the country, starting with the strip currently being genocided &lt;a href="https://t.co/skzEgW0rLl"&gt;pic.twitter.com/skzEgW0rLl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; David Sheen (@davidsheen) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/davidsheen/status/1752222388383555917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;January 30, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content"><span><a name='more'></a></span>x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1752222388383555917" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1752222388383555917&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2220638%2Fedit&sessionId=3739ee59a1b18bc974b890c1823c179b65e50b2e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 720px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://eightify.app/summary/politics-and-current-events/the-truth-about-the-global-economy-aaron-bastani-meets-philip-pilkington" target="_blank" title="">Summary of The Truth About The Global Economy | Aaron Bastani Meets Philip Pilkington</a></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>The Houthis have just enacted a naval blockade with cheap technology, a first in human history with enormous consequences….The ability of the Houthis to enact a naval blockade with cheap technology represents a historical shift in warfare and global power dynamics….</p><p><strong>In the West, the interests of capital dictate political decisions, whereas in China, political decisions dictate capital….</strong> China's control over investment and housing prices stabilizes their economy, while their advancements in technology and science surpass Europe and may eventually reach the same GDP per capita as the UK.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: “In the West, the interests of capital dictate political decisions, whereas in China, political decisions dictate capital….” This is a key insight to promote understanding that neoliberalism and even capitalism itself are basically incompatible with the political philosophy of civic republicanism. A primary tenet of civic republicanism is that one purpose of government is to <strong>promote the general welfare.</strong> ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/29/2220215/-How-Reagan-s-Embrace-of-Greed-is-Good-Brought-Us-Broken-Airplane-Doors-Being-on-Hold-for-Hou" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How Reagan's Embrace of “Greed is Good” Brought Us Broken Airplane Doors & Being Hours on Hold</strong></a></p><p>Thom Hartmann, January 29, 2024 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p>...<strong>In 43 short years, because Reagan implemented Bork’s policies, America has devolved from being a relatively open market economy and a functioning democracy into a largely monopolistic economy with a bought-off political system….</strong></p><p><strong></strong>...Bork wrote, the entire notion of antitrust law as a vehicle to protect small and local businesses from large and national predators was a terrible mistake.</p><p>“<em>Trying to stop “a [market] trend toward a more concentrated condition” is a blunder, Bork said, because “the existence of the trend is </em><em>prima facie</em><em> evidence that greater concentration is socially desirable. The trend indicates that there are emerging efficiencies or economies of scale … which make larger size more efficient.” FDR’s theory of antitrust, he noted, is “unsophisticated, but currently ascendant.”</em> …. “<em>If it now takes fewer salesmen and distribution personnel to move a product from the factory to the consumer than it used to; if advertising or promotion can be accomplished less expensively, that is a net gain to society. We are all richer to that extent. Multiply such additions to social wealth by hundreds and thousands of transactions and an enormously important social phenomenon is perceived. . . . To inhibit the creation of efficiency . . . is to impose a tax upon efficiency for the purpose of subsidizing the inept.”</em></p><p>To say that Bork’s paper (and numerous others, and 15 years of work advocating this position) changed America would be a dramatic understatement. As he himself pointed out in his paper, in the 1962 antitrust case of <em>Brown Shoe Co. v. United States</em>, the Supreme Court blocked the merger of Brown and G. R. Kinney, two shoe manufacturers, because the combination of the two would have captured about 5% of the US shoe market. (For comparison, post-Reagan Nike today has 18% of the US shoe market.)….<br /></p><p>As Jonathan Tepper pointed out in <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Capitalism-Monopolies-Death-Competition/dp/1394184069/" href="https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Capitalism-Monopolies-Death-Competition/dp/1394184069/">The Myth of Capitalism</a></em>, fully 90% of the beer that Americans drink is controlled by two companies. Air travel is mostly controlled by four companies, and over half of the nation’s banking is done by five banks.</p><p>In multiple states there are only one or two health insurance companies, high-speed internet is in a near-monopoly state virtually everywhere in America (75% of us can “choose” only one company), and three companies control around three-quarters of the entire pesticide and seed markets.</p><p>The vast majority of radio and TV stations in the country are owned by a small handful of companies, and the internet is dominated by Google, X, and Facebook.</p><p>Right now, 10 giant corporations control, either directly or indirectly, virtually every consumer product we buy. Kraft, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Mars, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson together have a stranglehold on the American consumer. You can pick just about any industry in America and see the same monopolistic characteristics.</p><p>A study published in November 2018 by Jan De Loecker, Jan Eeckhout, and Gabriel Unger showed that as companies have gotten bigger and bigger, squashing their small and medium-sized competitors, they’ve used their increased market power to fatten their own bottom lines rather than develop new products or do things helpful to their communities or employees….</p><p>Markups (the price charged above production costs), they note, were fairly constant between the 1950s and the 1980s, but there was a sharp increase starting when Reagan was elected in 1980. Thus, they conclude, “[i]n 2016, the average markup charged is 61% over marginal cost, compared to 21% in 1980.”….<br /></p><p><strong>The good news is that the Biden administration is the first of either party since 1981 to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/08/biden-assault-monopolies-498876" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/08/biden-assault-monopolies-498876" title="">seriously try to regulate</a> corporate monopolistic behavior and stock <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/business/biden-buffett-debate-share-buybacks.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/04/business/biden-buffett-debate-share-buybacks.html" title="">share buybacks</a>.</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Corporate America will squeal and howl, and since five corrupt Republicans on the Supreme Court legalized political bribery in America, will throw millions at stopping any effort to regulate their behavior. But the ongoing damage to our business landscape, our communities, and our families can’t be ignored any longer.</p><p>Tell your members of Congress to support the Biden administration’s efforts to reign in corporate monopolies, and that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://hartmannreport.com/p/was-the-southwest-airlines-meltdown" data-original-title="" href="https://hartmannreport.com/p/was-the-southwest-airlines-meltdown" title="">corporate share buyback programs</a> must once again be criminalized and called what they are: illegal market manipulation.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><a data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/rooftop-solar-is-the-future-but-its" target="_blank" title=""><strong>'Rooftop solar is the future; it's also a scam'</strong></a></p><p><strong></strong>Thomas Neuburger, January 31, 2024 <strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>An <a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/27/here-comes-the-sun-king/" data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/27/here-comes-the-sun-king/" title="">important piece by Cory Doctorow</a> makes several important points: about AI “reward hacking,” rooftop solar, and Wall Street. Let’s look at each, and discuss an additional point — the reason all this occurred.<br /></p><p>The main point of Doctorow’s piece is rooftop solar; in particular, financialized rooftop solar:</p><p><em>“The problem starts with a pretty common finance puzzle: solar pays off big over its lifespan, saving the homeowner money and insulating them from price-shocks, emergency power outages, and other horrors. But solar requires a large upfront investment, which many homeowners can't afford to make. To resolve this, the finance industry extends credit to homeowners (lets them borrow money) and gets paid back out of the savings the homeowner realizes over the years to come.”</em></p><p>But all this depended on homeowners actually wanting to spend the money. Which they didn’t, not on sufficient quantity to meet the government goal of accelerated rollout. So the government created subsidies that homeowners could get. The idea was, those subsidies would fuel the market demand for the finance industries loans.</p><p><em>“The government created subsidies – tax credits, direct cash, and mixes thereof – in the expectation that Wall Street would see all these credits and subsidies that everyday people were entitled to and go on the hunt for them. And they did! Armies of fast-talking sales-reps fanned out across America, ringing dooorbells and sticking fliers in mailboxes, and lying like hell about how your new solar roof was gonna work out for you.”</em></p><p>As with the subprime mortgage market, where the toxic loans were turned into investment vehicles (derivatives), so was solar indebtedness financialized. Why this is a problem, and what kind of problem it is, is best explained by pointing to this hard-titled piece in <em>Time</em>: “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://time.com/6565415/rooftop-solar-industry-collapse/" data-original-title="" href="https://time.com/6565415/rooftop-solar-industry-collapse/" title="">The Rooftop Solar Industry Could Be on the Verge of Collapse</a>.”….</p><p><strong>The Global Neoliberal Project</strong></p><div id="§the-global-neoliberal-project"><div>Doctorow correctly identifies the solution: “If governments are willing to spend billions <em>incentivizing</em> rooftop solar, they can simply spend billions <em>installing</em> rooftop solar – no Slow AI required.” <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But let’s go one step farther. The primary goal of neoliberalism and what we ought to call the Neoliberal Project is “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/neoliberalism-against-world-government" data-original-title="" href="https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/neoliberalism-against-world-government" title="">creating a world economy where entrepreneurs could let their fortunes bloom unimpeded by negative government intervention</a>.” Nothing gets in the way of making more money.</div><div><br /></div></div><p>Philip Mirowski has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsiT9P87J4g" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsiT9P87J4g" title="">since said</a> that neoliberalism evolved from that — government not impeding profit-making — to making sure the government actively promotes the “blooming” of fortunes….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong><a href="https://www.levernews.com/how-obamacare-created-big-medicine/" target="_blank">Obamacare Created Big Medicine</a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Stoller, January 29 2024 [The Lever] <br /></p><blockquote><p>There’s a basic conflict of interest at the heart of American health care. We need to break up the industry to fix it.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/27/whichever-way-it-is-looked-at-to-suggest-that-markets-are-rational-is-wrong/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/01/27/whichever-way-it-is-looked-at-to-suggest-that-markets-are-rational-is-wrong/" target="_blank" title="">Whichever way the issue is looked at, to suggest that markets are rational is wrong</a> </strong></p><p>[Funding the Future, via Naked Capitalism 01-28-2024]</p><blockquote><p>... it is very clear that mainstream economics and politics have no idea how to manage the crises that we are in: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/glossary/N/#neoliberalism" data-original-title="" href="https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/glossary/N/#neoliberalism" target="_blank" title="">neoliberalism</a> is out of road, and those who are addicted to it are so frightened of giving up the only theory that they know, meaning that they would rather the world suffer than admit that they were wrong all along.</p><p>We are, to be blunt, in the middle of a crisis of staggering scale, and despite that US stock markets are hitting record highs.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/why-defense-contractors-are-saying-no-to-their-biggest-customer-the-pentagon-ad557306" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/why-defense-contractors-are-saying-no-to-their-biggest-customer-the-pentagon-ad557306" target="_blank" title="">Why Defense Contractors Are Saying No to Their Biggest Customer: The Pentagon</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Streeet Journal, via Naked Capitalism 01-30-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0009.12686" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0009.12686" target="_blank">Mapping the Lobbying Footprint of Harmful Industries: 23 Years of Data From OpenSecrets</a></strong></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0009.12686" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-0009.12686" target="_blank">The Milbank Quarterly</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-31-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“We found that the ultraprocessed food industry spent the most on lobbying ($1.15 billion), followed by gambling ($817 million), tobacco ($755 million), and alcohol ($541 million). Overall, companies were more active than trade associations, with associations being least active in the tobacco industry. Spending was often highly concentrated, with two organizations accounting for almost 60% of tobacco spending and four organizations accounting for more than half of alcohol spending. Lobbyists that had formerly worked in government were mainly employed by third-party lobby firms.” And the lead: “The definition of commercial determinants of health (CDoHs) set out in The Lancet 2023 series recognizes that commercial actors are diverse and have different impacts on health. Yet too often, public health advocates fail to make these distinctions, referring to ‘the industry’ or ‘corporations’ as a proxy for harmful commercial actors. This lack of nuance stymies efforts to develop a science of commercial determinants.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/it-just-got-more-expensive-to-fight-corporate-abuse/" target="_blank" title="">It Just Got More Expensive To Fight Corporate Abuse </a></strong><br /></p><p>Freddy Brewster, January 30, 2024 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>You’ll now be forced to pay huge arbitration fees if you try to challenge corporate contracts.…<br /></p><p>On Jan. 15, the American Arbitration Association (AAA), the largest private provider of arbitration services in the world, quietly <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/document_repository/Consumer_Mass_Arbitration_and_Mediation_Fee_Schedule.pdf" href="https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/document_repository/Consumer_Mass_Arbitration_and_Mediation_Fee_Schedule.pdf" target="_blank"><u>implemented new fees</u></a> for individuals filing a mass arbitration case seeking monetary damages or contract relief from a company.</p><p>The new fees include a $3,125 initiation fee that must be paid before AAA officials determine if the case can move forward. If the case does move forward, then consumers and employees will have to pay case management fees that were previously paid by the companies as well as new arbitrator appointment fees, according to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/insights/publications/2024/01/alerts-otherindustries-updated-aaa-rules-and-fees-could-change" href="https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/insights/publications/2024/01/alerts-otherindustries-updated-aaa-rules-and-fees-could-change" target="_blank"><u>an analysis by Goodwin Procter</u></a>, one of the largest law firms in the world that specializes in a broad range of topics.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2024/01/20/the-top-20-landowners-in-america-according-to-a-new-report/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2024/01/20/the-top-20-landowners-in-america-according-to-a-new-report/" target="_blank" title="">The Top 20 Landowners In America, According To A New Report</a> </strong></p><p>[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 01-28-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-30/elon-musk-s-55-billion-tesla-pay-package-voided-by-judge" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-01-30/elon-musk-s-55-billion-tesla-pay-package-voided-by-judge" target="_blank" title="">Musk’s $55 Billion Pay Package Voided, Threatening World’s Biggest Fortune</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 01-31-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-01-31/elon-musk-pay-package-tesla-delaware-judge" data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-01-31/elon-musk-pay-package-tesla-delaware-judge" target="_blank" title="">Column: A judge voids Musk’s huge Tesla pay package as dishonest, and hoo boy, is he steamed</a> </strong></p><p>[LA Times, via Naked Capitalism 02-01-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/31/must-we-limit-the-wealthys-wealth/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/01/31/must-we-limit-the-wealthys-wealth/" target="_blank" title="">Must We Limit the Wealthy’s Wealth?</a> </strong></p><p>[Counterpunch, via Naked Capitalism 01-31-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Ingrid Robeyns … lays out in her just-published <em>Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth</em>, that economic inequality unconscionably undermines the values we say we hold dear…. In <em>Limitarianism</em>, she makes what may be the most accessible brief yet for capping how much fortune any one individual can hold and hoard.…</p><p><strong>How much pushback do you get when you speak to general public audiences about limiting personal wealth? What seems to give people the most pause? How do you respond?</strong></p><p>Some people ask me whether we could still have small companies and family firms under limitarianism. That seems to me the most substantial question/objection I get from people not sure whether limits would work.</p><p>Other people worry that a limitarian world would essentially kill the economy as we have it, in the process harming everybody…. </p></blockquote><p>[TW: As Thom Hartmann shows in a previous, concentrated wealth leads to oligopoly and monopoly which have extremely negative effects on entrepreneurship and capitalism itself. <strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/06/neo-liberalism-de-capitalizationde-industrialization-and-the-res-publica.html" target="_blank" title="">I made this argument over ten years ago. </a>]</strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/exxon-chevron-record-shareholders" target="_blank" title=""><strong>In 'Brazen Wealth Transfer', Exxon and Chevron Pay Out Record Sums to Shareholders</strong></a><br /></p><p>Olivia Rosane, February 02, 2024 [Common Dreams]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Exxon reported a total of $36 billion in profits with $32.4 billion paid to shareholders, while Chevron took home $21.4 billion and paid out $26.3 billion, putting them behind only Apple, Microsoft, and Google parent Alphabet for total payouts from a U.S. company, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/oil-profits-keep-flowing-for-exxon-and-chevron-458b3b83?" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/oil-profits-keep-flowing-for-exxon-and-chevron-458b3b83?" target="_blank">according to</a> a <em>Wall Street</em><em>Journal </em>analysis. The shareholder payouts far surpassed what either company had planned to spend on climate solutions, the <em>Journal </em>said.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/everybody-agrees-tax-the-rich-except-the-rich-who-don-t-even-agree-that-they-are-rich" target="_blank" title="">"Everybody" Agrees: Tax The Rich... Except The Rich, Who Don't Even Agree That They Are Rich<br />The Rich Have The Financial Means To Buy Political Power</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, February 1, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>There are a lot of things that Barbara Lee (D-CA), Summer Lee (D-PA), <a data-cke-saved-href="https://truthout.org/articles/tlaib-metas-taxes-would-drop-from-25-percent-to-2-percent-under-new-tax-bill/" href="https://truthout.org/articles/tlaib-metas-taxes-would-drop-from-25-percent-to-2-percent-under-new-tax-bill/" target="_blank">Rashida Tlaib</a> (D-MI) Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Chuy Garcia (D-IL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Jared Huffman (D-CA) have in common, all of them good. And one of those things is that they are all sponsors and co-sponsors of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/26/opinions/wealth-inequality-tax-lee-disney/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/26/opinions/wealth-inequality-tax-lee-disney/index.html" target="_blank">Oligarch Act</a> (Oppose Limitless Inequality Growth and Reverse Community Harms). The purpose is to create an annual wealth tax focused exclusively on containing destabilizing inequality in America and ensuring the viability of democratic capitalism for the next 250 years. <strong>UPDATE:</strong> More <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4919/cosponsors" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4919/cosponsors" target="_blank">co-sponsors</a> of the Oligarch Act: Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Jamie Raskin (MD), Cori Bush (MO), Valerie Foushee (NC), Eleanor Norton (DC), Madeleine Dean (PA), Maxwell Frost (FL), Katie Porter (CA) and Andrea Salinas (OR).….<br /></p><p>Robert Reich<br />A wealth tax in Massachusetts raised $1.5 billion for free school lunches<br />and more by taxing millionaires.<br /></p><p><br />A flat tax in Kansas will deliver a $875,000 windfall tax cut to billionaire<br />Charles Koch, the richest man in Kansas.<br /></p><p><br />Inequality is a policy choice.<br /></p><p><br />2:15 PM -Jan 31, 2024<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691225548/the-power-to-destroy" target="_blank" title="">The Power to Destroy: How the Antitax Movement Hijacked America</a></strong></p><p>Michael J. Graetz [Princeton University Press, February 2024]</p><blockquote><p>In 1819, Chief Justice John Marshall declared that the power to tax entails “the power to destroy.” But <em>The Power to Destroy</em> argues that tax opponents now wield this destructive power. Attacking the IRS, protecting tax loopholes, and pushing tax cuts from Reagan to Donald Trump, the antitax movement is threatening the nation’s social safety net, increasing inequality, ballooning the national debt, and sapping America’s financial strength. The book chronicles how the movement originated as a fringe enterprise promoted by zealous outsiders using false economic claims and thinly veiled racist rhetoric, and how—abetted by conservative media and Grover Norquist’s “taxpayer protection pledge”—it evolved into a mainstream political force. <br /></p><p>The important story of how the antitax movement came to dominate and distort politics, and how it impedes rational budgeting, equality, and opportunities, <em>The Power to Destroy </em>is essential reading for understanding American life today.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ssrc.org/publications/rich-peoples-movements-grassroots-campaigns-untax-one-percent/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Rich People's Movements : Grassroots Campaigns to Untax the One Percent </strong></a></p><p>[Social Science Research Council]<br /></p><p>Isaac William Martin. Oxford University Press, $29.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-19-992899-6, <br />September 2013</p><blockquote><p>Ever since the Sixteenth Amendment introduced a Federal income tax in 1913, rich Americans have protested new public policies that they thought would threaten their wealth. But while historians have taught us much about the conservative social movements that reshaped the Republican Party in the late 20th century, the story of protest movements explicitly designed to benefit the wealthy is still little known. Rich People’s Movements is the first book to tell that story, tracking a series of protest movements that arose to challenge an expanding welfare state and progressive taxation. Drawing from a mix of anti-progressive ideas, the leaders of these movements organized scattered local constituencies into effective campaigns in the 1920s, 1950s, 1980s, and our own era. Martin shows how protesters on behalf of the rich appropriated the tactics used by the Left-from the Populists and Progressives of the early twentieth century to the feminists and anti-war activists of the 1950s and 1960s. He explores why the wealthy sometimes cut secret back-room deals and at other times protest in the public square. He also explains why people who are not rich have so often rallied to their cause.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-01-29-america-is-not-democracy/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2024-01-29-america-is-not-democracy/" target="_blank" title="">America Is Not a Democracy</a></strong></p><p>David Dayen, January 29, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The movement to save democracy from threats is too quick to overlook the problems that have been present since the founding….<br /></p><p>You can fill a book with issue areas where <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/opinion/racism-paid-leave-child-care.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/opinion/racism-paid-leave-child-care.html" target="_blank">public opinion</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/opinion/manchin-senate-climate.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/19/opinion/manchin-senate-climate.html" target="_blank" title="">roundly supports action</a> but Congress doesn’t act. Minority vetoes are partially to blame, as is distorted representation. But there’s also the problem of who lawmakers see as their constituents: the wealthy and powerful.</p><p>The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/Gilens%20homepage%20materials/Gilens%20and%20Page/Gilens%20and%20Page%202014-Testing%20Theories%203-7-14.pdf" href="https://www.princeton.edu/~mgilens/Gilens%20homepage%20materials/Gilens%20and%20Page/Gilens%20and%20Page%202014-Testing%20Theories%203-7-14.pdf" target="_blank">classic text</a> on this comes from Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page, two researchers who found in 2014 that the preferences of “economic elites and organized groups representing business interests” mattered far more for policy outcomes than ordinary citizens or coalitions of public-interest groups. There have been rebuttals to their data over the years, but reality is on Gilens and Page’s side. In a recent interview, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/renowned-political-scientist-can-we-really-save-american-democracy" href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/renowned-political-scientist-can-we-really-save-american-democracy" target="_blank">Page said</a>, “When they say democracy may be failing, I would disagree. I think it hasn’t been tried!”</p><p>Between 71 and 98 percent of U.S. federal elections over the past 20 years were determined by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/03/midterm-elections-campaign-contributions/10653419002/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/11/03/midterm-elections-campaign-contributions/10653419002/" target="_blank" title="">which candidate had the most campaign money</a>. This was enabled by a judiciary that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ballotpedia.org/Santa_Clara_County_v._Southern_Pacific_Railroad_Company" href="https://ballotpedia.org/Santa_Clara_County_v._Southern_Pacific_Railroad_Company" target="_blank">allowed corporations to be considered people</a> for purposes of equal protection under the law, a constitutional provision intended to safeguard the rights of Black former slaves. Corporations later obtained what amount to free speech rights in the <em>Citizens United </em>case, part of a decades-long approach, as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/18/clarence-thomas-scandal-corruption-00092335" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/18/clarence-thomas-scandal-corruption-00092335" target="_blank" title="">writer Corey Robin has explained</a>, to reorient the practices of “the businessman and the banker” as speech….</p><p><strong>WE KNOW IT’S POSSIBLE TO FASHION</strong> an agenda like this, because it’s already been done. In December 2012, the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the NAACP launched the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://cwa-union.org/news/article/democracy_that_works_for_all_of_us_the_democracy_initiative" data-original-title="" href="https://cwa-union.org/news/article/democracy_that_works_for_all_of_us_the_democracy_initiative" target="_blank" title="">Democracy Initiative</a>, a plan to challenge the “democracy blocks” that stymied popular reforms. It was fitting for this to come out of the labor movement. After a decisive Democratic victory in the 2008 elections, unions had a majority of votes in Congress in favor of reforming U.S. labor law, but could not get them through a supermajority Senate. This roadblock is the primary reason private-sector unionization has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.epi.org/unequalpower/publications/private-sector-unions-corporate-legal-erosion/" href="https://www.epi.org/unequalpower/publications/private-sector-unions-corporate-legal-erosion/" target="_blank">fallen from 35 percent to 6 percent</a> since the 1950s.</p><p>The coalition highlighted three key areas of reform: changing Senate rules to eliminate the filibuster, limiting money in politics, and enhancing voting rights. They actually notched some partial victories. The Senate changed its rules in 2013 to allow for a majority vote for executive branch and judicial nominees. Voter participation has gradually risen in some locations, in part due to new pandemic-era rules to maximize participation, which states like Michigan have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2023/07/18/whitmer-signs-bipartisan-legislation-expanding-voting-rights" href="https://www.michigan.gov/whitmer/news/press-releases/2023/07/18/whitmer-signs-bipartisan-legislation-expanding-voting-rights" target="_blank">retained</a>….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/6-initiatives-head-to-wa-ballot-with-6m-support-of-brian-heywood/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/6-initiatives-head-to-wa-ballot-with-6m-support-of-brian-heywood/" target="_blank" title="">6 </a></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/6-initiatives-head-to-wa-ballot-with-6m-support-of-brian-heywood/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/6-initiatives-head-to-wa-ballot-with-6m-support-of-brian-heywood/" target="_blank" title="">initiatives head to WA ballot with $6M support of Brian Heywood</a></strong> [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/6-initiatives-head-to-wa-ballot-with-6m-support-of-brian-heywood/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/6-initiatives-head-to-wa-ballot-with-6m-support-of-brian-heywood/" target="_blank" title="">Seattle Times</a>]. </p><p>[Seattle Times, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-01-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“Pouring more than $6 million of his money into a paid signature-gathering campaign, Heywood has almost single-handedly bankrolled six initiatives that are likely headed to the November ballot. The unprecedented initiative slate would eliminate the state’s new capital gains tax, repeal a landmark climate law, allow people to opt out of a long-term care payroll tax and reverse police-pursuit restrictions passed in recent years by the Legislature. They’d also ban local and state income taxes and guarantee parents access to information on K-12 school curricula and school medical records. All six initiatives have been certified as having received the required signatures to make the 2024 ballot. The final one, targeting the state’s long-term care payroll tax, was certified on Friday by the Secretary of State’s Office.” </p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.eui.eu/Documents/DepartmentsCentres/Economics/Seminarsevents/Mocetti.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Intergenerational mobility in the very long run: Florence 1427-2011 (pdf)</a></strong></p><p>[<a href="https://twitter.com/heimbergecon/status/1753321027554168861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1753321027554168861%7Ctwgr%5E0e0a6aaf2cc7cd6ba2e6647f5e262787cb9a4e1c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F02%2Flinks-2-3-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 02-03-2024]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Richest five families in Florence 🇮🇹 from 1427 are still the richest today (archival data). Not only the top shows persistence. Any family who was in the (1427) top third is almost certain to still be there today. Likely many Florences out there&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Paper in Review of Econ Studies &lt;a href="https://t.co/sfTn4sBvMF"&gt;pic.twitter.com/sfTn4sBvMF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Philipp Heimberger (@heimbergecon) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/heimbergecon/status/1753321027554168861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;February 2, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1753321027554168861" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1753321027554168861&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2220638%2Fedit&sessionId=3739ee59a1b18bc974b890c1823c179b65e50b2e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 748px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 89px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.yahoo.com/austin-experimented-giving-people-1-141522585.html" data-original-title="" href="https://news.yahoo.com/austin-experimented-giving-people-1-141522585.html" target="_blank" title="">Austin experimented with giving people $1,000 a month. They spent the no-strings-attached cash mostly on housing, a study found.</a> </strong></p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism 01-29-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/pro/tech-policy/2024/02/01/klobuchar-bill-algorithmic-price-fixing" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/tech-policy/2024/02/01/klobuchar-bill-algorithmic-price-fixing" target="_blank" title="">Amy Klobuchar introduces bill to prevent algorithmic price fixing </a></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/pro/tech-policy/2024/02/01/klobuchar-bill-algorithmic-price-fixing" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/tech-policy/2024/02/01/klobuchar-bill-algorithmic-price-fixing" target="_blank" title=""></a>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism 02-03-2024]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/energy/truth-actually" data-original-title="" href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/energy/truth-actually" target="_blank" title="">Truth Actually</a> </strong></p><p>Lapham’s Quarterly, via Naked Capitalism 01-29-2024] The deck: “A tour through a century of climate-change documentaries.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.desmog.com/2024/01/30/fossil-fuel-industry-sponsored-climate-science-1954-keeling-api-wspa/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.desmog.com/2024/01/30/fossil-fuel-industry-sponsored-climate-science-1954-keeling-api-wspa/" target="_blank" title="">New Evidence Reveals Fossil Fuel Industry Sponsored Climate Science in 1954 </a></strong></p><p>[DeSmogBlog, via Naked Capitalism 01-31-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-cattle-herd-shrinks-73-201317215.html" data-original-title="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-cattle-herd-shrinks-73-201317215.html" target="_blank" title="">US Cattle Herd Shrinks to 73-Year-Low in Blow for Beef Lovers</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 02-03-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/no-florida-is-not-a-lost-cause-despite-what-republicans-want-democrats-to-think" target="_blank" title="">No, Florida Is Not A Lost Cause, Despite What Republicans Want Democrats To Think</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, January 31, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Former Orlando Congressman Alan Grayson, a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/grayson4senate?refcode=BA&tandembox=show" data-original-title="" href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/grayson4senate?refcode=BA&tandembox=show" target="_blank" title="">candidate for the Rick Scott Senate seat</a> ... “In 1996, right around the time that I moved to Florida,” he wrote, “Bill Clinton’s campaign registered 550,000 Democrats, and he won Florida. In 2008, when I was elected to Congress, Barack Obama’s campaign registered 700,000 Democrats, and he won Florida. And following that, Stacey Abrams registered 2.6 million Georgian voters, which gave the White House and the Senate to the Democrats. Georgia, a neighboring state with a similar mix of folks, is half the size of Florida.”<br /></p><p>“In Florida,” wrote Grayson, “we need to register 1,000,000 Democrats this year. And it will be easier than it ever was in Georgia. Here in Florida, we’re not registering people for the first time; we’re re-registering 1,000,000+ people who were registered before. Plus we have a pool of 1,500,000 convicted felons who have had their rights restored, but no one has reached out to register them. They skew 3-to-1 Democratic. Plus we have another pool of nearly 500,000 young first-time voters to register. They skew 2-to-1 Democratic.”<br /></p><p>“This is the greatest opportunity for real change in the entire country. If we register 1,000,000 Florida Democrats, we will deprive Donald Trump of 30 Electoral Votes. He will lose (and scream that we cheated— hahahahahaha!) And we will pick up a Senate seat, currently held by Skeletor, that will help us keep the Senate…. <strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/grayson4senate?refcode=BA&tandembox=show" target="_blank" title="">“That’s what my campaign is all about this year</a></strong>— registering 1,000,000 Democrats, so that we can turn Florida Blue, and keep the White House and the Senate out of the hands of the MAGA nuts, forever,” he concluded. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.levernews.com/inside-the-israel-lobbys-new-90-million-war-chest/" target="_blank">Inside The Israel Lobby’s New $90 Million War Chest </a></strong><br /></p><p>Amos Barshad, February 1, 2024 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>Internal AIPAC materials reveal huge gifts from moguls — and the strategies lobbyists used to score the cash.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/28/2220041/-Wonder-why-alleged-Christians-are-Trump-Supporters-David-French-has-a-report-that-explains-much?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/28/2220041/-Wonder-why-alleged-Christians-are-Trump-Supporters-David-French-has-a-report-that-explains-much?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Wonder why alleged Christians are Trump Supporters? David French has a report that explains much</a></strong></p><p>xaxnar, January 28, 2024 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/opinion/pressler-sex-scandal-sbc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RE0.0Dmk.u4MZ-8tB6JFX&smid=url-share" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/opinion/pressler-sex-scandal-sbc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RE0.0Dmk.u4MZ-8tB6JFX&smid=url-share" target="_blank">When the Right Ignores its Sex Scandals</a> </strong>is the headline over a column by David French about a news story you may not have heard about — almost certainly if your primary news sources are from the right wing media bubble. (The link should provide full access.) Here’s how it starts:</p><p>”Let me share with you one of the worst and most important recent news stories that you’ve probably never heard about. Late last month, the Southern Baptist Convention <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/29/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-settlement/" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/29/southern-baptist-convention-sexual-abuse-lawsuit-settlement/" target="_blank">settled a sex abuse lawsuit</a> brought against a man named Paul Pressler for an undisclosed sum. The lawsuit was filed in 2017 and alleged that Pressler had raped a man named Duane Rollins for decades, with the rapes beginning when Rollins was only 14 years old.</p><p>”The story would be terrible enough if Pressler were simply an ordinary predator. But while relatively unknown outside of evangelical circles, Pressler is one of the most important American religious figures of the 20th century. He and his friend Paige Patterson, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/politics-armageddon-criswell/" href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/politics-armageddon-criswell/" target="_blank">two of the key architects</a> of the so-called conservative resurgence within the S.B.C.”….</p><p>And if people on the Right do hear about things like this? “<em>Conservative partisans can simply cry “media bias!” and rely on their followers to tune it all out. To those followers, a scandal isn’t real until people they trust say it’s real.</em>” This is a dynamic Sara Robinson detailed in her introductory piece about authoritarian movements. <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2006/08/cracks-in-wall-part-i-defining.html" href="http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2006/08/cracks-in-wall-part-i-defining.html" target="_blank">Scroll down to her descriptions of leaders and followers</a>. </strong></p><p>If you’ve been wondering why Donald Trump has such a following among the Christian Right, it’s because they’ve been conditioned by their religion to accept the leadership of patriarchs who can do no wrong, whose authority is not to be questioned, and their conviction that they are the only truly moral actors. It’s how they can support a rapist with 91 criminal cases pending against him.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/who-sowed-the-seeds-of-trumpism-and-why-did-conservatives-devour-them-so-readily" target="_blank" title="">Who Sowed The Seeds Of Trumpism-- And Why Did Conservatives Devour Them So Readily?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, January 29, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...They’re afraid of him— afraid for their diminished careers. And for them there’s a greater good than breaking with Trump: ensuring “that Republicans can keep living in Washington, D.C., and exercising power on behalf of a shrinking political minority. Republicans might phrase this differently: The party’s overall position is that the Democrats are so awful, and so dangerous to the nation, that the ends will now always justify the means. Rather than oppose or even criticize Trump, they retreat into the fog of ‘supporting the nominee’ and saving the country from Biden and the left-wing deep-state cabal that supposedly controls him. A tiny handful of elected Republicans have said that they will not vote for Trump. (They won’t vote for Biden either, of course, and if Trump wins— well, such is the price of saving the republic while keeping one’s hands clean.)”….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/10-oregon-gop-state-senators-have-been-barred-from-running-for-re-election" target="_blank" title=""><strong>10 Oregon GOP State Senators Have Been Barred From Running For Re-Election</strong></a><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, February 2, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">The Oregon State Senate has 30 members, 17 Democrats, 11 Republicans and 2 independents. When the Republicans didn’t want the legislature dealing with issues they oppose (gun safety, women’s Choice, taxes, Climate Change, transgender health care…) they would just walk out and stay away making 2/3 quorum impossible. In 2022 the voters overwhelmingly passed Measure 113 which amended the constitution to prohibit members with 10 or more unexcused absences from running for reelection. It was a landslide— 1,292,127 (68.3%) to 599,204 (31.7%). Even all but 3 of Oregon’s reddest rural counties voted for it.</span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;">But that didn’t stop the Republicans last year. Republican minority leader Tim Knopp led several walk outs and exceeded the 10 days for 10 senators. Last summer Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade ruled the 10 would not be on the 2024 ballot. They sued. Yesterday, the state <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/oregon-high-court-says-gop-lawmakers-staged-walkout-cant-run-re-electi-rcna136811" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/oregon-high-court-says-gop-lawmakers-staged-walkout-cant-run-re-electi-rcna136811" target="_blank" title="">Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the Republicans</a>. A federal district court had already ruled against them as well….</span></div></blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/historians-support-removing-trump-ballot-scotus_n_65b7e900e4b01c5c3a37aaf0" data-original-title="" href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/historians-support-removing-trump-ballot-scotus_n_65b7e900e4b01c5c3a37aaf0" target="_blank" title="">Historians File Brief In Support Of Removing Trump From Ballot</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Huffington Post, via Naked Capitalism 01-30-2024]</p><p>Here is the filing: <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-719/298895/20240126151819211_23-719%20Brief.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-719/298895/20240126151819211_23-719%20Brief.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Did the Colorado Supreme Court err in ordering President Trump excluded from the 2024 presidential primary ballot?</a></strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/mitch-mcconnell-social-security" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Mitch McConnell’s Plan to Sabotage Social Security From Within</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Alex Lawson, January 30, 2024 [Common Dreams]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...McConnell understands the political dangers of being openly hostile to Social Security. So instead, he is plotting to sabotage it from within. The latest instrument of that sabotage is Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the billionaire-funded American Enterprise Institute. Biggs is McConnell’s pick to serve on the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ssab.gov/about-ssab/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ssab.gov/about-ssab/" target="_blank" title="">Social Security Advisory Board</a> (SSAB), which “provides advice and recommendations to the President, Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security on matters related to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs and policies.”….</p><p>Biggs served as an associate commissioner of Social Security under former President George W. Bush and was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/politics/social-security-agency-is-enlisted-to-push-its-own-revision.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/16/politics/social-security-agency-is-enlisted-to-push-its-own-revision.html" target="_blank">instrumental</a> in Bush’s push to privatize Social Security. His goal was to hand the American people’s earned benefits over to Wall Street. Thankfully, the Bush privatization push failed due to massive grassroots opposition.</p><p>Biggs supports raising the retirement age, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-working-person-20131218-story.html" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-working-person-20131218-story.html" target="_blank">has testified</a> before Congress that people should work longer….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian Drive to Civil War</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/governor-abbott-s-perilous-effort-at-constitutional-realignment" target="_blank" title="">Governor Abbott’s Perilous Effort at Constitutional Realignment</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Lawfare, via Naked Capitalism 01-30-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Article I, § 10, Clause 3 is primarily a statement of several things that states may not do. It includes a default rule that ‘[n]o State shall, without the Consent of Congress, … engage in War.’ It is true that the final clauses of Clause 3 create a limited right for states to respond to “invasions” in a way that the clause otherwise denies them—namely, the power to “engage in War” without congressional consent when they are ‘actually invaded” (or at imminent risk of the same). The ‘Actual Invasion Clause,’ in other words, is an exception to the default prohibition on states’ war-engagement power in Clause 3. In arguing that Clause 3 provides a federal constitutional basis for its actions along the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas has advanced two broader claims. The first is that what is currently happening along the border meets the threshold definition of ‘invasion.’ The second is that Texas can defend itself against invasions without regard to—and even in derogation of—federal laws and policies. Neither argument is persuasive, but the second is truly extraordinary.” More: “[E]ven in cases (unlike in Texas today) in which § 10 is applicable, it does not give the state any power to ‘supersede’ federal statutes. Abbott’s claim to the contrary—which he has yet to test outside of briefing in the current lawsuits between the United States and the Biden administration—is an extraordinary assertion of state supremacy over federal law. It misreads the text, purpose, and historical understanding of how the Constitution structures federal and state relationships when it comes to national defense. And however sympathetic some might be to what Texas claims it is trying to do, were courts to endorse these arguments, it could have ominous implications for national security far beyond the specific—and hotly contested—space of border security.” </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/texas-border-stunt-is-based-on-a-confederate-legal-theory#:~:text=The%20answer%20is%20unequivocally%2C%20yes,Maryland%20(1819)." target="_blank">Texas’ Border Stunt Is Based on the Same Legal Theory Confederate States Used to Secede</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[The Daily Beast, via Naked Capitalism 01-30-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Abbott’s accusation that the federal government has breached the Constitution by having ‘broken the compact between the United States and the States’ is almost <a data-cke-saved-href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp#:~:text=Thus%2520the%2520constituted%2520compact%2520has%2520been%2520deliberately%2520broken%2520and%2520disregarded%2520by%2520the%2520non%252Dslaveholding%2520States%252C%2520and%2520the%2520consequence%2520follows%2520that%2520South%2520Carolina%2520is%2520released%2520from%2520her%2520obligation." href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_scarsec.asp#:~:text=Thus%2520the%2520constituted%2520compact%2520has%2520been%2520deliberately%2520broken%2520and%2520disregarded%2520by%2520the%2520non%252Dslaveholding%2520States%252C%2520and%2520the%2520consequence%2520follows%2520that%2520South%2520Carolina%2520is%2520released%2520from%2520her%2520obligation." target="_blank">identical</a> to South Carolina’s 1860 declaration of secession.” I don’t think “almost identical” is correct, but it’s certainly worth a click-through to see the Slave Power pounding the table. More: “Abbott’s letter espouses the fringe theory of constitutional law known as ‘<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/secession" href="https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/secession" target="_blank">compact theory</a>,’ popularized by Confederate states during the Civil War era and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-farewell-address" href="https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-farewell-address" target="_blank">supported</a> by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. This theory posits that the United States was formed through a compact agreed upon by the states, with the federal government being a creation of the states. However, this view conflicts with the widely accepted <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/social-contract-theory" href="https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/social-contract-theory" target="_blank">social contract theory</a>, which asserts that the federal government derives its authority from the consent of the people, not the states. The Supreme Court has consistently <a data-cke-saved-href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/daniel-webster-the-constitution-is-not-a-compact-1833" href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/daniel-webster-the-constitution-is-not-a-compact-1833" target="_blank">rejected</a> compact theory, deeming it illegitimate and incompatible with constitutional law. At the crux of what’s happening at the southern border lies the question: Does the federal government have the authority to regulate access to Texas’ borders? The answer is unequivocally, yes. Texas’ embrace of compact theory and its assertion that state government can supersede federal authority directly contradict the landmark Supreme Court case of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/mcculloch-v-maryland" data-original-title="" href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/mcculloch-v-maryland" target="_blank" title="">McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)</a>.” </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://popular.info/p/congressman-urging-texas-to-ignore" data-original-title="" href="https://popular.info/p/congressman-urging-texas-to-ignore" target="_blank" title="">Congressman urging Texas to ignore the Supreme Court is backed by major law firms</a></strong></p><p>[Popular Information, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 02-02-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) is publicly urging Texas to ignore the Supreme Court. In previously unreported comments, Roy explained that he feared his position would push the country into ‘a post-constitutional world.’ But, Roy said, the Supreme Court is ‘pushing our hand’ by issuing a ruling related to the southern border that he opposes, and the Supreme Court needs to ‘feel the pressure.’ Major law firms and numerous prominent corporations are financially backing Roy’s reelection campaign, according to a Popular Information analysis of federal campaign finance filings…. Roy’s 2024 reelection campaign is supported by two prominent law firms. Covington & Burling is an international law firm based in Washington, DC…. Roy also received $750 on May 17, 2023, from the PAC of another prestigious DC-based law firm, Akin Gump…. Since 2023, Roy has also received financial support from the PACs of major corporations and professional organizations, including Valero Energy ($2,500), Union Pacific ($2,000), iHeartMedia ($2,000), Toyota ($1,000), Dell ($1,000), and the National Association of Realtors ($1,000).”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://joycevance.substack.com/p/texas-ignores-the-constitution-and" href="https://joycevance.substack.com/p/texas-ignores-the-constitution-and" target="_blank"><strong>Texas Ignores the Constitution and the Rule of Law</strong></a></p><p>Joyce Vance [via [downwithtyranny.com 02-02-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-282-days-to-go" href="https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-282-days-to-go" target="_blank"><strong>Election Countdown, 282 Days to Go: The “States’ Rights” Era Returns</strong></a></p><p>[James Fallows, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-282-days-to-go" data-original-title="" href="https://fallows.substack.com/p/election-countdown-282-days-to-go" target="_blank" title="">Breaking the News</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-31-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“This past Monday, the US Supreme Court ruled that the US federal government had jurisdiction over US national borders. And specifically that if Texas National Guard and other Texas forces kept installing razor wire along the Rio Grande, on orders from Governor Greg Abbott, they could not prevent US Border Patrol officers from removing it. The Supreme Court ruling came with no explanation and was only by a 5-4 margin. It’s a sign of our times that this was even a close call, given longstanding Court rulings that the national government controls national borders. Americans hold passports from the United States, not from Iowa or California. When an international flight lands at Newark airport, inbound passengers deal with federal agents, not New Jersey state police…. The politics of immigration and ‘the mess at the border’ are long-brewing and increasingly nasty. But the Texas reaction is significant. The Supreme Court said: Here is what you will do. Texas said: We won’t. That’s oversimplified but not by much. Even more important is what happened next. Apart from Greg Abbott in Texas, there are 26 other Republican governors. All but one of them signed a letter three days ago, supporting the Texas assertion of ‘Constitutional Right to Self-Defense.'” </p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://theintercept.com/2024/02/02/louisiana-sues-epa-emails-foia/" target="_blank" title="">“CERTAINLY INTIMIDATION”: LOUISIANA SUES EPA FOR EMAILS WITH JOURNALISTS AND CANCER ALLEY RESIDENTS</a></strong><br />Delaney Nolan, Oliver Laughland, February 2 2024 [The Intercept]</p><blockquote><p><u>LOUISIANA’S FAR-RIGHT GOVERNMENT</u> has quietly <a data-cke-saved-href="https://veritenews.org/2024/01/26/state-sues-epa-for-records-of-communications-with-la-environmental-groups-journalists/" href="https://veritenews.org/2024/01/26/state-sues-epa-for-records-of-communications-with-la-environmental-groups-journalists/" target="_blank">obtainedOpens in a new tab</a> hundreds of pages of communications between the Environmental Protection Agency and journalists, legal advocates, and community groups focused on environmental justice. The rare use of public records law to target citizens is a new escalation in the state’s battle with the EPA over its examination of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/14/cancer-alley-louisiana-civil-rights-investigations-epa-pollution" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/14/cancer-alley-louisiana-civil-rights-investigations-epa-pollution" target="_blank">alleged civil rights violationsOpens in a new tab</a> in the heavily polluted region known as “Cancer Alley.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/178590/maga-republican-civil-war-fantasy-taken-seriously" target="_blank" title=""><strong>MAGA’s Ugly New “Civil War” Fantasy Should Be Taken Seriously</strong></a><br /></p><p>Greg Sargent, January 31, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Far-right personalities are fantasizing about “civil war” again, amid a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178405/texas-governor-greg-abbott-war-feds-next-level-border" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178405/texas-governor-greg-abbott-war-feds-next-level-border">standoff</a> between Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the feds over border enforcement. That may seem silly, but unbridgeable differences over immigration truly are driving many big stories of the moment, from that Texas battle to Senate negotiations over a border bill to the House GOP <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/us/politics/impeach-mayorkas-house-republicans.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/us/politics/impeach-mayorkas-house-republicans.html" target="_blank" title="">impeachment</a> of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. If you want to understand what’s really going on with all these complex issues, few voices bring more clarity than that of Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council. We chatted with him about the deeper conflicts and tensions animating this crisis….<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-13435931426716218152024-01-28T13:30:00.002-06:002024-02-03T09:01:04.921-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – January 28, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – January 28, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.tradewindsnews.com/containers/maersk-ships-in-us-navy-convoy-forced-to-retreat-under-houthi-missile-attack/2-1-1588303" href="https://www.tradewindsnews.com/containers/maersk-ships-in-us-navy-convoy-forced-to-retreat-under-houthi-missile-attack/2-1-1588303" target="_blank">Maersk ships in US Navy convoy forced to retreat under Houthi missile attack</a> </strong></p><p>[Trade Winds, via Naked Capitalism 01-26-2024]</p><p>As <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/ArmchairW/status/1750407537483243690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1750407537483243690%7Ctwgr%5Ed5b3d772e9990a931b38cb56e460118754f1c457%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F01%2Flinks-1-26-2024.html" href="https://twitter.com/ArmchairW/status/1750407537483243690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1750407537483243690%7Ctwgr%5Ed5b3d772e9990a931b38cb56e460118754f1c457%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F01%2Flinks-1-26-2024.html" target="_blank">Armchair Warlord noted on X(Twitter)</a></strong>: “Lost amid all the other news breaking in the last 24 hours is one particularly disturbing story: the United States Navy lost a battle at sea yesterday.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/TheStalwart/status/1750160990187012203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1750160990187012203%7Ctwgr%5E538933537ace7e07f7e8aed487af71d926cf2776%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F01%2Flinks-1-25-2024.html" href="https://twitter.com/TheStalwart/status/1750160990187012203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1750160990187012203%7Ctwgr%5E538933537ace7e07f7e8aed487af71d926cf2776%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2024%2F01%2Flinks-1-25-2024.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 01-25-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Suez Canal container ship volume &lt;a href="https://t.co/kIZ7imkMPj"&gt;pic.twitter.com/kIZ7imkMPj&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TheStalwart/status/1750160990187012203?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;January 24, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1750160990187012203&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2218818%2Fedit&sessionId=e4281c1abc0741804c3d2986efa07fdfd228a348&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/23/china-decline-economy-demographics-geopolitics-growth/" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/23/china-decline-economy-demographics-geopolitics-growth/" target="_blank"><strong>The Reason China Can’t Stop Its Decline</strong></a></p><blockquote><p>Among specialists who follow China most closely, the two main causes cited for this new conventional wisdom have been known for years. The first is that China’s growth model has been overreliant on policies such as financial repression and extraordinary levels of investment. Here, repression has nothing to do with the usual political usage of the word. It means, rather, that the state controls domestic interest, exchange rates, and capital outflows in such a way that citizens receive little accrual or benefit from their high rates of savings. Instead, these are captured by the state and channeled into industries that are favored or prioritized by bureaucrats, including many that are state-owned.</p><p>Some of the problems that might arise from financial repression can seem apparent even to lay people. Bureaucrats tend to know little about business and are unlikely to be in the best position to make the smartest and nimblest economic bets about the industrial future. Some features of this setup may be less than obvious, though. When the state captures and invests the nation’s savings according to its own whims, capital becomes scarcer and more expensive for private investors. This also suppresses the domestic consumption that most mature economies depend on for growth. Finally, as the state channels more and more investment into industries of its choosing, average return on investment falls. China is now at the point where it must invest huge amounts of capital to produce each new dollar of economic growth, and everything points to this continuing to worsen….</p></blockquote><p>[TW: I included this because of its use of the term “financial repression” in an example of clumsy and terribly inaccurate Western analysis of China. In fact, financial predators are the very reason the USA industrial base was “hollowed out” inevitably resulting in the inability to produce enough ammunition. or to build safe and cost-effective aircraft.]</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/15/what-foreign-diplomats-say-about-u-s-politics-behind-closed-doors-00135326" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/15/what-foreign-diplomats-say-about-u-s-politics-behind-closed-doors-00135326" target="_blank"><strong>Why the World Is Betting Against American Democracy</strong></a></p><p>[Politico, via The Big Picture 01-21-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Ambassadors to Washington warn that the GOP-Democratic divide is endangering America’s national security. </p></blockquote><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/26/chris-hedges-it-may-be-genocide-but-it-wont-be-stopped/" href="https://scheerpost.com/2024/01/26/chris-hedges-it-may-be-genocide-but-it-wont-be-stopped/" target="_blank">It May be Genocide, But it Won’t Be Stopped</a></strong></p><p>Chris Hedges, January 26, 2024 [Scheerpost]</p><blockquote><p>...Translated into the vernacular, the court is saying Israel must feed and provide medical care for the victims, cease public statements advocating genocide, preserve evidence of genocide and stop killing Palestinian civilians. Come back and report in a month.</p><p>It is hard to see how these provisional measures can be achieved if the carnage in Gaza continues.</p><p>“Without a ceasefire, the order doesn’t actually work,” Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/south-africas-naledi-pandor-speaks-134041521.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABb5TblY8pDm0c1FnauPZbW5jWx6U3iP2CAwffhMmdnCBQZsvqdaapmklAdY9ZN0bnQ9eMWp6c0IVR1NOATJJJUUbGejxUvd4OjBhto41Kph4gOIt-F_sKikzp_5SiZBKqHWyzo4oyGTcuXuSjqrTdO5VoxWoUEbmpFAoWktbVtY" href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/south-africas-naledi-pandor-speaks-134041521.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABb5TblY8pDm0c1FnauPZbW5jWx6U3iP2CAwffhMmdnCBQZsvqdaapmklAdY9ZN0bnQ9eMWp6c0IVR1NOATJJJUUbGejxUvd4OjBhto41Kph4gOIt-F_sKikzp_5SiZBKqHWyzo4oyGTcuXuSjqrTdO5VoxWoUEbmpFAoWktbVtY">stated</a> bluntly after the ruling.</p><p>Time is not on the side of the Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians will die within a month. Palestinians in Gaza <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/news/the-long-shadow-of-starvation-in-gaza/" href="https://www.care.org/news-and-stories/news/the-long-shadow-of-starvation-in-gaza/">make up</a> 80 percent of all the people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, according to the United Nations. The entire population of Gaza by early February is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-94/en/" href="https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/alerts-archive/issue-94/en/">projected</a> to lack sufficient food, with half a million people suffering from starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, drawing on data from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/gaza-grapples-with-catastrophic-hunger-as-new-report-predicts-famine-if-conflict-continues-dec21-2023/" href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/gaza-grapples-with-catastrophic-hunger-as-new-report-predicts-famine-if-conflict-continues-dec21-2023/">U.N. agencies</a> and NGOs. The famine is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://imeu.org/article/putting-palestinians-on-a-diet-israels-siege-blockade-of-gaza" href="https://imeu.org/article/putting-palestinians-on-a-diet-israels-siege-blockade-of-gaza">engineered</a> by Israel.</p><p>At best, the court — while it will not rule for a few years on whether Israel is committing genocide — has given legal license to use the word “genocide” to describe what Israel is doing in Gaza. This is very significant, but it is not enough, given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/why-there-will-never-be-a-two-state-solution.html" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/why-there-will-never-be-a-two-state-solution.html" target="_blank"><strong>Why There Will Never Be a Two-State Solution</strong></a></p><p>Yves Smith, January 23, 2024 [Naked Capitalism]</p><blockquote><p>...Israel has created facts on the ground that make it impossible, namely settler balkanization of the West Bank. And now a devastated Gaza, even assuming Palestinians survive in meaningful numbers, will require state support to rebuild. That state will be Israel, perhaps with some financial support from the US and EU. It is not hard to foresee that any of what is left of Gaza that is allotted to the Palestinians will be kept at the barely habitable level, so as to encourage them to expatriate….</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-director-israel-antiquities-artefacts-stolen-knesset" data-original-title="" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/war-gaza-director-israel-antiquities-artefacts-stolen-knesset" target="_blank" title="">War on Gaza: Israel’s antiquities director displays stolen artefacts in parliament</a> </strong></p><p>[Middle East Eye, via Naked Capitalism 01-24-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/genocide-is-very-serious-and-democratic-voters-understand-that-even-if-conservatives-don-t-care" target="_blank" title="">Genocide Is Very Serious-- And Democratic Voters Understand That, Even If Conservatives Don't Care</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, January 27, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...<span style="text-align: initial;">Democrats and left-leaning independents have had it with Israeli’s bad behavior and don’t want U.S. complicity in genocide, ethnic cleansing or apartheid. Between Likud and AIPAC, progressives are much less sympathetic to Israel than in the past and much more likely to see the Palestinians as human beings. </span><br /></p><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">And it isn’t only the party base that’s evolving. A few days ago, Reuters <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/world/nearly-all-us-senate-democrats-back-two-state-solution-israel-palestinians-2024-01-25/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/nearly-all-us-senate-democrats-back-two-state-solution-israel-palestinians-2024-01-25/" target="_blank" title="">reported</a> that “Forty-nine of the 51 members of the Senate Democratic caucus backed an amendment supporting a negotiated solution to the conflict that results in Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side, ensuring Israel's survival as a secure, democratic, Jewish state and fulfilling the Palestinians' ‘legitimate aspirations’ for a state of their own.” This is not the Likud/AIPAC position.</span></p><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>...AIPAC is targeting some of these members for defeat this year, laundering as much as $100 million, they claim, from wealthy Republicans who want to defeat progressives in blue districts where Republicans have no chance. Let's not let that happen, the way it happened to Andy Levin, Marie Newman, Donna Edwards, Nina Turner and a dozen other progressives last cycle. <strong>Please consider contributing to </strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/giveaipacthefinger?tandembox=show" data-original-title="" href="https://secure.actblue.com/donate/giveaipacthefinger?tandembox=show" target="_blank" title="">people on AIPAC’s target list here</a></strong>. AIPAC is the enemy of the United States.<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: initial;"><br /></p></div></blockquote><p><strong>It can happen here — and is</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php?action=social&chash=03e7ef47cee6fa4ae7567394b99912b7.2544&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35" data-original-title="" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php?action=social&chash=03e7ef47cee6fa4ae7567394b99912b7.2544&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35" target="_blank" title="">Author and scholar John Ganz on how Europe’s interwar period informs the present</a></strong></p><p>Rick Perlstein, January 24, 2024 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>When Timothy Snyder’s slim volume <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68504" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68504" target="_blank">On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century</a></em><em> </em>was rocketing up the best-seller charts in 2017, I noticed an interesting fact: The most illuminating analysts of America’s frightening recent political turn were turning out to be scholars specializing in Europe. When <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68505" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68505" target="_blank">Snyder</a></u>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68506" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68506" target="_blank">Ruth Ben-Ghiat</a>, or <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68507" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68507" target="_blank">Richard Steigmann-Gall</a></u> noticed phenomena in America’s past or present that resembled something in the right-wing movements they studied in Germany, Italy, or elsewhere, they just said so—blithely indifferent to what every graduate student in American history learns, and what <em>New York Times </em>reporters <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68508" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68508" target="_blank">shout from the rooftops</a>, that America is supposed to be “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68509" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68509" target="_blank">exceptional</a>.”</p><p>...“We have this image in our heads—and this is really hard to get out of people’s heads—of the fascist rise to power that comes from fascist propaganda,” Ganz explains. The stereotype is thugs marching into the seat of government with truncheons, then marching out having seized state power. “It is much more political than that. It has much more to do with negotiations between established political factions and elites….</p><p>Ganz explained how Hitler and Mussolini used their more violent elements to destabilize and intimidate, while they took power through the more normal political channels of forming coalitions in parliament and ascending into leadership roles.<br /><br />“The constitutional system in Italy always remained intact,” even when Mussolini became dictator, Ganz notes. “There was still the king, there was still a constitutional monarchy; he was prime minister. The fascist state kind of superimposed itself on that.” There was, for a time, even a robust parliamentary opposition: “Antonio Gramsci, head of the Italian Communist Party, famously was elected to parliament <em>after </em>Mussolini rose to power.”<br /><br />At least as important to the story are the “responsible conservatives” who made their peace with the strongman, believing he could be controlled…. </p><p>The conceit is similar to what Bill Clinton felt about <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68515" href="https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/lt.php?notrack=1&s=2cad2542e7c632123028b9cc244a0a35&i=2454A2544A1A68515" target="_blank">allowing China into the World Trade Organization</a>: If you bring a radical outlier within the political system, they will act rationally and moderate their worst impulses. Mainstream conservatives in Italy and Germany repeatedly claimed Mussolini and Hitler would turn out to be responsible actors, once they occupied positions of responsibility. American elites followed suit with the absurd refrain, on occasions when Trump managed to act normal for 15 seconds….</p><p>One surprise I took away from my conversation with Ganz is that, in a certain respect, Trump is <em>plus fasciste que les fascistes</em>: that is, more incautiously thugocratic than his European antecedents, at least in the beginning of their rises.<br /><br />“The heads of these movements had to be very careful about how they would use the fascist paramilitaries, and make this implicit promise to the elite that they could be contained,” Ganz says. “It was always something they needed in their back pocket, right? But sometimes it felt like those people were giving [Hitler and Mussolini] more problems than they were worth.”<br /><br />But Trump always thought differently. After Charlottesville, he called the thugs “fine people.” Asked about the Proud Boys in a 2020 presidential debate, he said: “Stand back and stand by.” I’d always worried that utterances like these were harbingers of things to come. I suspected that Trump never<em> </em>criticized supporters willing to commit violence on his behalf because that willingness might eventually become useful to him. I saw him as playing politics with something far more than votes: that thugs were valuable currency to keep in his back pocket, to send forth whenever that was what it took to keep power.<br /><br />Then, on January 6th, he did.</p></blockquote><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/donald-trump-white-working-class-voters" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/donald-trump-white-working-class-voters" target="_blank">Is the Heart and Soul of Trump’s MAGA Base Really the White Working Class? </a></strong></p><p>Les Leopold, January 16, 2024 [Wall Street's War on Workers Newsletter; Common Dreams]</p><blockquote><p>The corporate media and all too many politicians are blaming working people for the rise of Trump and MAGA. Yet, if we open our (lying) eyes a bit more, we can’t miss the massive horde of lawyers and businesspeople who serve as Trump’s enthusiastic enablers….</p><p>Political scientists Noam Lupu (Vanderbilt) and Nicholas Carnes (Duke<u>) definitively disproved</u> the notion that most of the people who voted for Trump in 2016 were white working class. They showed that only 30 percent of the Trump voters could be considered a part of that group….</p><p>The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-2018-primaries-project-the-demographics-of-primary-voters/" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-2018-primaries-project-the-demographics-of-primary-voters/" target="_blank"><u>2018 Primaries Project</u></a>, at the Brookings Institute, reported that those voting in congressional Republican primaries in 2018 were better educated and richer than the public at large. Again, the white working class formed no more than one-third of the Republican primary base.</p><p>What about the January 6th insurrection? Wasn’t that a white working-class riot? Not according to the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://cpost.uchicago.edu/publications/american_face_of_insurrection/" href="https://cpost.uchicago.edu/publications/american_face_of_insurrection/" target="_blank"><u>University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats</u></a>, which analyzed the demographics of the 716 individuals who had been charged with various January 6th crimes, as of January 1, 2022. Fifty percent were either business owners or white-collar workers, and only 25 percent were blue-collar workers (defined as no college degree).</p><p>The research for my book, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3tcgRae" href="https://amzn.to/3tcgRae" target="_blank"><u><em>Wall Street’s War on Workers</em></u></a><em>,</em> provides new data that confirms the white working class does not in any way pour into Hillary Clinton’s “basket full of deplorables.” In fact, most white working-class voters have become decidedly more liberal on divisive social issues over the last several decades, including LGBTQ+ rights, immigration, and racial discrimination….</p><p><strong>Why Blame the White Working Class?</strong></p><p>The attacks on working-class populism have been around for more than 140 years. Corporate owners and their newspapers viciously denounced the populist movement of the late 19th century, which aggressively challenged financial and corporate power. To counter that increasingly successful movement, newspapers, as well as pro-corporate politicians, depicted the populists as ignorant bomb-throwing radicals and worse….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[X-Twitter, via Naked Capitalism 01-21-2024]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;There&amp;#39;s something extremely important here that is not being recognized, but those who can read between the lines are realizing it and it&amp;#39;s scaring the shit out of people:&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Elements of the Davos class **are preparing to defect to the Trump/populist movement.**&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;A thread🧵: &lt;a href="https://t.co/OOJdeY91Ua"&gt;https://t.co/OOJdeY91Ua&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Smug Doomposting Publishing House (@Smug_editing) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Smug_editing/status/1748539134732345738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;January 20, 2024&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1748539134732345738&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2218818%2Fedit&sessionId=e4281c1abc0741804c3d2986efa07fdfd228a348&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>.</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fortune.com/2024/01/20/inflation-greedflation-consumer-price-index-producer-price-index-corporate-profit/" href="https://fortune.com/2024/01/20/inflation-greedflation-consumer-price-index-producer-price-index-corporate-profit/" target="_blank">Greedflation’ caused more than half of last year’s inflation surge, study finds, as corporate profits remain at all-time highs</a> </strong></p><p>[Fortune, via Naked Capitalism 01-21-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2001/tracing-opposition-taxes-america" href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2001/tracing-opposition-taxes-america" target="_blank">TRACING THE OPPOSITION TO TAXES IN AMERICA</a></strong></p><p>Daniel Levitas, November 29, 2001 [Intelligence Report i(SPLC)</p><blockquote><p>...Long before the so-called "common-law courts" of the 1990s handed down their edicts threatening government officials, Porth drafted homespun "arrest warrants" to be used against bureaucrats who allegedly violated the Constitution. But it was his 1967 conviction and subsequent prison sentence that made Porth's battle with the IRS a <em>cause célèbre</em> on the radical right.</p><p>Among those who campaigned for Porth's freedom was William Potter Gale, who would become the founder of the Posse Comitatus in 1971. Gale used the newsletter of his California-based Ministry of Christ Church — a church espousing the racist and anti-Semitic theology of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/christian-identity" href="https://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/christian-identity">Christian Identity</a> — to promote Porth and the early tax rebellion movement….</p><p>Attacks on the income tax were often couched in vague antigovernment, pro-Constitution rhetoric, but anti-Semitism always played a large role in the conspiracy theories and arguments that reinforced the anti-tax message.</p><p>And sometimes that message was explicitly racist: "The Negroes in the United States are increasing at a rate at least twice as great as the rest of the population," warned the <em>American Mercury</em> in 1967, asserting that the tax burden posed by blacks "unquestionably doomed ... the American way of life."</p><p>….Fifteen years after Kahl murdered the three lawmen, a bipartisan and overwhelming majority in Congress lent credibility to the claims of right-wing activists regarding IRS abuses. Repeating some of the same themes heard in Sen. Arlen Specter's 1995 probe into the events in Ruby Ridge and Waco, Republican-sponsored hearings in the House and Senate in 1997 and 1998 focused attention on supposed commando-style raids by armed tax inspectors wearing flak jackets.</p><p>No testimony was heard about the sharp decline in audit rates for wealthy Americans and large corporations as a result of deep cuts made to IRS spending by the same Congress in 1995, however.</p><p>Instead, lawmakers chose to emphasize the image of a menacing federal agency out of control — an image long cultivated by the patriarchs of tax protest and other ideologues of the radical right.</p><p>"The I.R.S. is too big and too mean," said then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas in November 1997. Swept up in heady antigovernment rhetoric, the House voted 426 to 4 to overhaul IRS collection practices and the Senate followed, 97 to 0….</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/naming-names-professor-exposes-the-banking-cartel-that-has-hijacked-u-s-democracy/" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/naming-names-professor-exposes-the-banking-cartel-that-has-hijacked-u-s-democracy/" target="_blank">Naming Names: Professor Exposes the Banking Cartel that Has Hijacked U.S. Democracy</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, January 23, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade]</p><blockquote><p>Gerald Epstein is Professor of Economics and a Founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. A book he has spent the past decade researching and writing comes out today from the University of California Press: <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/Busting-Bankers-Club-Finance-Rest/dp/0520385640/ref=sr_1_1?crid=224DN6G7BDZJB&keywords=busting+the+bankers%27+club&qid=1706010763&s=books&sprefix=busting+the+bankers%27+club%2Cstripbooks%2C101&sr=1-1" href="https://www.amazon.com/Busting-Bankers-Club-Finance-Rest/dp/0520385640/ref=sr_1_1?crid=224DN6G7BDZJB&keywords=busting+the+bankers%27+club&qid=1706010763&s=books&sprefix=busting+the+bankers%27+club%2Cstripbooks%2C101&sr=1-1">Busting the Bankers’ Club: Finance for the Rest of Us</a>….</em></p><p>Other key members of the Bankers’ Club according to Epstein are the politicians (particularly on key committees in Congress) who have sold out to the Bankers’ Club in exchange for funding of their political campaigns; bank regulators who have one foot on government soil and the other foot heading toward the revolving door and a much bigger paycheck; Wall Street’s outside lawyers from Big Law who sneak language favoring the Bankers’ Club into legislation; a swarm of dozens of lobbying groups working on behalf of Wall Street banks in the corridors and offices of Congress; and even members of his own profession – economists – who promote unsound ideas purporting to show that Wall Street mega banks serve the interests of the public and that more regulation is inefficient and negatively impacts economic growth.</p><p>In each of the categories above, Epstein names names. A member of Big Law, the Senior Chair of Sullivan & Cromwell, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2019/05/sullivan-cromwells-rodge-cohen-the-untold-story-of-the-feds-29-trillion-bailout/" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2019/05/sullivan-cromwells-rodge-cohen-the-untold-story-of-the-feds-29-trillion-bailout/">H. Rodgin (Rodge) Cohen</a>, makes the following appearance in <em>Busting the Bankers’ Club</em>:</p><p>“…The dean of Wall Street lawyers, H. Rodgin Cohen, chair of the Wall Street firm Sullivan & Cromwell, had his hand in virtually all the key legal and enforcement actions promoting financial deregulation during this period. The work of these lawyers dovetailed with the lawyers and economists who developed the field of ‘law and economics,’ which, in a powerful alliance with the economists I mentioned earlier, provided a theoretical legal-economic basis for deregulation and a less interventionist state….”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/wealth-guido-alfani-liam-byrne-ingrid-robeyns-david-lingelbach-valentina-rodriguez-guerra-kristin-surak-book-review-ferdinand-mount/" href="https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/wealth-guido-alfani-liam-byrne-ingrid-robeyns-david-lingelbach-valentina-rodriguez-guerra-kristin-surak-book-review-ferdinand-mount/" target="_blank">Uncommon wealth</a> </strong></p><p>[Times Literary Supplement, via Naked Capitalism 01-26-2024]</p><blockquote><p>What Jesus did not say was “The rich ye will have always with you”. It was not simply that the rich had no more chance of getting to heaven than a camel had of getting through the eye of a needle; their presence on earth was an irksome embarrassment too. At most times in history plutocrats throwing their weight about have been perceived as a threat to the social order and an affront to our sense of fairness. Aristotle, in his <em>Politics</em>, records with approval how democratic societies ostracized those oligarchs who “seemed to predominate too much through their wealth”, for “the encroachments of the rich are more destructive to the state than those of the people”. Plato, in the <em>Laws</em>, says that the lawgiver shall allow a man to possess up to four times as much as the allotment to the poor (what we might call “the poverty line”), but that any surplus he acquires above that is to be forcibly handed over to the state – in effect the first super-tax.</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/01/american-oligarchy-introduction-essay-russia-ukraine-capitalism/" target="_blank" title="">The Rise of the American Oligarchy </a></strong><br /></p><p>Tim Murphy, January-February issue [Mother Jones]<br /></p><blockquote><p><em>When the US targeted Russia’s oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine, the trail of assets kept leading to our own backyard. Not only had our nation become a haven for shady foreign money, but we were also incubating a familiar class of yacht-owning, industry-dominating, resource-extracting billionaires. In the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.motherjones.com/mag/2024/01/toc/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.motherjones.com/mag/2024/01/toc/" title="">January + February 2024</a> issue of our magazine, we investigate the rise of American Oligarchy—and what it means for the rest of us. You can read all the pieces <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/01/american-oligarchy/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/01/american-oligarchy/" title="">here</a>.</em><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><em></em><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.counterfire.org/article/chasm-of-inequality-the-future-as-seen-from-davos/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.counterfire.org/article/chasm-of-inequality-the-future-as-seen-from-davos/" target="_blank" title="">Chasm of inequality: the future as seen from Davos</a> </strong></p><p>[Counterfire, via Naked Capitalism 01-22-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/maga-cultists-are-delighted-to-turn-out-for-their-cult-leader-others-not-so-much" target="_blank" title="">MAGA Cultists Are Delighted To Turn Out For Their Cult Leader-- Others... Not So Much</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, January 25, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Yesterday, I noticed that the <em>Financial Times</em> had <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/8fbf3a47-f622-46cc-ac06-17732cecc313" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/8fbf3a47-f622-46cc-ac06-17732cecc313" target="_blank" title="">dug up the same photo</a> that we had of robber baron/bankster, putative Democrat Jamie Dimon with Trump that I had. Ed Luce’s story, though, wasn’t about robber barons per se. It’s about Wall Street selling out America, once again, this time in a deal with Señor T. “The <em>Financial Times</em>,”<em> </em>wrote Luce, “had only nice things to say about Benito Mussolini in a June 1933 supplement entitled ‘The Renaissance of Italy: Fascism’s gift of order and progress’. Trains were running on time, investment was humming and friction between capital and labor was a thing of the past. Wrote the <em>FT’</em>s special correspondent: ‘The country has been remodeled, rather than remade, under the vigorous architecture of its illustrious prime minister, Signor Mussolini.’”</span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;">No one on Wall Street cared about the “pacification of Libya,” during which almost half of the non-Italian population was killed…. </span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>“The 1930s,” continued Luce, “ought to have buried the idea that business is a bulwark against autocracy. Today’s America offers a reminder. After Donald Trump’s attempted putsch on January 6 2021, U.S. business leaders lined up to condemn the storming of Capitol Hill. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan, issued a statement calling for a peaceful transition of power. ‘This is not who we are as a people or a country,’ he said. In Davos last week, Dimon had changed his tune. Trump did many good things when he was in office, Dimon said. Business was ready for either Joe Biden or Trump: ‘My company will survive and thrive in both.’”<br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>Yesterday, a team of <em>NY Times</em> reporters drilled down [an inch] into <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/business/dealbook/trump-nomination-business.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/business/dealbook/trump-nomination-business.html" target="_blank" title="">why some business executives are excited about Trump</a>. “Many forecast a drastic pullback in regulation,” they wrote, “particularly in antitrust, and a swing in support from clean energy businesses back to fossil-fuel producers….<br /></div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><br /></div><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p></div><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://kitklarenberg.substack.com/p/how-britain-invented-modern-torture?" href="https://kitklarenberg.substack.com/p/how-britain-invented-modern-torture?" target="_blank">How Britain Invented Modern Torture</a> </strong></p><p>Kit Klarenberg [via Naked Capitalism 01-22-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cadtm.org/WORLD-BANK-GROUP-INSTITUTION-AGREES-TO-SETTLE-CASE-ALLEGING-IT-ABETTED-MURDER" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cadtm.org/WORLD-BANK-GROUP-INSTITUTION-AGREES-TO-SETTLE-CASE-ALLEGING-IT-ABETTED-MURDER" target="_blank" title="">WORLD BANK GROUP INSTITUTION AGREES TO SETTLE CASE ALLEGING IT ABETTED MURDER</a> </strong></p><p>[CADTM, via Naked Capitalism 01-24-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/corporate-tax-cuts-children" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/corporate-tax-cuts-children" target="_blank">Reports Expose Deep Harms of Corporate Tax Cuts and ‘Trickle Down’ Ideology</a> </strong></p><p>[Common Dreams, via Naked Capitalism 01-24-2024] </p><blockquote><p>Two new reports published Tuesday by the Roosevelt Institute argue that robust corporate taxation is key to creating a strong economy and improving the well-being of families and children—objectives that have been undermined in the decades since the Reagan era by regressive tax cuts enacted on the false premise that benefits would "trickle down" to the rest of society.</p><p>The first report, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3927_RI_MappingCorporateTaxation.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/3927_RI_MappingCorporateTaxation.pdf" target="_blank" title=""><em>A Mapping of the Full Potential of U.S. Corporate Taxation to Enhance Child and Family Well-Being</em></a>, examines what the authors describe as the understudied notion that "increasing corporate taxation will necessarily help children and families by providing additional revenue for essential public services."….</p><p>The decades-long decline in corporate tax rates has severely undermined the federal government's ability to finance critical public goods, from education to childcare.</p><p>"Since regressive corporate tax cuts don't significantly increase earnings for working families (through either wage or employment increases), but they do reduce the government's ability to fund family income and care supports, childcare costs—which are already rising—can become a relatively more expensive line item in working parents' household budgets," reads the Roosevelt Institute's first report, authored by Emily DiVito and Niko Lusiani.</p></blockquote><p><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/health/2024-01-26-massachusetts-hospital-nightmare-steward-health/" target="_blank">Massachusetts Wakes Up to a Hospital Nightmare</a></strong><br /></p><p>Maureen Tkacik, January 26, 2024 [American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...For ten years, the hospital chain, which originated as an agglomeration of nun-operated Boston-area neighborhood hospitals known as Caritas Christi, was owned by the private equity firm Cerberus, which extracted more than $800 million in excess of its investment out of the hospitals, then left during the pandemic. Company founder de la Torre was left to “finish the job,” which took more than three years because de la Torre, despite his penchant for mega-yachts and private jets, kept getting new bailouts from an <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-05-23-quackonomics-medical-properties-trust/" href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-05-23-quackonomics-medical-properties-trust/">Alabama real estate investment trust</a></u> called Medical Properties Trust. Last year, MPT finally started to run out of cash—in part because most of its other tenants were <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-08-10-great-american-hospital-shell-game/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-08-10-great-american-hospital-shell-game/" title="">not a whole lot more solvent</a></u> than Steward—and the Justice Department <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/steward-st-elizabeth-lawsuit-us-attorney-doj-boston/46168647" href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/steward-st-elizabeth-lawsuit-us-attorney-doj-boston/46168647" target="_blank">sued Steward</a></u> for violating the Stark Law against physician kickbacks, the flouting of which appears in hindsight to have been the entire underlying premise of Steward’s business model, back when he pretended to have one. As it stands, the company hasn’t had so much as a chief financial officer in more than a year, though its president identified himself as the company’s CFO in a <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/HedgeyeREITs/status/1745219003537100846" href="https://twitter.com/HedgeyeREITs/status/1745219003537100846" target="_blank">court filing</a></u> in October.</p><p>Indeed, the mystery here is not “how Steward got in this situation” but <em>what in God’s name</em> took the state of Elizabeth Warren and Maura Healey so long to notice the brazenness at work in their proverbial backyard.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://lesleopold.substack.com/p/did-stock-buybacks-knock-the-bolts" data-original-title="" href="https://lesleopold.substack.com/p/did-stock-buybacks-knock-the-bolts" target="_blank" title="">Did Stock Buybacks Knock the Bolts Out of Boeing?</a> </strong></p><p>Les Leopold [via Naked Capitalism 01-24-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Finding the money for stock repurchases inevitably leads to cost-cutting. Most often, the first move is to lay off as many workers as possible. But other more subtle strategies include cutbacks in preventive maintenance and environmental controls, the outsourcing of work to lower-wage firms, skimping on health and safety protections, and underfunding quality-control. The goal is to become lean and mean, skating out to the very edge of cost reductions without jeopardizing the product. Or, well, at least not harming it too much.</p><p>You’d think that Boeing would not compromise on safety, given that one small production error or software glitch could down a plane worth hundreds of millions of dollars while killing hundreds of people in one blow. But you’d be wrong.</p><p>Boeing is a world leader in stock buybacks. Between 1998 and 2018, the plane manufacturer also manufactured a whopping $61.0 billion in stock buybacks, amounting to 81.8 percent of its profits. Add in dividends and Boeing’s shareholders received 121 percent of its profits. (Data compiled by William Lazonick and The Academic-Industry Research Network, from Boeing 10-K SEC filings.)</p><p>How much is that really? Well, according to Lazonick and Mustafa Erdem Sakniç, <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/environment/make-passengers-safer-boeing-just-made-shareholders-richer./" href="https://prospect.org/environment/make-passengers-safer-boeing-just-made-shareholders-richer./">writing in The American Prospect</a></em> in 2019, Boeing facing the obsolescence of its 737 planes, could have created an entirely new airplane from scratch with fully modern technology. Instead the company decided to re-engineer the older model, name it the 737 MAX, and save $7 billion dollars. Perhaps not coincidentally, the $7 billion dollars “saved” is the amount of the stock buybacks Boeing made each year between 2013 and 2019.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/when-it-comes-to-billionaires-what-does-pay-their-fair-share-mean-to-a-democratic-candidate" target="_blank" title=""><strong>When It Comes To Billionaires, What Does "Pay Their Fair Share" Mean To A Democratic Candidate?</strong></a><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, January 24, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">I’m interviewing a lot of candidates this week, more than usual in just one week. They all agree that the super-rich should be “paying their fair share.” I don’t even have to bring it up most of the time. But when they do, I ask them how much “fair share” translates to. Everyone has tried to avoid answering and no matter how much I press no one has a response. In fact, sometimes I feel some negativity directed towards me for asking.</span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;">When they try to worm out of it by pretending I’m talking about a person from the upper-middle class, I’ll clarify by saying I’m talking about people who are billionaires or people with $100 million. Still no responses. I didn’t realize it was such an uncomfortable question. I’m getting the impression that none of them understand that the American glory days— from the late ‘40s into the mid-’60’s-- saw marginal income tax rates over 90% for people with incomes of $400,000 and above (the equivalent of today's millionaires)…. </span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><span style="text-align: initial;"></span>I just got off the phone with one candidate and I should have brought up the new Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act that Bernie introduced, along with Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Chris Van Hollen in the Senate and Barbara Lee and Rashida Tlaib in the House. I didn’t because I knew from what she had already said that she would never support anything like it. The legislation is meant to take on corporate greed by raising taxes on companies that pay their top executives at least 50 times more than the pay of a typical worker. Bernie: “The American people understand that today we are moving toward an oligarchic form of society where the very rich are doing phenomenally well, while working families continue to struggle to put a roof over their heads, feed their families, and pay for the basic necessities of life. The American people are sick and tired of CEOs making nearly 350 times more than their average employees while over 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the American people are demanding that large, profitable corporations pay their fair share of taxes and treat their employees with the dignity and respect they deserve. That is what this legislation will begin to do.”<span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><p>...</p><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">“The Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act would impose tax rate increases on companies with CEO to median worker ratios above 50 to 1. If the CEO did not receive the largest paycheck in the firm, the ratio will be based on the highest-paid employee. The tax penalties would begin at 0.5 percentage points for companies that pay their top executives between 50 and 100 times more than their typical workers. The highest penalty would kick in for companies that pay top executives over 500 times worker pay. These rates, if current corporate pay patterns continue, would raise around $150 billion over 10 years. If the Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act had been in effect in 2022:</span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block18"><br /></div><div data-breakout="normal"><ul><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Walmart would have paid up to $754 million more in taxes.</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Google would have paid up to $3.07 billion more in taxes.</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Home Depot would have paid up to $840 million more in taxes.</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">JPMorgan Chase would have paid up to $1.04 billion more in taxes.</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">Nike would have paid up to $233 million more in taxes.</span></p></div></li><li style="text-align: initial;"><div style="text-align: initial;"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">McDonald’s would have paid up to $92 million more in taxes.</span></p></div></li></ul></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><span style="text-align: initial;">The opposition to fair taxes, however you want to define "fair":</span></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block20"><p class="is-empty-p"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span></p><div data-breakout="normal"><p style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;">If companies increased annual median worker pay to just $60,000 and reduced their CEO compensation to $3 million, they would not owe any additional taxes under this plan.”</span></p></div><div data-hook="rcv-block26"><span style="text-align: initial;">Original co-sponsors in the House include Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Chuy García (D-IL), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Cori Bush (D-MO), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY).</span></div><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: initial;"><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></p></div><span style="text-align: initial;"></span><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block22"><br /></div><div data-breakout="normal"><div id="viewer-qgiju12773" style="text-align: initial;"><br /></div></div><br /></div></blockquote><div data-breakout="normal"><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: initial;"><br /></p></div><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-dominates-renewable-energy-coal-power-forecasts-russell-2024-01-11/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-dominates-renewable-energy-coal-power-forecasts-russell-2024-01-11/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>China dominates renewable energy and coal power forecasts </strong></a></p><p>Clyde Russell, January 11, 2024 [Reuters, via Naked Capitalism 01-22-2024]</p><blockquote><div>China's status as the colossus of renewable energy is set to be cemented in the next five years, with the world's second-biggest economy adding more capacity than the rest of globe combined.</div><div><div>The International Energy Agency said in its Renewables 2023 report, released on Thursday, that China will account for 56% of renewable energy capacity additions in the 2023-28 period.</div><div>China is expected to increase renewable capacity by 2,060 gigawatts (GW) in the forecast period, while the rest of the world will add 1,574 GW, the IEA data showed.</div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong> </p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3w4gw/a-shocking-amount-of-the-web-is-already-ai-translated-trash-scientists-determine" href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3w4gw/a-shocking-amount-of-the-web-is-already-ai-translated-trash-scientists-determine" target="_blank">A ‘Shocking’ Amount of the Web Is Already AI-Translated Trash, Scientists Determine</a> </strong></p><p>[Vice, via Naked Capitalism 01-21-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gizmodo.com/iphone-apps-can-harvest-data-from-notifications-1851194537" href="https://gizmodo.com/iphone-apps-can-harvest-data-from-notifications-1851194537" target="_blank">iPhone Apps Secretly Harvest Data When They Send You Notifications, Researchers Find</a> </strong></p><p>[Gizmodo, via Naked Capitalism 01-26-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/1/25/in-india-an-algorithm-declares-them-dead-they-have-to-prove-theyre?traffic_source=rss" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2024/1/25/in-india-an-algorithm-declares-them-dead-they-have-to-prove-theyre?traffic_source=rss" target="_blank">In India, an algorithm declares them dead; they have to prove they’re alive</a></strong> </p><p>[Al Jazeera, via Naked Capitalism 01-25-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/hp-ceo-blocking-third-party-ink-from-printers-fights-viruses/" href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/hp-ceo-blocking-third-party-ink-from-printers-fights-viruses/" target="_blank">HP CEO evokes James Bond-style hack via ink cartridges</a></strong></p><p>[Ars Technica, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-24-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“Our long-term objective is to make printing a subscription.”</p></blockquote><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://josephklein.substack.com/p/its-not-just-biden" href="https://josephklein.substack.com/p/its-not-just-biden" target="_blank"><strong>It’s Not Just Biden</strong></a></p><p>Joe Klein [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://josephklein.substack.com/p/its-not-just-biden" href="https://josephklein.substack.com/p/its-not-just-biden" target="_blank">Sanity Clause</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-23-2024] </p><blockquote><p>“the Republican base is about ideology and the Democratic base is about identity. The Republicans are coherent, even if the ideology is a repulsive right-wing populism. The Democrats are an amalgam of identity groups, with varying agendas and beliefs. You can aim a message at black activists—on say, reparations, as the ever-foolish Jamaal Bowman did this week—and a fair number of Latinos will be turned off. You can try to stroke Latino activists on immigration, and a fair number of blacks—to say nothing of middle-class Latinos (and the rest of us, for that matter)—will wonder why on earth you can’t act to shut down the southern border…. The Democrats’ ethnicity problems have multiplied in recent years as the identity groups have become more complicated. There is a black middle and professional class now; it holds different views from academic blackdom and from the black underclass. It was middle- and working-class blacks, angry about crime, who elected Eric Adams over the lawyerly MSNBC darling Maya Wiley for mayor of New York…. This has been a disaster for Democrats. They made a terrible mistake emphasizing identity over community fifty years ago. It was one of the great flubs in American political history. And now the coalition is fraying, for the very best of reasons. The “protected” groups are assimilating into the American mainstream (often to the dismay of the activists like Ibram X. Kendi, who would be forced to look for honest work absent his imagined apocalypse of grievance). There are multiple black and Latino agendas now; the most important have nothing to do with identity—but with education, crime and inflation.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/barack-obama-joe-biden-2024" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/barack-obama-joe-biden-2024" target="_blank"><strong>The Inside Story Of Barack Obama’s 2024 Campaign Calculations</strong></a></p><p>Hunter Walker and Luppe B. Luppen, January 22, 2024 [Talking Points Memo]</p><blockquote><p>As we report in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324020387" href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324020387">our new book, The Truce, which will be published on Tuesday</a>, Obama left office stung by Hillary Clinton’s defeat and obsessed with how Democrats could rebuild the unity her long battle with Bernie Sanders had cost the party. He has been especially focused on youth engagement in the years since. Shortly after Democrats took back the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms, Obama met with the Democrats’ incoming House freshmen at a donor’s mansion in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington, D.C. to share his thoughts on the party’s direction and the ideal strategy for taking on Trump. While the meeting was previously reported, much of what Obama said behind closed doors was not known.</p><p>We obtained Obama’s remarks, and we learned that the former president offered a diagnosis of young voters’ role within the Democratic Party, and the party’s uneven success at keeping them engaged. “When we lose them, it’s because they don’t feel seen and they don’t feel heard,” Obama said of young voters and activists.</p></blockquote><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/22/new-hampshire-primary-voter-00136850" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/22/new-hampshire-primary-voter-00136850" target="_blank">“‘Our System Needs to Be Broken, and He Is the Man to Do It'”</a></strong> </p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/22/new-hampshire-primary-voter-00136850" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/22/new-hampshire-primary-voter-00136850" target="_blank">Politico</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-22-2024] </p><blockquote><p>“‘They’re afraid as hell, because this time around he’s going to take the DOJ, he’s going to take the bureaucracy of the FBI, the CIA, all the stupid intel agencies that don’t do shit, and he’s going to upset the apple cart,’ he said. I referred to the argument Trump is now making over and over that he’s going to go after them because he says they’re going after him but really they’re going after you — his supporters. ‘That’s exactly the way I feel,’ Johnson said. ‘Did you feel like that before he said that,’ I said, ‘or did he say that and you said yes?’ ‘He said that, and I said <em>yes</em>,’ he said. ‘And trust me, the guy’s a pig, he’s a womanizer — arrogant a—–e,’ Johnson said of Trump. ‘But I need somebody that’s going to go in and lead, and I need somebody that’s going to take care of the average guy.’ ‘But is taking care of the average guy and breaking the system the same thing?’ I said. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Because they’re all in it for themselves.’ ‘And if you break the system, what does that look like?’ ‘Accountability,’ he said.”</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/saving-maga-mike-think-of-what-he-stands-for-christian-nationalism-homophobia-anti-choice" target="_blank" title="">Saving MAGA Mike? Think Of What He Stands For-- Christian Nationalism, Homophobia, Anti-Choice…</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, January 26, 2024 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Trump has reasserted control over Congress and he wants to call all the shots himself. Last night, Annie Karni reported how <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/us/politics/trump-congress-immigration-ukraine.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/us/politics/trump-congress-immigration-ukraine.html" target="_blank" title="">Trump torpedoed the border-Ukraine aid deal</a></strong>. She noted that Trump “is wielding a heavier hand than any time since leaving office over his party’s agenda in Congress. His vocal opposition to the emerging border compromise has all but killed the measure’s chances in a divided Congress as he puts his own hard-line immigration policies once again at the center of his presidential campaign… His ‘America First’ approach [that’s typical <em>NY Times</em> misnomer— it’s a Trump First approach, not an America First approach] to foreign policy already helped to sap GOP support for sending aid to Ukraine for its war against Russian aggression, placing the fate of that money in doubt. That led Republicans to demand a border crackdown in exchange for any further funding for Kyiv, a compromise that Trump has now repudiated. He frequently consults with the inexperienced Speaker Mike Johnson, weighing in on policy and politics. And his uncompromising approach has emboldened copycat politicians in Congress, like Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Matt Gaetz of Florida, who are helping to drive an ongoing impasse over government spending. For a Congress that has struggled for more than a year to do <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/house-republicans-laws-year.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/house-republicans-laws-year.html" target="_blank">the bare minimum of legislating</a>, Trump’s dominance among Republicans is yet another drag on the institution’s ability to function in an election year when his name is likely to be on the ballot.”<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://themessenger.com/politics/republicans-turn-on-their-impeachment-chairman-a-parade-of-embarrassments-exclusive" target="_blank" title="">Republicans Turn on Their Impeachment Chairman: ‘Parade of Embarrassments’</a></strong><br /></p><p>Stephen Neukam [themessenger.com, via downwithtyranny 1-25-2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“House Republicans are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://themessenger.com/politics/republicans-turn-on-their-impeachment-chairman-a-parade-of-embarrassments-exclusive" data-original-title="" href="https://themessenger.com/politics/republicans-turn-on-their-impeachment-chairman-a-parade-of-embarrassments-exclusive" target="_blank" title="">increasingly disenchanted with Comer</a>, saying his leadership of the Biden impeachment inquiry has become a ‘clueless investigation’ at best and— at worst— ‘a disaster.’ Less than 10 months away from the 2024 election, his impeachment investigation is barreling toward its conclusion, with no smoking gun to bring the president to his knees. Only one thing is clear: Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has lost the trust of some in his own party. ‘One would be hard pressed to find the best moment for James Comer in the Oversight Committee,’ one House Republican lawmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to maintain internal relationships, told The Messenger. ‘It’s been a parade of embarrassments.’”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68101927" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68101927" target="_blank" title="">25 Republican governors back Texas in escalating border standoff with US government</a> </strong></p><p>[BBC, via Naked Capitalism 01-26-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texaspolicy.com/the-meaning-of-invasion-under-the-compact-clause-of-the-u-s-constitution/#" data-original-title="" href="https://www.texaspolicy.com/the-meaning-of-invasion-under-the-compact-clause-of-the-u-s-constitution/#" target="_blank" title="">The Meaning of Invasion Under the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution (PDF)</a></strong> </p><p>[Texas Public Policy Foundation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-26-2024]</p><blockquote><p>“It should first of all be highlighted that, as only entry plus enmity constitutes invasion, the unlawful entry of people into the United States cannot be construed as an invasion. Nor, for the same reason, can the prospect of further illegal entry in the imminent future be so construed…. The phrase ‘actually invaded’ in the Compact Clause refers to the presence of flesh-and-blood enemies on the soil of the invaded state. The phrase ‘imminent danger’ in the same clause refers to the possibility of such enemies coming to be present soon.” • The Texas Public Policy Foundation, if you look at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texaspolicy.com/about/" href="https://www.texaspolicy.com/about/" target="_blank">the About page</a>, isn’t exactly composed of bleeding heart liberals.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: The State of the Union address is coming up. Biden needs to condemn Abbott as a treasonous nullifier.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/texas-border-abbott-biden-national-guard-20240125.html" href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/texas-border-abbott-biden-national-guard-20240125.html" target="_blank">Eagle Pass is today’s Fort Sumter. Biden must federalize the Texas National Guard.</a> </strong></p><p>Will Bunch [Philadelphia Inquirer, via Naked Capitalism 01-26-2024]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/20/kentucky-far-right-community-real-estate-development" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/20/kentucky-far-right-community-real-estate-development" target="_blank" title="">Revealed: far-right figures try to create Christian nationalist ‘haven’ in Kentucky</a></strong></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/20/kentucky-far-right-community-real-estate-development" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/20/kentucky-far-right-community-real-estate-development" target="_blank">Guardian</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 01-22-2024] </p><blockquote><p>“The move is the latest effort by the far-right to establish geographical enclaves, following in the footsteps of movements like the so-called ‘<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/may/15/redoubt-movement-helps-push-north-idaho-politics-t/" href="https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/may/15/redoubt-movement-helps-push-north-idaho-politics-t/" target="_blank">American Redoubt</a>‘, which encourages rightwingers to engage in “political migration” to areas in the interior of the Pacific north-west. But the underlying finances of land offerings associated with the ‘Highland Rim Project’ (HRP) in Kentucky suggest that buyers will pay a steep premium for living in a remote ideological enclave, while the scheme’s promoters are set to collect tidy profits after making few apparent improvements to the land…. [Joshua] Abbotoy offered few details on how the community would be run beyond saying: ‘Most of the leadership is going to be led by Protestant christians.'”</p></blockquote>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-22432277816658256022024-01-21T13:21:00.002-06:002024-01-28T02:03:41.825-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – January 21, 2024<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – January 21, 2024</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/china-is-the-worlds-sole-manufacturing-superpower.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>China Is the World’s Sole Manufacturing Superpower</strong></a><br /></p><p>Richard Baldwin [VoxEU, via Naked Capitalism 01-17-2024]</p><blockquote><p><em>...The US is the world’s sole military superpower. It spends more on its military than the ten next highest spending countries combined. China is now the world’s sole manufacturing superpower. Its production exceeds that of the nine next largest manufacturers combined. This column uses the recently released 2023 update of the OECD TiVA database to paint an eight-chart portrait of China’s journey to superpower status and the asymmetric impact that its dominance has had on global supply chains….</em><br /></p><p><em></em>When it comes to gross production, China’s share is three times the US’ share, six times Japan’s, and nine times Germany’s. Taiwan, Mexico, Russia, and Brazil now have higher gross output than the UK. Canada is further down the ranking, in 15th place….<em></em><br /></p><p>China’s dominance is less stark in exports (Figure 3), though the rise is equally amazing. In 1995 China had just 3% of world manufacturing exports, By 2020, its share had risen to 20%. The corresponding fall in the G7 share was less dramatic than for its share of production….<br /></p><p>Figure 4, left panel, shows that the US relies far more on Chinese manufacturing production than vice versa.<sup> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/china-worlds-sole-manufacturing-superpower-line-sketch-rise#footnote2_i905p35" href="https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/china-worlds-sole-manufacturing-superpower-line-sketch-rise#footnote2_i905p35" target="_blank">2</a> </sup>While shocking at first sight, this should not be unexpected. It is natural that a country with 11% of the world output buys more from a country that produces 35% than vice versa, but the numbers are astounding. China was more exposed to US inputs before 2002, but the US has had greater exposure since then. In 2020, the US was about three times more exposed to Chinese manufacturing production than vice versa….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-01-15/China-ranks-top-in-global-shipbuilding-sector-for-14-years-1qnyiiAqUyQ/p.html" target="_blank" title="">Robust growth in 2023: China maintains top position in global shipbuilding sector for 14 years</a></strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.cgtn.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://news.cgtn.com/" target="_blank" title="">news.cgtn.com</a>, via Naked Capitalism comments 01-17-2024]</p><blockquote><p>In the past 12 months, China's shipbuilding output reached 42.32 million deadweight tonnes (dwt), a year-on-year increase of 11.8 percent, accounting for 50.2 percent of the world's total.</p><p>The new orders rose 56.4 percent year on year to 71.2 million dwt during the period, taking up 66.6 percent of the world's total.</p><p>By the end of December, the volume of orders on hand was 139.39 million dwt, up 32 percent year on year, accounting for 55 percent of the world's total.</p><p>In 2023, five Chinese shipbuilding enterprises ranked in the global top 10 in output, seven in top 10 for new order volume, and six for holding orders, said the MIIT.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/01/the-us-israel-have-lost-battlefield-control-houthis-have-attacked-us-destroyer-hit-greek-us-owned-bulker-iran-has-hit-us-base-in-kurdish-capital-erbil.html" target="_blank" title="">The US, Israel Have Lost Battlefield Control – Houthis Have Attacked US Destroyer, Hit Greek-US Owned Bulker; Iran Has Hit US Base in Kurdish Capital, Erbil</a></strong><br /></p><p>John Helmer [via Naked Capitalism 01-17-2024]<br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/18/2218076/-Republicans-are-just-servants-the-root-of-our-danger-in-America-is-the-oligarchs?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/18/2218076/-Republicans-are-just-servants-the-root-of-our-danger-in-America-is-the-oligarchs?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Republicans are just servants, the root of our danger in America is the oligarchs</a></strong></p><p>Peter Olandt, January 18, 2024 [Daily Kos]</p><blockquote><p>Trump may have tapped into a large well-spring of racist, ignorant, rage but he neither created it nor is he essential to it. Getting rid of Trump does not rid ourselves of the people who are ultimately behind the January 6th, 2021 insurrection... Both Trump and corporate media are tools of American oligarchs. The Murdochs, Kochs, and Crows of the world are the real power, menace, and conspirators out to destroy America.</p></blockquote><p>From the comments: <strong>GRAPH <a data-cke-saved-href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1265722/large/IMG_1955.jpeg?1705623421" data-original-title="" href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1265722/large/IMG_1955.jpeg?1705623421" target="_blank" title="">older but still relevant view of the Koch brothers’ extensive influence operations</a></strong>, by Hello1814<br /></p><p>[TW: I flag this because I believe it — being DailyKos — reflects the awakening in public consciousness of the problem of oligarchy, and the ever lasting fight of oligarchy versus republicanism.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/predators-and-prey-subverting-liberal" data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/predators-and-prey-subverting-liberal" target="_blank" title="">Predators and Prey: Subverting Liberal and Populist Institutions: How the rich destroy populist movements from the inside</a></strong></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, January 17, 2024</p><p>[This is a very important article that lays bare the fact that the political divisions in USA are largely artificial constructions aimed at preserving the institutional and social power of the reactionary rich. The<strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133" target="_blank" title=""> issue of abortion, for example, was seized upon by Paul Weyrich</a></strong> — a full six years after the <em>Roe v. Wade</em> decision — as an effective means of driving religious conservatives to the polls to vote for (anti)Republicans. Another example of reactionary wealth creating then promoting a radicalized right wing agenda is the Second Amendment “gun rights” issue. In May 1977, after the leadership of the National Rifle Association had decided to retreat from politics by NRA headquarters from Washington DC to Colorado, radicals from the Second Amendment Foundation and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms seized control of the NRA at its annual meeting. This is now known as the “Revolt at Cincinnati.” These groups were funded by Adolph Coors Foundation, the Koch brothers, and Richard Mellon Scaife and included on its board Richard DeVos, Peter Grace, and Jesse Helms. The crucial fact of USA politics over the past half century is that the “overton window” has been deliberately shifted by a conservative movement that is not at all organically spontaneous or democratically based.]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...George W. Bush and Karl Rove <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.iraqtimeline.com/ts/theysaidrove.html" data-original-title="" href="http://www.iraqtimeline.com/ts/theysaidrove.html" title="">engineered an institutional takeover of faith communities</a>. Note the roles of Ralph Reed, head of the unironically named Christian Coalition, and Richard Land in the passage below…. <br /></p><p>Richard Land was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Land" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Land" title="">president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention</a> from 1988 to 2013. Land, through the ERLC, controlled the political arm of the Southern Baptist Convention. He was simultaneously part of the Rove machine.</p><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p><strong>Subverting Liberal Churches</strong></p><p>One more example, so you can see the process. If you’re old enough to have seen the 1960s battles for civil rights and all those other freedoms (sexual, feminist, and so on), you remember the great religious leaders that movement produced and attracted.</p><p>Martin Luther King Jr., for example, was a Baptist minister (a reason for the subversion described above) and the first President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).</p><p>The brothers <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Berrigan" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Berrigan">Daniel Berrigan</a>, a Jesuit priest, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Berrigan" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Berrigan">Philip Berrigan</a>, a Josephite priest, were strong pro-Movement activists and often jailed.</p><p>As Frederick Clarkson <a data-cke-saved-href="https://politicalresearch.org/2006/03/05/battle-mainline-churches" href="https://politicalresearch.org/2006/03/05/battle-mainline-churches">writes</a> of the Movement’s Protestant contingents:</p><blockquote><p>For much of the 20th century, the mainline Protestant churches maintained a vigorous “social witness.” That is what these Protestants call their views on such matters as peace, civil rights and environmental justice. While there was certainly conservative opposition to the development of these views, and to the activities that grew out of them, the direction of mainline Protestantism was clear. The churches became powerful proponents of social change in the United States. They stood at the moral and political center of society with historic roots in the earliest days of the nation. Indeed, they epitomize the very idea and image of “church” for many Americans….</p><p>In retrospect, it seems inevitable that powerful external interests would organize and finance the conservative rump factions into strategic formations intended to divide and conquer—and diminish the capacity of churches to carry forward their idea of a just society in the United States—and the world.</p><p>When the strategic funders of the Right, such as Richard Mellon Scaife, got together to create the institutional infrastructure of the Right in the 1970s and 80s, they underwrote the founding of the IRD [Institute on Religion and Democracy] in 1980 ….</p></blockquote><p>The goal of the IRD is clear: to infiltrate, to neutralize, to control. The process, if you’re interested, is called “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1230088.Steeplejacking" href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1230088.Steeplejacking">Steeplejacking</a>.” For a book on this subject, the publisher says this (emphasis added):</p><blockquote><p>An insider account by two ministers on the front lines of mainstream religion’s longtime shadow war against the religious right, Steeplejacking reveals how conservative renewal groups, backed by a right-wing organization called the Institute on Religion and Democracy [IRD], use social wedge issues like homosexuality to <strong>infiltrate mainline churches and stir up dissent among members of the congregation, with the goal of taking over the leadership of the church, and ultimately, the denomination</strong>. The book unmasks the covert methods that renewal groups and the IRD use to spread their propaganda[.]</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178256/baltimore-sun-liberal-billionaires-media-failure" target="_blank" title="">The Right-Wing Media Takeover Is Destroying America </a></strong><br /></p><p>Michael Tomasky. January 19, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The purchase of The Baltimore Sun is further proof that conservative billionaires understand the power of media control. Why don’t their liberal counterparts get it? ….<br /></p><div><p>Smith wasted no time in showing his cards during his first meeting with the staff Wednesday. He was asked about a comment he made to <em>New York</em> magazine back in 2018, when he <a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/sinclair-chairman-entire-print-media-has-no-credibility.html" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/04/sinclair-chairman-entire-print-media-has-no-credibility.html" target="_blank">said</a>, “Print media is so left wing as to be meaningless dribble.” (“Dribble”? Let’s hope he won’t be on the copy desk.) Did he feel that way about the <em>Sun</em> specifically? “In many ways, yes,” Smith said, adding that he wants the paper to emulate the local Fox affiliate, which is owned … by Sinclair….</p><p>I’ve been in the trenches of this fight for many years. Back in the George W. Bush era, the late Rob Stein, a Democratic insider and good friend of mine, mapped for the first time the conservative infrastructure in a PowerPoint presentation that became such a hot ticket in Washington liberal circles that <em>The New York Times Magazine</em> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/magazine/wiring-the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/magazine/wiring-the-vast-left-wing-conspiracy.html" target="_blank" title="">did a story about it</a>. He showed, from looking over conservative groups’ 990s (because they were mostly all nonprofits), how much was spent on policy development, how much on field operations, how much on youth training, and how much on media. I don’t remember the numbers, but the media figure was high....<br /></p><p>How different would things be out there in America if, 15 or 20 years ago, some rich liberal or consortium of liberals had had the wisdom to make a massive investment in local news? There were efforts along these lines, and sometimes they came to something. But they were small. What if, instead of right-wing Sinclair, some liberal company backed by a group of billionaires had bought up local TV stations or radio stations or newspapers all across the country?</p><p>Again, we can’t know, but we know this much: Support for Democrats has shriveled in rural America to near nonexistence, such that it is now next to impossible to imagine Democrats being elected to public office at nearly any level in about two-thirds of the country. It’s a tragedy. And it happened for one main reason: Right-wing media took over in these places and convinced people who live in them that liberals are all God-hating superwoke snowflakes who are nevertheless also capable of destroying civilization, and our side didn’t fight it. At all. <br /></p></div></blockquote><div><div data-browser="chrome" data-dynload="" data-idx="0" data-ob-mark="true" data-os="win32" data-src="https://newrepublic.com/post/176219/condemn-israel-and-hamas-not-complicated" data-widget-id="KS_1" id="outbrain_widget_0"><div data-pos="0"><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178025/fourteenth-amendment-media-abetting-trump" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Fourteenth Amendment Scolds Abetting Trump’s Return</strong></a></p><p>Jason Linkins, January 13, 2024 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>The pundit class has finally found a section of the Constitution they can’t abide. By coincidence, it’s the part that’s designed to protect the nation from an insurrectionist….</p><p>...We are, however, not completely unarmed against Trump’s thuggery: Article 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/174977/baude-paulsen-trump-14th-amendment" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/174977/baude-paulsen-trump-14th-amendment" title="">lays out a fail-safe</a>, disqualifying anyone who played a part in inciting an insurrection from holding office again. Unfortunately, while it is rare for the Supreme Court to disarm anyone, it will, in all likelihood, deny the American people this protection. But the Roberts court has been vastly aided and abetted by our political media, who after waiting so long for Trump to discover virtue, have quickly declared the Article 3 tool to be a vice—either searingly unfair to use in this instance or invalid on its face. When the decision eventually comes, the press will have created an environment in which the Supreme Court’s disregard for the Constitution’s text won’t be viewed as a radical act.</p><p>That this consensus was reached so quickly is something of a surprise, as the dominant mode of the pundit class is to venerate the Constitution as a peerless document, the final answer to all questions.... </p><p>Writing for his newsletter, Indignity, Tom Scocca <a data-cke-saved-href="https://indignity.substack.com/p/overthrowing-the-insurrection-clause" data-original-title="" href="https://indignity.substack.com/p/overthrowing-the-insurrection-clause" target="_blank" title="">provides a concise survey</a> of those who’ve recently endeavored to “pretend” that the Fourteenth Amendment doesn’t say what it says, from the “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/12/colorado-court-trump-disqualified-ballot-insurrection-case-against.html" data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/12/colorado-court-trump-disqualified-ballot-insurrection-case-against.html" target="_blank" title="">half-baked excuses</a>” from pundits to the “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/opinion/trump-colorado-ballot-ban.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/opinion/trump-colorado-ballot-ban.html" target="_blank" title="">feeble political claims</a>” of legal experts doing business as Constitution doubters.</p><p>One example that stands out for its sheer mendacity comes from Yale Law professor (and it’s almost always a Yale Law professor) Jed Rubenfeld, who <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-solution-to-the-trump-ballot-conundrum-griffin-colorado-us-supreme-court-6d6b64ef" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-solution-to-the-trump-ballot-conundrum-griffin-colorado-us-supreme-court-6d6b64ef" target="_blank" title="">pooh-poohed Article 3</a> for <em>The Wall Street Journal</em>’s opinion section, admonishing those who might wield it to save the country from harm that while the “Colorado Supreme Court didn’t exactly get the law wrong” when it plucked Trump from its ballot, the “problem” was “there was no law to get right,” on account of the fact that “almost no case law exists on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p>….</p></blockquote><p>[TW: I want to highlight Rubenfeld’s comment. because it is a painful example of the philosophical inability of liberalism to defend itself against the onslaught of conservative authoritarianism. “Almost no case law exists,” and this is an insurmountable barrier for Rubenfeld and his fellow travelers. Now, the question can be asked, “What did the first judges at the very beginning of the republic do when there was no case law?” Rubenfeld and other would probably answer, “The relied on the precedents of English common law.” But they are wrong: in the winter of 1790-1791, Supreme Court justice James Wilson — who also served as one of the most important delegates at the Constitutional Convention — in a <strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/hall-collected-works-of-james-wilson-vol-1" target="_blank" title="">series of lectures</a></strong> attended by almost all members of Congress, explicitly rejected English common law as the basis for American jurisprudence:</p><blockquote><p>A question deeply interesting to the American States now presents itself. Should the elements of a law education, particularly as it respects publick law, be drawn entirely from another country—or should they be drawn, in part, at least, from the constitutions and governments and laws of the United States, and of the several States composing the Union?</p><p>The subject, to one standing where I stand, is not without its delicacy: let me, however, treat it with the decent but firm freedom, which befits an independent citizen, and a professor in independent states.</p><p>Surely I am justified in saying, that the principles of the constitutions and governments and laws of the United States, and the republicks, of which they, are formed, are materially different from the principles of the constitution and government and laws of England; for that is the only country, from the principles of whose constitution and government and laws, it will be contended, that the elements of a law education ought to be drawn. I presume to go further: the principles of our constitutions and governments and laws are materially better than the principles of the constitution and government and laws of England.</p></blockquote><p>[The guide for law in a republic, Wilson insisted, must be<strong> justice</strong>. </p><blockquote><p>The first and most necessary duty of nations, as well as of men, is to do no wrong or injury. Justice is a sacred law of nations. If the law of the great society of nations requires, as we have seen it to require, that each should contribute to the perfection and happiness of others; the first degree of this duty surely is, that each should abstain from every thing, which would positively impair that perfection and happiness.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[There are many that now believe that “The US Constitution is a document written by criminals for criminals to serve criminal purposes.” This erroneous view is the direct result of the propagandizing of the reactionary rich, who have successfully written out of history ideas such as Wilson’s. ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div data-pos="0"><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/12/22/how-the-koch-network-hijacked-the-war-on-covid/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How The Koch Network Hijacked The War On Covid</strong></a></p><p>Walker Bragman and Alex Kotc, December 22nd, 2021 [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/" target="_blank" title="">www.exposedbycmd.org</a>]</p><blockquote><p>This is the story of how that corporate-bankrolled campaign succeeded in supplanting public health experts and hijacking governmental response to the pandemic….</p><p>When COVID began its spread across the United States in early March 2020, states responded by locking down to varying extents. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ballotpedia.org/States_that_issued_lockdown_and_stay-at-home_orders_in_response_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic,_2020" data-original-title="" href="https://ballotpedia.org/States_that_issued_lockdown_and_stay-at-home_orders_in_response_to_the_coronavirus_(COVID-19)_pandemic,_2020" target="_blank" title="">All 24 Democratic governors and 19 of the 26 Republican governors</a> issued weeks-long stay-at-home orders and restrictions on non-essential businesses. </p><p>Lockdown measures <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/2020/5/18/21262528/coronavirus-us-state-lockdown-stay-at-home-orders-study" href="https://www.vox.com/2020/5/18/21262528/coronavirus-us-state-lockdown-stay-at-home-orders-study" target="_blank">drove down cases</a> in the U.S. and likely <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/06/09/872441984/modelers-suggest-pandemic-lockdowns-saved-millions-from-dying-of-covid-19" data-original-title="" href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/06/09/872441984/modelers-suggest-pandemic-lockdowns-saved-millions-from-dying-of-covid-19" target="_blank" title="">saved millions of lives</a> globally. But the decline of in-person shopping and work, combined with factory shutdowns in places like China, disrupted the economy. A <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis/charting-the-path-to-the-next-normal/covid-19-recovery-in-hardest-hit-sectors-could-take-more-than-5-years" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/coronavirus-leading-through-the-crisis/charting-the-path-to-the-next-normal/covid-19-recovery-in-hardest-hit-sectors-could-take-more-than-5-years" target="_blank">2020 report</a> from the corporate consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found the hardest-hit industries would take years to recover. </p><p>One sector in particular that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/21/groups-fossil-fuel-funding-urge-states-reopen-amid-pandemic" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/21/groups-fossil-fuel-funding-urge-states-reopen-amid-pandemic" target="_blank">took a big hit</a> was the fossil fuel industry. Oil demand <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Global-oil-demand-dropped-9-percent-in-2020-15908004.php" href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Global-oil-demand-dropped-9-percent-in-2020-15908004.php" target="_blank">fell sharply in 2020</a>, placing the global economy on uncertain footing.</p><p>Before long, business-aligned groups — particularly those connected to fossil fuels — began targeting the public health measures threatening their bottom lines. Chief among them were groups tied to billionaire Charles Koch, owner of Koch Industries, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.desmog.com/koch-industries-inc/" href="https://www.desmog.com/koch-industries-inc/" target="_blank">largest</a> privately held fossil fuel company in the world.</p><p>The war on public health measures began on March 20, 2020, when <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" target="_blank">Americans For Prosperity</a> (AFP), the right-wing nonprofit founded by Charles and David Koch, issued a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americansforprosperity.org/afp-responds-to-states-shutting-down-all-non-essential-businesses/" href="https://americansforprosperity.org/afp-responds-to-states-shutting-down-all-non-essential-businesses/" target="_blank">press release</a> calling on states to remain open. </p><p>“We can achieve public health without depriving the people most in need of the products and services provided by businesses across the country,” it read. </p><p>A month later, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" data-original-title="" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council" target="_blank" title="">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC), a business lobbying group partially <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/09/22/heres-who-funds-the-right-wing-american-legislative-exchange-council/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/09/22/heres-who-funds-the-right-wing-american-legislative-exchange-council/" title="">funded</a> by Koch Industries, published a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.alec.org/article/empower-states-to-safely-open-the-economy/" href="https://www.alec.org/article/empower-states-to-safely-open-the-economy/" target="_blank">letter</a> calling on President Donald Trump to enable states to reopen. That letter was signed by over 200 state legislators and “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/ALEC_states/status/1255942564651417604" href="https://twitter.com/ALEC_states/status/1255942564651417604" target="_blank">stakeholders,</a>” including leaders from Koch-funded groups like the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the James Madison Institute. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/12/22/republican-state-financial-officers-group-doubled-its-revenue-after-being-weaponized-to-fight-woke-capitalism-and-sustainable-investing-practices/" target="_blank" title="">Republican State Financial Officers Group Doubled Its Revenue After Being Weaponized to Fight “Woke” Capitalism and Sustainable Investing Practices </a></strong><br /></p><p>by David Armiak, December 22nd, 2023 [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/" target="_blank" title="">www.exposedbycmd.org</a>]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF), a membership group of 37 Republican state treasurers, auditors, and financial executives weaponized to fight “woke” capitalism, more than doubled its revenue in 2022 — to over $2 million — according to its latest <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24235575-state-financial-officers-foundation-2022-990" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24235575-state-financial-officers-foundation-2022-990" target="_blank">IRS filing</a> obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).</p><p>Prior to 2022, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sfofexposed.org/state-financial-officers-foundation/" href="https://sfofexposed.org/state-financial-officers-foundation/" target="_blank">SFOF</a> had only cracked $1 million in revenue once — in 2019. The organization maintained a low profile until CMD published a February 2022 <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/02/16/republican-group-of-state-financial-officers-takes-on-woke-capitalism/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/02/16/republican-group-of-state-financial-officers-takes-on-woke-capitalism/">report</a> on its annual meeting, which exposed its agenda of fighting so-called “woke” capitalism and “defend[ing] the market economy” against the growing environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement among corporations to consider their potential impact on climate change, social justice, and other community interests (instead of just shareholders) when making business decisions.</p><p>SFOF has deep ties to both the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sfofexposed.org/american-legislative-exchange-council/" data-original-title="" href="https://sfofexposed.org/american-legislative-exchange-council/" target="_blank" title="">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC), the pay-to-play, corporate bill mill, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sfofexposed.org/crc-advisors/" href="https://sfofexposed.org/crc-advisors/" target="_blank">CRC Advisors</a>, a far-right PR firm catering to the fossil fuel industry and founded by Trump’s “court whisperer” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Leonard_Leo" data-original-title="" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Leonard_Leo" target="_blank" title="">Leonard Leo</a>.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div data-pos="0"><br /></div></div></div><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://rosa.uniroma1.it/rosa04/organisms/article/view/14445" target="_blank" title="">Who is Dr. Frankenstein? – Or, what Professor Hayek and his friends have done to science</a></strong><br /></p><p>Yuri Lazebnik, 2018 [ORGANISMS. JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES]</p><blockquote><p>Figure 4. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow. An outline of the connections between people, doctrines, texts, and organizations mentioned in the text. Only some connections are shown to keep the graph readable. The names of the Mont Pelerin Society members are rimmed in blue. The names of doctrines are sandwiched between blue lines; texts are indicated by the titles within white rectangles. mOCD stands for market obsessive compulsive disorder (see text), which is manifested as the malaise of science, education, industry, politics, and some other activities. Note that the depicted individuals can identify themselves with diverse political movements and philosophies, but share the belief that the best way to organize society is by considering all human activities as economic market transaction, and by assuming that the market as the highest authority on what is good and what is not. For example, Ayn Rand, who was born in the city where I grew up, was not fond of Hayek's ideas but both agreed on the superiority of a free market and the need for what I call neo-morals (see text).</p></blockquote><p>[TW: At the bottom, right “Follow your calling” replaced by “Follow market signals.” Neo-liberalism is an assault on the moral foundations of a republic. A ‘calling” was the Christian idea that a person’s life vocation should be a way to serve God by serving all of humanity. Not by following self-interests alone.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/inequality-inc-how-corporate-power-divides-our-world-and-the-need-for-a-new-era-621583/" target="_blank" title="">Inequality Inc. How corporate power divides our world and the need for a new era of public action</a></strong></p><p>Rebecca Riddell et al. [OXFAM International, via Mike Norman Economics, January 17, 2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Since 2020, the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes. During the same period, almost five billion people globally have become poorer. Hardship and hunger are a daily reality for many people worldwide. At current rates, it will take 230 years to end poverty, but we could have our first trillionaire in 10 years.</p><p>This report shows how a huge concentration of global corporate and monopoly power is exacerbating inequality economy-wide. Seven out of ten of the world’s biggest corporates have either a billionaire CEO or a billionaire as their principal shareholder. Through squeezing workers, dodging tax, privatizing the state and spurring climate breakdown, corporations are driving inequality and acting in the service of delivering ever-greater wealth to their rich owners. To end extreme inequality, governments must radically redistribute the power of billionaires and corporations back to ordinary people. A more equal world is possible if governments effectively regulate and reimagine the private sector.</p></blockquote><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><a href="https://radfordfreepress.com/?p=3487" target="_blank"><strong>Pondering Neoliberalism</strong></a><br /></p><p>Peter Radford [via Mike Norman Economics, January 17, 2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p>But what about the resource side? Where did all this money go? Why, for example, can the Lebanese Armed Forces, not the wealthiest military in the world, have a dozen Brigades deployed on operations, as well as numerous independent regiments, whereas the British, with their massively greater resources and a larger Army, would be pushed to deploy two? And in this, the British are the norm, rather than the exception.</p><p>The paradox has no one single cause, but is probably due more than anything else to the move since the 1980s towards managing defence as budgets, rather than programmes. Let me expand on that slightly gnomic statement. In the private sector, it is accepted that companies can and will manipulate their financial statements to inflate their profits and minimise their losses where possible. It’s also accepted that there is a distinction between the financial picture (a company makes increased profits by selling off assets) and the reality (it is doing so in a desperate attempt to avoid going out of business.) In a world where only profits and the share price matter, it is at least a coherent strategy for the short term. If you think about it, it’s also a ridiculous strategy for the public sector, since what matters, and what the voters want, is output for the long term. But from the 1980s onwards, beginning in Britain and spreading rapidly, the idea of managing the defence programme in terms of budgets, and the “efficient” spending of money took over. This meant, in effect, abandoning the previous pattern of managing programmes for capability output, and managing them instead according to budgetary limits. And as time passed, the poisonous theories of management consultants about “efficiency” began to seep into the public sectors of a number of countries.…</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/saving-bidenomics/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Saving Bidenomics</strong></a><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/saving-bidenomics/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>: Biden’s industrial policy program promises a massive shift from decades of neoliberal orthodoxy. Can it deliver inclusive gains in time?</strong></a> </p><p>[Boston Review, via The Big Picture 01-13-2024]</p><blockquote><p>At a June 2023 assembly of business and community leaders in Chicago, President Biden outlined what has become a central theme of his reelection campaign. “Bidenomics,” the President declared, embracing the moniker for his economic policy agenda, represents a “fundamental break from the economic theory that has failed” for decades. The Reaganite commitment to unfettered market capitalism and an anemic public sector never delivered on the promise of equitable prosperity. “It failed the middle class,” he continued. “It failed America. It blew up the deficit. It increased inequity. And it weakened our infrastructure. It stripped the dignity, pride, and hope out of communities one after another.”</p><p>Senior Biden administration leaders have self-consciously styled Biden’s approach as a move away from the neoliberal presumptions of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/04/27/remarks-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-renewing-american-economic-leadership-at-the-brookings-institution/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2023/04/27/remarks-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-renewing-american-economic-leadership-at-the-brookings-institution/" target="_blank" title="">Washington Consensus</a>. This approach signals a major shift from decades of economic policy, with massive new public investment in infrastructure and green energy, a commitment to worker empowerment, and policies to promote competition and limit unhealthy concentrations of power in the market. It also revives the tradition of “industrial policy,” the basic premise that governments can and ought to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/industrial-policys-comeback/" href="https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/industrial-policys-comeback/">restructure markets</a> to better advance public goals and values.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jabberwocking.com/how-does-the-fed-control-interest-rates/" data-original-title="" href="https://jabberwocking.com/how-does-the-fed-control-interest-rates/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How does the Fed control interest rates?</strong> </a></p><p>Kevin Drum [via The Big Picture 01-19-2024]</p><blockquote><p>The Fed no longer relies on open market operations to influence interest rates. Instead, it just changes the rate it pays banks on their reserves.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/boeing-supplier-ignored-warnings-of-excessive-amount-of-defects-former-employees-allege/" target="_blank" title="">Boeing Supplier Ignored Warnings Of “Excessive Amount Of Defects,” Former Employees Allege </a></strong><br /></p><p>David Sirota, et al., January 8, 2024 [The Lever]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Less than a month before a catastrophic aircraft failure prompted the grounding of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/business/alaska-airlines-boeing-737-max-9.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/06/business/alaska-airlines-boeing-737-max-9.html" target="_blank" title=""><u>more than 150</u></a> of Boeing’s commercial aircraft, documents were filed in federal court alleging that former employees at the company’s subcontractor repeatedly warned corporate officials about safety problems and were told to falsify records.<br /></p><p>According to the court documents, the employee told a colleague that “he believed it was just a matter of time until a major defect escaped to a customer.”</p><p>The allegations come from a federal securities lawsuit accusing Spirit of deliberately covering up systematic quality control problems, encouraging workers to undercount defects, and retaliating against those who raised safety concerns. Read the full complaint <a data-cke-saved-href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pzxFhXIxXWUjZkAaLGICuyR8Vi-u1HN6/view?usp=sharing" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pzxFhXIxXWUjZkAaLGICuyR8Vi-u1HN6/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><u>here</u></a>….</p><p>Spirit was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://theaircurrent.com/industry-strategy/spirit-aerosystems-boeing-orbit-shanahan/#:~:text=Spirit's%20original%20and%20largest%20customer,factories%20doing%20work%20for%20Airbus." data-original-title="" href="https://theaircurrent.com/industry-strategy/spirit-aerosystems-boeing-orbit-shanahan/#:~:text=Spirit's%20original%20and%20largest%20customer,factories%20doing%20work%20for%20Airbus." target="_blank" title=""><u>established</u></a> in 2005 as a spinoff company from Boeing. The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPR/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADapK3o-vt_NLw0JpkdZbitdtGERcxzKVUxAj5pM5J8TUxYyhxpjMVVHSfEgGAumPM1lcFqJ2h7dz3mQUtneOZihdNtKjxX8tWfkVbJCl_XPSM9HHDfqRpleu2yd2kuchMgxnJUO4B4eh6oIfFDVkSjcbEgLAhmuYYJlOvpF5Au6" data-original-title="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPR/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADapK3o-vt_NLw0JpkdZbitdtGERcxzKVUxAj5pM5J8TUxYyhxpjMVVHSfEgGAumPM1lcFqJ2h7dz3mQUtneOZihdNtKjxX8tWfkVbJCl_XPSM9HHDfqRpleu2yd2kuchMgxnJUO4B4eh6oIfFDVkSjcbEgLAhmuYYJlOvpF5Au6" target="_blank" title=""><u>publicly traded firm</u></a> remains heavily reliant on Boeing…. Spirit and Boeing are closely intertwined. Spirit’s new CEO Patrick Shanahan was a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/article/1252116/patrick-m-shanahan/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.defense.gov/About/Biographies/Biography/article/1252116/patrick-m-shanahan/" target="_blank" title=""><u>Trump administration Pentagon official</u></a> who previously <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.spiritaero.com/company/overview/leadership/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.spiritaero.com/company/overview/leadership/" target="_blank" title=""><u>worked</u></a> at Boeing for more than 30 years, serving as the company’s VP of various programs, including supply chain and operations….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/profits-and-payouts-over-passenger_safety/" target="_blank" title="">Profits And Payouts Over Passenger Safety</a></strong><br /></p><p>[The Lever, January 12, 2024]<br /></p><blockquote><p><strong></strong>While the companies responsible for the door plug that blew out of a plane in mid-air last week were cutting corners, outsourcing manufacturing, laying off employees, and working to evade expensive safety upgrades, they paid their top executives $817 million and showered Wall Street investors with $68 billion in dividends and stock buybacks over the past decade.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/01-19-2024-how-boeing-ruined-the-jetblue-spirit-merger/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How Boeing Ruined the JetBlue-Spirit Merger</strong></a><br /></p><p>David Dayen, January 19, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The judge’s ruling in the case revealed all the deficiencies in the manufacturing and distribution of commercial air travel.<br /></p><p>This week, the sixth-largest and seventh-largest U.S. airlines, JetBlue and Spirit, were denied the opportunity to merge. Stripped from context, it doesn’t sound like an earth-shattering development. But the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.254267/gov.uscourts.mad.254267.461.0_9.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.254267/gov.uscourts.mad.254267.461.0_9.pdf" target="_blank" title="">ruling by Judge William Young</a>, a Reagan appointee, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/jetblue-spirit-deal-collapse-signals-trouble-for-airline-mergers" data-original-title="" href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/antitrust/jetblue-spirit-deal-collapse-signals-trouble-for-airline-mergers" target="_blank" title="">signals the end</a> of four decades of unstoppable waves of airline consolidation that have damaged passengers, workers, smaller communities, and commerce. More broadly, it’s another victory for the Biden Justice Department’s aggressive antitrust enforcers, who are drawing the line at additional concentration….<br /></p><p>But if Spirit was subsumed into JetBlue’s fleet, it would likely not be replaced by other ultra-low-cost carriers (ULCCs) like Frontier or Allegiant, the judge concluded. It’s worth going through why he concluded that.<br /></p><p>Airlines today simply cannot grow, because of a number of factors. There are shortages of both air traffic controllers and pilots, in large part because of voluntary retirements and buyouts during the COVID pandemic. But the bigger issue is that airlines can’t get their hands on any planes. Part of that is a supply chain issue, and part of it is a miscalculation of how many flights would be needed for increased post-pandemic demand. But mainly it’s because they’re all trying to source from one supplier….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-01-18-airbus-advantage/" target="_blank" title="">The Airbus Advantage: Why Europe’s mixed economy produces safer planes than America’s financialized capitalism</a></strong><br /></p><p>Harold Meyerson, January 18, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Boeing continually objected to what it said were Spirit’s high costs and inability to meet deadlines. As the workers on the shop floor and their union repeatedly noted, this led to rushed production and deficient oversight. Workers—members of the International Association of Machinists—had “great quality and safety concerns,” one union representative wrote to union leaders, but their concerns were routinely ignored by senior management, the <em>Journal </em>reported.</p><p>So how are work practices at Airbus different from those at Boeing? I’m not arguing that Airbus provides a panacea for 21st-century production; a chunk of their own production, for instance, is outsourced as well. But consider, for starters, who actually owns the two companies. Airbus’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://in.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/AIRBUS-SE-4637/company/" href="https://in.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/AIRBUS-SE-4637/company/" target="_blank">four largest shareholders</a>, in order, are the government of France, the government of Germany, the Capital Research and Management Company, and the government of Spain. Boeing’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/BOEING-4816/company/" href="https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/BOEING-4816/company/" target="_blank">four largest shareholders</a>, in order, are The Vanguard Group, Vanguard Group subfiler, Newport Trust Company, and State Street Corporation (a bank and asset manager). In other words, Airbus’s largest shareholders are mainly politically accountable governments that must pay heed to such public concerns as air safety; Boeing’s are entirely investors in business for profits….</p><p>By the way, just how outsourced is Boeing production? Only yesterday, it was revealed the door plug that blew out of the Alaska Airlines plane wasn’t actually produced in Wichita. It was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/boeing-737-max-9-part-in-alaska-airlines-blowout-was-made-in-malaysia-official-says-220a8fc5" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/boeing-737-max-9-part-in-alaska-airlines-blowout-was-made-in-malaysia-official-says-220a8fc5" target="_blank" title="">produced in Malaysia</a>, where I very much doubt that workers’ concerns about speed of production and quality oversight have much impact on their managers. More significantly, the fact that the Malaysian production of the door plug didn’t come to light until yesterday—12 days after the blowout—suggests just how profoundly outsourcing can obscure the public visibility required for corporate accountability.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2024-01-19-dollar-general-overcharges-customers-lawsuit/" target="_blank" title="">Dollar General Overcharges ‘Hundreds of Thousands’ of Customers, Lawsuit Alleges</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Ramenda Cyrus, January 19, 2024 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The prices paid at the register do not match the price tags, according to a class action lawsuit working through the courts….<br /></p><p>Dann told the<em> Prospect</em> that his firm has collected “thousands of pages” of public records that show the violations. Part of the case has to do with “weights and measures standards,” which are designed to prevent stores from undercutting their customers by ensuring that products sold are the proper size and weight claimed on the packaging. As Dann told the<em> Prospect</em>, Dollar General regularly fails <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://agriculture.ny.gov/weights-measures" href="https://agriculture.ny.gov/weights-measures" target="_blank">state</a></u> and <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm" href="https://www.nist.gov/pml/owm" target="_blank">federal</a></u> weights and measures tests, at an average of 20 percent….<br /></p><p>In September 2023, Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey initiated a different lawsuit against Dollar General for pricing scams. As KOAM News <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.koamnewsnow.com/lifestyle/family/dollar-general-consumers-beware-of-price-scams/article_14891154-5341-11ee-8bcb-4bf707f681f0.html" href="https://www.koamnewsnow.com/lifestyle/family/dollar-general-consumers-beware-of-price-scams/article_14891154-5341-11ee-8bcb-4bf707f681f0.html" target="_blank">reported</a></u>, a joint investigation between the attorney general’s office and the Missouri Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures Division found that more than half of the inspected stores failed price accuracy checks, with discrepancies up to “as much as $6.50 per item.”<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>They’re not capitalists — they’re predatory criminals</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/the-dojs-incestuous-relationship-with-jamie-dimon-is-captured-in-a-graphic-from-an-historic-lawsuit/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/the-dojs-incestuous-relationship-with-jamie-dimon-is-captured-in-a-graphic-from-an-historic-lawsuit/" target="_blank" title="">The DOJ’s Incestuous Relationship with Jamie Dimon Is Captured in a Graphic from an Historic Lawsuit</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, January 18, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade] [Wall Street on Parade]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/everything-thats-dangerous-about-u-s-banks-today-in-one-highly-readable-book/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/everything-thats-dangerous-about-u-s-banks-today-in-one-highly-readable-book/" target="_blank" title="">Everything that’s Dangerous about U.S. Banks Today in One Highly Readable Book</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, January 17, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade] [Wall Street on Parade]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/three-branches-of-u-s-government-have-kept-the-secrets-of-jeffrey-epsteins-money-man-leslie-wexner-locked-up-tight/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/01/three-branches-of-u-s-government-have-kept-the-secrets-of-jeffrey-epsteins-money-man-leslie-wexner-locked-up-tight/" target="_blank" title="">Three Branches of U.S. Government Have Kept the Secrets of Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Man, Leslie Wexner, Locked Up Tight</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, January 12, 2024 [Wall Street on Parade] [Wall Street on Parade]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.pcmag.com/articles/ibms-plan-to-update-cobol-with-watson" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The World Depends on 60-Year-Old Code No One Knows Anymore</strong></a></p><p>[PC Magazine, via The Big Picture 01-07-2024]</p><blockquote><p>An alarmingly large portion of the world’s business and finance systems run on COBOL, and only a small community of programmers know it. IBM thinks Watson can help, but it’s not guaranteed. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="http://theconversation.com/2023s-billion-dollar-disasters-list-shattered-the-us-record-for-weather-and-climate-disasters-amid-earths-hottest-year-on-record-220634" data-original-title="" href="http://theconversation.com/2023s-billion-dollar-disasters-list-shattered-the-us-record-for-weather-and-climate-disasters-amid-earths-hottest-year-on-record-220634" target="_blank" title=""><strong>2023’s billion-dollar disasters list shattered the US record for weather and climate disasters amid Earth’s hottest year on record</strong></a></p><p>[The Conversation, via The Big Picture 01-14-2024]</p><blockquote><p>The U.S. set an unwelcome record for weather and climate disasters in 2023, with 28 disasters that exceeded more than US$1 billion in damage each. While it wasn’t the most expensive year overall – the costliest years included multiple hurricane strikes – it had the highest number of billion-dollar storms, floods, droughts and fires of any year since counting began in 1980, with six more than any other year, accounting for inflation. <em> </em></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/insurance-home-auto-rate-increases-climate-change-03b806f3" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/insurance-home-auto-rate-increases-climate-change-03b806f3" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Buying Home and Auto Insurance Is Becoming Impossible</strong></a></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via The Big Picture 01-14-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Huge losses from national disasters prompt industry to jack up prices and pull back from some markets; ‘worst possible scenario’ for consumers. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/178239/democrats-2024-campaign-enemies-media" target="_blank" title=""><strong>It’s Time for Democrats to Make Some Enemies</strong></a> <br /></p><p>Jason Linkins, January 20, 2024 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...<em>The New Republic</em>’s editor, Michael Tomasky, in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177785/democrats-2024-election-prepared-fight" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177785/democrats-2024-election-prepared-fight" title="">setting the table</a> for this campaign season, has repeatedly stressed the need to name some enemies and pick some broad public fights with these foes… This can’t be the stuff of wonks and white papers—this is about emotions and morality, a gut punch to the bad guys….</p><p>...a slew of corporate enemies abound: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/170818/house-republicans-defend-junk-fees" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/170818/house-republicans-defend-junk-fees" title="">junk-fee crooks</a>; <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/168144/private-equity-devouring-american-dream" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/168144/private-equity-devouring-american-dream">private equity goons</a>; the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177403/biden-big-pharma-seize-drug-patents" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177403/biden-big-pharma-seize-drug-patents" title="">gangsters of the pharmaceutical industry</a>; banks <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/helaineolen/status/1747693631912501568" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/helaineolen/status/1747693631912501568" target="_blank" title="">plucking high overdraft fees</a> out of the pockets of people living paycheck to paycheck; a small universe of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/29/white-house-corporate-price-gouging-pressure-campaign.html" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/29/white-house-corporate-price-gouging-pressure-campaign.html" target="_blank">price gougers</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/175343/wage-theft-versus-shoplifting-crime" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/175343/wage-theft-versus-shoplifting-crime" title="">wage thieves</a>, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/176227/democrats-biden-consumer-protection-2024" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/176227/democrats-biden-consumer-protection-2024" title="">consumer predators</a>….<br /></p><p>The fact that the Democrats are of two minds on the matter is emblematic of the asymmetry of America’s political warfare. Republicans can be counted on to speak with one voice, picking topics on a daily basis on which to do a Two Minutes Hate, keeping the right-wing media Wurlitzer filled with fresh sheet music to call the next dance. Democrats can’t match the GOP in terms of propaganda infrastructure, but they can marshal far more relevant and substantive topics of conflict than the Republican Party’s typical culture-war fare.…<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024/01/16/how-fighting-monopoly-can-save-journalism/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How Fighting Monopoly Can Save Journalism </strong></a><br /></p><p>Phillip Longman, January 16, 2024 [Washington Monthly]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The collapse of the news industry is not an inevitable consequence of technology or market forces. It’s the result of policy mistakes over the past 40 years that the Biden administration is already taking measures to fix….<br /></p><p>...it is a direct result of specific, boneheaded policy choices that politicians in both parties made over the past 40 years. By repealing or failing to enforce basic market rules that had long contained concentrated corporate power, policy makers enabled the emergence of a new kind of monopoly that engages in a broad range of deeply anticompetitive business practices. These include, most significantly, the cornering of advertising markets, which historically provided the primary means of financing journalism. This is the colossal policy failure that has effectively destroyed the economic foundations of a free press….</p><p>This tradition in America’s political economy found early expression in the Postal Act of 1792. Reflecting the founding generation’s belief that a democratic republic required an informed citizenry, the law stated that the largest and most crucial communications network of the era had to treat all users equally by offering the same prices and terms of service to everyone. It was the same principle that in much later debates over the governance of the internet would be known as “net neutrality.”….<br /></p><p>Americans once again deployed extensive government interventions after monopolists gained control of a new communications network that had become essential to journalism by the mid-19th century. The dominant telegraph company of the day, Western Union, which fell under the control of the financier Jay Gould, and the dominant newswire provider, the Associated Press, became so intertwined that they were called “a double-headed monopoly.” ...<br /></p><p>To reverse such concentrations of control over the information environment, Americans took myriad measures. As with the U.S. Postal Service, they enacted regulations that required, for example, that telegraph and telephone companies operate as utilities providing every user, or class of users, with the same prices and terms of service. Similarly, while granted an exemption from liability for the messages people sent over their wires, telecommunications companies were not allowed to pick and choose who got to send or receive what content. Americans also used antitrust enforcement and utility regulations to prohibit such companies from vertically integrating into adjacent lines of businesses, such as advertising and publishing. Finally, by the end of the 19th century, privacy laws in every state prohibited them from disclosing or otherwise misusing the personal data generated by their users….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-07/is-new-york-city-more-dangerous-than-rural-america" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-06-07/is-new-york-city-more-dangerous-than-rural-america" target="_blank" title=""><strong>New York City Is a Lot Safer Than Small-Town America</strong></a></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 01-17-2024]</p><blockquote><p>Rising homicide rates don’t tell the whole story. When you dig deeper into data on deaths, you’ll find the more urban your surroundings, the less danger you face. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/03/supreme-court-amicus-briefs-leonard-leo-00127497" target="_blank" title=""><strong>‘Plain historical falsehoods’: How amicus briefs bolstered Supreme Court conservatives</strong> </a><br /></p><p>[Politico, via The Big Picture 01-07-2024]</p><p></p><blockquote><p>A POLITICO review indicates most conservative briefs in high-profile cases have links to a sm</p></blockquote>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-32671389291282773852023-12-31T12:41:00.001-06:002024-01-16T14:38:17.837-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 31, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 31, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.the-american-interest.com/2011/09/28/oligarchy-and-democracy/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Oligarchy and Democracy</strong></a><br /></p><p>Jeffrey A. Winters [The American Interest, via The Big Picture 12-24-2023]</p><p>Winters is professor of political science at Northwestern University and author of Oligarchy, published by Cambridge University Press in 2011.<br /></p><blockquote><p>Everyone is by now aware of the staggering shift in fortunes upward favoring the wealthy. Less well understood is that this rising inequality is not the result of something economically rational, such as a surge in productivity or value-added contributions from financiers and hedge-fund CEOs, but is rather a direct reflection of redistributive policies that have helped the richest get richer.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: I would argue that this is, in fact, well understood: that’s why Biden’s polling is so terrible. People generally understand the economy is rigged, and the see no effort being made to unrig it, nor any effort to rein in the worst abuses of economic predators, such as private equity. ]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The tiny proportion of wealthy actors among eligible voters cannot account for the immense political firepower needed to keep winning these policy victories. While motivated and mobilized minorities—those organized over issues like gay marriage, for example—can sometimes win legislative victories despite broad opposition from the electorate, America’s ultra-rich all together could barely fill a large sports stadium. They never assemble for rallies or marches, sign petitions, or mount Facebook or Twitter campaigns. So how do they so consistently get their way?</p><p>One increasingly popular answer is that America is an oligarchy rather than a democracy.<sup>1</sup> The complex truth, however, is that the American political economy is both an oligarchy <em>and</em> a democracy; the challenge is to understand how these two political forms can coexist in a single system. Sorting out this duality begins with a recognition of the different kinds of power involved in each realm. Oligarchy rests on the concentration of material power, democracy on the dispersion of non-material power. The American system, like many others, pits a few with money power against the many with participation power. The chronic problem is not just that electoral democracy provides few constraints on the power of oligarchs in general, but that American democracy is by design particularly responsive to the power of money….</p><p>Oligarchy should be understood as the politics of wealth defense, which has evolved in important ways throughout human civilization. For most of history, this has meant oligarchs were focused on defending their claims to property. They did so by arming themselves or by ruling directly and jointly over armed forces they assembled and funded. Every great increase in wealth required oligarchs to spend additional resources on armaments, castles, militias and other means of defense. The greatest transformation in the politics of wealth defense and thus of oligarchy came with the rise of the modern state. Through its impersonal system of laws, the armed modern state converted individual oligarchic property claims into secure societal property rights. In exchange, oligarchs disarmed and submitted to the same protective legal infrastructure that applied to all citizens (in theory if not always in practice). Property rights offered reliable safeguards not only against potential antagonists without property, but also, no less important, against other oligarchs and the armed state itself that administered the entire arrangement.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: Here, I think Winters commits a grievous error of omission by not considering the mental and social pathologies which characterize the rich, and the society they dominate. Theorists of civic republicanism repeatedly warned of the self-glorification the rich engage in. ]</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/introducing-master-plan/" target="_blank" title="">Introducing MASTER PLAN</a></strong><br /></p><p>December 29, 2023 [The Lever]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The Lever’s upcoming podcast series exposes the 50-year plot to legalize corruption in America. Listen to the trailer now.<br /></p><p>In MASTER PLAN, <em>The Lever</em>’s journalists unearth never-before-reported documents showing how a group of extremists and tycoons legalized corruption and took over the U.S. government. In this epic journey from the 1970s to the present, you’ll hear the untold history of famous villains you already thought you knew—people like President Richard Nixon, Senator Mitch McConnell and Fox News boss Roger Ailes. You’ll also meet operatives and oligarchs you’ve probably never heard of, because they’ve wielded their power in the shadows.…<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/12/book-review-sally-denton-and-roger-morris-the-money-and-the-power.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/12/book-review-sally-denton-and-roger-morris-the-money-and-the-power.html" target="_blank" title="">Book Review: Sally Denton and Roger Morris, “The Money and the Power”</a></strong></p><p>Conor Gallagher, December 25, 2023 [Naked Capitalism]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Denton and Morris’ tale begins with Las Vegas as nothing more than a dusty intersection in the middle of the desert at a time when the state was still for the most part in opposition to runaway vice. In Vegas’ 1930s beginnings it was an organized crime outpost for money laundering and an escape for Hoover Dam construction workers. Local and state politics were largely in the pocket of organized crime, but still most contained to Nevada. While the US always has always had organized crime and corruption, it was for the most part local or regional and not in cahoots with the national state.</p><p>With World War Two, that begins to change.</p><p>The authors highlight the moment when US Naval Intelligence and the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) struck a deal with Meyer Lansky, the man who put the ‘organized’ in organized crime, to suppress leftist unions on New York docks during the war by any means necessary. It was aptly called Operation Underworld.</p><p>Now the government had been hiring thugs for a long time, but this collaboration would grow into something more to the point the two sides are one and the same. As Denton and Morris describe it, this was ‘the start of what would be a growing covert alliance with organized crime, beginning during the war and becoming all but institutionalized afterward, a “continuing mode of operation,” as one scholar called it later.’</p><p>The war-time measures against leftists did not end with the war. The CIA and FBI entered into an alliance with organized crime against Communists and Leftists….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-26-2023" target="_blank"><strong>Heather Cox Richardson, December 26, 2023 [Letters from an American]</strong></a><br /></p><blockquote><p>With the “evil empire,” as President Ronald Reagan had dubbed the Soviet Union, no longer a viable enemy, Movement Conservatives, aided by new talk radio hosts, increasingly demonized their domestic political opponents. As they strengthened their hold on the Republican Party, Movement Conservatives cut taxes, slashed the social safety net, and deregulated the economy.</p><p>At the same time, the oligarchs who rose to power in the former Soviet republics looked to park their illicit money in western democracies, where the rule of law would protect their investments. Once invested in the United States, they favored the Republicans who focused on the protection of wealth rather than social services. For their part, Republican politicians focused on spreading capitalism rather than democracy, arguing that the two went hand in hand.</p><p>The financial deregulation that made the U.S. a good bet for oligarchs to launder money got a boost when, shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks, Congress passed the PATRIOT Act to address the threat of terrorism. The law took on money laundering and the illicit funding of terrorism, requiring financial institutions to inspect large sums of money passing through them. But the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) exempted many real estate deals from the new regulations.</p><p>The United States became one of the money-laundering capitals of the world, with hundreds of billions of dollars laundered in the U.S. every year.</p><p>In 2011 the international movement of illicit money led then–FBI director Robert Mueller to tell the Citizens Crime Commission of New York City that globalization and technology had changed the nature of organized crime. International enterprises, he said, “are running multi-national, multi-billion dollar schemes from start to finish…. They may be former members of nation-state governments, security services, or the military…. These criminal enterprises are making billions of dollars from human trafficking, health care fraud, computer intrusions, and copyright infringement. They are cornering the market on natural gas, oil, and precious metals, and selling to the highest bidder…. These groups may infiltrate our businesses. They may provide logistical support to hostile foreign powers. They may try to manipulate those at the highest levels of government. Indeed, these so-called ‘iron triangles’ of organized criminals, corrupt government officials, and business leaders pose a significant national security threat.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tech-billionaires-need-to-stop-trying-to-make-the-science-fiction-they-grew-up-on-real/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tech-billionaires-need-to-stop-trying-to-make-the-science-fiction-they-grew-up-on-real/" target="_blank" title="">Tech Billionaires Need to Stop Trying to Make the Science Fiction They Grew Up on Real </a></strong></p><p>[Scientific American, via Naked Capitalism 12-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Billionaires who grew up reading science-fiction classics published 30 to 50 years ago are affecting our life today in almost too many ways to list: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/droneships" href="https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/droneships">Elon Musk</a> wants to colonize Mars. Jeff Bezos prefers 1970s plans <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/musk-and-bezos-offer-humanity-a-grim-future-in-space-colonies/" href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/musk-and-bezos-offer-humanity-a-grim-future-in-space-colonies/">for giant orbital habitats</a>. Peter Thiel is funding research into artificial intelligence, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/17/if-they-could-turn-back-time-how-tech-billionaires-are-trying-to-reverse-the-ageing-process" href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/feb/17/if-they-could-turn-back-time-how-tech-billionaires-are-trying-to-reverse-the-ageing-process">life extension</a> and “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.seasteading.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.seasteading.org/" title="">seasteading</a>.” Mark Zuckerberg has blown $10 billion trying to create the Metaverse from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40651883" data-original-title="" href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40651883" title="">Neal Stephenson’s novel <em>Snow Crash</em></a>. And Marc Andreessen of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has published a “techno-optimist manifesto” promoting a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/11/accelerationism-how-a-fringe-philosophy-predicted-the-future-we-live-in" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/11/accelerationism-how-a-fringe-philosophy-predicted-the-future-we-live-in" title="">bizarre accelerationist philosophy</a> that calls for an unregulated, solely capitalist future of pure technological chaos.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-insufferable-bros-who-run-corporate" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-insufferable-bros-who-run-corporate" target="_blank" title="">The Insufferable Bros Who Run Corporate America</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller, via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Given the trends in American business towards monopolization since the 1980s, it won’t surprise you to learn there’s one corporation that stands between pharmaceutical firm marketing divisions and the doctor with the pen. It’s called IQVIA, and it is the result of a series of mergers, with the original seed company being IMS Health, co-founded by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_M._Sackler" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_M._Sackler">Arthur Sackler</a> in the 1950s. Yes, that Sackler.</p><p>IQVIA is now embroiled in a fight with the Federal Trade Commission over a merger that will determine the future of this $600 billion of spending, and more broadly, which medicines get developed and sold worldwide. Specifically, the FTC alleges IQVIA is trying to monopolize advertising to health care professionals (HCP) by buying up two of the three key firms that run online advertising targeted at doctors. These firms have vaguely titillating names. There’s Lasso, for which IQVIA paid a rumored <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/iqvia-sued-feds-block-deal-would-see-it-dominate-digital-pharma-ads-market" href="https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/iqvia-sued-feds-block-deal-would-see-it-dominate-digital-pharma-ads-market">$400 million</a>, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/09/feds-turn-antitrust-focus-to-digital-pharma-ads-00095963" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/09/feds-turn-antitrust-focus-to-digital-pharma-ads-00095963">DeepIntent, for which it forked over an apparent $800 million</a>. (The remaining one is PulsePoint.)</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://lesleopold.substack.com/p/wheres-the-party-of-the-working-class?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1972574&post_id=139733083&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ifjl&utm_medium=email" data-original-title="" href="https://lesleopold.substack.com/p/wheres-the-party-of-the-working-class?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1972574&post_id=139733083&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1ifjl&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">Where is the Party of the Working Class?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Les Leopold, December 27, 2023<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>A quarter century ago, the late labor leader, Tony Mazzocchi, issued a dire warning. Unless a labor party was created, working people would abandon the Democrats and flock towards authoritarians who would promise job protections and economic stability. Mazzocchi found enormous resonance among workers when <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/Man-Hated-Work-Loved-Labor/dp/1933392649" href="https://www.amazon.com/Man-Hated-Work-Loved-Labor/dp/1933392649">he declared</a>, “The bosses have two parties. We need one of our own.” </p><p>That rings even more true today for many working-class people. But is it possible to build a political party that truly speaks to the needs of working people in an era of runaway inequality and incessant mass layoffs?</p><p>Because neither Mazzocchi nor other labor leaders wanted to create a spoiler party that would siphon off Democratic votes and elect Republicans, the idea never found a way to gain significant traction. But the opportunity to create a new party would be more likely if one of the two major parties imploded, which might be happening right now to the Republican Party as it wallows in the fantasy world of Trump’s election lies and conspiracies….</p><p>Starting with Bill Clinton, the competition for Wall Street cash pulled the Democrats further away from the working-class, who the Dems thought had no place else to go. It could happen again.</p><p>Moving even closer to Wall Street could compound the difficulties that the Democrats already have. Not only are white working-class voters moving away from the Democrats, but so are Black and Hispanic voters. Biden’s support among <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/upshot/biden-trump-black-hispanic-voters.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/upshot/biden-trump-black-hispanic-voters.html">non-white voters has fallen</a> from the 70 percent he received in 2020 against Trump, to 53 percent today. And the decline has been dramatic among non-white voters with no college education and whose incomes are less than $50,000 per year. Many of those voters are unlikely to rush towards the Trump or Cheney Republicans, but they might instead sit out the election, which would be enormously harmful to the Democrats.</p><p>This creates an opportunity for the Trump Republicans to draw working-class voters by focusing on job security. But the Republicans seem fixated on culture wars and therefore run the risk of alienating working-class people of all shades and ethnicities who have become more liberal since 2010 on key social issues, including immigration.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jacobin.com/2023/12/gilded-age-christian-socialism-social-gospel-janine-giordano-drake-review" data-original-title="" href="https://jacobin.com/2023/12/gilded-age-christian-socialism-social-gospel-janine-giordano-drake-review" target="_blank" title="">Celebrate Christmas With the Gilded Age’s Forgotten Christian Socialists</a> </strong></p><p>[Jacobin, via Naked Capitalism 12-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...The only church for this Jesus was the socialist movement. Political groups like the Knights of Labor and left-wing periodicals like <em>Appeal to Reason</em> already invoked a working-class Christ, quoting his Sermon on the Mount as a condemnation of greed and a cry of solidarity. Protestant ministers such as W. D. P. Bliss and Herbert Casson sympathized, and in the 1890s they began establishing “Labor churches” across the country. These were not ordinary churches: Bliss’s Boston congregation lived together, studied scripture together, ran a business together, and marched for workers together. Their goal was to model a new society, a shining Christian commonwealth — and to universalize that society through socialist politics.</p><p>This was an implicitly millenarian project, gazing past the charitable acts of “Churchianity” and toward the grand arrival of God’s kingdom. Yet crucially, it was a postmillennial one, in that it enjoined the faithful to build a just world as a precondition for Christ’s return. Radical Christians were to engage in politics, not withdraw from it. “It is utter nonsense to preach the gospel of individual conversation without adding the gospel of social regeneration,” as Casson wrote.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: One of the great driving forces of modern American society, and which is largely ignored, is the opposite of postmillennialism, <a data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism" target="_blank" title="">dispensational premillennialism</a>. Basically, postmillennialists believe that Christ will return after Christians have established justice and equality on earth. There is thus a strong incentive to work for social and economic justice. Premillennialism believes that Christ will return after a period of tribulation, in which the wicked reign over chaos and misery. Premillennialists therefore have no incentive to work for social and economic justice.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/assassination-will-not-help-israel/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/assassination-will-not-help-israel/" title=""><strong>Assassination Will Not Help Israel</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Ian Welsh, December 29, 2023</p><blockquote><p>The problem with American leaders is that they don’t believe in anything enough to die for it. Oh, they have beliefs, the beliefs of a leech (which is unfair to leeches, which are, unlike ticks, largely beneficial to their hosts.) They really, really believe in neoliberalism, because it has made them filthy rich.</p><p>But die for it, except in the sense of “destroy the world for profit?”</p><p>No.</p><p>The leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah, even Iran to a lesser extent, have beliefs they are willing to die for, personally, not just send other people to die for.</p><p>Further, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian army (especially the Revolutionary Guards) are ideological organizations. From top to bottom, they believe in more or less the same things. You could kill the top 99 leaders of those orgs, and Mr. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/tag/100/" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/tag/100/">#100</a> would not be that much different.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/12/selfishness-cannot-be-the-basis-of-society.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/12/selfishness-cannot-be-the-basis-of-society.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Selfishness Cannot Be the Basis of Society</strong></a></p><p>[Naked Capitalism 12-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://medium.com/incerto/on-christianity-b7fecde866ec" target="_blank" title=""><strong>On Christianity</strong></a> <br /></p><p>Nassim Nicholas Taleb [Medium, via Naked Capitalism 12-28-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Ironically, modernists fall for what I have called the opiate of the middle classes[i.e., the PMC], that is social science and stock market speculation. They refuse religion on rational grounds, then fall for economic forecasters, stock market analysts, and psychologists. We know that economic forecasts work no better than astrology; stock market analysts are more pompous but much less elegant than the bishop, and psychology papers do not replicate meaning their results do not hold. My co-author Rupert Read and I have argued (using evolutionary arguments) that religion, via interdicts, allows the intergenerational transmission of survival heuristics and is effective in nudging people into some classes of behavior[16]. By some irony, “nudging” theory developed by social scientists (which earned Richard Thaler a Nobel in economic sciences) has been recently shown to be nonreplicable, owing to a statistical artifact[17]. Nonreplicable is the polite scientific term to mean that it is no different from astrology. Listen to the bishop — the recipient of generations of survival wisdom — not the psychologist.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/how-yemen-is-blocking-us-hegemony-in-west-asia" data-original-title="" href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/how-yemen-is-blocking-us-hegemony-in-west-asia" target="_blank" title="">How Yemen is blocking US hegemony in West Asia</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Cradle, December 22, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The embarrassment for Secretary Austin and White House advisor Jake Sullivan was swift. Shortly after the coalition's announcement, key US allies<a data-cke-saved-href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/the-gulf-widens-as-gcc-states-differ-on-us-strategy-against-yemen" href="https://new.thecradle.co/articles/the-gulf-widens-as-gcc-states-differ-on-us-strategy-against-yemen"> Saudi Arabia</a> and Egypt<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/us-announces-naval-coalition-to-defend-red-sea-shipping-from-houthi-attacks" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/19/us-announces-naval-coalition-to-defend-red-sea-shipping-from-houthi-attacks"> declined</a> participation. European allies Denmark, Holland, and Norway<a data-cke-saved-href="https://gcaptain.com/spain-italy-france-decline-us-command-of-red-sea-operation-prosperity-guardian/" data-original-title="" href="https://gcaptain.com/spain-italy-france-decline-us-command-of-red-sea-operation-prosperity-guardian/" title=""> provided minimal support</a>, sending only a handful of naval officers.</p><p>France agreed to participate but refused to deploy additional ships to the region or place its existing vessel there under US command. Italy and Spain refuted claims of their participation, and eight countries remained anonymous, casting doubt on their existence.</p><p>Ansarallah has therefore destroyed another pillar of the White House National Security Strategy, which seeks “to promote regional integration by building political, economic, and security connections between and among US partners, including through integrated air and maritime defense structures.”</p><p><strong>Revolutions in naval warfare</strong></p><p>The Pentagon plans to defend commercial ships using missile defense systems on US and allied naval carriers deployed to the region.</p><p>But the world’s superpower, now largely on its own, does not have the military capacity to counter attacks from war-torn Yemen, the poorest country in West Asia.</p><p>This is because the US relies on expensive and difficult to manufacture interceptor missiles to counter the inexpensive and mass-produced drones and missiles that Ansarallah possesses.<br /></p><p>Austin made his announcement shortly after the USS Carney destroyer intercepted 14 one-way attack drones on just one day, the 16th of December.</p><p>The operation appeared to be a success, but <em>Politico</em> swiftly<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480"> reported</a> that according to three US Defense Department officials, the cost of countering such attacks “is a growing concern.”</p><p>The SM-2 missiles used by the USS Carney cost roughly $2.1 million each, while Ansarallah's one-way attack drones<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/19/missile-drone-pentagon-houthi-attacks-iran-00132480" title=""> cost</a> a mere $2,000 each.</p><p>This means that to shoot down the $28,000 worth of drones on 16 December, the US spent at least $28 million in just one day….</p><p>As Fortis Analysis<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/maphumanintent/status/1736762433279066316?t=J0aC7mrR4DhE0Ukma8AA7A&s=08" href="https://twitter.com/maphumanintent/status/1736762433279066316?t=J0aC7mrR4DhE0Ukma8AA7A&s=08"> observed</a>, the US has eight guided missile cruisers and destroyers operating in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, with a total of 800 SM-2 and SM-6 interceptor missiles for ship defense between them. Fortis Analysis further notes that production of these missiles is slow, meaning any ongoing campaign to counter Ansarallah will quickly deplete US interceptor missile stocks to dangerously low levels. Meanwhile, the US weapons manufacturer Raytheon can produce less than 50 SM-2 and fewer than 200 SM-6 missiles annually….<br /></p><p>While the US military is successful at producing expensive, technologically complex weapons systems that provide excellent profits for the arms industry, such as the F-15 warplanes, it is not capable of producing enough of the weapons needed to actually fight and win real wars on the other side of the world, where supply chains become even more critical….<br /></p><p>Moscow has the industrial base and the supply chains in place to produce hundreds of thousands of the low-cost, rudimentary 152mm artillery shells –<a data-cke-saved-href="https://global.espreso.tv/russia-can-produce-up-to-2-million-shells-annually-ukraine-partners-should-boost-production-ukrainian-mp" href="https://global.espreso.tv/russia-can-produce-up-to-2-million-shells-annually-ukraine-partners-should-boost-production-ukrainian-mp"> two million annually</a> – needed for success in a multi-year war of attrition fought largely in trenches. The US, quite simply, does not. Washington's war industrial complex is currently, at best, manufacturing 288,000 shells annually and<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/2023/03/28/us-army-eyes-six-fold-production-boost-of-155mm-shells-used-in-ukraine/" href="https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/2023/03/28/us-army-eyes-six-fold-production-boost-of-155mm-shells-used-in-ukraine/"> seeks to manufacture</a> one million shells by the year 2028, still only half of the Russian manufacturing ability.</p><p>Additionally, one Russian 152mm artillery round costs $600 dollars according to western experts, whereas it<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/13/us/politics/russia-sanctions-missile-production.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/13/us/politics/russia-sanctions-missile-production.html" title=""> costs</a> a western country $5,000 to $6,000 to produce a comparable 155mm artillery shell.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/american-spies-confront-a-new-formidable-china-5c384370" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/american-spies-confront-a-new-formidable-china-5c384370" target="_blank" title="">American Spies Confront a New, Formidable China</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The U.S. lost its human network in China just as Xi became Communist Party leader, in late 2012, and then president a few months later. Multiple, sometimes daily, CIA reports predicted he would be a different kind of Chinese leader, more forceful, nationalistic and security-focused, current and former intelligence officials said.</p><div>Several officials said the analysis was largely ignored by President Barack Obama’s White House, which hoped that as China grew economically, it would liberalize and join the U.S.-led international world order. That policy had been followed by Democratic and Republican administrations for two decades. “There was a lot of desperation to believe that,” said Gail Helt, a former CIA East Asia analyst.</div></blockquote><div>[TW: It wasn’t just Obama. I remember having arguments with conservatives and Bush supporters when Dubya was President.]</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/15/botched-cia-communications-system-helped-blow-cover-chinese-agents-intelligence/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/15/botched-cia-communications-system-helped-blow-cover-chinese-agents-intelligence/" target="_blank" title="">Botched CIA Communications System Helped Blow Cover of Chinese Agents</a></strong></p><p>[Foreign Policy, August 15, 2018]</p><blockquote><p>It was considered one of the CIA’s worst failures in decades: Over a two-year period starting in late 2010, Chinese authorities systematically dismantled the agency’s network of agents across the country, executing dozens of suspected U.S. spies…. </p><div>Now, nearly eight years later, it appears that the agency botched the communication system it used to interact with its sources, according to five current and former intelligence officials. The CIA had imported the system from its Middle East operations, where the online environment was considerably less hazardous, and apparently underestimated China’s ability to penetrate it.</div><div>“The attitude was that we’ve got this, we’re untouchable,” said one of the officials who, like the others, declined to be named discussing sensitive information. The former official described the attitude of those in the agency who worked on China at the time as “invincible.”</div></blockquote><div><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://swentr.site/business/589811-elvira-nabiullina-interview-rbk/" data-original-title="" href="https://swentr.site/business/589811-elvira-nabiullina-interview-rbk/" target="_blank" title="">Moscow’s anti-sanctions tsarina: What the woman leading Russia’s Central Bank says about economic war with the West</a> </strong></p><p>[RT, via Naked Capitalism 12-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The head of the Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, has held the position for more than ten years. When she was just starting the job, the world's media highlighted that Nabiullina had become the first woman to run a central bank in a G8 country. Now, however, the Western press talks about her in a completely different context. Not long ago, Politico magazine <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.eu/politico-28-class-of-2024/" href="https://www.politico.eu/politico-28-class-of-2024/" target="_blank">named</a> her “disruptor of the year” because she <em>“has managed to stave off the effects of unprecedented Western sanctions designed to drain the Kremlin’s coffers.”….</em><br /></p><p><em></em>— We have been living under sanctions since 2014 and, therefore, have always considered the risk that the sanctions may increase. We did a lot of work in this respect and conducted stress tests with many financial institutions. Therefore, when the major banks fell under sanctions, they were largely prepared for it. Disconnection from SWIFT has been a threat since 2014, so we created our own national payment system. We diversified our reserves and increased the share of yuan and gold reserves. International payments were actually the biggest issue, and we are still working on it. Blocked and frozen individual assets are also a painful subject since millions of people who were not sanctioned ended up with frozen assets. We are still trying to solve this problem together with the government.</p><p>As for the frozen reserves, I think this is a highly negative signal for all the central banks, because it violates the basic principles of security. But in this regard, we were aided by the floating exchange rate and the currency restrictions, which we adopted last spring and which were quite severe. Later, as you remember, these restrictions were weakened. This helped us mitigate financial stability risks.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/27/biden-endgame-ukraine-00133211" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/27/biden-endgame-ukraine-00133211" target="_blank" title="">The Biden Administration Is Quietly Shifting Its Strategy in Ukraine</a> </strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 12-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>For two years, Biden and Zelenskyy have been focused on driving Russia from Ukraine. Now Washington is discussing a move to a more defensive posture.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fondfbr.ru/en/articles/ukraine-drug-empire-en/" data-original-title="" href="https://fondfbr.ru/en/articles/ukraine-drug-empire-en/" target="_blank" title="">ZELENSKY’S DRUG EMPIRE: HOW UKRAINE TURNED INTO EUROPE’S LARGEST DRUG PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION CENTER</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Foundation to Battle Injustice, via Naked Capitalism 12-30-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><br /></div><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/21/israel-losing-war-against-hamas-netanyahu-idf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/21/israel-losing-war-against-hamas-netanyahu-idf" target="_blank" title="">Israel is losing the war against Hamas – but Netanyahu and his government will never admit it</a> </strong></p><p>[The Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 12-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Very recently there have been two further incidents. On 12 December, there was a skilful triple ambush staged by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/hamas" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/hamas" title="">Hamas</a> paramilitaries in a part of Gaza supposedly controlled by Israeli forces. An IDF unit was ambushed and took casualties. Further troops were sent to aid that unit, and they were then ambushed, as were reinforcements.</p><p>Ten IDF soldiers were reported killed and other seriously wounded, but it was their seniority that counted, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-soldiers-senior-colonel-killed-gaza" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-soldiers-senior-colonel-killed-gaza">including</a> as it did a colonel and three majors from the elite Golani Brigade. That Hamas, supposedly decimated and with thousands of troops already killed, could mount such an operation anywhere in Gaza, let alone a district reportedly already under IDF control, should<strong> </strong>raise doubts about<strong> </strong>the idea that Israel is making substantial progress in the war….</p><p>There are other, wider indications of the IDF’s problems. Official casualty figures have shown <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.idf.il/160590" href="https://www.idf.il/160590">more than 460</a> military personnel killed in Gaza, Israel and the occupied West Bank and about 1,900 wounded. But other sources suggest far greater numbers of wounded.</p><p>Ten days ago, Israel’s leading daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, published information obtained from the ministry of defence’s rehabilitation department. The head of the department, Limor Luria, was reported as saying that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ynet.co.il/health/article/yokra13707397" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ynet.co.il/health/article/yokra13707397" title="">more than 2,000 IDF soldiers had been registered as disabled</a> since the conflict began – with 58% of all those it had treated suffering from severe injuries to their hands and feet – suggesting a far higher casualty toll than the official figure. Meanwhile, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/war-caught-israeli-rehab-hospitals-unprepared-to-handle-number-of-wounded/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/war-caught-israeli-rehab-hospitals-unprepared-to-handle-number-of-wounded/" title="">the Times of Israel has reported</a> the number of injured IDF soldiers, Israel Police and other security forces as 6,125. There have also been a number of friendly fire casualties, with the same paper reporting 20 out of 105 deaths due to such fire or accidents during fighting.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://sonar21.com/the-problem-with-israels-military/" data-original-title="" href="https://sonar21.com/the-problem-with-israels-military/" target="_blank" title="">The Problem With Israel’s Military</a> </strong></p><p>Larry Johnson [via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>One of the strengths of an army with a solid, experienced crew of Sergeants, especially Master Sergeants and First Sergeants, is that they are men (or women) with at least 15 years of military experience. The senior Sergeants also play an important role in training newly minted Lieutenants and Captains. Just because a guy is commissioned as a Second Lieutenant after graduating from West Point or the Virginia Military Institute does not mean that new officer has a clue about how to lead men in combat. That comes with experience from following senior NCOs and Officers that are experienced. All nine of the Israeli casualties listed above would not be eligible to hold those ranks if they were in any NATO army unit.</p><p>Master Sgt. (res.) Eliyahu Meir Ohana, age 28, is holding a rank that, in the U.S. Army, is held by a soldier with at least <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.zippia.com/master-sergeant-jobs/demographics/#:~:text=The%20average%20master%20sergeant%20age,%25)%20and%20Unknown%20(3.9%25)." data-original-title="" href="https://www.zippia.com/master-sergeant-jobs/demographics/#:~:text=The%20average%20master%20sergeant%20age,%25)%20and%20Unknown%20(3.9%25)." title="">20 years experience</a>. The youth and inexperience of the Israeli NCOs helps explain why the reports that Israeli soldiers are shooting and killing unarmed civilians. They are young, inexperienced and lacking in the maturity one normally expects from a Staff Sergeant or Master Sergeant.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.antiwar.com/2023/12/26/netanyahu-says-hes-looking-for-countries-to-absorb-palestinians-from-gaza/" data-original-title="" href="https://news.antiwar.com/2023/12/26/netanyahu-says-hes-looking-for-countries-to-absorb-palestinians-from-gaza/" target="_blank" title="">Netanyahu Says He’s Looking for Countries to ‘Absorb’ Palestinians from Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>[Antiwar.com, via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-779510" data-original-title="" href="https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-779510" target="_blank" title="">Why moving to the Sinai peninsula is the solution for Gaza’s Palestinians</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Jerusalem Post, via Naked Capitalism 12-28-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/gas-gaza-and-western-imperialism/" data-original-title="" href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/12/gas-gaza-and-western-imperialism/" target="_blank" title="">Gas, Gaza, and Western imperialism</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Mondoweiss, via Naked Capitalism 12-28-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ceasefire-protesters-shutting-down-weapons-manufacturers" data-original-title="" href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ceasefire-protesters-shutting-down-weapons-manufacturers" target="_blank" title="">Gaza Ceasefire Protesters are Shutting Down Weapons Manufacturers</a></strong></p><p>[Teen Vogue, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“According to organizer Lara Kiswani, she and other organizers had just a few hours to galvanize protesters to form a picket line at the port around 6 a.m. Kiswani is the executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), one of the organizations that led the demonstration…. AROC led the first #BlocktheBoat campaign, in 2014, alongside a coalition of local organizations, picketing for days and discouraging rank and file workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 10 from working ships owned by Zim Integrated Shipping Services, the largest Israeli cargo shipping company. In 2021, when a Zim vessel attempted to return to the Port of Oakland for the first time in seven years, ILWU 10 workers refused to cross he #BlocktheBoat community picket line, heeding the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions’ call for US labor unions to ‘boycott the Israeli occupation’ in part by ‘refusing to unload their ships.'” • The departing ship was delayed, but not stopped. Lots of detail in the article, which I am no longer surprised to see in Teen Vogue, and nowhere else.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/28/xxni-d28.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/28/xxni-d28.html" target="_blank" title="">Billionaires, imperialists, and antisemites: The forces behind the assault on opposition to Gaza genocide</a> </strong></p><p>[WSWS, via Naked Capitalism 12-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/business/4376617-why-bidenomics-is-falling-flat-with-voters/" data-original-title="" href="https://thehill.com/business/4376617-why-bidenomics-is-falling-flat-with-voters/" target="_blank" title="">Why ‘Bidenomics’ is falling flat with voters</a> </strong></p><p>[The Hill, via Naked Capitalism 12-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jacobin.com/2023/12/bidenomics-inequality-inflation-ira-joe-biden-climate" data-original-title="" href="https://jacobin.com/2023/12/bidenomics-inequality-inflation-ira-joe-biden-climate" target="_blank" title="">Bidenomics Puts Business, Not Workers, First</a> </strong></p><p>[Jacobin, via Naked Capitalism 12-25-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/measuring-income-inequality-a-primer-on-the-debate/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/measuring-income-inequality-a-primer-on-the-debate/" target="_blank" title="">Measuring income inequality: A primer on the debate</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Brookings Institution, via Naked Capitalism 12-28-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/status/1738397195961876644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1738397195961876644%7Ctwgr%5E624c9795d73822636ba13715a1d841f6815a7e12%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-24-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/status/1738397195961876644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1738397195961876644%7Ctwgr%5E624c9795d73822636ba13715a1d841f6815a7e12%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-24-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 12-24-2023]</p><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;At least 50 fertilizer production facilities have closed in Europe. This is stated in a report by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (a major financial group among the world&amp;#39;s top ten).&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Fertilizer production in the EU has become completely unprofitable due to gas prices. 75% of the… &lt;a href="https://t.co/DPZyf6CJpc"&gt;pic.twitter.com/DPZyf6CJpc&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Mats Nilsson (@mazzenilsson) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/mazzenilsson/status/1738397195961876644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 23, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1738397195961876644" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1738397195961876644&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2213893%2Fedit&sessionId=82471f45a97923f6e74368b6690e50cfd34c7474&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 742px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><p>.</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cadtm.org/IMF-surcharges-or-surtaxes-How-in-total-opacity-the-International-Monetary" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cadtm.org/IMF-surcharges-or-surtaxes-How-in-total-opacity-the-International-Monetary" target="_blank" title="">IMF surcharges or surtaxes: How, in total opacity, the International Monetary Funds is making money at the expense of countries in the most precarious position</a></strong> [CADTM, via Naked Capitalism 12-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/29/companies-are-losing-their-pricing-power.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/29/companies-are-losing-their-pricing-power.html" target="_blank" title="">From FedEx to airlines, companies are starting to lose their pricing power</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[CNBC, via Naked Capitalism 12-30-2023]<br /></p><p>GRAPH: Average quarterly earnings and revenues for companies in the S&P 500<br />Year-over-year percent change</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/how-mckinsey-destroyed-middle-class/605878/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/how-mckinsey-destroyed-middle-class/605878/" target="_blank" title="">How McKinsey Destroyed the Middle Class</a> </strong></p><p>[Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/upshot/hospitals-medical-errors.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/upshot/hospitals-medical-errors.html" target="_blank" title="">Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought Hospitals</a></strong> </p><p>New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2813379?guestAccessKey=e0cef9be-d55c-4bcf-8892-412af8f24355" data-original-title="" href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2813379?guestAccessKey=e0cef9be-d55c-4bcf-8892-412af8f24355" target="_blank" title="">Changes in Hospital Adverse Events and Patient Outcomes Associated With Private Equity Acquisition</a> </strong></p><p>JAMA, via Naked Capitalism 12-27-2023] Underlying study.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/12/24/chestnut-tree-genetic-engineering-mistake/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/12/24/chestnut-tree-genetic-engineering-mistake/" target="_blank" title="">Genetic engineering was meant to save chestnut trees. Then there was a mistake.</a> </strong></p><p>[Washington Post, via Naked Capitalism 12-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/40-of-us-electricity-is-now-emissions-free/" data-original-title="" href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/40-of-us-electricity-is-now-emissions-free/" target="_blank" title="">40% of US Electricity Is Now Emissions-Free</a> </strong></p><p>[ars technica, via Naked Capitalism 12-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://phys.org/news/2023-12-electronic-soil-crop-growth.html" data-original-title="" href="https://phys.org/news/2023-12-electronic-soil-crop-growth.html" target="_blank" title="">Researchers develop ‘electronic soil’ that enhances crop growth</a> </strong></p><p>[PhysOrg, via Naked Capitalism 12-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67718719" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67718719" target="_blank" title="">World’s tallest wooden wind turbine starts turning</a> </strong></p><p>[BBC, via Naked Capitalism 12-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The 105m (345ft) tower's strength comes from the 144 layers of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) that make its thick walls.</p><p>By varying the grain of each of the 3mm-thick layers of spruce, Modvion says it has been able to control the wall's strength and flexibility. "It's our secret recipe," says company co-founder - and former architect and boat builder - David Olivegren, with a smile.</p><p>At the factory, on the edge of Gothenburg, the thin layers of wood have been glued and compressed together to make the curved sections. Those pieces are then taken on site, glued together into cylinders and then stacked on top of each other to make the tower.</p><p>"Wood and glue is the perfect combination, we've known that for hundreds of years," Olivegren says. "And because using wood is lighter [than steel] you can build taller turbines with less material."</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://carnewschina.com/2023/12/27/volkswagen-backed-jac-yiwei-ev-powered-by-sodium-ion-battery-starts-mass-production-in-china/" data-original-title="" href="https://carnewschina.com/2023/12/27/volkswagen-backed-jac-yiwei-ev-powered-by-sodium-ion-battery-starts-mass-production-in-china/" target="_blank" title="">First EV With Lithium-Free Sodium Battery Hits the Road In January</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[CarNewsChina, via Naked Capitalism 12-30-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Sodium-ion batteries are expected to play an essential role in the battery mix in the future. Their best-case use is stationary energy storage, two-wheelers, and entry-level EVs. They are cheaper than LFP, don’t need lithium, and perform better in winter conditions. On the other hand, they have lower energy density. In China, many automakers are pushing into sodium-ion development; <a data-cke-saved-href="https://carnewschina.com/2023/11/20/sodium-ion-batteries-are-real-in-china-byd-to-build-30-gwh-sodium-battery-plant/" href="https://carnewschina.com/2023/11/20/sodium-ion-batteries-are-real-in-china-byd-to-build-30-gwh-sodium-battery-plant/">BYD recently announced a 30 GWh sodium battery plant </a>in Xuzhou in a joint venture with tricycle giant Huaihai Group. The total investment reaches 10 billion yuan (1.4 billion USD). Another player is CATL, which has already shown us some <a data-cke-saved-href="https://carnewschina.com/2023/04/20/catl-and-byd-sodium-ion-batteries-will-be-put-into-a-mass-produced-car-in-q4-2023/" href="https://carnewschina.com/2023/04/20/catl-and-byd-sodium-ion-batteries-will-be-put-into-a-mass-produced-car-in-q4-2023/">prototypes </a>but hasn’t announced the mass production plans yet. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong> <br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/27/new-york-times-sues-microsoft-chatgpt-maker-openai-over-copyright-infringement.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/27/new-york-times-sues-microsoft-chatgpt-maker-openai-over-copyright-infringement.html" target="_blank" title="">New York Times sues Microsoft, ChatGPT maker OpenAI over copyright infringement </a></strong></p><p>[CNBC, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“In its lawsuit Wednesday, the Times accused Microsoft and OpenAI of creating a business model based on ‘mass copyright infringement,’ stating that the companies’ AI systems were ‘used to create multiple reproductions of The Times’s intellectual property for the purpose of creating the GPT models that exploit and, in many cases, retain large portions of the copyrightable expression contained in those works.’ Publishers are concerned that, with the advent of generative AI chatbots, fewer people will click through to news sites, resulting in shrinking traffic and revenues. The Times included numerous examples in the suit of instances where GPT-4 produced altered versions of material published by the newspaper. In one example, the filing shows OpenAI’s software producing almost identical text to a Times article about predatory lending practices in New York City’s taxi industry. But in OpenAI’s version, GPT-4 excludes a critical piece of context about the sum of money the city made selling taxi medallions and collecting taxes on private sales.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://rumble.com/v42wkvh-tucker-carlson-visits-julian-assange.html" data-original-title="" href="https://rumble.com/v42wkvh-tucker-carlson-visits-julian-assange.html" target="_blank" title="">Tucker Carlson Visits Julian Assange</a> </strong></p><p>[Rumble, via Naked Capitalism 12-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177549/the-squad-aoc-party-leadership" target="_blank" title="">The Squad Has a Serious Shot at Party Leadership</a></strong><br />Julian Zelizer, December 29, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Despite attacks from their colleagues, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her peers are part of a proud tradition of influential legislators who moved their party left….<br /></p><p>...since the early twentieth century, left legislators have been organizing, mobilizing, coalition-building, and legislating from within Capitol Hill. We have seen this in the past, and we are seeing this again today. Without New York Senator Robert Wagner, for example, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/06/20/unions-industrial-policy-climate-change/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/06/20/unions-industrial-policy-climate-change/" target="_blank" title="">much</a> of the New Deal might never have come into being. The senator and his allies in the upper chamber had been fighting to expand the role of government before there was a Great Depression or Franklin Roosevelt was president. Even once FDR was in office, the senator was the driving force behind landmark legislation such as the National Labor Relations Act, which legitimated unions and created a government body to oversee union rights—and is correctly known as the “Wagner Act.” Many of the policies we now associate with Roosevelt were born out of Wagner’s efforts. As the political scientist David R. Mayhew wrote in <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/america-s-congress-actions-in-the-public-sphere-james-madison-through-newt-gingrich-david-r-mayhew/9250582?ean=9780300093353" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/america-s-congress-actions-in-the-public-sphere-james-madison-through-newt-gingrich-david-r-mayhew/9250582?ean=9780300093353" target="_blank">America’s Congress</a></em>, “it is a fair question whether the 1930s, at least as an epic legislative era, should not be labeled ‘the age of Wagner’ as much as it is the ‘age of Roosevelt.’”<br /></p></blockquote><p><br /><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-mass-mail-in-voting-changes-everything/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-mass-mail-in-voting-changes-everything/" target="_blank" title="">How Mass Mail-In Voting Changes Everything</a></strong></p><p>[The American Conservative, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-27-2023]</p><p>[TW: If you ever wondered why conservatives are so unhappy with efforts to make voting easier.]</p><blockquote><p>“The objective of mail-in voting activists is an electoral world in which polls, historical trends, economic issues, messaging, voter enthusiasm, candidate quality, traditional get-out-the-vote efforts, candidate debates, and voter persuasion no longer matter in elections. All that ultimately matters in mass mail-in voting states is the number of absentee ballots that can be distributed, harvested, and ultimately counted in local election offices by partisan election activists over the weeks and months preceding election day. Through the strategic expansion of mass mail-in voting, Democrats are creating a new urban based, activist driven electoral playing field where they alone can win. The idea that mass mail-in voting expands general “voters rights” is not what it appears to be. Instead, the spread of mass mail-in voting since 2020 has greatly increased the political power of urban and university-based bloc voters, partisan election activists, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/12/12/how_tax-exempt_nonprofits_skirt_the_us_tax_code_to_turn_out_the_democrat_base_on_election_day_997388.html?mc_cid=de07a6091a&mc_eid=9fa4dd221c" data-original-title="" href="https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2023/12/12/how_tax-exempt_nonprofits_skirt_the_us_tax_code_to_turn_out_the_democrat_base_on_election_day_997388.html?mc_cid=de07a6091a&mc_eid=9fa4dd221c" target="_blank" title="">the many wealthy nonprofits that support them</a>, such as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thefederalist.com/tag/center-for-tech-and-civic-life/" href="https://thefederalist.com/tag/center-for-tech-and-civic-life/" target="_blank">the Center for Tech and Civic Life and the National Vote at Home Institute</a>. Meanwhile, conventional, in-person suburban and rural voters see their votes diluted by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/12/12/2794970/0/en/Heartland-Rasmussen-Poll-One-in-Five-Mail-In-Voters-Admit-to-Committing-at-Least-One-Kind-of-Voter-Fraud-During-2020-Election.html" href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/12/12/2794970/0/en/Heartland-Rasmussen-Poll-One-in-Five-Mail-In-Voters-Admit-to-Committing-at-Least-One-Kind-of-Voter-Fraud-During-2020-Election.html" target="_blank">a flood of questionable absentee ballot</a>s emanating from heavily Democratic cities and university towns.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/local-communities-keep-trying-to" data-original-title="" href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/local-communities-keep-trying-to" target="_blank" title="">Local communities keep trying to help workers. Corporate lobbyists and Florida politicians keep teaming up to stop them.</a> </strong></p><p>[Seeking Rents, via Naked Capitalism 12-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Urged on by lobbyists for some of the state’s biggest businesses, Republican lawmakers in Tallahassee have proposed new legislation that would crush local laws meant to make corporations pay higher wages, provide better benefits, or ensure safer workplaces….</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=79034&SessionId=103" href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=79034&SessionId=103">House Bill 433</a> would do three main things:</p><ul><li><p>First, it would stop cities, counties and towns from making any business — even government contractors — pay their employees more than the minimum wage. That would dissolve a number of “living wage” laws that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/florida-lawmakers-may-let-companies" href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/florida-lawmakers-may-let-companies">protect tens of thousands of workers</a> in cities like Miami, Tampa and Gainesville.</p></li><li><p>Second, it would prevent communities from passing any other local laws regulating the “terms and conditions of employment.” That prohibition would cover a vast universe of potential ordinances — though it appears primarily aimed at stopping the spread of “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-22/retail-workers-will-get-more-protections-under-new-ordinance" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-22/retail-workers-will-get-more-protections-under-new-ordinance">fair workweek” laws</a> that attempt to ensure more stable and predictable schedules for hourly workers.</p></li><li><p>And third, it would specifically preclude communities from protecting Floridians working in extreme heat. This comes as county commissioners in Miami-Dade County have been trying to craft a first-of-its kind law that would require employers to provide workers laboring in extreme heat with precautions like cool drinking water, regular breaks, and shade cover. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.governing.com/policy/miami-dades-landmark-heat-protection-bill-cooled-by-lobbyists" href="https://www.governing.com/policy/miami-dades-landmark-heat-protection-bill-cooled-by-lobbyists">Lobbyists for construction companies and agribusinesses</a> have been fighting that effort.</p></li></ul><p>The bill, which gets its first hearing Wednesday afternoon in the House Regulatory Reform & Economic Development Subcommittee, is an astonishingly anti-worker piece of legislation. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/20/voter-fraud-prosecutions-2020/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/20/voter-fraud-prosecutions-2020/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>GOP voter-fraud crackdown overwhelmingly targets minorities, Democrats</strong></a> </p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 12-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Black and Hispanic people made up more than 75 percent of defendants and Democrats nearly 60 percent in a controversial push by Republicans to prosecute election cheating, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis by The Washington Post. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/from-resentment-politics-to-vengeance-politics-a-guest-post-by-zoe-roberts" target="_blank" title="">From Resentment Politics To Vengeance Politics—a Guest Post By Zoe Roberts</a></strong><br /></p><p>[downwithtyranny.com 12-25-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In the last fifteen years, our political landscape has shifted dramatically. We’ve seen resentment politics, obstructionism based on tribal identity and now we’re confronted with the very real possibility of what I call “vengeance politics.” <br /></p><p>In many ways vengeance politics is the natural evolution of resentment politics, which can be loosely defined as the grievance politically toward another group of people. Katherine Cramer of the University of Wisconsin-Madison did an excellent job defining its impact on our politics through her field work throughout the State of Wisconsin. She found that rural communities have a resentment toward urban dwellers. Essentially documenting what many call the rural/urban divide. <br /></p><p>Where vengeance politics differs is in that it’s about the response to a group not getting their way. Examples include, losing an election, losing a referendum vote, having a bill vetoed, and lashing out at peaceful protestors. Where resentment politics doesn’t include the threat of violence or actual violence is where vengeance politics differs and does….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>14th Amendment</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1737529218848772427.html" target="_blank" title="">There are five judicial opinions out of Colorado on this Trump ballot thing</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Jarvis [ThreadReader, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“I think SCOTUS will reverse the decision of the Colorado Supreme Court, and will largely follow the dissent of Justice Samour. I think the SCOTUS decision will be either 9-0 or 7-2…. The trial court held that Section 3 did not apply to the President, and the trial court might be right. Justice Samour did not need to resolve that issue, though [in dissent]… Because of Section FIVE of the 14th Amendment. That section says hey — you know the whole insurrection thing we just talked about? How is this supposed to work? Who gets to decide who engaged in an insurrection? What sort of standard of proof applies? Is it a civil trial or a criminal trial? Is it a judge or a jury or someone else who decides that a particular person engaged in insurrection and therefore disqualified? What if they’re already appointed – do they still get paid while the proceedings are going on? The 14th amendment doesn’t answer any of these questions. Instead, Section 5 says that Congress gets to pass legislation to give enforcement power to carry out Section 3… And Congress did just that! Justice Samour points out that in 1870, Congress passed a law that allowed for both civil and criminal enforcement of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4591838" target="_blank" title="">The Meaning and Ambiguity of Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment (PDF)</a></strong></p><p>Kurt Lash, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4591838" data-original-title="" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4591838" target="_blank" title="">SSRN</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>[N]one of the multiple drafts of Section Three addressed whether the text could be enforced in the absence of congressional enabling legislation. Instead, key framers insisted that the text was not self-executing. For example, drafting committee member Thaddeus Stevens explained that Congress would have to pass enabling legislation since the Joint Committee’s draft of Section Three ‘will not execute itself.’… As far as enabling legislation is concerned, every time the subject arose the speak speaker presumed the necessity of such legislation. This was publicly announced understanding of Thaddeus Stevens, the view of Thomas Chalfant in the Pennsylvania ratifying debates, the view of Chief Justice Chase in Griffin’s Case, and the view of Lyman Trumbull during the passage of the 1869 Enforcement Act. I have not discovered a single person who thought the text was self-executing and capable of disqualifying a candidate prior to some kind of adjudication. It would have been surprising to find otherwise, given the Republican commitment to due process–a concern reflected in the opening section of the Fourteenth Amendment itself.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://thenewdigest.substack.com/p/the-non-originalist-decision-that" target="_blank" title="">The Non-Originalist Decision That May Save Trump </a></strong><br /></p><p>Adrian Vermeule [The New Digest, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-28-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p> The irony looming over the situation is that our current Court, stocked with a supermajority of Justices who consider themselves ‘originalists,’ may well end up ruling in Trump’s favor on the basis of a precedent that is profoundly non-originalist in method. Indeed that precedent, Griffin’s Case, decided in 1869, underscores what I have called ‘the paradox of originalism.’ Today’s originalists look backwards to anchor the meaning of law in the public understandings of earlier eras — either the founding era or, in the case of the Reconstruction Amendments, the post-Civil War era. But the public legal cultures, and public understandings of law, of those periods were not themselves originalist…. [Chief Justice Salmon P.] Chase held [in Griffin] that the disqualification embodied in Section 3 is not ‘self-executing.’ … Chase argued, in essence, that the consequences to the constitutional order from holding Section 3 to be self-executing would be intolerable, creating a kind of political-legal chaos and inflicting forms of targeted injustice inconsistent with the “general spirit of the Constitution.” Avoiding such consequences was itself a good legal reason to weight the scales of interpretation against self-execution…..<br /></p><p> “Interpreting Section 3 as non-self-executing would be a far more reasonable construction, Chase argued, because it would require Congress to create an orderly, regular and fair process for determining who had or had not participated or engaged in ‘insurrection.'” Chase concluded: “To accomplish this ascertainment and ensure effective results, proceedings, evidence, decisions, and enforcements of decisions, more or less formal, are indispensable; and these can only be provided for by Congress.'” • Well worth a read. Makes clear why the “self-executing” crowd pounds the table so hard when it comes to Griffen.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1738127031257412094.html" target="_blank" title="">Some belated thoughts on the Colorado Supreme Court’s historic ruling</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Roger Parloff [ThreadReader, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-28-2023]<br /></p><p>[Lamber Strether: ”A long thread, well worth a read. The author is a Senior editor at Lawfare. so clearly an expert in the field.’]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/the-colorado-courts-ruling-banning-trump-from-the-ballot-is-sharp-as-hell/" target="_blank" title="">The Colorado Court’s Ruling Banning Trump From the Ballot Is Sharp as Hell</a></strong><br /></p><p>Elie Mystal. [The New Republic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-26-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“[Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment] doesn’t say ‘convicted’ of insurrection…. It says what it says: Government officers who engage in insurrection cannot be officers of the government again. Donald Trump engaged in insurrection. That’s not me saying it, or Jack Smith saying it; that’s what the first court to hear this case, the Colorado state court, ruled at trial a few weeks ago.” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://compactmag.com/article/the-liberal-plot-against-democracy" target="_blank">The Liberal Plot Against Democracy</a></strong><br /></p><p>Samuel Moyn, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://compactmag.com/article/the-liberal-plot-against-democracy" data-original-title="" href="https://compactmag.com/article/the-liberal-plot-against-democracy" target="_blank" title="">Compass</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-26-2023] <br /></p><blockquote><p>“An equally grave concern is what happens in the short and long run when self-styled democrats refuse the grubbiness of democracy itself. I suspect the backlash to constitutionally disqualifying Trump would be enormous. If that happens, it isn’t clear “our democracy” will survive the storm into which a Colorado court might just have piloted the ship of state. <strong>Regardless, it would be a strange way of responding to the most plausible truth—among so many baleful lies—that Trump has stood for: that America’s ongoing crisis is a result of elite failure, which is never going to be addressed so long as popular control of politics is seen as worth circumventing, rather than reclaiming.”</strong></p></blockquote><p><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-54642297925569223382023-12-24T13:09:00.002-06:002024-01-16T14:37:46.966-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 24, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 24, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>14th Amendment</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a aria-describedby="popover364968" data-cke-saved-href="https://theconversation.com/why-14th-amendment-bars-trump-from-office-a-constitutional-law-scholar-explains-principle-behind-colorado-supreme-court-ruling-219763" data-original-title="" href="https://theconversation.com/why-14th-amendment-bars-trump-from-office-a-constitutional-law-scholar-explains-principle-behind-colorado-supreme-court-ruling-219763" target="_blank" title="">Why 14th Amendment bars Trump from office: A constitutional law scholar explains principle behind Colorado Supreme Court ruling</a></strong></p><p>Mark A. Graber [The Conversation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Section 3 then says people can be disqualified from holding office if they ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion.’ Legal authorities from the American Revolution to the post-Civil War Reconstruction understood an insurrection to have occurred when two or more people <a data-cke-saved-href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4591133" data-original-title="" href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4591133" target="_blank" title="">resisted a federal law by force or violence</a> for a public, or civic, purpose. Shay’s Rebellion, the Whiskey Insurrection, Burr’s Rebellion, John Brown’s Raid and other events were insurrections, even when the goal was not overturning the government. What these events had in common was that people were trying to prevent the enforcement of laws that were consequences of persuasion, coalition building and voting. Or they were trying to create new laws by force, violence and intimidation.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://coloradosun.com/2023/12/19/donald-trump-colorado-ballot-decision-supreme-court/" target="_blank" title="">Donald Trump blocked from appearing on presidential primary ballot by Colorado Supreme Court</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Colorado Sun, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023] <br /></p><blockquote><p>Chief Justice Boatright: “The framework that (Colorado’s election law) offers for identifying qualified candidates is not commensurate with the extraordinary determination to disqualify a candidate because they engaged in insurrection against the Constitution.” [Boatright] said the plaintiffs relied on the ‘breakneck pace’ required in Colorado’s election laws to pursue Trump’s disqualification and that they ‘overwhelmed the process.’ ‘This speed comes with consequences, namely, the absence of procedures that courts, litigants, and the public would expect for complex constitutional litigation,’ Boatright added.” Justice Samour called the challenge ‘a square constitutional peg that could not be jammed into our election code’s round hole’ and labeled the district court proceedings a ‘procedural Frankenstein’ for not following the strict deadlines in state election law.” Berkenkotter: “Three days to appeal a district court’s order regarding a challenge to a candidate’s age? Sure. But a challenge to whether a former President engaged in insurrection by inciting a mob to breach the Capitol and prevent the peaceful transfer of power? I am not convinced this is what the General Assembly had in mind.”</p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /><br /><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177689/colorado-trump-disqualification-pundits-trump-christmas-gift" target="_blank"><strong>The Colorado Supreme Court Got It Right</strong></a><br /></p><p>Matt Ford, December 20, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Critics of the court’s ruling are breezily dismissing the notion there should be any legal accountability for Trump’s actions on January 6….<br /></p><p>Most abhorrent to me is the idea that Trump shouldn’t be disqualified—even if disqualification would be legally and constitutionally valid, as Chait conceded for the purposes of his argument—simply because Trump supporters do not like it. This is precisely the reasoning that got us into this situation in the first place. Trump and a few thousand of his supporters gathered in Washington on January 6, 2021, because they thought their beliefs mattered more than the Constitution.</p><p>Other counterarguments have come from the likes of Erickson, a conservative commentator who promised some sort of retribution against Democrats for the Colorado ruling. “A court that did not put the man on trial and who has not been convicted of a crime related to an insurrection,” he wrote on Twitter. “You people will regret this. Kamala [Harris] raised money for BLM activists who burned down cities. It is so obvious where this heads.”….</p><p>If the threat here is that Republicans will use false and disingenuous legal attacks on their political opponents, then it’s not really a threat at all. The birtherism that more than a few conservatives indulged in during Obama’s first term already met that threshold. So does the free-floating impeachment inquiry that Republicans are trying to find a reason to open against Joe Biden. So did the Supreme Court lawsuit by multiple Republican-led states to strip Biden of Electoral College votes based on false claims of voter fraud. It’s not a deterrent if you’re going to do it anyway….<br /></p><p>But as a civic and political matter, the disqualification question is actually pretty easy. Trump summoned a mob to attack Congress to illegally keep himself in power on January 6. He broke his oath of office and tried to overturn an election by force. When you try to destroy the American constitutional order, Section 3 says that you forfeit the right to hold office under it. I understand why Trump’s supporters might resist those conclusions. What baffles me is when people who think that Trump is a danger to the republic refuse to treat him like one.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: There are a number of “liberals” and anti-Trumpers who profess themselves appalled by the ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court. Their opinions are a study in the philosophical inability of liberalism to oppose conservatism, and the authoritarianism conservatism leads to. One prominent line of argument is that Trump has not been convicted of inssurection, so the Article 3 prohibition does not apply. <br /></p><p>[To which I respond: Jefferson Davis was never convicted of treason. Are you willing to argue that therefore Davis did not commit treason?</p><p>[A reply I actually received:<br /></p><blockquote><p>Did you miss the civics lesson that describes a core principle of American jurisprudence, “innocent until proven guilty?” And the standard is beyond a reasonable doubt?<br /></p><p>Had you bothered checking (I take umbrage at being made to do research that the commenter should have made before engaging in assertions), US authorities dithered as to how to charge Jefferson Davis. And Davis thought he has a path to vindication:<br /></p><p>President Andrew Johnson’s cabinet was unsure what to do with Davis. They considered trying him by military court for war crimes—his alleged involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln or the mistreatment of Union prisoners of war at Andersonville Prison— but could not find any reliable evidence directly linking Davis to either. In late summer 1865, Attorney General James Speed determined that it was best to try Davis for treason in a civil criminal trial. In June 1866, the House of Representatives passed a resolution by a vote of 105 to 19 to put Davis on trial for treason. Davis also desired a trial to vindicate his actions. His defense lawyer, Charles O’Conor wanted to argue that Davis did not commit treason because he was no longer a citizen of the United States when Mississippi left the United States.[288] The trial was to be held in Richmond, which might be sympathetic to Davis, and an acquittal could be interpreted as validating the constitutionality of secession.</p></blockquote><p>[All true, but the question I posed remains unanswered: Are you willing to argue that therefore Davis did not commit treason? In fact, even if there had been a trial of Davis, AND even if he had been acquitted, it is simply not credible to argue that Davis had not committed treason by acting as president of the Confederacy. An acquittal of Davis of the charge of treason would only be a miscarriage of justice, or the result of fear of possible political repercussions, or fear of a renewal of armed hostilities, or at the very least, a result of bureaucratic and political fecklessness. <strong>An acquittal of Davis in an actual trial for treason would not eliminate, an should not be allowed to obviate, the historical record created by Davis’s actions and words.</strong> Only Davis would have thought he had been vindicated, and anyone else who thought he had been vindicated, would have ensured that the Union dead had indeed died in vain. Even if there had been a dutiful adherence to “due process,” Davis would have remained unacceptable for filling the post of President of the United States. </p><p>[Al Capone was never tried for being a gangster and a murderer. Capone was convicted and jailed for tax evasion. Are we therefore to believe that Capone was never a gangster and a murderer?</p><p>[A few days later on the same site, someone else posted the comments of Fox commentator Jesse Waters, <strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/jesse-watters-are-democrats-hoping-to-start-a-second-civil-war" target="_blank" title="">Are Democrats hoping to start a second Civil War?</a> </strong>[FOX, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>”Five years after the Civil War, pro-slavery Democrats filled the halls of Congress, and 15 years later, pro-slavery Confederates actually flipped the House – 51 former Confederate soldiers or officials were elected into office. Even the vice president of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, an arch secessionist, landed a seat in Congress. Another Confederate rebel, Lucius Lamar – great name – who literally drafted the Missouri secession plan, went on to serve as interior secretary and was later appointed to the Supreme Court. But how is that possible? Because all week we’ve been hearing how the Constitution bans insurrectionists from office. The 14th Amendment. How would Confederate soldiers be allowed to serve in government, but not Donald Trump?” </p></blockquote><p>[According to this second poster, this effectively answers the Jefferson Davis question. I vehemently disagree. In fact, I argue that the historical record of former Confederates being allowed back into positions of power — the failure of Reconstruction, the reestablishment of white supremacy in the Confederate states, and the century-long pain and humiliation of African Americans under Jim Crow — fully vindicates the views and wisdom of intents of the Radical Republicans, who wanted a ruthless application of justice imposed vindictively on all former Confederate leaders.</p><p>[I’m not sure why these people are so willing to accept that Henry Kissinger was a war criminal, despite there never having been such finding in a legal proceeding with due process, or that Israel is now engaging in war crimes in Gaza, but are freaking out that Trump is being sanctioned as an insurrectionist. <a data-original-title="" href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%203%3A6&version=NIV" target="_blank" title="">2 Corinthians 3:6</a> <br /></p><p>[The lesson in all this is how difficult it is for a justice system to actually deliver justice. And note that we would not have arrive here if not for the nearly century old campaign by rich reactionaries to roll back the New Deal and the legal protections extended to working people. Abortion was ginned up as a wedge issue by Richard Viguerie to line up christianist evangelical votes for the (anti)Republican Party. So were gun “rights” and the second Amendment. Nearly 90 years of “feeding red meat to the base” and now liberals are squeamish about treating Trump as an insurrectionist. The whole history of the conservative movement is a record of opposing the most basic tenets of the American republic — promoting the General Welfare, mandated as a purpose at the very beginning of the Constitution itself. But “none dare call it treason.”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/is-it-too-harsh-a-punishment-to-hang-high-ranking-coup-plotters-against-the-u-s-government" target="_blank" title="">Is It Too Harsh A Punishment To Hang High-Ranking Coup Plotters Against The U.S. Government?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, December 18, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.mintpressnews.com/blood-money-top-ten-politicians-taking-most-israel-money-israel-lobby/286491/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.mintpressnews.com/blood-money-top-ten-politicians-taking-most-israel-money-israel-lobby/286491/" target="_blank" title="">BLOOD MONEY: THE TOP TEN POLITICIANS TAKING THE MOST ISRAEL LOBBY CASH </a></strong></p><p>[MintPress, via Naked Capitalism 12-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-cost-of-bearing-witness#:~:text=Writing%20and%20photographing%20in%20wartime,understanding%2C%20outrage%20and%20provide%20wisdom." target="_blank" title="">The Cost of Bearing Witness</a></strong><br /></p><p>Chris Hedges, December 23, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>Writing and photographing in wartime are acts of resistance, acts of faith. They affirm the belief that one day - a day the writers, journalists and photographers may never see - the words and images will evoke empathy, understanding, outrage and provide wisdom. They chronicle not only the facts, although facts are important, but the texture, sacredness and grief of lives and communities lost. They tell the world what war is like, how <a data-cke-saved-href="https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1738224402666521061" href="https://x.com/QudsNen/status/1738224402666521061">those caught</a> in its maw of death endure, how there are those who sacrifice for others and those who do not, what fear and hunger are like, what death is like. They transmit the cries of children, the wails of grief of the mothers, the daily struggle in the face of savage industrial violence, the triumph of their humanity through filth, sickness, humiliation and fear. This is why writers, photographers and journalists are targeted by aggressors in war — including the Israelis — for obliteration. They stand as witnesses to evil, an evil the aggressors want buried and forgotten. They expose the lies. They condemn, even from the grave, their killers. Israel has killed at least 13 Palestinian <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lithub.com/these-are-the-poets-and-writers-who-have-been-killed-in-gaza/" href="https://lithub.com/these-are-the-poets-and-writers-who-have-been-killed-in-gaza/">poets and writers</a> along with at least 67 <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ifj.org/war-in-gaza" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ifj.org/war-in-gaza" title="">journalists and media workers</a> in Gaza, and three in Lebanon since Oct. 7….<br /></p><p>...the professor and poet <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRd3q3Fl3D4" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRd3q3Fl3D4">Refaat Alareer</a>, who was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/memory-dr-refaat-alareer/42466" data-original-title="" href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/memory-dr-refaat-alareer/42466" title="">killed</a>, along with Refaat’s brother, sister and her four children, in an airstrike on his sister’s apartment building in Gaza on Dec. 7. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that Alareer was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6014" href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6014">deliberately</a> targeted, “surgically bombed out of the entire building.” His killing came after weeks of “death threats that Refaat received online and by phone from Israeli accounts.” He had moved to his sister’s because of the threats.</p><p>Refaat, whose doctorate was on the metaphysical poet <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-donne" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/john-donne">John Donne</a>, wrote a poem in November, called “If I Must Die,” which became his last will and testament. It has been translated into numerous languages. A reading of the poem by the actor Brian Cox has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ualqa-MIwpg" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ualqa-MIwpg">viewed</a> almost 30 million times….</p><p>I was in a refugee camp in the early 1980s for Guatemalans who had fled the war into Honduras. The peasant farmers and their families, living in filth and mud, their villages and homes burned or abandoned, were decorating their tents with strips of colored paper to celebrate the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents" title="">Massacre of the Innocents</a>.</p><p>“Why is this such an important day?” I asked.</p><p>“It was on this day that Christ became a refugee,” a farmer answered.</p><p>The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/what-christmas-means/" href="https://www.truthdig.com/articles/what-christmas-means/">Christmas story</a> was not written for the oppressors. It was written for the oppressed. We are called to protect the innocents. We are called to defy the occupying power. Atef, Refaat and those like them, who speak to us at the risk of death, echo this Biblical injunction. They speak so we will not be silent. They speak so we will take these words and images and hold them up to the principalities of the world — the media, politicians, diplomats, universities, the wealthy and privileged, the weapons manufacturers, the Pentagon and the Israel lobby groups — who are orchestrating the genocide in Gaza. The infant Christ is not lying today in straw, but a pile of broken concrete.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/12/17/chris-hedges-the-death-of-israel/" target="_blank" title="">Chris Hedges: The Death of Israel</a></strong><br /></p><p>[ScheerPost, December 17, 2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>But by the time Israel achieves its decimation of Gaza — Israel is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/14/israel-tells-us-it-needs-months-to-defeat-hamas" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/14/israel-tells-us-it-needs-months-to-defeat-hamas" title="">talking about</a> months of warfare — it will have signed its own death sentence. Its facade of civility, its supposed vaunted respect for the rule of law and democracy, its mythical story of the courageous Israeli military and miraculous birth of the Jewish nation, will lie in ash heaps. Israel’s social capital will be spent. It will be revealed as an ugly, repressive, hate-filled <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/">apartheid</a> regime, alienating <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/jewish-american-israel-gaza-generation-gap.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/us/jewish-american-israel-gaza-generation-gap.html" title="">younger</a> generations of American Jews. Its patron, the United States, as new generations come into power, will distance itself from Israel the way it is distancing itself from Ukraine. Its popular support, already eroded in the U.S., will come from America’s Christianized <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Fascists-Christian-Right-America/dp/0743284461/ref=sr_1_1" href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Fascists-Christian-Right-America/dp/0743284461/ref=sr_1_1">fascists</a> who see Israel’s domination of ancient Biblical land as a harbinger of the Second Coming and in its subjugation of Arabs a kindred racism and white supremacy….<br /></p><p>You don’t have to be a Biblical scholar to see that Israel’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://time.com/6333781/israel-hamas-poll-palestine/" href="https://time.com/6333781/israel-hamas-poll-palestine/">lust</a> for rivers of blood is antithetical to the core values of Judaism. The cynical weaponization of the Holocaust, including branding Palestinians as Nazis, has little efficacy when you carry out a live streamed genocide against 2.3 million people trapped in a concentration camp.</p><p>Nations need more than force to survive. They need a mystique. This mystique provides purpose, civility and even nobility to inspire citizens to sacrifice for the nation. The mystique offers hope for the future. It provides meaning. It provides national identity.</p><p>When mystiques implode, when they are exposed as lies, a central foundation of state power collapses. I reported on the death of the communist mystiques in 1989 during the revolutions in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania. The police and the military decided there was nothing left to defend. Israel’s decay will engender the same lassitude and apathy. It will not be able to recruit indigenous collaborators, such as Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority — reviled by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/poll-shows-palestinians-back-oct-7-attack-israel-support-hamas-rises-2023-12-14/" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/poll-shows-palestinians-back-oct-7-attack-israel-support-hamas-rises-2023-12-14/">most</a> Palestinians — to do the bidding of the colonizers. The historian Ronald Robinson cites the inability to recruit indigenous allies by the British Empire as the point at which collaboration inverted into noncooperation, a defining moment for the start of decolonization. Once noncooperation by native elites morphs into active opposition, Robinson explains, the Empire’s “rapid retreat” is assured.</p><p>All Israel has left is escalating violence, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests/" title="">including torture</a>, which accelerates the decline….</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1737510216806080650" href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1737510216806080650" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 12-21-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Israelis, when speaking in Hebrew, are often far more candid and truthful about the real goals of Israel in Gaza than their American supporters in both parties are: &lt;a href="https://t.co/2gFY7SmLQ5"&gt;https://t.co/2gFY7SmLQ5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1737510216806080650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 20, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1737510216806080650" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1737510216806080650&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2212419%2Fedit&sessionId=7d0731bc27ce392129fe6e2dd2dc79749dfdf8cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 955px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-21/ty-article-opinion/.premium/would-israel-be-any-different-without-netanyahu/0000018c-8908-da81-a1bc-cfbc96080000" data-original-title="" href="https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-12-21/ty-article-opinion/.premium/would-israel-be-any-different-without-netanyahu/0000018c-8908-da81-a1bc-cfbc96080000" target="_blank" title="">Would Israel Be Any Different Without Netanyahu?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Haaretz, via Naked Capitalism 12-23-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/cia-s-chief-spy-william-burns-emerges-as-key-figure-in-hamas-hostage-crisis" data-original-title="" href="https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/cia-s-chief-spy-william-burns-emerges-as-key-figure-in-hamas-hostage-crisis" target="_blank" title="">CIA’s chief spy William Burns emerges as key figure in Hamas hostage crisis</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Straits Times, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><p>[TW: According to the <a data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_J._Burns_(diplomat)" target="_blank" title="">biography on Wikipedia</a>, “Burns allegedly had three scheduled meetings with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Epstein" title="">Jeffrey Epstein</a> in 2014, according to 'documents' and 'calendars' in their possession. At the time, Burns was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Deputy_Secretary_of_State" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Deputy_Secretary_of_State" title="">deputy secretary of state</a>, and Epstein had already plead guilty to the charge of procuring for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution" title="">prostitution</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_prostitution" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_prostitution" title="">a girl below age 18</a>.” Refer to Ian Welsh, November 22, 2023, <strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/many-politicians-support-israeli-genocide-because-theyre-being-blackmailed/" target="_blank" title="">Many Politicians Support Israeli Genocide Because They’re Being Blackmailed</a></strong>. This is the director of the CIA who is stuck in the web. ]<br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-list-associates-unsealed-judge-rules/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jeffrey-epstein-list-associates-unsealed-judge-rules/" target="_blank" title="">List of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates named in lawsuit must be unsealed, judge rules. Here are details on the document release</a>. </strong></p><p>[CBS, via Naked Capitalism 12-20-2023]</p><p>[TW: I have not seen any discussion of what Israeli and British intelligence did to replace Epstein/Maxwell. I’m sure there still are other om going operations that serve the same intelligence collecting and blackmail purposes as the Epstein/Maxwell pedophile operation.]</p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/how-many-times-was-trump-on-jeffrey-epstein-s-lolita-express-will-it-matter-to-any-magats" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How Many Times Was Trump On Jeffrey Epstein's Lolita Express? Will It Matter To Any MAGAts?</strong></a></p><p>Howie Klein, December 20, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://harpers.org/2023/12/one-state-solution/" data-original-title="" href="https://harpers.org/2023/12/one-state-solution/" target="_blank" title="">One-State Solution</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Harpers, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Saïd had understood that Oslo was a ploy that would mark “the end of the peace process,” rather than progress toward a Palestinian state. Like I.F. Stone, his unorthodox point of view earned him attacks from his Arab compatriots, supported by President Clinton, whom Saïd described as “a twentieth-century Roman emperor shepherding two vassal kings through rituals of reconciliation and obeisance.”</p><p>The Oslo Accords provided no agreement on the status of Jerusalem; no curbs on illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza; no recognition of Palestinian sovereignty. What were the accords for if not for the construction of a weak and corrupt government of seven disconnected enclaves under Israeli stewardship? Arafat ended up banning Saïd’s books in his strongholds<strong>, </strong>and Saïd ended up adopting I.F. Stone’s ideal: “the one-state solution.”</p><p>Absurd? Utopian? Not more so than “the two-state solution,” which has become a cynical trap advocated by hypocrites. No matter what, Arabs and Jews intermingle demographically–there are already 2 million Palestinians who are Israeli citizens. No other practical solution appears to be within sight. Where are the Stones and Saïds of our day to provide us with realistic and principled points of view? Who is there to reach out to across this bloody trench?<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2cLO40FcrQ" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2cLO40FcrQ" target="_blank" title="">SCOTT RITTER AND LARRY JOHNSON JOIN ON UKRAINE’S WOES, ISRAEL OUT OF CONTROL, PLUS MORE!</a></strong> (podcast)<br /></p><p>Danny Haiphong [via Naked Capitalism 12-23-2023] <br /></p><p>[TW: Ritter details new weapons technologies and the collapse of USA military power beginning around ten minutes after the one hour mark. Especially important is Ritters analysis of how the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea have demonstrated that even with carrier groups present, the US cannot protect the Strait of Hormuz from Iran. ]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3245784/chinese-scholar-who-helped-lay-legal-foundation-market-economy-dies-93" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3245784/chinese-scholar-who-helped-lay-legal-foundation-market-economy-dies-93" target="_blank" title="">Chinese scholar Jiang Ping, who helped lay legal foundation for market economy, dies at 93</a></strong> </p><p>[South China Morning Post, via Naked Capitalism 12-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theissue.io/megatrends-the-collapse-of-global-democracy/?ref=the-issue-newsletter" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theissue.io/megatrends-the-collapse-of-global-democracy/?ref=the-issue-newsletter" target="_blank" title="">Megatrends: The Collapse of Global Democracy</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Issue, via Naked Capitalism 12-23-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://angrybearblog.com/2023/12/have-wages-really-increased-since-before-the-pandemic" data-original-title="" href="https://angrybearblog.com/2023/12/have-wages-really-increased-since-before-the-pandemic" target="_blank" title="">Have wages “really” increased since before the pandemic?</a> </strong></p><p>[Angry Bear, via Naked Capitalism 12-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-private-equity-woes-debt-stock-market-interest-rates-2023-12" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-private-equity-woes-debt-stock-market-interest-rates-2023-12" target="_blank" title="">Wall Street private equity vultures are getting hit by high debt costs </a></strong></p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism 12-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/technology/2023/12/prison-telecom-gtl-viapath-jpay-securus-private-equity.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Robber Barons of Prison Tech</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Slate, via The Big Picture 12-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Meet the name-changing, monopoly-holding, profit-raking companies that control what it’s like to be in prison. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/18/felony-murder-laws" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Sentenced to Life for an Accident Miles Away</strong></a><br /></p><p>[New Yorker, via The Big Picture 12-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A draconian legal doctrine called felony murder has put thousands of Americans—disproportionately young and Black—in prison. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://realprogressives.substack.com/p/enshittification-a-monopoly-story?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2112435&post_id=139829883&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2g4s&utm_medium=email" data-original-title="" href="https://realprogressives.substack.com/p/enshittification-a-monopoly-story?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2112435&post_id=139829883&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2g4s&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">Enshittification: A Monopoly Story</a> </strong></p><p>Cory Doctorow [Real Progressives Substack, via Naked Capitalism 12-17-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/why-the-us-steel-industry-is-dying" data-original-title="" href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/why-the-us-steel-industry-is-dying" target="_blank" title="">Why the U.S. steel industry is dying</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Noah Smith [Noahpinion, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://africasacountry.com/2023/11/when-economists-shut-off-your-water" data-original-title="" href="https://africasacountry.com/2023/11/when-economists-shut-off-your-water" target="_blank" title="">When economists shut off your water</a> </strong></p><p>[Africa is a Country, via Naked Capitalism 12-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/12/eight-wall-street-mega-banks-have-teamed-up-to-run-television-ads-in-a-bogus-scare-campaign/" target="_blank" title="">Eight Wall Street Mega Banks Have Teamed Up to Run Television Ads in a Bogus Scare Campaign</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, December 11, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>During the Sunday, December 10 news program on CNN, “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” a deceptive, scare-mongering TV commercial popped up, warning that federal banking regulators’ proposed plan to require the mega banks on Wall Street to hold more capital against their riskiest trading activities “will increase the cost of mortgages and car payments” and “hurt small businesses, making it harder for them to access credit, meet payroll and run their operations.” The ad featured images of a farmer on his tractor, an auto mechanic, a worried small business owner, and other emotion-packed images. Wall Street On Parade has been warning our readers for weeks about this deceptive campaign by the Wall Street mega banks….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-12-20-building-a-giant-unitedhealth/" target="_blank" title="">Building a Giant: Mapping UnitedHealth’s consumption of our health care system—from the ’70s to today</a></strong><br /></p><p>Krista Brown, Sara Sirota, December 20, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theovershoot.co/p/the-rich-have-all-the-excess-cash" data-original-title="" href="https://theovershoot.co/p/the-rich-have-all-the-excess-cash" target="_blank" title="">The Rich Have all the “Excess” Cash Now</a></strong><strong> (excerpt)</strong> <br /></p><p>[The Overshoot, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://dnyuz.com/2023/12/21/billionaires-turn-to-legal-bribery-in-quest-to-build-utopia/" data-original-title="" href="https://dnyuz.com/2023/12/21/billionaires-turn-to-legal-bribery-in-quest-to-build-utopia/" target="_blank" title="">Billionaires Turn to Legal Bribery in Quest to Build Utopia</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Daily Beast, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-12-22-university-of-phoenixification-elite-education/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-12-22-university-of-phoenixification-elite-education/" target="_blank" title="">The University of Phoenixification of Elite Education</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Maureen Tkacik, December 22, 2023 [American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Under Apollo’s stewardship, the University of Phoenix <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.republicreport.org/2020/va-to-cut-off-gi-bill-funds-for-two-big-for-profit-colleges-maybe/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.republicreport.org/2020/va-to-cut-off-gi-bill-funds-for-two-big-for-profit-colleges-maybe/" target="_blank" title="">shut down 80 associate degree programs</a></u> and closed, <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.oakleycapital.com/news-and-insights/acquisition-of-career-partner-group" href="https://www.oakleycapital.com/news-and-insights/acquisition-of-career-partner-group" target="_blank">sold</a></u>, or <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/04/25/one-university-phoenix-campus-left-after-2025" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/04/25/one-university-phoenix-campus-left-after-2025" target="_blank">made plans to shutter</a></u> all but one of its more than <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/929887/000092988716000225/apol-aug31201610k.htm" href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/929887/000092988716000225/apol-aug31201610k.htm" target="_blank">200 physical campuses and mini-campuses</a></u> worldwide. It <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/2021/07/the-growth-of-robot-colleges.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/2021/07/the-growth-of-robot-colleges.html" target="_blank" title="">whittled its full-time faculty</a></u> to just 127 full-time instructors for 96,000 students. It agreed to pay <em>Donald Trump’s</em> Federal Trade Commission $191 million to settle a deceptive practices lawsuit, and was the subject of more than 3,000 consumer complaints to the FTC between 2017 and the beginning of 2021, along with <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/search?updated-max=2023-09-21T13:06:00-04:00&max-results=500&start=7&by-date=false" data-original-title="" href="https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/search?updated-max=2023-09-21T13:06:00-04:00&max-results=500&start=7&by-date=false" target="_blank" title="">over 73,000 borrower defense to repayment claims</a></u> to the Department of Education. It appointed its third president in a single year after the DOE <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.republicreport.org/2022/new-university-of-phoenix-head-ran-college-closed-after-fraud-suit/" href="https://www.republicreport.org/2022/new-university-of-phoenix-head-ran-college-closed-after-fraud-suit/" target="_blank">launched an investigation</a></u> into the role of its newly appointed president in the collapse of his <em>last </em>online university. And it reported a six-year graduation rate of 26.2 percent.<br /></p><p>But for Rowan, the University of Phoenix overhaul was a glorious success. The Apollo fund that acquired the online school extracted <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/apollo-global-management-s-university-of-phoenix-acquisition-four-years-later" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-20/apollo-global-management-s-university-of-phoenix-acquisition-four-years-later" target="_blank" title="">about $1 billion in dividends</a></u> during the first four years of its investment, despite the unprecedented tens of billions of dollars in student loans the Biden administration has canceled on behalf of students of virtually <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2023/03/69000-students-filed-borrower-defense.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2023/03/69000-students-filed-borrower-defense.html" target="_blank" title="">every shady for-profit online college </a><em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2023/03/69000-students-filed-borrower-defense.html" href="https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2023/03/69000-students-filed-borrower-defense.html" target="_blank">other </a></em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2023/03/69000-students-filed-borrower-defense.html" href="https://www.condemnedtodebt.org/2023/03/69000-students-filed-borrower-defense.html" target="_blank">than University of Phoenix</a></u>. Apollo then brokered the aforementioned lucrative agreement to double its initial investment by selling the school to the University of Idaho, though state attorney general Raúl Labrador has <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/11/13/see-you-in-court-open-meetings-lawsuit-will-head-to-trial/" href="https://idahocapitalsun.com/2023/11/13/see-you-in-court-open-meetings-lawsuit-will-head-to-trial/" target="_blank">sued to block that purchase</a></u>, arguing the deal was hashed out in <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.idahoednews.org/top-news/the-685-million-university-of-phoenix-purchase-a-study-guide/" href="https://www.idahoednews.org/top-news/the-685-million-university-of-phoenix-purchase-a-study-guide/" target="_blank">secret meetings that violated state law</a></u>. (The university has <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.idahoednews.org/kevins-blog/u-of-i-delays-more-public-records-requests/" href="https://www.idahoednews.org/kevins-blog/u-of-i-delays-more-public-records-requests/" target="_blank">demanded $2,400</a></u> from a local education website to comply with open records requests it filed to learn more about the transaction.)<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1737113790855123455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1737113790855123455%7Ctwgr%5E008e3bd1140a5fd4f38feb1e433cace5a33445a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2F200pm-water-cooler-12-20-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1737113790855123455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1737113790855123455%7Ctwgr%5E008e3bd1140a5fd4f38feb1e433cace5a33445a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2F200pm-water-cooler-12-20-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-20-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;It’s not an American problem or (mostly) a Biden-specific problem. Biden is trying to hold together a coalition of those who want populism and those who despise the public. They hate each other. This is a global dynamic. &lt;a href="https://t.co/DwJ4clHwML"&gt;https://t.co/DwJ4clHwML&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1737113790855123455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 19, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1737113790855123455" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1737113790855123455&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2212419%2Fedit&sessionId=7d0731bc27ce392129fe6e2dd2dc79749dfdf8cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 445px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p><strong>COVID</strong></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1736263889916977265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1736353696294772959%7Ctwgr%5E008e3bd1140a5fd4f38feb1e433cace5a33445a4%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2F200pm-water-cooler-12-20-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1736263889916977265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1736353696294772959%7Ctwgr%5E008e3bd1140a5fd4f38feb1e433cace5a33445a4%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2F200pm-water-cooler-12-20-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-20-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I had a chat with a woman yesterday who described a car crash she had been in the day before.&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;I didn&amp;#39;t understand it. We were just driving along the road here, and the driver of the car looked straight at us and pulled out straight into our car.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; tern (@1goodtern) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1736263889916977265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 17, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1736263889916977265" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1736263889916977265&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2212419%2Fedit&sessionId=7d0731bc27ce392129fe6e2dd2dc79749dfdf8cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 321px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mississippi-anti-vaccine-religious-exemptions-school-public-health-rcna130004" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mississippi-anti-vaccine-religious-exemptions-school-public-health-rcna130004" target="_blank" title="">How a well-timed legal assault unraveled Mississippi’s stellar record in vaccinating kids</a> </strong></p><p>[NBC, via Naked Capitalism 12-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Mississippi was forced to grant religious exemptions from vaccines.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/177721/billionaires-tax-back" target="_blank" title="">The Billionaires Tax Is Back: Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has a plan to make the ultrarich pay.</a></strong><br /></p><p>Grace Segers, December 21, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/economy/2023-12-19-new-merger-guidelines-reshape-business-landscape/" target="_blank" title="">New Merger Guidelines Quietly Reshape the Business Landscape: It just got much harder for companies to buy up their competitors.</a></strong><br /></p><p>Luke Goldstein, December 19, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>This week, the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission released the final version of the new <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023_merger_guidelines_final_12.18.2023.pdf" href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/2023_merger_guidelines_final_12.18.2023.pdf" target="_blank">Merger Guidelines</a></u>, first announced earlier this summer.</p><p>The legal document amounts to a new corporate charter for American commerce that sends a clear message: In order to grow, companies will have to focus on investing in product, innovation, and job quality instead of relying on acquiring competitors through mergers and acquisitions. It is a significant accomplishment for antitrust regulators that restores their ability to enforce the laws as originally intended by Congress, which had been hemmed in by previous versions of the guidelines….</p><p>Specifically, the guidelines outline several new categories of anti-competitive harms that hadn’t previously been a primary focus of antitrust reviews. Those include vertical mergers where a firm acquires companies that are not direct head-to-head competitors in order to integrate operations across multiple lines of business. Vertical integration in health care, for example, has been a common practice where insurers, hospitals, and pharmacies are all owned by the same conglomerate.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.freethink.com/science/biobots" data-original-title="" href="https://www.freethink.com/science/biobots" target="_blank" title="">Tiny biobots surprise their creators by healing wound</a> </strong></p><p>[FreeThink, via Naked Capitalism 12-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Tiny “biobots” made from human windpipe cells encouraged damaged neural tissue to repair itself in a lab experiment — potentially foreshadowing a future in which creations like this patrol our bodies, healing damage, delivering drugs, and more.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://science.thewire.in/environment/sahara-desert-green-savannah-new-research-explains-why/" data-original-title="" href="https://science.thewire.in/environment/sahara-desert-green-savannah-new-research-explains-why/" target="_blank" title="">The Sahara Desert Used To Be a Green Savannah and New Research Explains Why</a> </strong></p><p>[The Wire, via Naked Capitalism 12-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>This greening of the Sahara didn’t happen once. Using marine and lake sediments, scientists have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076514" href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076514">identified</a> over 230 of these greenings occurring about every 21,000 years over the past eight million years. These greening events provided vegetated corridors which influenced species’ distribution and evolution, including the out-of-Africa migrations of ancient humans.</p><p>These dramatic greenings would have required a large-scale reorganisation of the atmospheric system to bring rains to this hyper-arid region. But most climate models haven’t been able to simulate how dramatic these events were.</p><p>As a team of climate modellers and anthropologists, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41219-4" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41219-4">we have overcome this obstacle</a>. We developed a climate model that more accurately simulates atmospheric circulation over the Sahara and the impacts of vegetation on rainfall.</p><p>We identified why North Africa greened approximately every 21,000 years over the past eight million years. It was caused by changes in the Earth’s orbital <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.britannica.com/science/precession-of-the-equinoxes" href="https://www.britannica.com/science/precession-of-the-equinoxes">precession</a> – the slight wobbling of the planet while rotating. This moves the Northern Hemisphere closer to the sun during the summer months.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/Jil1S#selection-383.0-400.0" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/Jil1S#selection-383.0-400.0" target="_blank" title="">The coming dystopia will be a robust public-private partnership</a> </strong><br /></p><p>WaPo, via Naked Capitalism 12-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/google-android-play-store-apps-antitrust-settlement-e4e2f422baa846c66deac90c7866c5fd" data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/google-android-play-store-apps-antitrust-settlement-e4e2f422baa846c66deac90c7866c5fd" target="_blank" title="">Google to pay $700 million to US states, consumers in app store settlement</a></strong> </p><p>[Associated Press, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Google has agreed to pay $700 million and make several other concessions to settle allegations that it had been stifling competition against its Android app store — the same issue that went to trial in another case that could result in even bigger changes. Although Google struck the deal with state attorneys general in September, the settlement’s terms weren’t revealed until late Monday in documents filed in San Francisco federal court. The disclosure came a week after a federal court jury rebuked Google for deploying anticompetitive tactics in its Play Store for Android apps. The settlement with the states includes $630 million to compensate U.S. consumers funneled into a payment processing system that state attorneys general alleged drove up the prices for digital transactions within apps downloaded from the Play Store. That store caters to the Android software that powers most of the world’s smartphones. Like Apple does in its iPhone app store, Google collects commissions ranging from 15% to 30% on in-app purchases — fees that state attorneys general contended drove prices higher than they would have been had there been an open market for payment processing. Those commissions generated billions of dollars in profit annually for Google, according to evidence presented in the recent trial focused on its Play Store.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/20/rite-aid-facial-recognition/" data-original-title="" href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/20/rite-aid-facial-recognition/" target="_blank" title="">Rite Aid banned from using facial recognition software after falsely identifying shoplifters</a></strong> </p><p>[TechCrunch, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/20/em-oh-you-ess-ee/#sexytimes" href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/20/em-oh-you-ess-ee/#sexytimes" target="_blank">2024’s public domain is a banger</a></strong> </p><p>Cory Doctorow [Pluralistic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“They stole something from you. For decades, they stole it. That thing they stole? Your entire culture. For all of human history, works created in living memory entered the public domain every year. 40 years ago, that stopped. First in 1976, and then again in 1998, Congress retroactively extended copyright’s duration by 20 years, for all works, including works whose authors were unknown and long dead, whose proper successors could not be located. Many of these authors were permanently erased from history as every known copy of their works disappeared before they could be brought back into our culture through reproduction, adaptation and re-use (copyright is “strict liability,” meaning that even if you pay to clear the rights to a work from someone who has good reason to believe they control those rights, if they’re wrong, you are on the hook as an infringer, and the statutory damages run to six figures). Works that are still in our cultural currents 50 or 70 or 90 years after their creation are an infinitesimal fraction of all the works we create as a species. But these works are – by definition – extraordinarily important to our culture. The creators who made these works were able to plunder a rich public domain of still-current works as inputs to their own enduring creations. The slow-motion arson attack on the public domain meant that two generations of creators were denied the public domain that every other creator in the history of the human race had enjoyed.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://rosselliotbarkan.com/p/john-fetterman-exits-the-progressive?publication_id=45856&post_id=139920452&isFreemail=true&r=2g4s&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" href="https://rosselliotbarkan.com/p/john-fetterman-exits-the-progressive?publication_id=45856&post_id=139920452&isFreemail=true&r=2g4s&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">John Fetterman Exits the Progressive Coalition</a> </strong></p><p>[Political Currents by Ross Barkan, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>”Fetterman is in the first year of a six-year term. He has time to repair relations with progressives or sever ties altogether. At this point, the latter is rapidly happening anyway. For the Pennsylvania activist class, Fetterman is increasingly persona non grata. Since he also needs to appeal to centrists and Israel-supporting Jews in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metropolitan areas, he might not care at all. If he does go down this path, though, he’ll have to find a new way to raise cash and wrangle volunteers. There are many young people who showed up to canvass for Fetterman 2022 that will not bother for Fetterman 2028. They’ll have long memories—and other heroes by then.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/DecorumManager/status/1737844836383011164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1737844836383011164%7Ctwgr%5Ee35edf46856a549b1c39b68f0fa28bd64412a5f8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2F200pm-water-cooler-12-21-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/DecorumManager/status/1737844836383011164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1737844836383011164%7Ctwgr%5Ee35edf46856a549b1c39b68f0fa28bd64412a5f8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2F200pm-water-cooler-12-21-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-21-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Pandemic aid was the largest social program of the last 60 years. The kind of thing Dems promised voters for decades.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;They dismantled it the first chance they got.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;People who didn’t benefit from the aid refuse to understand how deeply alienating that was. It broke a spell. &lt;a href="https://t.co/MQw4FN0TvI"&gt;https://t.co/MQw4FN0TvI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Decorum Disassembly - mas.to/@decorummanager (@DecorumManager) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DecorumManager/status/1737844836383011164?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 21, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1737844836383011164" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1737844836383011164&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2212419%2Fedit&sessionId=7d0731bc27ce392129fe6e2dd2dc79749dfdf8cc&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 983px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/18/joe-biden-polls-campaign/" target="_blank" title="">Biden said to be increasingly frustrated by dismal poll numbers</a></strong> <br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/18/joe-biden-polls-campaign/" data-original-title="" href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/18/joe-biden-polls-campaign/" target="_blank" title=""></a>[Washington Post, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-19-2023] <br /></p><blockquote><p>“After pardoning a pair of turkeys, an annual White House tradition, Biden delivered some stern words for the small group assembled: His poll numbers were unacceptably low and he wanted to know what his team and his campaign were doing about it. He complained that his economic message had done little to move the ball, even as the economy was growing and unemployment was falling, according to people familiar with his comments, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation…. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who is running for the state’s open Senate seat, has expressed concern to allies that she may not be able to win her race if Biden is at the top of the ticket, according to people familiar with the conversations. A spokesman for Slotkin’s campaign said she “ooks forward to running with President Biden.'” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/01/slot-s01.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/01/slot-s01.html" target="_blank" title="">Slotkin is, of course, a CIA Democrat</a>. Hmmm. More: “‘The Republican primary could end quickly, and the general election could begin in weeks, not months,’ said Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist. ‘Given Trump’s noisiness and his ability to bully his way through the daily information wars, I think it’s really important that the Biden campaign move into general election mode as soon as possible. We’re not where we want to be. Some of our coalition is wandering and we need to go get them back.'” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fnymag.com%2Fintelligencer%2Farticle%2Fjoe-biden-2024-election-strategy-trump.html" target="_blank" title="">The Alarming Calm of the Biden Campaign</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[New York Magazine, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-19-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p> “Early this fall, [Jim] Messina, who talks regularly with members of Biden’s inner circle, distributed a 22-slide deck that he hoped would send a message to concerned Democrats — or, as he termed them to Politico, the ‘f*cking bed-wetters.’ He acknowledged that the race would be close but looked to ratchet nerves down by arguing that Biden has at least four credible avenues to victory in the Electoral College. One is simply to replicate the 2020 map for 303 electoral votes. This was not easy to do the first time around and may be harder to pull off again; Biden flipped Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan and became the first Democrat to win Arizona and Georgia in decades. A second path is narrower: Biden could win exactly the necessary 270 by carrying those midwestern ‘blue wall’ states — even if he concedes Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Nevada. A third route is the reverse of the second one, a ‘Sunbelt strategy’ that would net 275. The fourth option calls for replicating 2022’s Senate-race results, dropping Wisconsin and North Carolina but winning the other battlegrounds for 293. The hard part is that no two of these states require the same winning formula, not even the ones that tend to swing together or that look demographically similar from afar.”</p></blockquote><div><strong></strong><br /></div><div><strong>(anti)Republican Party </strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong><br /></div><div><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177474/mike-johnson-christian-nationalist-seen-coming" target="_blank" title="">Mike Johnson Is the Christian Nationalist We Should Have Seen Coming</a></strong></div><div><p><strong></strong>Melissa Gira Grant, <time content="2023-12-20T06:00:00-05:00" datetime="2023-12-20T06:00:00-05:00" itemprop="datePublished" property="dc:date dc:created">December 20, 2023 </time>[The New Republic]<time content="2023-12-20T06:00:00-05:00" datetime="2023-12-20T06:00:00-05:00" itemprop="datePublished" property="dc:date dc:created"></time><br /></p><blockquote><p>look to Johnson’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://documented.net/connecting-the-dots/mike-johnson-cnp" data-original-title="" href="https://documented.net/connecting-the-dots/mike-johnson-cnp" target="_blank" title="">membership in the Council for National Policy</a>, an influential conservative group regarded as a kingmaker. Members of CNP are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://documented.net/media/cnp-2016-communications-confidentiality-and-media-policy" href="https://documented.net/media/cnp-2016-communications-confidentiality-and-media-policy" target="_blank">forbidden</a> from telling anyone outside the group that they are a member. Their executive director recently <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/10/25/god-trump-closed-door-world-council-national-policy/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/10/25/god-trump-closed-door-world-council-national-policy/" target="_blank">told</a> <em>The</em> <em>Washington Post</em> that the group doesn’t “do anything.” Its aim, as laid out in its <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/featured-documents/council-for-national-policy-membership-directory-september-2020/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/featured-documents/council-for-national-policy-membership-directory-september-2020/" target="_blank">vision statement</a>, is to create a “united conservative movement” that can “[restore] religious and economic freedom, a strong national defense, and Judeo-Christian values under the Constitution.” Journalist Anne Nelson, author of <em>the</em> book on the Council for National Policy, <em>Shadow Network,</em> has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/167002/council-national-policy-documents-right-wing-conspiracy" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/167002/council-national-policy-documents-right-wing-conspiracy">described</a> them as “the secret hub of the radical right.” She has also described Johnson as their “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://washingtonspectator.org/how-christian-nationalists-big-oil-and-the-big-lie-seized-the-speakers-gavel/" data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonspectator.org/how-christian-nationalists-big-oil-and-the-big-lie-seized-the-speakers-gavel/" target="_blank" title="">creation</a>.”</p><p>Leaked CNP <a data-cke-saved-href="https://documented.net/investigations/documented-has-obtained-a-recent-council-for-national-policy-membership-list" data-original-title="" href="https://documented.net/investigations/documented-has-obtained-a-recent-council-for-national-policy-membership-list" target="_blank" title="">membership lists</a> have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/featured-documents/council-for-national-policy-membership-directory-september-2020/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/featured-documents/council-for-national-policy-membership-directory-september-2020/" target="_blank">included</a> a who’s who of the far- and farther-right: anointer of conservative judges Leonard Leo; Clarence Thomas’s conspiracy theorist spouse, Ginni Thomas; and longtime Christian-right leadership figures like Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Michael Farris of Alliance Defending Freedom (that’s the group that had employed Johnson, where he could put his “legal ministry” to work). Such members reportedly meet <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/us/2004-campaign-conservatives-club-most-powerful-gathers-strictest-privacy.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/us/2004-campaign-conservatives-club-most-powerful-gathers-strictest-privacy.html" target="_blank" title="">in secret</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/us/2004-campaign-conservatives-club-most-powerful-gathers-strictest-privacy.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/us/2004-campaign-conservatives-club-most-powerful-gathers-strictest-privacy.html" target="_blank">three times</a> each year, often in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://documented.net/investigations/council-for-national-policy-recordings" data-original-title="" href="https://documented.net/investigations/council-for-national-policy-recordings" target="_blank" title="">Ritz-Carlton hotels</a>. They are joined by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/17/council-national-policy-behind-curtain" href="https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/17/council-national-policy-behind-curtain" target="_blank">lesser-known members</a> too, some who have been current or former leadership in the John Birch Society, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/league-south" data-original-title="" href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/league-south" target="_blank" title="">neo-Confederate group</a> League of the South, and the violent anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. Josh Duggar, of the fundamentalist reality television–starring <a data-cke-saved-href="https://religiondispatches.org/inside-the-evangelical-beliefs-and-practices-that-facilitate-abuse-in-families-like-the-duggars/" data-original-title="" href="https://religiondispatches.org/inside-the-evangelical-beliefs-and-practices-that-facilitate-abuse-in-families-like-the-duggars/" target="_blank" title="">Duggar family</a>, has been a member, while working for the Family Research Council. Mike Johnson was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-speaker-mike-johnson-photographed-with-sex-offender-josh-duggar-2023-11" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/house-speaker-mike-johnson-photographed-with-sex-offender-josh-duggar-2023-11" target="_blank" title="">photographed</a> with Duggar at a 2014 campaign event. In 2021, Duggar was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material.</p></blockquote><p><br /><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177725/texas-immigration-law-federal-government-constitution" target="_blank" title="">Texas’s Middle Finger to the Federal Government—and the Constitution</a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Ford, December 21, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill this week declaring that the state will enforce federal immigration laws within its own borders. Even the Supreme Court may find that to be a bridge too far.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/billionaire-gifts-to-thomas-generosity-or-taxable-income/" target="_blank" title="">Billionaire Gifts To Thomas: Generosity Or Taxable Income?</a></strong><br /></p><p>[The Lever, December 22, 2023</p><blockquote><p>If billionaires’ largesse was designed to keep the justice on the high court, experts say the money could be considered a taxable payment.<br /></p></blockquote></div><p><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-71088611994669650262023-12-17T13:32:00.002-06:002023-12-23T08:05:53.980-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 17, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 17, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchs' war on the experiment of republican self-government</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://progressive.org/magazine/far-right-plan-for-a-new-confederacy-maclean-pearson-20231211/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Constitution in the Crosshairs: The Far Right’s Plan for a New Confederacy</strong></a><br /></p><p>Nancy Maclean, Arn Pearson, December 11, 2023 [progressive.org, via Naked Capitalism 12-15-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Frustrated by the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adviser-romney-shellshocked-by-loss/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/adviser-romney-shellshocked-by-loss/" target="_blank" title="">surprise defeat</a> of Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential race, a group of breathtakingly rich and highly strategic actors on the radical right, including the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://progressive.org/latest/koch-brothers-extremist-roots-run-deep/" href="https://progressive.org/latest/koch-brothers-extremist-roots-run-deep/">Koch brothers</a>, quietly launched an ambitious new campaign to lock in their political control once and for all. They had used their immense wealth and institution-building savvy to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_elections_results,_2010" href="https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_elections_results,_2010" target="_blank">capture</a> a majority of state legislatures in 2010, so the groundwork was already in place.</p><p>This campaign would be spearheaded by a corporate pay-to-play group they had long funded to influence state laws—the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" data-original-title="" href="https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" target="_blank" title="">American Legislative Exchange Council</a> (ALEC)—and a dark money group with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://progressive.org/magazine/dark-money-s-front-man/" href="https://progressive.org/magazine/dark-money-s-front-man/">deep ties</a> to Charles and the late David Koch (who died in 2019), as well as the Tea Party movement—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_Self-Governance" data-original-title="" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Citizens_for_Self-Governance" target="_blank" title="">Citizens for Self-Governance</a> (CSG). When legislators arrived at ALEC’s annual meeting in August 2013, they were given <a data-cke-saved-href="https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/ALECArticleV.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/ALECArticleV.pdf" target="_blank" title="">detailed instructions</a> and model text to bring back to their statehouses for a resolution demanding the first Constitutional convention since 1787….</p><p>In the decade since those first secretive meetings, Meckler’s Convention of States has managed to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://conventionofstates.com/join-glenn-beck-and-mark-meckler-in-calling-for-a-convention-of-states-1" data-original-title="" href="https://conventionofstates.com/join-glenn-beck-and-mark-meckler-in-calling-for-a-convention-of-states-1" target="_blank" title="">rack up wins</a> in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://conventionofstates.com/states-that-have-passed-the-convention-of-states-article-v-application" href="https://conventionofstates.com/states-that-have-passed-the-convention-of-states-article-v-application" target="_blank">nineteen states</a> for a convention that would address sweeping proposals to radically curtail the powers of the federal government. ALEC-led groups also claim to have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commoncause.org/resource/u-s-constitution-threatened-as-article-v-convention-movement-nears-success/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commoncause.org/resource/u-s-constitution-threatened-as-article-v-convention-movement-nears-success/" target="_blank" title="">twenty-eight states</a> behind their call for a more limited convention to propose a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.</p><p>Should a convention be convened, what is it that the ultra-rich backers want? Their chosen so-called grassroots leaders mince no words when speaking to friendly audiences. Meckler has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/convention-of-states-leader-says-goal-is-to-reverse-115-years-of-progressivism/" href="https://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/convention-of-states-leader-says-goal-is-to-reverse-115-years-of-progressivism/" target="_blank">declared</a> that the purpose is “to reverse 115 years of progressivism.” In fact, the endgame is even more consequential: to return this nation to its pre-Constitution roots under the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/program//bib/ourdocs/articles.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.loc.gov/rr/program//bib/ourdocs/articles.html" target="_blank" title="">Articles of Confederation</a>, with a weak central government and sovereign states….</p><p>Indeed, most of what ALEC, CSG, and their billionaire backers want to achieve flies in the face of public opinion. And that’s what makes their plan so devious. “Voters have no role to play in the right’s vision of a Constitutional convention,” a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/31/voters-have-no-role-to-play-in-the-rights-vision-of-a-constitutional-convention/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/31/voters-have-no-role-to-play-in-the-rights-vision-of-a-constitutional-convention/" target="_blank">report</a> by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) concluded. Delegates would be handpicked by legislative leaders, and here’s the kicker: The votes taken at such a convention would be based not on population but on one vote per state in order to grossly underrepresent the majority of Americans.</p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p>In audio <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/12/21/the-right-is-trying-to-rewrite-the-constitution-to-cement-minority-rule-forever/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2021/12/21/the-right-is-trying-to-rewrite-the-constitution-to-cement-minority-rule-forever/" target="_blank">obtained</a> by CMD, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, told an ALEC audience in 2021 how this strategy could be used to circumvent what most Americans want. “Because their [Democrats’] population is concentrated and ours isn’t,” Santorum said, “rural voters [Republicans] . . . actually have an outsized power granted under this process.”</p><p>He added, “We have the opportunity as a result of that to have a supermajority, even though . . . we may not even be in an absolute majority when it comes to the people who agree with us.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p>[TW: The most disconcerting aspect of Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza is not the brutality and inhumanity of it, or the shamelessness of Israeli officials, but the complete lack of any plan or even proposal for a constructive alternative to the killing and destruction. <br /></p><p>[Israeli leaders are clearly intent on driving Palestinians out of Gaza. And they say they will not accept a Palestinian state. But a Palestinian state is the only humane solution. Whether or not a Palestinian state will include Gaza and the West Bank is, at this point, entirely subject to Israeli intransigence.</p><p>[Palestinians must be given hope for building a better future, otherwise they can never be expected to be peaceful. Give them a chunk of Sinai and the resources to begin building new farms, villages, and cities, new schools, universities, and hospitals, and they will soon enough cease harboring a hatred for the state of Israel. They will be too busy building a new future to listen to jihadists who want to exterminate Israel. This is the only true way to lasting peace. </p><p>[The only place for a Palestinian state, given Israeli intransigence, is the Sinai. The Egyptian government has very good reasons to oppose the displacement of over two million Palestinians into a peninsula that currently is home to only 600,000. But if the international community can summon the will, it is possible to offer Egypt much, much more than the complete forgiveness of its $160 billion in debt. </p><p>[Gathering $1 trillion to create a new state of Palestine in Sinai would also force a break with the bankers dictatorship that has enforced neoliberal austerity on the world’s poor countries for three quarters of a century. Over $30 trillion is sitting in hot money centers around the world. Impose a mere one percent tax on those holdings world wide and you have a third of what’s needed. The oil rich Middle East countries can surely come up with another third. That leaves some $330 billion to be provided by the rest of the world. By contrast, the US has already provided $111 billion in weapons, equipment, humanitarian assistance and other aid to Ukraine. ]<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><div id="aside-0"><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C22iacmMo7s" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C22iacmMo7s" target="_blank" title="">John D. Liu's journey to the Sinai</a></strong></p><p>[The Weather Makers, YouTube, 2019]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive-16by9%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"><div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="#" href="#">x</a></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/C22iacmMo7s" width="500"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 0px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>[TW: John Dennis Liu is a Chinese American film-maker and ecologist who helped establish the CBS News bureau in Beijing in 1981. In 1995 he began documenting the Chinese government’s reclamation and rehydration of the Loess Plateau, a 35,000 square kilometer area slightly larger than the state of Maryland. The Loess Plateau is adjacent to the Gobi Desert. The video features footage of areas in the Loess Plateau before and after rehydration, showing the dramatic changes, including the successful establishment of vegetation corridors to protect roads in shifting deserts. ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtdIz7jW42U" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtdIz7jW42U" target="_blank" title="">Regreening the Sinai : Ties van der Hoeven of the Weathermakers</a></strong></p><p>[Climate Water Project, YouTube, February 2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive-16by9%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"><div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="#" href="#">x</a></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/qtdIz7jW42U" width="500"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 0px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-12-07/egypt-gets-more-leverage-amid-economic-crisis-devaluation-egp-usd-worries" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-12-07/egypt-gets-more-leverage-amid-economic-crisis-devaluation-egp-usd-worries" target="_blank" title="">Egypt Needs Cash and Gaza War Gives World New Reasons to Help Out</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Israel’s war with Hamas has put Egypt center-stage. It’s the only gateway for aid to reach Gaza, and besieged Palestinians to escape. It’s a key player in hostage talks that allowed a truce after six weeks of fighting. Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the former army chief set to be re-elected as president in a barely contested vote next week, is suddenly high on the must-visit list for global leaders.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4361423-kirby-wh-two-state-solution-israel-hamas-elusive-not-giving-up/" data-original-title="" href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4361423-kirby-wh-two-state-solution-israel-hamas-elusive-not-giving-up/" target="_blank" title="">Kirby: White House knows two-state solution to Israel-Hamas war ‘elusive,’ not giving up</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Hill, via Naked Capitalism 12-15-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/12/shift-top-hamas-official-floats-israel-recognition" data-original-title="" href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/12/shift-top-hamas-official-floats-israel-recognition" target="_blank" title="">In shift, a top Hamas official floats Israel recognition</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Al Monitor, via Naked Capitalism 12-15-2023]</p><p>[TW: This is major news, but an internet search showed it is only being covered in some Israeli and Arab media.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://inkstickmedia.com/israel-rejected-peace-with-hamas-on-five-occasions/" target="_blank" title="">Israel Rejected Peace with Hamas on Five Occasions</a></strong><br /></p><p>Zachary Foster, October 25, 2023 [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://inkstickmedia.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://inkstickmedia.com/" target="_blank" title="">inkstickmedia.com</a>]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/death-and-destruction-in-gaza" data-original-title="" href="https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/death-and-destruction-in-gaza" target="_blank" title="">Death and Destruction in Gaza</a></strong></p><p> John Mearsheimer [via Naked Capitalism 12-12-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/half-gazans-starving-warns-un-033322751.html" data-original-title="" href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/half-gazans-starving-warns-un-033322751.html" target="_blank" title="">Half of Gazans Are Starving, Warns UN Food Agency Chief</a> </strong></p><p>[yahoo news, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/09/civilian-toll-israeli-airstrikes-gaza-unprecedented-killing-study" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/09/civilian-toll-israeli-airstrikes-gaza-unprecedented-killing-study" target="_blank" title="">Civilians make up 61% of Gaza deaths from airstrikes, Israeli study finds</a> </strong></p><p>[Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1733319043271065976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1733319043271065976%7Ctwgr%5E7d8926f23d253ad2a2eb6593a8b11be310a500b7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-10-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1733319043271065976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1733319043271065976%7Ctwgr%5E7d8926f23d253ad2a2eb6593a8b11be310a500b7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-10-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Israel is mass assassinating medical professionals across Gaza and destroying every possible medical institution and all US legacy media can talk about is college presidents failing to denounce the students protesting this &lt;a href="https://t.co/yqJH4Zt2aF"&gt;https://t.co/yqJH4Zt2aF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/1733319043271065976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 9, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1733319043271065976" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1733319043271065976&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2211016%2Fedit&sessionId=9e0b416c1fdb37404ad0d2a1f2c6f656404ffd53&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 967px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.<br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-netanyahu-rejects-u-s-plan-for-post-war-gaza-d60fc0c3" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/israels-netanyahu-rejects-u-s-plan-for-post-war-gaza-d60fc0c3" target="_blank" title="">Israel’s Netanyahu Rejects U.S. Plan for Postwar Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 12-13-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/biden-israel-losing-support-netanyahu/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/12/politics/biden-israel-losing-support-netanyahu/index.html" target="_blank" title="">Rifts between Biden and Netanyahu spill into public view</a> </strong></p><p>[CNN, via Naked Capitalism 12-13-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/12/09/israel-hamas-war-for-the-moment-netanyahu-strongly-rejects-the-two-state-solution_6326933_23.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/12/09/israel-hamas-war-for-the-moment-netanyahu-strongly-rejects-the-two-state-solution_6326933_23.html" target="_blank" title="">Israel-Hamas war: ‘For the moment, Netanyahu strongly rejects the two-state solution’ </a></strong></p><p>[Le Monde, via Naked Capitalism 12-11-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2424746/middle-east" data-original-title="" href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2424746/middle-east" target="_blank" title="">Can an Israeli security zone succeed in Gaza when it failed in southern Lebanon?</a> </strong></p><p>[Arab News, via Naked Capitalism 12-13-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjomdw78t" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rjomdw78t" target="_blank" title="">All of 2024 likely to be spent in ‘war mode’ against Hamas, IDF says</a> </strong></p><p>[YNet News, via Naked Capitalism 12-11-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“[O]n the ground, the army is amazed every day by how strong Hamas is. It is a real army (…) that was established 50 minutes from Tel Aviv over the past years.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/10/jordan-foreign-minister-says-israel-aiming-to-empty-gaza-of-its-people" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/10/jordan-foreign-minister-says-israel-aiming-to-empty-gaza-of-its-people" target="_blank" title="">Jordan’s foreign minister says Israel aiming ‘to empty Gaza of its people</a></strong></p><p>[Al Jazeera, via Naked Capitalism 12-11-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://unherd.com/2023/12/john-mearsheimer-there-is-no-two-state-solution/" data-original-title="" href="https://unherd.com/2023/12/john-mearsheimer-there-is-no-two-state-solution/" target="_blank" title="">John Mearsheimer: There is no two-state solution</a></strong> Unherd or if you prefer YouTube<strong> </strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Rj5LibR1o" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Rj5LibR1o" target="_blank"><strong>John Mearsheimer: There is no two-state solution</strong></a><br /></p><p>[via Naked Capitalism 12-16-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.easternangle.com/chinas-economy-is-now-a-staggering-22-bigger-than-americas-but-for-differing-reasons-neither-nation-wants-to-acknowledge-this-fact/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.easternangle.com/chinas-economy-is-now-a-staggering-22-bigger-than-americas-but-for-differing-reasons-neither-nation-wants-to-acknowledge-this-fact/" target="_blank" title="">China’s economy is now a staggering 22% bigger than America’s, but for differing reasons, neither nation wants to acknowledge this fact</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Eastern Angle<strong></strong><br /></p><p>[TW: Only 22%? China has been producing over one billion tons of steel a year for almost a decade. The USA has produced less than 100 million tons a year all that time. And have you seen a map of China’s passenger rail network? China’s economy is probably two or three times larger than USA’s at this point. Especially if you remove “financial services” from the computation of GDP.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gordonhahn.com/2023/12/08/the-clueless-american-elites-view-of-the-nato-russian-ukrainian-war/" data-original-title="" href="https://gordonhahn.com/2023/12/08/the-clueless-american-elites-view-of-the-nato-russian-ukrainian-war/" target="_blank" title="">The Clueless American Elite’s View of the NATO-Russian Ukrainian War</a> </strong></p><p>Gordon Hahn [Russian & Eurasian Politics, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/63099/25-thinkers-for-a-world-on-the-brink" data-original-title="" href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/63099/25-thinkers-for-a-world-on-the-brink" target="_blank" title="">The World’s Top Thinkers 2024: ideas for a world on the brink</a></strong></p><p>Prospect Team, December 6, 2023 [Prospect]</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/united-states/64135/americas-undoing" href="https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/united-states/64135/americas-undoing" target="_blank"><strong>America’s undoing</strong></a></p></div></div><p>Samuel Moyn, December 6, 2023 [Prospect]</p><p>[TW: Moyn is professor of law and history at Yale, and author of <a data-original-title="" href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300266214/liberalism-against-itself/" target="_blank" title=""><em>Liberalism against Itself: Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times</em></a> (Yale University Press, 2023) ]</p><blockquote><p>Today, it is clearer than ever that the war in Ukraine is deadlocked. Bogged down by criticisms of mainstream foreign policy and wracked by its record of military quagmires, the US is no longer credible as the lynchpin of freedom and justice worldwide. Gaza has reinforced this conclusion without the carnage-filled wait that Ukraine involved; after Hamas acted, illusory yearnings for restored credibility for US leadership were shattered within days, not months or years. And worse will be to come, if America has put its own democracy on the line even as it has invested in another endless war….</p><p>When Trump blindsided Democrats and Republican warmongers alike, who continued to preach the need for the US’s indispensable role amid the haze of one failed war after another, many could still take offence—but they were unceremoniously cast from the circle of power for four years.</p><p>Yet instead of prompting a reckoning with how endless war abroad had led to Trump’s unexpected victory, many openly treated Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as providential. According to the New York Times, it provided the cadre of Beltway elites who were perturbed by the immediate past with “a new sense of mission”, and “re-energized Washington’s leadership role in the democratic world just months after the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan ended 20 years of conflict on a dismal note.”</p><p>...The global south doesn’t buy into the revivalist sloganeering of Beltway policymakers chanting about freedom. Of course, it is familiar with being bypassed and ignored. But the Gaza conflict is showing that its misgivings about American beneficence are hitting home with Americans themselves—especially the young. A shift in opinion has thrown American global leadership into doubt.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/12/07/the-us-may-not-be-coming-to-save-us-why-and-how-europe-might-have-to-battle-russia-by-itself/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/12/07/the-us-may-not-be-coming-to-save-us-why-and-how-europe-might-have-to-battle-russia-by-itself/" target="_blank" title="">‘The U.S. May Not Be Coming To Save Us.’ Why, And How, Europe Might Have To Battle Russia By Itself.</a> </strong></p><p>[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://original.antiwar.com/Ted_Snider/2023/12/10/gaza-and-ukraine-how-the-us-risks-losing-the-global-south/" data-original-title="" href="https://original.antiwar.com/Ted_Snider/2023/12/10/gaza-and-ukraine-how-the-us-risks-losing-the-global-south/" target="_blank" title="">Gaza and Ukraine: How the US Risks Losing the Global South </a></strong></p><p>[Antiwar.com, via Naked Capitalism 12-12-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/13/philippines-china-maritime-conflicts-south-china-sea-vessels/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/13/philippines-china-maritime-conflicts-south-china-sea-vessels/" target="_blank" title="">Why China Is Stepping Up Its Maritime Attacks on the Philippines</a> </strong></p><p>[Foreign Policy, via Naked Capitalism 12-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Hollowed-out superpower</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/experts-new-disruptive-asymmetric-approaches/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/experts-new-disruptive-asymmetric-approaches/" target="_blank" title="">Experts: New Disruptive, Asymmetric Approaches Needed to Rebuild US Advantages</a> </strong></p><p>[Air and Space Forces Magazine, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>... <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/new-report-defense-industrial-readiness-going-in-the-wrong-direction/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.airandspaceforces.com/new-report-defense-industrial-readiness-going-in-the-wrong-direction/" title="">Quoting from the recent National Defense Industrial Strategy Report</a>, he contended the DIB “‘does not possess the capacity, capability, responsiveness, or resilience required to satisfy the full range of military production needs at speed and scale.” The war in the Ukraine has made the DIB’s deficiencies “obvious and urgent,” he added....<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/pentagon-stupidity-is-a-design-choice?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/pentagon-stupidity-is-a-design-choice?" target="_blank" title="">Pentagon Stupidity Is a Design Choice</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...In August, I wrote up an important shift among antitrust enforcers, in a piece titled “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/government-stupidity-is-by-design" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/government-stupidity-is-by-design">Government Stupidity Is a Design Choice</a>.” In it, I described how the Federal Trade Commission and Antitrust Division, prompted by Congress, tweaked a form, called the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/premerger-notification-program/form-instructions/style-sheet-hart-scott-rodino-filings" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/premerger-notification-program/form-instructions/style-sheet-hart-scott-rodino-filings" title="">Hart Scott Rodino form</a>, that companies must fill out when they want to engage in any corporate acquisition worth over $100 million….</p><p>...the big D.C. and New York corporate law firms that advise all large companies, private equity funds, foreign governments, and large institutions were absolutely furious about the shift. (Here are, for instance, angry notes to clients from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20230706-ftc-and-doj-propose-sweeping-changes-to-hsr-notification-form-convergence-and-intensifying-idiosyncrasy" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wilmerhale.com/en/insights/client-alerts/20230706-ftc-and-doj-propose-sweeping-changes-to-hsr-notification-form-convergence-and-intensifying-idiosyncrasy" title="">Wilmer Hale</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.steptoe.com/en/news-publications/proposed-premerger-notification-changes-far-more-burdensome-requirements.html?tab=overview" data-original-title="" href="https://www.steptoe.com/en/news-publications/proposed-premerger-notification-changes-far-more-burdensome-requirements.html?tab=overview" title="">Steptoe</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.kirkland.com/publications/kirkland-alert/2023/07/dramatic-overhaul-proposed-to-hart-scott-rodino-pre-merger-form" data-original-title="" href="https://www.kirkland.com/publications/kirkland-alert/2023/07/dramatic-overhaul-proposed-to-hart-scott-rodino-pre-merger-form" title="">Kirkland and Ellis</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dechert.com/knowledge/onpoint/2023/7/new-hart-scott-rodino-proposal-signals-sea-change-in-u-s--merger.html" href="https://www.dechert.com/knowledge/onpoint/2023/7/new-hart-scott-rodino-proposal-signals-sea-change-in-u-s--merger.html">Dechert</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/insights/ftc-and-doj-propose-radical-reforms-to-hsr-filings-changes-would-impose-considerably-greater-burden-on-merging-parties.html" href="https://www.wsgr.com/en/insights/ftc-and-doj-propose-radical-reforms-to-hsr-filings-changes-would-impose-considerably-greater-burden-on-merging-parties.html">Wilson Sonsini</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sullcrom.com/SullivanCromwell/_Assets/PDFs/Memos/ftc-proposes-major-changes-hsr-process.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.sullcrom.com/SullivanCromwell/_Assets/PDFs/Memos/ftc-proposes-major-changes-hsr-process.pdf" title="">Sullivan and Cromwell</a>. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cov.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/2023/06/ftc-and-doj-propose-sweeping-changes-to-the-hsr-form" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cov.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/2023/06/ftc-and-doj-propose-sweeping-changes-to-the-hsr-form" title="">Covington & Burling</a>. Etc.)….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://themorningnews.com/news/2023/12/09/worlds-richest-families-got-1-5-trillion-richer-in-2023/" data-original-title="" href="https://themorningnews.com/news/2023/12/09/worlds-richest-families-got-1-5-trillion-richer-in-2023/" target="_blank" title="">World’s Richest Families Got $1.5 Trillion Richer in 2023</a> </strong></p><p>[The Morning News, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177598/bill-ackman-billionaire-tyrannizing-harvard-bond-market" target="_blank" title=""><strong>That Insufferable Billionaire Tyrannizing Harvard Enriches Himself by Tyrannizing the Bond Market</strong></a><br /></p><p>Timothy Noah, December 15, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Bill Ackman, chief executive of the giant hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, is getting a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/bill-ackman-college-presidents-a20ff0d3" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/bill-ackman-college-presidents-a20ff0d3" target="_blank" title="">lot</a> of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/business/bill-ackman-harvard-antisemitism.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/12/business/bill-ackman-harvard-antisemitism.html" target="_blank" title="">bad</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-13/bill-ackman-says-harvard-squandered-gift-but-denies-resentment" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-13/bill-ackman-says-harvard-squandered-gift-but-denies-resentment" target="_blank">press</a> right now for his vicious campaign against Harvard president Claudine Gay, and deservedly so. He’s just about the perfect example of a particular social type: the plutocrat who thinks that being very rich entitles him to run more or less everything. <br /></p><p>The United States is populated with many more such preening oligarchs than it was 30 or 40 years ago, because income and wealth are now much more concentrated at the very top. The most stupendously arrogant of them tend to emanate from tech (see Musk, Elon). The Princeton historian David Bell, in a thought-provoking recent essay in <em>Liberties </em>on “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://libertiesjournal.com/articles/the-triumph-of-anti-politics/?cache_busting=657b347f6ed32" href="https://libertiesjournal.com/articles/the-triumph-of-anti-politics/?cache_busting=657b347f6ed32" target="_blank">The Triumph of Anti-Politics</a>,” judged the Silicon Valley technocrats even more dangerous to democracy than Trumpian MAGA-heads. But Ackman shows that Wall Street financiers are no slouches at this oligarchy game….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/meet-all-3800-graduates-of-klaus-schwabs-globalist-wef-education-programs-by-name/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/meet-all-3800-graduates-of-klaus-schwabs-globalist-wef-education-programs-by-name/" target="_blank" title="">Meet all 3,800 graduates of Klaus Schwab’s globalist WEF education programs by name</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Riot Times, via Naked Capitalism 12-16-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/11/25/vienna-intellectual-history-modern-west-austria-european-thought/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/11/25/vienna-intellectual-history-modern-west-austria-european-thought/" target="_blank" title="">The Untold Story of Vienna’s Global Influence</a> </strong></p><p>[Foreign Policy, via Naked Capitalism 12-11-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://research.gavekal.com/article/the-revenge-of-the-ottoman-empire/" data-original-title="" href="https://research.gavekal.com/article/the-revenge-of-the-ottoman-empire/" target="_blank" title="">The Revenge Of The Ottoman Empire</a> </strong></p><p>[Gavekal, via Naked Capitalism 12-14-2023] </p><p>[Lambert Strether: Well worth a read for some long-awaited, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/1483-the-long-twentieth-century" href="https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/1483-the-long-twentieth-century" target="_blank">Arrighi</a>-esque historical and economic perspective on multipolarity (in the Fifteenth Century, and now).]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/11/business/economy/profit-margins-inflation.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Corporate America Is Testing the Limits of Its Pricing Power</strong></a></p><p><strong></strong>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 12-12-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Big companies that had previously pushed through one standard price increase per year are now raising prices more frequently. Retailers increasingly use digital price displays, which they can change with the touch of a button. Across the economy, executives trying to maximize profits are effectively running tests to see what prices consumers will bear before they stop buying. Huge disruptions to supply chains pushed up corporate costs during the pandemic and forced many companies to think more creatively about their pricing strategies, Mr. MacKay said. That supercharged a trend toward more rigorous pricing, and showed many companies that they could more boldly play with prices without chasing shoppers away. The experimentation continues even as costs ease.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/hospitals-across-the-country-are?" data-original-title="" href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/hospitals-across-the-country-are?" target="_blank" title="">Hospitals across the country are dumping Medicare Advantage plans and canceling their contracts with insurers</a> </strong></p><p>[HEALTH CARE un-covered, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...There’s a new twist to the Medicare Advantage story this year that is slowly seeping out. Hospitals across the country are dumping Medicare Advantage plans and canceling their contracts with insurers, which means their patients must select new plans. The CEO of the Brookings Hospital System in Brookings, South Dakota, Jason Merkley, was one hospital executive willing to speak about the problems with Advantage plans. “The difference between original Medicare and Medicare Advantage is vast," he said, noting that MA plans “pay less, don’t follow medical policy, coverage, billing, and payment rules and procedures, and they are always trying to figure out how to deny payment for services.”</p><p>He said his 49-bed hospital is getting 17% less in reimbursement from Advantage plans than the payments from regular Medicare, noting plans used other tactics such as being slow to approve, partially approve or deny medically necessary services. Sometimes they don’t get back to the hospital until after discharge to say they were denying those services, he said. Merkley said the hospital spent “a lot of time and resources to appeal,” adding “we estimated it required three times more labor and expense to collect from Medicare Advantage plans than from traditional Medicare.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-high-prices-costs-making-food-snacks-sodas-worse-quality-2023-12" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-high-prices-costs-making-food-snacks-sodas-worse-quality-2023-12" target="_blank" title="">Giant food companies are quietly ruining your favorite snacks — and hoping you don’t notice</a></strong> </p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-14-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“[T]he Coke didn’t taste as good as it used to — and it left a weird aftertaste. I thought there might be something wrong with the can, or perhaps my rosy childhood memories clouded my judgment. But as I indulged my urge, I found the same thing. Even Coke-drinking friends I spoke to agreed: The taste had changed. It wasn’t just Coke; other foods from my childhood taste different now. The Dairy Milk chocolate bars I used to enjoy after school aren’t as creamy and taste too sweet. Lay’s potato chips don’t pack the same flavor punch they used to. A <a data-cke-saved-href="https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bps0az/what_food_used_to_be_good_but_they_changed_the/" href="https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bps0az/what_food_used_to_be_good_but_they_changed_the/" target="_blank">stroll through Reddit</a> shows I’m not alone: Thousands of people have noticed the quality of their favorite snacks getting worse.” Perhaps some other factor is affecting taste? However, texture and mouth feel have degraded as well: “‘Ritz crackers. For some inexplicable reason, maybe around 5 years ago the crackers went from being nice and firm and dippable to nowadays easily crumbling to bits with even the lightest dip,’ <a data-cke-saved-href="https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bps0az/what_food_used_to_be_good_but_they_changed_the/enwz90v/" href="https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bps0az/what_food_used_to_be_good_but_they_changed_the/enwz90v/" target="_blank">one user complained</a> a few years ago. ‘You could bite into a Twix and feel your teeth travel through a heavy layer of caramel,’ another Redditor <a data-cke-saved-href="https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bps0az/what_food_used_to_be_good_but_they_changed_the/enypxfk/" href="https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bps0az/what_food_used_to_be_good_but_they_changed_the/enypxfk/" target="_blank">lamented</a>, adding, ‘Now they snap in half and taste like a sugar cookie with some chocolate on it.'” And: “People aren’t imagining these changes — manufacturers are quietly modifying their recipes to save money and maintain their profit margins. The phenomenon, which has been called ‘skimpflation’ and ‘flavorflation,’ is a way to hide the impact of inflation and avoid passing higher costs on to the consumer. But by replacing expensive ingredients with cheaper ones, companies are also making food less tasty, less healthy, and less satisfying.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/chevron-hess-oil-merger-federal-oversight-gas-648487ab4bcb9e5ecd3f47e4600952f7" data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/chevron-hess-oil-merger-federal-oversight-gas-648487ab4bcb9e5ecd3f47e4600952f7" target="_blank" title="">FTC opens inquiry of Chevron-Hess merger, marking second review this week of major oil industry deal</a> </strong></p><p>[AP, via Naked Capitalism 12-11-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/13/fcc-votes-to-ban-termination-fees-for-cable-and-satellite-services.html" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/13/fcc-votes-to-ban-termination-fees-for-cable-and-satellite-services.html" target="_blank">FCC votes to ban termination fees for cable and satellite services</a></strong> </p><p>[CNBC, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-14-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday voted to pass a measure banning cable and satellite companies from charging early termination fees. ‘Consumers are tired of these junk fees,’ FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said before casting the deciding vote at an open commission meeting. ‘They now have more choices when it comes to video content but these friction-filled tactics to keep us subscribing to our current providers are aggravating and unfair,’ Rosenworcel added. ‘So, today we kick out a rulemaking to put an end to these practices.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-12-07/war-on-junk-fees-gaining-ground-fight-not-yet-won" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The war on ‘junk fees’ is gaining ground, but the fight is not yet won</strong></a><br /></p><p>[LA Times, via The Big Picture 12-13-2023]</p><blockquote><p>If you’ve rented a car, bought an airline ticket, booked a hotel room or paid a cable bill, you probably know what the White House is talking about: hidden, surprise charges for services you may not even have used, transaction charges for buying online or downloading a concert ticket instead of picking it up at the box office, etc., etc. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/12/the-telecom-industry-is-very-mad-because-the-fcc-might-examine-high-broadband-prices/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/12/12/the-telecom-industry-is-very-mad-because-the-fcc-might-examine-high-broadband-prices/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Telecom Industry Is Very Mad Because The FCC MIGHT Examine High Broadband Prices</strong></a> </p><p>[TechDirt, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-12-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“We’ve long noted how the FCC (regardless of party) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/09/20/as-net-neutrality-debate-reheats-remember-the-real-problem-is-telecom-monopoly-power/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/09/20/as-net-neutrality-debate-reheats-remember-the-real-problem-is-telecom-monopoly-power/" target="_blank" title="">largely ignores</a> how muted competition and monopolization drives up prices for consumers. The agency often talks a good (if ambiguous) game about ‘bridging the digital divide,’ but they don’t collect and share pricing data proving market failure, nor are they capable of admitting monopolies exist and are harmful in public-facing messaging.,,, Back in November, the agency issued a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-89A1.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-23-89A1.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Notice of Inquiry (NOI)</a> pondering whether they should more seriously analyze the cost of broadband when making those determinations (yes, duh)…. But even the faint possibility of the FCC looking at expensive U.S. broadband has been enough to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/cable-lobby-to-fcc-please-dont-look-too-closely-at-the-prices-we-charge/" href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/cable-lobby-to-fcc-please-dont-look-too-closely-at-the-prices-we-charge/" target="_blank">send telecom lobbyists into a tizzy</a>, with cable lobbying organizations arguing in filings that even asking the question is ‘inappropriate’…. The majority of Americans live under a monopoly or duopoly for broadband access protected by state and federal corruption. This muted competition consistently results in spotty coverage, high prices, slow speeds, and comically terrible customer service. And again, FCC officials can’t even openly admit there’s a monopoly/duopoly problem, much less field concrete solutions to the problem…. The fact that it’s 2023 and the FCC and [National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)] have <em>only fairly recently</em> realized they should be considering affordability in broadband access policy genuinely speaks for itself.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20231212-how-lending-based-climate-finance-is-pushing-poor-countries-deeper-into-debt" data-original-title="" href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20231212-how-lending-based-climate-finance-is-pushing-poor-countries-deeper-into-debt" target="_blank" title="">How lending-based climate finance is pushing poor countries deeper into debt</a> </strong></p><p>[France24, via Naked Capitalism 12-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231210-small-minority-blocking-cop28-progress-says-at-risk-vanuatu" data-original-title="" href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231210-small-minority-blocking-cop28-progress-says-at-risk-vanuatu" target="_blank" title="">‘Small minority’ of nations blocking progress on fossil fuels at COP28, says at-risk Vanuatu</a> </strong></p><p>[France24, via Naked Capitalism 12-11-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/11/business/energy-environment/offshore-wind-energy-east-coast.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>What Ails Offshore Wind: Supply Chains, Ships and Interest Rates</strong></a><br /></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 12-13-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Government officials and energy developers misjudged the difficulty of building huge clean energy projects in the United States, which has built very few of them. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ev-repair-expensive-eecf09fd" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Why Repairing Your EV Is So Expensive</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>[Wall Street Journal, via The Big Picture 12-12-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/12/why-scientists-are-making-transparent-wood/" target="_blank" title="">Why scientists are making transparent wood</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Ars Technica, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-11-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Transparent wood could soon find uses in super-strong screens for smartphones; in soft, glowing light fixtures; and even as structural features, such as color-changing windows…. Wood is made up of countless little vertical channels, like a tight bundle of straws bound together with glue. These tube-shaped cells transport water and nutrients throughout a tree, and when the tree is harvested and the moisture evaporates, pockets of air are left behind. To create see-through wood, scientists first need to modify or get rid of the glue, called lignin, that holds the cell bundles together and provides trunks and branches with most of their earthy brown hues. After bleaching lignin’s color away or otherwise removing it, a milky-white skeleton of hollow cells remains. This skeleton is still opaque, because the cell walls bend light to a different degree than the air in the cell pockets does—a value called a refractive index. Filling the air pockets with a substance like epoxy resin that bends light to a similar degree to the cell walls renders the wood transparent. The material the scientists worked with is thin—typically less than a millimeter to around a centimeter thick. But the cells create a sturdy honeycomb structure, and the tiny wood fibers are stronger than the best carbon fibers, says materials scientist Liangbing Hu, who leads the research group working on transparent wood at the University of Maryland in College Park. And with the resin added, transparent wood outperforms plastic and glass: In tests measuring how easily materials fracture or break under pressure, transparent wood came out around three times stronger than transparent plastics like Plexiglass and about 10 times tougher than glass. ‘The results are amazing, that a piece of wood can be as strong as glass,’ says Hu, who highlighted the features of transparent wood in the 2023 Annual Review of Materials Research.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.404media.co/polish-hackers-repaired-trains-the-manufacturer-artificially-bricked-now-the-train-company-is-threatening-them/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.404media.co/polish-hackers-repaired-trains-the-manufacturer-artificially-bricked-now-the-train-company-is-threatening-them/" target="_blank" title="">Polish Hackers Repaired Trains the Manufacturer Artificially Bricked. Now The Train Company Is Threatening Them</a></strong></p><p>[404 Media, via Naked Capitalism 12-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://columbialawreview.org/content/on-algorithmic-wage-discrimination/?" data-original-title="" href="https://columbialawreview.org/content/on-algorithmic-wage-discrimination/?" target="_blank" title="">ON ALGORITHMIC WAGE DISCRIMINATION</a> </strong></p><p>Veena Dubal [Columbia Law Review, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90996547/e-books-are-fast-becoming-tools-of-corporate-surveillance" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90996547/e-books-are-fast-becoming-tools-of-corporate-surveillance" target="_blank" title="">E-books are fast becoming tools of corporate surveillanc</a>e </strong></p><p>[Fast Company, via Naked Capitalism 12-13-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Major publishers are giving Big Tech free rein to watch what you read and where, including books on sensitive topics, like if you check out a book on self care after an abortion. Worse, tech and publishing corporations are gobbling up data beyond your reading habits—today, there are no federal laws to stop them from surveilling people who read digital books across the entire internet.</p><p>Reader surveillance is a deeply intersectional threat, according to a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2023-12-07-25-human-rights-organizations-call-on-2024-congress-to-investigate-big-tech-and-publishings-stranglehold-over-digital-books" href="https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2023-12-07-25-human-rights-organizations-call-on-2024-congress-to-investigate-big-tech-and-publishings-stranglehold-over-digital-books">congressional letter</a> issued last week from a coalition of groups whose interests span civil rights, anti-surveillance, anti-book ban, racial justice, reproductive justice, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and antimonopoly. Our letter calls on federal lawmakers to investigate the harms of tech and publishing corporations’ powerful hold over digital book access.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/KuUFI" href="https://archive.ph/KuUFI" target="_blank">News Publishers See Google’s AI Search Tool as a Traffic-Destroying Nightmare</a></strong> </p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-14-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Shortly after the launch of ChatGPT, the Atlantic drew up a list of the greatest threats to the 166-year-old publication from generative artificial intelligence. At the top: Google’s embrace of the technology. About 40% of the magazine’s web traffic comes from Google searches, which turn up links that users click on. A task force at the Atlantic modeled what could happen if Google integrated AI into search. It found that 75% of the time, the AI-powered search would likely provide a full answer to a user’s query and the Atlantic’s site would miss out on traffic it otherwise would have gotten.</p><p>What was once a hypothetical threat is now a very real one. Since May, Google has been testing an AI product dubbed ‘Search Generative Experience’ on a group of roughly 10 million users, and has been vocal about its intention to bring it into the heart of its core search engine. Google’s integration of AI is crystallizing for media outlets the perils of relying on big technology companies to get their content in front of readers and viewers. Already, publishers are reeling from a major decline in traffic sourced from social-media sites, as both Meta and X, the former Twitter, have pulled away from distributing news. As bad as the social-media downshift is, Google’s generative-AI-powered search is the true nightmare for publishers. Across the media world, Google generates nearly 40% of publishers’ traffic, accounting for the largest share of their ‘referrals,’ according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data from measurement firm Similarweb. • “[T]he AI-powered search would likely provide a full answer to a user’s query” because Google stole the publisher’s data for its training sets. That’s the <em>only</em> reason it works. A classic case of “original accumulation,” as the Bearded One puts it.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/177607/john-fetterman-finally-announces-not-progressive-pretended" target="_blank" title="">John Fetterman Finally Announces He’s Not the Progressive He Pretended to Be </a></strong><br /></p><p>Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, December 15, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/replacing-kamala-harris" target="_blank" title="">Replacing Kamala Harris</a></strong><br /></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, December 12, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>by Guy Saperstein<br /></p><p>...The mayor and later Speaker of the California Assembly, Willie Brown, was a personal friend and political supporter of trial lawyers…. <br /></p><p>Willie was married and estranged from his wife. It was well-known he had a young — 30 years younger — black girlfriend. He didn't even try to hide it. The girlfriend was Kamala Harris, then a nondescript assistant city attorney. Next thing I knew, Kamala was running for District Attorney, supported by Willie's powerful political machine against the then DA, Terence Hallinan, a progressive. Willie's machine won and Kamala became San Francisco DA.</p><div data-hook="rcv-block38">Next next thing I knew, assistant San Francisco DAs were calling me and asking, “Where is Kamala?” They knew I was a friend of Willie's. Apparently, she wasn't showing up for work. <br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block38">A few months later, I read that Kamala had been read the riot act by a solid Democratic judge for not maintaining good chain of custody for evidence.… Kamala was hauled before three liberal judges who were outraged by her sloppiness.<br /></div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block38"><br /></div><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/economy/2023-12-15-moral-theory-people-dont-like-bidenomics/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>A Moral Theory for Why People Don’t Like Bidenomics</strong></a><br /></p><p>Ryan Cooper, December 15, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>After all, people do not just view prices as an accounting convenience; they are also thought to carry moral implications, which can be seen in the language of buying and selling itself. A price viewed as acceptable to a buyer is a <em>fair</em> price. If you paid too much for something, you got <em>ripped off</em>. A seller who exploits market conditions to raise prices is <em>gouging</em> the customer.</p><p>One might call this a sentiment of market egalitarianism. Prices are morally sound insofar as they are transparent and fair—meaning neither party to a transaction is leveraging some advantage to make a disproportionate, unearned profit. That’s why a really serious violation of price norms, like gas stations that jack up prices after a natural disaster, can spark protests or even violence.</p><p>The economist Richard A. Radford once examined this thinking in a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://websites.umich.edu/~chadh/Econ310%20W07/powcamp.pdf" href="https://websites.umich.edu/~chadh/Econ310%20W07/powcamp.pdf" target="_blank">famous paper</a> on the economics of a POW camp….<br /></p><p>Libertarian economists often mock this kind of thinking. Complaining about unfair prices is simply irrational, they believe, because the market always maximizes utility by letting supply calibrate to demand on its own.</p><p>But this is not true even on its own terms, particularly in conditions of inequality or emergency. If the supply of taxis is limited during a time of high demand and high inequality, for instance, it is “rational” in the economic sense for everyone but the rich to prefer taxis <a data-cke-saved-href="https://mattbruenig.com/2014/12/28/uber-surge-prices-part-iii/" href="https://mattbruenig.com/2014/12/28/uber-surge-prices-part-iii/" target="_blank">be allocated by queuing</a> rather than price, because otherwise the rich (who may not even notice the cost) will get all the taxi rides, and everyone else will be priced out.</p><p>This is most evident during wartime. The Roosevelt administration understood during the Second World War that it would be disastrous to let prices float, because the price of goods vital to everyday life like gasoline, rubber, steel, and food would surge upward, harming the citizenry, while randomly well-placed companies would enjoy massive unearned profits. It would have been unfair and would undermine the social solidarity on which necessary wartime sacrifices rested. It also would have been inefficient, because big chunks of economic production would have surged into mega-profits for defense contractors and commodity producers rather than into guns, tanks, and planes.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/d067e324-941d-4faa-aa29-7579faa31fec" target="_blank" title="">Trump is overperforming, but there’s a way back for Biden</a></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Stanley Greenberg [Financial Times, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-13-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“The reason Donald Trump is currently overperforming as an anti-system, anti-immigrant candidate is that Joe Biden hasn’t realised yet the rules of the next US presidential election. The 2024 race is being shaped by three exceptional factors. First, the inflation produced by the economy restarting after the pandemic, supply chain problems, rising energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the high cost of food. Second, heightened anger at profiteering by big companies and increasingly visible monopolies. And third, surging levels of migration caused by wars, political unrest and extreme weather…. So, Trump will overperform as long as almost 60 per cent of voters choose him and the Republicans over Biden and the Democrats on ‘your wages and salary keeping up with the cost of living’, handling ‘crime’ and the ‘border’. And those are three of the top four issues facing the country. When voters hear the Inflation Reduction Act is here ‘to save you money’, that message is welcomed by 52 per cent of voters — seven points above Biden’s vote. The Biden administration is also well placed to talk about profiteering and what it has done to shift power from Wall Street and big corporations. Its appointments to regulatory agencies have made it clear workers have a right to organise, have brought a fresh antitrust lawsuit against Amazon and have issued new guidelines for mergers. <strong>And messaging on the economy that begins with the contention that ‘economic power is concentrated in the hands of big banks’ and insists Biden has ‘an agenda to shift power away from corporate giants and corporate executives’ is welcomed by 53 per cent of voters.” </strong><strong></strong><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/calls-grow-congress-subpoena-jeffrey-epstein-flight-logs-democrat-stonewalling" data-original-title="" href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/calls-grow-congress-subpoena-jeffrey-epstein-flight-logs-democrat-stonewalling" target="_blank" title="">Calls grow for Congress to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs despite Democrat ‘stonewalling'</a></strong></p><p>[FOX, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-13-2023] </p><blockquote><p>[“Calls are growing for Congress to subpoena convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs in order to identify possible perpetrators who may have partaken in his sex trafficking ring. In a Monday letter to the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said there were still many unanswered questions surrounding Epstein’s operation, including the identities of “America’s most powerful and well-known people” who may have been involved.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/who-exactly-is-paying-to-end-democracy-in-america-there-are-actual-bad-guys-worth-naming" target="_blank" title="">Who Exactly Is Paying To End Democracy In America? There Are Actual Bad Guys Worth Naming ...And Shaming</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, December 14, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/how-far-has-the-fascist-hungarian-model-seeped-into-the-republican-party" target="_blank" title="">How Far Has The Fascist "Hungarian Model" Seeped Into The Republican Party?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, December 11, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Yesterday, Flora Garamvolgyi and David Smith reported that Orbán allies from the the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy are in DC to hold <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aid?CMP=share_btn_tw" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/10/hungary-viktor-orban-republicans-ukraine-aid?CMP=share_btn_tw" target="_blank" title=""><u>closed-door meetings with Republicans</u></a> today and tomorrow to map out a strategy to end U.S. aid to Ukraine. The fascist-oriented Heritage Foundation is hosting.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://boltsmag.org/partisan-gerrymandering-rucho-and-new-hampshire/" data-original-title="" href="https://boltsmag.org/partisan-gerrymandering-rucho-and-new-hampshire/" target="_blank" title="">Yet Another State Shuts the Door on Partisan Gerrymandering Complaints</a> </strong></p><p>[Bolts Mag, via Naked Capitalism 12-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/project-veritas-ceo-hannah-giles-jumps-ship-after-finding-evidence-of-past-illegality" target="_blank" title="">Project Veritas CEO Jumps Ship After Finding ‘Evidence of Past Illegality'</a></strong> </p><p>[The Daily Beast, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-12-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Hannah Giles, the CEO of conservative nonprofit Project Veritas, announced her resignation ‘effective immediately’ on Monday, saying she’d unwittingly ‘stepped into an unsalvageable mess’ upon taking the job earlier this year. Giles was named the group’s chief executive four months after its messy breakup with founder James O’Keefe in February. In a statement posted to X, she claimed she’d taken over an organization ‘wrought with strong evidence of past illegality and past financial improprieties.’ Suggesting she’d had no prior knowledge of the infamously embattled nonprofit’s alleged improprieties, Giles continued on to say that once she’d ‘discovered’ the evidence, ‘I brought the information to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/comer-shell-company-biden-hunter-impeachment-6fde28673d5dced307b95cab8425c7ba" target="_blank" title="">The Republican leading the probe of Hunter Biden has his own shell company and complicated friends</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Associated Press, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-14-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Rep. James Comer, a multimillionaire farmer, boasts of being one of the largest landholders near his rural Kentucky hometown, and he has meticulously documented nearly all of his landholdings on congressional financial disclosure documents – roughly 1,600 acres in all. But there are six acres that he bought in 2015 and co-owns with a longtime campaign contributor that he has treated differently, transferring his ownership to Farm Team Properties, a shell company he co-owns with his wife. Interviews and records reviewed by The Associated Press provide new insights into the financial deal, which risks undercutting the force of some of Comer’s central arguments in his impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden. For months, the chairman of the House Oversight committee and his Republican colleagues have been pounding Biden for how his relatives traded on their famous name to secure business deals. In particular, Comer has attacked some Biden family members, including the president’s son Hunter, over their use of ‘shell companies’ that appear designed to obscure millions of dollars in earnings they received from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-oversight-republicans-suspicious-activity-report-efd53b27832e7031e522017f98e3d9d8" href="https://apnews.com/article/hunter-biden-oversight-republicans-suspicious-activity-report-efd53b27832e7031e522017f98e3d9d8" target="_blank">shadowy middlemen and foreign interests</a>… But as Comer works to “deliver the transparency and accountability that the American people demand” through the GOP’s investigation, his own finances and relationships have begun to draw notice, too, including his ties to prominent local figures who have complicated pasts not all that dissimilar to some of those caught up in his Biden probe…. Comer created the company in 2017 to hold his stake in the six acres that he purchased two years earlier in a joint venture with Darren Cleary, a major campaign contributor and construction contractor from Monroe County, Kentucky, where the congressman was born and raised…. Cleary, his businesses and family have donated roughly $70,000 to Comer’s various campaigns, records show. He has also lauded Comer on social media for “For Fighting For Us Everyday” and has posted photos of the two on a golf course together.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/good-is-bad-very-very-bad-and-the-nut-primarying-him-is-even-worse-virginia-gop-politics" target="_blank" title="">Good Is Bad-- Very, Very Bad... And The Nut Primarying Him Is Even Worse! Virginia GOP Politics!</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, December 13, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://news.yahoo.com/trump-netted-evangelical-votes-iowa-110136345.html" target="_blank" title="">How Trump netted evangelical votes in Iowa — with help from a young Christian operative</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Reuters, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-14-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Before Donald Trump stepped on stage for a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in early December, several leaders joined him in a prayer on behalf of a candidate whose latest presidential quest they see as a mission ordained by God. ‘The gates of hell will not prevail over him,’ Iowa state legislator and pastor Brad Sherman told the prayer circle. ‘There is a great victory coming for this nation and the world because of the calling you’ve placed on this man.’ That moment, captured in a video that went viral, was orchestrated by an aide just a few years out of college who has been locking in the crucial Iowa evangelical vote for Trump. Since joining the campaign in September as Iowa director of faith outreach, Jackson Lane, the 25-year-old son of prominent Christian activist David Lane, has rounded up key endorsements and shored up evangelical support, helping the Trump team blunt a push by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to win over conservative Christian voters with his hard-line stances on abortion and other issues. Evangelical voters make up more than half of the Republican electorate in Iowa, whose population is around 90% white and where the caucuses on Jan. 15 kick off voting in the Republican primary race.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/01/evangelicals-american-politics-tim-alberta-book-excerpt-00129319" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Bogus Historians Who Teach Evangelicals They Live in a Theocracy</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Politico, via The Big Picture 12-10-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>A new book on the Christian right reveals how a series of unscrupulous leaders turned politics into a powerful and lucrative gospel. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society assault on the Constitution</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/177620/supreme-court-leak-helped-conservative-justices-unite-overturn-roe-report" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How a Supreme Court Leak Helped Conservative Justices Unite to Overturn Roe</strong></a><br /></p><p>Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling, December 15, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><p>Summarizes the major New York Times report.</p><p><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-17303852462207817672023-12-10T11:39:00.002-06:002023-12-16T20:21:07.946-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 10, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 10, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War in Ukraine</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/12/03/seymour-hersh-anatol-lieven-and-the-desperate-dc-gambit-to-end-hostilities-in-ukraine-while-claiming-victory/" data-original-title="" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/12/03/seymour-hersh-anatol-lieven-and-the-desperate-dc-gambit-to-end-hostilities-in-ukraine-while-claiming-victory/" target="_blank" title="">Seymour Hersh, Anatol Lieven and the desperate DC gambit to end hostilities in Ukraine while claiming ‘victory’</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023] Excellent.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/04/ukraine-counteroffensive-us-planning-russia-war/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/04/ukraine-counteroffensive-us-planning-russia-war/" target="_blank" title="">Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine</a> </strong></p><p>[Washington Post, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><blockquote><div>Key elements that shaped the counteroffensive and the initial outcome include:</div><div>● Ukrainian, U.S. and British military officers held eight major tabletop war games to build a campaign plan. But Washington miscalculated the extent to which Ukraine’s forces could be transformed into a Western-style fighting force<strong> </strong>in a short period — especially without giving Kyiv air power integral to modern militaries.</div><div>● U.S. and Ukrainian officials sharply disagreed at times over strategy, tactics and timing. The Pentagon wanted the assault to begin in mid-April to prevent Russia from continuing to strengthen its lines. The Ukrainians hesitated, insisting they weren’t ready without additional weapons and training.</div><div>● U.S. military officials were confident that a mechanized frontal attack on Russian lines was feasible with the troops and weapons that Ukraine had. The simulations concluded that Kyiv’s forces,<strong> </strong>in the best case, could reach the Sea of Azov and cut off Russian troops in the south in 60 to 90 days.</div><div><div>● The United States advocated a focused assault along that southern axis, but Ukraine’s leadership believed its forces had to attack at three distinct points along the 600-mile front, southward toward both Melitopol and Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov and east toward the embattled city of Bakhmut.</div><div><br /></div></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://sonar21.com/dissecting-the-washington-posts-analysis-of-ukraines-failed-counter-offensive-part-1/" href="https://sonar21.com/dissecting-the-washington-posts-analysis-of-ukraines-failed-counter-offensive-part-1/" target="_blank">Dissecting the Washington Post’s “analysis” of Ukraine’s Failed Counter Offensive — Part 1 </a></strong></p><p>Larry Johnson [via Naked Capitalism 12-09-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/establishment-alarmism-in-overdrive" href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/establishment-alarmism-in-overdrive" target="_blank">Establishment Alarmism in Overdrive as Raytheon Lloyd Threatens Congress with War</a> </strong></p><p>Simplicius the Thinker [via Naked Capitalism 12-08-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/lying-was-the-only-plan-biden-us" href="https://www.racket.news/p/lying-was-the-only-plan-biden-us" target="_blank">Lying Was the Only Plan Biden, U.S. Ever Had in Ukraine</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Taibbi [via Naked Capitalism 12-09-2023]<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.voltairenet.org/article219991.html" href="https://www.voltairenet.org/article219991.html" target="_blank">The collapse of Israel and the United States</a> </strong></p><p>Thierry Meyssan [via Naked Capitalism 12-09-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/11/29/senior-us-lawmakers-review-plan-that-conditions-aid-on-arab-countries-receiving-gazans/" href="https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/11/29/senior-us-lawmakers-review-plan-that-conditions-aid-on-arab-countries-receiving-gazans/" target="_blank">Senior US lawmakers review plan linking Gaza refugee resettlement to US aid to Arab countries</a> </strong></p><p>[Israel Hayom, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><p>said to have been owned by Sheldon Adelson:</p><blockquote><p>The proposal was shown to key figures in the House and Senate from both parties. Some who were privy to the details of the text have so far kept a low profile, saying that publicly coming out in favor of the program could derail it…. They continue: ‘The neighboring borders have been closed for too long, but it is now clear that in order to free the Gazan population from the tyrannical oppression of Hamas and to allow them to live free of war and bloodshed, Israel must encourage the international community to find the correct, moral and humane avenues for the relocation of the Gazan population.'”</p></blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/relocation.png" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/relocation.png" target="_blank"><strong>Map, with quotas for </strong><strong><u>relocating</u></strong><strong> 2 million Palestinians to Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Yemen</strong></a></p><ul><li>Egypt 1 million</li><li>Turkey 500,000</li><li>Iraq 250,000</li><li>Yemen 250,000</li></ul><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newarab.com/news/egypts-former-vp-warns-israeli-plan-displace-gazans" href="https://www.newarab.com/news/egypts-former-vp-warns-israeli-plan-displace-gazans" target="_blank">Egypt’s former vice president warns of Gaza depopulation amid growing fear in Cairo</a> </strong></p><p>[The New Arab, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2023/12/03/netanyahu-thin-gaza-population/" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/12/03/netanyahu-thin-gaza-population/" target="_blank">Netanyahu’s Goal for Gaza: “Thin” Population “to a Minimum”</a> </strong></p><p>[The Intercept, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/04/biden-gaza-israel-hamas-war-00130000" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/04/biden-gaza-israel-hamas-war-00130000" target="_blank">How the Biden team is planning for a postwar Gaza Strip</a></strong></p><p>[Politico 12-04-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Biden administration officials have spent weeks quietly drafting a multiphase postwar game plan that envisions a revamped Palestinian Authority ultimately taking over the Gaza Strip.</p><p>It’s an imperfect solution, but American officials view it as the best of only bad options….</p><div><div><p>Officials at the State Department, the White House and beyond have been laying out pieces of the strategy in multiple position papers and interagency meetings since mid-October, according to two U.S. officials, a State Department official and an administration official familiar with the discussions.</p></div><div><div id="pol-02-wrap"><div data-ad-refresh="30" data-google-query-id="CIjN1vuhhYMDFZEEigMdG2ICTA" id="pol-02" style="text-align: center;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/6326/politico/international_1__container__"><p class="AlignLeft">Although Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others in the administration have publicly declared that a “revitalized” Palestinian Authority should run the strip, they haven’t unveiled details of how that would work.</p></div></div></div></div></div><div><p>But they’ve already run into resistance from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has effectively ruled out a future Gaza role for the Palestinian Authority. Israeli officials for the most part are unwilling to discuss much beyond the current war….</p></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/netanyahu-tells-washington-no-palestinian-rule-in-gaza-after-war/3073774" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/netanyahu-tells-washington-no-palestinian-rule-in-gaza-after-war/3073774" target="_blank" title="">Netanyahu tells Washington no Palestinian rule in Gaza after war</a> </strong></p><p>[Anadolu Agency, via Naked Capitalism 12-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2023/12/03/as-israel-plans-gaza-ethinic-cleansing-us-says-no/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2023/12/03/as-israel-plans-gaza-ethinic-cleansing-us-says-no/" target="_blank" title="">As Israel Plans Gaza Ethnic Cleansing, US Says No</a> </strong></p><p>[Tikun Olam, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/israel-wants-security-envelope-no-hamas-on-border-after-war-official-says/ar-AA1kTB4a" data-original-title="" href="https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/israel-wants-security-envelope-no-hamas-on-border-after-war-official-says/ar-AA1kTB4a" target="_blank" title="">Israel wants ‘security envelope’, no Hamas on border after war, official says</a> </strong></p><p>[Reuters, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/yanisvaroufakis/status/1732338353138241773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1732338353138241773%7Ctwgr%5Eec12ec45d2a79270350e002b0478fdad2910af02%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-6-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/yanisvaroufakis/status/1732338353138241773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1732338353138241773%7Ctwgr%5Eec12ec45d2a79270350e002b0478fdad2910af02%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-6-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 12-06-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Message I just received from an Israeli friend in Israel: &amp;quot;We need your urgent help. If there is no international intervention, we&amp;#39;re gone. The entire Palestinian people are under a genocidal attack, and democratic Jews in Israel are under violent fascist persecution that…&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/yanisvaroufakis/status/1732338353138241773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 6, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1732338353138241773" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1732338353138241773&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2209540%2Fedit&sessionId=c05f6589cc4f8627e9c0d826fe424769d432fdd4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=b2c2611296916%3A1702048662315&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 345px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="X Post"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.leefang.com/p/inside-the-pro-israel-information" data-original-title="" href="https://www.leefang.com/p/inside-the-pro-israel-information" target="_blank" title="">Inside the Pro-Israel Information War</a> </strong></p><p>Lee Fang [via Naked Capitalism 12-08-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/02/draft-pentagon-strategy-china-00129764" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/02/draft-pentagon-strategy-china-00129764" target="_blank" title="">Pentagon: US arms industry struggling to keep up with China</a> </strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 12-03-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="http://web.archive.org/web/20231202145314/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/12/south-china-sea-philippines-dispute-explained/676218/" data-original-title="" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20231202145314/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/12/south-china-sea-philippines-dispute-explained/676218/" target="_blank" title="">The Most Dangerous Conflict No One Is Talking About</a> </strong></p><p>[The Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism 12-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The South China Sea is perhaps the most contested waterway in the world. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, and Taiwan all have competing claims there. But no actor has pursued those claims as belligerently as China. The Philippines complains that Chinese forces menace its sailors and fishermen on an almost daily basis, and the government of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has taken to airing videos, photos, and eyewitness accounts of these encounters. In late October, officials released footage of Chinese vessels twice colliding with Philippines ships.</p><p>Such incidents don’t concern only Manila: The Philippines, a former U.S. colony, is America’s oldest ally in the Indo-Pacific, and the two countries have signed a mutual-defense treaty. In fact, of all the world’s conflicts, which today include wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Chinese-Philippine tensions in the South China Sea may be the least remarked on but among the most potentially explosive. Earlier this year, a former high-ranking Chinese military official <a data-cke-saved-href="http://web.archive.org/web/20231202145314/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/23/world/asia/china-sea-philippines-us.html" href="http://web.archive.org/web/20231202145314/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/23/world/asia/china-sea-philippines-us.html">said</a> that a conflict between the United States and China was more likely to occur in the South China Sea than around Taiwan.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cadtm.org/Free-trade-and-debt-the-two-sides-of-neocolonialism" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cadtm.org/Free-trade-and-debt-the-two-sides-of-neocolonialism" target="_blank" title="">Free trade and debt : the two sides of neocolonialism</a> </strong></p><p>[CADTM, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/great-american-eye-exam-scam/602482/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/great-american-eye-exam-scam/602482/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Great American Eye-Exam Scam</strong></a></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 12-3-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Why is it so difficult to get a new pair of glasses or contacts in this country? It’s easier pretty much everywhere else. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-backed-real-estate-151102586.html" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-backed-real-estate-151102586.html" target="_blank">Jeff Bezos-Backed Real Estate Company Is Launching A New Fund To Acquire More Single-Family Homes Across The U.S.</a> </strong></p><p>[Yahoo Finance, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“Arrived currently operates a fractional real estate investing platform that has attracted nearly half a million retail investors since its launch in 2021. The platform allows these investors to purchase shares of single-family rental properties with as little as $100.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/12/wall-street-ceos-want-the-line-between-a-federally-insured-bank-and-a-wall-street-trading-casino-erased-regulators-want-higher-capital-to-prevent-that/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/12/wall-street-ceos-want-the-line-between-a-federally-insured-bank-and-a-wall-street-trading-casino-erased-regulators-want-higher-capital-to-prevent-that/" title="">Wall Street CEOs Want the Line Between a Federally-Insured Bank and a Wall Street Trading Casino Erased; Regulators Want Higher Capital to Prevent That</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, December 7, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-11-24/how-many-errors-about-social-security-can-be-fit-into-a-single-article-slate-goes-for-a-record" data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-11-24/how-many-errors-about-social-security-can-be-fit-into-a-single-article-slate-goes-for-a-record" target="_blank" title="">An exhaustive debunking of the dumbest myths about Social Security</a> </strong></p><p>Michael Hiltzik [Los Angeles Times, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/Aqsuq" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/Aqsuq" target="_blank" title="">Tallying the Best Stats on US Gun Violence Is Trauma of Its Own</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/cigna-said-to-be-going-after-humana" href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/cigna-said-to-be-going-after-humana" target="_blank">Cigna said to be going after Humana to buy its way into Medicare Advantage</a> </strong></p><p>Wendell Potter [via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theregreview.org/2023/12/02/saturday-seminar-restructuring-bankruptcy-law/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theregreview.org/2023/12/02/saturday-seminar-restructuring-bankruptcy-law/" target="_blank" title="">Restructuring Bankruptcy Law</a> </strong></p><p>[The Regulatory Review, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://niemanreports.org/articles/local-news-digital-startups/" data-original-title="" href="https://niemanreports.org/articles/local-news-digital-startups/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>‘We Go Where We Think We Can Have The Most Impact</strong></a></p><p>[Nieman Reports), via The Big Picture 12-8-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Five lessons from successful local news startups. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/08/washington-post-newspaper-unions-00130826" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/12/08/washington-post-newspaper-unions-00130826" target="_blank" title=""><strong>There’s No Stopping the Newspaper Death Spiral</strong></a></p><p>[Politico 12-028-2023]</p><blockquote><p>About 750 members of the <em>Washington Post </em>Guild staged a one-day strike against the paper on Thursday to publicize their position that management is not <a data-cke-saved-href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LY2jViybLQPsgsm7hVo75V8aHNu5DUEZXB8vwc60YZo/mobilebasic" data-original-title="" href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LY2jViybLQPsgsm7hVo75V8aHNu5DUEZXB8vwc60YZo/mobilebasic" target="_blank" title="">bargaining with them in good faith</a>….</p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p>According to a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/12/07/washington-post-staff-walkout-strike-labor/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/12/07/washington-post-staff-walkout-strike-labor/" target="_blank" title="">Thursday <em>Post </em>piece</a> about the <em>Post</em> strike, labor and management aren’t even talking the same language. Workers have not had a contract for 18 months. The Guild wants a minimum salary of $100,100 for reporters, and management is offering only $73,000. The parties are also separated by annual cost-of-living demands.</p><p>Seeing as it’s only money they’re talking about, Bezos could buy every newsroom employee a $4 million home in the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Hollywood-Hills-West_Los-Angeles_CA/overview" href="https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Hollywood-Hills-West_Los-Angeles_CA/overview" target="_blank">Hollywood Hills</a> or thereabouts, give each $1 million in walking around money and make a bonfire on Malibu beach of $1 billion just to celebrate his generosity, and he’d still have $165 billion in his pocket. But that’s not how Bezos thinks. He counts every penny and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/technology/amazon-unions-virginia.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/technology/amazon-unions-virginia.html" target="_blank" title="">fights unions</a> hard wherever they appear in his kingdom. Since <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/washington-post-to-be-sold-to-jeff-bezos/2013/08/05/ca537c9e-fe0c-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/washington-post-to-be-sold-to-jeff-bezos/2013/08/05/ca537c9e-fe0c-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html" target="_blank">buying the money-losing <em>Post</em></a> a decade ago for a mere $250 million, he’s been adamant about not running the paper as a philanthropy. Instead, he invested untold millions to reverse the newsroom headcount decline, expanding it <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/media/jeff-bezos-donald-graham/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/media/jeff-bezos-donald-graham/index.html" target="_blank">by more than a third</a> and adding <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/2020/12/21/washington-post-announces-newsroom-expansion-including-new-foreign-bureaus-breaking-news-hubs-europe-asia/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/2020/12/21/washington-post-announces-newsroom-expansion-including-new-foreign-bureaus-breaking-news-hubs-europe-asia/" target="_blank">new foreign bureaus</a>, too. And miracle of miracles, he succeeded in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/media/jeff-bezos-donald-graham/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/16/media/jeff-bezos-donald-graham/index.html" target="_blank">making the paper profitable</a> as recently as 2019.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/amazon-faces-trial-after-selling-bathroom-spycam-used-to-abuse-minor/" data-original-title="" href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/12/amazon-faces-trial-after-selling-bathroom-spycam-used-to-abuse-minor/" target="_blank" title="">Amazon ‘Cannot Claim Shock’ That Bathroom Spycams Were Used as Advertised, Judge Says</a> </strong></p><p>[ars technica, via Naked Capitalism 12-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/yx2y3" href="https://archive.ph/yx2y3" target="_blank"><strong>The 25 Richest Families in the World — 2023</strong></a></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-08-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“From the house of Hermès to Gulf royals, the wealth of global dynasties soared 43% in the last year.” Names are: AL NAHYAN (UAE), WALTON (USA), HERMÈS (FRANCE), MARS (USA), AL THANI (QATAR), KOCH (USA), AL SAUD (SAUDI ARABIA), AMBANI (INDIA), WERTHEIMER (FRANCE), THOMSON (CANADA), CARGILL, MACMILLAN (USA), JOHNSON (USA), BOEHRINGER, VON BAUMBACH (GERMANY), QUANDT (GERMANY), ALBRECHT (GERMANY), PRITZKER (USA), HOFFMANN, OERI (SWITZERLAND), VAN DAMME, DE SPOELBERCH, DE MEVIUS (BELGIUM), HARTONO (INDONESIA), DASSAULT (FRANCE), COX (USA), MULLIEZ (FRANCE), FERRERO (ITALY), KWOK (HONG KONG), and DUNCAN (USA).</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers" href="https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers" target="_blank"><strong>Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers We asked them about it — and they deleted everything</strong></a></p><p>[Futurism, via The Big Picture 12-3-2023]</p><blockquote><p>After we reached out with questions to the magazine’s publisher, The Arena Group, all the AI-generated authors disappeared from <em>Sports Illustrated</em>‘s site without explanation. Our questions received no response. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-11-29/deepfake-porn-victims-learn-us-has-no-federal-laws-to-fight-it" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-11-29/deepfake-porn-victims-learn-us-has-no-federal-laws-to-fight-it" target="_blank">No Laws Protect People From Deepfake Porn. These Victims Fought Back</a></strong> </p><p>[Businessweek, via The Big Picture 12-3-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A group of young women in a New York City suburb, horrified to learn their photographs had been manipulated and posted online, took matters into their own hands….</p><div>No federal law criminalizes the creation or sharing of fake pornographic images in the US. When it comes to fake nudes of children, the law is narrow and pertains only to cases where children are being abused. And <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-18/what-is-section-230-how-online-speech-is-moderated-in-us" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-18/what-is-section-230-how-online-speech-is-moderated-in-us" target="_blank">Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act</a> protects web forums, social media platforms and internet providers from being held liable for content posted on their sites.</div><div>This legal landscape was problem enough for police and prosecutors when it took time and a modicum of skill to create realistic-looking fake pornography. But with billions of dollars of venture capital flowing into image-generating software powered by artificial intelligence, it’s gotten cheaper and easier to create <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-20/deepfakes-what-are-fake-ai-video-dangers-and-how-to-spot-them" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-20/deepfakes-what-are-fake-ai-video-dangers-and-how-to-spot-them" target="_blank">convincing photos and videos of things that never happened</a>. Tools such as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.midjourney.com/" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.midjourney.com/" target="_blank">Midjourney</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/2140776D:LN" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/2140776D:LN" target="_blank">Stability AI</a>’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://stablediffusionweb.com/" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://stablediffusionweb.com/" target="_blank">Stable Diffusion</a> have been used to produce images of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-04-06/pope-francis-white-puffer-coat-ai-image-sparks-deep-fake-concerns" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-04-06/pope-francis-white-puffer-coat-ai-image-sparks-deep-fake-concerns" target="_blank">Pope Francis in a puffer jacket</a>, actress Emma Watson as a mermaid and former President Donald Trump <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/22/trump-arrest-deepfakes/" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/22/trump-arrest-deepfakes/" target="_blank">sprinting from a cadre of FBI agents</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The term “deepfake” was coined on a Reddit forum dedicated to fake porn made with deep-learning models. It’s now in the Oxford English Dictionary, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=deepfake" href="https://archive.is/o/TzWlo/https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=deepfake" target="_blank">defined</a> as an image digitally manipulated to depict an individual doing something they didn’t. More than 15 billion such images have been created since April 2022, according to Everypixel Group, an AI photo company. The vendors that designed these tools have installed safety filters to ban the creation of explicit images, but because much of the software is open source, anyone can use it, build off it and deactivate the safeguards. Online security experts say more than 90% of deepfakes are pornographic in nature. </div></blockquote><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scottdylan.com/blog/business/europes-ai-crackdown-doomed-by-silicon-valleys-lobbying-power/" href="https://scottdylan.com/blog/business/europes-ai-crackdown-doomed-by-silicon-valleys-lobbying-power/" target="_blank">Europe’s AI Crackdown Doomed by Silicon Valley’s Lobbying Power</a> </strong></p><p>Scott Dylan, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/technology/ai-openai-musk-page-altman.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DE0.pUkn.sv7oZCK-dy7b&hpgrp=c-abar&smid=url-share" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/03/technology/ai-openai-musk-page-altman.html?unlocked_article_code=1.DE0.pUkn.sv7oZCK-dy7b&hpgrp=c-abar&smid=url-share" target="_blank">Ego, Fear and Money: How the A.I. Fuse Was Lit</a></strong><strong> </strong> </p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-05/ai-could-add-340-billion-to-wall-street-profits-mckinsey-says" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-05/ai-could-add-340-billion-to-wall-street-profits-mckinsey-says" target="_blank">McKinsey Sees AI Adding Up To $340 Billion To Wall Street Profit</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 12-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/05/humanoid-robot-factory-agility-bipedal-amazon" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/05/humanoid-robot-factory-agility-bipedal-amazon" target="_blank">The first humanoid robot factory is about to open</a></strong> </p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-05-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“A factory planning to pump out 10,000 two-legged robots a year is taking shape in Salem, Oregon — the better to help Amazon and other giant companies with dangerous hauling, lifting and moving. Agility Robotics says that its RoboFab manufacturing facility will be the first to mass-produce humanoid robots, which could be nimbler and more versatile than their existing industrial counterparts. China seems to think so: Beijing recently announced a goal of mass-producing humanoid robots by 2025. Agility Robotics, which makes a bot named Digit that’s being tested by Amazon, plans to open RoboFab early next year, inaugurating what CEO Damion Shelton calls ‘the world’s first purpose-built humanoid robot factory.’ ‘We’ve placed a very high priority on just getting robots out there as fast as possible,’ [CEO Damion Shelton], who’s also a co-founder, tells Axios. ‘Our big plan is that we want to get to general-purpose humanoids as soon as we can. There’s a growing backlog of orders for Digit, which the company says is the first commercially available human-shaped robot designed for warehouse work. Agility has produced about 100 robots since its founding in 2016.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/06/universal_backdoor_llm_image/" href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/06/universal_backdoor_llm_image/" target="_blank">Boffins devise ‘universal backdoor’ for image models to cause AI hallucinations</a></strong> </p><p>[The Register, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.upstreamonline.com/energy-transition/future-of-fossil-fuels-sparks-fiery-debate-at-cop28-climate-summit/2-1-1565273?utm_term=upstream" href="https://www.upstreamonline.com/energy-transition/future-of-fossil-fuels-sparks-fiery-debate-at-cop28-climate-summit/2-1-1565273?utm_term=upstream" target="_blank">Future of fossil fuels sparks fiery debate at COP28 climate summit</a> </strong></p><p>[Upstream, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/air-travel/in-a-first-a-major-airline-will-cross-the-atlantic-without-fossil-fuels" href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/air-travel/in-a-first-a-major-airline-will-cross-the-atlantic-without-fossil-fuels" target="_blank">In a first, a major airline will cross the Atlantic without fossil fuels</a></strong></p><p>[Canarymedia.com, via DailyKos <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">GNR Newsroom</a> 12-4-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A Virgin Atlantic flight taking off this week from London to New York City will last about eight hours, span around 3,500 miles — and emit only a fraction of the planet-warming gases associated with a typical transatlantic flight.</p><p>On Tuesday, the British airline is set to pluck a Boeing 787 Dreamliner from its fleet and run the two powerful engines on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, during the journey from Heathrow Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport. If all goes to plan, Virgin Atlantic will be the first commercial airline to fly a passenger plane across the Atlantic Ocean by burning only fossil-free jet fuel, marking an important milestone for the CO<sub>2</sub>-intensive industry.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/geothermal/americas-first-enhanced-geothermal-plant-just-got-up-and-running" href="https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/geothermal/americas-first-enhanced-geothermal-plant-just-got-up-and-running" target="_blank">America’s first ‘enhanced’ geothermal plant just got up and running</a></strong></p><p>[Canarymedia.com, via DailyKos <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">GNR Newsroom</a> 12-4-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A next-generation geothermal plant backed by Google has started sending carbon-free electricity to the grid in Nevada, where the tech company operates some of its massive data centers.</p><p>On Tuesday, Google and geothermal developer <a data-cke-saved-href="https://fervoenergy.com/" href="https://fervoenergy.com/" target="_blank">Fervo Energy</a> said that electrons began flowing from the first-of-a-kind facility earlier this month. The 3.5-megawatt project, called Project Red, is now supplying power directly to the Las Vegas–based utility <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nvenergy.com/" href="https://www.nvenergy.com/" target="_blank">NV Energy</a>.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://heatmap.news/sparks/orsted-south-fork-wind-first-offshore-power" href="https://heatmap.news/sparks/orsted-south-fork-wind-first-offshore-power" target="_blank">Orsted Powers Up America’s First Major Offshore Wind Farm</a> </strong></p><p>[Heated, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/opinion/climate-change-report-us.html" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/opinion/climate-change-report-us.html" target="_blank">I’m a Climate Scientist. I’m Not Screaming Into the Void Anymore.</a></strong></p><p>[New York Times, via DailyKos <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">GNR Newsroom</a> 12-4-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Something has changed in the United States, and not just the climate. State, local and tribal governments all around the country have begun to take action. Some politicians now actually campaign on climate change, instead of ignoring or lying about it. Congress passed federal climate legislation — something I’d long regarded as impossible — in 2022 as we turned in the first draft.</p><p>And while the report stresses the urgency of limiting warming to prevent terrible risks, it has a new message, too: We can do this<em>. </em>We now <a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/32#key-message-2" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/32#key-message-2" target="_blank">know how</a> to make the dramatic emissions cuts we’d need to limit warming, and it’s very possible to do this in a way that’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/32#key-message-4" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://nca2023.globalchange.gov/chapter/32#key-message-4" target="_blank">sustainable, healthy and fair</a>. The conversation has moved on, and the role of scientists has changed. We’re not just warning of danger anymore. We’re showing <a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://drawdown.org/drawdown-roadmap" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://drawdown.org/drawdown-roadmap" target="_blank">the way</a> to safety.</p><p>I was wrong about those previous reports: They did<em> </em>matter, after all. While climate scientists were warning the world of disaster, a small army of scientists, engineers, policymakers and others were getting to work. These first responders have helped <a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231125125622/https://climateactiontracker.org/global/temperatures/" target="_blank">move us</a> toward our climate goals. Our warnings did their job.</p><p>To limit global warming, we need many more people to get on board. This will be hard: It will require large-scale changes in infrastructure and behavior as well as removing carbon from the atmosphere. And not everyone is on board yet. In particular, the fossil fuel industry is still ignoring the science. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the-doom-loop/" href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the-doom-loop/" target="_blank"><strong>The Doom Loop: Insurance markets and climate risk</strong></a></p><p>[Phenomenal World, via The Big Picture 12-3-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Rising insurance prices and the credible threat of insurer divestment from higher-risk areas will constrain investment in both homes and businesses across vulnerable communities. Yet more people are moving into higher-risk areas, and some politicians fear backlash if they let insurance companies deny these communities coverage. In response, state leaders in California and Florida have sought to prevent divestment by directing their insurance commissioners to adjust pricing regulations, invite competition in insurance markets, or derisk insurers by imposing disaster-risk fees on all insurance purchasers regardless of risk. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scan-of-27-million-compounds-identified-a-new-one-that-outperforms-pain-medications/" href="https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/scan-of-27-million-compounds-identified-a-new-one-that-outperforms-pain-medications/" target="_blank">Scan of 27 million compounds finds one that outdoes pain medications</a></strong></p><p>[goodnewsnetwork.org, via DailyKos <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209478/-From-the-GNR-Newsroom-its-the-Monday-Good-News-Roundup?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">GNR Newsroom</a> 12-4-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/health/ptsd-memories-brain-trauma.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/health/ptsd-memories-brain-trauma.html" target="_blank"><strong>Brain Study Suggests Traumatic Memories Are Processed as Present Experience</strong></a></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 12-4-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Traumatic memories had their own neural mechanism, brain scans showed, which may help explain their vivid and intrusive nature. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/06/commercial-companies-to-collaborate-for-darpas-new-lunar-economy-study/" href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/06/commercial-companies-to-collaborate-for-darpas-new-lunar-economy-study/" target="_blank">Commercial companies to collaborate for DARPA’s new lunar economy study</a> </strong></p><p>[TechCrunch, via Naked Capitalism 12-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/30/squad-book-aoc-nancy-pelosi" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/30/squad-book-aoc-nancy-pelosi" target="_blank">‘She got so mad at me’: book on the ‘Squad’ details AOC-Pelosi clashes </a></strong></p><p>[The Guardian, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“[AOC and Pelosi’s] first ‘live meeting’, [Ryan] Grim says, came in July 2018 at a restaurant in San Francisco, which Pelosi represents. Then 76, Pelosi had been in Congress since 1987, Democratic House leader since 2003 and speaker from 2007 to 2011. The older woman spoke for nearly the entire lunch, dishing out her trademark looping, run-on sentences to her bewildered companions. ‘She just keeps talking; it’s a fascinating thing,’ Saikat Chakrabarti, then AOC’s chief of staff, recalls. ‘We were eating, and she just talked the entire time without even taking a break. And I wasn’t sure exactly what she was saying, but I was like, ‘Huh, OK.” ‘Getting Pelosi’s unfiltered thoughts was both eye-opening and disturbing,’ Grim writes. ‘Ocasio-Cortez, who had made the slogan ‘Abolish Ice’ [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement] central to her challenge to Crowley, was particularly perplexed to hear Pelosi say that the phrase had been injected into American political discourse by the Russians and that Democrats needed to quash it. ‘AOC wondered, ‘This is how the leader of the party thinks?'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/voters-deserve-more-than-a-choice-between-a-lesser-and-a-greater-evil-and-they-know-it" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/voters-deserve-more-than-a-choice-between-a-lesser-and-a-greater-evil-and-they-know-it" target="_blank" title="">Voters Deserve More Than A Choice Between A Lesser And A Greater Evil-- And They Know It</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, December 4, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>Les Leopold, executive director of the Labor Institute, has a new book coming out, <em>Wall Street’s War on Workers: How Mass Layoffs and Greed Are Destroying The Working Class And What To Do About It</em>. In an essay for CommoDreams.org yesterday, he wrote that the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/wall-street-or-the-working-class-the-democrats-must-choose" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/wall-street-or-the-working-class-the-democrats-must-choose" target="_blank" title=""><u>Democrats must choose between Wall Street and the working class</u></a>. “The Democrats,” he wrote, “want it both ways. The Party of the New Deal claims to be still championing the working class while it is also working to enrich Wall Street. The obvious goal is to secure campaign cash from the wealthy while, at the same time, attract working-class votes. After all, the thinking goes, working people don’t have any place else to turn politically. Certainly not to the Republicans, the historic party of the bosses. But this thinking is wrong, and this approach hasn’t worked. And it’s still not working. The more the Democrats have supported Wall Street over the past four decades, the more the working class, especially the white working class, has drifted away. Even after the anti-civil rights southern Dixiecrat exodus from the Democratic Party in the Nixon years, white working-class support for the Democrats remained strong. Jimmy Carter in 1976 gathered a solid 52.3% of the white working-class vote. Bill Clinton in 1996 received 50.0 percent, again a strong showing. But by 2012, Barack Obama won only 40.6 percent. And in 2020, Joe ‘Six-Pack’ Biden stumbled to a meager 36.2 percent of the white working-class vote. And it’s not just the white members of the working class who are defecting. Recent polling <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/06/biden-trump-nonwhite-working-class-voters-2024" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/06/biden-trump-nonwhite-working-class-voters-2024" target="_blank">reveals </a>that Black and Latino working-class voters also <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/21/democrats-black-voters-2024-00122846#:~:text=And%20just%20this%20week%2C%20a,Black%20support%20at%20the%20margins" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/21/democrats-black-voters-2024-00122846#:~:text=And%20just%20this%20week%2C%20a,Black%20support%20at%20the%20margins" target="_blank">show declining support </a>for Democratic candidates.”</p><div>“The real cause of working-class defections from the Democratic Party has been (and still is) mass layoffs. Working people got fed up with losing their jobs again and again, and they saw that the Democrats, who claimed to represent them, did little or nothing to stop the carnage. Since 1996, approximately 30 million of us have gone through a mass layoff (defined as 50 or more workers let go at one time.) Many more than once. Our research demonstrates clearly that in the key ‘Blue Wall” states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, when mass layoffs go up the Democratic vote goes down.</div><div><br /></div><div>“…Why aren’t Democrats giving “more of a damn?” Because if they really helped working people meet these economic challenges, they would lose favor with the barons of Wall Street and their corporate cronies.</div><div>It’s not a win/win game. Mass layoffs are part and parcel of how corporate executives and hedge funds extract billions of dollars in profit. Those mass layoffs are very often used to finance stock buybacks, a legalized method of stock manipulation that was severely restricted by the Securities and Exchange Commission until 1982. Since corporate executives get most of their pay in stock incentives, jacking up the price of shares through stock buybacks is the quickest path to great wealth. The same goes for the Wall Street stock-sellers who force their way onto corporate boards and then demand massive stock buybacks to enrich themselves. Today nearly 70 percent of all corporate profits go to stock buybacks.</div><div><br /></div><div>“…Most of the Democratic Party, unfortunately, has drunk the corporate Kool-Aid. They believe that placating Wall Street and large corporate interests will strengthen the economy, improve the U.S. position in the global economy, and produce better paying jobs at home. That’s understandable when you view the economy through the elite lens of high salaries, growing 401(K)s, and the stock market, which seems to go up and up and up. But good luck selling that vision to laid-off workers.<br />Those workers remember that the Democrats eagerly supported the massive deregulation of Wall Street during the Clinton administration. They also remember Democrats pushing trade deals like NAFTA and China’s admission into the WTO, which led to millions of manufacturing jobs rushing to Mexico and China. And that the Obama administration refused to punish and remove the Wall Street executives who crashed the economy in 2008-09 with their reckless gambling, enabled by deregulation championed by both political parties. Instead, the Obama administration bailed out Wall Street while distressed homeowners got nothing. That’s 16 years of Wall Street coddling by Democratic administrations.”</div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><p><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/it-ain-t-rocket-science" target="_blank" title="">Biden's Continued Struggles Ain't Rocket Science</a></strong></p><p>Patrick Toomey, December 8, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/85ddae_99d381b6b514440b8847ff2c4afd179e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_761,h_558,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/85ddae_99d381b6b514440b8847ff2c4afd179e~mv2.jpeg" target="_blank">GRAPH: Percent of Individuals Whose Real Disposable Income Increase or Decreased From Prior Year (1025-2022)</a></strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div><br /></div><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-11-24/how-many-errors-about-social-security-can-be-fit-into-a-single-article-slate-goes-for-a-record" data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-11-24/how-many-errors-about-social-security-can-be-fit-into-a-single-article-slate-goes-for-a-record" target="_blank" title=""><strong>An exhaustive debunking of the dumbest myths about Social Security</strong></a></p><p>[Los Angeles Times, via The Big Picture 12-3-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The roughly 2,000-word piece contained so many misconceptions, inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and flat-out lies about the program that I almost gave up counting. That said, it’s perhaps worthwhile to have a one-stop shop for all these sophistries, if only for the purpose of debunking them en masse. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/12/21/how-america-ends-and-begins-again-sherrilyn-ifill/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How America Ends and Begins Again </strong></a><br /></p><p>Sherrilyn Ifill [The New York Review, December 21, 2023 issue]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Because so much of what we have come to expect of our country is unraveling, we have an opportunity to build it anew….<br /></p><p>Finally, we need to pursue power, and when we have power we need to be prepared to make transformative change. I hope we’ll see this in the coming years. We must be prepared to leave behind traditions and policies that have not served us as a democracy, whether that means reforming long-standing rules that inhibit effective representation in the Senate, or adding seats to the Supreme Court, or reimagining public safety to address police brutality and racism, or adopting a guaranteed national income, or pursuing new models of public education.</p><p>Progressive people often seem averse to the pursuit of power. It is as though we think “power” is a bad word. We think it unseemly. We worry, perhaps appropriately, about how power can corrupt and harm. But that is what happens when people abuse their power. It is not power’s natural tendency. We must believe enough in our own integrity to trust ourselves with power. “Power without love is reckless and abusive,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, and</p><p>love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.</p><p>We must pursue power to implement the demands of justice, and the justice that we seek must correct that which stands against love. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/the-trump-populist-maga-revolution-is-just-taking-shape-and-biden-won-t-know-how-to-combat-it" target="_blank" title="">The Trump-Populist-MAGA Revolution Is Just Taking Shape... And Biden Won't Know How To Combat It</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, December 3, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Trump Is Playing To Win, Not To Be Constrained By Unpopular, Stale GOP Positions….<br /></p><p>What I’ve been more interested in is that Trump is quite capable of announcing plans for the most popular possible policies that will win him the election. Example: he has announced that he will replace ObamaCare, a very flawed— can I say crappy— program, with something better. The Democrats immediately lit their hair on fire and ran around screaming that he wants to repeal ObamaCare and end coverage for people with preexisting conditions. But that isn’t what Trump said at all. He said he would replace ObamaCare with something better. There could be many ways to do that, although not if you were going to adhere to Republican orthodoxy. Trump has zero interest in Republican orthodoxy… so, presumably, he’s busy looking for the perfect way to garner him the most votes through a replacement. Maybe he’ll come up with something else but the obvious way would be to expand Medicare. Dare I say, “single payer” or “Medicare-For-All?” <br /></p><div id="viewer-7g7q5">Would that win him the election? I think so-- if he can persuade people he means it this time. Yesterday, my old friend from Amsterdam, Toon Janssen, updated us on the recent election in Holland, where a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/hard-times-for-peroxide-blonde-not-trump-another-self-absorbed-xenophobe-this-one-in-holland" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/hard-times-for-peroxide-blonde-not-trump-another-self-absorbed-xenophobe-this-one-in-holland" target="_blank" title=""><u>Trump-like character, Geert Wilders</u></a>, an authoritarian, Islamaphobic populist saw his cult-like party win more seats than any other party. The platform he ran on did not sound like some conservative or right-wing appeal at all. Aside from raising the speed limit on the highways, some of Wilders’ more popular promises included <em>lowering</em> the age for pensions (conservatives having raised it), abolishing the sales tax on food, lower rents and higher rental subsidies, increasing the minimum wage, smaller school classes, including dental care in the basic healthcare package, lower home heating and electricity bills.</div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block11"><br /></div><div id="viewer-6kabp"><br /></div><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-corporate-america-betting-on-trump" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-corporate-america-betting-on-trump" target="_blank" title="">Is Corporate America Betting on Trump</a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-corporate-america-betting-on-trump" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-corporate-america-betting-on-trump" target="_blank">?</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-07-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“A few well-connected contacts in the big tech world told me early on they were quite confident it would be a reversion to Obama era antitrust, that Kamala Harris would take care of them. Were they ever wrong! Biden appointed aggressive enforcers to both the Department of Justice Antitrust Division and to the Federal Trade Commission, and issued a meaningful executive order on competition. The net effect is a massive deterrent against mergers, especially large ones, with deal volume down 16% this year alone. There’s also a lot of litigation where judges have to start dealing with antitrust. From the book industry to health insurance to Google and Amazon to prescription routing networks to virtual reality to video games to semiconductors to sugar to health-specific adtech to pharmaceutical patents and private equity health care providers to airlines to pipelines to meat to pesticides, the antitrust world has been busy. And that’s unlikely to slow. The JetBlue-Spirit trial is ending, which could go to appeal. The IQVIA merger trial is ongoing, as is the first Google antitrust search trial. Another Google trial starts early next year, as does an FTC trial against Facebook. My guess is there will be more challenges, potentially against the supermarket combination of Kroger-Albertsons, the design software merger of Adobe and Figma, and/or pharma giant Pfizer’s purchase of Seagan. But what’s interesting is that over the past few months, the deterrent effect seems to be waning, as there have been some major announcements of big mergers.” What I don’t get: If Biden’s going to do all this, why isn’t he <em>selling</em> it, instead of Bidenomics™? More: “[W]hat’s happening is that deal-makers think that Trump could win.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/07/trump-loyalty-cabinet-2025-carlson-miller-bannon" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/07/trump-loyalty-cabinet-2025-carlson-miller-bannon" target="_blank">Behind the Curtain — Exclusive: How Trump would build his loyalty-first Cabinet</a></strong></p><p>[Axios, downwithtyranny.com, December 8, 2023]</p><blockquote><ul><li><p>Steve Bannon <a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-second-term-prosecute-media-b892fd6f3ce721016eb1176e82aa51c3" href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2024-second-term-prosecute-media-b892fd6f3ce721016eb1176e82aa51c3" target="_blank">said this week</a> on his "War Room" podcast that Patel would "probably" be CIA director in a second term.</p></li><li><p>Patel <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1732130346010063053" href="https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1732130346010063053" target="_blank">told Bannon</a>:<strong> </strong>"One thing we learned in the Trump administration the first go-round is we've got to put in all of our compatriots from top to bottom. And we've got them for law enforcement ... [Defense Department], CIA, everywhere. ... Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens."….</p></li></ul><p><strong>Jamie Dimon:</strong> Trump is open to a few more mainstream picks <em>if</em> they bring celebrity or pizzazz. For example, Trump would consider JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, a Democrat, to head Treasury. "He wants a big name," a source close to the campaign said. "And he loves billionaires."….</p><p><strong>Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR):</strong> a former Army infantry officer known for his hard edge, and who wrote a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/tom-cotton-protests-military.html" target="_blank"><em>New York Times</em> op-ed</a> in Trump's first term supporting use of the Insurrection Act against civil disorder— would be considered to head the Pentagon….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/would-you-want-to-live-in-a-country-where-most-voters-pick-trump-don-t-worry-too-much" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/would-you-want-to-live-in-a-country-where-most-voters-pick-trump-don-t-worry-too-much" target="_blank">Would You Want To Live In A Country Where Most Voters Pick Trump? Don't Worry Too Much</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, December 7, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>[In] Ron Brownstein’s new essay for <em>The Atlantic</em>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/01/trump-liberal-america-reelection-law-enforcement/676136/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/01/trump-liberal-america-reelection-law-enforcement/676136/" target="_blank"><u>A War On Blue America</u></a>... he warns that “in a second term, Trump would punish the cities and states that don’t support him.” What Brownstein doesn’t say, but only hints at, is that is exactly what Trump’s zombified MAGAts want. He wrote that “During his term in the White House, Donald Trump governed as a wartime president— with blue America, rather than any foreign country, as the adversary. He sought to use national authority to achieve factional ends— to impose the priorities of red America onto Democratic-leaning states and cities. The agenda Trump has laid out for a second term makes clear that those bruising and divisive efforts were only preliminary skirmishes. Presidents always pursue policies that reflect the priorities of the voters and regions that supported them. But Trump moved in especially aggressive ways to exert control over, or punish, the jurisdictions that resisted him. His 2017 tax bill, otherwise a windfall for taxpayers in the upper brackets, capped the federal deductibility of state and local taxes, a costly shift for wealthy residents of liberal states such as New York and California. He moved, with mixed success, to deny federal law-enforcement grants to so-called sanctuary cities that didn’t fully cooperate with federal immigration agents. He attempted to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/trump-epa-california-car-emissions/598381/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/09/trump-epa-california-car-emissions/598381/" target="_blank" title="">strip California of the authority</a> it has wielded since the early 1970s to set its own, more stringent pollution standards.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176821/democracy-peril-just-not-way-thought" target="_blank" title="">Democracy Is in Peril, Just Not the Way We Thought</a></strong><br /></p><p>Sam Rosenfeld, November 29, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt explained “How Democracies Die.” Then they decided to look even deeper.….<br /></p><p>Two norms in particular were pivotal. <em>Mutual toleration</em> entailed “recognizing that our political rivals are decent, patriotic, law-abiding citizens” and thus accepting their legitimacy as power-seeking actors in the system. And <em>forbearance </em>required deliberately restraining oneself from maximizing the exercise of institutional power so as not to destabilize the system as a whole. The modern GOP, increasingly prone to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176012/american-principles-project-think-tank-pushing-transphobia" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176012/american-principles-project-think-tank-pushing-transphobia">demonizing</a> its opponents and ever more ruthless in the deployment of escalatory hardball for power, had discarded both of those codes of conduct, eroded its own capacity to police internal boundaries against extremism, and so forged a path to power for the man on the escalator.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/chuck-todd-elected-officials-are-gaslighting-america-rcna128119" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/chuck-todd-elected-officials-are-gaslighting-america-rcna128119" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Chuck Todd: How elected officials are gaslighting America</strong></a> </p><p>[NBC, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-07-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Among Republicans nationally, just 26% believed Joe Biden’s victory was legitimate. Among former GOP members of Congress, a whopping 82% believe he won legitimately…. It’s obvious that members of Congress too often give in to the belief systems of their (sometimes overly whipped-up) constituents out of fear of losing their jobs. What’s less clear is exactly the price those self-preservation decisions cost us….. I’ll never forget a conversation I had, when Trump was first elected, with a prominent Republican senator who pulled me aside while getting off of a plane and promised to stand up to Trump. They were the guardrail, they swore, against Trump’s running roughshod over the system and the Constitution. Needless to say, that senator’s pledge lasted less than a year….. As has been said numerous times, authoritarians usually don’t take power, they are handed it, and the elected GOP class has gotten more comfortable handing power to Trump with every year that has gone by since he burst onto the scene in 2016.”.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/we-didn-t-drive-old-dixie-down-deep-enough-and-now-we-have-trump-threatening-our-national-unity" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/we-didn-t-drive-old-dixie-down-deep-enough-and-now-we-have-trump-threatening-our-national-unity" target="_blank">We Didn't Drive Old Dixie Down Deep Enough... And Now We Have Trump Threatening Our National Unity</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, December 5, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>...Yesterday, the <em>New Yorker</em> publshed an essay by Jill Lepore, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/11/what-happened-when-the-us-failed-to-prosecute-an-ex-president" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/11/what-happened-when-the-us-failed-to-prosecute-an-ex-president" target="_blank"><u>What Happened When The U.S. Failed To Prosecute An Insurrectionist Ex-President</u></a>, looking how leniency towards Jefferson Davis could hold lessons we need consider in regard to a more recent national traitor….</p><p>She began by describing how a spy and fit 58 year old Davis hobbled into court pretending to be a feeble, broken and sickly man, which he wasn’t all. Outrageously, Davis, who had been arrested in Georgia (in drag, trying to escape)— after issuing a proclamation encouraging the MAGAts of the day to continue the Civil War— got away with his treason, never tried, even though the House voted 105-19 to try him for treason. He spent the rest of his life bitter and unreconciled that Blacks were allowed to vote.</p><div>Lepore wrote that today, “The American Presidency is draped in a red-white-and-blue cloak of impunity. Trump is the first President to have been impeached twice and the first ex-President to have been criminally indicted. If he’s convicted and sentenced and— unlikeliest of all— goes to prison, he will be the first in those dishonors, too.” She ties that to Davis’ lack of historical accountability. “If Davis had been tried and convicted, the cloak of Presidential impunity would be flimsier. Leniency for Davis also bolstered the cause of white supremacy….</div><div><br /></div><p>Then as now, what one half of the country thought best for the country the other half thought worst. In February, 1868, the House impeached Johnson, having investigated him for, among other things, intentionally derailing the Davis prosecution. Lieber favored impeachment, not least for the precedent that it would establish. “As to history, it will be a wonderful thing to have the ruler over a large country removed for the first time without revolution,” he wrote. The same hesitancy that derailed the Davis prosecution derailed the Johnson impeachment: so grave a thing, to try a king….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176811/united-daughters-confederacy-racist-ladies" target="_blank" title="">Yes, They’re Pro-Confederacy. But They’re Just the Nicest Ladies. </a></strong><br /></p><p>Anna Venarchik, December 5, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...“The time has come when the South, the true home of the Anglo-Saxon race, which has stood for <em>truth</em> and <em>honesty</em> and <em>righteousness</em> in the past, should come back to the faith and principles for which their forefathers stood.” This 1925 call to make Dixie Confederate again came from Mildred Lewis Rutherford, a prominent historian general of the UDC. A decade prior, a Daughter <a data-cke-saved-href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Ku_Klux_Klan.html?id=1YMfAQAAMAAJ" data-original-title="" href="https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Ku_Klux_Klan.html?id=1YMfAQAAMAAJ" target="_blank" title="">published</a> <em>The Ku Klux Klan, or Invisible Empire</em>, a children’s textbook that exonerated the Klan. The “heroes” protected white women from “ignorant and vicious negroes” who “considered freedom synonymous with equality” and only wanted “to marry a white wife.” The UDC pledged to disseminate the book to schools and libraries….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society assault on the Constitution</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/12/justices-to-review-novel-bankruptcy-maneuver-in-public-harms-litigation/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/12/justices-to-review-novel-bankruptcy-maneuver-in-public-harms-litigation/" target="_blank" title="">Justices to review novel bankruptcy maneuver in public harms litigation</a> </strong></p><p>[SCOTUSblog, via Naked Capitalism 12-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/03/supreme-court-amicus-briefs-leonard-leo-00127497" target="_blank" title="">‘Plain historical falsehoods’: How amicus briefs bolstered Supreme Court conservatives </a></strong><br /></p><p>[Politico 12-04-2023]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>A POLITICO review indicates most conservative briefs in high-profile cases have links to a small cadre of activists aligned with Leonard Leo.<br /></p><div><p>...That this questionable assertion is now enshrined in the court’s ruling is “a flawed and troubling precedent,” the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.oah.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.oah.org/" target="_blank" title="">Organization of American Historians</a>, which represents 6,000 history scholars and experts, and the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.historians.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.historians.org/" target="_blank" title="">American Historical Association</a>, the largest membership association of professional historians in the world, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/history-the-supreme-court-and-dobbs-v-jackson-joint-statement-from-the-aha-and-the-oah-(july-2022)#:~:text=The%20OAH%20and%20AHA%20consider,a%20flawed%20and%20troubling%20precedent." data-original-title="" href="https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/aha-advocacy/history-the-supreme-court-and-dobbs-v-jackson-joint-statement-from-the-aha-and-the-oah-(july-2022)#:~:text=The%20OAH%20and%20AHA%20consider,a%20flawed%20and%20troubling%20precedent." target="_blank" title="">said in a statement</a>. It is also a prime example of how a tight circle of conservative legal activists have built a highly effective thought chamber around the court’s conservative flank over the past decade.</p><p>A POLITICO review of tax filings, financial statements and other public documents found that Leo and his network of nonprofit groups are either directly or indirectly connected to a majority of amicus briefs filed on behalf of conservative parties in seven of the highest-profile rulings the court has issued over the past two years.</p><p>It is the first comprehensive review of amicus briefs that have streamed into the court since Trump nominated Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020, solidifying the court’s conservative majority. POLITICO’s review found multiple instances of language used in the amicus briefs appearing in the court’s opinions.<br /></p></div></blockquote><p><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p><div><div data-aside-index="0" id="aside-0"><div></div></div></div>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-65335743479081336722023-12-07T23:17:00.001-06:002023-12-12T12:20:36.856-06:00Democratic Party "stuck in its addictions to neoliberal economics" - Sen. Chris Murphy<p> <span face=""Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #302e2e; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">Luke Goldstein of</span><span face=""Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #302e2e; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><a href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-12-04-sen-chris-murphy-democrats-neoliberalism/" style="color: #b55904; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The American Prospect reports</a><span face=""Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #302e2e; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px;"> </span><span face=""Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #302e2e; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">on Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) recent shift to an explicit rejection of neoliberalism. </span></p><blockquote style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: medium; color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 33.2px; margin: 1.25rem 0px; padding: 1.875rem;"><p style="margin-top: 0.625rem;">I pressed Murphy about why, despite executive actions, Democrats in Congress weren’t able to move forward in the last session on new antitrust legislation, such as the American Innovation and Choice Online Act or the Open App Markets Act, when they controlled both the House and Senate. He didn’t blame it on Senate Republicans or on party leadership, despite ample reporting that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was the<span style="margin-top: 0px;"> </span><u style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-01-26-chuck-schumer-tech-antitrust-bills/" style="color: #b55904; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;">main impediment holding up votes</a></u><span style="margin-top: 0px;"> </span>on both bills last year.</p></blockquote><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">Did you catch that? The junior Democratic Senator from Connecticut says Democrats in Congress are <strong style="margin-top: 0px;">not</strong> being blocked by Republicans, or even by the <span style="margin-top: 0px;">gerontocracy that unfortunately dominates the </span>Democratic P<span style="margin-top: 0px;">arty. So who or what does the Senator blame?</span></p><blockquote style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: medium; color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 33.2px; margin: 1.25rem 0px; padding: 1.875rem;"><p style="margin-top: 0.625rem;">“I think there is still a sizable portion of the Democratic Party that is sort of stuck in its addictions to neoliberal economics that concentrated and globally integrated markets can deliver prosperity. I still think this party has not made a firm break from neoliberalism,” said Murphy.</p></blockquote><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a>If ever there was a cause for hope, it’s someone in a position of power like a United States Senator coming to the realization that what they thought they knew about how the economy works, is all wrong. <p></p><blockquote style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: medium; color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 33.2px; margin: 1.25rem 0px; padding: 1.875rem;"><p style="margin-top: 0.625rem;"><span style="margin-top: 0px;">“I was guilty of accepting this paradigm we were stuck in and in which we assumed we had to live with this massive concentration of corporate power,” said Murphy. “I had no living memory of government using its power to break up monopolies.”</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">Let me tell you, back in the early years of the Obama presidency, it was very discouraging to have a discussion on economics at DailyKos. It had become clear to me that Obama and his advisers were totally under the sway of neoliberal economics, but I repeatedly encountered people here who argued otherwise, and expressed disgust that I wasn’t “clapping louder.”</p><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">In fact, there were many people who argued that “neoliberalism” was a phantasm of the left, and did not actually exist as a policy or even an idea. I’m not kidding — that was actually what many people believed in 2008 and after, in the midst of the Global Financial Crisis. Much the same problem still exists: just read some of the comments in dmontaine’s story on DailyKos, <strong style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/12/4/2209731/-The-economy-sucks-for-many-of-us?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" style="color: #b55904; font-weight: 550; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The economy sucks - for many of us</a></strong>. There are comments expressing dismay and anger that people are not blaming Republicans for their economic misery, and more than one commenter argues that people should be happy that earnings have grown a few quarters in a row. </p><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">Really? The 2020 RAND study <strong style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/working_papers/WRA516-1.html" style="color: #b55904; font-weight: 550; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="">Trends in Income From 1975 to 2018</a></strong> documented that <span style="margin-top: 0px;">$47 trillion</span> in wealth was transferred upwards to elites in those four decades. There are 167.77 million people in the US labor force. Leave out the top ten percent, and increase every working person’s income by a $1,000 a year and it’s less than $160 billion. It would take over three centuries of $1,000 annual increases to undo the damage done in the past half century.</p><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">Here’s another way to look at how much damage was done under neoliberalism. If the average household income had continued to grow at the same rate it had in the three decades before the “Reagan revolution,” household income now would be almost triple what it now is. So, recent “jumps” in income really don’t amount to much. Income distribution must be shifted toward the bottom much more radically and much faster than anything we’ve seen yet. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwoCPpcfiZSFKNSLuwhORz0aiXMhuGmnBE6YDLKAxDHJ_VpWibtHE8M21uJ3ZL5Jpr05rlBiGfwbQcKTD06sx7Tg9T4SjWCYx1puXl3Hdx8xrrd3sDd6bhy9V5xUkWnGivb727TIOdba7yieu9aOTqsk1cT9s3hRlxhFVfYWyEhJp9-7eRpBHEb85JE0/s474/AvgWeeklyEarningsProjected.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="474" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUwoCPpcfiZSFKNSLuwhORz0aiXMhuGmnBE6YDLKAxDHJ_VpWibtHE8M21uJ3ZL5Jpr05rlBiGfwbQcKTD06sx7Tg9T4SjWCYx1puXl3Hdx8xrrd3sDd6bhy9V5xUkWnGivb727TIOdba7yieu9aOTqsk1cT9s3hRlxhFVfYWyEhJp9-7eRpBHEb85JE0/w400-h281/AvgWeeklyEarningsProjected.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">So take note that Senator Murphy now blames neoliberalism for this popular discontent that has Biden wallowing in dangerously low approval ratings:</p><blockquote style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: medium; color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 33.2px; margin: 1.25rem 0px; padding: 1.875rem;"><p style="margin-top: 0.625rem;"><span style="margin-top: 0px;">“The disease is a really deep, insidious one rooted in the fact that people feel like they have no control over their lives any longer … in politics we often treat the symptoms, not the disease, and that’s what I’m trying to address…. I am very convinced that America is in the middle of a spiritual crisis,”</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">This is very important. Senator Murphy is not the first person to raise the issue of the soul killing weight of free market capitalism. Goldstein notes that “<span style="margin-top: 0px;">populist figures on the Catholic right, such as Sohrab Ahmari, author of recent book<span style="margin-top: 0px;"> </span></span><em style="margin-top: 0px;">Tyranny Inc.</em><span style="margin-top: 0px;">, which offers a conservative critique of the free-market economic paradigm,” have expressed support of </span>Senator Murphy’s idea. In the<span style="margin-top: 0px;"> October 2020 encyclical, <strong style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html" style="color: #b55904; font-weight: 550; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="margin-top: 0px;">Fratelli Tutti (Brothers All)</em></a></strong>, </span>Pope Francis wrote: </p><blockquote style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: medium; color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 33.2px; margin: 1.25rem 0px; padding: 1.875rem;"><p style="margin-top: 0.625rem;"><span style="margin-top: 0px;">168. The marketplace, by itself, cannot resolve every problem, however much we are asked to believe this dogma of neoliberal faith. Whatever the challenge, this impoverished and repetitive school of thought always offers the same recipes. Neoliberalism simply reproduces itself by resorting to the magic theories of “spillover” or “trickle” – without using the name – as the only solution to societal problems. There is little appreciation of the fact that the alleged “spillover” does not resolve the inequality that gives rise to new forms of violence threatening the fabric of society. It is imperative to have a proactive economic policy directed at “promoting an economy that favours productive diversity and business creativity”<span style="margin-top: 0px;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html#_ftn140" name="_ftnref140" style="color: #b55904; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;">[140]</a><span style="margin-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-top: 0px;"> </span>and makes it possible for jobs to be created and not cut. Financial speculation fundamentally aimed at quick profit continues to wreak havoc….</span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">This is not a new position for the Catholic Church. In May 1891, responding to the worsening economic and social conditions of workers around the world, Pope Leo XIII issued the encyclical <strong style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html" style="color: #b55904; font-weight: 550; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><em style="margin-top: 0px;">Rerum novarum, or Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor.</em></a></strong></p><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">And of course, the actual gospels have much to say about economics and social justice, though today’s conservative christianists seem not to have read them. In 1907, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Rauschenbusch" style="color: #b55904; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;">Walter Rauschenbusch</a><span style="margin-top: 0px;">, a Baptist pastor</span> in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, published <a href="https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/1b41c172-7bad-4779-aed0-6839132106db/content" style="color: #b55904; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Christianity and the Social Crisis (pdf 457 pages)</a>.</p><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">In July 2014, Salon published an essay by Yale University professor Jim Sleeper, <strong style="margin-top: 0px;"><a href="https://www.salon.com/2014/07/04/we_the_people_are_violent_and_filled_with_rage_a_nation_spinning_apart_on_its_independence_day/" style="color: #b55904; font-weight: 550; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">We, the people are violent and filled with rage: A nation spinning apart on its Independence Day</a>, </strong>lamenting</p><blockquote style="background-color: #f7f7f7; border: medium; color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; line-height: 33.2px; margin: 1.25rem 0px; padding: 1.875rem;"><p style="margin-top: 0.625rem;"><span style="margin-top: 0px;">a body politic so drained of candor and trust that, beneath our continuing lip-service to republican premises and practices, we’ve let a court conflate the free speech of flesh-and-blood citizens with the disembodied wealth of anonymous shareholders.<span style="margin-top: 0px;"> </span></span></p></blockquote><p style="color: #302e2e; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px; margin-top: 0px;">Two years after Trump was elected, <a href="https://www.salon.com/2018/10/30/our-republic-is-in-crisis-and-its-killing-us-can-we-really-claim-we-didnt-see-it-coming/" style="color: #b55904; margin-top: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Salon published Sleeper’s essay again</a>, with the lead, “Four years ago I published this essay in Salon: It predicted the rise of a demagogue, and much of what would follow.” </p><p><span face=""Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #302e2e; font-size: 20px; letter-spacing: 0.3px;">Has anything been done yet to exorcise the curse of corporate personhood? Has anything been done yet to break the spell neoliberalism has over the Democratic Party? </span> </p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-37100579666952596342023-12-03T11:54:00.004-06:002023-12-12T12:19:27.768-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 3, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – December 3, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1730218264540643439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1730218264540643439%7Ctwgr%5E302dc4d673c4216a25bc80dc3aab0db8ebd9c971%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-1-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1730218264540643439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1730218264540643439%7Ctwgr%5E302dc4d673c4216a25bc80dc3aab0db8ebd9c971%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F12%2Flinks-12-1-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 12-01-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="4" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;WOW, this might be THE most important piece of journalism on the war on Gaza since it began, by Israeli newspaper &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/972mag?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@972mag&lt;/a&gt; :&lt;a href="https://t.co/ORhMha76B5"&gt;https://t.co/ORhMha76B5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Essentially they confirm, with unimpeachable sourcing, that the killing of civilians was all calculated and intentional.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Their…&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1730218264540643439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 30, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1730218264540643439" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1730218264540643439&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2208270%2Fedit&sessionId=fdff92c74db9f00f3c82a1617b0b73d1b6405f77&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 816px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.972mag.com/mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombing-gaza/" href="https://www.972mag.com/mass-assassination-factory-israel-calculated-bombing-gaza/" target="_blank"><strong>‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza</strong></a></p><p>[+972, via X-Teitter. above]</p><blockquote><p>Permissive airstrikes on non-military targets and the use of an artificial intelligence system have enabled the Israeli army to carry out its deadliest war on Gaza….</p><p>The investigation by +972 and Local Call is based on conversations with seven current and former members of Israel’s intelligence community — including military intelligence and air force personnel who were involved in Israeli operations in the besieged Strip — in addition to Palestinian testimonies, data, and documentation from the Gaza Strip, and official statements by the IDF Spokesperson and other Israeli state institutions….</p><p>Several of the sources, who spoke to +972 and Local Call on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that the Israeli army has files on the vast majority of potential targets in Gaza — including homes — which stipulate the number of civilians who are likely to be killed in an attack on a particular target. This number is calculated and known in advance to the army’s intelligence units, who also know shortly before carrying out an attack roughly how many civilians are certain to be killed.</p><p>In one case discussed by the sources, the Israeli military command knowingly approved the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in an attempt to assassinate a single top Hamas military commander. “The numbers increased from dozens of civilian deaths [permitted] as collateral damage as part of an attack on a senior official in previous operations, to hundreds of civilian deaths as collateral damage,” said one source.</p><p>“Nothing happens by accident,” said another source. “When a 3-year-old girl is killed in a home in Gaza, it’s because someone in the army decided it wasn’t a big deal for her to be killed — that it was a price worth paying in order to hit [another] target. We are not Hamas. These are not random rockets. Everything is intentional. We know exactly how much collateral damage there is in every home.”</p><p>According to the investigation, another reason for the large number of targets, and the extensive harm to civilian life in Gaza, is the widespread use of a system called “Habsora” (“The Gospel”), which is largely built on artificial intelligence and can “generate” targets almost automatically at a rate that far exceeds what was previously possible. This AI system, as described by a former intelligence officer, essentially facilitates a “mass assassination factory.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://michelchossudovsky.substack.com/p/wiping-gaza-off-map-israel-secret-intelligence" href="https://michelchossudovsky.substack.com/p/wiping-gaza-off-map-israel-secret-intelligence" target="_blank">“Wiping Gaza Off the Map”: Implementing Israel’s “Secret Intelligence Memorandum.” More Than 20,000 Civilians Killed</a> </strong></p><p>Michel Chossudovsky [via Naked Capitalism 12-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Out of Gaza’s 2.3 million people,</p><p>1.73 million are now displaced…</p><p>20,030 civilians killed…</p><p>8,176 children have been killed…</p><p>4,112 women have been killed…</p><p>7,000 people remain unaccounted for, including more than 4,700 children…</p><p>36,350 civilians have been injured….</p><p>...It’s genocide. The underlying modalities are confirmed in <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/expel-all-palestinians-gaza-recommends-israeli-govt-ministry/5838581" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/expel-all-palestinians-gaza-recommends-israeli-govt-ministry/5838581">an official “secret” memorandum of Israel’s Ministry of Intelligence</a></em>. Washington is fully supportive of this military-intelligence operation.</p><p>Both US and British Operation Forces are collaborating with the I.D.F. (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/what-exactly-us-special-forces-doing-israel/5840121" href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/what-exactly-us-special-forces-doing-israel/5840121">See this</a>) </p><p>The 10 page document <em><strong> recommends “the forcible and permanent transfer of the Gaza Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinian residents to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula”, </strong>namely to a refugee c</em>amp in Egyptian territory. There are indications of Israel-Egypt negotiations as well as routine consultations with U.S. intelligence….</p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/pejXIcAe_xFb4gTQlRwCKA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnS7EdP0T1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8xMS8zMC93b3JsZC9taWRkbGVlYXN0L2lzcmFlbC1oYW1hcy1hdHRhY2staW50ZWxsaWdlbmNlLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTkwJmVtYz1lZGl0X3Vmbl8yMDIzMTEzMCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDkwMTgmbmw9ZnJvbS10aGUtdGltZXMmcmVnaV9pZD03MjMwNTc3MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE1MTQwOCZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YzBhNzA3MDAxMTA5NzU2ZDFiOGU5Nzc4YWFiYWVkNjVXA255dEIKZWgdLGll_Y36hFISMm5iYm9va3NAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAD" href="https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/pejXIcAe_xFb4gTQlRwCKA~~/AAAAAQA~/RgRnS7EdP0T1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnl0aW1lcy5jb20vMjAyMy8xMS8zMC93b3JsZC9taWRkbGVlYXN0L2lzcmFlbC1oYW1hcy1hdHRhY2staW50ZWxsaWdlbmNlLmh0bWw_Y2FtcGFpZ25faWQ9MTkwJmVtYz1lZGl0X3Vmbl8yMDIzMTEzMCZpbnN0YW5jZV9pZD0xMDkwMTgmbmw9ZnJvbS10aGUtdGltZXMmcmVnaV9pZD03MjMwNTc3MiZzZWdtZW50X2lkPTE1MTQwOCZ0ZT0xJnVzZXJfaWQ9YzBhNzA3MDAxMTA5NzU2ZDFiOGU5Nzc4YWFiYWVkNjVXA255dEIKZWgdLGll_Y36hFISMm5iYm9va3NAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAD" target="_blank">Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago</a></strong></p><p>[New York Times, 2023 Nov 30]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://cgcinternational.co.in/the-hamas-attack-and-israels-war-in-gaza/" href="https://cgcinternational.co.in/the-hamas-attack-and-israels-war-in-gaza/" target="_blank">The Hamas Attack and Israel’s War in Gaza</a> </p><p>[Council for Global Cooperation, via Naked Capitalism 11-28-2023]. Important.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://sonar21.com/adrift-on-a-sea-of-delusions/" href="https://sonar21.com/adrift-on-a-sea-of-delusions/" target="_blank">ADRIFT ON A SEA OF DELUSIONS</a> </p><p>Sonar 21, via Naked Capitalism 11-29-2023]</p><p>A very good guest post. Chuck L: “With elites like R. Gates who needs enemies?”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/28/scott-ritter-the-end-of-us-nuclear-superiority/" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/28/scott-ritter-the-end-of-us-nuclear-superiority/" target="_blank">The End of US Nuclear Superiority</a> </strong></p><p>Scott Ritter [Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 11-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">...The failures of the aging U.S. and British strategic nuclear deterrence force contrasts sharply with a series of successful tests carried out by the Russian counterparts, including the recent launches of a modern Bulava missile from a new Borei-class submarine, a Yars ICBM equipped with an advanced Avangard hypersonic warhead, and the successful test launch of a new nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile (the Russians are not immune to test failures, either, as demonstrated by the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/23/putin-says-russia-to-deploy-sarmat-nuclear-missiles-this-year" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/23/putin-says-russia-to-deploy-sarmat-nuclear-missiles-this-year">failure</a> of a Sarmat heavy ICBM earlier this year.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The fielding of a new generation of Russian strategic nuclear missiles places additional pressure on both the U.S. and U.K. to push forward with expensive modernization programs at a time when competition for funding has created domestic political challenges in both nations. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Complicating things further is the lack of any viable arms control framework to keep the rush to deploy new strategic systems by all three nations from exploding into an arms race that could destabilize the strategic balance of power that has existed for decades. Citing the incompatibility of strategic arms control with the U.S. at a time when Washington’s official policy is to strategically defeat Russia, Moscow has suspended its participation in the New START treaty. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/30/americas-undying-empire-why-the-decline-of-us-power-has-been-greatly-exaggerated" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/nov/30/americas-undying-empire-why-the-decline-of-us-power-has-been-greatly-exaggerated" target="_blank"><strong>America’s undying empire: why the decline of US power has been greatly exaggerated</strong></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;">[(The Guardian, via The Big Picture 12-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">...If proponents of the end of the US global order do not assert a decrease in the potency of the instruments of American power, that is because there has been no such decrease. The share of global transactions conducted in dollars has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-24/dollar-usage-in-global-payments-in-july-rises-to-record-swift-says" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-24/dollar-usage-in-global-payments-in-july-rises-to-record-swift-says">increasing</a>, not declining. No other state can affect political outcomes in other countries the way the US still does. The reach of the contemporary US is so great that it tends to blend into the background of daily events. In January 2019, the US <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-iran-airline/germany-bans-iranian-airline-from-its-airspace-after-u-s-pressure-idUSKCN1PF0QC/" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-iran-airline/germany-bans-iranian-airline-from-its-airspace-after-u-s-pressure-idUSKCN1PF0QC/">demanded</a> that Germany ban the Iranian airline Mahan Air from landing on its territory. In September 2020, it <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54003527" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54003527">sanctioned</a> the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court for refusing to drop investigations into American citizens. In February 2022, at US request, Japan agreed to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japan-diverting-lng-europe-some-already-route-industry-minister-2022-02-09/" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japan-diverting-lng-europe-some-already-route-industry-minister-2022-02-09/">redirect liquefied fossil gas</a>, which is critical to Japanese industry, to Europe in the event of a conflict with Russia over Ukraine. At the height of that conflict, the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, found the time to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220330-blinken-visits-algeria-in-shadow-of-ukraine-war" href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220330-blinken-visits-algeria-in-shadow-of-ukraine-war">visit Algiers</a> to negotiate the reopening of a gas pipeline to Spain via Morocco. These were all quotidian events, unremarkable daily instances of humdrum imperial activity. The practical operation of the empire remains poorly understood, not despite its ubiquity, but because of it….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/11/europe-is-written-off.html" href="https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2023/11/europe-is-written-off.html" target="_blank">Europe Is Written Off.</a> </p><p>Andrei Martyanov [via Naked Capitalism 11-28-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-01/putin-seizes-st-petersburg-airport-management-from-fraport-qia?srnd=premium" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-01/putin-seizes-st-petersburg-airport-management-from-fraport-qia?srnd=premium" target="_blank">Putin Seizes Major Airport’s Management From Foreign Shareholders </a></strong></p><p>[Bloombergvia Naked Capitalism 12-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/the-myth-that-putin-was-bent-on-conquering?" href="https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/the-myth-that-putin-was-bent-on-conquering?" target="_blank">The Myth that Putin Was Bent on Conquering Ukraine and Creating a Greater Russia</a> </strong></p><p>John Mearsheimer [via Naked Capitalism 11-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.photonicsonline.com/doc/beyond-iron-dome-is-defending-against-dews-possible-0001?vm_tId=2586670&vm_nId=84528&user=b7ef6bdc-b4bb-4041-8a4f-fe4095addcdb&gdpr=0&vm_alias=Beyond%20Iron%20Dome%3A%20Is%20Defending%20Against%20DEWs%20Possible&utm_source=mkt_PHOTO&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PHOTO_12-02-2023-wne&utm_term=b7ef6bdc-b4bb-4041-8a4f-fe4095addcdb&utm_content=Beyond%20Iron%20Dome%3A%20Is%20Defending%20Against%20DEWs%20Possible&mkt_tok=MDc1LU5WQy0wODYAAAGPydtIZjZsuapg2q1CqyY27QLuZfiFusVkYF-kpZVyMYCWGdrEH64Yb7pfsHmYo59vn_SWd4jL4F3qHC7JSW7Zi0kNTSif3cTjOnz6VyIx28KYZw" href="https://www.photonicsonline.com/doc/beyond-iron-dome-is-defending-against-dews-possible-0001?vm_tId=2586670&vm_nId=84528&user=b7ef6bdc-b4bb-4041-8a4f-fe4095addcdb&gdpr=0&vm_alias=Beyond%20Iron%20Dome%3A%20Is%20Defending%20Against%20DEWs%20Possible&utm_source=mkt_PHOTO&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PHOTO_12-02-2023-wne&utm_term=b7ef6bdc-b4bb-4041-8a4f-fe4095addcdb&utm_content=Beyond%20Iron%20Dome%3A%20Is%20Defending%20Against%20DEWs%20Possible&mkt_tok=MDc1LU5WQy0wODYAAAGPydtIZjZsuapg2q1CqyY27QLuZfiFusVkYF-kpZVyMYCWGdrEH64Yb7pfsHmYo59vn_SWd4jL4F3qHC7JSW7Zi0kNTSif3cTjOnz6VyIx28KYZw" target="_blank"><strong>Beyond Iron Dome: Is Defending Against [Directed Energy Weapons] Possible</strong></a></p><p>John Oncea, November 20, 2023 [Photonics Online]</p><blockquote><p>Israeli defense technology company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, responsible for developing Iron Dome, is also credited with the development of Iron Beam, the fifth element of Israel's integrated missile defense system which is composed of the aforementioned Iron Dome, as well as Arrow 2, Arrow 3, and David’s Sling.</p><p>“Iron Beam is considered a directed-energy weapon,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2023/10/16/no-rafaels-iron-beam-laser-didnt-blow-up-missiles-over-israel/" href="https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2023/10/16/no-rafaels-iron-beam-laser-didnt-blow-up-missiles-over-israel/" target="_blank">writes C4ISR</a>. “Such wartime tools typically come in two forms. One, like Rafael’s, is a high-energy laser; the other is a high-power microwave. Whereas the former focuses a beam or beams of energy to blind, cut, or inflict heat damage on a target, the latter pumps out waves of energy that fry electronic components and render technologies useless.”</p><p>But these types of defenses are DEWs applied to beefing up a military’s offensive and defensive arsenal. They’re not a system designed to stop a DEW attack.</p><p>A DEW is a weapon that damages its target with highly focused energy without a solid projectile, including lasers, microwaves, particle beams, and sound beams. Potential applications of this technology include weapons that target personnel, missiles, vehicles, and optical devices.</p><p>In addition to Israel, China, Russia, France, Germany, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and the United States are developing military-grade DEWs while Iran and Turkey also claim to have them in service. The first use of DEWs in combat between military forces was claimed to have occurred in Libya in August 2019 by Turkey, which claimed to use the ALKA directed-energy weapon.</p><p>After decades of research and development, most DEWs are still at the experimental stage and it remains to be seen if or when they will be deployed as practical, high-performance military weapons.</p><p>Will it be possible to defend against the use of DEWs? Yes, but it’s difficult because their capabilities are not yet fully known. One program looking into methods of defense is the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nre.navy.mil/organization/departments/aviation-force-projection-and-integrated-defense/aerospace-science-research-351/directed-energy-weapons-cdew-and-high-energy-lasers" href="https://www.nre.navy.mil/organization/departments/aviation-force-projection-and-integrated-defense/aerospace-science-research-351/directed-energy-weapons-cdew-and-high-energy-lasers" target="_blank">Counter-Directed Energy Weapons (CDEW) Program</a>, created in response to the development of DEWs by potential foreign adversaries.</p></blockquote><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://profstevekeen.substack.com/p/putting-energy-back-into-economics" href="https://profstevekeen.substack.com/p/putting-energy-back-into-economics" target="_blank">Putting Energy Back into Economics</a> </p><p>Steve Keen [via Naked Capitalism 12-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/american-borrowers-are-getting-closer-to-maxing-out-48ae1107?mod=hp_lead_pos10" href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/american-borrowers-are-getting-closer-to-maxing-out-48ae1107?mod=hp_lead_pos10" target="_blank">American Borrowers Are Getting Closer to Maxing Out</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 11-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The average rate of 30-day-plus delinquency across the five big lenders jumped 0.16 percentage point from September to October, above the typical seasonal jump of 0.06 point, according to Goldman’s tracking. Net charge-offs jumped 0.77 point on average, compared with a 0.18-point typical rise…. </p><p>A recent note published by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/yyDzR/https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/current-policy-perspectives/2023/credit-card-spending-and-borrowing-since-the-start-of-the-covid-19-pandemic.aspx%23da2b257e-3f3f-43e6-bd0f-777d16dda1ca" href="https://archive.is/o/yyDzR/https://www.bostonfed.org/publications/current-policy-perspectives/2023/credit-card-spending-and-borrowing-since-the-start-of-the-covid-19-pandemic.aspx%23da2b257e-3f3f-43e6-bd0f-777d16dda1ca" target="_blank">the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston</a> found that as of July, consumers with annual household incomes of less than $50,000 whose accounts were delinquent were on average utilizing 80 to 90 percent of their available credit. This leaves “those consumers with a very small amount of credit left on their accounts to cushion against a deterioration of their financial situation,” according to the paper. Across all cardholder income groups as of July, average utilization rates—the ratio of outstanding card account balance to the account’s credit limit—were above February 2020 levels.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/11/24/u-s-poverty-is-more-entrenched-than-ever/" href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/11/24/u-s-poverty-is-more-entrenched-than-ever/" target="_blank">U.S. Poverty is More Entrenched Than Ever</a> </strong></p><p>[Counterpunch, via Naked Capitalism 11-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...More Americans are poorer and persistently poorer than they have been in a long time. Since last year the number of people living in poverty in the U.S. increased by 15.3 million, as pandemic aid ended, according to CBS September 12. The census and CBS differ over how many American households endure penury, with the latter claiming 12.4 percent and the former 11.5 percent….</p><p>To blame for the recent increase in indigence was termination of such benefits as stimulus checks and the Child Tax Credit. “If the expanded Child Tax Credit had been renewed,” CBS said, “about 3 million additional children would have been kept out of poverty last year, while child poverty would have been about 8.4 percent, rather than 12.4 percent.” Imagine a world where the U.S. kept the CTC but ditched Donald “Save the Billionaires” Trump’s God-awful tax cut for the rich. There might even be enough money to provide low-income housing for the homeless….</p><p>A more specific problem for the poor is that they earned less last year, according to the census. “The median household income in 2022 was $74,580, a decline of 2.3 percent and the third year in a row that incomes have dipped.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-households-need-extra-11400-these-states-its-even-higher/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=251671293" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inflation-households-need-extra-11400-these-states-its-even-higher/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=251671293" target="_blank">Americans need an extra $11,400 today just to afford the basics</a></strong> </p><p>[CBS, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-29-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“The typical American household must spend an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs, according to a recent analysis of government data…. Although inflation is cooling, many consumers may not be feeling much relief because most prices aren’t declining (One major exception: gas prices, which are notoriously volatile and which have declined about 5% in the past year.) Consumers are still paying more, albeit at a slower pace, on top of the higher prices that were locked in when price hikes surged in 2022 and earlier this year.” • Prices don’t “surge” (note lack of agency). Prices rise because firms raise them.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/26/2208170/-Our-Democratic-and-Republican-voting-states-death-rate-as-percent-of-Canada-s-by-age?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/26/2208170/-Our-Democratic-and-Republican-voting-states-death-rate-as-percent-of-Canada-s-by-age?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">Our Democratic and Republican voting states death rate as percent of Canada's by age</a></strong></p><p>pecanjim, November 26, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1250612/story_image/RepsDemsPctCanadabyAge.png?1701048668" href="https://images.dailykos.com/images/1250612/story_image/RepsDemsPctCanadabyAge.png?1701048668" target="_blank">GRAPH</a></strong></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/11/26/one-in-four-europeans-say-their-financial-condition-is-precarious" href="https://www.euronews.com/business/2023/11/26/one-in-four-europeans-say-their-financial-condition-is-precarious" target="_blank">Precarious finances: 38% of Europeans no longer eat three meals a day</a> </strong></p><p>[Euronews, via Naked Capitalism 11-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-24/economists-may-have-been-flying-blind-all-along" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-24/economists-may-have-been-flying-blind-all-along" target="_blank"><strong>Economists May Have Been Flying Blind All Along</strong></a></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 11-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Declining response rates to official surveys raise the possibility that government and central bank officials have been making decisions based on flawed data….</p><p>The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/15tZN/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/index.html" href="https://archive.is/o/15tZN/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/dataviz/dfa/index.html" target="_blank">Distributional Financial Accounts</a> the Fed created in 2019 are a good example of how to make that connection. It uses aggregate data on wealth from financial institutions and a household survey of wealth to merge the macro and micro. As such, we now know the top 0.1% of households by wealth have five times more wealth than the bottom 50%. How much wealth the country has and who has it are both facts that should inform policy. The first step is to know that such data exist, and economists must use the figures.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://roape.net/2023/11/23/capitalism-war-and-plunder-in-the-horn-of-africa/" href="https://roape.net/2023/11/23/capitalism-war-and-plunder-in-the-horn-of-africa/" target="_blank">Capitalism, war and plunder in the Horn of Africa</a> </strong></p><p>[Review of African Political Economy, via Naked Capitalism 11-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Mark Duffield and Nicholas Stockton write about the spectacular growth in livestock exports from the Horn of Africa to the urbanising Gulf states, and argue that neoliberalism has transformed the former reciprocity between ‘farmers’ and ‘herders’ into a relation of permanent war. Based on their article in ROAPE – freely available to read below – they argue that the crisis in the Horn is rooted in how the wealth of its peoples is being internationally plundered.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1729205953915191715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1729205953915191715%7Ctwgr%5E72416418bcc52daee99dc136d7a6eae5b6311f26%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-28-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1729205953915191715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1729205953915191715%7Ctwgr%5E72416418bcc52daee99dc136d7a6eae5b6311f26%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-28-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-28-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;New paper on pharmaceutical mergers. The conclusions are that (1) mergers boost net drug prices by a fifth and (2) don&amp;#39;t help bring new drugs to market. &lt;a href="https://t.co/r6jKchUObs"&gt;https://t.co/r6jKchUObs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1729205953915191715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 27, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1729205953915191715" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1729205953915191715&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2208270%2Fedit&sessionId=fdff92c74db9f00f3c82a1617b0b73d1b6405f77&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 776px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4631188#:~:text=Claims%20made%20by%20pharmaceutical%20companies,have%20less%20incentive%20to%20innovate." href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4631188#:~:text=Claims%20made%20by%20pharmaceutical%20companies,have%20less%20incentive%20to%20innovate." target="_blank"><strong><u>Mergers</u><u>, Prices, and Innovation: </u><u>Lessons</u><u> from the Pharmaceutical Industry (pdf)</u></strong></a></p><blockquote><p>Abstract: </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The significant surge in pharmaceutical mergers and acquisitions (M&A), averaging a 50% year-to-year increase over the last decade, has drawn concerns regarding its potential impact on consumers. Claims made by pharmaceutical companies suggest M&A, by increasing synergies, will cause innovation to increase and the firm to become more efficient, passing on lower prices to consumers. However, regulators worry firms, in gaining market power through M&A, will raise drug prices and have less incentive to innovate. The prior literature has not yet come to a consensus on how mergers and acquisitions will impact these outcomes. This paper empirically assesses M&A's effects, employing an event study design and difference-in-differences analysis along with new, more comprehensive data on innovation and net prices. I show that, upon an M&A event, firms increase research and development (R&D) spending, decrease filed patents, and do not experience significant changes in the the number of drugs passing through clinical trials compared to pre-M&A levels. Further, I show decreases in patents come from primary patents on new technologies, rather than secondary patents, suggesting that firms use M&A to substitute their internal R&D by acquiring new technologies in development from smaller firms. They then increase R&D spending to support the progression of these assets through clinical trials. However, despite financial backing, I find firms are largely unsuccessful in advancing newly acquired drugs through development. I also find, after M&A activity, net drug prices increase by 19%. These increases occur both in mergers and acquisitions where targets and acquirers have overlapping and non-overlapping therapeutic area portfolios, suggesting multiple mechanisms for price increases. Ultimately, these findings emphasize that M&A leaves consumers at a net loss, with higher drug prices and a pharmaceutical industry that is less efficient at producing the innovation that defines its business model. Therefore, it is critical that regulators consider the impact consolidation has on innovation, in addition to traditional measures like prices, when evaluating whether mergers and acquisitions are ultimately beneficial for consumers. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hec.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Bonaime_Wang_202204.pdf" href="https://www.hec.edu/sites/default/files/documents/Bonaime_Wang_202204.pdf" target="_blank">Mergers, Product Prices, and Innovation: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry (pdf)</a></strong></p><p>Alice Bonaim´e and Ye (Emma) Wang* April 2022 [DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3445753]</p><blockquote><p>Abstract<br />Using novel data from the pharmaceutical industry, we study product prices and innovation around mergers. Exploiting within-deal variation in product market consolidation, we show prices increase more within drugs in consolidating markets than within matched control drugs. Estimates indicate a 2% average price effect that persists for about one year. Price increases are more pronounced for drugs in concentrated markets and without generic competition. Examination of trade-offs reveals these deals generate significant shareholder value and spur labeling and other manufacturing-related innovation, but not new drug approvals.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://counterdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/immunity-debt-established-2021" href="https://counterdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/immunity-debt-established-2021" target="_blank">‘Immunity Debt’? Established 2021 </a></strong> </p><p>[Counter-Disinformation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“This is how one unconvincing paper and the Wall Street Journal seeded the idea of immunity debt which was then repeated and amplified by other media sources. From being mentioned in a single paper released in May, by mid July immunity debt was being treated as a well established and well known part of scientific literature. It’s astounding that the same people who dismiss so many studies as lacking rigour or not being valid because there isn’t a RCT were so quick to adopt immunity debt when you consider the time it took for covid to be accepted as being airborne, how long some have continued to debate masks, and how air filtration is still not accepted as a means to reducing transmission. The high standards required to justify measures in schools dissipated like a puff of smoke when a concept to argue against measures in schools was encountered.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/26/future-of-primary-care-family-medicine-00128547" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/26/future-of-primary-care-family-medicine-00128547" target="_blank">No one’s promising you can keep your doctor anymore</a> </strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 11-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/health/long-term-care-facilities-costs.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/health/long-term-care-facilities-costs.html" target="_blank"><strong>Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care</strong></a></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 11-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The United States has no coherent system for providing long-term care, leading many who are aging to struggle to stay independent or to rely on a patchwork of solutions.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/does-building-new-housing-cause-gentrification" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-20/does-building-new-housing-cause-gentrification" target="_blank"><strong>No, Really. Building More Housing Can Combat Rising Rents</strong></a></p><p>[CityLab, via The Big Picture 11-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...a review of recent research into the link between new housing production and apartment affordability offers new evidence that the rules of supply and demand do apply to housing: Building more can slow rent growth in cities and free up more affordable vacant units in surrounding neighborhoods, without causing significant displacement….</p><p>The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/By4MI/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4629628" href="https://archive.is/o/By4MI/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4629628" target="_blank">analysis</a>, conducted by three faculty directors at New York University’s Furman Center, speaks directly to these so-called supply skeptics. It cites dozens of studies and explains how their findings consistently debunk or complicate concerns that building more housing could do more harm than good to housing affordability.</p></blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/WAlwi#selection-653.0-673.20" href="https://archive.is/WAlwi#selection-653.0-673.20" target="_blank"><strong>Supply Skepticism Revisited </strong></a></p><p>Vicki Been, Ingrid Gould Ellen, Katherine M. O'Regan, 13 Nov 2023 [NYU Law and Economics Research Paper Forthcoming 65 Pages, via CityLab, above]</p><blockquote><p>Abstract<br />Although “supply skeptics” claim that new housing supply does not slow growth in rents, we show that rigorous recent studies demonstrate that: 1) Increases in housing supply slow the growth in rents in the region; 2) In some circumstances, new construction also reduces rents or rent growth in the surrounding area; 3) The chains of moves sparked by new construction free up apartments that are then rented (or retained) by households across the income spectrum; 4) While new supply is associated with gentrification, it has not been shown to cause significant displacement of lower income households; and 5) Easing land use restrictions, at least on a broad scale and in ways that change binding constraints on development, generally leads to more new housing over time, but only a fraction of the new capacity created because many other factors constrain the pace of new development.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www-aftonbladet-se.translate.goog/nyheter/a/KnJoLX/strejken-pa-tesla-handlar-om-mer-an-sverige?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp" href="https://www-aftonbladet-se.translate.goog/nyheter/a/KnJoLX/strejken-pa-tesla-handlar-om-mer-an-sverige?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp" target="_blank">The Tesla battle is about so much more than Sweden</a>. </strong></p><p>[Aftonbladet via machine translation, via Naked Capitalism 11-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/01/yjua-d01.html" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/12/01/yjua-d01.html" target="_blank">GM execs boast about low costs of UAW contract, hand over billions to shareholders</a></strong></p><p>[WSWS, via Naked Capitalism 12-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/gm-plans-10-billion-share-repurchase-in-bid-to-assuage-investors-35ec7075" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/gm-plans-10-billion-share-repurchase-in-bid-to-assuage-investors-35ec7075" target="_blank">GM Plans $10 Billion Stock Buyback in Bid to Assuage Investors</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 11-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/yWkzu#selection-4235.0-4238.0" href="https://archive.ph/yWkzu#selection-4235.0-4238.0" target="_blank">Meta Designed Products to Capitalize on Teen Vulnerabilities, States Allege</a></strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“An internal 2020 Meta presentation shows that the company sought to engineer its products to capitalize on the parts of youth psychology that render teens ‘predisposed to impulse, peer pressure, and potentially harmful risky behavior,’ the filings show…. ‘Teens are insatiable when it comes to ‘feel good’ dopamine effects,’ the Meta presentation shows, according to the unredacted filing, describing the company’s existing product as already well-suited to providing the sort of stimuli that trigger the potent neurotransmitter. ‘And every time one of our teen users finds something unexpected their brains deliver them a dopamine hit.’ Well-being concerns were especially pronounced for younger teens, some Meta executives involved with youth well-being issues internally acknowledged. ‘It’s not ‘regulators’ or ‘critics’ who think Instagram is unhealthy for young teens—it’s everyone from researchers and academic experts to parents,’ Karina Newton, Instagram’s head of policy, wrote in a May 2021 email cited by the attorneys general. ‘The blueprint of the app is inherently not designed for an age group that don’t have the same cognitive and emotional skills that older teens do.’ Meta says it didn’t design its products to be addictive for teens. ‘The complaint mischaracterizes our work using selective quotes and cherry-picked documents,’ said Stephanie Otway, a spokeswoman for the company.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1730230482183348520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1730230482183348520%7Ctwgr%5E11ec76fe0e04b806be4c3ffedccd6f75f768c9c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-30-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1730230482183348520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1730230482183348520%7Ctwgr%5E11ec76fe0e04b806be4c3ffedccd6f75f768c9c3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-30-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-30-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;What is Facebook’s response to the ugly stories on how it tracks and manipulates children? To apologize? To obey the Federal Trade Commission’s order to stop? Nope.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Zuckerberg just asked a court to declare the FTC unconstitutional. &lt;a href="https://t.co/xHq5O29DBW"&gt;https://t.co/xHq5O29DBW&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1730230482183348520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 30, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1730230482183348520" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1730230482183348520&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2208270%2Fedit&sessionId=fdff92c74db9f00f3c82a1617b0b73d1b6405f77&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 744px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>From the filing:</p><blockquote><p>3. In this Complaint, Meta does not seek to litigate the merits of the Commission’s accusations and findings against Meta in the FTC Proceeding. Instead, Meta challenges the constitutionality of five structural characteristics of the Commission that render the FTC Proceeding unconstitutional.</p><p>4. First, the FTC is structured so that in administrative adjudications, including the FTC Proceeding against Meta, the Commission has a dual role as prosecutor and judge in violation of the Due Process Clause….</p><p>5. Second, the Commissioners exercise executive authority while being unconstitutionally insulated from removal by the President, who can remove a Commissioner only “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” ….</p><p>6. Third, Congress unconstitutionally has delegated to the FTC the power to assign disputes to administrative adjudication rather than litigating them before an Article III court….</p><p>7. Fourth, the FTC adjudicates private rights in violation of Article III….</p><p>8. Fifth, adjudication of these issues by the Commission in a proceeding that affords Meta no right to a trial by jury—and pursuant to a statutory scheme that provides for the potential future imposition of civil penalties, see 15 U.S.C. § 45(l)—violates Meta’s right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://public.substack.com/p/ctil-files-1-us-and-uk-military-contractors" href="https://public.substack.com/p/ctil-files-1-us-and-uk-military-contractors" target="_blank">CTIL Files #1: US And UK Military Contractors Created Sweeping Plan For Global Censorship In 2018, New Documents Show</a></strong></p><p>Michael Shellenberger, Alex Gutentag, and Matt Taibbi [Public, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Now, a large trove of new documents, including strategy documents, training videos, presentations, and internal messages, reveal that, in 2019, US and UK military and intelligence contractors led by a former UK defense researcher, Sara-Jayne ‘SJ’ Terp, developed the sweeping censorship framework. These contractors co-led CTIL, which partnered with CISA in the spring of 2020. In truth, the building of the Censorship Industrial Complex began even earlier — in 2018. Internal [Cyber Threat Intelligence League (CTIL) Slack messages show Terp, her colleagues, and officials from DHS and Facebook all working closely together in the censorship process. The CTIL framework and the public-private model are the seeds of what both the US and UK would put into place in 2020 and 2021, including masking censorship within cybersecurity institutions and counter-disinformation agendas; a heavy focus on stopping disfavored narratives, not just wrong facts; and pressuring social media platforms to take down information or take other actions to prevent content from going viral.” Gramsci urges, somewhere, that state and civil society can be separated <em>only as objects of study</em>. That is, we cannot think of the State as a single entity, a la the “Deep State.” Both are aspects of the same governing class of people, all playing their roles (sometimes multiple roles) in parallel and intersecting fields. As for example: “According to the whistleblower, roughly 12-20 active people involved in CTIL worked at the FBI or CISA. “For a while, they had their agency seals — FBI, CISA, whatever — next to your name,” on the Slack messaging service, said the whistleblower.” • Janine Wedel’s model of networked “Flexians” (<em>The Shadow Elites</em>) is far better framework to approach understanding these developments; I should really review it one day. Anyhow, here is Taibbi’s accompanying video:</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/anti-disinformation-is-a-partisan" href="https://www.racket.news/p/anti-disinformation-is-a-partisan" target="_blank">“Anti-Disinformation” Is a Partisan Con</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Taibbi [via Naked Capitalism 11-29-2023]</p><p><br /><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/business/dubai-water-desalination.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/18/business/dubai-water-desalination.html" target="_blank"><strong>Dubai’s Costly Water World</strong></a></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 11-27-2023]</p><blockquote><div><div>The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority supplies water to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dsc.gov.ae/en-us" href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dsc.gov.ae/en-us" target="_blank">more than 3.6 million residents</a> along with the city’s active daytime population of more than 4.7 million visitors, according to a 2022 <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/sustainability/sustainability-reports" href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/sustainability/sustainability-reports" target="_blank">sustainability report</a>. By 2040, the utility expects these numbers to grow, increasing the demand for clean water. </div><div><br /></div><div>The city desalinated approximately 163.6 billion gallons of water last year, according to the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/sustainability/sustainability-reports" href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/consumer/sustainability/sustainability-reports" target="_blank">sustainability report</a>. For each gallon of desalinated water produced in the Gulf, an average of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718349167" href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969718349167" target="_blank">a gallon and a half of brine</a> is released into the ocean.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>In Dubai, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/about-us/media-publications/latest-news/2022/10/dewas-jebel-ali-power-plant-and-water-desalination-complex--enters-guinness-world-records" href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.dewa.gov.ae/en/about-us/media-publications/latest-news/2022/10/dewas-jebel-ali-power-plant-and-water-desalination-complex--enters-guinness-world-records" target="_blank">Jebel Ali Power and Desalination Complex</a> — the largest facility of its kind in the world — pipes water from the sea, sending it through a series of treatment phases, then to the city as drinkable water. But Jebel Ali’s 43 desalination plants are powered by fossil fuels. The U.A.E. produced more than <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.statista.com/statistics/486080/co2-emissions-united-arab-emirates-fossil-fuel-and-industrial-purposes/%23:~:text=The%20UAE%20currently%20produces%20some,20%20metric%20tons%20per%20person." href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.statista.com/statistics/486080/co2-emissions-united-arab-emirates-fossil-fuel-and-industrial-purposes/%23:~:text=The%20UAE%20currently%20produces%20some,20%20metric%20tons%20per%20person." target="_blank">200 million tons of carbon in 2022</a>, among the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.statista.com/statistics/270508/co2-emissions-per-capita-by-country/" href="https://archive.is/o/oWLbJ/https://www.statista.com/statistics/270508/co2-emissions-per-capita-by-country/" target="_blank">highest emissions per capita worldwide</a>.</div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12784315/Oil-gas-giants-cash-climate-crisis-helped-cause-Melting-ice-exposes-new-petroleum-reservoirs-Arctic-worth-7TRILLION-dubbed-modern-day-gold-rush.html" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12784315/Oil-gas-giants-cash-climate-crisis-helped-cause-Melting-ice-exposes-new-petroleum-reservoirs-Arctic-worth-7TRILLION-dubbed-modern-day-gold-rush.html" target="_blank">Oil and gas giants to cash in on climate crisis they helped cause: Melting ice exposes new petroleum reservoirs in the Arctic worth $7TRILLION – in what is being dubbed a ‘modern day gold rush’</a> </strong></p><p>[Daily Mail, via Naked Capitalism 11-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-asbestos-times" href="https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-asbestos-times" target="_blank"><strong>The asbestos times</strong></a></p><p>[Works in Progress, via The Big Picture 11-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Asbestos was a miracle material, virtually impervious to fire. But as we fixed city fires in other ways, we came to learn about its horrific downsides. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://grist.org/energy/ev-batteries-stationary-storage/" href="https://grist.org/energy/ev-batteries-stationary-storage/" target="_blank"><strong>Where could millions of EV batteries retire? Solar farms</strong></a></p><p>[Grist, via The Big Picture 12-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A Southern California company is showing how repurposing EV batteries for stationary storage can extend their usefulness for several years. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Plutocracy results in oligarchy </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://crookedtimber.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/svseminarfinal.pdf" href="https://crookedtimber.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/svseminarfinal.pdf" target="_blank">The Ideologies of Silicon Valley</a> (PDF) </strong></p><p>[Crooked Timber]</p><p>A Crooked Timber Seminar, November 2023</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Silicon Valley’s worldview is not just an ideology; it’s a personality disorder</strong>: Silicon Valley’s ideology is this: Libertarianism for me. Feudalism for thee. (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://crookedtimber.org/2023/11/15/silicon-valleys-worldview-is-not-just-an-ideology-its-a-personality-disorder/" href="https://crookedtimber.org/2023/11/15/silicon-valleys-worldview-is-not-just-an-ideology-its-a-personality-disorder/" target="_blank">Crooked Timber</a>, via The Big Picture 11-26-2023]</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/25/we-will-coup-whoever-we-want-the-unbearable-hubris-of-musk-and-the-billionaire-tech-bros" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/25/we-will-coup-whoever-we-want-the-unbearable-hubris-of-musk-and-the-billionaire-tech-bros" target="_blank">‘We will coup whoever we want!’: the unbearable hubris of Musk and the billionaire tech bros</a> </strong></p><p>[Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Unlike their forebears, contemporary billionaires do not hope to build the biggest house in town, but the biggest colony on the moon, underground lair in New Zealand, or virtual reality server in the cloud. In contrast, however avaricious, the titans of past gilded eras still saw themselves as human members of civil society. Contemporary billionaires appear to understand civics and civilians as impediments to their progress, necessary victims of the externalities of their companies’ growth, sad artefacts of the civilisation they will leave behind in their inexorable colonisation of the next dimension.</p><p>While plans for Peter Thiel’s 193-hectare (477-acre) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/01/peter-thiel-files-plans-to-build-luxury-lodge-on-new-zealand-estate.html" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/01/peter-thiel-files-plans-to-build-luxury-lodge-on-new-zealand-estate.html">“doomsday” escape</a>, complete with spa, theatre, meditation lounge and library, were ultimately <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/18/peter-thiel-refused-consent-for-sprawling-lodge-in-new-zealand-local-council" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/18/peter-thiel-refused-consent-for-sprawling-lodge-in-new-zealand-local-council">rejected on environmental grounds</a>, he still wants to build a startup community that floats on the ocean, where so-called <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.seasteading.org/about/" href="https://www.seasteading.org/about/">seasteaders</a> can live beyond government regulation as well as whatever disasters may befall us back on the continents.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.marketplace.org/2021/01/19/why-rich-people-tend-think-they-deserve-their-money/" href="https://www.marketplace.org/2021/01/19/why-rich-people-tend-think-they-deserve-their-money/" target="_blank">Why rich people tend to think they deserve their money</a> </strong></p><p>[Marketplace, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><p>[Lambert Strether: “From 2021, still germane.”]</p><blockquote><p>“One experiment by psychologists at the University of California, Irvine, invited pairs of strangers to play a rigged Monopoly game where a coin flip designated one player rich and one poor. The rich players received twice as much money as their opponent to begin with; as they played the game, they got to roll two dice instead of one and move around the board twice as fast as their opponent; when they passed ‘Go,’ they collected $200 to their opponent’s $100…. In various ways — through body language and boasting about their wealth, by smacking their pieces loudly against the playing board and making light of their opponents’ misfortune — the rich players began to act as though they deserved the good fortune that was largely a result of their lucky roll of the dice. At the end of the game, when researchers asked the rich players why they had won the game, not one person attributed it to luck. ‘They don’t talk about the flip of the coin. They talk about the things that they did. They talk about their acumen, they talk about their competencies, they talk about this decision or that decision,’ that contributed to their win, [psychologist Paul Piff] said in an interview with host David Brancaccio. Piff said the experiment reveals a fundamental bias that most humans share. ‘When something good happens to you, we think about the things that we did that contributed to that success,’ Piff said.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2ciny5094pjy0szsmcp34/corner-office/new-billionaires-are-inheriting-more-wealth-than-creating-it-and-shaking-up-portfolios" href="https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2ciny5094pjy0szsmcp34/corner-office/new-billionaires-are-inheriting-more-wealth-than-creating-it-and-shaking-up-portfolios" target="_blank"><strong>New Billionaires Are Inheriting More Wealth Than Creating It — And Shaking Up Portfolios</strong></a></p><p>[Institutional Investor, via The Big Picture 12-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Over the coming decades, about a thousand billionaires will pass on an estimated $5.2 trillion and the inheritors have their own plans for those assets. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/3944234e-e3b4-46fa-8c2f-cadec780ecb4" href="https://www.ft.com/content/3944234e-e3b4-46fa-8c2f-cadec780ecb4" target="_blank">Billionaires amass more through inheritance than wealth creation, says UBS</a> </strong> </p><p>[Financial Times, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 12-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“‘The heirs to billionaires are gaining prominence,’ said Benjamin Cavalli, UBS’s head of global wealth management strategic clients. ‘New billionaires minted during this year’s study period accumulated more wealth through inheritance than entrepreneurship. That’s a theme we expect to see more of over the next 20 to 30 years, as more than 1,000 billionaires pass an estimated $5.2tn to their children.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The oligarchy’s corrosive effects on Democrats and democrats</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/27/israel-democrats-aipac-book/" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/27/israel-democrats-aipac-book/" target="_blank">A Big-Money Operation Purged Critics of Israel From the Democratic Party</a> </strong></p><p>[Intercept, via Naked Capitalism 11-28-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/deanbphillips/status/1722369162171851084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722369162171851084%7Ctwgr%5E3fc90763e54d2573a567ba5a816a2f33748d97af%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-28-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/deanbphillips/status/1722369162171851084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722369162171851084%7Ctwgr%5E3fc90763e54d2573a567ba5a816a2f33748d97af%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-28-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I have an apology to make to &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@BernieSanders&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I had long dismissed his complaints about the rigged Democratic Party primary system. But you know what? He was right. And I apologize, Bernie.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Voter suppression (NH), candidate suppression (ballot access), and debate suppression…&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Dean Phillips (@deanbphillips) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/deanbphillips/status/1722369162171851084?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 8, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1722369162171851084" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1722369162171851084&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2208270%2Fedit&sessionId=fdff92c74db9f00f3c82a1617b0b73d1b6405f77&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 393px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: repeat rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/whither-the-squad" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/whither-the-squad" target="_blank">Whither The Squad? If you’re someone who hungered for a political revolution, an actual one, Ryan Grim's new book is for you.</a></strong></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, November 29, 2023 [God's Spies]</p><blockquote><p>...This conundrum and others surrounding the Squad — a group of progressive House members with Justice Democrat roots — are wonderfully covered in Ryan Grim’s new book, apply named <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250869081/thesquad" href="https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250869081/thesquad">The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution</a>.</em></p><p>The question the book addresses, and the one I hoped it would address when I learned he was writing it, is the same one that Kyle Kulinski, a founder of Justice Democrats, has regularly asked:</p><p><em>The Justice Democrats group was formed to create in the House a “Tea Party on the left” with all that that implies. So, what the hell happened to them?</em></p><p>A great way to preview the book is to listen to the interview linked at the top. Kyle Kulinski and Krystal Ball speak with the author, Ryan Grim, and cover a lot of the book’s material — the Squad members themselves, their history as a group, their future, notable controversies, and why in hell the Israeli government, through its goon squad (sorry, domestic lobbying arm) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/27/israel-democrats-aipac-book/" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/11/27/israel-democrats-aipac-book/">is spending a ton of cash to see them defeated</a>.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-haleys-hawks-brought-carnage-to-ukraine/" href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-haleys-hawks-brought-carnage-to-ukraine/" target="_blank">How Haley’s Hawks Brought Carnage to Ukraine </a></strong></p><p>[The American Conservative, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“[T]he ‘responsible people’ are determined to maintain their perches of responsibility—which is to say, their power. On the right, this means a concerted push to manufacture enthusiasm for Nikki Haley’s challenge to Donald Trump in the GOP primary. A $1,000-per-ticket fundraiser for Haley on Nov. 13, previously unreported elsewhere, opened a revealing window onto this effort…. The host committee was a who’s who of the sorts of “responsible people” who plunged the United States into two fruitless wars in the two decades after 9/11 and/or served as hired guns for various foreign regimes and companies.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/2024-not-another-lesser-of-two-evils-election-way-beyond-that" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/2024-not-another-lesser-of-two-evils-election-way-beyond-that" target="_blank">2024— Not Another Lesser Of Two Evils Election… Way Beyond That</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, December 1, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>I didn’t vote to reelect Obama in 2012 and I didn’t vote for Hillary or Biden. I’m long done with supporting the Democraps' lesser evil election strategy. But 2024 is way, way beyond a lesser of two evils confrontation. I’m seeing this as an existential choice and I feel like I really have no responsible option other than to vote for Biden, as much as I don’t want to. Trump is just too dangerous.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-11-27-far-right-blueprint-america/" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-11-27-far-right-blueprint-america/" target="_blank">The Blueprint</a></strong></p><p>Harold Meyerson, November 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>“Earlier this year, Project 2025 <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.project2025.org/news/press-releases/project-2025-publishes-comprehensive-policy-guide-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise/" href="https://www.project2025.org/news/press-releases/project-2025-publishes-comprehensive-policy-guide-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise/" target="_blank">published</a> a 920-page manifesto called Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, laying out its agenda for Trump or any other Republican who should win the White House. The book consists chiefly of the world’s longest enemies list, with detailed instructions on how to target them, oust them, and reverse their policies, both real and imagined.” Another way of saying this is that Republicans have always been a more serious party than Democrats, at least in my lifetime. Contrast Obama, who, for example, rationalized and legitimized Bush’s felonious program of warrantless surveillance, and looked forward and not backward on torture. To be fair, Obama probably didn’t consider spooks “enemies.” More: “This is not the first time Heritage has sketched out a blueprint for a conservative presidency. In 1980, the think tank aided another neophyte politician with revolutionary aspirations—Ronald Reagan—with a report, also called Mandate for Leadership, that stretched to 1,100 pages and covered virtually every nook and cranny of government…. A subsequent edition of Mandate for Leadership has been produced for every presidential election since 1980. This iteration, very much in the spirit of Trump, is lighter on policy and heavier on retribution…. Heritage’s knowledge of the federal vacancy process becomes useful. Under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, for most federal agencies, a vacancy at the top means that the next available deputy becomes the acting head. Project 2025 sees a path to manipulating this law to ensure loyalists take control. ‘Where a career employee holds a leadership position,’ explains Ken Cuccinelli, the former acting deputy homeland security secretary under Trump, ‘that position should be deemed vacant for line-of-succession purposes, and the next eligible political appointee in the sequence should assume acting authority.’ Other authors call for political appointees to be put into the line of succession directly, ‘selected by the President-elect’s transition team’ and ‘in place the first day of the Administration.’ This gambit would hand over the administrative state to those dedicated to crushing it. That would combine with the restoration of Trump’s October 2020 ‘Schedule F’ order, which would reassign up to 50,000 civil service workers with a designation that robs them of employment protections, making them easier to terminate. So the leadership of executive branch agencies would be ideologues, and many bureaucrats under their care could be fired at will.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-s-blueprint-for-american-fascism-is-real-and-his-fans-have-no-problem-with-that-at-all" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-s-blueprint-for-american-fascism-is-real-and-his-fans-have-no-problem-with-that-at-all" target="_blank">Trump's Blueprint For American Fascism Is Real-- And His Fans Have No Problem With That At All</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, November 28, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>...<em>Donald</em> P. Moynihan … [is] an Irish-American political scientist, who wrote the highly acclaimed book <em>The Dynamics of Performance Management: Constructing Information and Reform</em>. He teaches at Georgetown and yesterday the NY Times published his guest essay, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/27/opinion/trump-deep-state-schedule-f.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/27/opinion/trump-deep-state-schedule-f.html" target="_blank"><u>Trump Has a Master Plan for Destroying the ‘Deep State’</u></a>. His field is bureaucracies and urges everyone who would normally ignore the topic— pretty much everyone other than his students— to start paying attention since Señor Trumpanzee has some plans: “‘Either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state.’ This is not an empty threat. He has a real and plausible plan to utterly transform American government. It will undermine the quality of that government and it will threaten our democracy… This plan would elevate personal fealty to Mr. Trump as the central value in government employment, processes and institutions. It has three major parts.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/major-anti-trump-group-set-endorse-republican-rivals/story?id=105206338&cid=social_twitter_abcn" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/major-anti-trump-group-set-endorse-republican-rivals/story?id=105206338&cid=social_twitter_abcn" target="_blank"><strong>Charles Koch’s anti-Trump group endorses Nikki Haley in Republican primary</strong></a></p><p>[ABC, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“[Americans for Prosperity Action, the] Koch-backed group stayed out of the 2016 and 2020 presidential cycles but has significant resources to try and boost Haley’s campaign, though AFP Action is so far staying mum on how much it plans to spend. The group reported raising more than $70 million in its last public filing, in June, with $25 million coming from Koch himself and another $25 million from one of his nonprofit groups… AFP Action thinks it can make a difference: ABC News reviewed several internal memos, based on the organization’s polling and door-knocking operations in early states, suggesting that about four in 10 GOP voters in Iowa and New Hampshire say the primary campaign ‘hasn’t begun’ or has ‘just started.’ AFP Action also believes that three in four Republicans are open to a Trump alternative if they think that person has a better chance of winning.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><br /></div><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/15/big-lie-fox-news-brian-stelter-book-00127133" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/15/big-lie-fox-news-brian-stelter-book-00127133" target="_blank"><strong>‘Tons of Crazy’: The Inside Story of How Fox Fell for the ‘Big Lie’</strong> </a></p><p>[Politico, via The Big Picture 11-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A play-by-play from inside Fox reveals how the network poisoned politics — and lost $787.5 million. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/louisiana-judges-ignored-prisoners-petitions-without-review-fifth-circuit" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/louisiana-judges-ignored-prisoners-petitions-without-review-fifth-circuit" target="_blank"><strong>They Tried to Expose Louisiana Judges Who Had Systematically Ignored Prisoners’ Petitions. No One Listened: The Scandal That Never Happened </strong></a></p><p>[ProPublica, via The Big Picture 11-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Years ago, the all-white judges of a Louisiana appellate court decided, in secret, to systematically ignore petitions filed by prisoners, most of them Black, who claimed they had been unjustly convicted.This is the story of a horrendous injustice and the three people who tried to expose it. It begins with a suicide note. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/republican-officials-are-petrified-of-young-voters-especially-the-educated-ones" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/republican-officials-are-petrified-of-young-voters-especially-the-educated-ones" target="_blank">Republican Officials Are Petrified Of Young Voters— Especially The Educated Ones</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, November 30, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-is-a-weak-general-election-candidate-picking-marjorie-traitor-greene-for-vp-slot-palin-ii" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-is-a-weak-general-election-candidate-picking-marjorie-traitor-greene-for-vp-slot-palin-ii" target="_blank">Trump Is A Weak General Election Candidate… If Trump Runs On Medicare-For-All, He Could Win</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, November 28, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>Yesterday, historian Harvey J Kaye <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/harveyjkaye/status/1728903476090958141" href="https://twitter.com/harveyjkaye/status/1728903476090958141" target="_blank"><u>tweeted a couple of paragraphs</u></a> about America’s last great president. It’s worth reading if you missed it: “Yes, we have a lot to learn from FDR about how to confront the fascist threat in America: Running for President in the midst of the Great Depression in 1932, Roosevelt had come to see that the only way to save American democratic life was to radically enhance it— and he believed that most Americans had come to see that too. Unlike so many of his station, FDR did not fear Americans’ democratic impulses. He feared what might happen if they were too long thwarted, with Fascist Italy and Communist Russia as prime examples. In fact, two years earlier, on May 12, 1930, he had written to his friend John Kingsbury, a leading authority on social welfare, saying: ‘There is no question in my mind that it is time for the country to become fairly radical for at least one generation. History shows that where this occurs occasionally, nations are saved from revolution.’ And when Roosevelt did win the White House, he acted to encourage, empower, and mobilize Americans, especially working people, to join him in democratically harnessing the powers of government and making America ‘fairly radical for at least a generation.’</p><p>“Together, President and people redeemed the nation’s promise by initiating revolutionary changes in American government and public life. They subjected business and banking to public account and regulation; empowered government to address the needs of working people and the poor; organized labor unions, consumer campaigns, and civil-rights groups to fight for their rights and broaden and level the ‘We’ in ‘We the People;’ established a social security system; built schools, libraries, post offices, and parks all across country; vastly expanded the nation’s public infrastructure with new roads, bridges, tunnels, and dams; dramatically improved the American landscape and environment; and energetically cultivated the arts and refashioned popular culture (just think Swing Music). Moreover, while much remained to be done, they had imbued themselves with fresh democratic convictions, hopes, and aspirations— which enabled them confront and defeat Fascism overseas.”</p></blockquote><p>[TW: In her new book, <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717588/democracy-awakening-by-heather-cox-richardson/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717588/democracy-awakening-by-heather-cox-richardson/" target="_blank" title="">Democracy Awakening</a></em>, Heather Cox Richardson begins by asking why the USA avoided fascism in the 1930s. She credits Franklin Roosevelt for providing a persistent and understandable explanation of why democracy — and defending it — was important. By contrast, of course, Germany’s leaders sought to blame the Jews for their society’s economic misery. But I think Richardson fails to elevate one important element in FDR’s successful defense of democracy: he explicitly blamed the rich, the “economic royalists,” for the Great Depression, and “welcomed their hatred.” Of course, it was also important to provide hope for a better economic future, which is exactly what FDR’s New Deal did. During the winter of 1933-34, the Civil Works Administration under Harry Hopkins, put four million people to work, giving them the income to literally avoid starvation. Compare that to Barack Obama tolerating millions of Americans to lose their homes to foreclosure fraud. And Democratic Party elites still wonder how Trump won in 2016 to succeed Obama,] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-12-01-biden-economy-election/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Biden, the Economy, and the Election</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Robert Kuttner, December 1, 2023 [The American Prospect]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>...the public’s negative view of the economy should not be a major puzzle at all. Ordinary people have been taking it on the chin for about four decades, during which time virtually all GDP gains were captured by the very rich. People suffered more during the COVID inflation despite Biden’s heroic efforts to mitigate that suffering, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/23/biden-social-safety-net-2024-00128488" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/23/biden-social-safety-net-2024-00128488" target="_blank" title="">those relief programs are now expiring</a>.</p><p>The economy’s deep structural changes include more gig jobs and fewer real payroll jobs, a far less reliable retirement system, impossible costs of both rental housing and homeownership, and a crushing debt-for-diploma system. (Borrowers just started paying on those student loans again after a three-year hiatus.) A few months of modest statistical improvement in real wage growth outstripping inflation doesn’t change those fundamentals, and thus doesn’t change attitudes….</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-inflation-economy-cost-of-living/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-inflation-economy-cost-of-living/" target="_blank" title="">Bloomberg just ran a devastating piece</a>, item by item, on just how much highly visible costs to consumers (rent, insurance, electricity, groceries, meals out) have risen since the pandemic began in 2020. Some of these price hikes reflect pure gouging by ever more concentrated sellers; and it helps when Biden goes after them, as he did in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/27/white-house-supply-chain-bidenomics-wins.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/27/white-house-supply-chain-bidenomics-wins.html" target="_blank" title="">this recent speech</a>….<br /></p><p>You owe it to yourself to read several recent chilling pieces on Trump’s increasingly open embrace of fascism and the very genuine risk that he could defeat a struggling Biden—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/30/trump-dictator-2024-election-robert-kagan/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/30/trump-dictator-2024-election-robert-kagan/" target="_blank" title="">especially this one by Robert Kagan</a>, this earlier <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/opinion/trump-danger-rage-psychology.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/22/opinion/trump-danger-rage-psychology.html" target="_blank" title="">piece by Tom Edsall</a>, and this one <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-11-27-far-right-blueprint-america/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-11-27-far-right-blueprint-america/" title="">from our own Harold Meyerson</a>.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: There have now been a number of articles exploring why Americans remain so pessimistic and discontented about the economy. None have yet considered that the radical redistribution to the already rich of over $50 trillion in the past half century has created a plutocracy, which has fundamentally corrupted the political system of the country. It’s going to take much more than just some annual wage gains alter what people correctly perceive is a “rigged system.”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-12-01-democracys-deserters-levitsky-ziblatt-review/" target="_blank" title="">Democracy’s Deserters: How did we get to the breaking point in American politics?</a></strong></p><p>Aziz Z. Huq, December 1, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><p>Reviewed: </p><blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780593443071" data-original-title="" href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780593443071" target="_blank" title=""><strong><em>Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point</em></strong></a></p><p>By Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, <em>Crown</em></p><p><em>….</em><br /></p><p>All this seems true enough, but I’m skeptical it’s the whole story. For one thing, the story has an American accent—but democratic backsliding is a global phenomenon. For another thing, it’s hard to believe that racial resentment can carry the whole explanatory load that Levitsky and Ziblatt want to heft onto it. An obvious blank spot in their account is economic class. In the teeth of lively debate among scholars as to whether racial and cultural change or economic shifts better explain voters’ increasing indifference to democratic norms, Levitsky and Ziblatt appear to side almost completely with the first strain of explanation. Nearly absent from their narrative is the neoliberal turn in American public policy and the subsequent growth of financial and corporate power at the expense of labor, which began under Jimmy Carter and persisted under administrations of both parties.</p><p>By omitting that strand of recent history, Levitsky and Ziblatt need say nothing about the fealty of Democratic elites to regressive free-market nostrums. Perhaps there is more than one way, though, of shucking off democratic norms. A shift from listening to the median-earning voter to hearing only the well-off might also result in their erosion. The net effect of these gaps in <em>Tyranny of the Minority</em> is to absolve political elites of responsibility for their abandonment of working-class voters and the opening they provided for figures like Trump. It also closes off reflection on economic policy as an instrument in the pro-democracy tool kit…..</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><em></em><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society assault on the Constitution</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/securities-and-exchange-commission-v-jarkesy-supreme-court/676059/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/securities-and-exchange-commission-v-jarkesy-supreme-court/676059/" target="_blank" title="">The Case That Could Destroy the Government</a> </strong></p><p>Noah Rosenblum [Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>This Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a case that poses the most direct challenge yet to the legitimacy of the modern federal government. The right-wing legal movement’s target is the “administrative state”—the agencies and institutions that set standards for safety in the workplace, limit environmental hazards and damage, and impose rules on financial markets to ensure their stability and basic fairness, among many other important things. The case, <em>Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy</em>, threatens all of that. Terrifyingly, this gambit might succeed.</p><p>The case involves garden-variety securities fraud. George R. Jarkesy Jr., a right-wing activist and conservative-radio talk-show host, ran a pair of investment funds with $24 million in assets. But he misrepresented how the funds were run, paid himself and his partner exorbitant fees, and inflated the assets’ value. As punishment, the SEC fined him several hundred thousand dollars and prohibited him from working in some parts of the securities industry—very standard stuff….</p><p>Jarkesy’s most far-reaching constitutional argument is built on the “nondelegation doctrine,” which holds that there may be some limits on the kinds of powers that Congress can give to agencies. Jarkesy argues that, when Congress gave the SEC the power to decide whether to bring enforcement actions in court or in front of an independent agency adjudicator, it gave away a core legislative function. It thus violated the doctrine and engaged in an unconstitutional delegation….</p><p>This is wild stuff. Not long ago, a lawyer would have been laughed out of court for making such nondelegation claims. Today, they’d have a good chance of destroying the federal government’s administrative capacity—taking down its ability to protect Americans’ health and safety while unleashing fraud in the financial markets.</p><p>Whether Congress’s grant of authority to the SEC was constitutional should not be a close question. Congress has delegated expansive authority to government agencies since the dawn of the republic.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/justices-to-consider-multi-pronged-constitutional-attack-on-sec/" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/justices-to-consider-multi-pronged-constitutional-attack-on-sec/" target="_blank"><strong>Supreme Court to consider multi-pronged constitutional attack on SEC</strong></a> </p><p>[SCOTUSblog, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The argument on Wednesday in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy will present a remarkable spectacle of three entirely distinct constitutional challenges to wholly disparate attributes of the SEC. Ordinarily, the ability of the justices to control their docket would allow them to wait on each question for the development of a circuit conflict and select a suitable case in which to resolve each issue. But in this case a bold (I did not say “rogue”) panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit accepted all three arguments and invalidated three aspects of the SEC’s operations. To leave the decision unreviewed would force Congress to revise substantially the affected portions of the securities laws solely based on the opinion of one divided lower court panel – hence, the Supreme Court’s buffet of constitutional law topics on Wednesday morning…. The first question before the justices is whether Congress constitutionally authorized the agency to adjudicate administrative proceedings that impose monetary penalties. That raises a question under the court’s deeply fraught doctrine of “public rights,” which offers an exception to the Seventh Amendment jury trial requirement. …. The second question is whether Congress can delegate to the SEC the power to decide whether a case should be pursued as an administrative proceeding or as a civil enforcement action – that is, within the agency or in a federal district court. … The third question in the case is whether the Constitution allows Congress to give the SEC’s administrative law judges protection from removal.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/homenews/4323743-supreme-court-moore-tax-case/" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/4323743-supreme-court-moore-tax-case/" target="_blank">Supreme Court to consider ‘quadrillion-dollar question’ in major tax case</a></strong></p><p>[The Hill, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“At issue in Moore v. United States is the question of whether the federal government can tax certain types of “unrealized” gains, which are property like stocks or bonds that people own but from which they haven’t directly recouped the value, so they don’t have direct access to the money that the property is worth…. Even if the court limits the scope of its decision to the specific tax referenced in the case, known as the mandatory repatriation tax, a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could cost $340 billion over the next decade, according to the Justice Department…. Critics of a blanket constitutional requirement for realization say the idea is trumped up, and it’s really just about the timing of when an asset is allowed to be taxed for accounting purposes. They point to a 1940 decision in Helvering v. Horst finding that ‘the rule that income is not taxable until realized has never been taken to mean that the taxpayer … can escape taxation because he has not himself received payment of it from his obligor.’ This is because the taxpayer ‘has fully enjoyed the benefit of the economic gain represented by his right to receive income,’ the court found. As such, the requirement was considered to be ‘founded on administrative convenience’ and ‘not one of exemption from taxation.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/the-new-scotus-code-of-conduct/" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/the-new-scotus-code-of-conduct/" target="_blank">The new SCOTUS Code of Conduct</a></strong></p><p>[SCOTUSblog, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“There are things to like about the Code of Conduct that the Supreme Court promulgated earlier this month. It is a bona fide code of conduct—one that, in the main, tracks the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. It follows the same structure, features the same five canons, and includes most of the same provisions that are worded in the same way…. And it is not fair to condemn the new code as toothless because it includes no enforcement mechanism. That said, there are some problematic differences between the new SCOTUS Code and the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges…. The new code does not impose a duty to ‘be faithful to…the law,’ as required by Canon 3(A)(1) of the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges. It is possible that this duty was thought redundant of the Canon 2(A) obligation to ‘respect and comply with the law’ (which the court retained). <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reporters_Notes_to_the_Model_Code_of_Jud/YRfjclaU1zQC?hl=en&gbpv=1" href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Reporters_Notes_to_the_Model_Code_of_Jud/YRfjclaU1zQC?hl=en&gbpv=1" target="_blank">The obligation to respect and comply with the law, however, concerns the duty to abide by the law in a judge’s daily life, while the duty to be faithful to the law concerns a duty to uphold and apply the law </a>when deciding cases. For justices under increased fire for ideological, partisan-seeming decision-making, the optics of the court exempting itself from a duty to uphold and apply the law is unfortunate….. The new SCOTUS Code qualifies the statutory duty to disqualify when a justice’s ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned’ by adding language interpreting it to mean that ‘an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.’ While consistent with interpretive precedent, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1222&context=facbooks" data-original-title="" href="https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1222&context=facbooks" target="_blank" title="">this clause is cherry-picked to omit guidance that the ‘reasonable person’ is not a judge but an outside observer</a>, who is less inclined than a judge to credit the judge’s impartiality. ”</p></blockquote><p><em></em><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-51490810515716363152023-11-26T12:53:00.002-06:002023-12-12T12:18:45.820-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 26, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 26, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The deep state unleashed oligarchy </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/22/patrick-lawrence-what-died-60-years-ago/" data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/22/patrick-lawrence-what-died-60-years-ago/" target="_blank" title="">Patrick Lawrence: What Died 60 Years Ago?</a><a data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/22/patrick-lawrence-what-died-60-years-ago/" target="_blank" title=""> A President and a Nation’s Promise</a></strong><strong></strong></p><p>[Scheerpost, via Naked Capitalism 11-24-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/22/2200353/-Why-Has-America-Tolerated-Six-Illegitimate-GOP-Presidents?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/22/2200353/-Why-Has-America-Tolerated-Six-Illegitimate-GOP-Presidents?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Why Has America Tolerated Six Illegitimate GOP Presidents?</strong></a></p><p>Thom Hartmann, November 22, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p>...it’s important to remember that Dwight Eisenhower was the last Republican president who believed in democracy, the rule of law, and that government should prioritize what the people want…. </p><p>This has brought us a series of criminal Republican presidents and corrupt Republican Supreme Court justices, who’ve legalized political bribery while devastating voting and civil rights.</p><p>None of this was a mistake or an accident, because none of these people truly believed in democracy.</p><p>This rejection of democracy and turn toward criminality and it’s logical end-point, fascism, started in the modern GOP with Richard Nixon….</p><p>[Nixon sabotaged peace in Vietnam to win the 1968 election]</p><p>Next up was Ronald Reagan. He not only didn’t believe in democracy, he didn’t even believe in the American government….During the Carter/Reagan election battle of 1980, then-President Carter had reached a deal with newly-elected Iranian President Abdolhassan Bani-Sadr to release the fifty-two hostages held by students at the American Embassy in Tehran. </p><p>[This deal was sabotaged by Reagan by creating the illegals Iran-Contra arms deal.]</p><p>...Fifty-four years of Republican presidents using treason to achieve the White House (or inheriting it from one who did) has transformed America and dramatically weakened our democracy.</p><p>Those presidents have contributed their own damages to the rule of law and democracy in America, but their cynical Supreme Court appointments have arguably done the most lasting damage.</p><p>Republican appointees on the Court during this time have gutted the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, union rights, the Affordable Care Act, and legalized Republican voter purges. They legalized the bribery of politicians by billionaires and corporations….</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/opinion/cass-sunstein-why-liberal.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AU0.rPqr.aeFXcCNSncXS&smid=url-share" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/20/opinion/cass-sunstein-why-liberal.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AU0.rPqr.aeFXcCNSncXS&smid=url-share" target="_blank" title="">Why I Am a Liberal</a> </strong></p><p>Cass Sunstein [New York Times, via Heather Cox Richardson, <a data-original-title="" href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-20-2023" target="_blank" title="">November 21, 2023, Letters from an American</a>]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p>In the <em>New York Times</em> today, legal scholar Cass Sunstein warned that “[o]n the left, some people insist that liberalism is exhausted and dying, and unable to handle the problems posed by entrenched inequalities, corporate power and environmental degradation. On the right, some people think that liberalism is responsible for the collapse of traditional values, rampant criminality, disrespect for authority and widespread immorality.”</p><p>Sunstein went on to defend liberalism in a 34-point description, but his first point was the most important: “Liberals believe in six things,” he wrote: “freedom, human rights, pluralism, security, the rule of law and democracy,” including fact-based debate and accountability of elected officials to the people.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-13/anger-is-what-s-driving-the-us-economy" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-13/anger-is-what-s-driving-the-us-economy" target="_blank" title="">Anger Is What’s Driving the US Economy</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023] </p><p>“A deep-seated anger about how the economy is ‘rigged’ <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/01/09/70-of-americans-say-u-s-economic-system-unfairly-favors-the-powerful/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/01/09/70-of-americans-say-u-s-economic-system-unfairly-favors-the-powerful/" target="_blank" title="">has been simmering</a> since long before the pandemic.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/TorstenBell/status/1727665230426063229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727665230426063229%7Ctwgr%5E86d7f885dfefd5ab33a745300514cf9a4a2fabfc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-25-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/TorstenBell/status/1727665230426063229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727665230426063229%7Ctwgr%5E86d7f885dfefd5ab33a745300514cf9a4a2fabfc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-25-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-25-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="4" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;This is absolutely staggering: wages are now set to remain below their 2008 level until 2028. That&amp;#39;s a totally unprecedented TWO lost decades of pay growth &lt;a href="https://t.co/l2GQ4OR6mh"&gt;pic.twitter.com/l2GQ4OR6mh&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Torsten Bell (@TorstenBell) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TorstenBell/status/1727665230426063229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 23, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1727665230426063229" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1727665230426063229&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2206973%2Fedit&sessionId=f05e349297a452b31a7a263e86846054a035ac64&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 834px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/TripInChina/status/1725894127479394308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1725894127479394308%7Ctwgr%5E0c4389a6b165bfa1cb147af1e814cfb5ce371624%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-21-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/TripInChina/status/1725894127479394308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1725894127479394308%7Ctwgr%5E0c4389a6b165bfa1cb147af1e814cfb5ce371624%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-21-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-21-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The speed is 1000 km/h.&lt;br&gt;China has built a 2km low vacuum pipeline maglev train experimental line in Shanxi.&lt;br&gt;It may be built between Hangzhou and Shanghai in the future. &lt;a href="https://t.co/lXg1KFqsW0"&gt;pic.twitter.com/lXg1KFqsW0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Sharing Travel (@TripInChina) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TripInChina/status/1725894127479394308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 18, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1725894127479394308" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1725894127479394308&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2206973%2Fedit&sessionId=f05e349297a452b31a7a263e86846054a035ac64&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 696px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-pilot-defects-crush-morale" data-original-title="" href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukrainian-pilot-defects-crush-morale" target="_blank" title="">Ukrainian Pilot Defects to Russia: U.S. Arms Cutoff and Counteroffensive Fallout Crush Morale</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Military Watch Magazine, via Naked Capitalism 11-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/11/18/russia-is-transitioning-to-gas-heating-in-the-countryside-europe-is-moving-to-log-fireplaces-in-the-city/" data-original-title="" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/11/18/russia-is-transitioning-to-gas-heating-in-the-countryside-europe-is-moving-to-log-fireplaces-in-the-city/" target="_blank" title="">Russia is transitioning to gas heating in the countryside – Europe is moving to log fireplaces in the city</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow, via Naked Capitalism 11-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/K2JjK" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/K2JjK" target="_blank" title="">The Era of Total U.S. Submarine Dominance Over China Is Ending</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Wall Street Journal via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/many-politicians-support-israeli-genocide-because-theyre-being-blackmailed/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/many-politicians-support-israeli-genocide-because-theyre-being-blackmailed/" target="_blank" title="">Many Politicians Support Israeli Genocide Because They’re Being Blackmailed</a> </strong></p><p>Ian Welsh, November 22, 2023</p><p>[Jeffrey Epstein’s role as Israeli honeytrap]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/1,000%20boats%20said%20set%20to%20leave%20Turkey%20for%20Gaza%20waters%20in%20new%20%E2%80%98Freedom%20Flotilla%E2%80%99" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/1,000%20boats%20said%20set%20to%20leave%20Turkey%20for%20Gaza%20waters%20in%20new%20%E2%80%98Freedom%20Flotilla%E2%80%99" target="_blank" title="">1,000 boats said set to leave Turkey for Gaza waters in new ‘Freedom Flotilla’</a> </strong></p><p>[Times of Israel, via Naked Capitalism 11-23-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/TheBlahDalia/status/1725983196636971486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1725983196636971486%7Ctwgr%5E0c4389a6b165bfa1cb147af1e814cfb5ce371624%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-21-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/TheBlahDalia/status/1725983196636971486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1725983196636971486%7Ctwgr%5E0c4389a6b165bfa1cb147af1e814cfb5ce371624%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-21-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-21-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;WB Palestinians are not only forbidden by israel from collecting RAINWATER, any cisterns found are destroyed. They&amp;#39;re also not allowed to drill water wells, install pumps, and have no access to the Jordan river or water springs on their land. Wait till you find out about Gaza. &lt;a href="https://t.co/Yi6PEwSOV3"&gt;https://t.co/Yi6PEwSOV3&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Dalia (@TheBlahDalia) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TheBlahDalia/status/1725983196636971486?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 18, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1725983196636971486" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1725983196636971486&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2206973%2Fedit&sessionId=f05e349297a452b31a7a263e86846054a035ac64&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 911px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/23/idf-knew-real-hamas-hq-while-lying-about-al-shifa/" data-original-title="" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/23/idf-knew-real-hamas-hq-while-lying-about-al-shifa/" target="_blank" title="">IDF Knew Real Hamas HQ While Lying About al-Shifa</a> </strong></p><p>[Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 11-24-2023]</p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/TawabHamidi/status/1725341684580438091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1725341684580438091%7Ctwgr%5E422c8d9ca5030b3c05a9ba6999d25eb5c276e066%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-19-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/TawabHamidi/status/1725341684580438091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1725341684580438091%7Ctwgr%5E422c8d9ca5030b3c05a9ba6999d25eb5c276e066%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-19-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-19-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;😳😳 CNN 😳😳 — Perhaps the most shocking CNN episode I have ever seen in my life time. &lt;a href="https://t.co/eDxSfZWahC"&gt;pic.twitter.com/eDxSfZWahC&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Tawab Hamidi (@TawabHamidi) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TawabHamidi/status/1725341684580438091?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 17, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1725341684580438091" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1725341684580438091&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2206973%2Fedit&sessionId=f05e349297a452b31a7a263e86846054a035ac64&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 534px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>.</p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1727362094188888400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727362094188888400%7Ctwgr%5E86d7f885dfefd5ab33a745300514cf9a4a2fabfc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-25-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1727362094188888400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1727362094188888400%7Ctwgr%5E86d7f885dfefd5ab33a745300514cf9a4a2fabfc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-25-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-25-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Absolutely chilling words from &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/UNReliefChief?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@UNReliefChief&lt;/a&gt; Martin Griffith that really put into perspective just how historically atrocious what&amp;#39;s happening in Gaza is: &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;"The. Worst. Ever. And I don&amp;#39;t say that lightly. I mean I started off in my twenties dealing with Khmer rouge and you… &lt;a href="https://t.co/Ijv3dT8ekA"&gt;https://t.co/Ijv3dT8ekA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1727362094188888400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 22, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1727362094188888400" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-4" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-4&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1727362094188888400&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2206973%2Fedit&sessionId=f05e349297a452b31a7a263e86846054a035ac64&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 796px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-clip: border-box; background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-origin: padding-box; background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: repeat; background-size: auto; background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/no-exit-gaza-hiltermann" target="_blank" title="">No Exit From Gaza</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Foreign Affairs, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-23-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Why Israel—and the United States—Has Only Bad Options for the Day After.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/benjamin-netanyahu-were-fighting" target="_blank" title="">Benjamin Netanyahu: 'We're fighting America's war'</a></strong><br /></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, November 22, 2023<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/links-11-19-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/links-11-19-2023.html" title="">Physicians’ Refusal to Wear Masks to Protect Vulnerable Patients—An Ethical Dilemma for the Medical Profession</a> </strong></p><p>[Journal of the American Medical Association, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/12/07/in-congos-cobalt-mines-cobalt-red-siddharth-kara/" target="_blank" title="">In Congo’s Cobalt Mines</a></strong></p><p>Nicolas Niarchos [The New York Review, December 7, 2023 issue]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The lucrative mining industry is unscrupulous, environmentally disastrous, and a linchpin of Congo’s economy. How can it be reformed?</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://roape.net/2023/11/16/the-three-stage-process-through-which-african-resource-sovereignty-was-ceded-to-foreign-mining-corporations/" data-original-title="" href="https://roape.net/2023/11/16/the-three-stage-process-through-which-african-resource-sovereignty-was-ceded-to-foreign-mining-corporations/" target="_blank" title="">The three-stage process through which African resource sovereignty was ceded to foreign mining corporations</a></strong> </p><p>[Review of African Political Economy, via Naked Capitalism 11-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.economicliberties.us/our-work/supermarket-squeeze/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.economicliberties.us/our-work/supermarket-squeeze/" target="_blank" title="">Supermarket Squeeze: The Real Costs of the Kroger-Albertsons Deal</a> </strong></p><p>[American Economic Liberties Project, via Naked Capitalism 11-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/senior-community-cost-increase/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/senior-community-cost-increase/" target="_blank" title="">Chicago area residents flee from senior community after 300% increase in costs</a> </strong></p><p>[CBS, via Naked Capitalism 11-24-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://angrybearblog.com/2023/11/existing-homeowners-with-3-mortgages-remain-frozen-in-place-as-sales-fall-to-a-new-28-year-low" data-original-title="" href="https://angrybearblog.com/2023/11/existing-homeowners-with-3-mortgages-remain-frozen-in-place-as-sales-fall-to-a-new-28-year-low" target="_blank" title="">Existing homeowners with 3% mortgages remain frozen in place, as sales fall to a new 28 year low</a> </strong></p><p>[Angry Bear, via Naked Capitalism 11-25-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/11/power-law-in-the-stock-market/" href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/11/power-law-in-the-stock-market/" target="_blank"><strong>Power Laws in the Stock Market</strong></a></p><p>[A Wealth of Common Sense, via The Big Picture 11-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Bessimbinder found just 86 stocks accounted for half of all wealth creation in the U.S. stock market going back to 1926. All of the wealth creation in that time came from just 4% of stocks. Nearly 60% of stocks failed to beat T-bill returns over their lives. Close to 40% of stocks barely beat T-bills.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>They’re not capitalists — they’re predatory criminals</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/banking-finance/binance-ceo-cz-quits-richard-teng-take-over-crypto-exchange-pay" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/banking-finance/binance-ceo-cz-quits-richard-teng-take-over-crypto-exchange-pay" target="_blank" title="">Binance CEO CZ quits, Richard Teng to take over; crypto exchange to pay US$4 billion for money laundering</a> </strong></p><p>[The Business Times, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><p>Is There an Establishment Plan to Repeal Antitrust Laws?<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.casey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/greedflation1.pdf" target="_blank" title="">A Special Report On Greedflation: How Corporations are Making Record Profits on the Backs of American Families (pdf)</a></strong><br /></p><p>[via Heather Cox Richardson, November 21, 2023 [Letters from an American]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...plenty of grocery prices are still rising, and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) has taken on the issue, documenting how “corporations are making record profits on the backs of American families.” In a public report, Casey noted that from July 2020 through July 2022, inflation rose by 14%, but corporate profits rose by 75%, five times as fast. A family making $68,000 a year in 2022 paid $6,740 in that period to “corporate executives and wealthy shareholders.” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-there-an-establishment-plan-to" target="_blank" title="">Is There an Establishment Plan to Repeal Antitrust Laws?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Lee Hepner, November 13, 2023 [BIG}<br /></p><blockquote><p>The torpedoes from the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission are exploding, and Wall Street is very angry. Here's what they are planning if they win in 2024.<br /></p><p>Last Monday, one of the large number of Washington, D.C. insider trade publications - Politico - <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money/2023/11/06/wall-streets-no-1-enemy-isnt-going-away-00125473" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money/2023/11/06/wall-streets-no-1-enemy-isnt-going-away-00125473" title="">called</a> out Biden antitrust policy as the single most problematic area for financiers. “In taking on tech giants and forcing the collapse of lucrative deals,” said Politico Morning Money, “Lina Khan has earned the status of Wall Street nemesis.” It’s true. The torpedoes <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/torpedoes-in-the-water" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/torpedoes-in-the-water">launched</a> last year - from rule-makings to challenges of Google and Spirit-JetBlue - are now exploding.</p><p>In this issue, we’re going to describe how the establishment is hitting back, in ways you don’t see….</p><p>It’s not just certain Democrats making the case. After all, in 2020, it was Donald Trump’s administration which brought the major Google antitrust suit currently being litigated. In academia, today legal scholars and historians are trying to reorient the history of America as one grounded in anti-monopoly thought, as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/antimonopoly-and-american-democracy-9780197744666" data-original-title="" href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/antimonopoly-and-american-democracy-9780197744666" title="">this interesting collection of essays</a> put out by the Tobin Project shows. And in key ways, conservative legal thinkers are ahead of the curve on consolidation. Take the highly influential George Mason law professor Todd Zywicki, who <a data-cke-saved-href="https://fedsoc.org/events/national-press-club-event" href="https://fedsoc.org/events/national-press-club-event">interviewed</a> Biden antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter on the new proposed merger guidelines, calling them a “moderate” way to split the difference between traditional Chicago School conservatives and a newer populist sentiment.</p><p>That interview happened at, of all places, the Federalist Society, which is the beating heart of the conservative legal movement, where law professors, high-powered lawyers, circuit court judges and Supreme Court justices spend time networking and learning from each other. Justices Alito, Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanagh all <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/shermancourt/status/1590874487582752768" href="https://twitter.com/shermancourt/status/1590874487582752768">attended</a> last Friday’s black tie Federalist Society event….<br /></p><p>And yet, in certain corners of the establishment, the pro-monopoly tradition that started in the 1980s remains dominant. Last week, an<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4664/amendments" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4664/amendments"> appropriations bill</a> in the House - one of the spending bills that keeps government working - was amended<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.economicliberties.us/press-release/fsgg-approps-bill-must-support-enforcers-not-kneecap-them/#" data-original-title="" href="https://www.economicliberties.us/press-release/fsgg-approps-bill-must-support-enforcers-not-kneecap-them/#" title=""> multiple times</a> to repeal antitrust laws.</p><p>Let’s look at a few of those proposals. There was a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/118th-congress/house-report/269" href="https://www.congress.gov/congressional-report/118th-congress/house-report/269">pro-junk fee amendment</a> from Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), which would “prohibit funding for the FTC to make Unfair Competition rule-makings.” Such wording sounds anodyne. But if you strip away the legalese, Fitzgerald is seeking to do away with the rule-making authority the FTC is using to ban annoying junk fees, which deceive customers into paying higher prices for food, hotels, event tickets, car rentals and more. It’s also the authority the FTC is using to prohibit non-compete agreements, which trap people in their jobs and deprive workers of some $300 billion in wages per year.</p><p>There was another amendment which would prevent the FTC from enforcing its unfair methods of competition authority outside the bounds of the Clayton and Sherman Act. This one would effectively end or weaken key parts of the FTC’s case against Amazon, particularly its <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-used-secret-project-nessie-algorithm-to-raise-prices-6c593706" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-used-secret-project-nessie-algorithm-to-raise-prices-6c593706">use of algorithms</a> to raise prices in tacit collusion with other sellers, as well as its actions against <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/did-lina-khan-just-slash-insulin" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/did-lina-khan-just-slash-insulin" title="">pharmacy benefit managers on lower insulin prices</a> and its work against price <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/corporate-bribery-just-became-illegal" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/corporate-bribery-just-became-illegal" title="">discrimination towards small and medium size grocers</a>….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/11/a-deep-dive-into-the-unprecedented-wall-street-journal-attack-on-fdic-chairman-martin-gruenberg/" target="_blank" title="">A Deep Dive into the Unprecedented Wall Street Journal Attack on FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, November 21, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...So what’s really going on here?</p><p>Gruenberg is aggressively pursuing higher capital rules for the mega banks on Wall Street which pose systemic risk to the U.S. banking system. (No community bank would be impacted by the proposed capital rules.) Toppling Gruenberg from the Chairmanship of the FDIC would leave an evenly split vote by its Board when the FDIC votes on the new capital rules, with two Republican votes and two Democrat votes. Since it takes a majority vote to finalize a rule, the new capital rules would very likely not go forward – an outcome that Wall Street’s mega banks have heavily lobbied for and bankrolled with millions of dollars.</p><p>There is also some evidence that certain Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee are less than objective parties in efforts to discredit Gruenberg….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fair.org/home/the-dystopian-ai-future-some-fear-is-the-present-day-reality-others-live/" data-original-title="" href="https://fair.org/home/the-dystopian-ai-future-some-fear-is-the-present-day-reality-others-live/" target="_blank" title="">The Dystopian AI Future Some Fear Is the Present-Day Reality Others Live</a> </strong></p><p>[FAIR, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>Lambert Strether, <a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/200pm-water-cooler-11-21-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-21-2023</a>]</p><blockquote><p>As readers know, my dream is that AI goes through the enshittification cycle with great rapidity and force. From my armchair at 30,000 feet, I don’t believe that AI is going to become a super-intelligence, or anything like it. Silicon Valley can’t even get self-driving cars to work, and surely that’s a simpler problem than artificial general intelligence. Rather, AI will bring about a Philip K. Dick-style dystopia, a world where it’s never possible to reach a human to resolve a problem. For example, consider the following value extraction chain: An AI at the hospital upcodes one of your medical treatments. An AI at the insurance company jacks up your bill. When you complain to the insurance company, your reach an AI, which sends you into an AI-generated fruitless phone-tree. The possibilities are limitless!</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://greenwald.locals.com/upost/4900924/media-matters-deceitful-study-to-silence-x-rumble-plus-darren-beattie-on-new-1-6-tapes-argenti" data-original-title="" href="https://greenwald.locals.com/upost/4900924/media-matters-deceitful-study-to-silence-x-rumble-plus-darren-beattie-on-new-1-6-tapes-argenti" target="_blank" title="">Media Matters’ Deceitful Study to Silence X/Rumble. Plus: Darren Beattie on New 1/6 Tapes, Argentina’s Election, & Israel-Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>Glenn Greenwald [via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><p>[Lambert Strether: “Again, I remember very well how the spooks, the press, Parliamentary Labor, and the Israeli embassy took down Jeremy Corbyn with a dogpile of false charges of anti-semitism. So my heuristic is that all such charges are performative and motivated until proven otherwise.”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/media-matters-and-the-fake-news-era" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/media-matters-and-the-fake-news-era" target="_blank" title="">Media Matters and the Fake News Era Go to Court</a> (excerpt)</strong></p><p>Matt Taibbi [Racket News, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/20/richest-1-account-for-more-carbon-emissions-than-poorest-66-report-says" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/20/richest-1-account-for-more-carbon-emissions-than-poorest-66-report-says" target="_blank">Richest 1% account for more carbon emissions than poorest 66%, report says</a> </strong></p><p>[Guardian, via Naked Capitalism 11-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.astronomy.com/science/2-books-that-could-help-save-the-planet-from-global-warming/" href="https://www.astronomy.com/science/2-books-that-could-help-save-the-planet-from-global-warming/" target="_blank">Two books that could help save the planet</a> </strong></p><p>[Astronomy, via Naked Capitalism 11-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>First of all, an easy-to-read and very well illustrated title is Jeffrey Bennett’s <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.globalwarmingprimer.com/" href="https://www.globalwarmingprimer.com/">A Global Warming Primer: Pathway to a Post-Global Warming Future</a></em>, 2d ed., 146 pp., paper, Big Kid Science, Boulder, Colo., 2024, $15.</p><p>Bennett is a well-known astronomer and educator who has spent parts of his career at Caltech and the University of Colorado. Aimed at adults, this work is nonetheless a relatively basic explanation of the science behind human effects on the climate, well illustrated with numerous diagrams. The writing is clear and understandable, and countless questions about all sorts of aspects of climate change are posed and answered. Such a work ought to be mandatory for the climate deniers, who don’t grasp the basics of what is going on, or pretend (?) to be morons in front of cameras inside or out of the U.S. Capitol. Chapters cover the basics of the science, the skeptic debate, the expected consequences, present and future solutions, and a pathway for the future.</p><p>Sample questions are basic and the answers address the realities such that anyone can understand them. They start with asking how we know that carbon dioxide production makes a planet warmer, and goes from there. The walk through the data, both current and historical, explains away some of the naïve assumptions some climate deniers like to pose as potential arguments, such as natural temperature variations in Earth’s history. In short, this book makes clear the realities of climate change for anyone who is halfway intelligent and doesn’t have a private interest in sticking their head in the sand.</p><p>The second new book is Michael Mann’s <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://michaelmann.net/books/our-fragile-moment'" href="https://michaelmann.net/books/our-fragile-moment'" target="_blank">Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis</a></em>, 320 pp., hardcover, Public Affairs, New York, 2023, $30. Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and a frequent contributor to the press on climate change topics.</p><p>Mann’s new book offers a sweeping history of the conditions of our planet. It offers quite an intellectual analysis of what is going on, beginning with understanding the tapestry of Earth’s 4.54-billion-year record. As Mann demonstrates with substantial evidence and reasoning, the emergence of our earliest proto-human ancestors some 2 million years ago was enabled by the very thing that now threatens us — climate change. As the tropics eventually dried, creating savannas in what is now Africa, humans spread and could hunt more effectively than before. More recently, during the “Younger Dryas” just 13,000 years ago, thawing of the last Ice Age helped enable agriculture to take hold and cities to take root.</p><p>But Mann reminds us that human habitability is hardly guaranteed as a one-way street. Earth as a habitat is fragile, and always has been…. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="http://theconversation.com/the-worlds-280-million-electric-bikes-and-mopeds-are-cutting-demand-for-oil-far-more-than-electric-cars-213870" data-original-title="" href="http://theconversation.com/the-worlds-280-million-electric-bikes-and-mopeds-are-cutting-demand-for-oil-far-more-than-electric-cars-213870" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The world’s 280 million electric bikes and mopeds are cutting demand for oil far more than electric cars</strong></a></p><p>[The Conversation, via The Big Picture 11-23-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...for short trips, an electric bike or moped might be better for you – and for the planet. That’s because these forms of transport – collectively known as electric micromobility – are cheaper to buy and run. But it’s more than that – they are actually displacing four times as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-mathematics-built-the-modern-world" data-original-title="" href="https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-mathematics-built-the-modern-world" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How mathematics built the modern world</strong></a></p><p>[Works in Progress, via The Big Picture 11-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Mathematics was the cornerstone of the Industrial Revolution. A new paradigm of measurement and calculation, more than scientific discovery, built industry, modernity, and the world we inhabit today. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/11/22/rashida-tlaib-aipac-hill-harper-israel-palestine-michigan-senate-detroit-congress/71680940007/" target="_blank" title="">Senate hopeful Hill Harper says he was offered $20M to run against Rashida Tlaib instead </a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Detroit News, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-23-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“U.S. Senate hopeful Hill Harper said Wednesday he was offered a sizeable campaign donation from a Metro Detroit businessman if he dropped out of Michigan’s Senate race and instead ran against Democratic U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit… ‘I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied, or bought,’ Harper said on X. ‘Yes, telling the truth here will put a target on my back. But if we ALL come together we can win.’: And: [Marshall Wittman, a spokesperson for AIPAC] stressed that AIPAC was ‘absolutely not involved in any way in this matter.” I guess that means they were? And the lot thickens: “Harper later said the offer was proof of a broken political system tilted toward the wealthy and evidence that ‘establishment donors’ don’t believe Harper’s Senate Democratic primary opponent, U.S. Rep Elissa Slotkin of Holly, can defeat him.” <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/post/177095/shocking-donors-behind-pro-trump" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/177095/shocking-donors-behind-pro-trump" target="_blank" title="">The Shocking Donors Behind a Pro-Trump Nonprofit </a></strong></p><div>Tori Otten, November 22, 2023 [The New Republic] <br /></div><blockquote><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-group-accidentally-reveals-its-secret-donors-some-of-them-are-liberal-orgs" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-group-accidentally-reveals-its-secret-donors-some-of-them-are-liberal-orgs" target="_blank" title="">The Daily Beast</a> obtained a copy of the 2022 tax statement for the nonprofit <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/173806/american-compass-conservatives-arent-serious-empowering-working-class" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/173806/american-compass-conservatives-arent-serious-empowering-working-class">American Compass</a>, which is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-is-already-at-war-over-staffing-a-new-trump-white-house" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-is-already-at-war-over-staffing-a-new-trump-white-house" target="_blank">linked</a> to a plan to assemble Trump’s cabinet for a potential <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176569/trump-second-term-legal-team" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176569/trump-second-term-legal-team">second term</a>. The document includes a list of five donor organizations.<br /></blockquote><div><br /></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-group-accidentally-reveals-its-secret-donors-some-of-them-are-liberal-orgs" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/conservative-group-accidentally-reveals-its-secret-donors-some-of-them-are-liberal-orgs" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Conservative Group Accidentally Reveals Its Secret Donors. Some of Them Are Liberal Orgs.</strong></a></p><p>Roger Sollenberger, November 22, 2023 [DailyBeast]]<br /></p><blockquote><p><strong></strong>A conservative nonprofit tied to a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-is-already-at-war-over-staffing-a-new-trump-white-house" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-is-already-at-war-over-staffing-a-new-trump-white-house" target="_blank" title="">controversial “White House-in-waiting”</a> for a second <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/donald-j-trump" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.thedailybeast.com/keyword/donald-j-trump" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> presidency has apparently unintentionally revealed its top donors—and two of them are foundations famously associated with liberal causes….<strong></strong><br /></p><p>According to the tax statement, the Omidyar Network has contributed a total of $400,000 to American Compass since 2020. (In reality, Omidyar has donated <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://omidyar.com/reimagining-capitalism-partners/" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://omidyar.com/reimagining-capitalism-partners/" target="_blank">$500,000</a>, including forthcoming installments.) The Hewlett Foundation—a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22public%20radio%22&sort=relevance&current_page=1" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22public%20radio%22&sort=relevance&current_page=1" target="_blank">longtime supporter</a> of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.npr.org/2023/09/07/1198029284/macarthur-knight-journalism-news-press-forward" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.npr.org/2023/09/07/1198029284/macarthur-knight-journalism-news-press-forward" target="_blank" title="">National Public Radio</a>—has accounted for more than one-third of American Compass’ total public support, giving a combined $1,486,000 over the same period, with an extra <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22american%20compass%22&sort=relevance&current_page=1" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22american%20compass%22&sort=relevance&current_page=1" target="_blank">$475,000</a> dose this January.<br /></p><div>That’s more than Hewlett gave to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22public%20radio%22&sort=relevance&years=2023,2022,2021,2020&current_page=1" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22public%20radio%22&sort=relevance&years=2023,2022,2021,2020&current_page=1" target="_blank" title="">NPR</a> or the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22planned%20parenthood%22&sort=relevance&years=2023,2022,2021,2020&current_page=1" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://hewlett.org/grants/?keyword=%22planned%20parenthood%22&sort=relevance&years=2023,2022,2021,2020&current_page=1" target="_blank" title="">Planned Parenthood Federation of America</a> in the same timeframe. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The donations are striking because American Compass is a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.project2025.org/about/advisory-board/" target="_blank" title="">partner organization</a> in Project 2025, a controversial right-wing think tank that has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-is-already-at-war-over-staffing-a-new-trump-white-house" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumpworld-is-already-at-war-over-staffing-a-new-trump-white-house" target="_blank">building the policy and personnel firmament</a> for a second Trump administration….<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>American Compass also disclosed support from another center-left group, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://ballotpedia.org/Action_Now_Initiative" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://ballotpedia.org/Action_Now_Initiative" target="_blank">Action Now Initiative</a>, which has contributed a total $250,000 since 2020, according to the tax return. ANI is run by John Arnold, a billionaire former Enron executive and Democrat whose nonprofit network has funded <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-surveillance-plane-constitutional-ruling-20201106-q7n7dgch7rgkbplkyqbkmc5oei-story.html" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-surveillance-plane-constitutional-ruling-20201106-q7n7dgch7rgkbplkyqbkmc5oei-story.html" target="_blank" title="">aerial police surveillance in Baltimore</a>, among other controversial philanthropic investments….<br /></div><div></div><div><div>American Compass is part of the New Right movement—a group of young Republicans who are essentially reverse-engineering an intellectual framework to reconcile the populist, big-government tenets of Trumpism with conservatism. While the movement has attracted a growing number of adherents and think pieces, it is still a nascent and largely theoretical amoeba, which dwells in the broader nationalist environment and subsists on a diet of hyper-intellectual contrarianism.</div><div>In economic terms, its chief innovation seems to be the embrace of government intervention as a tailored and self-serving lever of power that Reagan conservatives dismissed for decades….</div><div><br /></div><div>American Compass founder Oren Cass—a former Bain executive and adviser to Mitt Romney’s failed 2012 presidential bid—has staked out what he casts as a more labor-friendly economic conservatism. While he has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/opinion/republican-congress-agenda.html" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/opinion/republican-congress-agenda.html" target="_blank">advocated for “genuine” bipartisanship</a>, Cass is also <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/07/05/in-preparation-for-power-americas-new-right-builds-new-institutions" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.economist.com/united-states/2022/07/05/in-preparation-for-power-americas-new-right-builds-new-institutions" target="_blank">aligned with the New Right</a>. He rejects many of the absolutist tenets of laissez-faire capitalism that the GOP has held dear for so long, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/28/conservatives-capitalism-campaigns-00108594" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/28/conservatives-capitalism-campaigns-00108594" target="_blank">arguing</a> that free-market fundamentals have failed the American worker. Last year, Cass drew a salary of $275,000 from his nonprofit—more than one out of every four dollars raised….<br /></div><div><p class="is-empty-p"></p><div>In reality, Project 2025’s labor platform appears to reflect Trump’s own <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://apnews.com/article/labor-union-auto-workers-trump-strike-dfcb805fd4e749b13aaf827e1463da73" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://apnews.com/article/labor-union-auto-workers-trump-strike-dfcb805fd4e749b13aaf827e1463da73" target="_blank">identity crisis</a>: He says he supports unions—a nod to political necessity—but his actions <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/27/business/trump-labor-record/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/27/business/trump-labor-record/index.html" target="_blank" title="">reveal otherwise</a>. And Project 2025’s own proposals appear sharply at odds with Omidyar’s broad “pro-worker” cast. For instance, the group states that federal organized labor is “incompatible” with Trumpist policies, and its labor platform has been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2023/04/conservative-think-tanks-are-preparing-list-20k-potential-political-appointees-hopes-reviving-schedule-f/385545/" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2023/04/conservative-think-tanks-are-preparing-list-20k-potential-political-appointees-hopes-reviving-schedule-f/385545/" target="_blank">roundly criticized</a> by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/project-2025-the-republican-blueprint-to-wage-war-on-the-environment/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/project-2025-the-republican-blueprint-to-wage-war-on-the-environment/" target="_blank" title="">organizations</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/what-republicans-plan-to-do-to-labor" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/what-republicans-plan-to-do-to-labor" target="_blank" title="">journalists</a> with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://onlabor.org/policy-blueprint-for-next-republican-president-offers-nothing-to-workers/" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://onlabor.org/policy-blueprint-for-next-republican-president-offers-nothing-to-workers/" target="_blank">pro-worker bona fides</a>.</div><div>The labor policies in the original Mandate for Leadership were written by American Compass adviser Jonathan Berry, a former top official in Trump’s Labor Department. (Other American Compass <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://americancompass.org/about/" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://americancompass.org/about/" target="_blank">advisers</a> include Trump’s first attorney general Jeff Sessions, Trump’s tariff-war mastermind <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/16/trump-trade-war-robert-lighthizer-china-economic-policy/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/16/trump-trade-war-robert-lighthizer-china-economic-policy/" target="_blank" title="">Robert Lighthizer</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/21/matt-stoller-hawley-trust-busting-00092679" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/21/matt-stoller-hawley-trust-busting-00092679" target="_blank" title="">Democratic Hawley fan Matt Stoller</a>, and anti-porn crusader <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2018/11/09/why-catholic-colleges-should-ban-access-pornography" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.is/o/6MXNR/https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2018/11/09/why-catholic-colleges-should-ban-access-pornography" target="_blank" title="">Patrick T. Brown</a>.)….<br /></div></div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong><br /></div><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="http://ttps://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/26/2207925/-The-Washington-Post-is-very-worried-that-American-women-don-t-want-to-marry-Trump-supporters?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">The Washington Post is very worried that American women don't want to marry Trump supporters</a></strong><br /></p><p>Dartagnan, November 26, 2023 [DailyKos]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In an editorial published last week, titled, “If Attitudes Don’t Shift, A Political Dating Mismatch Will Threaten Marriage,” the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/22/marriage-polarization-dating-trump/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/22/marriage-polarization-dating-trump/" target="_blank" title="">Washington Post’s</a> editorial board points out that political polarization in this country has reached the point where it is now a prominent, often decisive factor in determining who Americans settle on as their potential mates. They emphasize this trend is now so acute it may actually threaten the institution of marriage as a whole. In particular, it seems that Democratic women are rejecting potential Republican suitors not only for marriage but as relationship material, all across the board….<br /></p><p>Those who click on the links in that paragraph will first be directed to an<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-marriage-rate-different-political-views/674358/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/us-marriage-rate-different-political-views/674358/" target="_blank" title=""> article in the Atlantic</a> written by two members of the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/institute-for-family-studies/" href="https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/institute-for-family-studies/" target="_blank">right-wing think tank </a>whose founders and contributors promote two-parent, heterosexual marriages, advocating <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.unmarried.org/featured/powerful-new-report-makes-the-case-against-marriage-fundamentalism-and-for-unmarried-equality/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.unmarried.org/featured/powerful-new-report-makes-the-case-against-marriage-fundamentalism-and-for-unmarried-equality/" target="_blank" title="">fundamentalist “Christian” marriage principles</a> and the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/challenging-the-no-fault-divorce-regime" data-original-title="" href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/challenging-the-no-fault-divorce-regime" target="_blank" title="">abolition of no-fault divorce laws.</a> The second link is to a survey on marital satisfaction conducted by the same conservative-leaning IFS….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-biggest-hidden-bias-in-politics" data-original-title="" href="https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/the-biggest-hidden-bias-in-politics" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Biggest Hidden Bias in Politics</strong></a></p><p>[The Garden of Forking Paths, via The Big Picture 11-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>One <a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/09/most-americans-cant-name-a-supreme-court-justice.html" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/09/most-americans-cant-name-a-supreme-court-justice.html">recent survey</a> found that 52 percent of Americans can’t name a single US Supreme Court Justice. In 2011, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/opinion/ramaswamy-political-ignorance.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/opinion/ramaswamy-political-ignorance.html">a poll</a> found that twice as many Americans knew that Randy Jackson was a judge on American Idol than could correctly identify the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court. And in 2006, three years after the war in Iraq began—the most important element of US foreign policy at the time—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf" href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf">six in ten Americans couldn’t identify Iraq on a map of the Middle East</a>. (A little over half could point to New York state on a map)….</p><p>From April 2009 to January 2011, I worked on the political campaign and transition team for the soon-to-be Governor of Minnesota (I got hired as his driver—which is exactly what it sounds like—but eventually served at various times as the Deputy Campaign Manager and Policy Director).</p><p>I spent weeks carefully crafting five and ten-point policy plans, on everything from education to taxes, health care to transportation. These were crucial for winning the support of interest groups, but when I looked at the total number of downloads for the PDFs of our policy agenda, I was dumbstruck. By the end of the campaign, the policy plan for education had been downloaded something like 47 times. This was the future governor of a state of five million people. We won more than 919,000 votes. At most, 47 of those voters looked at our two-page summary of education policy ideas.</p><p>I saw this first-hand when I did what every American political campaign staffer must do: march in parades with the candidate. People would come up to the candidate and say “We’re voting for you!” As the policy director, I’d ask why we won their vote. The most common answers were related to feelings of trust, character, party affiliation, his deep roots in Minnesota, and the idea that he was a good person with integrity. The least common answers, by far, were about policy.</p><p>Through those experiences, the campaign taught me one of the most important lessons I’ve learned about politics—and one that’s rarely taught in political science. Ever since, I’ve been acutely aware of ignorance bias.</p><p>This doesn’t mean that voters are stupid, or idiots, or that elites are right and the masses are wrong. Instead, it means that voters use cognitive and informational shortcuts—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/schemas-and-the-political-brain" data-original-title="" href="https://www.forkingpaths.co/p/schemas-and-the-political-brain" title="">schemas</a>—to make decisions about voting and to understand the sphere of politics. Those shortcuts rarely include in-depth analysis of policy ideas or deep-dives into issues related to governance. Whether that’s good or bad is beside the point. It’s our reality—and we make serious mistakes when we pretend otherwise.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/18/congress-retirements-2024-elections-00127883" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/18/congress-retirements-2024-elections-00127883" target="_blank" title="">How a flood of congressional retirements is rocking the 2024 elections</a> </strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 11-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A surge of lawmakers calling it quits the past three weeks is on the verge of putting Congress on pace to have more members retire before the next election than in any similar cycle over the past decade.… This month alone, nine members of the House and Senate have said they won’t run for reelection next year. That’s the second-most in any single month going back at least as far as 2011 — and there’s still two weeks left in November. A total of 34 members of Congress have already announced they’re not running again, and that doesn’t count those who plan to quit early or have already resigned.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Authoritarians rise</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177037/javier-milei-argentina-election-next-president" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177037/javier-milei-argentina-election-next-president" target="_blank" title="">How the Hell Did This Guy Become Argentina’s Next President? </a></strong></p><p>David Rieff, November 21, 2023 [The New Republic] <br /><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/geert-wilders-a-fascist-just-came-in-first-in-nice-mild-holland" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Geert Wilders, A Fascist, Just Came In First In Nice Mild Holland</strong></a><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, November 25, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The neo-fascist PVV, led by Geert Wilders, came in first with 23.6% and 37 seats, up a startling 20. They won every province but Utrecht and didn’t do as well as in the rest of the country in North Holland (Amsterdam) either. In fact, Wilders-- like Trump-- lost all the big cities. In second place was Frans Timmerman’s left of center Greens + Labour, which had won 10.9% (17 seats) in 2021 and took 15.5% (25 seats) this time. The Socialist Party went from 6% and 9 seats to just 3.1% and 5 seats….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-loyalists-2024-presidential-election" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/trump-loyalists-2024-presidential-election" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Behind the Curtain: Trump allies pre-screen loyalists for unprecedented power grab</strong></a></p><p>[Axios, via The Big Picture 11-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Former President Trump’s allies are pre-screening the ideologies of thousands of potential foot soldiers, as part of an unprecedented operation to centralize and expand his power at every level of the U.S. government if he wins in 2024, officials involved in the effort tell Axios. Why it matters: Hundreds of people are spending tens of millions of dollars to install a pre-vetted, pro-Trump army of up to 54,000 loyalists across government to rip off the restraints imposed on the previous 46 presidents. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.salon.com/2023/11/16/fox-news-facts-network-of-lies-sean-hannity-maria-bartiromo/" href="https://www.salon.com/2023/11/16/fox-news-facts-network-of-lies-sean-hannity-maria-bartiromo/" target="_blank"><strong>“Do they not realize I like to fight?” The 6 most revealing Fox News details in “Network of Lies”</strong> </a></p><p>[Salon, via The Big Picture 11-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...As media analyst Brian Stelter determines in his newest book <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/2464/9781668046906" href="https://bookshop.org/a/2464/9781668046906" target="_blank">“Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News, Donald Trump, and the Battle for American Democracy,”</a> Fox News treats its news side as second-class citizens at best, or at worst, traitors.</p><p>Much of what “Network of Lies” discovers is more validating than shocking, mainly that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.salon.com/2023/02/21/fox-news-texts-reveal-the-truth-the-big-lie-was-a-con--that-the-viewers-were-in-on/" href="https://www.salon.com/2023/02/21/fox-news-texts-reveal-the-truth-the-big-lie-was-a-con--that-the-viewers-were-in-on/" target="_blank">Fox News lies to appease its faithful </a>because that’s what they want. Following Joe Biden’s election to the presidency in 2020, the audience wanted coverage of fraud that didn’t exist. So Fox ginned it up.</p><p>Revelations from summary judgment briefs related to Dominion’s defamation case establish this as fact, not suspicion….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/13/supreme-court-ethics-code-what-to-know-00126962" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/13/supreme-court-ethics-code-what-to-know-00126962" target="_blank" title="">6 things to know about the Supreme Court’s new ethics code</a> </strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 11-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/chief-justice-john-robertss-guide-to-the-new-supreme-court-ethics-code" data-original-title="" href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/chief-justice-john-robertss-guide-to-the-new-supreme-court-ethics-code" target="_blank" title="">Chief Justice John Roberts’s Guide to the New Supreme Court Ethics Code</a> </strong></p><p>[McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, via Naked Capitalism 11-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://onlabor.org/the-fifth-circuit-will-soon-be-the-new-nlrb/" href="https://onlabor.org/the-fifth-circuit-will-soon-be-the-new-nlrb/" target="_blank">The Fifth Circuit Will Soon Be the New NLRB</a> </strong></p><p>[On Labor, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...But, the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, stacked with right-wing ideologues, plays by its own rules, as it recently demonstrated when it set aside a Board ruling that Tesla unlawfully interfered with its employees right to display union insignia at work. And, because an employer may challenge an NLRB ruling in any circuit where it does business, we can expect a lot more NLRB cases to end up at the Fifth Circuit….</p><p>The Fifth Circuit simply skipped over the ALJ’s findings that Tesla’s justifications for banning the union t-shirts did not hold up. Instead, the court got hung up on the Board’s ruling that a uniform policy is not an automatic defense to a prohibition on wearing clothing containing a union insignia. Quoting an earlier decision, the court announced, apparently as a matter of law, that a “uniform requirement fosters discipline, promotes uniformity, encourages <em>esprit de corps, </em>and increases readiness and having standardized uniforms encourages the subordination of personal preferences and identities in favor of the overall group mission.” Never mind that Tesla did not assert any of these rationales for its policy.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/justices-schedule-major-cases-on-deference-to-federal-agencies/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/11/justices-schedule-major-cases-on-deference-to-federal-agencies/" target="_blank" title="">Justices schedule major cases on deference to federal agencies</a> </strong></p><p>[SCOTUSblog, via Naked Capitalism 11-22-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177080/voting-rights-act-section-2-ruling-appeal-supreme-court" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/177080/voting-rights-act-section-2-ruling-appeal-supreme-court" target="_blank" title="">Conservative Judges Are Dismissing Decades of Precedent to Try to Kill the Voting Rights Act </a></strong></p><p>Matt Ford, November 22, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>...A three-judge panel of Republican appointees <a data-cke-saved-href="http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/23/11/221395P.pdf" data-original-title="" href="http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/23/11/221395P.pdf" target="_blank" title="">held earlier this week</a> that private plaintiffs cannot sue states to enforce a key provision of the landmark law known as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/10301" data-original-title="" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/10301" target="_blank" title="">Section 2</a>, which imposes a permanent, nationwide ban on racial discrimination in election and voting laws. Judge David Stras, a Trump appointee writing for the 2<strong>–</strong>1 panel, noted that courts had assumed Section 2 was privately enforceable for “much of the last half-century,” but concluded that a “deeper look” had “revealed that this assumption rests on flimsy footing.”….</p><p>Section 2 is enforceable by litigation from the attorney general of the United States. For decades, the courts have also concluded that Section 2 created an implied cause of action—that is, its text implicitly created a right for private parties to bring a lawsuit to enforce it even though it did not explicitly spell it out. The Supreme Court has handed down more than a few rulings since the VRA’s enactment based on this assumption. Congress has also allowed this assumption to persist throughout every reauthorization and amendment….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/11/25/bad-facts-bad-law-supreme-court-guns/" target="_blank" title="">Bad Facts, Bad Law</a></strong><br /></p><p>Duncan Hosie, November 25, 2023 [The New York Review]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In a recent Supreme Court oral argument about disarming domestic abusers, originalism itself was put to the test….<br /></p><p>Earlier this month the Court heard oral argument in <em>United States </em>v<em>. Rahimi</em>, a case that will decide whether Section 922(g)(8) violates the Second Amendment. The Court’s conservative supermajority seemed inclined to uphold the law but struggled to reconcile this outcome with originalism, the theory of constitutional interpretation it has nurtured and championed. At the basis of the <em>Bruen</em> decision was an idea central to originalism as the modern right has defined it—that constitutional meaning “is fixed,” as the majority opinion put it, “according to the understandings of those who ratified it.” <em>Rahimi</em> asks the Court to square that idea with common sense and modern needs….<br /></p><p>In 2019 a Texas man named Zackey Rahimi violently assaulted his ex-girlfriend in a parking lot and shot at a witness. The ex-girlfriend, whom Rahimi threatened to kill if she told anyone about the attack, got a protective order that barred him from possessing guns.</p><p>Rahimi ignored it. He kept his guns and continued to fire them in public across at least six different incidents. Eventually the police searched his home, where they found guns and a copy of the protective order. He was ultimately convicted of violating Section 922(g)(8). Arguing that the law contravened the Second Amendment, Rahimi challenged his conviction, but the Fifth Circuit, an archconservative federal appellate court that covers Texas, upheld it. <br /></p><p>That is where the story would have ended if not for Donald Trump’s overhaul of the federal courts, which he stacked with originalist ideologues. This past March, less than a year after the Supreme Court decided <em>Bruen</em>, a Fifth Circuit panel consisting of two Trump appointees and one Reagan appointee reversed their earlier decision, applying<em> Bruen</em> to strike down Section 922(g)(8). The Biden administration petitioned for review of that decision, and oral argument followed….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Philosophy of government</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/11/20/after-the-civil-war-robert-e-lee-couldnt-run-for-president-but-trump-can/" data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/11/20/after-the-civil-war-robert-e-lee-couldnt-run-for-president-but-trump-can/" target="_blank" title="">After the Civil War, Robert E. Lee Couldn’t Run for President, but Trump Can?</a></strong></p><p>Garrett Epps, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/11/20/after-the-civil-war-robert-e-lee-couldnt-run-for-president-but-trump-can/" data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/11/20/after-the-civil-war-robert-e-lee-couldnt-run-for-president-but-trump-can/" target="_blank" title="">Washington Monthly</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“All five sections of the Fourteenth Amendment can be seen as what must have seemed like a last, desperate attempt to retain power in the hands of the Union and prevent a reborn Confederacy from ruling for the next century. Section Three addressed the prospects of Lee and all those who served the Confederacy. The old Southern leadership, which had enjoyed federal office until 1861, then fought the United States until 1865, was not coming back; it was barred from state or federal office…. Gentle reader, can you seriously imagine that our 19th-century ratifier—an informed, loyal American who had just lived through a brutal war that took more than 600,000 lives for the sole reason that Southern whites would not accept that Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election—would have understood Section 3 to mean that a traitor couldn’t be a Senator, or a Representative, or a governor, or a state legislator, or for that matter a dog-catcher—but that <em>Robert E. Frickin’ Lee</em> could turn his coat one more time, swear he really would support the Constitution this time, and waltz into the White House? I cannot. This is what philosophers call “self-stultifying”— so self-contradictory that its very utterance undermines the idea of meaning itself.” • This is an excellent article with which I disagree on the main points (and I also don’t like the lack of links at key turning points; for example, that “Democratic newspapers speculated that their party’s strongest presidential nominee in 1868 would be former Confederate General Robert E. Lee” is a bare assertion). First, Epps urges that the phrase “officer of the United States” in Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to Presidents. I disagree (and some legal scholars agree). Madison writes, in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp" data-original-title="" href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/fed68.asp" target="_blank" title="">Federalist 68</a>, of the President: “It was desirable that the sense of the people should operate in the choice of the person to whom so important a trust was to be confided.” It makes no sense to me that a President, elected by the whole nation, is in the same category (“officer of the United States”) as an appointed official, who is not. Second, in regard to the finding of fact in the Colorado decision: It gives me the creeps that we might rely on decision from a non-elected State District Court judge to determine that Trump is an “insurrectionist.” Insurrection is a crime, and if the Biden adminstration’s Justice Department didn’t charge and convict him, and no special prosecutor did, it’s most likely because neither thought they could make the charge stick. So which ought to be controlling?</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/opinion/rich-billionaires-philanthropy-covid.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/19/opinion/rich-billionaires-philanthropy-covid.html" target="_blank" title=""><u>What Happens When the Super Rich Are This Selfish? (It Isn’t Pretty</u></a> </strong><br /></p><p>Guido Alfani [New York Times, downwithtyranny.com 11-25-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...we should also consider whether the exceptional resilience of the rich to recent crises has been obtained in such a way as to make society as a whole less resilient— for the rich, protecting their fortunes from crises also involves protecting them from extra taxation, thus stripping public institutions of resources that could have been used for stronger mitigation policies, including those aimed at abating the sufferings (economic or otherwise) of the poorer strata. To some degree, governments compensated for this by expanding the public debt, which raises the question of who will repay it. Given the fact that many Western fiscal systems do not burden their wealthy to the same degree they once did, it seems probable that the bill for the Covid-19 crisis will weigh on the shoulders of the rich to an extremely low degree relative to the burden during past crises.….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://unherd.com/2023/11/the-sordid-lessons-of-kinderladen/" data-original-title="" href="https://unherd.com/2023/11/the-sordid-lessons-of-kinderladen/" target="_blank" title="">The sordid lessons of Kinderläden</a> </strong></p><p>[Unherd, via Naked Capitalism 11-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The Frankfurt School in many ways embodies this danger, and the Left should not be afraid to say so. Its belief that authoritarianism was caused by sexual inhibitions — and reproduced by the nuclear family — strayed quite far from traditional Marxist understandings of material struggle and physical reality. The School might more usefully have imagined the best way to organise the working classes to lobby for higher wages — rather than trying to re-engineer the sexual expressions of the masses, in the belief that revolutionary change would necessarily follow. Instead, what followed was a major shift in Leftist analysis, which has resulted not in revolutionary change but in identitarian strife.</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-67494974760004735162023-11-19T13:06:00.002-06:002023-11-25T14:41:57.110-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 19, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 19, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/14/patrick-lawrence-the-hinge-of-history/" data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/14/patrick-lawrence-the-hinge-of-history/" target="_blank" title="">The Hinge of History</a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/14/patrick-lawrence-the-hinge-of-history/" data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/11/14/patrick-lawrence-the-hinge-of-history/" target="_blank" title="">: Palestine and the New World Order</a></strong></p><p>Patrick Lawrence [Scheerpost, via Naked Capitalism 11-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>There is disgust and condemnation now, and they find expression not only on the streets of many cities but also in governing circles. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/biden-gaza-hamas-policy-state-department-memo" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/11/13/biden-gaza-hamas-policy-state-department-memo">Axios reported Monday</a> that an internal State Department memo, signed by 100 officials at State and its aid agency, USAID, accuses President Biden of lying about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and of complicity in war crimes. On Tuesday, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/politics/israel-biden-letter-gaza-cease-fire.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/politics/israel-biden-letter-gaza-cease-fire.html">The New York Times put the signatories of another letter to Biden at 400</a> representing 40 government departments and agencies, including the National Security Council — this in addition to an open letter to Secretary of State Blinken signed by more than 1,000 Agency for International Development employees. So far as I know, this measure of dissent in policy and governing circles is more or less unprecedented…. </p><p>The devastation of America’s status in the community of nations—and I do not think we witness anything less—is altogether the consequence of a complacency long evident among America’s policy cliques. As Chas Freeman points out in his exchange with Chris Lydon, Israel is now breaking U.S. laws circumscribing the use of American-made armaments; it is in breach of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. And nobody in the U.S. says anything about it, Freeman says with obvious ire. It is the rest of the world that is beginning to speak up. I put it this way: We watch as the Age of Hegemonic Hypocrisy, as I propose we call it, draws to a close….</p><p>...We now have the Chinese preparing, by all appearances, to play a diplomatic role in the search for a settlement. We have Iran and Saudi Arabia summiting to determine a common course of action in response to the Gaza crisis. We have Turkey militantly denouncing Israel and talking to Iran after long, long years of animosity. We have a goodly number of America’s friends pulling the plug on their relations with Tel Aviv. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/postscript-to-whats-on-the-tube" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/postscript-to-whats-on-the-tube" target="_blank">Postscript to ‘What’s on the tube…’ </a></strong></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 11-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...There are a lot of possiblities to explain subjectively what CNN and the BBC are doing. Objectively what they are doing is re-establishing their credibility as news as opposed to propaganda providers. And I think this is especially obvious for the BBC. One of their senior journalists who has his own program now calls it "Unspun" and repeats in the trailer-adverts that he is delivering news without spin. Why would he be saying this if it were not obvious that everything the BBC has been saying about Russia for the past 20 months is "spun" and is being rejected by viewers for such tendentiousness.</p><p>This is all the more timely for these broadcasters now that the lies they have been disseminating about the Ukraine war are overturned by the latest news from the supreme Ukrainian military commander Zaluzhny in his widely cited interview in <em>The Economist</em>. Now, finally, we read in mainstream that the Ukrainian losses in the war may approach 400,000 dead, not 70,000 as official Kiev claims and that the kill ratio till now may be 10:1 or 12:1 in Russia’s favor….</p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/the-empire-sails-into-a-hurricane?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1063805&post_id=138941963&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=2cqri&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">The empire sails into a hurricane of consequences in the Middle East</a></strong><br /></p><p>Alex Krainer, November 17, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>Both <strong>Netanyahu</strong>'s government and Hamas did their part to escalate the conflict: in addition to bombing Gaza, Israel launched a number of attacks against Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and even an "accidental" strike on targets in Egypt. US forces also launched strikes on Syria. For its part, Hamas called for the Muslim world to unite in a holy war against Israel. Recall, Hamas is the creation of Israel and western deep state structures which has been lavishly funded and supported, principally by western-allied Qatar, but also by Israel and western powers.</p><p>Five days after they lit the fuse on 7 October, Hamas leader and founder <strong>Khaled Mashal</strong> published a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/NextNewsNetwork/status/1712546775981240458" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/NextNewsNetwork/status/1712546775981240458" title="">video message appealing to Muslims worldwide</a>, asking them to carry out Jihad and become martyrs for Al-Aqsa. He urged Muslims to spill their blood for Palestine and even asked religious leaders to issue a fatwa compelling Muslims to take part in the holy war against Israel. Mashal himself wasn't exactly volunteering: he sent his appeal from Qatar where he is safe from the mayhem he unleashed in Gaza.</p><p>Mashal has no links to Gaza since he never actually lived there… In the weeks that followed the war's outbreak, Muslim world backed away from the impulse to attack Israel, and even Hezbollah's <strong>Hassan Nasrallah </strong>declined to open a new front from Lebanon.</p><p>In short, they didn't take the bait. Had muslim countries united to attack Israel, many western nations would have united to defend her, and might even have been able to do so with substantial popular support. Instead, using a variety of paramilitary forces in the region, the Muslim powers began to attack US bases in Syria and Iraq. Instead of ensnaring the Muslim world in a devastating war escalation, the US itself has become ensnared in a trap that could ultimately force it out of the region entirely….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.okdoomer.io/one-theory-explains-why-we-cant-have-nice-things/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.okdoomer.io/one-theory-explains-why-we-cant-have-nice-things/" target="_blank" title="">One Theory Explains Why We Can’t Have Nice Things</a> </strong></p><p>Jessica Wildfire [OK Doomer, via Naked Capitalism 11-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...We're surrounded by people we care about who can't change to save themselves, no matter how bad things get. They can't bring themselves to do anything different. They can't operate on a more realistic worldview. They can't break with their political party. They can't wear a mask. They can't demand clean air. They can't update their vaccines. They can't call out genocide when they see it.</p><p>Why?</p><p>Two social psychologists at Yale proposed a theory to explain all of this two decades ago. It's a theory of theories, a master theory.</p><p>It's called systems justification.</p><p>According to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/john-jost.html?ref=okdoomer.io" href="https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/john-jost.html?ref=okdoomer.io">John Jost</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/mahzarin-r-banaji?ref=okdoomer.io" href="https://psychology.fas.harvard.edu/people/mahzarin-r-banaji?ref=okdoomer.io">Mahzarin Banaji</a>, we're wired to resist change. Members of a group will go out of their way to defend the status quo. They do it to preserve social harmony and to boost their own self-esteem. Since most of us play varying roles in perpetuating the current systems, we all feel somewhat motivated to justify them to each other….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza — Palestine — Israel</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/11/09/let-us-not-hurry-to-our-doom-israel-gaza/" target="_blank" title="">‘Let Us Not Hurry to Our Doom’ </a></strong><br /></p><p>Seth Anziska, November 9, 2023 [The New York Review, via John Ganz, Unpopular Front]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In the New York Review of Books, historian Seth Anziska has what I think is an important piece, which looks at the First Lebanon War—an event that always seemed to me an key turning point for the worse in the Israel’s history—as context and analogy for the present war in Gaza:</p><p>“…Last summer was the fortieth anniversary of the first Lebanon War, which began in June 1982, when Israel invaded Lebanon with the stated aim of targeting militants from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Even as it promised a limited incursion, Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s government had a far more ambitious plan to root out Palestinian nationalism from Lebanese territory. Soon the army had laid siege to Beirut as part of its ground invasion and bombing campaign, which in the southern city of Sidon destroyed entire homes, at least one hospital, and swathes of Ain al-Hilweh, the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp.</p><p>“The 1982 Lebanon War became what some have called Israel’s Vietnam. By the end of the first, ten-week phase of the war over 19,000 Lebanese and Palestinian combatants and civilians and 364 Israeli combatants were dead. The PLO was expelled to Tunis, reconstituting Palestinian politics both in the diaspora and on the ground in Palestine, paving the way for the group’s greater international recognition, including by the United States, and contributing to the outbreak of the first intifada. South Lebanon was occupied by Israeli forces and the South Lebanon Army (SLA), which remained there until Israel withdrew its forces and the SLA collapsed in 2000. Local opposition militias evolved into Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed paramilitary organization that in the 1980s emerged as a central player in the region.</p><p>“Meanwhile a movement of military refusal emerged in Israel itself, starting in the opening days of the war, when combat veterans founded a group called Yesh Gvul (“There Is a Limit”) to advocate for conscientious objection. The shocking accounts and images of the Sabra and Shatila massacre in September 1982—when IDF-backed Phalangist forces murdered between eight hundred and three thousand Palestinian refugees, including infants, children, and pregnant women—temporarily pierced support for Israel within the Jewish diaspora and brought 10 percent of the Israeli population into the streets. Many began questioning Israel’s use of force and the eliminationist thinking about Palestinians that had enabled the violence, while others charged Israel’s critics with promoting antisemitic blood libels. Despite the PLO’s dispersal, the Palestinian quest for self-determination intensified. As the CIA’s National Intelligence Estimate argued in November 1982, “Israel has been surprised to discover that its military victory has not produced the expected political dividends and seems to have strengthened its antagonists’ political hand.” “</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/12/07/no-endgame-in-gaza-fintan-otoole/" target="_blank"><strong>No Endgame in Gaza</strong></a> <br /></p><p>Fintan O’Toole [December 7, 2023 issue of The New York Review]<br /></p><blockquote><p>After weeks of bombardment and thousands of deaths, what are Netanyahu’s political and ethical limits?<br /></p><p>….“Enough” is the word that Yitzhak Rabin, then Israel’s prime minister, stressed in his remarkable speech of September 1993 at the signing of the Oslo Accords” <br /></p><p>“We who have fought against you, the Palestinians, we say to you today in a loud and a clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough…. We are today giving peace a chance and saying to you and saying again to you: Enough.”</p><p>Enough is a both a political goal and an ethical limit. Without the first, it is hard to set the second. To know how far you can go, you have to know where you want to get to. Benjamin Netanyahu’s government seems to know neither….</p><p>srael has already tried two radically different strategies in Gaza. The first was a familiar military and political orthodoxy: conquest and colonization. Gaza, having belonged to the Ottoman empire and then to the British mandate in Palestine, was governed by Egypt after 1948, though neither its traditional residents nor the large refugee population were granted Egyptian citizenship. After its capture by Israel in 1956, Gaza was quickly returned to Egyptian control, but following its reconquest in the Six-Day War of 1967, the territory was ruled by an Israeli military governor for almost forty years. (Civil control of Gaza City was transferred to the Palestinian Authority in 1994.) In the late 1970s the right-wing government of Menachem Begin imagined that this rule could be made permanent and stable if enough Jews were settled in the territory. Eventually, 8,500 Jewish people did settle in Gaza—a number large enough to create a sense of existential threat for Palestinians but too small to be able to control the strip. Israel needed three thousand soldiers to protect these 8,500 Jews. In the second intifada it lost 230 of those soldiers.</p><p>Ariel Sharon’s decision in 2005 to end the military occupation and forcibly withdraw the settlements was not a wild caprice. It was a recognition of reality: the post-1967 attempt at colonization could not be sustained. By occupying Gaza, Israel had gained nothing and lost soldiers, money, and international goodwill. It’s worth recalling that Netanyahu supported the withdrawal for sound policy reasons before he opposed it for cynical political ones.</p><p>It was not for nothing that in 2014, when Hamas was firing rockets into Israel, Netanyahu did not support demands from his own foreign minister Avigdor Liberman for a military reconquest and reoccupation of Gaza. Netanyahu, when running for election, had made aggressive noises about Hamas, claiming in 2008 that “we will finish the job. We will topple the terror regime of Hamas.” But this was utterly deceitful. Netanyahu never wanted to topple the Hamas regime. He wanted to retain the threat that he might do it as a rhetorical trope, a furious sound that signified nothing. It is this empty vessel that Netanyahu is now seeking to fill with meaning and purpose—and with blood.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/BadSocialisms/status/1723880501109473334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1723880501109473334%7Ctwgr%5Ecba0e24c0398a584297e2914b84fe13b518c9060%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-13-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/BadSocialisms/status/1723880501109473334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1723880501109473334%7Ctwgr%5Ecba0e24c0398a584297e2914b84fe13b518c9060%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-13-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-13-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I&amp;#39;ve had my criticism of Cornel West, but this here he channels the emotion of the vast majority of not just Americans, but the entire world.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;It is not Islam vs. Judaism. It&amp;#39;s not even Zionism vs. anti-Zionist. This conflict is the imperial ruling class vs. humanity. &lt;a href="https://t.co/9vThklwH3c"&gt;pic.twitter.com/9vThklwH3c&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Bad Socialism Takes (USSR state-affiliated media) (@BadSocialisms) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BadSocialisms/status/1723880501109473334?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 13, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1723880501109473334&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2205682%2Fedit&sessionId=b5c9a083f6cf2df339ea4dd9a12120cae6020ddd&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/davidsheen/status/1723414450940641488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1723416544753963137%7Ctwgr%5Eda18ed785336675bc648d75bf491d794d03e7d4a%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-14-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/davidsheen/status/1723414450940641488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1723416544753963137%7Ctwgr%5Eda18ed785336675bc648d75bf491d794d03e7d4a%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-14-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-13-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Israeli soldier wears patch identifying the Netanyahu-Kahanist government’s endgame: expel the country’s non-Jews, demolish all churches and mosques including Al Aqsa, build an abattoir for slaughtering 10,000 animals a day on its ruins, and replacing the parliament with a king &lt;a href="https://t.co/76MV3VmeV1"&gt;pic.twitter.com/76MV3VmeV1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; David Sheen (@davidsheen) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/davidsheen/status/1723414450940641488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 11, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1723414450940641488&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2205682%2Fedit&sessionId=b5c9a083f6cf2df339ea4dd9a12120cae6020ddd&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Israeli Army Loses 88 Armoured Vehicles in Five Days of Combat – Satellite Images Indicate</strong> <br /></p><p>[Military Watch, via Naked Capitalism 11-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>HAMAS’S ALAMO</strong> <br /></p><p>Seymour Hersh [via Naked Capitalism 11-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Israel’s Nuclear Weapons in the Spotlight </strong><br /></p><p><strong>[</strong>Energy Intelligence, via Naked Capitalism 11-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Israel Lobby’s Disastrous Domination</strong> <br /></p><p>Consortioum News, via Naked Capitalism 11-14-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/israel-and-americas-growing-zugzwang" data-original-title="" href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/israel-and-americas-growing-zugzwang" target="_blank" title="">Israel and America’s Growing Zugzwang</a> </strong></p><p>[Simplicius the Thinker, via Naked Capitalism 11-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>... the U.S. is not ready for true full-scale war, doesn’t have the ammo or assets in place, nor has the resolve—as there is a full-blown mutiny inside the State Department as more and more officials side with Palestinians and believe the U.S. to be in the wrong.</p><p>The tide is slowly being turned against Israel with many in the Western structures now seeing a ceasefire and some sort of political solution as best. In fact, some have opined that the West is signaling this to Israel via its control over the media. There has been a very bizarre raft of new reports from Western MSM stalwarts like BBC and CNN that are suddenly quite critical of Israel….</p><p>The powers that be ... are panicking because Israel has always been nothing more than a neo-colonialist forward base for the Western / Atlanticist empire to dominate the Middle East and thereby <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/how-the-ussrs-fall-unleashed-a-neocon" href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/how-the-ussrs-fall-unleashed-a-neocon">the Heartland of the world</a></strong>. Israel’s current actions are seen as accelerating the realignment of the entire globe to such a dangerous degree that the U.S. and co. see no “off-ramp” to ending the conflict without the total loss of influence in the MidEast, as well as the handing the entire future destiny of the globe on a silver platter to Russia and China—who are being perceived as the ‘good guys’ on the right side of history as per this conflict….</p><p>So the U.S. itself senses that Israel is potentially <em>deliberately </em>trying to draw Hezbollah in so that big daddy America can come in and “finish off” Hezbollah/Iran once and for all. Meanwhile, U.S. knows the dangers of this as it has no where near the current capability to fight a protracted conflict against Iran, which could virtually shut down the entire global economy and cause all of Biden’s “economic miracles” to be flushed down the toilet, creating a disastrous scenario for the 2024 elections that would hand the win to some opposition party, particularly Trump….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/KOLB3#selection-4573.0-4578.0" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/KOLB3#selection-4573.0-4578.0" target="_blank" title="">Send America’s Floating Hospitals to Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 11-18-2023] </p><p>A very obvious thing to do, with no downside. Why aren’t we doing it?</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/its-time-to-end-magical-thinking-about-russias-defeat-f6d0b8de" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/its-time-to-end-magical-thinking-about-russias-defeat-f6d0b8de" target="_blank" title="">It’s Time to End Magical Thinking About Russia’s Defeat</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 11-17-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://asiatimes.com/2023/11/why-is-the-west-moving-to-replace-zelensky/" data-original-title="" href="https://asiatimes.com/2023/11/why-is-the-west-moving-to-replace-zelensky/" target="_blank" title="">Why is the West moving to replace Zelensky?</a></strong> </p><p>[Asia Times, via Naked Capitalism 11-13-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/11/16/are-we-in-a-countdown-to-all-out-nuclear-war/" data-original-title="" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/11/16/are-we-in-a-countdown-to-all-out-nuclear-war/" target="_blank" title="">Are we in a countdown to all-out nuclear war?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 11-17-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...If you pay attention, you see that the West, and Europe in particular, is staging one provocation against Russia after another with complete indifference to where this may lead.</p><p>One month ago, Latvia was threatening to close the Baltic to Russian ships as punishment for the possible Russian involvement in damage to the Balticonnector pipeline. That scandal quickly dispelled when the Finns announced that the likely cause was the anchor of a passing Chinese merchant vessel which detached during a storm.</p><p>However, now a similar threat has been issued by the European Commission as it has directed Denmark to inspect and possibly arrest oil tankers carrying Russian oil passing through Danish territorial waters on their way to the Atlantic for deliveries worldwide. The inspections will be to see if the vessels have proper European insurance coverage or not and the pretext for arrest will be that the vessels pose an environmental hazard. All of this is in answer to the findings of the <em>Financial Times</em> that nearly all Russian oil exported by sea is now being sold at well above the $60 ceiling mandated by Europe thanks to a shadow fleet that Russia assembled in the past year. October oil was sold for $80. which was just $10 below Brent.</p><p>One wonders whether anyone in Brussels or in Copenhagen stopped to think what response the Russians may make to any threats to stop their oil shipments by force on the seas. Russia is not some far away Iran without the wherewithal to react in these waters. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Injustice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/17/left-with-no-defense-mcbride-pleads-guilty/" data-original-title="" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/11/17/left-with-no-defense-mcbride-pleads-guilty/" target="_blank" title="">LEFT WITH NO DEFENSE, McBRIDE PLEADS GUILTY</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 11-17-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>With his options for a fair trial exhausted, Australian whistleblower David McBride on Friday asked for a new indictment to which he pled guilty on all counts. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">McBride, a former military lawyer, was charged with stealing government documents and giving them to journalists to reveal covered-up murders of unarmed civilians by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">His defense had rested on the court accepting his argument that his oath to the British crown gave him a duty beyond obedience to military orders to instead inform the entire nation of these crimes. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">But the trial judge, Justice David Mossop, said he would instruct the jury, which was to be selected starting Monday, to disregard any public interest in the defense. “There is no aspect of duty that allows the accused to act in the public interest contrary to a lawful order,” he told the court Wednesday.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/population-projections.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>U.S. Population Projected to Begin Declining in Second Half of Century</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p>[U.S. Census Bureau, November 9, 2023 [via downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>The U.S. population is projected to reach a high of nearly 370 million in 2080 before edging downward to 366 million in 2100. By 2100, the total U.S. resident population is projected to increase by only 9.7% from 2022, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau population projections released today. The projections provide possible scenarios of population change for the nation through the end of the century.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtoninformer.com/the-majority-of-all-u-s-children-are-of-color/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Majority of All U.S. Children are of Color</strong></a><br /></p><p>Stacy M. Brown, April 14, 2021 [Washington Informer, via downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In 2019, there were more than 73 million children in the United States – making up 22 percent of the nation’s population.</p><p>Children of color made up 49.8 percent of all children, and more than half of the 19.6 million children under five in America were individuals of color.</p><p>The statistics are part of the nonprofit Children’s Defense Fund’s “The State of America’s Children 2021 report.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/11/10/inheritance-america-taxes-equality/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How inheritance data secretly explains U.S. inequality</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 11-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A little over 1 in 5 U.S. households had received an inheritance at some point in their lives as of 2022, according to the Federal Reserve’s remarkable Survey of Consumer Finances. The inheritance rate jumps to 2 out of 5 if you look only at folks in their 70s, who have had more time for their parents and favorite aunts to meet a regrettable but timely demise. But even those folks are in the lucky minority. <br /></p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.cooperative-individualism.org/fairchild-walter_review-of-gustavus-myers-the-ending-of-hereditary-american-fortunes-1940-mar-apr.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Gustavus Myers, <em>The Ending of Hereditary American Fortunes</em> (1939)</a></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>Assaults on the'hereditary transmission of wealth came into the open in 1829 by a resolution adopted by the Workingmen’s Party in New York City “that the first appropriation of the soil of the State to private and exclusive possession was eminently and barbarously unjust. That it was substantially feudal in character, inasmuch as those who received enormous and unequal possessions were lords and those who received little or nothing were vassals.” Having made this<br />timely and pertinent approach, understood then by everybody, the resolutions went on to press the main point: “That hereditary transmission of wealth, on the one hand, and poverty on the other, has brought down to the present generation all of the evils of the feudal system, and that, in our opinion, is the prime source of all our calamities.”<br /><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/7ec58940-9ed6-4a35-b595-c626ae42816c?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/7ec58940-9ed6-4a35-b595-c626ae42816c?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">Benjamin Franklin on Property</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[<em>Writings of Benjamin Franklin,</em> 9:138, via Thomas Neuberger, November 17, 2023]</p><blockquote><p>All Property, indeed, except the Savage's temporary Cabin, his Bow, his Matchcoat, and other little Acquisitions, absolutely necessary for his Subsistence, seems to me to be the Creature of public Convention. Hence the Public has the Right of Regulating Descents, and all other Conveyances of Property, and even of limiting the Quantity and the Uses of it. All the Property that is necessary to a Man, for the Conservation of the Individual and the Propagation of the Species, is his natural Right, which none can justly deprive him of: But all Property superfluous to such purposes is the Property of the Publick, who, by their Laws, have created it, and who may therefore by other Laws dispose of it, whenever the Welfare of the Publick shall demand such Disposition.</p></blockquote><p>[Neuberger adds: “File under ‘Property is a social agreement, not a right.’ ” ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://radfordfreepress.com/?p=3475" target="_blank" title="">Milanovic Gets Feisty</a></strong><br /></p><p>Peter Radford '[The Radford Free Press, via Mike Norman Economics, November 15, 2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>I have just finished reading the excellent new book by Branko Milanovic. It’s called “Visions of Inequality” and is a tour through the history of economics since the days of Quesnay. More specifically it takes a look at how a handful of prominent economists have treated the topic of inequality. Most of you will have covered this territory before, but examining how people such as Quesnay, Smith, Ricardo, Marx, Pareto and Kuznets discussed the problem of distribution is not only an excellent refresher on their individual thought, but is also a tour through the evolution of economics itself.…<br /></p><p>In his very long seventh chapter, where he lays bare the lean years for the study of distribution, he goes on offense. He prefers to call the economics developed during those mid to late twentieth century decades “Cold War” economics because it was ideologically tainted by the preferences of the American ruling class. It also suffered a catastrophic breakdown of method. The two go hand in hand. In order to eliminate power — and thus by definition things such as class — economics reduced its boundaries and focused only on matters that did not disturb its patrons.… <br /></p><p>Power matters. The study of inequality allows us to reconnect economics with reality…<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/f6cb2395-0636-42ee-87b1-01227370237d?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/f6cb2395-0636-42ee-87b1-01227370237d?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States</a></strong><br /></p><p>[ProPublica, via Thomas Neuberger, November 17, 2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-13/anger-is-what-s-driving-the-us-economy?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcwMDA3ODg4MiwiZXhwIjoxNzAwNjgzNjgyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTNDI2SzFUMEcxS1cwMSIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIxQzU5RkM5NjZDRTU0N0QwOTc1RkRBNTFBRTY1N0ZENyJ9.wSQXKAW-yxb25JrG4EChQIjl3Teo9wd4eeRVpv6t_CU&utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=website" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Anger Is What’s Driving the US Economy</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 11-16-2023]<br /></p><p>Chief Economist of the United States Department of Labor (2010–2011)<br /></p><blockquote><p>A deep-seated resentment about a “rigged” system has been simmering since long before the pandemic and continues to affect consumer attitudes….<br /></p><p>...Why is the gap between attitudes and action so large? Much of the economic anger expressed in the polls may be less about current economic conditions and more about the economy the US has built over the past 40 years: one of high and rising inequality, with greater economic fragility due to higher income volatility and a reduced safety net. A deep-seated anger about how the economy is “rigged” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.li/o/DdmFb/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/01/09/70-of-americans-say-u-s-economic-system-unfairly-favors-the-powerful/%23:~:text=70%25%20of%20Americans%20say%20U.S.%20economic%20system%20unfairly%20favors%20the%20powerful,-By%20Ruth%20Igielnik&text=The%20notion%20that%20the%20U.S.,to%20resonate%20with%20many%20Americans" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.li/o/DdmFb/https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/01/09/70-of-americans-say-u-s-economic-system-unfairly-favors-the-powerful/%23:~:text=70%25%20of%20Americans%20say%20U.S.%20economic%20system%20unfairly%20favors%20the%20powerful,-By%20Ruth%20Igielnik&text=The%20notion%20that%20the%20U.S.,to%20resonate%20with%20many%20Americans" target="_blank" title="">has been simmering</a> since long before the pandemic.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://ritholtz.com/2023/11/revisiting-greedflation/" target="_blank" title="">Revisiting Greedflation </a></strong><br /></p><p>Barry Ritholtz, November 16, 2023 [The Big Picture]<br /></p><blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://ritholtz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cost-goods.png" target="_blank" title="">GRAPH — Total Sales compared to Cost of Goods Sold</a></strong></p><p>The first person to identify this was Corbu’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelerines/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelerines/" target="_blank" title="">Samuel Rines</a>. (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/SamuelRines" href="https://twitter.com/SamuelRines" target="_blank">Twitter</a>) He first began discussing the corporate preference for maintaining margin in 2022; over time, he observed some companies had pricing power for both <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ritholtz.com/2023/04/price-over-volume/" data-original-title="" href="https://ritholtz.com/2023/04/price-over-volume/" target="_blank" title="">price AND volume</a>. Soon after, “Price over volume” began to morph into “Price AND Margin” (PAM).</p><p>It’s the kind of subject ripe for academic analysis. Mike Konczal, director of the macroeconomic analysis program at the Roosevelt Institute, wrote a report,<em> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/RI_PricesProfitsPower_202206.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/RI_PricesProfitsPower_202206.pdf" target="_blank" title="">Prices, profits, and power</a></em>. (See charts above and below) The focus was on annual net profit margins. It was about 5.5% in the 1960 to 1980 era. In the ZIRP decade of ultra-low rates in the 2010s, it rose to 6%. In 2021, it shot up to 9.5%.</p><p>That’s a huge, unexplained increase:<br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://ritholtz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/markups-1024x491.png" target="_blank" title="">GRAPH — Markups have increased</a></strong><br /></p><p>...The “tell” about corporate profits and greedflation came after 2022 proved to be such a challenging year in the markets. Despite 500+ BPS of rate increases, a ~20% drop in the S&P500, and a 30+% drop in the Nasdaq 100, profits have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/profit-inflation-is-real" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/profit-inflation-is-real" target="_blank" title="">remained much better than expected</a>….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong> <br /></p><p>A new book to read: <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520385641/busting-the-bankers-club" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520385641/busting-the-bankers-club" target="_blank" title="">Busting the Bankers’ Club</a> </strong></p><p>[University of California Press, via Naked Capitalism 11-13-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-138835321" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The UAW’s Game Changer: The Right to Strike over Mass Layoffs</strong></a></p><p>Les Leopold, November 15, 2023</p><blockquote><p>The United Auto Workers has scored major victories in its new contracts with the Big Three automakers: GM, Ford, and Stellantis. Not only did the union win massive wage increases and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/what-the-united-auto-workers-will-gain-in-their-historic-contracts#:~:text=After%20six%20weeks%20of%20strikes,Plant%20for%20Jeep%2Dmaker%20Stellantis." data-original-title="" href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/what-the-united-auto-workers-will-gain-in-their-historic-contracts#:~:text=After%20six%20weeks%20of%20strikes,Plant%20for%20Jeep%2Dmaker%20Stellantis." title="">other critical demands</a>, but it also won the virtually unheard of right to strike over plant closures. This historic victory could have significant benefits for all working people….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.levernews.com/you-love-to-see-it-chicago-workers-get-vacations/" target="_blank">Non-Union Auto Workers Win, Too </a></strong><br /></p><p>[The Lever 11-14-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The impacts of the historic 2023 United Auto Workers strike, which ended victoriously in October, are now reverberating across the industry. In recent weeks, major automakers Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda all announced plans to raise wages at their U.S. factories by 25 percent over the next five years, matching the deals that union auto workers won from the Big Three automakers after six weeks of targeted strikes.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/uaw-auto-workers-general-strike-contract-labor-unions" data-original-title="" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/uaw-auto-workers-general-strike-contract-labor-unions" target="_blank" title="">A General Strike in 2028 Is a Uniquely Plausible Dream</a> </strong></p><p>[In These Times, via Naked Capitalism 11-15-2023] </p><p>“The UAW’s call for unions to align their contract expirations is legitimate<strong></strong>ly achievable. But the work starts now.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-11-14-tesla-swedish-workers-unions/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>At Tesla, Swedish Workers Can Do What American Workers Can’t</strong></a><br /></p><p>Harold Meyerson, November 14, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Tesla has no factories in Sweden, but it does employ around 120 mechanics to tune up and fix their cars. The union of such workers, IF Metall, has been trying for years to get Tesla to the bargaining table, as is the norm in Sweden, where roughly 90 percent of the workforce is represented by unions. The very idea is anathema, of course, to Elon Musk, who believes such matters at the company, and perhaps in the world at large, are best left to Elon Musk. After Musk responded with a flat No to recognize the union, the mechanics walked off the job on October 27 and remain on strike.</p><p>What followed illustrates nicely what it means when a nation has solidaristic values reinforced by solidaristic laws. A few days into the strike, the union of Swedish dockworkers announced it would no longer unload Teslas at the nation’s ports. (The Teslas sold in Sweden are shipped in from German and U.S. Tesla factories.) Then, the painters’ union joined in and vowed that its members would no longer do paint jobs on any Teslas in need of a touch-up. Now, the Communications Employees vows not to make deliveries to Tesla’s offices if Tesla doesn’t recognize its mechanics union by November 20.</p><p>These are not actions that U.S. unions could undertake in support of a UAW strike at Tesla. During the great period of union growth in the U.S., however—roughly 1936 through 1947—such “solidarity strikes” were legal and not uncommon. With the passage of the National Labor Relations Act in 1935, they were seen, and codified, as a necessary way to build worker power in a capitalist nation where undue power by managers and shareholders was the default condition of economic relations—a condition that had contributed to a catastrophic global depression in the early 1930s.</p><p>With the enactment (over President Truman’s veto) of the Taft-Hartley Act by a Congress dominated by Republicans and right-wing Southern Democrats in 1947, however, secondary strikes and boycotts by workers in support of striking workers at a different company or in a different sector were outlawed. At the time, unions represented roughly one-third of the American workforce, but under Taft-Hartley, their rise was abruptly halted and within a decade began its 60-plus-year decline to its current 10 percent level (just 6 percent in the private sector). That puts the share of unionized workers about where it was before the NLRA legalized workers’ right to bargain in the mid-’30s. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/11/last-year-12000-lobbyists-were-whispering-in-the-ear-of-congress-with-a-bankroll-of-4-1-billion-five-senators-are-demanding-transparency/" target="_blank" title="">Last Year 12,000 Lobbyists Were Whispering in the Ear of Congress with a Bankroll of $4.1 Billion; Five Senators Are Demanding Transparency</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, November 16, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Yesterday, five U.S. Senators who are members of the Senate Banking Committee issued a letter to Gary Gensler, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), demanding that he issue a rule that would force publicly-traded companies to disclose the dollar amount of their lobbying expenditures as well as the issues they are lobbying for or against. The authors of the letter were: U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.).<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/why-protectionists-sometimes-win-the-narrative-power-of-economic-nationalism.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Why Protectionists Sometimes Win: The Narrative Power of Economic Nationalism</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Marvin Suesse [VoxEU, via Naked Capitalism 11-16-2023]<br /></p><p>In her introduction, Yves Smith quotes from her 2010 book <em>Econned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism</em>:<br /></p><blockquote><p>Recall that the situations that economists stipulate in theoretical models are idealized, usually highly so. Consumers are rational and have access to perfect information. There are no transaction costs. Goods of a particular type are identical. Capital moves freely across borders. Using these assumptions, or similar ones, the model is then shown to produce a global optimum.This highly abstract result is then used to argue for making the world correspond as closely to the model as possible, by lowering transaction costs (such as taxes and regulatory costs) and reducing barriers to movements of goods and capital.</p><p>But these changes will not produce the fantasy world of the model. Doing business always involves costs, such as negotiating, invoicing, and shipping. Capital never moves without restriction. Buyers and sellers are never all knowing, and products are differentiated….</p><p>The article shows, first in narrative form, then with the required formulas, that if all the conditions for the ideal state cannot be met, trying to meet anything less than all of them will not necessarily produce an optimum. Partial fulfillment of equilibrium conditions may be positively harmful, forcing the economy to a less desirable state than it was in before. Thus simple-minded attempts to make the world resemble hypothetical optimizing models could well make matters worse.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=61355" target="_blank" title="">Fiscal austerity does not on average reduce public debt ratios </a></strong><br /></p><p>Bill Mitchell [Modern Monetary Theory, via Mike Norman Economics, November 13, 2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The resurgence of economic orthodoxy is a great example of how declining schools of thought can maintain dominance in the narrative for extended periods of time if the vested interests are powerful enough. In the case of the economics profession, mainstream New Keynesian theory persists because it serves the interests of capital. Recently, the IMF urged the Australian government to engage in ‘fiscal consolidation’ in order to support further interest rate hikes by the RBA aimed at reducing inflation quickly. In general, the IMF is urging nations to engage in fiscal austerity in order to bring their public debt ratios down. The problem is that even their own research shows that these fiscal adjustments on average do not succeed. And, usually, they leave a damaged society where the lower income and disadvantaged cohorts are forced to endure the bulk of the negative effects.…<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/surveillance-wages-a-taxonomy/" data-original-title="" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/surveillance-wages-a-taxonomy/" target="_blank" title="">SURVEILLANCE WAGES: A TAXONOMY</a> </strong></p><p>Zephyr Teachout [Law and Political Economy Project, via Naked Capitalism 11-12-2023]</p><blockquote><p>One notable feature of the so-called gig economy is that workers, such as for-hire drivers and delivery workers, are often paid different amounts for performing the same task. More broadly, as work by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://themarkup.org/working-for-an-algorithm/2022/03/01/secretive-algorithm-will-now-determine-uber-driver-pay-in-many-cities" href="https://themarkup.org/working-for-an-algorithm/2022/03/01/secretive-algorithm-will-now-determine-uber-driver-pay-in-many-cities">the Markup</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/the-house-always-wins-the-algorithmic-gamblification-of-work/" data-original-title="" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/the-house-always-wins-the-algorithmic-gamblification-of-work/" title="">Veena Dubal</a> shows, the manner in which these wages are calculated is a black box: they are determined by a complicated algorithm to which the workers have no access….<br /></p><p>In addition to making worker’s pay much less predictable, the potential spread of these management techniques has broader <a data-cke-saved-href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00323292231183828" data-original-title="" href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00323292231183828" title="">democratic implications</a>. They will increase economic and racial inequality, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/worker-surveillance-and-class-power/" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/worker-surveillance-and-class-power/">undermine labor solidarity</a>, and put workers in a profoundly humiliating position in relationship to their boss, one where worker speech and autonomy are highly circumscribed….<br /></p><p>With this taxonomy in hand, let’s return to the democratic implications of such wage discrimination. To begin, real time and individually targeted wages will transform the nature of supervision. It undermines the importance of relationships between supervisors and mid-level decisionmakers, instead allowing upper-level management to continuously spy and tinker with low-level workers. Workers are then employed in a state of rational paranoia, where they know that they are being punished and rewarded and experimented upon, but they have no way of knowing whether any given decision they are faced with is a result of a game, an experiment, a punishment, a reward, or changing circumstances on the ground and changing needs at the job. Being dominated, watched, and controlled are destabilizing conditions even when they are occasional, and all the more so if they are the center of work life. Privacy concerns that have long attended the workplace—and never been adequately addressed—are thus even more important today, as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/electron-surveillance-is-short-circuiting-employment-and-labor-law/" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/electron-surveillance-is-short-circuiting-employment-and-labor-law/">the lack of protection from intimate intrusions enables this further harm</a>.</p><p>Beyond undermining the liberties of the moderns, intrusive surveillance and experimentation and differentiation also necessarily undermines the liberties of the ancients. The people being surveilled are not just workers but citizens, who must vote, serve on juries, share their experiences with the public, and engage in public debate. Citizens are also subject to some of the same monopoly practices in their role as consumers, but the relationship between the consumer and surveillance capitalism and the worker and the surveilled workplace is different. At work—when labor markets have a handful of dominant players—employees don’t even have the theoretical option of opting out of being watched. Negotiating the terms of surveillance and experimentation simply doesn’t happen. And unlike the consumer, the worker is surveilled for the entire scope of their workday, with no default right of respite.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/transitory-inflation-why-mainstream-economics-got-it-wrong-by-james-k-galbraith-2023-11" data-original-title="" href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/transitory-inflation-why-mainstream-economics-got-it-wrong-by-james-k-galbraith-2023-11" target="_blank" title="">Why Mainstream Economics Got Inflation Wrong</a> </strong><br /></p><p>James K. Galbraith, November 15, 2023 [Project Syndicate]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Leading economists' misdiagnosis of inflation in 2021-22 was the latest episode in a long-running series of failures, from not foreseeing the 2008 financial crisis to endorsing self-destructive austerity in the 2010s. Either mainstream economists need to re-examine their core beliefs, or the profession needs a new mainstream.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175932/milton-friedman-chicagonomics-end-reign" target="_blank" title="">The End of Milton Friedman’s Reign</a></strong><br /></p><p>Patrick Iber, November 13, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Jennifer Burns’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/milton-friedman-the-last-conservative-jennifer-burns/19509944?ean=9780374601140" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/milton-friedman-the-last-conservative-jennifer-burns/19509944?ean=9780374601140" target="_blank">biography</a> of the economist Milton Friedman arrives at a moment when his legacy is increasingly questioned. For no one is more closely linked with neoliberalism than Friedman, who preached the virtues of markets in popular books, on public television, and from his position at the University of Chicago. One of Friedman’s major accomplishments, as Burns describes it, is to have crafted the “basic intellectual consensus about free markets and limited government that powered twentieth-century American conservatism.” ….</p><p>Because the book avoids polemic, the reader will not leave with a deep understanding of why Friedman’s influence has faded. There are very good reasons to doubt that his view of the world is the right one for the problems of our time. Burns has written with one kind of fairness in mind. But a more critical look at Friedman’s legacy could have been fair, too. Friedman’s statue casts a long shadow, and a different vantage would have shown something less monumental, but not less true.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-there-an-establishment-plan-to" target="_blank" title="">Is There an Establishment Plan to Repeal Antitrust Laws?</a></strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-17-2023] , <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-there-an-establishment-plan-to" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/is-there-an-establishment-plan-to" target="_blank" title="">BIG</a>]. </p><blockquote><p>“Here’s Montana Senator Jon Tester, running for reelection in a very Trump-friendly state as a Democrat, attacking consolidation in the meat-packing and seed industries as a point of distinction between the parties… [T]he juxtaposition of very popular antitrust with ham-fisted efforts to weaken antitrust provides fertile terrain for doing some brute politics…. Given where most Republican and Trump voters are on issues of corporate power, the attack ads write themselves… That kind of ad could be done in a Republican primary, or a general election. They could also be used in Democratic primaries, or general elections. It really does not matter. The point is, right now, lower prices are the top priority for over two-thirds of voters. Yet, most voters haven’t heard about what antitrust enforcers are doing… Senator Jon Tester thinks it’s politically salient enough to bring up. It won’t take much more for big business to be on the ballot in 2024.” • Appointing Lina Kahn is one of the very few unambiguously good things Biden has done, and he’s not running on it. Curious.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/big-tech-on-trial-is-googles-reckoning?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/big-tech-on-trial-is-googles-reckoning?" target="_blank" title="">Big Tech on Trial: Is Google’s Reckoning Finally Here?</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 11-12-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreverwars.ghost.io/the-anti-surveillance-coalitions-highest-stakes-gamble/?ref=forever-wars-newsletter" data-original-title="" href="https://foreverwars.ghost.io/the-anti-surveillance-coalitions-highest-stakes-gamble/?ref=forever-wars-newsletter" target="_blank" title="">The Anti-Surveillance Coalition’s Highest-Stakes Gamble</a> </strong></p><p>Forever Wars by Spencer Ackerman, via Naked Capitalism 11-12-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://techpolicy.press/confronting-the-threat-of-deepfakes-in-politics/" data-original-title="" href="https://techpolicy.press/confronting-the-threat-of-deepfakes-in-politics/" target="_blank" title="">Confronting the Threat of Deepfakes in Politics</a> </strong></p><p>[Tech Policy Press, via Naked Capitalism 11-12-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bigtechontrial.com/p/is-it-google-magic-or-just-user-data" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bigtechontrial.com/p/is-it-google-magic-or-just-user-data" target="_blank" title="">Is it Google “magic” or just user data?</a> </strong></p><p>[Big Tech on Trial, via Naked Capitalism 11-18-2023]</p><p>[Lambert Strether notes: “Theory of the case. Well worth a read.”] </p><p><br /><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213600629/-it-feels-like-im-not-crazy-gardeners-arent-surprised-as-usda-updates-key-map" data-original-title="" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/11/17/1213600629/-it-feels-like-im-not-crazy-gardeners-arent-surprised-as-usda-updates-key-map" target="_blank" title="">‘It feels like I’m not crazy.’ Gardeners aren’t surprised as USDA updates key map</a> </strong></p><p>[NPR, via Naked Capitalism 11-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>... U.S. Department of Agriculture's "<a data-cke-saved-href="https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/" href="https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/">plant hardiness zone map</a>," and it's the national standard for gardeners and growers to figure out which plants are most likely to survive the coldest winter temperatures in their location.</p><p>This week the map got its first update in more than a decade, and the outlook for many gardens looks warmer. The 2023 map is about 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 2012 map across the contiguous U.S., says Chris Daly, director of the PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/new-plant-hardiness-map-used-gardeners-nationwide-and-based-osu-climate-data-unveiled" href="https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/new-plant-hardiness-map-used-gardeners-nationwide-and-based-osu-climate-data-unveiled">jointly developed the map with the USDA</a>.</p><p>Daly says the new map means about half the country has shifted into a new half zone and half hasn't. In some locations, people may find they can grow new types of flowers, fruits, vegetables and plants.</p><p>Many of the nation's gardeners are not surprised by the change….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/well-designed-cities-can-withstand-21st-century-weather-extremes" data-original-title="" href="https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/well-designed-cities-can-withstand-21st-century-weather-extremes" target="_blank" title="">Well-designed cities can withstand 21st-century weather extremes</a> </strong></p><p>[Interesting Engineering, via Naked Capitalism 11-13-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-ultra-efficient-farm-of-the-future-is-in-the-sky/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Ultra-Efficient Farm of the Future Is in the Sky</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Wired, via The Big Picture 11-13-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Take a tour of a rooftop laboratory where scientists show how growing crops under solar panels can produce both food and clean energy. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/3-takeaways-from-bidens-big-transmission-plan/" target="_blank" title="">3 takeaways from Biden’s big transmission plan</a></strong><br /></p><p>Brian Dabbs, Miranda Willson, Jeffrey Tomich, Jason Plautz, November 14, 2023 [E & E News Energy Wire]<br /></p><blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-10/National_Transmission_Needs_Study_2023.pdf" href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2023-10/National_Transmission_Needs_Study_2023.pdf" target="_blank">A long-awaited study</a> released by the Department of Energy last month laid out the areas of the country with the biggest transmission needs. DOE could soon spell out its plan to use the siting authority — which was strengthened by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law — to pave the way for national transmission corridors. Some energy experts argue that program could alter the course of electricity development as the Biden administration seeks a carbon-free U.S. grid by 2035.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/177019/billionaire-philanthropy-scam-bill-gates" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Billionaire Philanthropy Is a Scam</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Jason Linkins, November 18, 2023 [The New Republic]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>...if there’s one thing that money is absolutely stupendous at doing, it’s solving problems. Naturally, the more money you have, the more problems you can solve. Which is why the fact that we’ve allowed a large portion of an otherwise finite amount of wealth to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rising-inequality-a-major-issue-of-our-time/?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/rising-inequality-a-major-issue-of-our-time/?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank" title="">become concentrated</a> in the hands of an <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americansfortaxfairness.org/billionaires/?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" data-original-title="" href="https://americansfortaxfairness.org/billionaires/?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank" title="">increasing number of billionaire plutocrats</a> is something of a crisis: Since they have all the money, they call the shots on what problems get solved. And the main problem they want to solve is the public relations problem that’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/30/billionaire-stealth-politics-america-100-richest-what-they-want?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/30/billionaire-stealth-politics-america-100-richest-what-they-want?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank" title="">arisen from their terrible ideas</a>.</p><p>Naturally, the ultrarich put on a big show of generosity to temper your resolve to claw back their fortunes. Everywhere you look, their philanthropic endeavors thrive….</p><p>But as a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ips-dc.org/report-true-cost-of-billionaire-philanthropy/?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" data-original-title="" href="https://ips-dc.org/report-true-cost-of-billionaire-philanthropy/?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank" title="">new report</a> from the Institute for Policy Studies finds, these pledgers aren’t following through on their commitments—and the often self-serving nature of their philanthropy is actually making things worse for charitable organizations.<br /></p><p>As the IPS notes, the business of being a billionaire—which suffered nary a hiccup <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/22/economy/billionaires-poverty-oxfam-davos/index.html?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/22/economy/billionaires-poverty-oxfam-davos/index.html?mc_cid=bfa8894a28&mc_eid=UNIQID" target="_blank" title="">during the pandemic</a>—is booming. So one of the challenges that the Giving Pledgers face is that the rate at which they accrue wealth is making their promise harder to fulfill. The 73 pledgers “who were billionaires in 2010 saw their wealth grow by 138 percent, or 224 percent when adjusted for inflation, through 2022,” with combined assets ballooning from $348 billion to $828 billion….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176458/big-publishing-killed-author-sinykin-fiction-review" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Big Publishing Killed the Author</strong></a><br /></p><p>Scott W. Stern, November 15, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>How corporations wrested creative control from writers and editors—to produce less interesting books.<br /></p><p>The suggestion that <em>Beloved</em>, Toni Morrison’s acclaimed novel about slavery and its afterlives, is also a parable about the publishing industry would be bizarre, even offensive—if, that is, Morrison herself hadn’t explicitly suggested it. For years, Morrison had felt not merely penned in by her career as an editor at the publishing giant Random House; she had felt indentured, “held in contempt—to be played with when our masters are pleased, to be dismissed when they are not,” as she declared in a speech six years before publishing <em>Beloved</em>. Upon leaving her job at Random House to focus on writing full-time, she felt “free in a way I had never been, ever.… Enter <em>Beloved</em>.” It was, she continued in the novel’s preface, “the shock of liberation”—liberation from the world of corporate publishing—“that drew my thoughts to what ‘free’ could mean.”….<br /></p><p>In despairing of the modern publishing industry, even comparing it to bondage, Morrison was far from alone. Indeed, as Dan Sinykin, an assistant professor of English at Emory University, argues in his revelatory new book, <a data-cke-saved-href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/big-fiction/9780231192958" data-original-title="" href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/big-fiction/9780231192958" target="_blank" title=""><em>Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature</em></a>, the increasing consolidation and corporatization of the publishing industry—a process Sinykin calls “conglomeration”—profoundly changed not merely the way novels were published but also the content of those novels. As publishers grew far larger—and ever more concerned with the bottom line—the lives of editors and authors transformed. More than ever before, they became cogs in a corporate machine, responsible for growth and returns on investment, necessarily responsive to the whims and demands of capital—and these pressures increasingly showed up in their output….<br /></p><p>Then everything changed. In 1960, the newspaper <em>Times Mirror Company</em> purchased the mass-market publisher New American Library, inaugurating what Sinykin calls “the conglomerate era.” That same year, Random House went public and, flush with newfound capital, acquired Knopf and, a year later, Pantheon. Conglomeration spread rapidly, with well-capitalized behemoths gobbling up mass-market houses and old family-run firms with equal fervor. Over the next decade and a half, the electronics company Radio Corporation of America acquired Random House, a Canadian communications firm nabbed Macmillan, the Italian conglomerate that owned Fiat swallowed Bantam, and Gulf + Western bought Simon & Schuster. Ultimately, conglomeration consolidated more and more imprints under single roofs, with the German conglomerate Bertelsmann seizing Doubleday in 1986, Random House in 1998, and Penguin (via a merger) in 2013….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/176971/plastics-poisoning-bodies-politics" target="_blank" title="">Plastics Are Poisoning Both Our Bodies and Our Politics</a></strong><br /></p><p>Heather Souvaine Horn, November 17, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The petrochemical industry is obstructing a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/11/bank-regulator-who-approved-the-riskiest-u-s-bank-getting-bigger-in-may-wants-to-do-a-survey-on-why-trust-in-u-s-banks-is-tanking/" target="_blank" title="">Bank Regulator Who Approved the Riskiest U.S. Bank Getting Bigger in May, Wants to Do a Survey on Why Trust in U.S. Banks Is Tanking</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, November 13, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p><br /><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/squad-primary-battle-israel-gaza-pacs.html" data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/squad-primary-battle-israel-gaza-pacs.html" target="_blank" title="">The Squad Is About to Fight for Its Political Life </a></strong></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/squad-primary-battle-israel-gaza-pacs.html" data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/11/squad-primary-battle-israel-gaza-pacs.html" target="_blank" title="">Slate</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-16-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“One of the biggest, bitterest, and most expensive political battles of the 2024 election cycle has emerged: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, one of the most powerful, best-funded influence operations in Washington, is planning to go all out to knock the famed “Squad”—the small group of highly visible and popular progressive legislators of color, most of them women—out of office…. Critically, all of them reject big-money backing, surviving on just grassroots support and small-dollar fundraising… In the 2022 midterms, the Israel lobby became the largest single-issue outside spender in Democratic primaries, pouring in nearly $30 million via the super PAC the United Democracy Project, and millions more via the Democratic Majority for Israel PAC. It was an astronomical amount of money, mostly directed at knocking progressives out of the primaries, largely in open and redrawn seats. Despite there being fewer vacancies in 2024, that money figure is expected to at least triple.” It would be handy to have an explanation of why AIPAC’s campaign isn’t election interference by a foreign power. More: “So far, House Democratic leadership has been quiet about all this [lol]. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—who took more money from the Israel lobby in 2022 than from any other group and is featured prominently on the lobbying group’s website (alongside House Republican leadership)—hasn’t tried to dissuade the primarying of these progressive Democratic incumbents. He could easily publicly disavow such spending and make it clear to candidates that accepting such support is against caucus policy; in 2019, House Democrats made it an official policy to blacklist any Democratic consultant or political group who aided a progressive challenger against a sitting Democratic incumbent ahead of the 2020 elections. But so far Jeffries has only managed to say: ‘Outside groups are gonna do what outside groups are gonna do. I think House Democrats are going to continue to support each other.'” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/how-the-israel-lobby-silenced-democratic-dissent/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How The Israel Lobby Silenced Democratic Dissent </strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Amos Barshad, November 16, 2023 [The Lever]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>After AIPAC targeted a Jewish Democratic congressman, most Dem lawmakers won’t risk pressing Israel to stop its war.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176836/milwaukee-wisconsin-black-voters-2024-election" target="_blank" title="">The City That Just Might Decide the 2024 Election</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Dan Simmons, November 16, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Milwaukee’s sizable Black population is supposed to help put Biden over the top—but people there aren’t as put off by Trump as white liberals would hope.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/home/post/p-138862464" target="_blank" title="">It's Alive! Social Justice Movement Turns On Its Creators</a></strong></p><p>Russell Dobular, November 14, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>In 1816, over the course of a rainy vacation in Geneva, 20-year-old Mary Shelly wrote what many consider to be the first science fiction novel. In it, brilliant young medical student Victor von Frankenstein creates a creature sown together from the body parts of the dead that eventually murders everyone he loves, before driving his creator to the ends of the earth in a doomed attempt at revenge. The story has been retold in countless films, most of which focus on the grotesque and the macabre elements, while ignoring the moral and philosophical questions that have made it such an enduring cultural myth. But those questions are so much a part of its legacy that to describe an arrogant creator playing with forces they scarcely understand, losing control of their creation, and then being destroyed by it, all you need to say is, “They created a Frankenstein monster,” and everyone will know exactly what you mean.<br /></p><p>And so it is with the decades-long project in liberal politics, corporate branding, and academia, to redirect the famously disruptive energies of youth away from questions of class and economics, and towards questions of race, gender, and sexuality, to the exclusion of all other things. The product of this mad scientist’s experiment in separating race from class, fat from food, attraction from aesthetics, gender expression from sex, and sex in turn from biology, all with the purpose of driving the public to fight over absurdities while our overlords extract the last scrap of wealth remaining in the hands of the peasantry, has been a lumbering misshapen ideological monstrosity, as incapable of forming a coherent sentence as Boris Karloff’s iconic interpretation of Shelley’s nightmare….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong>Conservative / Libertarian Drive to Civil War</strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/12/07/mildred-rutherfords-war-american-history-textbooks/" target="_blank" title="">Mildred Rutherford’s War</a><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/12/07/mildred-rutherfords-war-american-history-textbooks/" target="_blank" title="">: The “historian general” of the United Daughters of the Confederacy began the battle over the depiction of the Old South and slavery in US history textbooks that continues today</a></strong><br /></p><p>Adam Hochschild [December 7, 2023 issue of The New York Review]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The long battle over American history textbooks arose from the ashes of the Civil War, which had left the white population of the South devastated. Parts of many towns and cities were in rubble; 18 percent of Southern white men between the ages of thirteen and forty-three had been killed—triple the rate in the North—and by some estimates nearly 200,000 Southern soldiers were wounded. The humiliation of military defeat quickly gave rise to a romanticization of the Old South that became known as the Lost Cause. That vanished land was happy, rural, and idyllic for all, white and Black, the myth goes, without the problems of industrial society, and it was this harmonious world that the brave Confederate soldiers had fought to defend….<br /></p><p>The next stage came in the 1890s with the founding of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which quickly became the most influential force promoting the Lost Cause. The Daughters, as they were called, grew rapidly, quintupling their membership between 1900 and 1920. Their most visible work was helping to erect monuments to Confederate leaders. Although dozens of these have been toppled in the past few years, a far greater number are still standing….<br /></p><p>The most powerful impact of the Lost Cause, however, was on schools, in large part because of a formidable woman named Mildred Lewis Rutherford. Both her grandfathers were wealthy Georgia planters; one owned more than two hundred slaves. Two uncles were Confederate generals. Rutherford was as patriotic about her class as her region. The plantation owners she celebrated were, she claimed, descended from the cavaliers, the royalists of the English Civil War, “men of the leading families of England, gentlemen of the best English society, the landed gentry born to wealth.” By contrast, the villain who had crushed their world, Abraham Lincoln, had been chosen by Republicans because they “wanted a man from the lower class to humiliate the upper class.”….</p><p>Rutherford’s pamphlet <em>A Measuring Rod to Test Text-Books, and Reference Books in Schools, Colleges, and Libraries </em>laid down instructions as rigid as those of a Soviet cultural commissar:</p><ul><li>Reject a text-book that does not give the principles for which the South fought in 1861.<br /></li><li>Reject a book that says the South fought to hold her slaves.<br /></li><li>Reject a book that speaks of the slaveholder of the South as cruel and unjust to his slaves.</li></ul></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 11-12-2023]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>Advisers have also discussed deploying the military to quell potential unrest on Inauguration Day. Critics have called the ideas under consideration dangerous and unconstitutional. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.project2025.org/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Building now for a conservative victory through policy, personnel, and training</strong></a><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.project2025.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.project2025.org/" target="_blank" title="">Project 2025</a>, Heritage Foundation, via Thomas Neuberger, November 17, 2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on Day One of the next conservative Administration…. The 2025 Presidential Transition Project paves the way for an effective conservative Administration based on four pillars: a policy agenda, Presidential Personnel Database, Presidential Administration Academy, and playbook for the first 180 days of the next Administration.” (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" target="_blank" title="">920 pages in PDF</a>).</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/opinion/sunday/conservative-intellectuals-republicans.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Get to Know the Influential Conservative Intellectuals Who Help Explain G.O.P. Extremism</strong></a><br /></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 11-14-2023]</p><blockquote><div>We shouldn’t grow complacent about just how dangerous it all is — and how much more dangerous it could become. The efforts to overturn the 2020 election failed. We’re told that’s because the institutions held. But it’s more accurate to say that most of the individuals holding powerful positions within those institutions — the White House, the Pentagon, the courts, election officials in Georgia and other states — sided with the Constitution over Mr. Trump’s desire to remain in power.</div><div><br /></div><div>But what if key individuals decide differently the next time they are faced with this kind of choice? What if they have come to believe that the country is in such dire straits — has reached a state of apocalyptic decadence — that democracy is a luxury we can no longer afford?</div><div><br /></div><div>A coalition of intellectual catastrophists on the American right is trying to convince people of just that — giving the next generation of Republican officeholders, senior advisers, judges and appointees explicit permission and encouragement to believe that the country is on the verge of collapse. Some catastrophists take it a step further and suggest that officials might contemplate overthrowing liberal democracy in favor of revolutionary regime change or even imposing a right-wing dictatorship on the country….<br /></div><div></div><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><div><strong>The Claremont Catastrophists</strong></div><div>Probably the best-known faction of catastrophists and the one with the most direct connection to Republican politics is led by Michael Anton and others with ties to the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank in California. Mr. Anton’s notorious Claremont Review of Books essay in September 2016 called the contest between Mr. Trump and Hillary Clinton “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/digital/the-flight-93-election/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://claremontreviewofbooks.com/digital/the-flight-93-election/" target="_blank" title="">The Flight 93 Election</a>.” Mr. Anton, who would go on to serve as a National Security Council official in the Trump administration, insisted the choice facing Republicans, like the passengers on the jet hijacked by terrorists intent on self-immolation in a suicide attack on the White House or the Capitol on Sept. 11, was to “charge the cockpit or you die.” …. </div><div><br /></div><div>John Eastman, a conservative lawyer also at the Claremont Institute… In a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK8il7p_BoI" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hK8il7p_BoI" target="_blank" title="">conversation</a> this summer with Thomas Klingenstein, a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/04/far-right-republican-donor-woke-thomas-klingenstein" href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/04/far-right-republican-donor-woke-thomas-klingenstein" target="_blank">leading funder</a> of the Claremont Institute, Mr. Eastman explained why he thought such unprecedented moves were justified….<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>...far-right Silicon Valley tech guru and self-described “monarchist,” Curtis Yarvin<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><strong>The Christian Reverse Revolutionaries</strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong>...Stephen Wolfe, whose book “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://canonpress.com/products/the-case-for-christian-nationalism/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://canonpress.com/products/the-case-for-christian-nationalism/" target="_blank" title="">The Case for Christian Nationalism</a>” calls for a “just revolution” against America’s “gynocracy” (rule by women) that emasculates men, persuading them to affirm “feminine virtues, such as empathy, fairness and equality.” In its place, Mr. Wolfe proposes the installation of a “Christian prince,” or a form of “theocratic Caesarism.”….<strong></strong><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="is-empty-p"></p><div><strong>The Bronze Age Pervert and the Nietzschean Fringe</strong></div><div>Farther out on the right’s political and philosophical extremes there’s Costin Alamariu, the person <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/16/bronze-age-pervert-masculinity-00105427" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.li/o/onxvN/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/07/16/bronze-age-pervert-masculinity-00105427" target="_blank" title="">generally understood</a> to be writing under the pseudonym Bronze Age Pervert.</div><div><br /></div><div>He self-published a book in 2018, “Bronze Age Mindset,” which follows Friedrich Nietzsche and other authors beloved by the European far right in proclaiming that Western civilization itself is on the verge of collapse, its greatest achievements far in the past, its present a “garbage world” in an advanced state of decay….</div></div></blockquote><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.academia.edu/37313924/Risks_and_Rewards_Conservative_Foundations_and_the_New_Right_Movement?email_work_card=view-paper" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Risks and Rewards: Conservative Foundations and the New Right Movement</strong></a><br /></p><p>Alex DiBranco [presented on August30, 2018 at the American Political Science Association annual meeting in Boston, MA]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Scholarship on leftist movements suggests a moderating impact of foundation funding, but for conservative movements, more radical ideology potentially attracts patrons, as evidenced in the development of the New Right. This paper looks at the grant-making behavior of 15 core conservative foundations from 1971-1997, and their role in the right-wing realignment of the Republican Party. All the foundations under analysis were major funders of the Heritage Foundation, the leading organization of the New Right network, founded by serial entrepreneur Paul Weyrich to pursue grander policy and cultural change than existing “Old Right” organizations like the American Enterprise Institute. The dataset includes the Adolph Coors, Sarah Scaife, Bradley, Olin, and Samuel Roberts Noble foundations, among other prominent conservative foundations. Incorporating a unique database of conservative foundation grants with the history of the development of the New Right infrastructure, this paper seeks to understand the relationship between movement organizations and funders as a dynamic process. By establishing bonds of trust, taking a movement approach to giving, and accepting risk and failures as part of the process toward building substantive long-term change, conservative funders and entrepreneurs active in the 1970s and 1980s established a sustainable and influential network that impacts the present day political spectrum. Infamous contemporary funders like the Koch brothers, who spent those years promoting the Libertarian Party, both benefit from and are limited by the entities and agendas entrenched by the New Right.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176877/trump-vermin-speech-nazi-language" target="_blank" title=""><strong>It’s Official: With “Vermin,” Trump Is Now Using Straight-up Nazi Talk</strong></a></p><p>Michael Tomasky, November 12, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>[Trump’s] use—twice; once on social media and then repeated in a speech—<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/us/politics/trump-new-hampshire-veterans.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/11/us/politics/trump-new-hampshire-veterans.html" target="_blank" title="">of the word “vermin”</a> to describe his political enemies cannot be an accident. That’s an unusual word choice. It’s not a smear that one just grabs out of the air. And it appears in history chiefly in one context, and one context only.</p><p>Before we get to that, let’s just record <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-echoes-hitler-threatens-to-rid-america-of-vermin-from-within" href="https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-echoes-hitler-threatens-to-rid-america-of-vermin-from-within" target="_blank">what he wrote and said</a>. On Saturday at 10:25 a.m., he posted on Truth Social: “In honor of our great Veterans on Veteran’s Day, we pledge to you that we will root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American dream.” Then, at a rally in New Hampshire later that day, he <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7zvn9rLiSM" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7zvn9rLiSM" target="_blank">repeated</a> those words essentially verbatim—promising to “root out ... the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country”—and doubled down on it: “The real threat is not from the radical right; the real threat is from the radical left, and it’s growing every day, every single day. The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within.”<br /></p></blockquote><p><br /><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-11-16-texas-legislature-immigration-authority/#:~:text=On%20Tuesday%20evening%2C%20the%20Texas,Court%20case%20down%20the%20road." target="_blank" title=""><strong>Texas Legislature Votes to Seize Immigration Authority From Feds</strong></a><br /></p><p>Gus Bova, November 16, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>The legislature already stopped cities from passing laws they don’t like; now they’re claiming they can supersede federal law, too.<br /></p><p>On Tuesday evening, the Texas House passed <a data-cke-saved-href="https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=884&Bill=SB4" href="https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=884&Bill=SB4" target="_blank">Senate Bill 4</a>—a precedent-shattering measure that grants immigration enforcement powers to state and local police, magistrates, and judges—possibly teeing up a major U.S. Supreme Court case down the road.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: What are we supposed to do when an entire political party embraces neoconfederate ideas and policies? When the “Federalist” Society was formed,<a data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/27/federalist-society-yale-history-conservative-law-court-219608/" target="_blank" title=""> the founders wanted to name it the Anti-Federalist Society</a>, because they themselves understood that is what they really are.<br /></p><p>[Nixon’s White House Counsel John Dean warned that the “Republican” Party was tending toward authoritarianism as far back as 2006 in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatives_without_Conscience" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatives_without_Conscience" title="">Conservatives without Conscience</a>. And some scholars, such as Corey Robin, have explained how conservatism always tends toward authoritarianism.</p><p>[If Dean and Robin and others are correct, then at what point do you designate conservatives as domestic enemies of the Constitution and treat them accordingly? And how do you do it without “being partisan”?</p><p>[it is difficult to tell the difference, between authoritarian conservatives in the Republican party or the ones in the Democrat party until you look at the <strong>philosophy of government</strong> of conservatives, which is become explicitly anti-republican democracy and in many cases, openly calling for monarchical government, as the article above, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/opinion/sunday/conservative-intellectuals-republicans.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/opinion/sunday/conservative-intellectuals-republicans.html" target="_blank">www.nytimes.com/</a>…. shows. This is exactly the same process of creating and promoting an anti-republican philosophy of government that occurred in the southern slave states in the four decades leading up to the Civil War. <br /></p><p>[The key difference between the Republican and Democratic parties in our time is that the Democratic Party is gripped in a struggle for control between oligarchs and small d democrats, while the same struggle in the Republican Party has been won by the oligarchs who have imposed their explicitly anti-republican and anti-democracy philosophy of government, and there is no trace left of small r republicans.</p><p>[So, I agree with<a data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xSz7mLi_SE&t=3978s" target="_blank" title=""> Thomas Frank’s assessment three months ago on YouTube </a>that 1) the Republican Party is hopelessly rotten and needs to be destroyed; 2) the institutional barriers erected to stop third parties are too great (though I do not believe this is true on local levels and some US House of Representatives districts — look at the electoral success of Bernie Sanders; and therefore 3) the Democratic Partym despite its many, many flaws, is the only plausible vehicle that remains for insurgent leftist populist activists. Look at how strongly “the establishment” wants an electoral defeat of “The Squad.” ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive-16by9%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"><div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="#" href="#">x</a></div><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="false" data-original-title="" href="false" title=""><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xSz7mLi_SE?start=3978" width="500"></iframe></a></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 0px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div><br /></div><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://dougaldlamont.substack.com/p/how-conservatives-spent-millions" data-original-title="" href="https://dougaldlamont.substack.com/p/how-conservatives-spent-millions" target="_blank" title="">How Conservatives Spent Millions in Public Money Building their Party’s Voter Database. Odds Are, You’re In It.</a></strong><strong> </strong><br /></p><p>Douglas Lamont [via Naked Capitalism 11-17-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/11/09/clarence-thomas-ginni-harlan-crow-gifts/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>A guide to the friends and patrons of Clarence and Ginni Thomas</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 11-12-2023]</p><blockquote><p> These are the associates of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, who have given gifts, made payments or otherwise supported the couple based on recent reporting from various news outlets.<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong></strong> <br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-42252725519680618762023-11-12T12:59:00.002-06:002023-11-21T07:44:48.517-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 12, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 12, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/11/2205093/-Trump-will-implement-Martial-Law-Shoot-Protestors-and-Prosecute-his-enemies?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/11/2205093/-Trump-will-implement-Martial-Law-Shoot-Protestors-and-Prosecute-his-enemies?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">Trump will implement Martial Law, Shoot Protestors and Prosecute his enemies</a></strong></p><p>Frank Vyan Walton, November 11, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p>Trump has called for the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-president-trump-calls-for-death-penalty-for-human-traffickers" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-president-trump-calls-for-death-penalty-for-human-traffickers" target="_blank">Death Penalty against human traffickers</a>, firing<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-firing-the-radical-marxist-prosecutors-destroying-america" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-firing-the-radical-marxist-prosecutors-destroying-america" target="_blank"> “Radical Marxist Prosecutors”</a>, he has plans to implement <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-the-american-academy" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-the-american-academy" target="_blank">right-wing indoctrination in our colleges</a>, he has plans to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-using-impoundment-to-cut-waste-stop-inflation-and-crush-the-deep-state" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-using-impoundment-to-cut-waste-stop-inflation-and-crush-the-deep-state" target="_blank">“Crush the Deep State”</a> (which would be Federal Employees), he’ll <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-trumps-plan-to-protect-children-from-left-wing-gender-insanity" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-trumps-plan-to-protect-children-from-left-wing-gender-insanity" target="_blank">criminalize gender affirmation</a>, he’ll try to criminalize the press that criticizes him under the guise of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-donald-j-trump-free-speech-policy-initiative" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-donald-j-trump-free-speech-policy-initiative" target="_blank">fighting “censorship” and the labeling of false “disinformation” and hate speech</a>, he’ll end all support for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-rescuing-americas-auto-industry-from-joe-bidens-disastrous-job-killing-policies" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-rescuing-americas-auto-industry-from-joe-bidens-disastrous-job-killing-policies" target="_blank">Green Energy and Electric Vehicles</a>, he’ll cut off aid to Ukraine and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-trump-calls-for-immediate-de-escalation-and-peace" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/president-trump-calls-for-immediate-de-escalation-and-peace" target="_blank">let Russia keep the land they’ve stolen</a>, the guy who has <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-disclose-china-russia-foreign-trademarks-after-presidency-2023-10" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-disclose-china-russia-foreign-trademarks-after-presidency-2023-10" target="_blank">114 Trademarks in China and Russia</a> </em>says he’s going to “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/stopping-chinese-espionage" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/stopping-chinese-espionage" target="_blank">Stop Chinese Espionage”</a> [How? Shut down Mar-A-Lago?] , he's promised to restart failed racist policies like <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-president-trump-announces-plan-to-end-crime-and-restore-law-and-order" href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-president-trump-announces-plan-to-end-crime-and-restore-law-and-order" target="_blank">“Stop and Frisk”</a> and much more [such as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-border-moat-alligators-migrants-893620/" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-border-moat-alligators-migrants-893620/" target="_blank">snake and alligator moats</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/11/2205136/-The-New-York-Times-details-Trump-s-plan-to-impose-mass-deportations-and-prison-camps-for-immigrants?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/11/2205136/-The-New-York-Times-details-Trump-s-plan-to-impose-mass-deportations-and-prison-camps-for-immigrants?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web" target="_blank">mass deportation and prison camps</a> for Immigrants.]</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/" target="_blank">Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term</a></strong></p><p>Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett, November 6, 2023 [Washington Post, via downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a> and his allies have begun mapping out specific plans for using the federal government to punish critics and opponents should he win a second term, with the former president naming individuals he wants to investigate or prosecute and his associates drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office to allow him to deploy the military against civil demonstrations.</p><p>In private, Trump has told advisers and friends in recent months that he wants the Justice Department to investigate onetime officials and allies who have become critical of his time in office, including his former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, and former attorney general William P. Barr, as well as his ex-attorney Ty Cobb and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark A. Milley, according to people who have talked to him, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity<strong> </strong>to describe private conversations.<strong> </strong>Trump has also talked of prosecuting officials at the FBI and Justice Department, a person familiar with the matter said.</p><div data-qa="article-body"><p>In public, Trump has vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/?itid=lk_inline_manual_5" target="_blank">President Biden</a> and his family….</p><p>Much of the planning for a second term has been unofficially outsourced to a partnership of right-wing think tanks in Washington. Dubbed “Project 2025,” the group is developing a plan, to include draft executive orders, that would deploy the military domestically under the Insurrection Act…. </p><p>The proposal was identified in internal discussions as an immediate priority, the communications showed….</p></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD9Z3pwHiQs&t=854s" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Why Trump “can't be ripped away” from his followers: Heather Cox Richardson | Salon Talks</strong></a><br /></p><p>[YouTube, November 2, 2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="4" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive-16by9%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"><div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="#" href="#">x</a></div><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="false" data-original-title="" href="false" title=""><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LD9Z3pwHiQs?start=854" width="500"></iframe></a></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 0px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p>Historian Heather Cox Richardson tells Salon about her book <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717588/democracy-awakening-by-heather-cox-richardson/" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717588/democracy-awakening-by-heather-cox-richardson/" target="_blank">“Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.”</a></em> The “Letters from an American” writer explains how Republicans from Nixon to Trump have launched an attack on democracy and shares what Americans can do about it. Cox Richardson reflects on why she is still optimistic…<br /></p><p>“… the modern day conservative movement — which is not intellectually conservative; it is quite radical and always has been — used language and history to convince Americans to give up on democracy. The Trump years are a bit different; he becomes a strong man quite quickly, and turns that intellectual and rhetorical strategy into a movement….</p><p>...People who think Trump happened from nowhere and is the sole cause of our current malaise are completely missing the previous almost 100 years in which there was a concerted movement to overturn the concept that the government should work for ordinary Americans....</p><p>[Trump] has become part of their identity, and they cannot be ripped away... Scholars [of authoritarianism] talk about this: once you have started to poison your own soul by buying into somebody who is abusing others, you can't turn away without admitting you're the one who is the problem.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/people-choose-willful-ignorance/" data-original-title="" href="https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/people-choose-willful-ignorance/" target="_blank" title="">Why 40% of people choose willful ignorance</a> </strong></p><p>[Big Think, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Willful ignorance occurs when someone intentionally avoids information about the negative consequences of their actions. A new meta-analysis found that 40% of people will choose to remain ignorant of how their decisions affect others. The evidence suggests that willful ignorance provides people with a built-in excuse to act selfishly.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: and keep in mind that the central idea of economic liberalism — and neoliberalism — is that the “free market” of everyone following their own selfishness will result in the best allocation of society’s resources. “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness” — John Kenneth Galbraith. Here’s the full quote:<br /></p><blockquote><p>The modern conservative is not even especially modern. He is engaged, on the contrary, in one of man’s oldest, best financed, most applauded, and, on the whole, least successful exercises in moral philosophy. That is the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. It is an exercise which always involves a certain number of internal contradictions and even a few absurdities. The conspicuously wealthy turn up urging the character-building value of privation for the poor. The man who has struck it rich in minerals, oil, or other bounties of nature is found explaining the debilitating effect of unearned income from the state. The corporate executive who is a superlative success as an organization man weighs in on the evils of bureaucracy. Federal aid to education is feared by those who live in suburbs that could easily forgo this danger, and by people whose children are in public schools. Socialized medicine is condemned by men emerging from Walter Reed Hospital. Social Security is viewed with alarm by those who have the comfortable cushion of an inherited income. <br /></p><p>— “Wealth and Poverty,” speech, National Policy Committee on Pockets of Poverty (13 Dec 1963)<br /></p></blockquote><p>[Also note the effects of the institutionalization of selfishness in the links under “<strong>Health care crisis”</strong> ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/CaliforniaFrizz/status/1722231668025774463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722231668025774463%7Ctwgr%5E1a8feeff034e8d91aea70be36d2a451cb0afd3ac%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-11-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give</a></strong><br /></p><p>[<a data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/CaliforniaFrizz/status/1722231668025774463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722231668025774463%7Ctwgr%5E1a8feeff034e8d91aea70be36d2a451cb0afd3ac%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-11-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter,</a> via Naked Capitalism 11-11-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Katharine Hepburn’s childhood, in her own words.<br /></p><p>“Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus.Finally, there was only one other family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children, all probably under the age of 12. The way they were dressed, you could tell they didn't have a lot of money, but their clothes were neat and clean. The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, animals, and all the acts they would be seeing that night. By their excitement you could sense they had never been to the circus before. It would be a highlight of their lives.<br /></p><p>The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband's hand, looking up at him as if to say, "You're my knight in shining armour." He was smiling and enjoying seeing his family happy.<br /></p><p>The ticket lady asked the man how many tickets he wanted? He proudly responded, "I'd like to buy eight children's tickets and two adult tickets, so I can take my family to the circus." The ticket lady stated the price.<br /></p><p>The man's wife let go of his hand, her head dropped, the man's lip began to quiver. Then he leaned a little closer and asked, "How much did you say?" The ticket lady again stated the price .The man didn't have enough money. How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn't have enough money to take them to the circus?<br /></p><p>Seeing what was going on, my dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $20 bill, and then dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!) My father bent down, picked up the $20 bill, tapped the man on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, sir, this fell out of your pocket."<br /></p><p>The man understood what was going on. He wasn't begging for a handout but certainly appreciated the help in a desperate, heartbreaking and embarrassing situation. He looked straight into my dad's eyes, took my dad's hand in both of his, squeezed tightly onto the $20 bill, and with his lip quivering and a tear streaming down his cheek, he replied; "Thank you, thank you, sir. This really means a lot to me and my family."<br /></p><p>My father and I went back to our car and drove home. The $20 that my dad gave away is what we were going to buy our own tickets with. Although we didn't get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide.<br /></p><p>That day I learnt the value to Give. The Giver is bigger than the Receiver. If you want to be large, larger than life, learn to Give. Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything.The importance of giving, blessing others can never be over emphasized because there's always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of giving.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong>They’re not capitalists — they’re predatory criminals</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/11/wilmerhales-plan-to-buy-blanket-immunity-for-jpmorgan-for-banking-jeffrey-epsteins-sex-trafficking-ring-has-backfired-badly/" target="_blank" title="">WilmerHale’s Plan to Buy Blanket Immunity for JPMorgan for Banking Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Trafficking Ring Has Backfired Badly</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, November 9, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>On October 20 we reported that JPMorgan Chase, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/12259-2/" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/12259-2/">a serial recidivist</a> when it comes to crime, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/jpmorgan-chase-paid-1-085-billion-in-legal-expenses-in-last-six-months-its-still-battling-hundreds-of-charges-and-legal-proceedings-on-three-continents/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/jpmorgan-chase-paid-1-085-billion-in-legal-expenses-in-last-six-months-its-still-battling-hundreds-of-charges-and-legal-proceedings-on-three-continents/" title="">had paid $1.085 billion in legal expenses in just the last six months</a>. A nice chunk of that money went to the Big Law firm, WilmerHale, which has been representing JPMorgan Chase this year in multiple lawsuits involving the bank’s dark history of financial dealings with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. (See <em>Related Articles</em> at the bottom of this article.)<br /></p><p>When the largest bank in the United States pays big bucks to a law firm with a roster of 1,000 attorneys, it doesn’t expect its $290 million class action settlement with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to blow up in its face just days before the final Fairness Hearing – a legally required court event to determine if the terms of the agreement are “fair, adequate and reasonable.”….<br /></p><p>We had anticipated that WilmerHale might file a respectful response to the Attorneys General objections, perhaps agreeing to change the language in the settlement that the Attorneys General found improper. These are, after all, the highest law enforcement offices in 16 states and the District of Columbia.</p><p>We could not have been more wrong. The <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WilmerHale-Response-to-Challenges-by-State-Attorneys-General-in-Jane-Doe-1-V-JPMorgan-Chase-Bank.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/WilmerHale-Response-to-Challenges-by-State-Attorneys-General-in-Jane-Doe-1-V-JPMorgan-Chase-Bank.pdf" title="">response from WilmerHale</a> effectively blasted the Attorneys General for sticking their nose where it didn’t belong.</p><p>What the Attorneys General are challenging boils down to this: Under the federal law known as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), Attorneys General have the right to bring claims on behalf of sex trafficked victims. The language in the JPMorgan Chase settlement proposes to extinguish those rights. The State Attorneys General explained it as follows in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Letter-from-State-Attorneys-General-Objecting-to-Terms-of-JPM-Epstein-Victims-Settlement.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Letter-from-State-Attorneys-General-Objecting-to-Terms-of-JPM-Epstein-Victims-Settlement.pdf" title="">their filing with the court</a>:</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/11/theres-a-news-black-out-on-the-strange-doings-in-the-jpmorgan-chase-jeffrey-epstein-sex-trafficking-case-in-manhattan/" target="_blank" title="">There’s a News Black Out on the Strange Doings in the JPMorgan Chase/Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Case in Manhattan</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, November 69, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://patch.com/wisconsin/mountpleasant/s/it38q/infant-mortality-rate-rises-for-1st-time-in-20-years-see-wi-data" data-original-title="" href="https://patch.com/wisconsin/mountpleasant/s/it38q/infant-mortality-rate-rises-for-1st-time-in-20-years-see-wi-data" target="_blank" title="">Infant Mortality Rate Rises For 1st Time In 20 Years: See WI Data Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant</a> </strong></p><p>[Patch, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=61341" data-original-title="" href="https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=61341" title="">The Bank of Japan is light years ahead in sophistication relative to the West</a></strong><br /></p><p>William Mitchell [Modern Monetary Theory, via Mike Norman Economics, November 9, 2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>On November 6, 2023, the Governor of the Bank of Japan, Ueda Kazuo gave a speech to ‘business leaders’ in Nagoya – <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.boj.or.jp/en/about/press/koen_2023/ko231106a.htm" data-original-title="" href="https://www.boj.or.jp/en/about/press/koen_2023/ko231106a.htm" title="">Japan’s Economy and Monetary Policy</a>….<br /></p><p>The strategy of the Bank of Japan is very different to that of the Western central banks.</p><p>The latter have been attempting to scorch the demand-side of their economies with interest rate rises, designed to push up unemployment to reach some ill-defined NAIRU, because they claim that wages growth may break out….</p><p>In contradistinction, the Bank of Japan is holding rates around zero and controlling the bond market to keep government bond rates stable across the yield (maturity) curve, exactly because they want to encourage much faster wages growth to underpin a higher stable inflation rate.</p><p>In the West, the thought of accelerated wages growth is met with fear and derision from corporate types and government.</p><p>In Japan, it is the aim of policy makers….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90977046/american-giant-manufacturing-bayard-winthrop" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90977046/american-giant-manufacturing-bayard-winthrop" target="_blank" title="">One man’s (maybe) quixotic quest to revive American manufacturing</a></strong> </p><p>[Fast Company, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><blockquote><div><p><strong>Is neoliberalism effectively dead or at least on its way out?</strong></p></div><div><p>The implications of 40 years of foreign policy have become clear. China is not our friend. Rather than normalizing and entering into the first world order, China’s in many ways become the opposite; more intractable today than it was 40 years ago. There has been a great shift away from China basically providing the U.S. consumer with lots and lots of flat-screen TVs and cheap T-shirts.</p></div><div><p>We’ve lost our ability to make a lot of critical things, so there’s been a resilience impact as well. It’s kind of insane that we had to go to a T-shirt manufacturer in a panic as the federal government and say, we need you to convert [because] we couldn’t make medical gowns. We couldn’t make medical masks. That has really started to hit policymakers in the face, almost unavoidably so.</p><p>The most interesting thing about the Trump-Clinton [2016] election cycle was all of the energy in the electorate was with Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, both of whom were getting at this deep sense of malaise among working-class Americans and this intuitive understanding that we fucked things up over the last 40 years.</p></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/industrial-transformations/" href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/industrial-transformations/" target="_blank">Industrial Transformations</a> </strong></p><p>[Phenomenal World, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>There is a growing awareness that all nations use industrial policy on an ongoing basis, whether or not they acknowledge it as such. Many conventional policy measures—from public investment allocations and trade measures to environmental regulations and public procurement rules—influence which industries and production methods thrive and decline, which economic (and social) actors win and lose power, who creates value, and who captures it. Therefore, whether or not policymakers frame such policy measures as industrial policy, that is precisely what they are….</p><p>Today, the existential threat of climate change and environmental degradation, rooted in a system of production that has been unambiguously diagnosed as terminally self-destructive from a range of scientific perspectives, necessitates a similarly ambitious transformation of the production systems that make up the American economy. The emerging US industrial strategy recognizes climate change as a central problem, but the full scope of existential threats we face (e.g. biodiversity loss, soil depletion, and water pollution) have yet to be integrated as priorities.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/labor-unions-are-industrial-policy" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/labor-unions-are-industrial-policy" target="_blank" title="">Labor Unions Are Industrial Policy</a> </strong></p><p>Lee Hepner [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Those strikes weren’t just about better wages and working conditions for auto workers, which are important on their own. What caught my eye is that the labor unions were able to affect corporate decision-making on a more structural level, as I’ll discuss below. Indeed, Shawn Fain, the head of the UAW, is now the single most important <em>business</em> leader in America, a generational figure who is, ironically, like the reverse image of transformational anti-union General Electric icon Jack Welch.</p><p>So today’s issue is about the significance of that shift, and how labor unions and antitrust are being used to wrest control over critical corporate investment decisions from financiers, to empower workers, and to teach Americans how to build again....</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-touts-billions-northeast-us-100000141.html" data-original-title="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-touts-billions-northeast-us-100000141.html" target="_blank" title="">Biden touts billions for northeast US rail corridor</a> </strong></p><p>[Reuters, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/far-right-minister-nuking-gaza-is-an-option-population-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/far-right-minister-nuking-gaza-is-an-option-population-should-go-to-ireland-or-deserts/" target="_blank" title="">Far-right minister: Nuking Gaza is an option, population should ‘go to Ireland or deserts’</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[The Times of Israel, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-minister-amichai-eliyahu-suspend-benjamin-netanyahu-nuclear-bomb-gaza-hamas-war/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/israel-minister-amichai-eliyahu-suspend-benjamin-netanyahu-nuclear-bomb-gaza-hamas-war/" target="_blank" title="">Israel minister suspended after calling nuking Gaza an option</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2023/11/04/israels-total-war-strategy-in-gaza/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2023/11/04/israels-total-war-strategy-in-gaza/" target="_blank" title="">Israel’s ‘Total War’ Strategy in Gaza</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Tikun Olam, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/DougAMacgregor/status/1721691880696512621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1721691880696512621%7Ctwgr%5E6a540154a6d43dc50b09c975eddcbb295546baa3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-7-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/DougAMacgregor/status/1721691880696512621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1721691880696512621%7Ctwgr%5E6a540154a6d43dc50b09c975eddcbb295546baa3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-7-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="5" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Turkish soldiers will eventually fight in Gaza.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Erdoğan is sensitive to timing, he is mobilizing the country.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;This is going to happen, it&amp;#39;s a mistake to dismiss him.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Erdoğan is the one man in Middle East with the capability to destroy Israel.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Pay Attention!&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DougAMacgregor/status/1721691880696512621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 7, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-twitter-extracted-i1699796376513801636="true"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Turkish soldiers will eventually fight in Gaza.<br /><br />Erdoğan is sensitive to timing, he is mobilizing the country.<br /><br />This is going to happen, it's a mistake to dismiss him.<br /><br />Erdoğan is the one man in Middle East with the capability to destroy Israel.<br /><br />Pay Attention!</p>— Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/DougAMacgregor/status/1721691880696512621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/DougAMacgregor/status/1721691880696512621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" title="">November 7, 2023</a></blockquote></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/disease-thirst-and-hunger-spread-in-gaza-how-erdogan-could-help/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/disease-thirst-and-hunger-spread-in-gaza-how-erdogan-could-help/" target="_blank" title="">Disease, Thirst and Hunger Spread In Gaza / How Erdogan Could Help</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Ian Welsh, November 9, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>...If Turkish President Erdogan is sincere about wanting to help, there’s a simple way to do it. Send a squad of military cargo planes with pallets to drop (ie. with parachutes) into Gaza. Tell Israel that if they are shot down, it’s an automatic declaration of war: pass a bill saying that before the planes go.</p><p>Meanwhile, the real part of the genocide has begun. It was never about killing them all with explosives, most will die from disease, hunger and lack of water.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/imperial-designs" data-original-title="" href="https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/imperial-designs" target="_blank" title="">Imperial Designs</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[New Left Review, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...eager to complete the ‘pivot to Asia’ initiated in the early 2010s, the US has sought to partially disentangle itself from the region. Its goal is to establish a model that would replace direct intervention with oversight from a distance. To contemplate any real reduction in its presence, though, it first needs a security settlement that would strengthen friendly regimes and constrain the influence of nonconforming ones. The 2020 Abraham Accords advanced this agenda, as Bahrain and the UAE, by agreeing to normalize relations with Israel, joined a wider <a data-cke-saved-href="https://jacobin.com/2022/06/us-gulf-states-israel-empire-counterrevolution" href="https://jacobin.com/2022/06/us-gulf-states-israel-empire-counterrevolution">‘reactionary axis’</a> spanning the Saudi Kingdom and Egyptian autocracy. Trump expanded arms sales to these states and cultivated connections between them – military, commercial, diplomatic – with the aim of creating a reliable phalanx of allies who would tilt towards the US in the New Cold War while acting as a bulwark against Iran. Obama’s nuclear deal had failed to stop the Islamic Republic from projecting its influence….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/11/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-29-israel-hits-hospitals-ambulances-and-schools-across-gaza/" data-original-title="" href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/11/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-29-israel-hits-hospitals-ambulances-and-schools-across-gaza/" target="_blank" title="">‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 29: Israel hits hospitals, ambulances, and schools across Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>[Mondoweiss, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://warontherocks.com/2023/11/al-aqsa-storm-heralds-the-rise-of-non-state-special-operations/" data-original-title="" href="https://warontherocks.com/2023/11/al-aqsa-storm-heralds-the-rise-of-non-state-special-operations/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Al-Aqsa Storm Heralds the Rise of Non-state Special Operations</strong></a></p><p>[War on the Rocks, via The Big Picture 11-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>What Israel missed is the growing democratization of technology, which is rapidly providing new and dangerous capabilities to non-state actors. Stephen Biddle, in his book Nonstate Warfare, argues that this is allowing violent non-state <strong></strong>actors to achieve military capabilities that had previously been reserved for states. When carefully integrated into hybrid military-terror campaigns, these can challenge states that insist on maintaining dated misperceptions of their foes. Our research finds non-state actors are increasingly developing special operations capabilities, which are creating strategic and political effects beyond their tactical use.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/11/6/the-icc-must-investigate-the-crime-of-genocide-in-gaza" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/11/6/the-icc-must-investigate-the-crime-of-genocide-in-gaza" target="_blank" title="">The ICC must investigate the crime of genocide in Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>Jeremy Corbyn [Aljazeera, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023] </p><p>[Yves Smith notes: “So it appears no Western outlet of consequence would run the op-ed.”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-how-hamas-sees-gaza-conflict-unfolding" data-original-title="" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-how-hamas-sees-gaza-conflict-unfolding" target="_blank" title="">Israel-Palestine war: How Hamas sees the Gaza conflict unfolding – and why it thinks it can win</a> </strong></p><p>[Middle East Eye, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><p>Good overview. On the tunnels:</p><blockquote><p>“A source close to Hamas’s political leadership says the group believes it can defeat Israel but acknowledges the heavy price being paid by those on the ground.”…<br /></p><p>While Hamas did not foresee an Israeli response on this scale, it has an extensive network of tunnels, which run for “many hundreds of kilometres”, MEE was told by another source.</p><p>The idea that Hamas would cease to operate if it lost Gaza City, which the Israeli forces are trying to encircle, is therefore less likely.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/de78c7a0-f8f0-403e-b0db-eb86d6e76919" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/de78c7a0-f8f0-403e-b0db-eb86d6e76919" target="_blank" title="">‘Dead man walking’: How Yahya Sinwar deceived Israel for decades</a> </strong></p><p>[Financial Times, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The Hebrew-speaking Hamas leader in Gaza is the man Israel holds most responsible for the October 7 attacks.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/MacaesBruno/status/1721586364938879420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1721586364938879420%7Ctwgr%5E6a540154a6d43dc50b09c975eddcbb295546baa3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-7-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">Israeli journalist and author Gideon Levy explains the mass psychology of Israelis </a></strong><br /></p><p> [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/MacaesBruno/status/1721586364938879420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1721586364938879420%7Ctwgr%5E6a540154a6d43dc50b09c975eddcbb295546baa3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-7-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/MacaesBruno/status/1721586364938879420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1721586364938879420%7Ctwgr%5E6a540154a6d43dc50b09c975eddcbb295546baa3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-7-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="7" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;This is such an extraordinary speech. I only ask of my followers to watch this. Then I leave you alone&lt;a href="https://t.co/rZLQKD2BMX"&gt;pic.twitter.com/rZLQKD2BMX&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MacaesBruno/status/1721586364938879420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 6, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-twitter-extracted-i1699796376513801636="true"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This is such an extraordinary speech. I only ask of my followers to watch this. Then I leave you alone<a data-cke-saved-href="https://t.co/rZLQKD2BMX" href="https://t.co/rZLQKD2BMX">pic.twitter.com/rZLQKD2BMX</a></p>— Bruno Maçães (@MacaesBruno) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/MacaesBruno/status/1721586364938879420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" href="https://twitter.com/MacaesBruno/status/1721586364938879420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2023</a></blockquote></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2404516/middle-east" data-original-title="" href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2404516/middle-east" target="_blank" title="">Netanyahu says Israel will take ‘overall security responsibility’ of Gaza after war</a> </strong></p><p>[Arab News, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3240608/china-tightens-controls-over-rare-earth-exports-imports-key-commodities-including-crude-oil-iron-ore" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3240608/china-tightens-controls-over-rare-earth-exports-imports-key-commodities-including-crude-oil-iron-ore" target="_blank" title="">China tightens controls over rare earth exports, imports of key commodities including crude oil, iron ore</a> </strong></p><p>[South China Morning Post, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-09/vw-stellantis-bet-on-china-to-revive-flagging-ev-fortunes" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-09/vw-stellantis-bet-on-china-to-revive-flagging-ev-fortunes" target="_blank" title="">VW and Stellantis Show the Script Has Flipped With China’s Carmakers</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 11-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Western automakers are paying up for minority stakes in Chinese EV companies to gain access to their technology.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/11/inflection-point-how-to-reverse-the-erosion-of-us-and.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2023/11/inflection-point-how-to-reverse-the-erosion-of-us-and.html" target="_blank" title="">Inflection Point: How to Reverse the Erosion of U.S. and Allied Military Power and Influence</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[RAND, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-coast-guard-reduces-active-cutter-fleet-due-to-personnel-shortage" data-original-title="" href="https://maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-coast-guard-reduces-active-cutter-fleet-due-to-personnel-shortage" target="_blank" title="">U.S. Coast Guard Reduces Active Cutter Fleet Due to Personnel Shortage</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Maritime Executive, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/the-2-million-coal-mine-that-might-hold-a-37-billion-treasure-181dbdcf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/the-2-million-coal-mine-that-might-hold-a-37-billion-treasure-181dbdcf" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The $2 Million Coal Mine That Might Hold a $37 Billion Treasure</strong></a></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via The Big Picture 11-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Wyoming discovery could be America’s first new source of rare-earth elements since 1952.</p></blockquote><p><br /><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.science.org/content/article/how-many-americans-are-disabled-proposed-census-changes-would-greatly-decrease-count" data-original-title="" href="https://www.science.org/content/article/how-many-americans-are-disabled-proposed-census-changes-would-greatly-decrease-count" target="_blank" title="">How many in the U.S. are disabled? Proposed census changes would greatly decrease count</a> </strong></p><p>[Science, via Naked Capitalism 11-10-2023] Jiggering the numbers.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/" data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/03/subprime-attention-rent-crisis/" target="_blank" title="">Big Tech’s “attention rents”</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Cory Doctorow [Pluralistic, via Naked Capitalism 11-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/R9xD5#selection-381.0-381.53" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/R9xD5#selection-381.0-381.53" target="_blank" title="">Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/10/how-to-spot-corporate-bullshit" data-original-title="" href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/2023/10/how-to-spot-corporate-bullshit" target="_blank" title="">How to Spot Corporate Bullshit</a> </strong></p><p>[Current Affairs, via The Big Picture 11-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/private-equity-publicly-traded-companies/675788/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/private-equity-publicly-traded-companies/675788/" target="_blank"><strong>The Secretive Industry Devouring the U.S. Economy</strong></a></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 11-04-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Private equity has made one-fifth of the market effectively invisible to investors, the media, and regulators. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>GRAPH <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ritholtz.com/2023/11/10-thursday-am-reads-455/" data-original-title="" href="https://ritholtz.com/2023/11/10-thursday-am-reads-455/" target="_blank" title="">Cost of US Debt Pile Surges: Estimated annualized US debt payments</a></strong></p><p>[Bloombergvia The Big Picture 11-09-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://tutanota.com/blog/google-search-monopoly" data-original-title="" href="https://tutanota.com/blog/google-search-monopoly" target="_blank" title="">Google Pays $21B for Search Monopoly: How “Free” Tech Markets Repress</a> </strong></p><p>[Tutanota, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/11/google-generative-ai-search-featured-results/675899/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/11/google-generative-ai-search-featured-results/675899/" target="_blank" title="">AI Search Is Turning Into the Problem Everyone Worried About</a> </strong></p><p>[Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-horowitz-ai-copyright-2023-11?amp" data-original-title="" href="https://www-businessinsider-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-horowitz-ai-copyright-2023-11?amp" target="_blank" title="">Andreessen Horowitz would like everyone to stop talking about AI’s copyright issues, please</a> </strong></p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism 11-09-2023] </p><p>[Lambert Strether: “IOW, AI cannot function as a business without the theft of intellectual property, on a positively grandiose scale, to create its training sets. That sounds rather like “the tendency of the rate of profit to fall,” to me.” ]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/big-brother-is-flagging-you" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/big-brother-is-flagging-you" target="_blank" title="">Big Brother is Flagging You</a></strong> and <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/the-tragic-victimhood-of-disinformation" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/the-tragic-victimhood-of-disinformation" target="_blank" title="">The Tragic Victimhood of “Disinformation Experts”</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Taibbi, Racket News</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7zxja/amazon-execs-intentionally-made-site-shittier-to-rake-in-more-profit-new-quotes-from-ftc-lawsuit-show" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Amazon Execs Intentionally Made Site Shittier to Rake in More Profit, Quotes from FTC Lawsuit Show</strong></a></p><p>[Vice, via The Big Picture 11-09-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Former CEO Jeff Bezos instructed executives to “accept more defects,” an internal term for irrelevant ads. (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7zxja/amazon-execs-intentionally-made-site-shittier-to-rake-in-more-profit-new-quotes-from-ftc-lawsuit-show" href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7zxja/amazon-execs-intentionally-made-site-shittier-to-rake-in-more-profit-new-quotes-from-ftc-lawsuit-show" target="_blank">Vice</a>)</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2400394-face-masks-ward-off-covid-19-so-why-are-we-still-arguing-about-it/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2400394-face-masks-ward-off-covid-19-so-why-are-we-still-arguing-about-it/" target="_blank" title="">Face masks ward off covid-19, so why are we still arguing about it?</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[NewScientist, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/lawmakers-texas-florida-undermine-covid-vaccination-efforts-rcna123866" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/lawmakers-texas-florida-undermine-covid-vaccination-efforts-rcna123866" target="_blank" title="">How lawmakers in Texas and Florida undermine Covid vaccination efforts</a> </strong></p><p>[NBC, via Naked Capitalism 11-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://johndupuis.substack.com/p/the-death-of-public-health-scientific" data-original-title="" href="https://johndupuis.substack.com/p/the-death-of-public-health-scientific" target="_blank" title="">The death of public health: Scientific advisors used for political preferences, Derelicts at the helm and More! </a></strong></p><p>The Covid-Is-Not-Over Newsletter, via Naked Capitalism 11-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1722301877151281483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722301877151281483%7Ctwgr%5E62cd93fe67909756ed3fa6f158ed7290d57824cc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-10-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1722301877151281483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1722301877151281483%7Ctwgr%5E62cd93fe67909756ed3fa6f158ed7290d57824cc%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2F200pm-water-cooler-11-10-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-10-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The pandemic school closure debate is now often framed as being solely about the kids. However, it&amp;#39;s important to acknowledge that in 2020, the focus was mostly about using the kids as guinea pigs (ie subjecting them to a new virus) to achieve herd&lt;br&gt;immunity + faster reopening.👇🏽 &lt;a href="https://t.co/PjwdDSAcHO"&gt;pic.twitter.com/PjwdDSAcHO&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1722301877151281483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 8, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-twitter-extracted-i1699796376513801636="true"><p>The pandemic school closure debate is now often framed as being solely about the kids. However, it's important to acknowledge that in 2020, the focus was mostly about using the kids as guinea pigs (ie subjecting them to a new virus) to achieve herd<br />immunity + faster reopening.👇🏽 <a data-cke-saved-href="https://t.co/PjwdDSAcHO" href="https://t.co/PjwdDSAcHO">pic.twitter.com/PjwdDSAcHO</a></p>— Jerome Adams (@JeromeAdamsMD) <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1722301877151281483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" href="https://twitter.com/JeromeAdamsMD/status/1722301877151281483?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 8, 2023</a></blockquote></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-to-appeal-insurance-denials-too-complicated" data-original-title="" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-to-appeal-insurance-denials-too-complicated" target="_blank" title="">I Set Out to Create a Simple Map for How to Appeal Your Insurance Denial. Instead, I Found a Mind-Boggling Labyrinth.</a> </strong></p><p>[ProPublica, via Naked Capitalism 11-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/11/09/childhood-vaccine-exemptions-reach-highest-level-ever---upping-risk-for-outbreaks-of-polio-measles-and-more/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=forbes&utm_term=se-breaking&sh=48d54e547d77" data-original-title="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/11/09/childhood-vaccine-exemptions-reach-highest-level-ever---upping-risk-for-outbreaks-of-polio-measles-and-more/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=forbes&utm_term=se-breaking&sh=48d54e547d77" target="_blank" title="">Childhood Vaccine Exemptions Reach Highest Level Ever — Upping Risk For Outbreaks Of Polio, Measles And More</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 11-10-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://skullsinthestars.com/2023/10/23/what-is-quantum-entanglement-part-7-what-does-it-all-mean/" data-original-title="" href="https://skullsinthestars.com/2023/10/23/what-is-quantum-entanglement-part-7-what-does-it-all-mean/" target="_blank" title="">What is quantum entanglement? Part 7: What does it all mean?</a> </strong></p><p>[Skulls in the Stars, via Naked Capitalism 11-06-2023]Lucid and readable.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www-technologyreview-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/25/1081578/limpet-teeth-natures-strongest-material-lab-biotechnology/amp/" data-original-title="" href="https://www-technologyreview-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/25/1081578/limpet-teeth-natures-strongest-material-lab-biotechnology/amp/" target="_blank" title="">The quest to re-create nature’s strongest material</a> </strong></p><p>[MIT Technology Review, via Naked Capitalism 11-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/11/23/zoning-out-crack-up-capitalism-quinn-slobodian/" target="_blank" title="">Zoning Out</a></strong><br /></p><p>Daniel Immerwahr [The New York Review, November 23, 2023 issue]<br /></p><blockquote><p>A recent book contends that the global economy has a new geography of special zones, islands, and enclaves that benefit the world’s wealthiest residents.<br /></p><p>Reviewed:</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bookshop.org/a/312/9781250753892" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bookshop.org/a/312/9781250753892" target="_blank" title="">Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy</a></p><div>by Quinn Slobodian</div><div>Metropolitan, 336 pp., $29.99</div></blockquote><div><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://hartmannreport.com/p/citizens-united-has-destroyed-america-0d3" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Citizens United has Destroyed America: Why Is Nobody Talking About It?</strong> </a><br /></p><p>[Hartmann Report, via The Big Picture 11-04-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://hartmannreport.com/p/citizens-united-has-destroyed-america-0d3" target="_blank" title=""></a>If America is to recover any semblance of meaningful democracy in our country, we must cut out the cancer of big money in our political system by overturning Citizens United….<br /></p><p><strong>Republicans on the Supreme Court having legalized political bribery (and, thus, functional ownership) of judges and legislators, both federal and state.</strong></p><p>In 1976, in response to an appeal by uber-rich New York Republican Senator James Buckley, the Court ruled that wealthy people in politics couldn’t be restrained from using their own money to overwhelm their political opponents. They then went a step farther and struck down other limitations on billionaires using their own money to “independently” promote the campaigns of politicians they like.</p><p><strong>In other words, for morbidly rich people to have “free speech,” they must be able to spend as much money on politicking as they want. If you don’t have millions or billions, your free speech is pretty much limited to how loud you can yell: this was a decision almost entirely of, by, and for the morbidly rich.</strong></p><p>Two years later, in 1978, four Republicans on the Court went along with a decision written by Republican Lewis Powell himself in declaring that corporations are “persons” entitled to human rights under the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the Constitution), including the First Amendment right of free speech.</p><p><strong>And free speech, as they’d established two years earlier, meant the ability to shovel money into political campaigns. Effective in April of 1978, elections could go to whoever spent the most money….</strong></p><p><strong>Prior to the Court’s </strong><em><strong>Citizens United</strong></em><strong> decision, for example, there was a bipartisan consensus in Congress that climate change was caused by burning fossil fuels and that we should do something about it, as Senator Sheldon Whitehouse so <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/how-citizens-united-altered-the-climate-debate" data-original-title="" href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/speeches/how-citizens-united-altered-the-climate-debate" title="">eloquently documents</a>….</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Clarence Thomas, actively groomed for decades by fossil fuel and other billionaires, became the deciding vote in <em>Citizens United</em>, legalizing not only his own corruption but that of every Republican in Congress.</p><p>Once the fossil fuel industry could pour unlimited money into either supporting — or, perhaps more importantly, destroying — the candidacy of any Republican politician, every Republican in the House and Senate began to say, “What climate change?”</p><p>As Senator Whitehouse said on the floor of the Senate:</p><p>“I believe we lost the ability to address climate change in a bipartisan way because of the evils of the Supreme Court’s <em>Citizens United</em> decision. Our present failure to address climate change is a symptom of things gone awry in our democracy due to <em>Citizens United</em>. That decision did not enhance speech in our democracy; it has allowed bullying, wealthy special interests to suppress real debate.”<br /></p></blockquote><strong></strong><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://artcullen.substack.com/p/something-is-amiss-in-iowa" data-original-title="" href="https://artcullen.substack.com/p/something-is-amiss-in-iowa" target="_blank" title="">Something is amiss in Iowa</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Art Cullen [via Naked Capitalism 11-11-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Consolidation is killing us.</p><p>Meatpackers used to make twice as much, in real terms. Now we make half as much in Storm Lake as someone in Illinois, which we like to scoff at as corrupt. Who owns Iowa? Koch Enterprises and Bayer. How do you fix pollution in the river? You don’t. You tell yourself it is the price of feeding starving children in Gaza with No. 2 yellow corn. Or it is the price of us not being involved in Middle East wars. You put up with the stench near Iowa Falls because Iowa Select is the only game around, so you play that game. We could have open markets but we elect politicians who let them lock up.</p><p>You should be damn glad for your $50,000 in median household income. Your kid doesn’t really need to go to college. So few jobs around here call for it. Yeah, we used to make twice as much, relatively speaking, but we sure are glad to be free of the union dues. The best you can hope for is a tax cut, even though you barely make enough to pay tax….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4302827-trump-picks-up-backing-from-two-major-gop-donors/" data-original-title="" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4302827-trump-picks-up-backing-from-two-major-gop-donors/" target="_blank" title="">Trump picks up backing from two major GOP donors</a></strong> </p><p>[The Hill, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Robert Bigelow, one of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) most prominent donors, said he is switching his support from the Florida governor to Trump. Bigelow, owner of the Budget Suites of America and founder of Bigelow Aerospace, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that DeSantis is ‘not strong enough,’ nor is he the commander in chief the U.S. needs…. Top GOP donor and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus also announced his endorsement of Trump on Thursday, arguing the former president is the ‘simple choice’ in a high-stakes political world…. The support comes on the heels of the third GOP presidential primary debate, which Trump notably did not attend. Despite his absence from the past GOP debates and his ongoing legal battles, the former president continues to hold a strong lead over his rivals.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fortune.com/2023/08/25/peter-thiel-silicon-valley-network-student-paper/" data-original-title="" href="https://fortune.com/2023/08/25/peter-thiel-silicon-valley-network-student-paper/" target="_blank" title="">Inside Peter Thiel’s powerful Silicon Valley network which started with a student paper</a> </strong></p><p>[Fortune, via The Big Picture 11-07-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The conservative student newspaper cofounded by Peter Thiel in 1987 has been riling up the left-leaning Stanford community for more than three decades. But it’s also quietly become one of the surest paths to an enviable job in Silicon Valley. Here’s a look at the extensive network of tech investors and founders who got their start writing for the Review</p></blockquote><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/yass-uhlein-pennsylvania-supreme-court-20231102.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/yass-uhlein-pennsylvania-supreme-court-20231102.html" target="_blank" title="">Are we really going to let Pa.’s richest man buy a state Supreme Court seat?</a></strong></p><p>Will Bunch [Philadelphia Inquirer, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“the real high-stakes players — like <a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.littlesis.org/2022/09/28/jeffrey-yass-the-billionaire-behind-pennsylvanias-right-wing-machine/" data-original-title="" href="https://news.littlesis.org/2022/09/28/jeffrey-yass-the-billionaire-behind-pennsylvanias-right-wing-machine/" target="_blank" title="">Jeff Yass</a> from the Philadelphia suburbs, whose bets that started with <a data-cke-saved-href="https://alchemy.substack.com/p/the-college-friends-who-bet-their" data-original-title="" href="https://alchemy.substack.com/p/the-college-friends-who-bet-their" target="_blank" title="">his college poker game</a> and led to a major investment <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/tiktok-billionaire-yass-gop-donor-abortion-1234859270/" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/tiktok-billionaire-yass-gop-donor-abortion-1234859270/" target="_blank">in TikTok</a> have made him the richest man in the state — know where the real action is: state courts. The power wielded in places like the Pennsylvania Supreme Court — over important things like <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2022/02/pennsylvania-redistricting-congressional-map-supreme-court-pick/" href="https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2022/02/pennsylvania-redistricting-congressional-map-supreme-court-pick/" target="_blank">drawing congressional maps</a>, funding schools, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://cleanair.org/big-pennsylvania-supreme-court-win-for-environmental-advocates-and-the-public/" data-original-title="" href="https://cleanair.org/big-pennsylvania-supreme-court-win-for-environmental-advocates-and-the-public/" target="_blank" title="">punishing polluters</a>, rewarding tax evasion, or crimping worker power — is enormous. And those justices are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/how-state-supreme-court-justices-are-selected/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/how-state-supreme-court-justices-are-selected/" target="_blank" title="">elected</a> here, as in other key states…. I doubt that Yass cares much about the issue making the most noise in this election — abortion rights — but I imagine he cares quite a bit about having a court that won’t rule for organized labor or against Big Oil and Gas. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-susquehanna-yass-avoided-billion-taxes" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-susquehanna-yass-avoided-billion-taxes" target="_blank">ProPublica recently chronicled</a> how Yass aggressively fought to lower his taxes by an estimated $1 billion, even suing the IRS in federal court. If Yass’ tax strategies are ever litigated in Harrisburg, does he really desire judges “who apply the law as written” — or something else?”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-think-tank-funded-by-a-far-right" data-original-title="" href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-think-tank-funded-by-a-far-right" target="_blank" title="">A think tank funded by a far-right billionaire wrote a bill to weaken child-labor laws in Florida, records show</a></strong> </p><p>[Seeking Rents, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-08-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“A conservative think tank funded by a far-right billionaire wrote a controversial new bill in Florida that would weaken the state’s child-labor laws, according to records obtained by More Perfect Union. The records show that representatives for the Foundation for Government Accountability wrote the original draft of the Florida legislation, which would allow employers in the state to make 16- and 17-year-old teenagers work the same schedules as adults — including overnight shifts on school nights. ‘Attached is draft language on the Youth Worker Freedom issue that Rep. Chaney expressed interest in to FGA,’ a lobbyist for the FGA’s advocacy arm wrote in an Aug. 28 email to an aide to Rep. Linda Chaney, a Republican legislator from St. Pete Beach, which More Perfect Union obtained through a public-records request.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/when-voters-reject-the-gop-agenda-the-gop-comes-up-with-novel-ways-to-change-the-rules" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/when-voters-reject-the-gop-agenda-the-gop-comes-up-with-novel-ways-to-change-the-rules" target="_blank" title="">When Voters Reject The GOP Agenda-- The GOP Comes Up With Novel Ways To Change The Rules</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, November 11, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/10/us/politics/house-republicans-abortion.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/10/us/politics/house-republicans-abortion.html" target="_blank" title="">Annie Karni and Katie Edmondson reported [in the New York Times]</a> that GOP congressional leaders— safe on their gerrymandered red districts— haven’t gotten the message….</p><p>“Tuesday’s election results drove home to some Republicans in Congress what they already know and fear— that their party has alienated critical blocs of voters with its policies and message, particularly on abortion. And the results stiffened their resolve to resist such measures, even if it means breaking with the party at a critical time in a high-stakes fight over federal spending… In the House, however, gerrymandering has made most Republican seats so safe that lawmakers routinely cater to the far-right wing of their party, and a slim majority has given hard-right lawmakers outsized influence. The result has been that House Republicans continue to draft legislation that is out of step with a vast majority of voters, including some of their own constituents, on social issues.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/a-pair-of-louisiana-reactionaries-are-steering-the-country-towards-a-government-shutdown-next-week" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/a-pair-of-louisiana-reactionaries-are-steering-the-country-towards-a-government-shutdown-next-week" target="_blank">A Pair Of Louisiana Reactionaries Are Steering The Country Towards A Government Shutdown Next Week: MAGA Mike & Scalise Are In Safe Gerrymandered Districts</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, November 9, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p> “The House Republican leadership had to pull two critical spending bills this week. Neither would’ve become law, yet both illustrated the divides in the House Republican Conference and members’ complete unwillingness to bridge them. Both moderate New York Republicans and hardline conservatives were unmoved by the leadership’s entreaties on the Transportation-HUD spending bill. New York Republicans were peeved that the bill cut too much from Amtrak and public transit, while hardliners thought it didn’t cut enough. On Thursday, the GOP leadership abruptly pulled the Financial Services-General Government spending bill when both conservatives and moderates revolted. Conservatives didn’t like that the legislation failed to explicitly ban funding for a new FBI headquarters. Moderates opposed the repeal of a provision that prohibited D.C. companies from discriminating against employees who get an abortion. Johnson and party leaders lobbied their members for two days to back the FSGG measure, only to come up short. In fact, the leadership was bested by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who whipped conservatives against the FSGG bill. ‘Us pragmatic conservatives— the guys in Biden districts— we felt like we were walked on for nine months,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) noted. He added: ‘What you’re seeing is the pragmatic conservatives, the common sense conservatives, say we’re not going to get run over anymore. It’s probably a bigger challenge for Mike— Speaker Johnson— to overcome. But we’re tired of being treated like second-class citizens.’ This dynamic is about to become much more important. The federal government will shut down in a week and Johnson has yet to unveil how he plans to fund agencies beyond Nov. 17. Other GOP leaders have been kept in the dark. Rank-and-file Republicans have been frustrated with the lack of information. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/house-speaker-mike-johnson-not-fun-facts.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>20 Not-Fun Facts About Speaker Mike Johnson</strong></a><br /></p><p>New York Magazine, via The Big Picture 11-04-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Here are some not very fun facts we’ve learned about the guy Republicans barely know, but decided to make leader of the House and second in line to the presidency….<br /></p><p><strong>1. He masterminded Trump’s election coup.</strong><br />If you’ve learned one unsavory fact about Johnson in recent days, it’s probably that he was a key architect of Trump’s effort to steal the 2020 election. As New York’s Jonathan Chait explained, Johnson’s work on this front is actually the “primary source of his leadership claim and the central reason he has managed to unify the party.” After publicly flirting with Trump’s voting-machine conspiracy theories, Johnson honed in on the idea that the widespread use of mail ballots during the pandemic gave the House GOP an opportunity to make Trump president….<br /></p><p><strong>3. He worked for the conservative legal group behind the case that ended Roe v. Wade….</strong><br /></p><p><strong>6. He also blamed abortion for Social Security and Medicare cuts.</strong><br />While serving as chair of the Republican Study Committee from 2019 to 2021, Johnson proposed trillions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He said these cuts wouldn’t be necessary if forced birth were the law of the land….<br /></p><p><strong>8. He fought to make taxpayers fund a Noah’s Ark theme park….</strong><br /></p><p><strong>9. He fought to ban same-sex marriage in Louisiana….</strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/10/mike-johnson-rewrite-constitution-00126157" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/10/mike-johnson-rewrite-constitution-00126157" target="_blank" title="">Inside Mike Johnson’s Ties to a Far-Right Movement to Gut the Constitution</a></strong></p><p>Laura Jedeed, November 10, 2023 [Poltico, via downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>For the last 10 years, the “Convention of States” movement has sought to remake the Constitution and force a tea party vision of the framers’ intent upon America. This group wants to wholesale rewrite wide swaths of the U.S. Constitution in one fell swoop. In the process, they hope to do away with regulatory agencies like the FDA and the CDC, virtually eliminate the federal government’s ability to borrow money, and empower state legislatures to override federal law.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><div><p>As far-fetched as this idea might sound, the movement is gaining traction — and now, it believes, it has a friend in the speaker of the House.</p><p>“Speaker Mike Johnson has long been a supporter of Convention of States,” Mark Meckler, co-founder of Convention of States Action (COSA), told me when I asked about Johnson’s ascension. “It shows that the conservative movement in America is united around COS and recognizes the need to rein in an out-of-control federal government which will never restrain itself.”</p></div><div><div id="pol-02-wrap"><div id="pol-02" style="text-align: center;"><div id="google_ads_iframe_/6326/politico-magazine/magazine_1__container__"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/maga-mike-thinks-social-security-medicare-is-an-unfair-burden-on-wealthy-americans" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/maga-mike-thinks-social-security-medicare-is-an-unfair-burden-on-wealthy-americans" target="_blank">MAGA-Mike Thinks Social Security & Medicare Is An Unfair Burden On Wealthy Americans</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, November 7, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>As if their abortion hubris wasn’t bad enough, House Republicans are literally bringing up Social Security and Medicare again. Rather than get behind Democratic proposals to make the rich pay their fair share to keep the programs rolling, the rich— and their pawns in Congress— want to fight the battles they lost for the last 80 years: ending Social Security and Medicare. And <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4292973-johnson-embraces-deficit-fight-setting-up-battle-over-medicare-social-security/" href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4292973-johnson-embraces-deficit-fight-setting-up-battle-over-medicare-social-security/" target="_blank"><u>MAGA Mike is leading the charge</u></a> by reviving Paul Ryan’s failed deficit commission. MAGA-Mike’s “fervent support for trillions of dollars in cuts,” reported Nathaniel Weixel, “during his time as chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) could be a blueprint for GOP budgets if the party wins control of the government… Johnson promised to establish a bipartisan debt commission ‘immediately,’ and indicated at a press conference this past week that he was close to naming members. The idea for a 16-member debt commission that would examine Social Security and Medicare solvency was initially floated by McCarthy as part of debt limit negotiations… Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid currently make up nearly half of the entire federal budget, with a total annual price tag of $2.7 trillion.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://presswatchers.org/2023/10/as-republicans-embrace-theocratic-authoritarianism-the-political-media-is-tongue-tied/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>As Republicans embrace theocratic authoritarianism, the political media is tongue-tied</strong>:</a><br /></p><p> [Press Watch, via The Big Picture 11-04-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Corporate media seems to lack the vocabulary to accurately describe the modern Republican Party. The latest example, of course, is the election of a new Speaker of the House: Mike Johnson, an insurrectionist anti-gay right-wing extremist Trump proxy. Those words accurately describe the little-known congressman from Louisiana. In fact, they’re quite restrained. It would be even more accurate to call him a bigoted Christofascist member of the Trump cult willing to end democracy as we know it. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/real-reason-republicans-arent-winning-swing-voters" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The real reason Republicans aren’t winning swing voters </strong></a> <br /></p><p>[FOX, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-10-2023] <br /></p><blockquote><p>“Another election night in which the Republicans had to put away those champagne bottles they had on ice and keep them for perhaps another day. It wasn’t a disaster for them, but it also wasn’t the results they were expecting to hear from the voters, either. What is the message the voters are sending? A lot has been written about how the abortion issue is backfiring on the Republicans, and it is. But that’s not really the reason they are failing to win over swing voters unhappy with the economy and other issues. What voters are saying is that they want more personal freedom. Abortions over the last several decades have been greatly declining in numbers, down about two-thirds from their peak numbers. People don’t really want more abortions, as today most women have access to and use contraception — but they do want the personal freedom of having the choice of abortion — hence the very name ‘pro-choice.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://jamesmartinnelson.com/2023/04/the-harlan-crow-clarence-thomas-connection-no-one-saw-coming-realpage/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Harlan Crow—Clarence Thomas connection no one saw coming—RealPage </strong></a><br /></p><p>April 18, 2023, James M. Nelson<br /></p><blockquote><p>In October 2022, ProPublica broke a story about a little-known company, RealPage, which was artificially increasing rental rates on apartments. Later that month, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hausfeld.com/media/550bhzyp/realpage-complaint-filed.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.hausfeld.com/media/550bhzyp/realpage-complaint-filed.pdf" title="">lawsuits were filed against RealPage</a> alleging price-fixing and market manipulation. In <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/justice-department-opens-antitrust-investigation-into-realpage-116526" href="https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/justice-department-opens-antitrust-investigation-into-realpage-116526">November 2022</a>, the Department Of Justice opened an investigation into them. This is all based on the research of James M. Nelson, ‘<a data-cke-saved-href="https://jamesmartinnelson.com/2023/02/the-man-behind-the-realpage-lawsuit/" data-original-title="" href="https://jamesmartinnelson.com/2023/02/the-man-behind-the-realpage-lawsuit/" title="">The Man Behind the RealPage lawsuit’</a>. <strong>But Who is RealPage and why is this connection important </strong><strong>for you to understand?</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>He is the son of the late development tycoon Trammell Crow (1914 – 2009), the creator of the Trammell Crow Company (TCC). Trammell is recognized as the grandfather of the “speculative building” industry, which he began in 1948. Forbes in 1971 and The Wall Street Journal in 1986 called TCC the largest landlord in the US, and by 1993 they had also become the nation’s largest developer.<sup>1</sup></p><p>Harlan Crow wields his inherited wealth and politics with great power. In 1999 he co-founded the ultra-conservative <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_for_Growth" title="">Club for Growth</a>, that amongst other achievements, claims to be the driving force behind <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/13-years-of-impact-the-long-reach-of-citizens-united" href="https://www.ncsl.org/state-legislatures-news/details/13-years-of-impact-the-long-reach-of-citizens-united">Citizens United</a>, which opened the door for unlimited dark money in politics. They also invested over $20 million with 42 congress members who voted to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/15/trump-republicans-election-defeat-club-for-growth" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/15/trump-republicans-election-defeat-club-for-growth">invalidate the 2020 election</a>.</p><p>In the forthcoming book, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://jamesmartinnelson.com/2023/03/the-realpage-common-pricing-platform-is-designed-to-circumvent-the-states-landlord-tenant-act-the-question-becomes-whats-reasonable/" data-original-title="" href="https://jamesmartinnelson.com/2023/03/the-realpage-common-pricing-platform-is-designed-to-circumvent-the-states-landlord-tenant-act-the-question-becomes-whats-reasonable/" title=""><em>New Landlord</em></a>, we read: In 2005, at the beginning of the 2008 Great Recession and the ensuing chaos, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.crowholdings.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.crowholdings.com/" title="">Crow Empire</a> was at the center of the financial crash. Crow had violated their own strict policy of not investing in speculative residential land. In the blink of an eye, one of the oldest and largest real estate empires, known as the grandaddy of the construction industry, the titan of Wall Street—the Crow Empire, collapsed financially alongside the non-banking giant <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg55766/html/CHRG-110hhrg55766.htm" href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg55766/html/CHRG-110hhrg55766.htm">Lehman Bros</a>. The collapse would send shock waves throughout the industry resulting in the industry spiraling into the financial abyss.…</p><p>Harlan Crow’s influence over the rental housing industry is powerful. Greystar CEO Bob Faith detailed that over the decade’s Crow has formed a tight-knit group of managers that now <a data-cke-saved-href="https://yieldpro.com/2014/08/a-history-of-faith/" href="https://yieldpro.com/2014/08/a-history-of-faith/">dominate the industry</a>. Just how powerful is that reach? Our concentration study concluded that half of all rental units in the metro Seattle area are priced by a small group of 13 managers who all originated from–the ‘Crow Empire.’<br /></p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-13197992460483037472023-11-05T06:40:00.002-06:002023-11-11T11:58:42.290-06:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 5, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – November 5, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/10/29/the-great-reordering/" data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/10/29/the-great-reordering/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Great Reordering</strong></a> </p><p>Rana Foroohar, October 29, 2023 [Washington Monthly, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-31-2023]</p><blockquote><p>There can be no doubt now that an epochal shift is underway in how the economy—in America and across the globe—is governed. The mystery is how a moderate, conventional politician like Joe Biden engineered it….</p><p>The record on that score is unequivocal. His COVID-19 stimulus bailed out people, not banks. His domestic economic policy has been about curbing giant corporations and promoting income growth. His infrastructure bills invested in America in a way not seen since the Eisenhower administration. He has taken commerce back to an earlier era in which it was broadly understood that trade needed to serve domestic interests before those of international markets.</p><p>The contrast with the so-called neoliberal economics of recent decades, in which it was presumed that markets always know best, and particularly the Clintonian idea that “free” trade and globalization were inevitable, could not be starker. With a few notable exceptions (Joseph E. Stiglitz, Jared Bernstein), Bill Clinton’s administration, like Barack Obama’s, was filled with neoliberal technocrats who bought fully into the idea of the inherent efficiency of markets. Although they might have occasionally looked to tweak the system, many of the academic economists running policy basically believed that capital, goods, and people would ultimately end up where it was best and most productive for them to be without the sort of public-sector intervention you’ve seen during the Biden administration.</p><p>In this world, so long as stock prices were going up and consumer prices were going down, all was well. Monetary policy trumped fiscal stimulus. And if the latter <em>had </em>to be used, it should be, in the words of the economist Larry Summers, “timely, targeted, and temporary.” (The Biden stimulus, by contrast, is designed to be broad based and long term.) In this political economy, outsourcing wasn’t a bad thing. China would get freer as it got richer. Americans should aim to be bankers and software engineers, not manufacturers….</p><p>“Rather than speaking to Goldman Sachs, Biden spoke to autoworkers.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/10/29/winning-the-anti-monopoly-game/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Winning the Anti-monopoly Game</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Will Norris, October 29, 2023 [Washington Monthly]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>Despite press accounts to the contrary, the Biden administration’s revival of antitrust policy isn’t failing. It’s just getting started.<br /><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/28/world/africa/africa-youth-population.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/28/world/africa/africa-youth-population.html" target="_blank" title="">How the Youth Boom in Africa Will Chan</a></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/28/world/africa/africa-youth-population.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/10/28/world/africa/africa-youth-population.html" target="_blank" title="">ge the World</a></strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 10-31-2023]</p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Gaza / Palestine / Israel</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/31/us-special-operations-forces-are-in-israel-helping-locate-hostages/" data-original-title="" href="https://news.antiwar.com/2023/10/31/us-special-operations-forces-are-in-israel-helping-locate-hostages/" target="_blank" title="">US Special Operations Forces are in Israel Helping Locate Hostages</a> </strong></p><p>[Antiwar, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/10/29/israel-pounds-gaza-with-u-s-heavy-bunker-busting-bombs-erdogan-speaks-of-a-cross-vs-crescent-war/" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/10/29/israel-pounds-gaza-with-u-s-heavy-bunker-busting-bombs-erdogan-speaks-of-a-cross-vs-crescent-war/" target="_blank">Israel pounds Gaza with U.S. “heavy” bunker-busting bombs. Erdogan speaks of a Cross vs Crescent war</a> </strong></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 10-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/us-sends-forces-jordan-amid-buildup-defense-israel/39221" href="https://electronicintifada.net/content/us-sends-forces-jordan-amid-buildup-defense-israel/39221" target="_blank">US sends forces to Jordan amid buildup in “defense of Israel”</a> </strong></p><p>[Electronic Intifada, via Naked Capitalism 10-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/world-plummets-into-eschatological?" href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/world-plummets-into-eschatological?" target="_blank">World Plummets into Eschatological Frenzy: Unraveling the Implications</a> </strong></p><p>Simplicius the Thinker [via Naked Capitalism 10-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The eschatological fervor of the Palestine crisis is reaching a deafening peak. Officials worldwide are dropping their masks, and inadvertently revealing the Biblical strain of the conflict.</p><p>At every turn, political figures now soak their proclamations in Biblical reference and allegory. The foremost of which was Netanyahu, who has now invoked an assortment of Biblical prophecies as dogwhistles to stir his people into an eschatological frenzy….</p><p>...it’s not the sheer act of Biblical invocation itself that is troubling, but rather the implication that Netanyahu appears to conceive of himself as a messianic figure leading his nation to an eschatological fulfillment, a sort of Judgment Day or Rapture. Naturally, it’s incredibly dangerous for a nation led by a self-styled end-times messiah to be leashing the rest of the somnambulant world along toward WW3….</p><p>The fact of the matter is, the American political elite are hardcore Zionists because many of them come from the Southern Baptist and evangelical strain of Christianity which preaches devotion to Israel on account of perceived Biblical rapport.</p><p>Independent journalist <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/lhfang" href="https://twitter.com/lhfang">Lee Fang</a></strong> has trailblazed coverage of this aspect during the current crisis. Here he interviews members of U.S. Congress, one of which states outright that he takes Biblical scripture on Israel very “literally”—<em>those who bless Israel will themselves be blessed….</em></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://original.antiwar.com/cook/2023/10/31/israels-long-held-plan-to-drive-gazas-people-into-sinai-is-now-within-reach/" href="https://original.antiwar.com/cook/2023/10/31/israels-long-held-plan-to-drive-gazas-people-into-sinai-is-now-within-reach/" target="_blank">Israel’s Long-Held Plan to Drive Gaza’s People Into Sinai Is Now Within Reach</a> </strong></p><p>[Antiwar (Offtrail), via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/11/a-textbook-case-of-genocide/" href="https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2023/11/a-textbook-case-of-genocide/" target="_blank">“A Textbook Case of Genocide”</a> </strong></p><p>Craig Murray [via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p>On the resignation of Craig Mokhiber, Director of the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-hamas-and-israel-were-inches-deal-hostages" data-original-title="" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-hamas-and-israel-were-inches-deal-hostages" target="_blank" title="">Israel-Palestine war: Hamas and Israel were ‘inches’ away from deal on hostages</a> </strong></p><p>[Middle East Eye, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Sources say Qatari-mediated negotiations to release women and children fell through when Israel launched ground operations in Gaza.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://proteanmag.com/2023/10/29/the-questions-for-egypt/?" href="https://proteanmag.com/2023/10/29/the-questions-for-egypt/?" target="_blank">The Questions for Egypt</a> </strong></p><p>[Protean Mag, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...In an effort to deflect responsibility for the bloodshed, Israel and its Western backers have incessantly asked why Egypt is not willing to open its doors for Palestinian refugees from Gaza (the majority of whom are, let’s remember, already refugees)….</p><p>Egypt is currently facing a historic debt crisis; <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-27/egypt-transfixes-market-as-jpmorgan-imf-moody-s-wait-and-worry" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-27/egypt-transfixes-market-as-jpmorgan-imf-moody-s-wait-and-worry">Bloomberg Economics</a> ranked Egypt as second only to Ukraine in terms of countries most vulnerable to defaulting on debt payments. The Egyptian debt crisis has been little-discussed in the West, but it is a daily reality for Egyptians, who continue to face mounting inflation and unparalleled price hikes as a result of Egypt’s complete reliance on international lending from the IMF and wealthy Gulf states. Such reliance circumscribes Egypt’s range of action, making it difficult and unlikely for it to act independently from U.S. interests—including on foreign policy. </p><p>This wouldn’t be the first time the U.S. has used the prospect of debt forgiveness as a tool to bring Egypt in compliance with its policy demands. Most recently, in 1991, the United States and its allies forgave half of Egypt’s external debt ($11.1 billion USD, out of $20.2 billion) in exchange for Egypt’s participation in the second Gulf War in the anti-Iraq coalition….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231101-egypt-is-ready-to-sacrifice-millions-of-lives-to-protect-its-land-from-invasion-pm/" href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231101-egypt-is-ready-to-sacrifice-millions-of-lives-to-protect-its-land-from-invasion-pm/" target="_blank">Egypt is ready to sacrifice millions of lives to protect its land from invasion: PM</a></strong><strong> </strong> </p><p>[Middle East Monitor, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/egypt-is-playing-an-extremely-high-stakes-game-in-gaza-that-could-end-in-genocide.html" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/11/egypt-is-playing-an-extremely-high-stakes-game-in-gaza-that-could-end-in-genocide.html" target="_blank"><strong>Egypt Is Playing an Extremely High-Stakes Game in Gaza That Could End in Genocide</strong></a></p><p>Andrew Korybko [via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://denniskucinich.substack.com/p/the-math-of-murder" href="https://denniskucinich.substack.com/p/the-math-of-murder" target="_blank">The Math of Murder</a> </strong></p><p>Dennis Kucinich [via Naked Capitalism 11-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-gaza-intelligence-cyber-shield/" href="https://www.thenation.com/article/world/israel-gaza-intelligence-cyber-shield/" target="_blank">Why Israel Slept</a> </strong></p><p>[The Nation, via Naked Capitalism 11-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...The shift began behind closed doors in The Venetian Resort, a neon nirvana on the Las Vegas strip. In a back conference room not far from the imitation Italian gondolas and the faux St. Mark’s Square, attendees of the June 2015 conclave were instructed to avoid leaks. “All proceedings,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://forward.com/news/309413/sheldon-adelson-bds-campaign-campus-vegas/" href="https://forward.com/news/309413/sheldon-adelson-bds-campaign-campus-vegas/">they were told</a>, “shall remain strictly confidential.” The invitation warned that that they must agree “not to discuss the events of the conference with media before, during and after” the meeting…. </p><p>There was a reason the Adelson task force formally demanded pledges of secrecy before, during, and after the meeting. Once they closed the door at the Venetian, they opened the door to potential criminal prosecution as agents of a foreign power, a very serious offense punishable by up to a decade in prison. According to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/951" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/951">18 USC § 951</a>: “Whoever, other than a diplomatic or consular officer or attaché, acts in the United States as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General…shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both…. For purposes of this section, the term ‘agent of a foreign government’ means an individual who agrees to operate within the United States subject to the direction or control of a foreign government or official.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1720215711925043260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1720215711925043260%7Ctwgr%5E90886aae6b090c491d037ab9f4940595272b4b54%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-4-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1720215711925043260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1720215711925043260%7Ctwgr%5E90886aae6b090c491d037ab9f4940595272b4b54%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-4-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-04-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Israel&amp;#39;s ministers, parliamentarians, generals, president, &amp;amp; prime minister have all said stuff about Gaza that *sounds* genocidal to a lot of experts on genocide. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;I laid out the evidence on the &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MehdiHasanShow?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@MehdiHasanShow&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Israeli officials, in their own words:&lt;a href="https://t.co/TTFQyloJLb"&gt;pic.twitter.com/TTFQyloJLb&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1720215711925043260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 2, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1720215711925043260" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1720215711925043260&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2202731%2Fedit&sessionId=9fe0c460172b1185ea1cf4f655755749806ff05a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 654px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: rgba(220,220,220,0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/brisbane-lecture-on-us-grand-strategy" href="https://mearsheimer.substack.com/p/brisbane-lecture-on-us-grand-strategy" target="_blank">Brisbane Lecture on US Grand Strategy</a> </strong></p><p>John Mearsheimer [via Naked Capitalism 10-31-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1719909159158612447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1719909159158612447%7Ctwgr%5E90886aae6b090c491d037ab9f4940595272b4b54%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-4-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1719909159158612447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1719909159158612447%7Ctwgr%5E90886aae6b090c491d037ab9f4940595272b4b54%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F11%2Flinks-11-4-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 11-04-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;The House just passed 354 - 53 a resolution that could be read as effectively authorizing war with Iran. &amp;quot;All means necessary&amp;quot; would have to include military means... correct?&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Naturally, it also declares support for Israel waging war on Iran&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;The new Speaker is really on a roll! &lt;a href="https://t.co/qDPfVu21eD"&gt;pic.twitter.com/qDPfVu21eD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Michael Tracey (@mtracey) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/1719909159158612447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;November 2, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1719909159158612447" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1719909159158612447&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2202731%2Fedit&sessionId=9fe0c460172b1185ea1cf4f655755749806ff05a&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 739px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rt.com/russia/586358-tank-production-growth-rostec/" href="https://www.rt.com/russia/586358-tank-production-growth-rostec/" target="_blank">Tank production grows sevenfold in Russia</a> </strong></p><p>[RT, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/10/29/as-ukraine-loses-more-and-more-of-its-best-leopard-2-tanks-its-turning-back-to-old-t-72s/?sh=189c97032576" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2023/10/29/as-ukraine-loses-more-and-more-of-its-best-leopard-2-tanks-its-turning-back-to-old-t-72s/?sh=189c97032576" target="_blank">As Ukraine Loses More And More Of Its Best Leopard 2 Tanks, It’s Turning Back To Old T-72s</a></strong> </p><p>[Forbes, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russia-says-it-will-shoot-down-all-f-16-fighter-jets-promised-to-ukraine-in-20-days/3040359" href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/russia-says-it-will-shoot-down-all-f-16-fighter-jets-promised-to-ukraine-in-20-days/3040359" target="_blank">Russia says it will shoot down all F-16 fighter jets promised to Ukraine in 20 days</a> </strong></p><p>[Anadolu Agency, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/10/31/american-weapons-leftover-in-afghanistan-after-u-s-forces-withdrew-fell-into-hands-of-terrorist-organizations-and-are-now-surfacing-in-israel-kashmir-and-pakistan/" data-original-title="" href="https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/10/31/american-weapons-leftover-in-afghanistan-after-u-s-forces-withdrew-fell-into-hands-of-terrorist-organizations-and-are-now-surfacing-in-israel-kashmir-and-pakistan/" target="_blank" title="">American Weapons Leftover in Afghanistan After U.S. Forces Withdrew Fell Into Hands of Terrorist Organizations and Are Now Surfacing in Israel, Kashmir and Pakistan</a> </strong></p><p>[CovertAction Magazine, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong> </p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/11/02/uber-and-lyft-to-pay-new-york-drivers-328-million-following-ag-wage-theft-probe/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/11/02/uber-and-lyft-to-pay-new-york-drivers-328-million-following-ag-wage-theft-probe/" target="_blank" title="">Uber and Lyft to Pay New York Drivers $328 Million Following AG Wage Theft Probe </a></strong></p><p>[The City, via Naked Capitalism 11-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/1/2202969/-Universal-Basic-Income-If-it-Works-for-Billionaires-Children-Why-Not-the-Poor?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/1/2202969/-Universal-Basic-Income-If-it-Works-for-Billionaires-Children-Why-Not-the-Poor?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Universal Basic Income: If it Works for Billionaires’ Children, Why Not the Poor?</a></strong></p><p>Thom Hartmann, November 1, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/11-02-2023-uaw-strike-stellantis-belvidere-reopening/" target="_blank" title="">How Autoworkers’ Democratic Tactics Reversed a Humiliating Loss</a></strong><br /></p><p>Lee Harris, November 2, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>As part of the UAW’s tentative agreement with Stellantis, an idled factory in Belvidere, Illinois will restart production….<br /></p><p>It is rare that a contract negotiation in any industrial manufacturing sector leads to the reopening of a shuttered plant. In addition, the UAW negotiated a clause that could stop such closures in the future, by giving the union the right to strike any of the Big Three companies across its facilities if a plant is closed.</p><p>Several longtime Belvidere workers, including Frantzen, attributed the reopening to the democratic leadership and tactics of the Unite All Workers for Democracy reform slate led by Fain, who has reshaped the union since assuming office in March.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176602/auto-workers-historic-victory-turning-point-climate-culture-war" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176602/auto-workers-historic-victory-turning-point-climate-culture-war" target="_blank" title="">Autoworkers’ Historic Victory Is a Turning Point in the Climate Culture War </a></strong></p><p>Liza Featherstone, November 3, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>By ensuring electric vehicles produce high-wage union jobs, Shawn Fain has robbed the GOP of some of its talking points.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1900" data-original-title="" href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1900" target="_blank" title="">Health as a Human Right: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians</a></strong> </p><p>[Annals of Internal Medicine, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/31/nar-lawsuit-brokers-fees-verdict-sitzer-burnett" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/31/nar-lawsuit-brokers-fees-verdict-sitzer-burnett" target="_blank">Federal jury verdict on broker fees rocks real estate industry</a> </strong></p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A federal jury in Kansas City on Tuesday found the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/23/lawsuit-trial-broker-fees-real-estate-news" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/23/lawsuit-trial-broker-fees-real-estate-news" target="_self" title="">National Association of Realtors</a> (NAR) and some of the largest real estate brokers in the country guilty of colluding to inflate real estate commissions.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jacobin.com/2023/10/chicago-municipal-grocery-store-publicly-state-owned" data-original-title="" href="https://jacobin.com/2023/10/chicago-municipal-grocery-store-publicly-state-owned" target="_blank" title="">Chicago Is Considering Opening a Municipal Grocery Store</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Bruenig [Jacobin, via Naked Capitalism 10-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/10/29/africa-vs-colonialism-why-does-the-continents-struggle-for-self-sufficiency-remain-so-difficult/" data-original-title="" href="https://libya360.wordpress.com/2023/10/29/africa-vs-colonialism-why-does-the-continents-struggle-for-self-sufficiency-remain-so-difficult/" target="_blank" title="">Africa vs Colonialism: Why Does the Continent’s Struggle for Self-Sufficiency Remain so Difficult?</a> </strong></p><p>[Internationalist 360, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/jf9HY#selection-671.0-676.0" href="https://archive.ph/jf9HY#selection-671.0-676.0" target="_blank">The Secretive Industry Devouring the U.S. Economy</a></strong> </p><p>[The Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The publicly traded company is disappearing. In 1996, about 8,000 firms were listed in the U.S. stock market. Since then, the national economy has grown by nearly $20 trillion. The population has increased by 70 million people. And yet, today, the number of American public companies stands at fewer than 4,000. How can that be? One answer is that the private-equity industry is devouring them. … In 2000, private-equity firms managed about 4 percent of total U.S. corporate equity. By 2021, that number was closer to 20 percent. In other words, private equity has been growing nearly five times faster than the U.S. economy as a whole…. Most careful academic studies find that although private-equity funds slightly outperformed the stock market on average prior to the early 2000s, they no longer do so. When you take into account their high fees, they appear to be a worse investment than a simple index fund.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://proteanmag.com/2023/10/31/the-haunted-houses-of-labor/" data-original-title="" href="https://proteanmag.com/2023/10/31/the-haunted-houses-of-labor/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Haunted House of Labor</strong></a></p><p>[proteanmag.com, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...This very moment, when enthusiasm for labor’s future has reached a fever pitch, is the perfect time to call forward the spirits of those who came before and ask ourselves what they might think of what we’ve accomplished in their absence….</p></blockquote><p><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-11-01-corporate-criminal-impunity-continues/" target="_blank" title="">The Culture of Corporate Criminal Impunity Continues</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ryan Cooper, November 20, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>At Public Citizen, Rick Claypool has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.citizen.org/article/corporate-crime-prosecution-doldrums-low-2022/" href="https://www.citizen.org/article/corporate-crime-prosecution-doldrums-low-2022/" target="_blank">written a report</a> demonstrating that corporate prosecutions have not increased at all relative to the Trump years. On the contrary, there were slightly more of them in 2017 and 2019 than in either 2021 or 2022, though neither of those are close to the peak years of the Bush or Clinton administrations. Once again, Attorney General Merrick Garland is simply not cutting the mustard.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/infection-control/strep-cases-in-hospitals-jump-as-antibiotic-supply-runs-low.html?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/infection-control/strep-cases-in-hospitals-jump-as-antibiotic-supply-runs-low.html?" target="_blank" title="">Strep cases in hospitals jump as antibiotic supply runs low</a> </strong></p><p>[Becker’s Hospital Review, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Children's hospitals scattered around the U.S. are reporting a significant increase in strep throat cases amid a monthslong shortage of amoxicillin, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/strep-throat-covid-fall-illness-what-know-rcna122152" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/strep-throat-covid-fall-illness-what-know-rcna122152" target="_blank" title=""><em>NBC News</em></a> reported Oct. 28…. The rise in infections is facing a shortage of amoxicillin, which <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/us-low-on-amoxicillin.html" href="https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/us-low-on-amoxicillin.html" target="_blank">fell</a> into shortage in October 2022. Currently, 48 solutions of the popular antibiotic are in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ashp.org/drug-shortages/current-shortages/drug-shortage-detail.aspx?id=875&loginreturnUrl=SSOCheckOnly" href="https://www.ashp.org/drug-shortages/current-shortages/drug-shortage-detail.aspx?id=875&loginreturnUrl=SSOCheckOnly" target="_blank">low supply</a>, and eight are available, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/28/us-cancer-patients-nationwide-shortages-chemo-drugs-production-unprofitable/" data-original-title="" href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/28/us-cancer-patients-nationwide-shortages-chemo-drugs-production-unprofitable/" target="_blank" title="">U.S. cancer patients face nationwide shortages of life-saving chemo drugs as ‘race to the bottom’ makes their production unprofitable</a> </strong></p><p>[Fortune, via Naked Capitalism 10-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67264647" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67264647" target="_blank" title="">Removing cap on bankers’ bonuses will fuel ‘greed is good’ culture, says TUC</a> </strong></p><p>[BBC, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/business/economy/economy-interest-rates-inflation.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/24/business/economy/economy-interest-rates-inflation.html" target="_blank"><strong>New Normal or No Normal? How Economists Got It Wrong for 3 Years</strong></a></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 10-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Economists first underestimated inflation, then underestimated consumers and the labor market. The key question is why. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.science.org/content/article/hurricane-otis-smashed-mexico-and-broke-records-why-did-no-one-see-it-coming" href="https://www.science.org/content/article/hurricane-otis-smashed-mexico-and-broke-records-why-did-no-one-see-it-coming" target="_blank">Hurricane Otis smashed into Mexico and broke records. Why did no one see it coming?</a> </strong></p><p>[Science, via Naked Capitalism 10-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sciencealert.com/nightmare-scenario-extreme-storms-now-breach-the-worst-case-scenario" href="https://www.sciencealert.com/nightmare-scenario-extreme-storms-now-breach-the-worst-case-scenario" target="_blank">‘Nightmare Scenario’: Extreme Storms Now Breach The Worst-Case Scenario</a></strong> </p><p>[Science Alert, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/geography/world-largest-waterfall-underwater/" href="https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/geography/world-largest-waterfall-underwater/" target="_blank">The world’s largest waterfall is actually underwater</a> </strong></p><p>[ZME Science, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The world’s largest waterfall is actually underwater, located in the Denmark Strait, between Iceland and Greenland. Towering at more than three kilometers high, it is three times taller than Angel Falls. Every second, more than three million cubic meters of cold, dense water emanates from the strait.</p><div><div id="freestar-video-ad"><p>The Denmark Strait’s underwater <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/geography/the-5-tallest-waterfalls-in-the-world/" href="https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/natural-sciences/geography/the-5-tallest-waterfalls-in-the-world/">waterfall</a> — known as the Denmark Strait cataract — plays a pivotal role in the intricate dance of the Atlantic’s thermohaline circulation, which influences our planet’s climate on a global scale. The journey begins in the Arctic, where surface water cools and gains density, causing it to sink and flow toward lower latitudes.</p></div></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/in-4-years-india-lost-over-30-million-hectares-of-healthy-land-to-degradation-un-data-92519" href="https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/in-4-years-india-lost-over-30-million-hectares-of-healthy-land-to-degradation-un-data-92519" target="_blank">In 4 years, India lost over 30 million hectares of healthy land to degradation: UN data</a> </strong></p><p>[Down to Earth, via Naked Capitalism 10-29-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/02/climate/us-groundwater-depletion-rules.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/02/climate/us-groundwater-depletion-rules.html" target="_blank"><strong>A Tangle of Rules to Protect America’s Water Is Falling Short</strong></a></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 11-04-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The Times asked all 50 states how they manage groundwater. The answers show why the country’s aquifers are in trouble. </p></blockquote><p><br /><br /><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176163/water-wars-future-american-west" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176163/water-wars-future-american-west" target="_blank">The Water Wars Deciding the Future of the West</a></strong></p><p>Kyle Paoletta, October 30, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>From conservation to importing water from the Pacific, Democrats say they have all the answers to historic drought. The one thing no one wants to talk about: stopping the sprawl….</p><p>Over the course of the twentieth century, tens of billions of federal dollars were used to move water across <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/161263/colorado-river-water-supply-crisis" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/161263/colorado-river-water-supply-crisis" title="">the vast Colorado River Basin</a>, which encompasses Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado itself. The transformation of the basin began in the 1930s with the construction of the Hoover Dam, which created Lake Mead, and ended in 1993 with the completion of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/issues/magazine-issue/article/2022/03/the-storied-history-of-the-central-arizona-project" href="https://www.asce.org/publications-and-news/civil-engineering-source/civil-engineering-magazine/issues/magazine-issue/article/2022/03/the-storied-history-of-the-central-arizona-project" target="_blank">Central Arizona Project</a>, the 336-mile aqueduct system that conveys water from the Colorado to Phoenix and Tucson. All that infrastructure has made it possible for the river system to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/climate/colorado-river-deal.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/22/climate/colorado-river-deal.html" target="_blank">theoretically supply water</a> to more than 40 million people and five million acres of farmland. But the basin’s stability depends less on dams and reservoirs than on rainfall and snowpack, and it has been shaken by a so-called <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/12/us-west-megadrought-climate-disaster" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/12/us-west-megadrought-climate-disaster" target="_blank" title="">megadrought</a> that set in just over two decades ago. Climate scientists now believe the dry conditions are reflective of a trend toward more permanent aridification. Their research also shows that water scarcity is only made worse by the region’s triple-digit summers—especially <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23670139/colorado-river-drought-lake-mead-climate-change-water-cuts" data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23670139/colorado-river-drought-lake-mead-climate-change-water-cuts" target="_blank" title="">brutal</a> this year—given the link between high temperatures and groundwater depletion.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/29/william-nordhaus-climate-economics/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>When Idiot Savants Do Climate Economics</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Christopher Ketcham, October 29 2023 [The Intercept]<br /></p><blockquote><p>How an elite clique of math-addled economists hijacked climate policy.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Crude-Production-Breaks-Records.html" data-original-title="" href="https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Crude-Production-Breaks-Records.html" target="_blank" title="">U.S. Crude Production Breaks Records</a> </strong></p><p>[OilPrice, via Naked Capitalism 11-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/1/23941766/google-antitrust-trial-search-queries-ad-money" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/1/23941766/google-antitrust-trial-search-queries-ad-money" target="_blank" title="">Here’s a rare look at Google’s most lucrative search queries</a> </strong></p><p>[The Verge, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://9to5google.com/2023/11/03/youtube-ad-blocker-uninstall-report/" href="https://9to5google.com/2023/11/03/youtube-ad-blocker-uninstall-report/" target="_blank">YouTube crackdown leads to ‘hundreds of thousands’ of ad blocker uninstalls</a></strong> </p><p>[9to5Google, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“After a few months of testing, YouTube has opened the floodgates to its blocking of ad blockers, and that’s led to a wave of uninstalls – but not of YouTube. YouTube’s crackdown on ad blockers started earlier this year in a limited capacity and slowly ramped up to affect more and more users. As of this week, the practice was in full swing, affecting virtually anyone using an ad blocker around the globe. YouTube says that using an ad blocker violates the platform’s policies. As Wired reports, this rollout has led to ‘hundreds of thousands’ of uninstalls, not of YouTube but of ad blockers. The figures apparently come from various ad-blocking companies, where October saw a ‘record number’ of people uninstalling ad blockers. Meanwhile, it also led to a record number of new installs, as many users looked to switch from one blocker to another in an effort to keep blocking ads. One ad-blocking company, Ghostery, shared that 90% of users who completed a survey when uninstalling their ad blocker cited YouTube’s changes as the reason.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wired.com/story/meta-facebook-pay-for-privacy-europe/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/meta-facebook-pay-for-privacy-europe/" target="_blank" title="">Facebook Finally Puts a Price on Privacy: It’s $10 a Month</a> </strong></p><p>[Wired, via Naked Capitalism 11-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.space.com/worlds-smallest-particle-accelerator-nanophotonic" href="https://www.space.com/worlds-smallest-particle-accelerator-nanophotonic" target="_blank">World’s smallest particle accelerator is 54 million times smaller than the Large Hadron Collider — and it works</a> </strong></p><p>[Space, via Naked Capitalism 10-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://hiddentribes.us/media/qfpekz4g/hidden_tribes_report.pdf" href="https://hiddentribes.us/media/qfpekz4g/hidden_tribes_report.pdf" target="_blank">“The Hidden Tribes of America” (PDF)</a></strong> </p><p>[More in Common, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-02-2023]</p><p>From 2018, still relevant; from page 117:</p><blockquote><p>America’s tribal politics, from social media trolling to debates in the halls of Congress, are repelling a majority of Americans. The Exhausted Majority is uncomfortable with the ideological conformity and the outrage culture that have taken hold in the most highly engaged tribes. Americans in the Exhausted Majority are often hesitant to weigh in for fear of saying the wrong thing. This contributes to the detachment of the 41 percent of Americans who belong to the Passive Liberal and Politically Disengaged tribes. Public issues have always engaged some individuals more strongly than others. What is striking now is the widening gulf between those who are highly engaged in America’s polarized political debates and the Exhausted Majority of Americans, who find the relentless ideological conflict dispiriting. They feel unrepresented in today’s polarized politics. The views of the Exhausted Majority are grounds for hope as well as concern. On the one hand, they reject ideological purity and recognize the necessity of compromise in politics as in all areas of life. On the other hand, their detachment (and the media’s preference for conflict) allows the opposing wings of the spectrum to dominate public debate. This contributes to the misperception that America is made up of just two groups who are hell-bent on defeating each other at all costs. A new understanding of the American political landscape is needed, one that no longer airbrushes this Exhausted Majority out of the picture, but puts them in the center.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/3/2203388/-How-the-GOP-Became-the-Party-of-Tax-Cheats" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/3/2203388/-How-the-GOP-Became-the-Party-of-Tax-Cheats" target="_blank" title="">How the GOP Became the Party of Tax Cheats</a></strong></p><p>Thom Hartmann, November 3, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mike-johnson-crusade-birth-control-1234865718/" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mike-johnson-crusade-birth-control-1234865718/" target="_blank">House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Long Crusade Against Birth Control</a> </strong></p><p>[Rolling Stone, via Naked Capitalism 10-31-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/31/youngkin-virginia-voting-felons-restore-rights-election" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/31/youngkin-virginia-voting-felons-restore-rights-election" target="_blank">Virginia restores 3,400 to voting rolls, but questions remain</a> </strong></p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-31-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has restored the voting rights of nearly 3,400 residents who were wrongly taken off the state’s voting rolls…. ‘We have no way to know if that 3,400 is actually correct,’ [Shawn Weneta, a policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia,] said. ‘When they acknowledged the mistake, they said it was only 270 people. Well three weeks later, they say it’s more than 10 times that number.’… Critics of Youngkin still have questions about how the voter purge happened and what they call a lack of communication from the governor’s office.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/republicans-election-integrity-early-voting-skepticism-grows" href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/republicans-election-integrity-early-voting-skepticism-grows" target="_blank">Republicans work to square election integrity with new early voting push</a> </strong></p><p>[Washington Examiner, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Republicans across the country are looking to snag wins in state and federal elections in 2023 and 2024, and they’re embracing early and absentee voting like never before to do it. But the party’s base also becomes increasingly skeptical of election security and results, namely the 2020 presidential election, leading to intensifying calls for ‘election integrity.’ The two goals can appear competing, as Republicans have criticized vote by mail and practices such as ballot harvesting for years. And as the party continues its significant early voting push, prominent Republicans deride the practice. In former President Donald Trump’s pitches in favor of voting early, he still mentions his concerns over its security and distaste for the method. ‘I will secure our elections, and our goal will be one-day voting with paper ballots and voter ID,’ he said in Iowa earlier this month. ‘But until then, Republicans have to compete, and we have to win.’ At a separate New Hampshire event, the former president told his supporters they don’t need to worry about voting at all because he has ‘plenty of votes.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176569/trump-second-term-legal-team" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176569/trump-second-term-legal-team" target="_blank">Trump Is Assembling His Second-Term Legal Wrecking Crew</a></strong></p><p>Matt Ford, November 2, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>...<em>The New York Times,</em> writing this week about a rift between Trump and the Federalist Society, shed some light on the legal minds that Trump might turn to in a second term. Foremost among them is Jeffrey Clark, who tried to engineer his own rise as acting attorney general after the 2020 election when other Justice Department personnel refused to endorse Trump’s election myths. (He too is facing racketeering charges in Georgia but hasn’t yet flipped on Trump.)</p><p>As the <em>Times</em> noted, Clark <a data-cke-saved-href="https://americarenewing.com/issues/the-u-s-justice-department-is-not-independent/" href="https://americarenewing.com/issues/the-u-s-justice-department-is-not-independent/" target="_blank">wrote an essay</a> in May that was simply titled, “The U.S. Justice Department is Not Independent.” For ethical and political reasons, most attorneys general since the Watergate crisis have tried to insulate the department’s prosecutorial decisions from the White House to avoid abuses of power or allegations of corruption. Clark argues, in what alternates between personal partisan grievances and constitutional analysis, that this state of affairs must end.</p><p>“Either the Constitution is properly amended to make DOJ independent or it is improperly amended through an attempt at legislation like that proposed in the wake of Watergate and then subsequently blessed by the Supreme Court,” he incoherently argued. “Under the constitutional system as it stands, however, DOJ independence does not exist and influencers on the Left of all stripes (as well as those on the Center-Right like Professor [Jack] Goldsmith) should stop claiming that it does. They are misleading the people.”</p><p>It is a fascinating project by Clark and others in Trump’s orbit. On one hand, they try to argue that the Justice Department should be subject to the president’s whims as a normative matter. In the same breath, they also claim that Biden’s supposed targeting of Trump and his allies for prosecution is corrupt and unacceptable. “No Attorney General should allow himself to be used as a tool to persecute the President’s political enemies,” Clark wrote without a hint of irony. “And no President should order his Attorney General to do so.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176012/american-principles-project-think-tank-pushing-transphobia" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176012/american-principles-project-think-tank-pushing-transphobia" target="_blank"><strong>The Shadowy Right-Wing Think Tank Pushing Transphobia </strong></a></p><p>Jack McCordick, October 25, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>The American Principles Project has lost election after election but its influence in the GOP is still growing….</p><p>...In 2013, five months after the 2012 presidential election failed to deliver a stinging rebuke to Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, the Republican National Committee released a 100-odd-page postmortem that became <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/133884/breaking-mad" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/133884/breaking-mad">known</a> as the “RNC autopsy.” The memo insisted a rebrand was needed: It was past time for the Grand Old Party to become more “welcoming and inclusive” on issues like gay marriage and immigration.</p><p>The autopsy set off an internecine war within the conservative movement. One of the objectors was a nascent organization called the American Principles Project, or APP. The APP, with the help of a pollster named Kellyanne Conway, put together a rejoinder <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2013/11/18/amid-obamas-self-implosion-an-elite-republican-death-wish-rears-its-loser-head/?sh=1bcc8e8f48f1" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2013/11/18/amid-obamas-self-implosion-an-elite-republican-death-wish-rears-its-loser-head/?sh=1bcc8e8f48f1" target="_blank">dubbed</a> the “Autopsy of the Autopsy.”</p><p>This assessment was echoed by a real estate mogul and reality TV star who had briefly reached second place in GOP 2012 primary polling, despite never formally entering the race. “@RNC report was written by the ruling class of consultants who blew the election,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/314085754307497985?lang=en" href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/314085754307497985?lang=en" target="_blank">tweeted</a> Donald Trump in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/313744229774008322?s=20" href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/313744229774008322?s=20" target="_blank">March</a> of 2013. “Does @RNC have a death wish?”</p><p>A decade and one Trump presidency later, the APP has turned into an electoral juggernaut, pouring many millions of dollars into political races around the country on the theory that social conservatism, even at its most unhinged, is the key to unlocking electoral majorities for the GOP….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-10-25/bud-light-target-boycotts-show-how-culture-wars-came-to-retail-after-2020" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-10-25/bud-light-target-boycotts-show-how-culture-wars-came-to-retail-after-2020" target="_blank"><strong>Why the Right’s Bud Light Boycott Worked</strong></a></p><p>[Businessweek, via The Big Picture 10-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>After 2020, brand politics moved left—and some consumers revolted. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Article 3</strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/WpgRy" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/WpgRy" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Supreme Court Chief Hudson asks if court should disqualify Trump — even if it can</strong></a></p><p>[Star-Tribune, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 11-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson posed a basic question Thursday at the outset of oral arguments on a petition seeking to use the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. If the court’s justices agree that they have the ability to bar Trump, ”Should we’ is the question that concerns me most,’ the chief said. She raised the prospect of chaos if 50 state courts decide differently on Trump’s eligibility. ‘So, should we do it?’ she asked. The question went to Ronald Fein, lawyer for a bipartisan coalition including the national nonprofit Free Speech for People, former Secretary of State Joan Growe and former Supreme Court Justice Paul H. Anderson. Hudson noted that prior cases on ballot disqualification gave mixed guidance on the issue. ‘Doesn’t that suggest we use caution and some judicial restraint and maintain the status quo?’ she asked. Fein countered that there is ‘ample authority’ to disqualify Trump and that the constitutional directive to the court is that it shall disqualify Trump.” Hudson is asking if indeed Section Three is “self-executing” (and implicitly contemplated an absurd result if it is so interpreted. I don’t think Fein is really answering that, at least as reported. More: “The court knows that time is critical. Arguing briefly for Simon, Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hartshorn took no position on Trump’s eligibility, but asked the court to rule no later than Jan. 5 so county election officials have time to prepare for the presidential primary before absentee voting begins Jan. 19.” • Good reporting. Worth reading in full.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/11-02-2023-voting-right-shelby-north-carolina/" target="_blank" title="">Salvaging Voting Rights Long After ‘Shelby’</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Gabrielle Gurley, November 20, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones found that Georgia’s state and federal legislative maps crafted after the 2020 census violated the Voting Right Act. He <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/us/politics/georgia-voting-maps.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/us/politics/georgia-voting-maps.html" target="_blank">ruled</a> that the state lawmakers should have created one additional majority-Black congressional district in metro Atlanta and five majority-Black state legislative districts. He ordered a legislative do-over. Gov. Brian Kemp <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/federal-judge-rules-georgias-congressional-maps-violated-section-voting-rights-act/UNJHGVKZEZF45MNZJXOZDKTXZY/" href="https://www.wsbtv.com/news/federal-judge-rules-georgias-congressional-maps-violated-section-voting-rights-act/UNJHGVKZEZF45MNZJXOZDKTXZY/" target="_blank">has called</a> lawmakers back for a special session on November 29 to begin that process.</p><p>Ruth Bader Ginsburg was right. The late Supreme Court justice warned a decade ago that preclearance, a key federal review tool implemented to put the brakes on discriminatory voting practices, should not be abandoned just yet. “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes,” she wrote in her 2013 <em>Shelby County v. Holder</em> dissent, “is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”</p><p>But in <em>Shelby</em>, the majority did just that, declaring that voting discrimination had ebbed significantly and that federal oversight was no longer required. To the surprise of no one who has been carefully observing the actions of Southern legislatures, some of the states that had been subject to federal preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act are now trying to respond to court orders to correct voting maps expressly designed to disadvantage African American voters.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-problems-worse-rv-money-1838118" data-original-title="" href="https://www.newsweek.com/clarence-thomas-problems-worse-rv-money-1838118" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Clarence Thomas’ Problems Just Got Worse</strong></a></p><p>[Newsweek, via The Big Picture 11-04-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas appears to be facing growing problems following a new report by Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee about the financing for his luxury motor home. Thomas, the present Court’s longest-serving member and most senior conservative failed to repay most if not all of a $267,230 loan from a wealthy friend, according to the committee. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/11/02/why-this-gift-to-clarence-thomas-is-the-worst/" target="_blank">Why This Gift to Clarence Thomas is the Worst</a></strong><br /></p><p>Steven Lubet, November 2, 2023 [Washington Monthly]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Revelations of Justice Clarence Thomas’s extravagant gifts from plutocrats seem to surface almost every week, to the point that some readers may be tempted to roll their eyes and move on to the sports section. That would be a mistake. The latest story of how he acquired his gilded motorcoach and hid it from the public differs from the others—because, in this case, there is simply no excuse for nondisclosure. …</p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p>Thomas bought the 40-foot-long Prevost Le Mirage XL Marathon with a $267,230 <a data-cke-saved-href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/us/clarence-thomas-rv-anthony-welters.html__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyISk5b5Us$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nytimes.com/2023/08/05/us/clarence-thomas-rv-anthony-welters.html__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyISk5b5Us$" target="_blank">loan</a> from Anthony Welters, a healthcare entrepreneur he had known since they served together in the Reagan administration. According to documents <a data-cke-saved-href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/justice-thomas-did-not-repay-substantial-portion-of-267230-loan-finance-committee-investigation-reveals-failed-to-report-forgiven-debt-on-ethics-filings-raising-questions-about-tax-compliance*:*:text=According*20to*20information*20committee*20staff*20obtained*20through*20documents,never*20repaid*20a*20substantial*20portion*20of*20the*20loan.__;I34lJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJQ!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyIm4ZocAU$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.finance.senate.gov/chairmans-news/justice-thomas-did-not-repay-substantial-portion-of-267230-loan-finance-committee-investigation-reveals-failed-to-report-forgiven-debt-on-ethics-filings-raising-questions-about-tax-compliance*:*:text=According*20to*20information*20committee*20staff*20obtained*20through*20documents,never*20repaid*20a*20substantial*20portion*20of*20the*20loan.__;I34lJSUlJSUlJSUlJSUlJQ!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyIm4ZocAU$" target="_blank">obtained</a> from Welters by the Senate Finance Committee, the loan’s original term was five years with an arm’s length interest rate of 7.5 percent. The underlying <a data-cke-saved-href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_finance_committee_welters_thomas_memo_102523.pdf__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyIyH3vQS4$" data-original-title="" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_finance_committee_welters_thomas_memo_102523.pdf__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyIyH3vQS4$" target="_blank" title="">promissory note and security agreement</a> provided that Thomas was to make only annual interest payments for the length of the loan, with the full principal due at maturity. A later addendum extended the loan for another ten years under the same terms. The Senate committee obtained a check from Thomas to Welters for $20,042.23, which would have been the interest due for one year.</p><p>It appears, however, that Thomas (and his wife Virginia, who cosigned for the loan) made at most only nine annual interest payments through 2008, and perhaps fewer. Only one canceled check is known to exist. In a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_finance_committee_welters_thomas_memo_102523.pdf__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyIyH3vQS4$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/senate_finance_committee_welters_thomas_memo_102523.pdf__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyIyH3vQS4$" target="_blank">handwritten note</a> dated December 21, 2008, Welters informed Thomas that no further payments were necessary because the interest payments had already exceeded the amount of the original loan. (In fact, even nine years of interest payments would have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/politics/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-senate-inquiry.html__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyILirjuUs$" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/politics/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-senate-inquiry.html__;!!LsXw!Vw8GdjCTyE7Sr7z1eigzxUJIBC--7ujcBw1p9GRa0oY2XANqWp6R2T96dsxTKaH6gY5oleKUVSziMQOKSZiNkqLwbwyILirjuUs$" target="_blank">totaled</a> only a little over $180,000, about $87,000 less than the loan amount.)</p><p>As the Senate Finance Committee summarized the situation, “Anthony Welters forgave a substantial amount, or even all of the principal balance of his loan to Clarence Thomas, constituting of the forgiveness of approximately $267,230.00 of debt owed by Justice Thomas.”</p></blockquote><p><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-43362385961268581902023-10-29T13:20:00.001-05:002023-11-04T14:55:05.591-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 29, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 29, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/is-there-a-new-left-stirring-within" data-original-title="" href="https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/is-there-a-new-left-stirring-within" target="_blank" title="">Is There a New Left Stirring Within The New Right?</a></strong></p><p>John Judis [The Liberal Patriot, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-24-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“[T]here is a segment of recent politics that is sometimes identified with the ‘new right’ but in reality offers a much more heterodox—and interesting—approach to politics and policy, one that’s well worth considering by liberals and left-wingers alike. This new tendency can be found in the policy group, American Compass, the online magazine Compact, and the journal American Affairs. Its leading intellectuals are Oren Cass of American Compass, Julius Krein of American Affairs, Sohrab Ahmari of Compact, and author Michael Lind. What distinguishes these thinkers from others is their engagement with what used to be called ‘the labor question’ namely, how America can fulfill its original promise of political and economic equality in a society where the owners and managers of capital have inordinate power over labor and politics. These thinkers consider questions that were once confined to the left: how to revive the American labor movement and now to tame the power of multinational corporations and global banks. They often cite left-wing and liberal writers like John Kenneth Galbraith and Karl Polanyi. The most recent and noteworthy examples are Lind’s Hell to Pay, Ahmari’s Tyranny, Inc., and Oren Cass and American Compass’s Rebuilding American Capitalism.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.motherjones.com/media/2023/10/instagram-meta-facebook-lawsuit-mental-health/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.motherjones.com/media/2023/10/instagram-meta-facebook-lawsuit-mental-health/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>33 States Sue Meta and Instagram Over Harms to Teen Mental Health</strong></a></p><p>October 24, 2023 [Mother Jones]</p><blockquote><p><strong>On Tuesday,</strong> 33 states <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Briefing-Room/News-Releases/Consumer-Protection/Meta-Multistate-Complaint-N-D-Cal-23-cv-05448-(RED.aspx" href="https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Briefing-Room/News-Releases/Consumer-Protection/Meta-Multistate-Complaint-N-D-Cal-23-cv-05448-(RED.aspx" target="_blank">filed a 233-page complaint</a> against Meta and Instagram. The bipartisan lawsuit, in federal district court in California, alleges that Meta knew more about the mental health impacts of Instagram on teenagers—including addiction—than it had publicly acknowledged.</p><p>According to the complaint, Meta—which owns Instagram, Facebook, and now Threads—”created a business model focused on maximizing young users’ time and attention.”</p><p>Meta “has ignored the sweeping damage these Platforms have caused to the mental and physical health of our nation’s youth,” the complaint reads. “In doing so, Meta engaged in, and continues to engage in, deceptive and unlawful conduct in violation of state and federal law.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/20/biden-government-war-fears-israel-hamas" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/20/biden-government-war-fears-israel-hamas" target="_blank">Behind the Curtain: Rattled U.S. government fears wars could spread </a></p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism 10-22-2023]</p><p>“Not one of the crises can be solved and checked off. All five could spiral into something much bigger.” Not a good time for a collapse of executive function in our governing class.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-248-american-leadership" href="https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-248-american-leadership" target="_blank">“American leadership is what holds the world together.” Joe Biden October 2023 … just let that sink in. </a></strong></p><p>Adam Tooze [Substack, via Naked Capitalism 10-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...This idea, that there is a “place” in the world, which is that of “America as the organizer”, and that without America occupying that place and doing its job, the world will fall apart, or some other power will take America’s place as the organizer, is deep-seated in US policy circles.</p><p>As a metaphysical proposition it is silly and self-deluding. It is bizarre to imagine that the world needs America to “hold it together”. America itself is hardly in one piece….</p><p>For the most part, to make sense of the sort of thing that Biden and Blinken say, you have to realize that they are talking not to the world or about the world, but to Americans about America. Above all, Biden and Blinken’s rhetoric is directed against Trump, who conjured up a scenario in which America was, as Biden and Blinken see it, a chaotic, disruptive and untrustworthy force. This shames their self-understanding as a liberal elite. With a tight election in 2024 those fears will overshadow all America’s interactions with the world, whoever actually sits in the Oval Office.</p><p>American democracy, the system that produces the leadership that Biden and Blinken so self-confidently evoke, is clearly broken. Pervasive and well-merited skepticism about America’s system of government, is now a massive reality in world affairs.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb171453f-fd67-4b76-af89-51e878b19685_528x1076.png" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb171453f-fd67-4b76-af89-51e878b19685_528x1076.png" target="_blank">GRAPH: Most people in other countries believe the U.S. is no longer a good model for democracy</a></strong> </p><p>….intelligent, seemingly well-meaning and worldly Americans set about, in a highly organized way to sabotages the effort of most of the rest of the world to organize itself…. these are largely non-negotiable positions on the American side. They are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.context.news/climate-justice/opinion/loss-and-damage-fund-must-be-independent-to-deliver-climate-justice" href="https://www.context.news/climate-justice/opinion/loss-and-damage-fund-must-be-independent-to-deliver-climate-justice">unacceptable to the vast majority of the rest of the world</a>. Given America’s entrenched power, all its negotiators need to do is to spell out their terms. This provokes indignation, a breakdown in trust, deadlock and thus the perpetuation of a disorganized status quo….</p><p>In this role, America becomes a force that does not hold the world together but blows it apart. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/iyad-el-baghdadi-analysis-of-middle" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/iyad-el-baghdadi-analysis-of-middle" target="_blank">Iyad el-Baghdadi: Analysis of Middle East Options in Wake of Hamas Attack</a></strong></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, October 27, 2023</p><blockquote><p>A must-read piece on the wants, fears, and calculations of each of the actors in the unfolding Gaza tragedy….</p><p><strong>16.</strong> If this is a coordinated broad plan, and if the Hamas attack planned on an Israeli ground invasion, then it would make sense for Hezbollah to wait until Israel is bogged in Gaza before they open a major new front to Israel's north….</p><p><strong>19.</strong> The Oct 7 attacks are a huge repudiation of much of Netanyahu's career. It's almost like everything he built for decades crashed in a matter of hours. Netanyahu presented himself as a master statesman who can do the impossible for Israel[.]</p><p><strong>20.</strong> His project was to liquidate Palestinian national project:<br />- Normalize with Arab regimes to break the "land for peace" paradigm<br />- Strengthen Hamas to weaken the PA<br />- Annex the West Bank to make 2SS [two-state solution] impossible<br />- Treat Palestinians as a security problem to be managed indefinitely….</p><p><strong>22. </strong>It was also under Netanyahu that Israel expanded its disinfo capacities and leaned hard into relying upon cyber capabilities and high-tech occupation. Also a reminder, Netanyahu is one of the first pioneers of the "war on terror" paradigm, more <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/1341815237952086016" href="https://twitter.com/iyad_elbaghdadi/status/1341815237952086016">here</a>[:]</p><p><strong>23. </strong>So after Oct 7 Bibi had one of two options - (1) resign & admit that this is the result of a series of failures most of which lead back to him; or (2) go all out and try to accomplish a "victory" his allies always wanted but couldn't do. Ethnically cleanse 2 million Palestinians….</p><p><strong>25. </strong>Netanyahu even seems willing to sacrifice the hostages for that. He's not even meeting with hostage families, and pro-Netanyahu mobs are calling hostage families "traitors" for calling for a cease fire to allow for hostage negotiations before a ground invasion[.]….</p><p><strong>27.</strong> (Btw, Israel will come out of this a much more polarized and right-wing country.... </p><p><strong>33.</strong> Reminder that a significant part of the modern Egyptian national identity was forged in conflict with Israel. The current Egyptian regime itself was founded by army officers who overthrew the previous regime (the monarchy) after blaming it for the 1948 defeat vs Israel[.]</p><p><strong>34.</strong> So not Sisi nor anyone else who wants to stay in power in Egypt would allow Gaza population transfer into Egypt. I am not exaggerating when I say that Egypt would sooner break the Camp David accords or even start covertly supply Hamas with weapons than accept such an outcome[.]…</p><p><strong>36.</strong> Jordan too would *never* allow it. In Jordan the fear is that if population transfer happens in Gaza then the West Bank is next….</p><p><strong>53.</strong> Iran's network is built over decades and based on long-term relationships. The regime *really* stands by its allies (look at Bashar in Syria). They don't waffle like others. To allow one of its allies to be destroyed while it stands by will really damage its network.</p><p><strong>54.</strong> A similar calculus applies to Hezbollah. If Hamas is gone, and Israel no longer has a military threat to its south, then it can then focus all of its efforts on the enemy to the north. Hezbollah cannot allow Hamas to fall because it'll be next….</p><p><strong>63.</strong> China sent navy assets to the region. It's extremely sensitive to oil shocks and its main interest in preventing escalation is to ensure the oil flows. It's also a friend of Iran, perhaps it'll want to make sure shipments headed to itself can still pass.</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3238536/6-chinese-warships-present-middle-east-over-past-week" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3238536/6-chinese-warships-present-middle-east-over-past-week">China stationed up to 6 warships in Middle East over the past week: reports</a>….</strong></p><p><strong>71.</strong> And even if [Netanyahu] actually wins, all he'd have done is relocated Palestinian militancy from a besieged and blockaded Gaza to a slightly further but much deeper (and suddenly much less stable) Egypt[.]….</p></blockquote><p><br /><br /><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176406/biden-calamitous-cost-ignoring-palestine" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176406/biden-calamitous-cost-ignoring-palestine" target="_blank">We’re Seeing the Calamitous Cost of Ignoring Palestine</a></strong></p><p>Yousef Munayyer, October 25, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>...While this might be the worst-case scenario for Palestinians in Gaza, it isn’t the bottom of the abyss. Beyond Gaza the region is boiling. Protests erupted across the Arab and Muslim world and well beyond it at a scale and scope we have not seen in the region since the Arab Spring. Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s Egypt, which has banned protests for years, is now calling for them because they know they can’t contain the people’s anger or be seen as trying to. Jordan, a key American ally, had to cancel a meeting with President Biden while he was on his way to the region because they couldn’t contain the public outrage. All this and I haven’t even mentioned Hezbollah yet, or other militias in the region who may well get involved if the Israeli ground incursion starts and churns on even as American aircraft carriers sit in the Mediterranean.</p><p>However this crisis ends, and I pray it ends immediately, the implications for U.S. foreign policy will be profound. “All the work we have done with the Global South [over Ukraine] has been lost.… Forget about rules, forget about world order,” said a G7 diplomat to the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/e0b43918-7eaf-4a11-baaf-d6d7fb61a8a5" href="https://www.ft.com/content/e0b43918-7eaf-4a11-baaf-d6d7fb61a8a5" target="_blank"><em>Financial Times</em></a>. “They won’t ever listen to us again.” Ukraine has been the single biggest foreign policy and military investment of the Biden administration’s tenure. Russia and China are likely watching with glee. And, of course, there is the very real possibility of a much larger regional or even global war. The moment we find ourselves in now is being described as the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/20/biden-government-war-fears-israel-hamas" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/20/biden-government-war-fears-israel-hamas" target="_blank">most dangerous</a> for America in 78 years.</p><p>How the hell did we get here? How the hell did we allow this to happen?…. </p><p>Here is a big part of the answer: A week before October 7, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the region was quieter than it has been in years and that “the amount of time that I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today compared to any of my predecessors going back to 9/11 is significantly reduced.”</p><p>This is no isolated remark but rather a characterization of the Biden administration approach that, for reasons beyond my comprehension, seems to be manned by devotees of the Jared Kushner School of Foreign Policy. They have subscribed to this idea that Palestine is no longer a central issue in the Middle East and is instead one that can effectively be downplayed or entirely ignored as they pursue other objectives in the region….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theins.ru/en/society/266130" data-original-title="" href="https://theins.ru/en/society/266130" target="_blank" title="">Let my people in. Why Gazans are not welcome in Arab world</a> </strong></p><p>[Insider, via Naked Capitalism 10-24-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/10/israeli-think-tank-lays-out-a-blueprint-for-the-complete-ethnic-cleansing-of-gaza/" href="https://mondoweiss.net/2023/10/israeli-think-tank-lays-out-a-blueprint-for-the-complete-ethnic-cleansing-of-gaza/" target="_blank">Israeli think tank lays out a blueprint for the complete ethnic cleansing of Gaza</a> </strong></p><p>[Mondoweiss, via Naked Capitalism 10-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>After this article was originally published, the Israeli outlet Calcalist <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.calcalist.co.il/local_news/article/rj2mplngp" href="https://www.calcalist.co.il/local_news/article/rj2mplngp">reported</a> on a separate plan for the ethnic cleansing of Gaza that is being circulated by the Israeli Intelligence Ministry headed by Gila Gamliel. The leaked document was reportedly created for an organization called “The Unit for Settlement – Gaza Strip” and was not meant for the public.</p><p>In the plan being proposed by the Intelligence Ministry, Palestinians in Gaza would be displaced from Gaza to the northern Egyptian Sinai peninsula. In the report, the ministry described different options for what comes after an invasion of Gaza and the option deemed as “liable to provide positive and long-lasting strategic results” was the transfer of Gaza residents to Sinai. The move entails three steps: the creation of tent cities southwest of the Gaza Strip; the construction of a humanitarian corridor to “assist the residents”; and finally, the building of cities in northern Sinai. In parallel, a “sterile zone”, several kilometers wide, would be established within Egypt, south of the Israeli border, “so that the evacuated residents would not be able to return”….</p><p>On October 17, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.izs.org.il/" href="https://www.izs.org.il/">Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy</a> <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/MisgavINS/status/1714183691574948036" href="https://twitter.com/MisgavINS/status/1714183691574948036">published</a> a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e8ytZWVQyt1XncFPeDT9n1RoD_mZJRUk/view" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e8ytZWVQyt1XncFPeDT9n1RoD_mZJRUk/view">position paper</a> advocating for the “relocation and final settlement of the entire Gaza population.” The report advocates exploiting the current moment to accomplish a long-held Zionist goal of moving Palestinians off the land of historic Palestine. The report’s subtitle makes it clear: “There is at the moment a unique and rare opportunity to evacuate the whole Gaza Strip in coordination with the Egyptian government.” ….</p><p>It appears that this ethnic-cleansing plan is based on a similar logic to that of the “Abraham Accords,” involving the infusion of massive sums towards despotic regimes to write off the Palestinian issue. But this time, it is not just about slow annexation and bantustanization through “economic peace” — but advocating for the complete population transfer of Palestinians from Gaza.... </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGwHVHWRRcXGkGPfxhhsMNGNKMV" target="_blank" title="">Exterminate All the Brutes</a></strong><br /></p><p>Chris Hedges, October 28, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>On Friday the Gaza Strip had all its communications severed. No Internet. No phone service. No electricity. Israel’s goal is the murder of tens, probably hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/5192b417-92a1-4584-b52a-bebd3d51e030?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/5192b417-92a1-4584-b52a-bebd3d51e030?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">ethnic cleansing</a> of those who survive into refugee camps in Egypt. It is an <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/4223f752-a049-43db-bcef-02eb128562ee?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/4223f752-a049-43db-bcef-02eb128562ee?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">attempt</a> by Israel to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/73160ae2-42f9-49cb-a705-da87193fc668?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/73160ae2-42f9-49cb-a705-da87193fc668?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">erase</a> not only a people, but the idea of Palestine. It is a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/d9fa015d-67f6-49b4-b15d-d57ffb6a2272?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d9fa015d-67f6-49b4-b15d-d57ffb6a2272?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">carbon copy</a> of the massive campaigns of racialized slaughter by other settler colonial projects who believed that indiscriminate and wholesale violence could make the aspirations of an oppressed people, whose land they stole, go away. And like other perpetrators of genocide, Israel intends to keep it hidden.</p><p>Israel’s bombing campaign, one of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/01fa1e76-3887-4ad2-b9e7-f651ea9c8d59?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/01fa1e76-3887-4ad2-b9e7-f651ea9c8d59?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">heaviest</a> of the 21st century, has killed more than 7,300 Palestinians, nearly half of them children, along with 26 journalists, medical workers, teachers and United Nations staff. Some 1.4 million Palestinians in Gaza have been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/1c45ce60-f900-4842-9f7c-fb4bfd1e7e41?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/1c45ce60-f900-4842-9f7c-fb4bfd1e7e41?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">displaced </a>and an estimated 600,000 are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/feb03ead-5bc4-41bc-a8c6-afb6af43cb38?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/feb03ead-5bc4-41bc-a8c6-afb6af43cb38?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">homeless</a>. Mosques, 120 health facilities, ambulances, schools, apartment blocks, supermarkets, water and sewage treatment plants and power plants have been blasted into rubble. Hospitals and clinics, lacking fuel, medicine and electricity, have been bombed or are shutting down. Clean water is running out. Gaza, by the end of Israel’s scorched earth campaign, will be uninhabitable, a tactic the Nazis regularly employed when facing armed resistance, including in the Warsaw Ghetto and later Warsaw itself. By the time Israel is done, Gaza, or at least Gaza as we knew it, will not exist.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/let-them-eat-cement?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=778851&post_id=138199906&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1o7ey8&utm_medium=email" href="https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/let-them-eat-cement?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=778851&post_id=138199906&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1o7ey8&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">Let Them Eat Cement</a></strong></p><p>Chris Hedges, October 23, 2023</p><blockquote>Israel, with the backing of its U.S. and European allies, is preparing to launch not only a scorched earth campaign in Gaza but the worst ethnic cleansing since the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The goal is to drive tens, most probably hundreds of thousands of Palestinians over the southern border at Rafah into refugee camps in Egypt. The reverberations will be catastrophic, not only for the Palestinians, but throughout the region, almost certainly triggering armed clashes to the north of Israel with Hezbollah in Lebanon and perhaps with Syria and Iran. The Biden administration, slavishly doing Israel’s bidding, is fueling the madness. The U.S. was the only country to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142507" href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/10/1142507" target="_blank">veto</a> the U.N. Security Council resolution calling for humanitarian pauses to deliver food, medicine, water and fuel to Gaza. It has blocked proposals for a ceasefire. It has proposed a draft U.N. Security Council<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-pushes-un-back-israel-self-defense-demand-iran-stop-arms-hamas-2023-10-22/" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us-pushes-un-back-israel-self-defense-demand-iran-stop-arms-hamas-2023-10-22/" target="_blank"> resolution</a> that says Israel has a right to defend itself. The resolution also demands Iran stop exporting arms to "militias and terrorist groups threatening peace and security across the region." </blockquote><div><br /></div><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.madamasr.com/en/2023/10/11/feature/politics/egypts-difficult-questions-in-the-gaza-war/" href="https://www.madamasr.com/en/2023/10/11/feature/politics/egypts-difficult-questions-in-the-gaza-war/" target="_blank"><strong>Egypt’s difficult questions in the Gaza war</strong></a></p><p>[Mada Masr, October 11, 2023]</p><blockquote><p>Following this, Egyptian and Arab media outlets reported statements from anonymous Egyptian “sovereign” and “security” sources, which is unusual, especially for a tightly state-controlled press landscape in Egypt that rarely deviates from official statements. Yesterday, Al Qahera News quoted “high-level Egyptian sources” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/alqaheranewstv/status/1711411663000281124" href="https://twitter.com/alqaheranewstv/status/1711411663000281124" target="_blank">warning</a> of attempts to push Palestinians in Gaza toward the Egyptian borders and stating that “Egyptian sovereignty is “inviolable” and that “the Occupation authority,” not Egypt, “is responsible for creating humanitarian corridors to save the people of Gaza.”</p><p>Anonymous Egyptian security sources also told Sky News Arabia on Tuesday that “there is a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsArabia_B/status/1711655120004354318" href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsArabia_B/status/1711655120004354318" target="_blank">plan </a>to decimate Palestinian lands and force Palestinians to choose between death and displacement,” and that Egypt will <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsArabia_B/status/1711655166951223659" href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsArabia_B/status/1711655166951223659" target="_blank">confront</a> “Israeli efforts to settle Gaza residents in Sinai.”</p><p>This seemed to convey a specific message: that Cairo rejects the mass displacement of Palestinian Gaza residents to Sinai. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi <a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.mena.org.eg/ar/news/dbcall/table/textnews/id/10385144" href="http://www.mena.org.eg/ar/news/dbcall/table/textnews/id/10385144" target="_blank">emphasized</a> this point in a Tuesday address that there would be “no compromise or negligence of Egypt’s national security under any circumstances.”</p></blockquote><p>[TW: No one but the Palestinians want an independent Palestinian state, but I believe that establishing such a state is the precondition to achieving durable peace in the Middle East. So, enough rewards need to be offered to change everyone’s calculations. How much of a dream is it to think of the UN assembling a $1 trillion fund? Financed in part by an international tax on offshore financial centers. And how about an international tax on all arms sales? </p><p>[The big change needed is to get Egypt to accept Palestinians, So, $200 billion to Egypt to purchase about a tenth of the Sinai for the creation of a Palestinian state. </p><p>[$100 billion to repair war damage in Gaza. $100 billion to Israel to repair war damages and accept the process of creating a Palestinian state. $500 billion loan guarantees & outright grants to industrialize Sinai and the new Palestinian state, including solar panel manufacturing; pipe and valve manufacturing for water and irrigation projects; pumps, gaskets, and filters manufacturing for desalination projects; and manufacturing of electrical switches, cabling, and other components needed to build these projects. The goal must be to give Palestinians and Egyptians real hope for a future of steady employment and real nation building. </p><p>[And, finally, $100 billion for underground high speed rail lines connecting Palestinian Sinai with Jerusalem and the West Bank, with full Israeli supervision of security.</p><p>[Such a policy would necessarily force to the fore the issues of money and credit creation: ]</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/finding-the-money-winning-awards" href="https://stephaniekelton.substack.com/p/finding-the-money-winning-awards" target="_blank"><strong>Finding the Money: Winning Awards and Coming to a Theatre Near You</strong></a></p><p>Stephanie Kelton, October 26, 2023 [The Lens, via Mike Norman Economics</p><p>[And make clear the the financial and monetary systems need fundamental reforms to actually serve the needs of humanity and society.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/palestinian-authority-gaza-hamas/675695/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/palestinian-authority-gaza-hamas/675695/" target="_blank">How the Palestinian Authority Failed Its People</a></strong></p><p>Ghaith al-Omari, October 19, 2023 [The Atlantic]</p><blockquote><p>...Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinian people have been presented with two competing, irreconcilable visions of their future. One, posited by the Palestine Liberation Organization—a secular, though by no means democratic, group and the parent of the Palestinian Authority—envisioned a diplomatic process leading to a Palestinian state side by side with Israel. The other, promoted by Hamas, a designated terrorist group and a member of the larger Muslim Brotherhood network, called for the establishment of a Palestinian state from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean—in other words, the destruction of Israel—to be achieved through violence. …</p><p>The PA was not solely responsible for the devolution of the peace process. Yes, it made mistakes, including failing to take matters of security seriously during the 1990s, which eroded trust among Israelis. Israel, for its part, continued expanding its settlements, which fueled Palestinian suspicion. Each side at different times adopted maximalist, inflexible negotiating positions, and the United States was unwilling to take the parties to task. Hamas, meanwhile, used terror to derail diplomacy: In a grisly pattern that dominated much of the 1990s, every advance in negotiations was followed by a spate of Hamas terror attacks against Israeli civilians.…</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/10/13/national-self-determination-is-a-vicious-idea/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/10/13/national-self-determination-is-a-vicious-idea/index.html" target="_blank" title="">National self-determination is a vicious idea</a> </strong></p><p>Steve Randy Waldman [Interfluidity, via Naked Capitalism 10-25-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/27/secret-military-base-israel-gaza-site-512/" data-original-title="" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/27/secret-military-base-israel-gaza-site-512/" target="_blank" title="">U.S. QUIETLY EXPANDS SECRET MILITARY BASE IN ISRAEL</a></strong></p><p>Ken Klippenstein, Daniel Boguslaw, October 27 2023 [The Intercept]</p><blockquote><p>Government documents pointing to construction at a classified U.S. base offer rare hints about a little noted U.S. military presence near Gaza.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="http://www.defenddemocracy.press/4-things-that-european-states-could-do-today-to-stop-the-genocide-in-palestine-lets-act/" target="_blank" title="">4 things that European states could do today to stop the genocide in Palestine. Let’s act.</a></strong><br /></p><p>[<a href="https://twitter.com/ionebelarra/status/1717190578495017300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1717190578495017300%7Ctwgr%5E69ece12b2ac21ce2b97f6a5cc08df71e965cfa65%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.defenddemocracy.press%2F4-things-that-european-states-could-do-today-to-stop-the-genocide-in-palestine-lets-act%2F" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Defend Democracy]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;4 things that European states could do today to stop the genocide in Palestine. Let&amp;#39;s act. &lt;a href="https://t.co/OucPuYHbZR"&gt;pic.twitter.com/OucPuYHbZR&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Ione Belarra (@ionebelarra) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/ionebelarra/status/1717190578495017300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 25, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1717190578495017300" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1717190578495017300&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2201088%2Fedit&sessionId=e49b2006c5ef83bec1fb866d1aa264418c197c1d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 745px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3238714/china-will-have-over-1000-nuclear-weapons-2030-exceeding-us-predictions-pentagon-report-pla" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3238714/china-will-have-over-1000-nuclear-weapons-2030-exceeding-us-predictions-pentagon-report-pla" target="_blank" title="">China will have over 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030, exceeding US predictions, Pentagon report on PLA expansion says</a> </strong></p><p>[South China Morning Post, via Naked Capitalism 10-24-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>Trump’s Plan to Destroy NATO Would Spark Untold Chaos </p><p>Ryan Cooper, October 25, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>So if Trump yanks the NATO rug out from under the EU, European nations will have no choice but to carry out a full-scale rearmament program, with massive production of tanks, ships, planes, artillery, rockets, and so on. Without the security blanket of American protection, German dithering over the Bundeswehr will end. Poland is likely to go for a nuclear weapons program; it has already <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/05/poland-us-nuclear-wars-russia-putin-ukraine" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/05/poland-us-nuclear-wars-russia-putin-ukraine" target="_blank">suggested hosting U.S. nukes</a>. Theoretically, France or the U.K. could provide a nuclear guarantee, but having been burned once, Poles may conclude that it is best to have a domestic arsenal. And they might not be the only ones….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texasobserver.org/uaw-gm-strike-texas-union-276-arlington/" href="https://www.texasobserver.org/uaw-gm-strike-texas-union-276-arlington/" target="_blank">What The UAW Strike Looks Like, From Deep in the Heart Of Anti-Union Texas</a> </strong></p><p>[Texas Observer, via Naked Capitalism 10-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Workers along the picket lines in Arlington described years of pent-up frustration with how the company has treated them. The high-quality union jobs once associated with the auto industry—the ones with high wages and full pensions—have become scarce, replaced by long-term temp jobs with low pay and few benefits and protections.</p><p>“With past strikes, there’s always been a sentiment of, ‘Oh, they’ll work it out.’ This time I don’t feel that at all,” a longtime Local 276 autoworker, who declined to give his name because of fears of retaliation by GM, told the <em>Observer</em>. “I think everyone is ready to dig their heels in and say, ‘We’re done.’ So if you want to go to the mattresses, everyone is ready to do it.”….</p><p>As New Deal reforms allowed labor unions to spread in the late 1930s, union membership in the state exploded. Vance Muse, a virulent white supremacist and New Deal reactionary from Houston, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222400/http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/12/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work-laws.html" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222400/http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/12/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work-laws.html">saw this</a> as a political and social threat to Southern segregation. In the 1940s, he began pushing anti-union legislation that prohibits mandatory membership in a unionized workplace, which came to be known as “right-to-work.” Texas was among the first states <a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222400/http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/12/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work-laws.html" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150504222400/http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/12/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work-laws.html">to pass</a> right-to-work in 1947.</p><p>The GM plant in Arlington opened seven years later, in 1954, and was unionized as part of the UAW’s national contract with the company. It has stood as a rare unionized Southern auto plant ever since, forming the backbone of an embattled labor movement in North Texas.</p><p>These days, GM’s Arlington factory—which assembles the very popular, very profitable Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade 24 hours a day, with three shifts and mandatory six-day workweeks—has turned into a cash cow. In 2017, the Local 276 president at the time <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2017/05/02/gms-thriving-arlington-plant-record-profits-are-proof-that-nafta-works/" href="https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2017/05/02/gms-thriving-arlington-plant-record-profits-are-proof-that-nafta-works/">said</a> a GM executive had told him that the plant was the “most profitable manufacturing facility in the world.”….</p><p>Since 2016, the company has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/business/gm-strike-uaw.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/business/gm-strike-uaw.html">pulled down a record $35 billion</a> in North American profits. In 2018, GM CEO Mary Barra made just under <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-compensation/gm-ceo-barras-pay-dipped-slightly-to-just-under-22-million-in-2018-idUSKCN1RU2AY" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gm-compensation/gm-ceo-barras-pay-dipped-slightly-to-just-under-22-million-in-2018-idUSKCN1RU2AY">$22 million</a>—281 times more than the median company worker. Meanwhile, the company has laid off thousands of workers and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://publicintegrity.org/business/taxes/trumps-tax-cuts/tax-law-offshore-jobs/" href="https://publicintegrity.org/business/taxes/trumps-tax-cuts/tax-law-offshore-jobs/">shuttered several plants</a> while also spending <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gm-bought-back-10-billion-in-stock-since-2015-double-what-job-cuts-will-save/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gm-bought-back-10-billion-in-stock-since-2015-double-what-job-cuts-will-save/">around $10 billion</a> on stock buybacks, which jack up share prices, rewarding investors and senior executives.</p><p>The union’s recession-era concessions opened a Pandora’s box that workers believe GM has no intention of closing. The hope is that the strike can force GM’s hand and cut workers in on the soaring profits….</p><p>Meanwhile, the plant’s growth is fueled by precisely the sort of labor-squeezing model that UAW wants to end. GM has leaned heavily on “temporary” workers to fill out the round-the-clock production shifts. There are currently about 800 temps working in the Arlington plant, comprising at least 15 percent of the total labor force. That’s roughly double the share at the average GM plant.</p><p>Temps start at $15.78 an hour—half of what a veteran assembly worker makes—and have little in the way of benefits and zero job security. The hope is that GM will eventually hire them on permanently, but that rarely happens. Increasingly, the new generation of American autoworkers are what is known as the “permatemp.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/california-labor-newsom/" href="https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/california-labor-newsom/" target="_blank">California’s Labor Victories Could Be Contagious</a> </strong></p><p>[The Nation, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Last week, labor scored its latest victory in a long run of success stories in 2023. In the face of a three-day strike by nurses, ER technicians, and pharmacists earlier in the month, and the prospect of additional strike action in November by the coalition of unions representing 85,000 workers unless an agreement was reached, Kaiser Permanente agreed to a minimum wage of $25 per hour for California employees—90 percent of its employees are based in the Golden State—and $23 for employees elsewhere in the country. The healthcare giant also accepted a 21 percent pay increase for workers over four years, and the hiring of more staff to address chronic labor shortages. The deal was finalized in a meeting in San Francisco that ended in the middle of the night, presided over by acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. It had the backing of President Biden and Vice President Harris, both of whom made strong statements in favor of collective bargaining and the right to organize. More healthcare workers went out on strike during the three-day action than had ever before walked off the job in the United States in a single action. It was, quite rightly, seen as a historic moment, in which organized labor asserted its power within the healthcare system more than it has ever previously managed to do.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/10-27-2023-uaw-ford-contract-win-shawn-fain/" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/10-27-2023-uaw-ford-contract-win-shawn-fain/" target="_blank"><strong>The UAW’s Amazing Win</strong></a></p><p>Robert Kuttner, October 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>The UAW’s stunning victory with Ford, which will soon translate into similar terms as the other two large automakers settle, is not only a win for the union's audacious new leader Shawn Fain. It’s a win for union democracy….</p><p>None of this would have been possible had not the previous corruption at the UAW led to a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/district-judge-enters-order-approving-historic-change-uaw-constitution-and-system#:~:text=Lawson%20approved%20the%20results%20of,pursuant%20to%20the%20process%20required" data-original-title="" href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/district-judge-enters-order-approving-historic-change-uaw-constitution-and-system#:~:text=Lawson%20approved%20the%20results%20of,pursuant%20to%20the%20process%20required" target="_blank" title="">consent decree with the federal government in 2022</a> that provided, for the first time, that the union president be elected directly by the membership. It was this victory for union democracy that allowed rank-and-file reform caucus called United All Workers to elect a slate of officers led by the militant Fain</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/environment/2023-10-27-solar-could-become-model-for-sectoral-bargaining/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/environment/2023-10-27-solar-could-become-model-for-sectoral-bargaining/" target="_blank" title="">Solar Could Become a Model for Sectoral Bargaining </a></strong></p><p>Lee Harris, October 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>A new deal between the electricians, laborers, and operating engineers aims to set national standards for solar work.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/dispatch/how-the-yale-unions-took-over-new-haven?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_102323&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_term=tny_daily_digest&bxid=5dfc62ac2a077c3151202a56&cndid=59439163&hasha=c0a707001109756d1b8e9778aabaed65&hashb=d973e751e54adb67b2ccf7101206d824ffc32c7c&hashc=57e7bc47ebd12e92739c8c9ed2592eb6a3859370a3a01f07efa5fa8737a5fde4&esrc=lwg-register&mbid=CRMNYR012019" target="_blank" title="">How the Yale Unions Took Over New Haven</a></strong><br /></p><p>E. Tammy Kim, October 23, 2023 [The New Yorker]</p><blockquote><p><strong>Yale University, with an endowment of forty billion dollars,</strong> is the largest landowner in New Haven, Connecticut, where one in four residents live at or below the federal poverty level. The juxtaposition is unmissable: the city is, as the labor leader and former resident Gwen Mills describes it, a “post-industrial manufacturing town with a multibillion-dollar education corporation plopped right into the middle of it.” And, because of its status as a nonprofit, Yale isn’t even required to pay taxes on all that property it owns. It would seem like a perfect setup for the kinds of intractable town-grown conflicts that roil many similar American cities. But, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://link.newyorker.com/click/33117121.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" href="https://link.newyorker.com/click/33117121.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" target="_blank">as E. Tammy Kim reports in a compelling new story</a>, the situation in New Haven has been playing out differently, owing in large part to the unusual political success of Yale’s organized workers.</p><p>For more than a decade, New Haven’s city council has been dominated by Local 35 and 34 of the large North American union <em>UNITE HERE</em>, which represent Yale’s mechanics, janitors, dining-hall workers, receptionists, librarians, and lab researchers. The council has been credited with pressuring Yale to give more back to the community, including making higher voluntary payments in lieu of taxes. Meanwhile, the union has been growing, and, this past year, achieved a major breakthrough when graduate-student teachers won their own union, Local 33. This expansion has strengthened the power of labor at Yale, but it brings new challenges as well. As Kim asks, “Could the Yale unions find enough common ground between graduate students and custodians and billing clerks to keep the experiment going?”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176454/chamber-commerce-report-biden-labor-policies-hate" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176454/chamber-commerce-report-biden-labor-policies-hate" target="_blank" title="">Thank You, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for Flagging Biden Labor Policies You Hate</a></strong></p><p>Timothy Noah, October 26, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>The organization’s whining makes it clear: Biden’s labor record is better than you (or anyway, I) knew.</p><p>At a moment when Democrats and Republicans vie for the working-class vote, a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.uschamber.com/assets/documents/U.S.-Chamber-White-Paper-Whole-of-Government-Approach-to-Promoting-Labor-Unions.pdf" href="https://www.uschamber.com/assets/documents/U.S.-Chamber-White-Paper-Whole-of-Government-Approach-to-Promoting-Labor-Unions.pdf" target="_blank">new report</a> from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce denouncing the Biden administration’s “whole of government” support for labor unions is admirably clarifying.…</p><p>There was a time when the Chamber accepted labor unions as a fact of life. “Labor unions are woven into our economic pattern of American life, and collective bargaining is part of the democratic process,” Chamber of Commerce President Eric Johnson said at a labor-management summit called by President Harry Truman in 1945. “I say [let’s] recognize this fact not only with our lips but with our hearts.”…. </p><p>That did not remain the Chamber’s position. “Unions are not the answer to increasing prosperity for American workers or the economy,” it <a data-cke-saved-href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vAkOWStY4IcC&pg=PA233&lpg=PA233&dq=%22chamber+of+commerce%22+%22Unions+are+not+the+answer+to+increasing+prosperity%22&source=bl&ots=Uf_9rnGSQ1&sig=ACfU3U0LYiEE9SuN0uRQ_qeKvXi42kmNWw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPxr7025GCAxU6D1kFHXtQA2kQ6AF6BAghEAM#v=onepage&q=%22chamber%20of%20commerce%22%20%22Unions%20are%20not%20the%20answer%20to%20increasing%20prosperity%22&f=false" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vAkOWStY4IcC&pg=PA233&lpg=PA233&dq=%22chamber+of+commerce%22+%22Unions+are+not+the+answer+to+increasing+prosperity%22&source=bl&ots=Uf_9rnGSQ1&sig=ACfU3U0LYiEE9SuN0uRQ_qeKvXi42kmNWw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiPxr7025GCAxU6D1kFHXtQA2kQ6AF6BAghEAM#v=onepage&q=%22chamber%20of%20commerce%22%20%22Unions%20are%20not%20the%20answer%20to%20increasing%20prosperity%22&f=false" target="_blank">said</a> in a 2008 paper. Since then, the Chamber has softened its rhetoric, in keeping with the conservative trend of rephrasing unpopular positions in the language of pluralism. Now the Chamber says workers should be given the right to choose whether to organize—while it lobbies furiously to rig the game against workers choosing unionization.</p></blockquote><p><br /><strong>Health care crisis</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-free-with-without-insurance/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-free-with-without-insurance/" target="_blank">How to get the new COVID vaccine for free, with or without insurance </a></strong> </p><p>[CBS, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Federal health authorities are urging Americans to reach out to their insurers after reports of some people encountering trouble getting their n<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-boosters-fda-price-variants/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-boosters-fda-price-variants/" target="_blank">ew COVID-19 vaccine sho</a>t for free. Those issues have arisen despite programs and requirements designed to make the shots available at no out-of-pocket cost for all Americans. The hurdles are new to this year’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-fall-2023-cdc-recommendations/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-fall-2023-cdc-recommendations/" target="_blank">commercial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer</a> [but not, apparently, Novavax], which are now listed for more than $100 on the private market. Earlier during the pandemic, vaccines and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-shots-booster-2023/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-covid-vaccine-shots-booster-2023/" target="_blank">boosters</a> had all been <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-emergency-ends-what-happens-to-vaccines-treatments-data/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-19-emergency-ends-what-happens-to-vaccines-treatments-data/" target="_blank">paid for</a> by the federal government.” A hundred bucks is cheap for a heart attack, so its hard to account for the uptake issues on that basis. More: “‘There have been a number of glitches with billing codes [and] shipping of vaccines,’ Dr. Céline Gounder, CBS News medical contributor and editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, said on ‘CBS Mornings’ Tuesday. Officials say this year’s hiccups in coverage of the shots should be temporary, as insurers and vaccinators work to iron out issues in the systems that handle billing for the shots.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/OliveSiffleur/status/1717694000277139844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1717694000277139844%7Ctwgr%5Eb5f688ab7499f19cf08a654f7fe3f0a90297b1fa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2F200pm-water-cooler-10-27-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/OliveSiffleur/status/1717694000277139844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1717694000277139844%7Ctwgr%5Eb5f688ab7499f19cf08a654f7fe3f0a90297b1fa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2F200pm-water-cooler-10-27-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-27-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;RED FLAG: if your family member gets a pressure ulcer in a hospital and the FIRST time it appears in the reports you get it is labeled a &amp;quot;reassessment,&amp;quot; that&amp;#39;s a red flag that the hospital is already in the process of altering records to falsely say it was diagnosed at admission.&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Olive Siffleur (@OliveSiffleur) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/OliveSiffleur/status/1717694000277139844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 27, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1717694000277139844" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1717694000277139844&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2201088%2Fedit&sessionId=e49b2006c5ef83bec1fb866d1aa264418c197c1d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 345px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background-image: url(https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png); background: rgba(220,220,220,0.5);"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/10/americans-have-never-been-wealthier-no-one-is-happy/" data-original-title="" href="https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2023/10/americans-have-never-been-wealthier-no-one-is-happy/" target="_blank" title="">Americans Have Never Been Wealthier & No One is Happy</a> </strong></p><p>Ben Carlson, October 22, 2023 [awealthofcommonsense, via The Big Picture 10-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>And while net worth grew 37%, total household debt grew less than 4% from 2019-2022. Sign me up for that every three years, please. This is what the change in net worth looks like every three years going back to 1989</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-21/high-car-loan-interest-rate-payments-americans-struggle-with-monthly-bills" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-21/high-car-loan-interest-rate-payments-americans-struggle-with-monthly-bills" target="_blank"><strong>Car Owners Fall Behind on Payments at Highest Rate on Record</strong></a></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 10-23-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://agritalker.com/fertilizer-shortage-is-spreading-hunger/" href="https://agritalker.com/fertilizer-shortage-is-spreading-hunger/" target="_blank">How a Fertilizer Shortage Is Spreading Desperate Hunger</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 10-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Across Africa and in parts of Asia, disruption to the supply chain for fertilizer is raising food prices and increasing malnutrition. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/" href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-27-lies-my-corporation-told-me-hanauer-walsh-cohen-review/" target="_blank">Lies My Corporation Told Me </a></strong></p><p>David Dayen, October 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>A new book lays out 150 years of corporate stooges making bogus arguments.</p><p><strong><em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514" href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781620977514" target="_blank">Corporate Bullsh*t: Exposing the Lies and Half-Truths That Protect Profit, Power, and Wealth in America</a></em></strong></p><p>By Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh & Donald Cohen</p><p><em>New Press</em></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/heirs-property-black-owned-land-brazos-county/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/heirs-property-black-owned-land-brazos-county/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Black-Owned Land Is Under Siege in the Brazos Valley</strong></a></p><p>[Texas Monthly, via The Big Picture 10-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Acre by acre, families have lost long-held property near Bryan and College Station—much of it to the efforts of two men who weaponized arcane documents to acquire plots potentially worth millions. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/culture/23920002/killers-flower-moon-true-story-osage-murders-reign-of-terror-mollie-burkhart-what-happened" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The horrifying, nearly forgotten history behind Killers of the Flower Moon</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Vox, via The Big Picture 10-22-2023]</p><p>A century later, we still don’t know the full, stomach-churning extent of the Osage murders.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/20/beef-usda-climate-crisis-meat-consumption" target="_blank" title=""><strong>High steaks society: who are the 12% of people consuming half of all beef in the US?</strong></a><br /></p><p>[The Guardian, via The Big Picture 10-24-2023]<br /></p><p>[TW: the study failed to ask the most important question: what income groups are responsible. I doubt the half of households with less than $36,000 in income consume much beef.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/why-america-is-out-of-ammunition?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/why-america-is-out-of-ammunition?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Why America Is Out of Ammunition</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [Big, via Naked Capitalism 10-23-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...One of the more important side stories to the recent wars in Ukraine and Israel, and competition with China over Taiwan, is that the U.S. defense industrial base, composed of 200k plus corporations, is being forced to actually build weapons again. Defense is big business, and since the end of the Cold War, the government has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/nancy-pelosi-china-and-the-slow-decline" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/nancy-pelosi-china-and-the-slow-decline">allowed</a> Wall Street to determine who owns, builds, and profits from defense spending.</p><p>The consequences, as with much of our economic machinery, are predictable. Higher prices, worse quality, lower output. Wall Street and private equity firms prioritize cash out first, and that means a once functioning and nimble industrial base now produces more grift than anything else. As Lucas Kunce and I wrote for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americas-monopoly-crisis-hits-the-military/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theamericanconservative.com/americas-monopoly-crisis-hits-the-military/" title="">the American Conservative</a> in 2019, the U.S. simply can’t build or get the equipment it needs. There are at this point a bevy of interesting reports coming out of the Pentagon. The last one I wrote up earlier this year showed that unlike the mid-20th century defense-industrial base, today government cash goes increasingly to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-military-industrial-stock-buyback" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-military-industrial-stock-buyback">stock buybacks</a> rather than actual armaments. And now, with a dramatic upsurge in need for everything from missiles to artillery shells to bullets, we’re starting to see cracks in the vaunted U.S. military.<br /></p><p>The signs are unmistakable. In Ukraine, fighters are rationing shells. Taiwan can’t get weapons it ordered years ago. The Pentagon has put together a secret team to scour stockpiles to find high-precision armaments in demand on every battlefield and potential battlefield. But the problem goes beyond national defense. In Lake City, Missouri, the largest small arms ammunition plant in the world has decided all ammo production is going to the military, meaning that there is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://stapledefense.com/lake-city-plant-commercial-contracts/" href="https://stapledefense.com/lake-city-plant-commercial-contracts/">going to be a domestic shortage</a> for hunters, sportsmen, and maybe even police. This shortage may look like a story of a sudden surge in demand, but it’s actually, as Elle Ekman wrote in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/economy/great-american-ammunition-conspiracy/" href="https://prospect.org/economy/great-american-ammunition-conspiracy/">the Prospect in 2021</a>, a story of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/concentrated-firepower-what-high" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/concentrated-firepower-what-high">consolidation and de-industrialization</a>.</p><p>Surges due to wars aren’t new, and there’s always some time lag between the build-up and the delivery. But today, the lengths of time are weirdly long. For instance, the Army is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2023/10/09/us-army-pursues-faster-more-survivable-stinger-missile-replacement/" href="https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2023/10/09/us-army-pursues-faster-more-survivable-stinger-missile-replacement/">awarding</a> contracts to RTX and Lockheed Martin to build new Stinger missiles, which makes sense. But the process will take.. five years. Why? What is new is Wall Street’s role in weaponry. We used to have slack, and productive capacity, but then came private equity and mergers. And now we don’t. The government can’t actually solicit bids from multiple players for most major weapons systems, because there’s just one or two possible bidders. So that means there’s little incentive for firms to expand output, even if there’s more spending….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nonsite.org/bidenomics-and-the-left/" href="https://nonsite.org/bidenomics-and-the-left/" target="_blank">Bidenomics and the Left</a> </strong></p><p>[nonsite.org, via Naked Capitalism 10-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The go-to crises of the socialist left have been “American declinism” and “inter-imperial rivalry.” These crises have not only been predicted by the left but often <em>wished for</em>, the left seeing them as doing much of the heavy lifting it cannot do on its own. This is both bad analysis and worse politics. It overstates declinism, wrongly projects the (very real) tensions between the U.S. and China into a contest over who will lead global capitalism, and assumes that things getting worse inherently advances progressive politics.</p><p>The U.S. is not—apart from China—facing any definitive decline relative to its main economic competitors. Nor is it facing a profit squeeze; corporate profits have been running at their <a data-cke-saved-href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1Pik" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1Pik" target="_blank">highest ever share of GDP</a> (see chart below), and non-financial profits per unit of real output were <a data-cke-saved-href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A463RD3Q052SBEA" href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A463RD3Q052SBEA" target="_blank">74% higher in 2022 than in 2006</a> (i.e., before the 2008-9 Financial Crisis). As for the relationship with China, economic competition has indeed intensified, but the mutual dependence of the U.S. and China block the kind of rivalry that shaped left thinking a century ago. The challenge—for both countries—is how to manage the militarization of technology without undermining the broader free trade and capital flows that characterize the present global order each are so dependent on.</p></blockquote><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/america-needs-a-bigger-better-bureaucracy" data-original-title="" href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/america-needs-a-bigger-better-bureaucracy" target="_blank" title="">America needs a bigger, better bureaucracy</a> </strong></p><p>Noah Smith [Noahpinion, via Naked Capitalism 10-23-2023] </p><p>“[T]he U.S. suffers from a distinct lack of <em>state capacity</em>. We’ve outsourced many of our core government functions to nonprofits and consultants, resulting in cost bloat and the waste of taxpayer money.” Not to mention the corporations the NGOs and consultants bring in!</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/great-amazon-heist-documentary-oobah-butler-review/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bigissue.com/culture/tv/great-amazon-heist-documentary-oobah-butler-review/" target="_blank" title="">The Great Amazon Heist: New doc exposes inconvenient truths about world’s biggest online retailer</a></strong></div><div>[Big Issue, via Naked Capitalism 10-22-2023]</div><div><br /></div><div><div><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/" data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/" target="_blank" title="">Amazon’s bestselling “bitter lemon” energy drink was bottled delivery driver piss (20 Oct 2023)</a> </strong><br /></div><div><strong></strong>[Pluralistic, via Naked Capitalism 10-22-2023]</div></div><blockquote><div>Collecting driver piss is surprisingly easy. Amazon, you see, puts its drivers on a quota that makes it impossible for them to drive safely, park conscientiously, or, indeed, fulfill their basic human biological needs. Amazon has long waged war on its employees' kidneys, marking down warehouse workers for "time off task" when they visit the toilets.</div><div><p>As tales of drivers pissing – and shitting! – in their vans multiplied, Amazon took decisive action. The company enacted a strict zero tolerance policy for drivers returning to the depot with bottles of piss in their vans.</p><p>That's where Butler comes in: the roads leading to Amazon delivery depots are lined with bottles of piss thrown out of delivery vans by drivers who don't want to lose their jobs, which made harvesting the raw material for "Release Energy" a straightforward matter….</p><p>Butler enlisted some confederates to place orders for his drink, and it quickly rocketed to the top of Amazon's listings for the category, which led Amazon's recommendation engine to start pushing the item on people who weren't in on the gag. When these orders came in, Butler pulled the plug, but not before an Amazon rep telephoned him to pitch him turning packaging, shipping and fulfillment over to Amazon:</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-let-its-drivers-urine-be-sold-as-an-energy-drink/" href="https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-let-its-drivers-urine-be-sold-as-an-energy-drink/">https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-let-its-drivers-urine-be-sold-as-an-energy-drink/</a>….</p><p>Butler's stint as an Amazon warehouse worker only lasted a couple of days, ending when Amazon recognized him and fired him.</p><p>The contrast between Amazon's ability to detect an undercover reporter and its <em>inability</em> to spot bottles of piss being marketed as bitter lemon energy drink says it all, really. Corporations like Amazon hire vast armies of "threat intelligence" creeps who LARP at being CIA superspies, subjecting employees and activists to intense and often illegal surveillance.</p><p>But while Amazon's defensive might is laser-focused on the threat of labor organizers and documentarians, the company can't figure out that one of its bestselling products is bottles of its tormented drivers' own urine.</p></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory finance</strong></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-etf-crypto-regulation-congress-sec-a4656b22" data-original-title="" href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-etf-crypto-regulation-congress-sec-a4656b22" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Crypto Is Lobbying Congress Hard. It Wants More Than a Bitcoin ETF</strong></a></p><p>[Barron’s, via The Big Picture 10-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The crypto industry wants laws passed that clarify how it will be regulated. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/economy/2023-10-27-larry-summers-crypto-scam-dcg/" href="https://prospect.org/economy/2023-10-27-larry-summers-crypto-scam-dcg/" target="_blank">Will Anyone Hold Larry Summers Responsible for His Promotion of a Crypto Scam?</a></strong></p><p>Henry Burke, Julian Scoffield, October 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://grist.org/energy/where-go-solar-panels-when-they-die/" data-original-title="" href="https://grist.org/energy/where-go-solar-panels-when-they-die/" target="_blank" title="">What happens when solar panels wear out?</a></strong></p><p>Izzy Ross, October 24, 2023 [Grist]</p><blockquote><p>...in 2016, the International Renewable Energy Agency released a big <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2016/IRENA_IEAPVPS_End-of-Life_Solar_PV_Panels_2016.pdf" href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2016/IRENA_IEAPVPS_End-of-Life_Solar_PV_Panels_2016.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>, saying that in the next few decades the world could see up to 78 million metric tons of solar waste. To put that in perspective, that’s about 5 million school buses.</p><p>That estimate has fluctuated over the years as solar has advanced. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory now <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/87601.pdf" href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy24osti/87601.pdf" target="_blank">estimates</a> waste could reach between 54 and 160 million metric tons….</p><p> The National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that it <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/74124.pdf" href="https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/74124.pdf" target="_blank">can cost</a> between $15 to $45 to recycle a panel, but just a few dollars to throw it away.</p><p>Getting panels to recycling facilities is another factor. The company <a data-cke-saved-href="https://werecyclesolar.com/about-us/" href="https://werecyclesolar.com/about-us/" target="_blank">We Recycle Solar</a> actually has regional warehouses in places like Chicago, where they store panels until there are enough to justify shipping them to their center in Arizona.</p><p>The solar recycling industry is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/13/recycling-end-of-life-solar-panel-wind-turbine-is-big-waste-business.html" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/13/recycling-end-of-life-solar-panel-wind-turbine-is-big-waste-business.html" target="_blank">expected</a> to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/solar-energy-panels-recycling" href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/solar-energy-panels-recycling" target="_blank">grow</a> as technology improves, waste accumulates and demand for materials goes up. And people like John Gilkeson, from Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency, say this transition can’t be left to the free market and industry alone.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2023/10/nikon-small-world-photomicrography/" href="https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2023/10/nikon-small-world-photomicrography/" target="_blank">An Arresting Optic Nerve Tops the 2023 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition</a> </strong></p><p>[Colossal, via Naked Capitalism 10-22-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/10/24/power-pv-global-photovoltaic-revolution-for-climate-protection-from-mw-to-tw-part-i/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/10/24/power-pv-global-photovoltaic-revolution-for-climate-protection-from-mw-to-tw-part-i/" title="">Power PV: Global photovoltaic revolution for climate protection – from MW to TW (part I)</a></strong></p><div><p>October 24, 2023 [pv-magazine.com]</p><blockquote><p>Around 392 GW of photovoltaics will be added in 2023. This is more capacity than all worldwide nuclear power plants in operation in 2022, which was 371 GW cumulatively.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://watchers.news/2023/10/22/asteroid-polyhymnias-density-beyond-known-elements/" href="https://watchers.news/2023/10/22/asteroid-polyhymnias-density-beyond-known-elements/" target="_blank">Asteroid Polyhymnia’s density beyond known elements</a> </strong></p><p>[The Watchers, via Naked Capitalism 10-23-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://themoneymongers.com/most-invasive-apps/" data-original-title="" href="https://themoneymongers.com/most-invasive-apps/" target="_blank" title="">Study Reveals: Threads is the most Invasive apps, shares 86% of your data with others </a></strong></p><p>[The Money Mongers, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-24-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://interestingengineering.com/culture/google-pays-263-billion-to-be-top-search-engine" href="https://interestingengineering.com/culture/google-pays-263-billion-to-be-top-search-engine" target="_blank">Google pays $26.3 billion to be top search engine</a></strong></p><p>Rizwan Choudhury, October 28, 2023 [Interesting Engineering]</p><blockquote><p>Google spent a whopping $26.3 billion in 2021 to ensure that its search engine remained the default choice on mobile phones and web browsers, a court document revealed on Friday. The document was part of the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant by the U.S. government and several states.</p><p>As per a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/27/google-paid-26-billion-in-2021-to-become-a-default-search-engine.html" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/27/google-paid-26-billion-in-2021-to-become-a-default-search-engine.html" target="_blank"><em>CNBC</em></a> report, the document showed how much Google paid its partners, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://interestingengineering.com/culture/google-antitrust-case-apple-search-engine" href="https://interestingengineering.com/culture/google-antitrust-case-apple-search-engine" target="_blank">such as Apple</a>, to keep its search engine as the preferred option on their devices. The U.S. Department of Justice and a group of state attorneys have accused Google of abusing its market power in general search by using its influence to block its rivals from accessing key distribution channels, such as Apple’s Safari web browser.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/social-media-platforms-business-models-dialogue-network/675655/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/social-media-platforms-business-models-dialogue-network/675655/" target="_blank"><strong>The Internet Could Be So Good. Really</strong></a></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 10-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Today’s social platforms are designed for spectacle and entertainment—but it’s not too late to build a platform that improves society. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fortune.com/well/2023/10/20/chatgpt-google-bard-ai-chatbots-medical-racism-black-patients-health-care/" data-original-title="" href="https://fortune.com/well/2023/10/20/chatgpt-google-bard-ai-chatbots-medical-racism-black-patients-health-care/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Bombshell Stanford study finds ChatGPT and Google’s Bard answer medical questions with racist, debunked theories that harm Black patient</strong>s</a> </p><p>[Fortune, via Naked Capitalism 10-22-2023]</p><p>[Lambert Strether: “This will not surprise NC readers: See from April 23, 2023, April 26, 2023 (and this from January 30, 2023). All the stupid money sloshed out of crypto and Web 3.0, and sloshed into AI. And here we are!”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/19/ai-large-language-writers-stealing/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/10/19/ai-large-language-writers-stealing/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>AI is learning from stolen intellectual property. It needs to stop</strong></a></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 10-23-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Books are copyrighted material, not free fodder for wealthy companies to use as they see fit, without permission or compensation. Many, many hours of serious research, creative angst and plain old hard work go into writing and publishing a book, and few writers are compensated like professional athletes, Hollywood actors or Wall Street investment bankers. Stealing our intellectual property hurts. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/23/1082189/data-poisoning-artists-fight-generative-ai/" href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/10/23/1082189/data-poisoning-artists-fight-generative-ai/" target="_blank"><strong>This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative</strong></a></p><p>[MIT Technology Review, via The Big Picture 10-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>AI The tool, called Nightshade, messes up training data in ways that could cause serious damage to image-generating AI models. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/forget-about-the-republicans-for-a-moment-is-the-democratic-party-a-credible-entity" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/forget-about-the-republicans-for-a-moment-is-the-democratic-party-a-credible-entity" target="_blank">Forget About The Republicans For A Moment-- Is The Democratic Party A Credible Entity?</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, October 23, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>Ali Velshi had Bernie on MSNBC with him on Labor Day and Bernie <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1697635692094935322" href="https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1697635692094935322" target="_blank"><u>warned</u></a> that Biden and the Democrats could lose next year. “We have millions of working class people out there who understand Trump’s a phony ‘but he claims at least to be standing for us. Who cares about us?’ And what we have to to do— what the Democrats have got to do— is begin to engage in class politics, to understand that we have been in a class war now for decades. And the wrong class is winning. And they’ve [the Democrats] got to be clear in standing up for the working class of this country— raising the minimum wage, passing labor law legislation, making it easier for workers to join union, reforming our health care system so that move to a universal health care system, not have 85 million uninsured or under-insured, substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs, build the affordable housing that we need. We need to start standing up for the working class, not just the big campaign contributors and the 1%… I don’t think that the average worker out there believe with Trump, ‘let’s give more tax breaks to billionaires’ or agrees with Republicans who want to cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid or education; they don’t believe that! But they don’t believe that the Democrats are standing up and fighting for them and taking on the corporate greed that exists out there right now. And that’s what the Democrats should be doing. And they do that, Biden’s going to win this election in a landslide.”</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/thanks-to-a-politician-who-did-his?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1042&post_id=138367158&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=9bg2k&utm_medium=email" target="_blank" title="">Thanks, to a Politician Who Did His Job</a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Taibbi, October 28, 2023</p><blockquote><p>A new <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/d9bc698d-6c75-4cfc-80c5-c036e43849b3?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/d9bc698d-6c75-4cfc-80c5-c036e43849b3?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">report about IRS home visits</a> has just been released by the House Weaponization of Government Committee, chaired by Ohio congressman Jim Jordan. It outlines disturbing issues, including confirmation that IRS agents making home visits may come without warning, using aliases, and without informing local enforcement agencies of their presence.</p><p>One of the cases outlined is my own. My home was visited by the IRS while I was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/e72099b8-7cfa-4782-ad9b-1b935c8b06a7?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/e72099b8-7cfa-4782-ad9b-1b935c8b06a7?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">testifying</a> before Jordan’s Committee about the Twitter Files on March 9<sup>th</sup>. Sincere thanks are due to Chairman Jordan, whose staff not only demanded and got <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/26da6544-6269-4385-b88b-60bc271fc607?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/26da6544-6269-4385-b88b-60bc271fc607?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">answers</a> in my case, but achieved a concrete <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/89206622-daf8-48e6-8f2e-a2f13752611f?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/89206622-daf8-48e6-8f2e-a2f13752611f?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">policy change</a>, as IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/6c63d93a-51fa-40af-b190-6f46f4b19857?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/6c63d93a-51fa-40af-b190-6f46f4b19857?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">announced</a> in July new procedures that would “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/dc1fba2a-0ae4-47d4-a2cf-7e9adfa8a41a?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/dc1fba2a-0ae4-47d4-a2cf-7e9adfa8a41a?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">end most</a>” home visits.</p><p>Anticipating criticism for expressing public thanks to a Republican congressman, I’d like to ask Democratic Party partisans: to which elected Democrat should I have appealed for help in this matter? The one who called me a “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/fbf63096-3889-4b22-ac79-9008c3556473?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/fbf63096-3889-4b22-ac79-9008c3556473?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">so-called journalist</a>” on the House floor? The one who told me to take off my “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/94188ba6-aadd-4a38-b7df-adbe3e89d62d?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/94188ba6-aadd-4a38-b7df-adbe3e89d62d?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">tinfoil hat</a>” and put greater trust in intelligence services? The ones in leadership who <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/97ce1257-84a7-4b46-819c-5805d67ec217?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/97ce1257-84a7-4b46-819c-5805d67ec217?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">threatened me with jail time</a>? I gave votes to the party for thirty years. Which elected Democrat would have performed basic constituent services in my case? Feel free to raise a hand.</p><p>If silence is the answer, why should I ever vote for a Democrat again?</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/10/24/other-elections-youll-want-to-follow/" target="_blank" title="">Other Elections You’ll Want to Follow</a></strong><br /></p><p>Joshua A. Douglas, October 24, 2023 [Washington Monthly]<br /></p><blockquote><p>From ranked choice voting to public budgeting, a look at this fall’s races that could reshape governing and voting.<br /><br /><br /></p></blockquote><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://therealnews.com/is-the-us-turning-into-a-christofascist-state" data-original-title="" href="https://therealnews.com/is-the-us-turning-into-a-christofascist-state" target="_blank" title="">IS THE US TURNING INTO A CHRISTOFASCIST STATE?</a></strong></p><p>Chris Hedges, October 27, 2023 [The Real News Network]</p><blockquote><p>Jeff Sharlet has spent two decades covering the intersection of extreme Christian nationalism and the far-right. In his new book, <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006497" href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006497" target="_blank">Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War</a></em>, he gives snapshots of a country rapidly devolving into a Christian fascism state. He captures the rage, the despair, the dislocation, the alienation, the aesthetic of violence, and the magical thinking that are the foundations of all fascist movements—forces that are now coalescing around the Trump-led Republican Party. The bizarre conspiracy theories and buffoonish quality of many who lead and embrace this movement, such as Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, make the use American fascists easy to ridicule and dismiss. But Sharlet implores us to take them seriously as an existential threat to what is left of our anemic democracy. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet?" href="https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet?" target="_blank">Jeff Sharlet</a> joins <em>The Chris Hedges Report</em> to discuss his new book and the rising tide of Christofascism threatening our democracy.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/wondering-how-awful-the-new-speaker-is-dccc-mike-johnson-is-jim-jordan-in-a-sports-coat" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/wondering-how-awful-the-new-speaker-is-dccc-mike-johnson-is-jim-jordan-in-a-sports-coat" target="_blank">Wondering How Awful The New Speaker Is? DCCC: “Mike Johnson Is Jim Jordan In A Sports Coat” Johnson Represents A Strain Of An Anti-Democracy Virus That Has Infected The GOP</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, October 26, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/mike-johnson-champion-of-the-fossil-fuel-industry-and-climate-change-denier-elected-as-speaker-of-the-united-states-house-of-representatives/" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/mike-johnson-champion-of-the-fossil-fuel-industry-and-climate-change-denier-elected-as-speaker-of-the-united-states-house-of-representatives/" target="_blank">Mike Johnson, “Champion of the Fossil Fuel Industry” and Climate Change Denier Elected as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 26, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-10-24-republicans-knife-fight-politics-house-speaker/" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-10-24-republicans-knife-fight-politics-house-speaker/" target="_blank">Republicans Take Knife-Fight Politics to Its Logical Conclusion: The House Speaker mess is an extension of a culture of dirty tricks</a></strong></p><p>David Dayen, October 24, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>...This “oppo über alles” ethos is how Republicans are taught from an early age to engage in politics. It’s also a long-established tradition. This year is actually the 50th anniversary of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/05/12/the-controller" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/05/12/the-controller" target="_blank">1973 College Republican summer convention</a> at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, which featured a race for national chairman between Robert Edgeworth and a University of Maryland dropout named Karl Rove. For five months, Rove campaigned for the position across the country after rejecting a power-sharing agreement from Edgeworth; Lee Atwater was one of Rove’s top aides.</p><p>Rove spent the run-up to the convention getting Edgeworth delegates unseated for technical and procedural reasons, using pretexts like a modified version of the Midwestern College Republicans’ constitution. That meant there were rival slates of delegates running around the Lake of the Ozarks. At the credentials committee, Rove forces challenged virtually everybody, and on the floor, there were two votes held, by two different convention chairs, one of which picked Rove and one Edgeworth. Each of them gave an acceptance speech.</p><p>The Republican National Committee, then under the direction of George H.W. Bush, had to resolve the dispute. While that was ongoing, Edgeworth’s vice-chair candidate leaked to <em>The Washington Post</em> a recording from Rove and some colleagues where they recounted stories about going through the garbage cans of their opponents and engaging in dirty tricks. This actually ended <em>Edgeworth’s</em> campaign, as Bush, angered by the leak to the <em>Post</em>, ruled in favor of Rove.</p><p>Bush later gave Rove a full-time job at the RNC. And Rovian dirty tricks have become the hallmark of the party ever since. Despite Ronald Reagan’s Eleventh Commandment (Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican), those tricks are frequently used in internecine warfare; flyers in South Carolina in 2000 claiming that John McCain had a Black child is the most high-profile example. (Rove <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rove-denies-role-in-2000-rumor-about-mccains-adopted-daughter" href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rove-denies-role-in-2000-rumor-about-mccains-adopted-daughter" target="_blank">denied any involvement</a>, though it benefited his candidate, George W. Bush.)</p><p>Now you have an entire Republican Caucus trained in the dark art of knife fights, ready to go after anyone they dislike, and unwilling to give up a grudge. That’s made it impossible to perform the rather mundane task of electing a consensus Speaker candidate.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/social-security-not-safe" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/social-security-not-safe" target="_blank" title="">With Shutdown Averted, Is Social Security Safe? Nope!</a></strong></p><p>[Originally published at Common Dreams, via Naked Capitalism 10-24-2023]<br /></p><p>by James Roosevelt Jr., the grandson of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and also a former associate commissioner at the Social Security Administration; Henry Scott Wallace, an attorney and foundation executive and grandson of FDR’s Vice President Henry Wallace; June Hopkins, granddaughter of Harry Hopkins and a professor of History Emerita, Georgia Southern University, Armstrong Campus; and Tomlin Perkins Coggeshall, the grandson of Labor Secretary Frances Perkins. </p><blockquote><p>More tax giveaways to the rich simply mean less revenue, higher deficits, and more justification for taking a meat cleaver to programs that serve and protect ordinary Americans….</p><p>But even if they completely eliminated every single non-defense discretionary program—from food stamps to the FBI to border protection—it wouldn’t be enough. It would add up to about <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-discretionary-spending#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20will%20spend,discretionary%20spending%20is%20for%20defense." href="https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-discretionary-spending#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20will%20spend,discretionary%20spending%20is%20for%20defense." target="_blank">$900 billion</a>, or about <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-discretionary-spending#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20will%20spend,discretionary%20spending%20is%20for%20defense." href="https://www.cato.org/blog/fast-facts-about-discretionary-spending#:~:text=The%20federal%20government%20will%20spend,discretionary%20spending%20is%20for%20defense." target="_blank">15%</a> of total federal spending, which would <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/05/interest-is-skyrocketing-and-the-national-debt-will-reach-an-all-time-high-in-just-5-years#:~:text=Annual%20budget%20deficits%20are%20projected,40%20percent%20in%20that%20year." href="https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/05/interest-is-skyrocketing-and-the-national-debt-will-reach-an-all-time-high-in-just-5-years#:~:text=Annual%20budget%20deficits%20are%20projected,40%20percent%20in%20that%20year." target="_blank">fall far short</a> of balancing the budget. So their deficit-cutting zeal must inevitably turn to what is called mandatory spending, most prominently the largest government program of all, Social Security.</p><p>Republican presidential candidates are increasingly emboldened to touch this deadly “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail_(politics)#:~:text=Though%20commonly%20attributed%20to%20Tip,in%20reference%20to%20Social%20Security." href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_rail_(politics)#:~:text=Though%20commonly%20attributed%20to%20Tip,in%20reference%20to%20Social%20Security." target="_blank">third rail</a>” of American politics. Nikki Haley <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-24/haley-floats-raising-retirement-age-to-curb-rising-us-debt?in_source=embedded-checkout-banner" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-24/haley-floats-raising-retirement-age-to-curb-rising-us-debt?in_source=embedded-checkout-banner" target="_blank">mocked</a> other candidates for promising not to touch Social Security. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/ron-desantis" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/ron-desantis">Ron DeSantis</a> wants to “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/22/gop-social-security-trump-rivals-cuts/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/22/gop-social-security-trump-rivals-cuts/" target="_blank">revamp</a>” it. Mike Pence wants to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.salon.com/2023/02/06/mike-pence-calls-for-privatizing-social-security-they-keep-saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud_partner/" href="https://www.salon.com/2023/02/06/mike-pence-calls-for-privatizing-social-security-they-keep-saying-the-quiet-part-out-loud_partner/" target="_blank">privatize it, turning it over to Wall Street and adding trillions to the national debt</a>—to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/opinions/mike-pence-social-security-obeidallah/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/opinions/mike-pence-social-security-obeidallah/index.html" target="_blank">replace the New Deal with a “better deal.”</a></p><p>And although former President Donald Trump now swears he would never harm a hair on Social Security’s head, his history renders such assurances hollow. He has previously suggested that a second Trump term would mean <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2020/01/24/trump-getting-ready-for-second-round-of-tax-cuts-by-misrepresenting-the-data/?sh=6b38b8c42b50" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2020/01/24/trump-getting-ready-for-second-round-of-tax-cuts-by-misrepresenting-the-data/?sh=6b38b8c42b50" target="_blank">cuts to Social Security and Medicare</a>. Let’s not forget that his hugest unachieved social policy goal at the end of his presidency was the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/511608-trump-grabs-third-rail-of-politics-with-payroll-tax-pause/" href="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/511608-trump-grabs-third-rail-of-politics-with-payroll-tax-pause/" target="_blank">complete termination</a> of Social Security’s principal funding source, the payroll tax.</p><p>Former Speaker McCarthy proposes a national <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1663967414617292801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1665813254583533569%7Ctwgr%5E019ef2e3e7fa8d00dcf9b23850061b0cb18ce08b%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fkevin-mccarthy-social-security" href="https://twitter.com/NoLieWithBTC/status/1663967414617292801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1665813254583533569%7Ctwgr%5E019ef2e3e7fa8d00dcf9b23850061b0cb18ce08b%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fkevin-mccarthy-social-security" target="_self">commission</a> to examine ways to cut Social Security. The 175 members of the House Republican Study Committee have released their proposed <a data-cke-saved-href="https://hern.house.gov/uploadedfiles/202306141135_fy24_rsc_budget_print_final_c.pdf" href="https://hern.house.gov/uploadedfiles/202306141135_fy24_rsc_budget_print_final_c.pdf" target="_blank">budget for fiscal 2024</a>, which would <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/congressional-republicans-want-big-cuts-to-social-security-9073a690" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/congressional-republicans-want-big-cuts-to-social-security-9073a690" target="_blank">cut benefits by one-third</a>, essentially <a data-cke-saved-href="https://socialsecurityworks.org/2023/06/14/rsc-budget-would-destroy-social-security-medicare/" href="https://socialsecurityworks.org/2023/06/14/rsc-budget-would-destroy-social-security-medicare/" target="_blank">transforming Social Security from an earned insurance benefit into a subsistence-level welfare benefit</a>.</p><p>Previous threats have included plans to sunset all mandatory spending every <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017f-1cf5-d281-a7ff-3ffd5f4a0000" href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017f-1cf5-d281-a7ff-3ffd5f4a0000" target="_blank">five years</a> (brainchild of Senate GOP campaign chair Rick Scott), or even <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/02/johnson-wants-medicare-social-security-discretionary-programs/10217972002/" href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/08/02/johnson-wants-medicare-social-security-discretionary-programs/10217972002/" target="_blank">every single year</a> (proposed by Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson)….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/16/republicans-electric-vehicle-registration-fees-gas-tax/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/10/16/republicans-electric-vehicle-registration-fees-gas-tax/" target="_blank"><strong>GOP states raise fees on electric cars as gas taxes fall</strong></a></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 10-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Democrats and environmental groups say the new fees are aimed at the culture wars rather than revenue shortfalls. At least eight states, all but one controlled by Republicans, now require drivers of electric vehicles to pay a hefty annual registration fee of $200 or more. GOP lawmakers say it’s an effort to make up for lost gas tax revenue. EV advocates say it’s an effort to block sales of the environmentally friendly vehicles. </p></blockquote><p><br /><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176446/north-carolina-republicans-win-war-democracy" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176446/north-carolina-republicans-win-war-democracy" target="_blank">North Carolina Republicans Are About to Win Their War Against Democracy</a></strong></p><p>Matt Ford, October 26, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>Conservatives are locking in an outrageous partisan gerrymander—and locking out nearly half of the state’s voters….</p><p>In theory, North Carolina is a purple state where no political party has an inherent advantage. This is especially true in statewide races. Donald Trump defeated Joe Biden by only a 1.34 percent margin in 2020. During that same election, North Carolinians also elected multiple Democrats to the state’s executive branch, including Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein. Recent U.S. Senate contests have been closely fought.</p><p>The same can’t be said for legislative races in North Carolina. Thanks to more than a decade of extreme partisan gerrymandering, Republicans have an ironclad grip on the state legislature. That dominance has allowed them to effectively decide most of the state’s legislative races, both for the state Assembly and for Congress, before voters even cast a ballot. But with this latest move, the Tar Heel State is poised to slip even further away from what could fairly be called “representative government.”</p><p>If enacted, the new congressional map would essentially hand three additional House seats to Republican candidates in 2024. The state’s current map, which was drawn by a state court in 2022 after post-census legal battles, resulted in seven Democrats and seven Republicans elected to Congress. Under the new map, Republicans would instead hold a virtually unbeatable edge in 10 of the state’s 14 districts. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176117/prosperity-gospel-christian-war-poor" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176117/prosperity-gospel-christian-war-poor" target="_blank">The Evangelicals Calling for War on Poor People </a></strong></p><p>Elle Hardy, October 23, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><p>A new, antisocial strain of the prosperity gospel is making its way into pulpits and breeding new hostility toward the least fortunate Americans….</p><blockquote><p>In May, Jason Mattera, son of Joseph Mattera, one of the most influential modern prophets of the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/167499/new-apostolic-reformation-mastriano-christian" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/167499/new-apostolic-reformation-mastriano-christian">New Apostolic Reformation</a>—which emerged from the Pentecostal-Charismatic tradition that is sweeping all of evangelical Christianity before it—wrote a piece outlining a new direction for prosperity theology. In the article, titled <u>“<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2023/05/a-biblical-view-of-work-and-welfare/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CChristians%20are%20supposed%20to%20be,not%20entitled%20to%20our%20generosity" href="https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2023/05/a-biblical-view-of-work-and-welfare/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CChristians%20are%20supposed%20to%20be,not%20entitled%20to%20our%20generosity" target="_blank">A Biblical View of Work and Welfare</a>,”</u> Mattera junior opined that, while Christians should help to alleviate poverty, they are not “under any obligation to help indolent bums.” Such people, he added “are <em>not</em> entitled to our generosity” (emphasis his)….</p><p>In Mattera’s vision, which appears rooted as much in right-wing talking points as in theological ideas, “there are clear worldview implications for Christians to consider on the topic of work and welfare.” A hereditary influencer who made his name creating a “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/02/18/whites.only.scholars/" href="https://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/02/18/whites.only.scholars/" target="_blank">whites-only scholarship</a>” while at college, he concedes that Christians should be at “the tip of the spear” when it comes to looking after the poor but largely for other Christians. The unfortunate, he writes, “have chosen the path of poverty.”</p><p>…This is a worldview that seeks to wage not a war against poverty but a war against the poor instead—those who have, in his view, shown insufficient faith. This might come as a surprise to anyone with even a passing knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, but it represents the culmination of a long strand of American Protestantism that gained hold after World War II.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: The social thinking that the poor <em>deserve</em> their poverty, can be traced back further than the period after World War II. Michael J. Thompson traces some of the history of these ideas in <em>The Politics of Inequality: A Political History of the Idea of Economic Inequality in America</em>, New York, NY, Columbia University Press, 2007”</p><blockquote><p>Herbert Spencer's work The Man Versus the State, published in 1884, laid out the firm argument that state intervention was opposed to liberal individualism; state interference was inherently opposed to the idea of liberty. The state stood for coercion, and any extension of the state's role beyond enforcing contracts—what Spencer referred to as "anarchy plus the constable"—amounted to the erosion of liberty in economic affairs and, in the American interpretation of things, the elimination of freedom itself…. In this way, thinkers such as Sumner, and even Calhoun before him, did more than privilege the interest of one particular class over another; this is far too simplistic. What they were able to achieve was the purging of ethical and moral categories from social theory and analysis….</p><p>Well before the ideas of thinkers like Friedman and Hayek were to have influence, the ideas of economists like John Bates Clark and Frank Knight were laying a groundwork for what would become a libertarian economic and ethical framework that would overturn the legacy of the political ideas of a "socialized democracy." For Clark, the key insight was that each factor of production—be it capital or labor—would, under the conditions of an unregulated and freely operating market, receive the proper and just returns to its input….</p><p>In the early 1920s, in <em>Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit</em>, Knight put forth a comprehensive theory of laissez-faire with the business entrepreneur at its center. Knight held that individuals in society are unable to have absolute knowledge and information about the world and, therefore, about economic processes. Knight's epistemological assumptions about subjective knowledge were central to his ethical justification for laissez-faire, and they allowed the doctrine as a whole to regain ascendancy in American economics and, in time, in political and social thought as well. ]</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/07/24/alec-considers-blacklisting-companies-that-voluntarily-recognize-unions/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/07/24/alec-considers-blacklisting-companies-that-voluntarily-recognize-unions/" target="_blank">ALEC Considers Blacklisting Companies That Voluntarily Recognize Unions</a></strong></p><p>Don Wiener, July 24th, 2023 [Center for Media and Democracy]</p><blockquote><p>The proposal is a replica of Tennessee’s Employee Free Choice and Privacy Act (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0650&ga=113" href="https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB0650&ga=113" target="_blank">SB 0650 / HB 1342</a>), which passed earlier this year and was signed into law by GOP Gov. Bill Lee. Backed by five <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" href="https://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" target="_blank">ALEC</a>-affiliated state legislators, the bill is a direct counterpunch to Ford Motor Company’s decision to voluntarily recognize a union in Tennessee after the state awarded it $884 million in tax and other <a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-nashville-memphis-ford-motor-co-e7b877dffa9bf9d3643cefd98db9e1f3#:~:text=NASHVILLE%2C%20Tenn.,and%20battery%20plant%20near%20Memphis." href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-nashville-memphis-ford-motor-co-e7b877dffa9bf9d3643cefd98db9e1f3#:~:text=NASHVILLE%2C%20Tenn.,and%20battery%20plant%20near%20Memphis." target="_blank">incentives</a> in 2021 to build a new lithium battery plant there, which is expected to employ 5,600 workers.</p><p>Since the United Auto Workers (UAW) has what is known as a “neutrality agreement” with Ford, the company has agreed to voluntarily accept a union once a majority of workers at the new plant sign union membership cards. </p><p>That decision angered right-wing groups and legislators who take great pride in Tennessee being an anti-union state. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.levernews.com/leonard-leos-fight-against-abortion-access/" href="https://www.levernews.com/leonard-leos-fight-against-abortion-access/" target="_blank">Leonard Leo’s Fight Against Abortion Access</a></strong></p><p>Andrew Perez, October 27, 2023 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>Conservative legal activist <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.levernews.com/tag/leonard-leo/" href="https://www.levernews.com/tag/leonard-leo/">Leonard Leo</a>’s dark money network has spent $18 million trying to block a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in Ohio’s constitution — accounting for nearly 60 percent of what abortion opponents have reported raising in advance of the November 7 election, according to new state campaign finance data.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231025183035/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/politics/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-senate-inquiry.html" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231025183035/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/politics/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-senate-inquiry.html" target="_blank">Justice Thomas’s R.V. Loan Was Forgiven, Senate Inquiry Finds</a> </strong></p><p>[NYT, via Naked Capitalism 10-26-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://verdict.justia.com/2023/10/25/did-scotus-finally-wake-up-to-the-threat-of-state-nullification-of-federal-law" data-original-title="" href="https://verdict.justia.com/2023/10/25/did-scotus-finally-wake-up-to-the-threat-of-state-nullification-of-federal-law" target="_blank" title="">Did SCOTUS Finally Wake Up to the Threat of State Nullification of Federal Law?</a> </strong></p><p>[Justia, via Naked Capitalism 10-26-2023]</p><p><br /><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176429/texas-lawsuit-bankrupt-planned-parenthood-medicaid" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176429/texas-lawsuit-bankrupt-planned-parenthood-medicaid" target="_blank"><strong>The Absurd Lawsuit That Could Bankrupt Planned Parenthood</strong></a></p><p>Melissa Gira Grant, October 25, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><blockquote><p>A decade-long campaign by Texas Republicans to punish Planned Parenthood and run it out of the state advanced this week, thanks to one of the most anti-abortion judges in the United States. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Monday ruled in favor of an anonymous anti-abortion activist who has sued Planned Parenthood and its Texas affiliates on dubious grounds, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/planned-parenthood-must-face-trial-over-texas-medicaid-fraud-claims-2023-10-24/" href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/planned-parenthood-must-face-trial-over-texas-medicaid-fraud-claims-2023-10-24/" target="_blank">ordering a jury trial</a> that may allow the activist to collect $1.8 billion in judgment from the organization—imperiling its very existence in the state.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/24/mock-constitutional-convention-reveals-far-rights-vision-for-rewriting-the-u-s-constitution/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/24/mock-constitutional-convention-reveals-far-rights-vision-for-rewriting-the-u-s-constitution/" target="_blank">Mock Constitutional Convention Reveals Far Right’s Vision for Rewriting the U.S. Constitution </a></strong></p><p>[Exposed by CMD, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“For three days in August, 115 “commissioners,” as convention organizers branded them, from 49 states participated in a mock constitutional convention — simulating an event that legal scholars warn could result in minority rule and a radical curtailment of federal protections if it actually occurred. Right-wing activists have long advocated for a constitutional convention, an untried method for changing the country’s founding document provided for in Article V of the Constitution, which empowers states to call for a convention that moves forward once two-thirds of them do so. So far, 19 states have signed on to a resolution from the Convention of States calling for a constitutional convention to radically curtail federal powers. … Convention of States has won passage of its far-reaching convention calls in 19 states, and ALEC-led groups claim that they have28 state applications for their balanced budget amendment proposal — just six shy of the 34 needed to trigger a convention.” </p></blockquote></div>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-55772741476957460222023-10-22T13:09:00.001-05:002023-10-28T02:29:56.352-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 22, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 22, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/17/care-work/#charismatic-megaprojects" href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/17/care-work/#charismatic-megaprojects" target="_blank">Deb Chachra’s ‘How Infrastructure Works' </a></strong></p><p>Cory Doctorow [Pluralistic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Infrastructure isn’t merely a way to deliver life’s necessities – mobility, energy, sanitation, water, and so on – it’s a shared way of delivering those necessities. It’s not just that economies of scale and network effects don’t merely make it more efficient and cheaper to provide these necessities to whole populations. It’s also that the lack of these network and scale effects make it unimaginable that these necessities could be provided to all of us without being part of a collective, public project. The dream of declaring independence from society, of going ‘off-grid,’ of rejecting any system of mutual obligation and reliance isn’t merely an infantile fantasy – it also doesn’t scale, which is ironic, given how scale-obsessed its foremost proponents are in their other passions. Replicating sanitation, water, rubbish disposal, etc to create individual systems is wildly inefficient. Creating per-person communications systems makes no sense – by definition, communications involves at least two people. So infrastructure, Chachra reminds us, is a form of mutual aid. It’s a gift we give to ourselves, to each other, and to the people who come after us. Any rugged individualism is but a thin raft, floating on an ocean of mutual obligation, mutual aid, care and maintenance. Infrastructure is vital and difficult. Its amortization schedule is so long that in most cases, it won’t pay for itself until long after the politicians who shepherded it into being are out of office (or dead). Its duty cycle is so long that it can be easy to forget it even exists – especially since the only time most of us notice infrastructure is when it stops working.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.neh.gov/article/storm-patrol" href="https://www.neh.gov/article/storm-patrol" target="_blank"><strong>In the Nineteenth Century, Scientists Set Out to Solve the “Problem of American Storms”</strong> </a></p><p>[Humanities, via The Big Picture 10-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>[In the 1830s, telegraph] operators had discovered something both interesting and paradoxical, the writer Andrew Blum observes in his book <em>The Weather Machine</em>. The telegraph had collapsed time but, in doing so, it had somehow simultaneously created more of it. Now people could see what the future held before it happened; they could know that a storm was on its way hours before the rain started falling or the clouds appeared in the sky. This new, real-time information also did something else, Blum points out. It allowed weather to be visualized as a <em>system</em>, transforming static, localized pieces of data into one large and ever-shifting whole….</p><p>Morse’s invention promised to finally help shed light on what Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the newly founded Smithsonian Institution, called in the 1847 annual report the “problem of American Storms.” Henry was referring to an ongoing scientific spat known as the “storm controversy,” which had been raging in the pages of journals for nearly two decades….</p><div><div>The Smithsonian’s weather “crusade” would become the institution’s first major scientific undertaking, and it consisted of two parts. The first involved recruiting the telegraph companies to provide daily, nationwide weather updates. Starting in 1849, instruments were sent out to several offices around the country with a request that operators pause traffic on the lines in the morning to submit brief descriptions of local conditions. A few years later, Henry installed a map in the lobby of the Smithsonian Castle, where the collected information was displayed using a series of color-coded cards and arrows. Any time after 10:00 a.m., members of the public could stroll in and see for the first time “one view of the meteorological condition of the atmosphere over the whole country.” ….<span><a name='more'></a></span></div><div><br /></div><div>The Smithsonian’s volunteer weather project would not officially end until 1874, but after the war, Henry continued to face significant funding constraints, as well as larger questions about who should be tracking weather in the United States and how they should be doing it. Science was shifting toward professionalization in the post–Civil War era, and an era of amateur meteorologists—of statesmen tinkering with hygrometers in the fields of their plantations, of businessmen arguing about the atmosphere in scientific journals—was coming to an end.</div><div><br /></div><div>The country did need weathermen, however. That much was now apparent. And those weathermen had to come from someplace. Congressman Halbert E. Paine, a Republican from Wisconsin’s first district, thought that place should be the War Department. In 1869, he introduced a piece of legislation to that effect. “Military discipline,” he wrote, “would probably help secure the greatest promptness, regularity, and accuracy in the required observations.” ….</div><div><p>As the Signal Corps grew, the focus on tracking storms expanded to incorporate forecasts (which were referred to as “probabilities.”) Daily weather maps and bulletins produced by the Signal Office were displayed in post offices and observer-sergeants submitted their information to local newspapers. The work of the Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce was no longer benefiting just commercial interests—ranchers and sailors and farmers—but the public at large. At least one-third of households in the United States, Myer estimated at one point, were receiving weather information from the Signal Corps in one form or another. </p><p>By 1880, the Army’s weather service was “flourishing,” writes Raines. The state of the country’s military communications systems, however, was another story. The man-hours and money being siphoned away from the Army’s signaling work and into its storm intelligence efforts only continued following Myer’s death from nephritis in August of that year. The new chief signal officer, Colonel William B. Hazen, would go on to pour more of his office’s resources into weather-related research, rolling out new scientific projects—the development of a meteorology textbook, “aerial investigations” conducted in hot-air balloons, studies of atmospheric electricity—taking the Signal Corps’s meteorological work to new heights, literally, while the Division of Military Signaling tried and failed to catch up with the technological advances being made by its European counterparts. </p><p>In 1887, writes Raines, “the question of the status of the Signal Corps . . . finally came to a head” when Secretary of War William C. Endicott “stated in his annual report that because of its concentration on weather duties the Signal Corps could no longer be relied upon for military signaling.”….</p></div></div></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/young-morality-and-old-morality" href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/young-morality-and-old-morality" target="_blank">Young Morality and Old Morality</a></strong></p><p>Hamilton Nolan [How Things Work, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Who is being childish here? Is it the young college students, appalled at genocide looming in front of their eyes, possessed with the overwhelming urge to do something, who—despite not possessing a PhD in global affairs—flood into the streets and rage against the atrocity? Or is it the well educated and highly placed and influential adults, granted positions of great importance, who, as a crisis unfolds, as civilians are murdered, as neighborhoods are bombed, as oppression and religion collide in war, use their time griping about the hotheadedness of the young people protesting in the streets? Which of these groups has more accurately identified what should be our current topic of attention—the young people whose focus is on the governments that possess militaries and missiles and are poised to cause thousands of deaths, or the adults whose focus is on how some college kid said something annoying at a DSA rally? Wake the f*ck up. The adults in the room are everywhere proving the kids’ critique to be true.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176019/samuel-huntington-clash-civilizations-wrong" target="_blank" title="">Samuel Huntington’s Great Idea Was Totally Wrong</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jordan Michael Smith, October 19, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>His “Clash of Civilizations” essay in Foreign Affairs turned 30 this year. It was provocative, influential, manna for the modern right—and completely and utterly not true….<br /></p><p>...Huntington’s argument is so antiquated that it has already gone through several afterlives and been resurrected, like a horror movie villain. As the twentieth century ended and liberal capitalist democracy seemed unrivaled, it appeared as though <em>The Clash of Civilizations</em> was unduly pessimistic and perhaps irrelevant to the international arena. But after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Huntington’s book became a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/QqrZ6/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/books/books-of-the-times-an-identity-crisis-for-norman-rockwell-america.html" href="https://archive.ph/o/QqrZ6/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/28/books/books-of-the-times-an-identity-crisis-for-norman-rockwell-america.html" target="_blank">bestseller</a> for a second time, as conservatives across the United States and Europe cited its arguments for why Islam was fundamentally incompatible with Western society. When refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East attempted to find stability in white-majority countries, Huntington’s ideas were invoked as a reason for opposing such ventures. Right-wingers like Steve Bannon have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/QqrZ6/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/03/steve-bannon-islamophobia-film-script-muslims-islam" href="https://archive.ph/o/QqrZ6/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/03/steve-bannon-islamophobia-film-script-muslims-islam" target="_blank">utilized</a> the <em>Clash of Civilizations</em> thesis to reject immigration to the United States. Perhaps most surprisingly, thinkers around Russian leader Vladimir Putin have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/QqrZ6/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/06/vladimir-putin-a-miracle-defender-of-christianity-or-the-most-evil-man" href="https://archive.ph/o/QqrZ6/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/06/vladimir-putin-a-miracle-defender-of-christianity-or-the-most-evil-man" target="_blank">argued</a> that their country is the leading defender of a Christian civilization that the rest of Europe has largely abandoned, providing yet another lifeline to a 30-year-old essay….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-microsoft-audit-back-taxes-puerto-rico-billions" data-original-title="" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-microsoft-audit-back-taxes-puerto-rico-billions" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How a Maneuver in Puerto Rico Led to a $29 Billion Tax Bill for Microsoft</strong></a></p><p>[ProPublica, via The Big Picture 10-16-2023]</p><blockquote><p>In the largest audit in U.S. history, the IRS rejected Microsoft’s attempts to channel profits to a small factory in Puerto Rico that burned Windows software onto CDs </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.indianpunchline.com/us-faces-defeat-in-geopolitical-war-in-gaza/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.indianpunchline.com/us-faces-defeat-in-geopolitical-war-in-gaza/" target="_blank" title="">US faces defeat in geopolitical war in Gaza </a></strong></p><p>[Indian Punchline, via Naked Capitalism 10-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...The torrential flow of events through the past week is breathtaking, starting with a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/irans-raisi-saudi-arabias-mbs-discuss-israel-hamas-war" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/irans-raisi-saudi-arabias-mbs-discuss-israel-hamas-war" title="">phone call made by Iran’s President Sayyid Ebrahim Raisi</a> to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday to discuss a common strategy toward the situation following the devastating attack by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, against Israel on October 7….</p><p>... an extraordinary event took place in the Chinese foreign ministry when the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/202310/t20231014_11161042.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/202310/t20231014_11161042.html" title="">Arab envoys in Beijing sought a group meeting</a> with Special Envoy Zhai to underscore their collective stance that a “very severe” humanitarian crisis has emerged following Israel’s attack on Gaza and “the international community has the responsibility to take immediate actions to ease the tension, promote the resumption of talks for peace, and safeguard the Palestinian people’s lawful national rights.” </p><p>The Arab ambassadors thanked China “for upholding a just position on the Palestinian question … and expressed the hope that China will continue to play a positive and constructive role.” Zhai voiced full understanding that the “top priority is to keep calm and exercise restraint, protect civilians, and provide <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/15/israel-resumes-water-supply-to-southern-gaza-after-us-pressure" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/15/israel-resumes-water-supply-to-southern-gaza-after-us-pressure" title="">necessary conditions for relieving the humanitarian crisis</a>.” ….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/map-explainer-the-gaza-strip/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/map-explainer-the-gaza-strip/" target="_blank" title="">Map Explainer: The Gaza Strip</a> </strong></p><p>[Visual Capitalist, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/world/2023-10-20-west-bank-settlements-conflict-gaza/" target="_blank" title="">How West Bank Settlements Led to the Conflict in Gaza Having to defend them clearly imperils Israeli security.</a></strong></p><p>Gershom Gorenberg, October 20, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>...Let’s go back to the 2005 withdrawal from Gaza—the Disengagement, as then-prime minister Ariel Sharon named it. Over his military and political career, Sharon had promoted settlement as a strategic tool to prevent Israeli withdrawal and a Palestinian state; he had personally drawn the map of settlements in occupied territory. So his decision to dismantle those in Gaza stunned the country.</p><p>But leaving Gaza was a general’s choice to pull back on one front to save the majority of his forces. As Sharon’s close aide Dov Weissglas described his thinking, the Disengagement was intended as a “bottle of formaldehyde” in which then-President George W. Bush’s diplomatic push for negotiations with the Palestinians could be kept lifeless and inert. Diplomacy, Sharon correctly foresaw, could lead to an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. He preferred to leave Gaza unilaterally, while holding the West Bank and its settlements….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-minister-seeks-arrest-journalists-harm-national-morale" data-original-title="" href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-war-minister-seeks-arrest-journalists-harm-national-morale" target="_blank" title="">Israel-Palestine war: Israeli minister seeks arrest of journalists who ‘harm national morale’ </a></strong></p><p>[Middle East Eye, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/15/egypt-deal-palestinians-us-debt-relief-israel-gaza-attacks/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/15/egypt-deal-palestinians-us-debt-relief-israel-gaza-attacks/" target="_blank" title="">Egypt ‘considers deal to accept 100,000 displaced Palestinians in exchange for US debt relief’</a> </strong></p><p>[The Telegraph, via Naked Capitalism 10-16-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.academia.edu/50281796/The_Israel_Lobby_and_US_Foreign_Policy?email_work_card=title" data-original-title="" href="https://www.academia.edu/50281796/The_Israel_Lobby_and_US_Foreign_Policy?email_work_card=title" target="_blank" title="">The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy</a> (PDF) </strong></p><p>John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt [via Naked Capitalism 10-19-2023]</p><p>[Lambert Strether introduction: “From 2006, still highly germane (and the paper that got Mearsheimer blackballed in the Acela Corridor just as badly as Thomas Frank with <em>Listen, Liberal!</em>). 40 pages, but well worth a read. From paragraph four: “[T]he overall thrust of U.S. policy in the region is due almost entirely to U.S. domestic politics, and especially to the activities of the ‘Israel Lobby.'”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="http://www.defenddemocracy.press/state-department-revolt-against-the-zionist-lobby/" target="_blank" title="">State Department: Revolt against the Zionist Lobby</a></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="http://www.defenddemocracy.press/state-department-revolt-against-the-zionist-lobby/" target="_blank" title=""></a></strong><a data-original-title="" href="http://www.defenddemocracy.press/state-department-revolt-against-the-zionist-lobby/" target="_blank" title=""></a>[defenddemocracy.press, October 19, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><div><p>President <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/joe-biden" data-original-title="" href="https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" title="">Joe Biden</a>’s approach to the ongoing violence in Israel and Palestine is fueling mounting tensions at the U.S. government agency most involved in foreign policy: the State Department.</p></div><div><p>Officials told HuffPost that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his most senior advisers are overlooking widespread internal frustration. Some department staff said they feel as if Blinken and his team are uninterested in their own experts’ advice as they focus on supporting Israel’s expanding operation in Gaza, where the Palestinian militant group Hamas is based.</p><div><p>“There’s basically a mutiny brewing within State at all levels,” one State Department official said….</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div></div></blockquote><p><strong>Global power shift</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/china-belt-and-road-initiative-projects-pakistan-djibouti-greece-italy-3851716" data-original-title="" href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/china-belt-and-road-initiative-projects-pakistan-djibouti-greece-italy-3851716" target="_blank" title="">Ports, railways, a naval base: China’s Belt and Road in five projects</a> </strong></p><p>[Channel News Asia, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-100-billion-funding-3854951" data-original-title="" href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/china-xi-jinping-belt-road-100-billion-funding-3854951" target="_blank" title="">China’s Xi announces over US$100 billion in new Belt and Road funding</a> </strong></p><p>[Channel News Asia, via Naked Capitalism 10-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/business/economy/us-china-chip-manufacturing-asml.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/business/economy/us-china-chip-manufacturing-asml.html" target="_blank" title="">The Multimillion-Dollar Machines at the Center of the U.S.-China Rivalry</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 10-21-2023] </p><blockquote><p>As the United States tries to slow China’s progress toward technological advances that could help its military, the complex lithography machines that print intricate circuitry on computer chips have become a key choke point.</p><div>The machines are central to China’s efforts to develop its own chip-making industry, but China does not yet have the technology to make them, at least in their most advanced forms. This week, U.S. officials took steps to curb China’s progress toward that goal by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/m0v5s/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/business/economy/ai-chips-china-restrictions.html" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/m0v5s/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/business/economy/ai-chips-china-restrictions.html" target="_blank" title="">barring companies globally</a> from sending additional types of chip-making machines to China, unless they obtain a special license from the U.S. government…. <br /></div><div><br /></div><div>...That decision gives U.S. officials new sway over companies in the Netherlands and Japan, where some of the most advanced chip machinery is made. In particular, U.S. rules will now stop shipments of some machines that use deep ultraviolet, or DUV, technology made mainly by the Dutch firm ASML, which dominates the lithography market.<br /></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/20/us-declares-war/" data-original-title="" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/20/us-declares-war/" target="_blank" title="">US Declares ‘War’</a> </strong></p><p>Michael Brenner [Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 10-21-2023] </p><blockquote><p>U.S. foreign policy has set the country on a course destined to lead to a world of rivalry, strife and conflict into the foreseeable future. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/13/us-must-be-ready-for-simultaneous-wars-with-china-russia-commission" data-original-title="" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/13/us-must-be-ready-for-simultaneous-wars-with-china-russia-commission" title="">Washington has declared “war”</a> on China, on Russia, on whomever partners with them.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That “war” is comprehensive — diplomatic, financial, commercial, technological, cultural, ideological. It implicitly fuses a presumed great power rivalry for dominance with a clash of civilizations: the U.S.-led West against the civilizational states of China, Russia and potentially India….<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The stunning rise of China along with the reemergence of Russia as a formidable power are developments apparent to attentive observers for quite some time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">For Russia, the landmark dates can be identified.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The first was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ58Yv6kP44" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ58Yv6kP44" title="">speech</a> to the Munich Security Conference in 2007. There, he made clear his rejection of the Western script that relegated Russia to a subordinate position in a world system organized according to principles and interests defined largely by the United States….<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The confrontation with China is not marked by equally clear events or decision points. Designation of China as the challenger to the U.S. position as global supremo crystallized more gradually.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">It was the Middle Kingdom’s growing strength in every dimension of national power and capacity that stirred first anxiety and then fear. This challenging rival had become a threat to the foundational belief in U.S. exceptionalism and superiority. Hence, an existential threat in the truest sense….</p><p class="is-empty-p"><span style="text-align: justify;"></span></p><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/if-the-economy-is-so-strong-why-are-consumer-stocks-tanking-904fbe7f" target="_blank"><strong>If the Economy Is So Strong, Why Are Consumer Stocks Tanking?</strong></a> </p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-16-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Although the U.S. economy generally appears to be <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/resilient-u-s-economy-defies-expectations-85be69f3" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/resilient-u-s-economy-defies-expectations-85be69f3" target="_blank" title="">humming along</a>, companies across the retail spectrum have suggested consumers are starting to exercise more caution with their purchases. The latest fall in the shares also coincides with a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/higher-bond-yields-likely-to-extend-fed-rate-pause-53aa56fc" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/higher-bond-yields-likely-to-extend-fed-rate-pause-53aa56fc" target="_blank">rapid rise in Treasury yields</a>, which reduces the appeal of the staples stocks in particular because they are often seen as dividend plays…. Dollar General is among the companies that have said its customers are buying fewer discretionary items while opting to pick up food and other essentials, leaving the company with an inventory of unsold goods.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/LibertyCappy/status/1713707073425285128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713707073425285128%7Ctwgr%5E0e5ebf46ebe4679c4283c35e68bf999afeb53598%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2F200pm-water-cooler-10-18-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/LibertyCappy/status/1713707073425285128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1713707073425285128%7Ctwgr%5E0e5ebf46ebe4679c4283c35e68bf999afeb53598%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2F200pm-water-cooler-10-18-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-18-2023]</p><p>.</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;They have definitely been lying to us about inflation. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;This is insane!&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;🔊 &lt;a href="https://t.co/F5QLjs1ZTD"&gt;pic.twitter.com/F5QLjs1ZTD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Declaration of Memes (@LibertyCappy) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/LibertyCappy/status/1713707073425285128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 16, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1713707073425285128" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1713707073425285128&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2199916%2Fedit&sessionId=724445690c7f704264fd9f015f9e502640f5fdd4&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 817px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mishtalk.com/economics/existing-home-sales-drop-another-two-percent-to-a-13-year-low/" data-original-title="" href="https://mishtalk.com/economics/existing-home-sales-drop-another-two-percent-to-a-13-year-low/" target="_blank" title="">Existing Home Sales Drop Another Two Percent to a 13-Year Low</a> </strong></p><p>Michael Shedlock [via Naked Capitalism 10-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/ending-junk-fees-the-most-annoying?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/ending-junk-fees-the-most-annoying?" target="_blank" title="">Ending Junk Fees, the Most Annoying Thing in American Commerce</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 10-15-2023] </p><blockquote><p>...Last week, I wrote up the problem of inflation, noting that people aren’t just mad at high prices, but at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-price-fixing-economy" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-price-fixing-economy">unfair</a> prices. I brought up one of the most annoying features of American commerce, which is known as the junk fee. We’ve all experienced these in one form or another. You go to a hotel, and instead of being given the price quoted to you online, they add a $25 “amenity” fee, or “resort” fee, or something like that.</p><p>It’s not just hotels who charge undisclosed fees, but banks, rental car companies, landlords, live event firms, auto dealers, restaurants, phone companies, internet service firms, universities, private airports, prisons, movie theaters, credit card companies, etc. Junk fees are indeed everywhere - aircraft owners have to deal with hidden charges by Fixed Base Operators, and independent pharmacists have to put up with endless fees from pharmacy benefit managers.</p><p>Such cheating is pervasive at this point, built into the business model of firms across the economy. According to Consumer Reports, 85% of Americans “have experienced a hidden or unexpected fee for a service in the previous two years,” and 96% found them “highly annoying” and said they were paying more in hidden charges than they were five years ago….<br /></p><p>...The lifeblood of a market with buyers and sellers is public pricing information, because public pricing helps match buyers and sellers based on a mutually agreed upon amount. Typically, consumers will buy tickets or hotel rooms based on price comparison sites, which show a list price. An unscrupulous firm which lists a hidden fee has an advantage, since its list price will look lower than a firm without such a hidden fee. A buyer will purchase the good or service, and then end up paying a higher price when the hidden fee is added back in. But in addition, the honest firm loses a sale, and ultimately, will either start charging its own hidden fees or go out of business. Put differently, junk fees are a form of mass deception, and they turn everyone into a cheater.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231019120107/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/american-economy-consumer-confidence/675687/" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20231019120107/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/american-economy-consumer-confidence/675687/" target="_blank">The Annoyance Economy</a></strong></p><p>Annie Lowry [The Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Data alone don’t capture how frustrating and stressful it is to be a consumer right now….<br /></p><p>“The gap between how the economy is and how people feel things are going is enormous, and arguably has never been bigger…. [N]ostalgia, true or false, is driving up the Annoyance Index. Even if things are pretty good at the moment, many Americans remember them feeling better in the recent past. Families had way more cash on hand during the pandemic. Interest rates were much lower. Wage growth was faster a year ago. Prices were lower—a lot lower—before the pandemic. And many employees have been forced back to the office, when they were happy working at home. Things are great, but folks are mad. All we need is for prices to come down, interest rates to stabilize, housing markets to normalize, polarization to decrease, and the news media’s incentives to change. Until then, the Economic Annoyance Index will just keep getting higher.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/14/renting-can-age-you-faster-than-smoking-obesity-study/" data-original-title="" href="https://nypost.com/2023/10/14/renting-can-age-you-faster-than-smoking-obesity-study/" target="_blank" title="">Renting can age you faster than smoking or obesity, researchers find</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Post, via Naked Capitalism 10-15-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/novo-nordisk-ozempic-wegovy-denmark/675638/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/novo-nordisk-ozempic-wegovy-denmark/675638/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Something Is Golden in the State of Denmark</strong></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/novo-nordisk-ozempic-wegovy-denmark/675638/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/novo-nordisk-ozempic-wegovy-denmark/675638/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>: Can Novo Nordisk’s success really be a problem for the Danish economy?</strong></a> </p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 10-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/pfizer-to-price-covid-drug-paxlovid-at-1390-per-course-.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/18/pfizer-to-price-covid-drug-paxlovid-at-1390-per-course-.html" target="_blank" title="">Pfizer to price Covid drug Paxlovid at $1,390 per course </a></strong></p><p>[CNBC, via Naked Capitalism 10-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175645/left-labor-emerging-political-coalition" target="_blank" title="">The Emerging Coalition That Could Revitalize Our Politics</a></strong><br /></p><p>Raina Lipsitz, October 20, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The left and labor haven’t always seen eye to eye—but they may be on the verge of a fruitful reunion….<br /></p><p>When feelings of solidarity, agency, and collective power begin to emerge, they can break down political divides. The wave of teachers’ strikes that erupted in Republican-controlled states in 2018 drew thousands of participants and supporters, including many who were not leftists, unionists, or Democrats. A <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2020/10/03/the-red-for-ed-movement-two-years-in/" data-original-title="" href="https://newlaborforum.cuny.edu/2020/10/03/the-red-for-ed-movement-two-years-in/" target="_blank" title="">survey conducted</a> by Columbia University sociologists in the six states where teachers walked out in 2018 found that the strikes changed attitudes, particularly among “conservatives, Republicans, and those without personal experience with unions.” Not only did they appear to establish “a greater sense of common fate” between parents and teachers; they also increased people’s interest in labor action, if not necessarily traditional union membership. “The concrete manifestation [of unity] for the left and for labor is trying to unite those who sell their labor against those who own the companies,” said Blanc….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>They’re not capitalists — they’re predatory criminals</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/jpmorgan-chase-paid-1-085-billion-in-legal-expenses-in-last-six-months-its-still-battling-hundreds-of-charges-and-legal-proceedings-on-three-continents/" target="_blank" title="">JPMorgan Chase Paid $1.085 Billion in Legal Expenses in Last Six Months; It’s Still Battling Hundreds of Charges and Legal Proceedings on Three Continents</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 20, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/do-you-get-happy-when-bad-rich-guys-go-the-prison-it-doesn-t-happen-ofter-enough" target="_blank" title="">Do You Get Happy When Bad Rich Guys Go The Prison? It Doesn't Happen Often Enough</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, October 21, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>We all want to see Trump behind bars for the rest of his life. And I hope we all live long enough to see it. Meanwhile though, let’s get whatever joy we can out of fascists that are headed that way already. Take for example, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/19/ex-florida-gop-lawmaker-who-sponsored-so-called-dont-say-gay-bill-sentenced-to-prison-00122618" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/19/ex-florida-gop-lawmaker-who-sponsored-so-called-dont-say-gay-bill-sentenced-to-prison-00122618" target="_blank" title=""><u>fabulous Floridian, Joe Harding</u></a>, formerly (elected in 2020, forced to resign in 2022), once the state Representative from Ocala County, best known as the principal sponsor of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. He’ll have 4 months, starting in January to say he’s not gay to various members of the prison community. His homophobic legislation isn’t why he’s going to prison.<br /></p><p>Weeping on Thursday, he begged the judge, Trump appointee Allen Winsor, to not put him behind bars. Most people think he deserved far more than 4 months. The maximum sentence he could have gotten was 20 years for wire fraud, 10 years for money laundering and 5 years for lying to law enforcement. He should have gotten at least 20 years. A typical entitled asshole and Florida Republican, he stole COVID relief funds ($150,000) and was caught, pleading guilty in March.<br /></p><p>Gary Fineout wrote that “Authorities accused Harding of using false bank statements for two dormant small businesses to obtain loans from the Small Business Administration during the pandemic. Harding told the SBA that one of the companies, The Vak Shack, for the 12 months prior to Jan. 31, 2020, had four employees and $420,874 in revenue, while Harding Farms had two employees and $392,000 in revenue, according to authorities.”</p><p>….I might mention that there are several members of Congress who also stole large amounts of COVID relief funds (PPP) and who have not be prosecuted. The characters who would be most easy to imprison if any prosecutor decided to go for it:</p><div data-hook="rcv-block14"><br /></div><ul><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Matt Gaetz (R-FL)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Marjorie Traitor Greene (R-GA)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Kevin Hern (R-OK)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Susie Lee (New Dem-NV)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Vern Buchanan (R-FL)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Mike Kelly (R-FL)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Brett Guthrie (R-KY)</p></li><li style="text-align: left;"><p>Vicky Hartzler (R-MO)</p></li></ul><p>So far just one of them, Kevin Hern, is officially running for Speaker of the House. All of them, however are despicable crooks.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/will-sbf-take-both-u-s-political-parties-with-him-evidence-is-finally-being-presented-in-court" target="_blank" title="">Will SBF Take Both U.S. Political Parties With Him? Evidence Is Finally Being Presented In Court. What Did McConnell Promise SBF For His $10 Million Bribe? Are Congressional Bribe-Takers Getting Subpoenas?</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, October 21, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...there’s a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/the-sbf-trial-should-not-end-until-members-of-congress-are-arrested-in-a-totally-bipartisan-way" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/the-sbf-trial-should-not-end-until-members-of-congress-are-arrested-in-a-totally-bipartisan-way" target="_blank" title=""><u>spread sheet showing some of the SBF bribes</u></a> to members of Congress and to committees that finance them that has been introduced as an exhibit. While the NY Times is still concentrating on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/technology/crypto-influencers-degenerates-sam-bankman-fried-trial.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/20/technology/crypto-influencers-degenerates-sam-bankman-fried-trial.html" target="_blank"><u>peripheral nonsense</u></a> (“the presence of crypto YouTubers, podcasters and commentators at the FTX founder’s fraud trial has created something of a culture clash in the courtroom”) and Fox News is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/sam-bankman-frieds-adhd-medication-focal-point-ftx-trial" href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/sam-bankman-frieds-adhd-medication-focal-point-ftx-trial" target="_blank"><u>even sillier</u></a> (SBF’s testimony “may depend on whether the ex-billionaire’s dosage of Adderall is sufficient to help him maintain his focus”), CNBC has started realizing <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/20/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-allies-donated-millions-in-dark-money.html" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/20/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-allies-donated-millions-in-dark-money.html" target="_blank"><u>what the real story actually is</u></a>….</p></blockquote><p><br /><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thegrayzone.com/2023/10/17/assange-craig-murray-detained-uk-terror/" data-original-title="" href="https://thegrayzone.com/2023/10/17/assange-craig-murray-detained-uk-terror/" target="_blank" title="">Former ambassador and Assange advocate Craig Murray detained under UK terror laws</a> </strong></p><p>[The Grayzone, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/dismantle-the-censorship-industrial" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/dismantle-the-censorship-industrial" target="_blank" title="">Dismantle The Censorship-Industrial Complex: The Westminster Declaration</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Taibbi [via Naked Capitalism 10-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://westminsterdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" title="">Open discourse is the central pillar of a free society </a></strong></p><p>[The Westminster Declaration, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>We write as journalists, artists, authors, activists, technologists, and academics to warn of increasing international censorship that threatens to erode centuries-old democratic norms.</p><p>Coming from the left, right, and centre, we are united by our commitment to universal human rights and freedom of speech, and we are all deeply concerned about attempts to label protected speech as ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and other ill-defined terms.</p><p>This abuse of these terms has resulted in the censorship of ordinary people, journalists, and dissidents in countries all over the world.</p><p>Such interference with the right to free speech suppresses valid discussion about matters of urgent public interest, and undermines the foundational principles of representative democracy.</p><p>Across the globe, government actors, social media companies, universities, and NGOs are increasingly working to monitor citizens and rob them of their voices. These large-scale coordinated efforts are sometimes referred to as the ‘Censorship-Industrial Complex.’</p><p>This complex often operates through direct government policies. Authorities in India[1] and Turkey[2] have seized the power to remove political content from social media. The legislature in Germany[3] and the Supreme Court in Brazil[4] are criminalising political speech. In other countries, measures such as Ireland’s ‘Hate Speech’ Bill[5], Scotland’s Hate Crime Act[6], the UK’s Online Safety Bill[7], and Australia’s ‘Misinformation’ Bill[8] threaten to severely restrict expression and create a chilling effect.</p><p>But the Censorship Industrial Complex operates through more subtle methods. These include visibility filtering, labelling, and manipulation of search engine results. Through deplatforming and flagging, social media censors have already silenced lawful opinions on topics of national and geopolitical importance. They have done so with the full support of ‘disinformation experts’ and ‘fact-checkers’ in the mainstream media, who have abandoned the journalistic values of debate and intellectual inquiry.</p></blockquote><p>[Lambert Strether notes: “First signatory: Taibbi, followed by Shellenberger. Assange #6.”]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/global-predator-files-investigation-reveals-catastrophic-failure-to-regulate-surveillance-trade/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/global-predator-files-investigation-reveals-catastrophic-failure-to-regulate-surveillance-trade/" target="_blank" title="">Global: ‘Predator Files’ investigation reveals catastrophic failure to regulate surveillance trade</a> </strong></p><p>[Amnesty International, via Naked Capitalism 10-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-could-spur-an-economic-boom-humans-are-in-the-way-3f13182c" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-could-spur-an-economic-boom-humans-are-in-the-way-3f13182c" target="_blank" title="">AI Could Spur an Economic Boom. Humans Are in the Way. </a></strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 10-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/16/surveillance-state-big-tech/" data-original-title="" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/16/surveillance-state-big-tech/" target="_blank" title="">Why Big Tech, Cops, and Spies Were Made for One Another</a> </strong></p><p>Cory Doctorow [The Intercept, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thesiswhisperer.com/2023/07/10/academicenshittification/" data-original-title="" href="https://thesiswhisperer.com/2023/07/10/academicenshittification/" target="_blank" title="">The enshittification of academic social media</a> </strong></p><p>The Thesis Whisperer, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023] Important!</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epoch-times-falun-gong-growth-rcna111373" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/epoch-times-falun-gong-growth-rcna111373" target="_blank">How the conspiracy-fueled Epoch Times went mainstream and made millions</a> </strong></p><p>[NBC, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Today, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121" target="_blank">The Epoch Times</a> is one of the country’s most successful and influential conservative news organizations. It’s powered by Falun Gong, a religious group persecuted in China, which launched The Epoch Times as a free propaganda newsletter more than two decades ago to oppose the Chinese Communist Party.</p><p>Funded through aggressive online and real-world marketing campaigns and big-money conservative donors, The Epoch Times now boasts to be the country’s fourth-largest newspaper by subscriber count. (Unlike most major newspapers, The Epoch Times isn't audited by the two major independent collectors of circulation data.) The nonprofit has amassed a fortune, growing its revenue by a staggering 685% in two years, to $122 million in 2021, according to the group’s most recent tax records.</p><p>Its editorial vision — fueled by a right-wing slant and conspiracy theories — is on display in recent reports….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/billions-wasted-on-hydrogen-hype" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/billions-wasted-on-hydrogen-hype" target="_blank" title="">Billions Wasted on Hydrogen Hype</a> </strong></p><p>[Common Dreams, via Naked Capitalism 10-16-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/hydro-dams-are-struggling-to-handle-the-worlds-intensifying-weather/" data-original-title="" href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/10/hydro-dams-are-struggling-to-handle-the-worlds-intensifying-weather/" target="_blank" title="">Hydro dams are struggling to handle the world’s intensifying weather</a> </strong></p><p>[Ars technica, via Naked Capitalism 10-16-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/17/world-must-add-or-replace-50-million-miles-of-transmission-lines-iea.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/17/world-must-add-or-replace-50-million-miles-of-transmission-lines-iea.html" target="_blank" title="">The world has to add or replace 50 million miles of transmission lines by 2040, IEA says</a> </strong></p><p>[CNBC, via Naked Capitalism 10-20-2023]</p><p><br /><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-hybrid-transistors-silk-protein-stage.html" data-original-title="" href="https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-hybrid-transistors-silk-protein-stage.html" target="_blank" title="">Hybrid transistors with silk protein set stage for integration of biology and microelectronics </a></strong></p><p>[TechXplore, via Naked Capitalism 10-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/10/12/allen-brain-atlas-cell-types/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2023/10/12/allen-brain-atlas-cell-types/" target="_blank"><strong>New ‘brain atlas’ maps the highly complex organ in dazzling detail</strong></a></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 10-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A trove of studies has revealed that human brains contain at least 3,000 cell types.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsengineeringau.3c00034#" href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsengineeringau.3c00034#" target="_blank">Production of Methane by Sunlight-Driven Photocatalytic Water Splitting and Carbon Dioxide Methanation as a Means of Artificial Photosynthesis</a> </strong></p><p>[American Chemical Society, via Naked Capitalism 10-18-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“This article describes an experimental apparatus of artificial photosynthesis, which generates methane gas from water and carbon dioxide with the aid of sunlight energy…. One of the versions was implemented in the competition of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Horizon Prize on Artificial Photosynthesis ‘Fuel from the Sun’ in 2022. For future expansion as artificial photosynthetic plants, the technical issues related to scaling up the plant size are extracted and discussed from these results.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Disrupting mainstream politics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-dismal-views-of-the-nations-politics/" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/09/19/americans-dismal-views-of-the-nations-politics/" target="_blank">Highly Negative Views of American Politics in 2023</a> </strong></p><p>[Pew, via Naked Capitalism 10-17-2023] Userfriendly: “Wowzers this is damning.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/cornel-west-draws-max-donation-gop-megadonor-harlan-crow-rcna121060" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/cornel-west-draws-max-donation-gop-megadonor-harlan-crow-rcna121060" target="_blank">Cornel West draws max donation from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow</a></strong></p><p>[NBC, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Progressive activist and independent presidential candidate Cornel West received a maximum campaign donation from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, West’s latest fundraising report shows. Crow made the $3,300 donation in August, weeks before West abandoned his bid for the Green Party nomination to run as an independent. Crow has called West, a self-proclaimed ‘non-Marxist socialist’ and longtime professor at Princeton University, ‘a good friend.’…. Crow’s close ties to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have come under scrutiny in recent months after a ProPublica report in April detailed gifts, travel, and other items of value provided by the Texas billionaire to Thomas and his family.” • Not the same, but sheesh.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://coloradosun.com/2023/10/18/progressnow-colorado-celebrates-20-years/" target="_blank" title="">A political group that helped lead Democrats’ takeover of Colorado politics turns 20</a></strong> </p><p>[Colorado Sun, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“ProgressNow Colorado is an irreverent organization that doesn’t reveal its donors. It has continued when some of its peer groups have disbanded.” Oh, it doesn’t? Oh, it has? More: “Wealthy Democratic donors teamed up to reverse their party’s fortune, routing their money through a series of political nonprofits and political committees to organize voters to try to dominate the airwaves. One of those dark-money groups was ProgressNow Colorado. The strategy worked…. The ProgressNow model has spread to more than half the states in the nation…. Michael Huttner set aside his law practice to form ProgressNow Colorado in 2003, serving as the group’s first executive director. Huttner sought to mobilize Democrats via the internet through blogging and private chat groups anchored in geography and policy interest. Call it a pre-social media version of ‘rapid response’ — the practice of attacking opponents quickly and cleverly on social media…. The work of ProgressNow Colorado and its companion groups was paired with infusions of big money from Polis, philanthropist and Democratic political donor Pat Stryker, and entrepreneurs Rutt Bridges and Tim Gill…. Dick Wadhams, a former Colorado GOP chairman, said ProgressNow Colorado was born in an era when Democrats started indirectly spending on campaigns. Instead of giving money to candidate campaigns, they routed cash through political spending groups, like super PACs, and nonprofits like ProgressNow to influence voters.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/wondering-which-democrats-refuse-to-co-sponsor-the-bill-to-raise-the-minimum-wage-here-s-the-list" target="_blank" title="">Wondering Which Democrats Refuse To Co-Sponsor The Bill To Raise The Minimum Wage?Here's The List</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, October 16, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><ul><li>Maxine Waters (D-CA)</li><li>Grace Napolitano (D-CA)</li><li>Al Green (D-TX)</li><li>Jonathan Jackson (D-IL)</li><li>Greg Meeks (New Dem-NY)</li><li>Katherine Clark (D-MA)</li><li>Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)</li><li>Richie Neal (D-MA)</li><li>Jake Auchincloss (D-MA)</li><li>Troy Carter (New Dem-LA)</li><li>Norma Torres (New Dem-CA)</li><li>Ann Kuster (New Dem-NH)</li><li>Raul Ruiz (New Dem-CA)</li><li>Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)</li><li>Hillary Scholten (New Dem-MI)</li><li>Darren Soto (New Dem-FL)</li><li>Scott Peters (New Dem-CA)</li><li>Ami Bera (New Dem-CA)</li><li>Greg Landsman (New Dem-OH)</li><li>Marc Veasey (New Dem-TX)</li><li>Susan Wild (New Dem-PA)</li><li>Gabe Vasquez (New Dem-NM)</li><li>Dean Phillips (D-MN)</li><li>Lou Correa (New Dem-CA)</li><li>Chrissy Houlahan (New Dem-PA)</li><li>Josh Harder (New Dem-CA)</li><li>Sanford Bishop (Blue Dog-GA)</li><li>Sharice Davids (New Dem-KS)</li><li>Eric Sorenson (D-IL)</li><li>Ed Case (Blue Dog-HI)</li><li>Wiley Nickel (Blue Dog-NC)</li><li>Lizzie Fletcher (New Dem-TX)</li><li>Colin Allred (New Dem-TX)</li><li>Jared Moskowitz (New Dem-FL)</li><li>Greg Stanton (New Dem-AZ)</li><li>Mary Peltola (Blue Dog-AK)</li><li>Yadira Caraveo (New Dem-CO)</li><li>Kim Schrier (New Dem-WA)</li><li>Abigail Spanberger (New Dem-VA)</li><li>Vicente Gonzalez (Blue Dog-TX)</li><li>Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA)</li><li>Chris Pappas (New Dem-NH)</li><li>Susie Lee (New Dem-NV)</li><li>Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Blue Dog-WA)</li><li>Jared Golden (Blue Dog-ME)</li><li>Henry Cuellar (Blue Dog-TX)</li><li>Donald Davis (New Dem-NC)</li></ul></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/17/2200003/-Congenital-syphilis-makes-a-roaring-come-back-in-anti-abortion-states?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/17/2200003/-Congenital-syphilis-makes-a-roaring-come-back-in-anti-abortion-states?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Congenital syphilis makes a roaring come back - in anti-abortion states</a></strong></p><p>umbra, October 17, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p>...Why would anti-abortion laws impact syphilis rates? Because Planned Parenthood is normally the number one organization helping people with STD’s. Because Planned Parenthood is the number one prenatal care giver to women with little or no health insurance. When a mother has prenatal care, she is screened and treated for STD’s.</p><p>What happens in anti-abortion states? They took away funding to Planned Parenthood. Funding for all its services and did their best to close them down. Per the New York Times over 61 clinics closed completely after the Dobbs decision up til the article was published in June, many more will be closing after varies legal challenges.</p><p>What happens to women in areas with no Planned Parenthood? They don’t go to doctors, they don’t get STD’s treated, they don’t get prenatal care. They tend to live in areas with staffing shortages, even if they had insurance, they live in Ob-gyn deserts – no appts available. Why are there no service providers for women even with insurance? Again the abortion laws make it difficult to practice sexual health care for women, with all the Politicians in the exam room….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/176353/republican-congress-dysfunction-jordan-speaker" target="_blank" title="">The GOP’s Brand Is Chaos: The Republicans have spent years perfecting their dysfunction</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jason Linkins, October 21, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://popular.info/p/charles-kochs-5-billion-tax-loophole" data-original-title="" href="https://popular.info/p/charles-kochs-5-billion-tax-loophole" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Charles Koch’s audacious new $5 billion political scheme</strong></a></p><p>[Popular Information, via The Big Picture 10-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Large donations to charitable causes are not subject to gift taxes. But, after the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United, 501(c)4 organizations began to engage directly in political campaigns, which are not charitable causes. So, by 2015, the IRS said they were considering applying the gift tax to large donations to 501(c)4 groups that were not used for charitable purposes. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/18/lawmakers-a-la-carte-how-alec-sells-access-to-state-legislators/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/18/lawmakers-a-la-carte-how-alec-sells-access-to-state-legislators/" target="_blank">Lawmakers à la Carte: How ALEC Sells Access to State Legislators</a></strong></p><p>[Exposed by CMD, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“It’s no secret that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) offers its corporate sponsors a variety of options for buying access to state lawmakers. Now, new documents reveal just how much — or little — it costs. For $50,000, a corporate or industry executive can give a main stage presentation to all ALEC members in attendance at its annual meeting. For $35,000, a corporation or industry group can work with ALEC’s policy staff to design a workshop for lawmakers. Materials obtained and reviewed by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) reveal a menu of opportunities for corporate sponsors interested in purchasing access to lawmakers at ALEC’s annual conferences. The documents were prepared in advance of last year’s three-day annual policy meeting in Atlanta, which focused on efforts to combat ‘woke capitalism,’ reproductive healthcare, voting rights, and the administrative state, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/27/abandoning-free-market-and-liberty-principles-alec-takes-on-woke-capitalism-bodily-autonomy-and-more-at-its-annual-meeting/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/27/abandoning-free-market-and-liberty-principles-alec-takes-on-woke-capitalism-bodily-autonomy-and-more-at-its-annual-meeting/" target="_blank" title="">as CMD previously reported</a>.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/virginia-elections-electric-vehicle-mandate-glenn-youngkin-republicans-619ce7e2" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/virginia-elections-electric-vehicle-mandate-glenn-youngkin-republicans-619ce7e2" target="_blank" title="">Glenn Youngkin’s Plan to Save Gas Cars</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 10-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-charles-johnson-johnathan-buma-chs-genius-2023-10" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-charles-johnson-johnathan-buma-chs-genius-2023-10" target="_blank">Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant</a></strong> </p><p>[Insider, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“In the summer of 2021, Insider has learned, Thiel began providing information as a “confidential human source,” or CHS, to Johnathan Buma, a Los Angeles-based FBI agent who specializes in investigating political corruption and foreign-influence campaigns. Charles Johnson, a longtime associate of Thiel’s and a notorious figure in the far-right movement that Thiel has subsidized for a decade, told Insider in a statement that he helped recruit the billionaire as an informant by introducing him to Buma. The source said that any assistance Thiel might have provided to the FBI should be understood as part of Thiel’s gradual distancing of himself from Trump and the broader MAGA movement, which has vigorously criticized the FBI and other federal law-enforcement agencies…. The FBI maintains a vast network of informants to keep tabs on organized crime, terrorist threats, extremist groups, and other criminal and intelligence targets. These sources, according to the bureau’s <a data-cke-saved-href="https://vault.fbi.gov/confidential-human-source-policy-guide-1018pg/confidential-human-source-policy-guide-1018pg-part-01-of-01" data-original-title="" href="https://vault.fbi.gov/confidential-human-source-policy-guide-1018pg/confidential-human-source-policy-guide-1018pg-part-01-of-01" target="_blank" title="">Confidential Human Source Policy Guide</a>, are more than casual tipsters. Confidential human sources enter ‘into a relationship with the FBI, and that relationship will forever affect the life of that individual,’ the guide says. ‘[They] will be either an ‘FBI source’ or a ‘former FBI source’ and, in turn, his or her conduct or misconduct will reflect upon the FBI.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/what-did-the-fbi-use-to-persuade-peter-thiel-to-become-a-confidential-human-source-for-them" target="_blank" title="">What Did The FBI Use To Persuade Peter Thiel To Become A "Confidential Human Source" For Them?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, October 19, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/10/13/trump_on_campaign_trail_slightly_unhinged_completely_unplugged_149893.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/10/13/trump_on_campaign_trail_slightly_unhinged_completely_unplugged_149893.html" target="_blank" title="">Trump on Campaign Trail: Slightly Unhinged, Completely Unplugged</a> </strong> [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/10/13/trump_on_campaign_trail_slightly_unhinged_completely_unplugged_149893.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2023/10/13/trump_on_campaign_trail_slightly_unhinged_completely_unplugged_149893.html" target="_blank" title="">RealClearPolitics</a>]. </p><p>[RealClearPolitics, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-16-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“‘They’re going to do the electric vehicle nonsense, you know?’ Trump told the audience, in one early moment that sounded like a Seinfeld cold open. ‘You put a little circle around your house. You can’t go outside the circle, you’ll never come back.'”….</p><p>“Boy, are they messing up California, but we’re thrilled to be here with the conservative patriots who are leading the charge to take back this state from the radical left lunatics,” he said. “They’ve given you sanctuary cities, wide-open borders, mass homeless encampments, out-of-control taxes, soaring income inequality, Marxist district attorneys, woke tech tyrants, rolling blackouts, child sexual mutilation, and roving bands of looters, criminals, and thugs.”</p><p>Some of his proposed remedies were unspeakably dark, however, one in particular: “We will immediately stop all of the pillaging and theft,” he said. “Very simply: If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,” he proclaimed to loud applause. “Shot!” he added.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/trumps-bloody-campaign-promises" href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/trumps-bloody-campaign-promises" target="_blank"><strong>Trump’s Bloody Campaign Promises</strong></a></p><p>[New Yorker, via The Big Picture 10-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>It’s tempting to ignore the former President’s expressions of rage, but the stakes for American democracy demand that attention be paid. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://truthout.org/articles/mouths-full-of-blood-trump-and-his-backers-spread-lies-violence-and-fascism/" href="https://truthout.org/articles/mouths-full-of-blood-trump-and-his-backers-spread-lies-violence-and-fascism/" target="_blank"><strong>Mouths Full of Blood: Trump and His Backers Spread Lies, Violence and Fascism</strong></a></p><p>[TruthOut, via The Big Picture 10-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Death threats have become rampant as MAGA culture twists norms and makes once-marginal forms of violence mainstream. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/20/patrick-mchenry-speaker-race-wall-street-00122592" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/20/patrick-mchenry-speaker-race-wall-street-00122592" target="_blank" title="">‘No. 1 draft pick for Wall Street’: McHenry’s rise thrills Washington-wary executives</a></strong></p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Rep. Patrick McHenry — the temporary speaker who may be tapped to be more than just a caretaker — is one of the House GOP’s top liaisons with the business community, thanks to his long-time leadership role at the Financial Services Committee. While McHenry began his career by throwing bombs and torpedoing bank bailouts, he’s emerged in recent years as a pragmatic, bipartisan dealmaker. He has served as a counterweight to his party’s predilection for economy-rattling brinksmanship over things such as the federal debt limit. The hope in the business world is that having McHenry at the helm of the House might add some stability as a government shutdown looms next month. ‘Patrick McHenry is the best,’ said Anthony Scaramucci, a financier and former Trump communications director. ‘He would be the No. 1 draft pick for Wall Street.’ McHenry’s rise comes as the finance industry has become increasingly accustomed to Washington dysfunction.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://compactmag.com/article/where-is-the-republican-lina-khan" target="_blank" title="">Where Is the Republican Lina Khan?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Stoller [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://compactmag.com/article/where-is-the-republican-lina-khan" data-original-title="" href="https://compactmag.com/article/where-is-the-republican-lina-khan" target="_blank" title="">Compact</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-19-2023] <br /></p><blockquote><p>“[Khan] represents the actual policy implementation of populist economics. Younger GOP politicians like Sens. Josh Hawley and J.D. Vance and Rep. Matt Gaetz disagree with McConnell and are upfront about seeking to turn the Republican Party into a working-class political coalition, including by building new administrative tools to do so…. Ultimately, if the Republican Party is to become a working-class vehicle, it will need to go far beyond playing footsie with wielding government power. To truly govern in a way that will satisfy their base and the public at large, conservatives are going to have to find their own Lina Khan. But until they do, they can start by working with the one in office right now.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/11/02/dismantling-iowa-marilynne-robinson/" target="_blank" title="">Dismantling Iowa</a></strong><br /></p><p>Marilynne Robinson [The New York Review, November 2, 2023 issue]<br /></p><blockquote><p>American higher education is premised on liberal ideals, intended to make young people independent thinkers and capable citizens. What’s happening in Iowa undermines that legacy….<br /></p><p>Kim Reynolds became governor in 2017, having served as lieutenant governor under Terry Branstad. She was elected to a full term in 2018, then reelected in a landslide in 2022, bringing with her an overwhelming majority of Republican legislators. Since then, Iowa has become a theater and a laboratory for root-and-branch retrogression. I am glad for Iowa’s sake that nationally so few people know or care what its legislature does. At the same time, there is benefit to be had in watching how this important faction governs, given a free hand.</p><p>What do these people want? If it happens that their goal is to create a permanent underclass, they are doing many things right. This is not at all the objective they claim for themselves. They pose as champions of the people. But they are making a wholesale attack on the basic institutions of the country, by policy and by the spread of pernicious distrust that undercuts the authority of institutions they do not control. This has led to an important reconfiguring of society on the basis of nothing worthier of respect than anger and resentment….</p><p>We hold the freedom of others in trust, for the occasions when they need to assert it, or when something new arises out of it, perhaps a larger vision of what a human life can be. By law the United States took the rights of the Indians in trust, with what consequences we all know. Bad faith in this regard has no boundaries. Either we truly acknowledge the unalienable rights of others to our respect and our restraint, or they have no rights. This is never truer than it is for children. A presumptive respect for what they might become would assure them good food and plenty of sleep, and never count the cost. It might take care that they had a stable home and a parent unharried enough to be fairly sure everything is all right with them. A fair wage would have these consequences. It might protect the precious time they would spend on daydreams, those lovely works of the human brain that give rise to art and invention and aspiration. And the children staggering under the burdens of privilege, driven by the fear that they will fall short of success as others define it, might put down their backpacks and daydream, too. Then this weary country would be new again.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/who-cares-about-efficiency/" data-original-title="" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/who-cares-about-efficiency/" target="_blank" title="">WHO CARES ABOUT EFFICIENCY?</a> </strong></p><p>[Law and Political Economy Project, via Naked Capitalism 10-15-2023]</p><blockquote><p>They say that the first year of law school is like an immersive course in a new language. At first, you don’t even know what the cases are about—let alone how to determine whether they’re still “good law” and in which jurisdictions. Once you learn some basic terms and rules, you begin to make some sense of the materials and even to imitate the style of reasoning they demonstrate. At some point you find you’re forming your own jargon-laden arguments on the fly.</p><p>That’s a hard enough task, but in many US law schools you’re required to learn an additional language: “economic analysis,” or at least the pidgin version that is taught in doctrinal courses… Economic analysis (so called) has become part of the method of legal decision-making in many realms, so learning how to play some of its little language games has practical value. For LPE-ers who seek to overcome the hegemony of law and economics, it is essential to learn not just how to play these games but also how to critically analyze them and their premises.</p><p>Since such an education is not readily available at most law schools, a number of students have requested the Blog’s help. This post is one effort in that direction….</p><p class="is-empty-p"> </p><p><strong>Further Reading</strong></p><p>The best introduction I am aware of to the basic moral concepts at play here is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/economic-analysis-moral-philosophy-and-public-policy/82579FD39557B4C1235317743280199F#overview" href="https://www.cambridge.org/highereducation/books/economic-analysis-moral-philosophy-and-public-policy/82579FD39557B4C1235317743280199F#overview">Hausmann, McPherson and Satz</a>. A more technical (but still accessible and non-mathy) explanation of welfare criteria and why law and economics cannot justify those it uses is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/the-erroneous-foundations-of-law-and-economics" href="https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/the-erroneous-foundations-of-law-and-economics">Glick and Lozada</a>.</p><p>For some discussion of how efficiency slippage works in antitrust and surrounding doctrinal areas, see <a data-cke-saved-href="https://repository.law.umich.edu/law_econ_current/234/" href="https://repository.law.umich.edu/law_econ_current/234/">Paul</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.uclalawreview.org/antitrust-as-allocator-of-coordination-rights/" href="https://www.uclalawreview.org/antitrust-as-allocator-of-coordination-rights/">Paul</a>.</p><p>A great introduction to the problems with willingness to pay is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thenewpress.com/books/pricelesspbk.htm" href="https://thenewpress.com/books/pricelesspbk.htm">Ackerman and Heinzerling</a>. I also synthesized some critiques of even reformed cost-benefit analysis <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/some-short-circuits-in-the-rewiring-of-regulatory-review/" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/some-short-circuits-in-the-rewiring-of-regulatory-review/">here at the Blog</a>.</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jls/vol9/iss2/2/" href="https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jls/vol9/iss2/2/">Dworkin</a>,<a data-cke-saved-href="https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jls/vol9/iss2/3/" href="https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/jls/vol9/iss2/3/"> Kronman</a>, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13051/3668/34StanLRev.pdf?sequence=2" href="https://openyls.law.yale.edu/bitstream/handle/20.500.13051/3668/34StanLRev.pdf?sequence=2">Coleman</a> offer classic takedowns of Richard Posner’s articulation of “wealth maximization” as a value. For what it’s worth, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/724131" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/724131">here</a> is Posner’s response.</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3063&context=fss_papers" href="https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3063&context=fss_papers">Calabresi</a> is a good explanation of why Pareto criteria can’t be useful to legal problems, with some consideration of the issues with Kaldor-Hicks.</p><p>Some classic explanations of issues with the assumptions of neoclassical welfare economics are <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2264946" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2264946">Sen</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1829633" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1829633">Sen</a>, and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1982/03/04/just-deserts/" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1982/03/04/just-deserts/">Sen</a>.</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol86/iss5/1/" href="https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/clr/vol86/iss5/1/">Sanchirico</a> is a detailed and somewhat technical explanation of why the problems with efficiency can’t be dealt with by “tax and transfer.” See also <a data-cke-saved-href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/tax-policy-for-a-climate-in-crisis/" href="https://lpeproject.org/blog/tax-policy-for-a-climate-in-crisis/">McCluskey</a>.</p><p>A masterful explanation of some of the core conceptual problems with using money as a measure of value is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4176539" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4176539">Desan</a>.</p><p>For a taste of some of the issues with the core assumptions about markets that ground the notion of “perfect competition,” see <a data-cke-saved-href="http://heterodoxnews.com/leefs/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ROSE-2004-Lee-Keen-incoherentemperor.pdf" data-original-title="" href="http://heterodoxnews.com/leefs/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/ROSE-2004-Lee-Keen-incoherentemperor.pdf" title="">Lee and Keen</a> and <a data-cke-saved-href="http://frankackerman.com/publications/economictheory/Interpreting_Failure_Equilibrium_Theory.pdf" data-original-title="" href="http://frankackerman.com/publications/economictheory/Interpreting_Failure_Equilibrium_Theory.pdf" title="">Ackerman</a> (both are fairly technical, but it’s something of the nature of the beast.)</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2307908?query=TOC&cid=NEJM%20eToc,%20October%2019,%202023%20DM2292852_NEJM_Non_Subscriber&bid=1867093629" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2307908?query=TOC&cid=NEJM%20eToc,%20October%2019,%202023%20DM2292852_NEJM_Non_Subscriber&bid=1867093629" target="_blank" title="">Wedding Websites, Free Speech, and Adverse Drug Effects</a> </strong></p><p>[New England Journal of Medicine, via Naked Capitalism 10-19-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The First Amendment is traditionally seen as protecting the freedom of individuals’ speech from government interference. But in recent years, it has also been invoked by conservative litigators and relied on by judges to justify forbidding ‘compelled speech.’ In this view, just as the government cannot prevent a person from saying something, it cannot oblige a person to say something. Both uses of the newly weaponized First Amendment have become powerful tools in conservatives’ attempts to dismantle ‘the regulatory state.’ In 2023, pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck objected to provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices, arguing that requiring the company to state its acceptance of a future negotiated price would represent impermissible compelled speech. Merck’s argument and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and 303 Creative cases also reflect another development that was probably not anticipated by the Founders: that corporate entities deserve the same constitutional rights as individuals. The latter cases represented extensions of the Court’s 2014 Hobby Lobby ruling that a company can claim religious-freedom rights that exempt it from covering contraceptives under its employee health insurance.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/europe-s-richest-royal-family-builds-nearly-300-billion-finance-empire-123092901398_1.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/europe-s-richest-royal-family-builds-nearly-300-billion-finance-empire-123092901398_1.html" target="_blank" title="">Europe’s Richest Royal Family Builds $300 Billion Finance Empire</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 10-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-10-21-moral-authority-of-marc-rowan/" target="_blank" title="">The Moral Authority of Marc Rowan</a></strong><br /></p><p>Maureen Tkacik, October 21, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The private equity billionaire is leading a boycott of an Ivy League oligarch factory over a Palestinian literary festival it held last month….</p><p>The nurse knew it was unwise to undergo surgery in their own hospital, where there was a well-documented history of abysmal sanitation practices, the lone sterile technician on staff seemed to never leave the hospital, and corporate is so behind on its bills they had almost entirely eliminated the weekend housekeeping staff and were chronically short on basic supplies like IV tubing. But at some point following a restructuring two years ago, Apollo outsourced its health insurance administration to a company that placed onerous restrictions and preauthorization requirements on care received outside Apollo—and anyway, they felt they owed it to their colleagues and community to stay: “I wanted to show the docs and nurses here that I trust them, because they are wonderful people.” So they took the risk, and have since spent thousands of dollars out of pocket attempting to undo the damage.<br /></p><p>Now, the nurse wonders if they will ever have time to heal. Only 24 hours passed after their last surgery before they were called back to work. Then in September, the hospital lost ten travel nurses in a single week; apparently, the hospital had slashed their weekly pay by $1,000 with no notice. The nurse has wanted to quit countless times, but it’s the only hospital for hours in any direction, and every month the patients get sicker and more reliant on what a colleague in their seventies told the nurse was “the most broken hospital” they have ever seen. “You know how you wring out a washcloth three or four times and the last time you squeeze it, you’ve got to squeeze really hard for maybe just a drop or two of water?” another of the nurse’s colleagues told me. Apollo “just never stops going back and trying to squeeze a little more.”</p><p>This campaign of deprivation has been extremely lucrative for Apollo, which over the past two years has extracted <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Apollo_Kindred_Lifepoint_PESP_September-2021.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://pestakeholder.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Apollo_Kindred_Lifepoint_PESP_September-2021.pdf" target="_blank" title="">at least $1.6 billion</a></u> from the nurse’s hospital chain, at an <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://perfectunion.us/a-place-to-die-for-profit-health-care-crises-exposed/" href="https://perfectunion.us/a-place-to-die-for-profit-health-care-crises-exposed/" target="_blank">almost incalculable cost</a></u> to workers, patients, and their small-town communities.</p><p>But that is what Apollo does. In the 33 years since a group of Michael Milken protégés founded the consummate modern private equity firm, Apollo has run its businesses ragged. The economic analysts at Moody’s have <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scribd.com/document/230251268/Private-Equity-Special-Report-June-2014" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scribd.com/document/230251268/Private-Equity-Special-Report-June-2014" target="_blank" title="">consistently found</a></u> that Apollo portfolio companies plunged into distress or default around two-thirds of the time, the highest rate in the business. Since the pandemic began, the financial giant and its subsidiaries have been involved in at least 20 corporate bankruptcies, from the dramatic (and “perplexing,” in the <em>Financial Times</em>’ characterization) liquidation of the trucking company Yellow to the unexpectedly “messy” bankruptcy of serial looting victim Serta Simmons Bedding. (The company did not respond to a request for comment.)….</p></blockquote><p>[TW: Leon Black and Apollo Global Management are central to the story of how finance and banking came to be dominated by organized crime., and the process by which USA’s economy has fallen under the control of financial predators.<br /></p><p>[This is a story about the influence of criminality in the economy that almost all professional economists are frantically desperate to avoid -- an academic phenomena that savings and loan investigator<a data-original-title="" href="https://www.financialsense.com/blogs/1374/bill-blacks-blog" target="_blank" title=""> William Black has written about</a> many times since the financial crashes of 2007-2008. </p><p>[Leon Black's father, Eli M. Black was chairman of United Brands Company (formerly called United Fruit in the 1960s and earlier), which ran much of the illegal narcotics trade in the Caribbean and South America, usually with the knowledge, and sometimes assistance, of the CIA. United Fruit corporate assets were used for moving Israeli-procured arms into covert wars throughout Latin America, which blew up into the Iran-Contra scandal of 1987, nearly taking down the presidency of Ronald Reagan.</p><p>[In 1975, when federal investigators were gathering evidence that United Brands had bribed Honduran government officials in preparation for a law suit that threatened to reveal the role of dirty money in the boardrooms of certain companies, Eli M. Black fell to his death from the 44th floor of Manhattan’s Pan Am Building. <br /></p><p>[At Milken’s Drexel, Leon Black was a managing director, head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, and co-head of the Corporate Finance Department. In 1990, Black and two other Drexel executives founded Apollo. Black was chairman until March 2021, when he was forced to retire following revelations that he had paid intelligence operative and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein $158 million for “tax and financial advice” between 2012 and 2017. Epstein had also been one of the original trustees of the Debra and Leon Black Foundation since 1997. ]<br /></p><p><strong></strong> <br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-57252236519685029402023-10-15T13:03:00.001-05:002023-10-21T23:45:08.095-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 15, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 15, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03135-x" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03135-x" target="_blank" title="">US science agencies on track to hit 25-year funding low</a> </strong></p><p>[Nature, via Naked Capitalism 10-11-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2023/10/09/the-smart-corporate-tax-idea-that-might-have-prevented-the-uaw-strike/" target="_blank" title="">The Smart Corporate Tax Idea That Might Have Prevented the UAW Strike</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jessica Church, October 9, 2023 [washingtonmonthly]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Targeting out-of-control CEO pay by using the tax code is the right policy for this moment. Here’s how it works….<br /></p><p>Indeed, this strike could have been avoided were company profits shared more equitably among workers and management. But despite taxpayer largesse that not only rescued the auto industry during the Great Recession but led it to thrive, that has not been the case. Under the Barack Obama-era bailout, workers and company executives were supposed to make sacrifices. But while unions accepted that two-tier wage system that the UAW is fighting, executive compensation has soared. </p><p>A situation where executive compensation shoots up like a missile while workers’ wages flatline was not inevitable. In 2021, Congress debated a measure that might have made the strike unlikely and unnecessary. Both chambers considered versions of the <em>Tax Executive CEO Pay Act</em>, introduced by Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont. </p><p>The<em> </em>clever and potentially revolutionary legislation (discussed <a data-cke-saved-href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021/09/20/senate-democrats-have-a-big-new-corporate-tax-idea/" data-original-title="" href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2021/09/20/senate-democrats-have-a-big-new-corporate-tax-idea/" target="_blank" title="">extensivel</a>y in <em>Washington Monthly</em>) aimed to rein in excessive executive compensation by levying a tax on companies that pay their CEOs 50 times or more than their median employee earns. The tax came as a surcharge on corporate income tax, meaning that it only applied to profitable companies with federal corporate income tax liability. That surcharge increased as the CEO-to-median worker pay ratio worsened (0.5% for ratios between 50-100:1, 1% for ratios between 100-200:1, 2% for ratios between 200-300:1 and so on, up to 5% for ratios more than 500:1)….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/interactive/2023/republican-politics-south-midwest-life-expectancy/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How red-state politics are shaving years off American lives</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 10-09-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Americans are more likely to die before age 65 than residents of similar nations, despite living in a country that spends substantially more per person on health care than its peers. Many of those early deaths can be traced to decisions made years ago by local and state lawmakers over whether to implement cigarette taxes, invest in public health or tighten seat-belt regulations, among other policies, an examination by The Washington Post found. States’ politics — and their resulting policies — are shaving years off American lives. <br /></p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/3d00bee9-967f-47bd-a178-48385c857655" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/3d00bee9-967f-47bd-a178-48385c857655" target="_blank" title="">Africa’s revolt against Net Zero</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Thomas Fazi [UnHerd, via Naked Capitalism 10-14-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>For the past two centuries, human prosperity has correlated with one factor: energy, released through the burning of fossil fuels. This is a self-evident global truth. Europe and North America, the wealthiest regions on the planet, are also those with the highest per capita CO2 emissions (along with the oil-producing Gulf states); Africa, on the other hand, has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook-2022/key-findings" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook-2022/key-findings" target="_blank">the world’s lowest levels</a> of per capita energy use — the average African consumes <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2023/06/20/an-american-refrigerator-uses-three-and-a-half-times-an-average-african-s-total-yearly-electricity-consumption_6034419_19.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2023/06/20/an-american-refrigerator-uses-three-and-a-half-times-an-average-african-s-total-yearly-electricity-consumption_6034419_19.html" target="_blank" title="">less electricity than a refrigerator</a> and around 600 million people live <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook-2022/key-findings" data-original-title="" href="https://www.iea.org/reports/africa-energy-outlook-2022/key-findings" target="_blank" title="">without access to to electricity</a>. In this sense, it’s the “greenest” continent on the planet. It’s also the poorest, with almost half a billion Africans <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1228533/number-of-people-living-below-the-extreme-poverty-line-in-africa/" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1228533/number-of-people-living-below-the-extreme-poverty-line-in-africa/" target="_blank">living in extreme poverty</a>.</p><div><div data-src="<?php echo $current_url;?>" data-widget-id="AR_2">More than any other resource, Africa is starved of the energy it needs for economic development. This isn’t for lack of natural endowment. Africa possesses <a data-cke-saved-href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/36067-doc-ica_-africa_energy_atlas_stc.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/documents/36067-doc-ica_-africa_energy_atlas_stc.pdf" target="_blank" title="">vast reserves</a> of coal, oil and natural gas. But extracting those resources and using them for domestic development requires money, infrastructure, expertise and institutional capacity — which Africa’s poorest nations, especially in the sub-Sahara, sadly lack. One solution is partnering with foreign energy companies — until recently, mostly European and American firms — but that means that much of the domestically produced gas and oil is then <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2015/IRENA_Africa_Power_Sector_synthesis_2015.pdf?rev=8ddc36b8fcdd40c0a59114261fe84537" href="https://www.irena.org/-/media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Publication/2015/IRENA_Africa_Power_Sector_synthesis_2015.pdf?rev=8ddc36b8fcdd40c0a59114261fe84537" target="_blank">exported</a> rather than used for local development….</div></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/youre-not-going-to-like-what-comes" data-original-title="" href="https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/youre-not-going-to-like-what-comes" target="_blank" title="">You’re not going to like what comes after Pax Americana</a> </strong></p><p>Noah Smith [Noahpinion, via Naked Capitalism 10-08-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-intelligence-official-says-israel-ignored-repeated-warnings-of-something-big/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-intelligence-official-says-israel-ignored-repeated-warnings-of-something-big/" target="_blank" title="">Egypt intelligence official says Israel ignored repeated warnings of ‘something big’</a></strong> </p><p>[Times of Israel]</p><p>.</p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1711318053282009116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1711355049165664691%7Ctwgr%5E72f5787a513c9e977d53a39dab58657f0e467bb3%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-10-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1711318053282009116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1711355049165664691%7Ctwgr%5E72f5787a513c9e977d53a39dab58657f0e467bb3%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-10-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 10-10-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant: &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;&amp;quot;I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly.&amp;quot; &lt;a href="https://t.co/69VBYtfSFz"&gt;pic.twitter.com/69VBYtfSFz&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TheCradleMedia/status/1711318053282009116?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 9, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1711318053282009116" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1711318053282009116&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2198438%2Fedit&sessionId=c0039223c92f886dc81ad6e37117be4469dadd73&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 627px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12617483/gaza-airstrikes-tent-city-nest-terror.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12617483/gaza-airstrikes-tent-city-nest-terror.html" target="_blank" title="">Gaza ‘will soon be a tent city’ says Israeli official as IDF launches 250 airstrikes in one hour into Gaza’s ‘Nest of Terror’ and readies for ground invasion: Generals have ‘released all restraints’ on its troops for fight against Hamas</a> </strong></p><p>[Daily Mail, via Naked Capitalism 10-11-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/humanitarian-report-whats-happening-in-gaza.html" target="_blank" title="">The Horrifying Details of What It Is Like in Gaza Right Now: The bulldozers have run out of fuel to clear the rubble to get to the bodies.</a></strong></p><p>Aymann Ismail, October 14 [Slate]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a href="https://twitter.com/apocalypseos/status/1712947490583150780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1712947490583150780%7Ctwgr%5E29ca09314b5c3a528f863550009444a8cba56de2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-14-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 10-14-2023]<br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;🇪🇬♥️🇵🇸 Egyptians cross the desert into Palestine to carry water, food and supplies for the people of Gaza. These kind-hearted Egyptians are doing this despite Israeli threats and earlier bombings of the Gaza-Egypt border crossing that killed several people. &lt;a href="https://t.co/jI9BB0Zx6H"&gt;pic.twitter.com/jI9BB0Zx6H&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; 🅰pocalypsis 🅰pocalypseos 🇷🇺 🇨🇳 🅉 (@apocalypseos) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/apocalypseos/status/1712947490583150780?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 13, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1712947490583150780" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1712947490583150780&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2198438%2Fedit&sessionId=c0039223c92f886dc81ad6e37117be4469dadd73&theme=light&widgetsVersion=01917f4d1d4cb%3A1696883169554&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 1055px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/netanyahu-is-finished" data-original-title="" href="https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/netanyahu-is-finished" target="_blank" title="">‘NETANYAHU IS FINISHED’</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Seymour Hersh [via Naked Capitalism 10-13-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>When he returned to office in 2009, the insider said, “Bibi chose to support Hamas” as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority, “and gave them money and established them in Gaza.”</p><p>An arrangement was made with Qatar, which began sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the Hamas leadership with Israeli approval. The insider told me that “Bibi was convinced that he would have more control over Hamas with the Qatari money—let them occasionally fire rockets into southern Israel and have access to jobs inside Israel—than he would with the Palestinian Authority. He took that risk….</p><p>The attack by Hamas was a direct result of a decision Bibi made, over the protest of local military commanders, “to allow a group of Orthodox settlers to celebrate Sukkot in the West Bank.” Sukkot is an annual fall holiday that commemorates the ancestral journey of Jews into the depths of the desert. It is a weeklong festival that is observed by building an outdoor temporary structure known as a sukkah in which all could share the food that their predecessors ate and viscerally connect to the harvest season. …</p><p>The Sukkot celebration, held near a Palestinian village known in Hebrew as Haware, would need extraordinary protection, given the tension over the latest violence, and the local Israeli military authorities, with the approval of Netanyahu, ordered two of the three Army battalions, each with about 800 soldiers, that protected the border with Gaza to shift their focus to the Sukkot festival.</p><p>“That left only eight hundred soldiers,” the insider told me, “to be responsible for guarding the 51-kilometer border between the Gaza Strip and southern Israel. That meant the Israeli citizens in the south were left without an Israeli military presence for ten to twelve hours. They were left to fend for themselves. And that is why Bibi is finished. May take a few months, but he is over.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/why-i-no-longer-stand-with-israel" data-original-title="" href="https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/why-i-no-longer-stand-with-israel" target="_blank" title="">Why I no longer stand with Israel, and never will again</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Scott Ritter [via Naked Capitalism 10-14-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://sonar21.com/the-malevolent-kabuki-theater-of-israels-war-with-palestinians/" data-original-title="" href="https://sonar21.com/the-malevolent-kabuki-theater-of-israels-war-with-palestinians/" target="_blank" title="">THE MALEVOLENT KABUKI THEATER OF ISRAEL’S WAR WITH PALESTINIANS</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Larry Johnson [via Naked Capitalism 10-14-2023]<br /></p></div><p><br /><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-wealth-income-concentration-resume-upward-climb-post-pandemic-era-2023-10-09/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-wealth-income-concentration-resume-upward-climb-post-pandemic-era-2023-10-09/" target="_blank" title="">US wealth, income concentration resume upward climb in post-pandemic era</a></strong></p><p>Howard Schneider, October 9, 2023 [Reuters, via downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>“The richest Americans are emerging from the coronavirus pandemic with their share of wealth and income on the rise again despite some thought that the tight job market and hefty wage gains spawned by the crisis might narrow the gulf between rich and poor… For the bottom 40% by income that means a smaller slice of the pie even as their net worth has risen at the swiftest pace in years. While the collective net worth of the bottom one-fifth was up 27% to $4.2 trillion at the end of the second quarter from $3.3 trillion in 2019, their share of the country's wealth shrank to 6.7% from 7% during that time.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/stealing-home" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/stealing-home" target="_blank">Stealing Home: Corporate Welfare: America’s Other Favorite Pastime</a></strong></p><p>Senator Chris Larson (DownWithTyranny]</p><blockquote><p>What Wisconsin company is worth more than 7 times what it was 17 years ago (now $1.6 billion), averages $20.6 million per year in profit, pays no property tax on 265 acres of land, and has received $1.5 billion in public benefits since 1996?….</p><p>The answer is the Milwaukee Brewers, whose owners are now asking for over $600 million in additional taxpayer funds— not for anything new— but to maintain and improve their stadium for 20 years beyond the existing lease….</p><p>Mark Attanasio bought the Brewers in 2005 for $223 million. The team has been profitable every year of his ownership except the covid-stalled 2020 season. It is now worth a whopping $1.605 billion. He could sell the team, pay for the requested $600 million in stadium renovations out of his own pocket, and still come out of the deal $1 billion richer. We’re talking about millionaires and billionaires making hundreds of millions of dollars on cannot-lose investments. The only part of pro sports that doesn’t appreciate in value over time is the stadiums themselves. Ask any private business owner— if they could keep all the profits from their business and outsource all of their capital liabilities to someone else, they’d take that deal every single time….</p><p>Major League Baseball’s ownership cartel has decided that maximizing profit is more important than creating the best product on the field or securing the long-term stability of the league. As such, they’ve decided to outlaw public ownership of MLB franchises. But public ownership may actually be the best thing that could happen to the sport….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fair.org/home/wage-theft-is-built-into-the-business-models-of-many-industries/" data-original-title="" href="https://fair.org/home/wage-theft-is-built-into-the-business-models-of-many-industries/" target="_blank" title="">‘Wage Theft Is Built Into the Business Models of Many Industries’</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[FAIR, via Naked Capitalism 10-13-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://quincyinst.org/report/march-of-the-four-stars-the-role-of-retired-generals-and-admirals-in-the-arms-industry/" data-original-title="" href="https://quincyinst.org/report/march-of-the-four-stars-the-role-of-retired-generals-and-admirals-in-the-arms-industry/" target="_blank" title="">March of the Four–Stars: The Role of Retired Generals and Admirals in the Arms Indust</a>ry</strong></p><p>[Quincy Institute for responsible statecraft, via Naked Capitalism 10-08-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://ritholtz.com/2023/10/national-association-of-realtors-is-imploding/" target="_blank" title="">National Association of Realtors Is Imploding</a></strong><br /></p><p>Barry Ritholtz, October 13, 2023 [The Big Picture]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory finance</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-08/bond-market-pain-is-a-sign-of-interest-rates-returning-to-normal" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Free-Money Experiment Is Over</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Businessweek, via The Big Picture 10-11-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The carnage from the bond market—where the rout is worse than anything you’ll find in the history books since 1787—is spreading, and the implications are nasty. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/feds-vice-chair-for-supervision-says-another-financial-crisis-could-cost-u-s-5-trillion-to-25-trillion-potentially-as-much-as-100-percent-of-gdp/" target="_blank" title="">Fed’s Vice Chair for Supervision Says Another Financial Crisis Could Cost U.S. $5 Trillion to $25 Trillion – Potentially as Much as 100 Percent of GDP</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 12, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/there-are-two-reasons-that-75-percent-of-u-s-banks-didnt-hedge-their-interest-rate-risk-as-the-fed-hiked-rates-at-the-fastest-pace-in-40-years/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/there-are-two-reasons-that-75-percent-of-u-s-banks-didnt-hedge-their-interest-rate-risk-as-the-fed-hiked-rates-at-the-fastest-pace-in-40-years/" title="">There Are Two Reasons that 75 Percent of U.S. Banks Didn’t Hedge Their Interest Rate Risk as the Fed Hiked Rates at the Fastest Pace in 40 Years</a></strong></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 9, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/fed-rate-hikes-lending-banks-hedge-funds-896cb20b" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The New Kings of Wall Street Aren’t Banks</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via The Big Picture 10-11-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Private Funds Fuel Corporate America. With interest rates at multiyear highs, hedge funds and private equity are taking over lending. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/janet-yellens-treasury-department-hires-5-count-felon-jpmorgan-chase-to-look-for-fraud/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/janet-yellens-treasury-department-hires-5-count-felon-jpmorgan-chase-to-look-for-fraud/" title="">Janet Yellen’s Treasury Department Hires 5-Count Felon JPMorgan Chase to Look for Fraud</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 11, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://aeon.co/essays/finance-fraud-is-not-a-deviation-from-the-norm-but-a-reflection-of-it" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Finance as alchemy</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Aeon, via The Big Picture 10-14-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Finance fraud is not a deviation from an essentially rational system but a window onto the reality-distortion of markets. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/international-bank-study-using-150-years-of-data-shows-mega-banks-like-the-big-four-in-the-u-s-produce-financial-instability-and-more-severe-crises/" target="_blank" title="">International Bank Study, Using 150 Years of Data, Shows Mega Banks Like the Big Four in the U.S. Produce Financial Instability and More Severe Crises</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 9, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://therealnews.com/she-exposed-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-banks-they-ruined-her-life" target="_blank" title="">SHE EXPOSED ONE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BANKS. THEY RUINED HER LIFE</a></strong><br /></p><p>Chris Hedges, October 13, 2023 [The Real News Network</p><blockquote><p>Stephanie Gibaud pulled back the cover on the criminal activities of UBS, the world’s largest private bank. The French government has utterly failed to protect her from the harassment and retaliation that followed.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/106756" data-original-title="" href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/106756" target="_blank" title="">A Price Jump From Pennies to $20/Pill for the Same Drug </a></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/106756" href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/106756" target="_blank"></a>[MedPage, via Naked Capitalism 10-14-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-13-fixing-disinformation-online-bradford-stebbins-review/" target="_blank">Fixing Disinformation Online</a></strong></p><p>Anya Schiffrin, October 13, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>What will it take to regulate the abuses of Big Tech without undermining free speech?</p><p>[Books reviewed:]</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780197649268" href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9780197649268" target="_blank"><strong><em>Digital Empires: The Global Battle to Regulate Technology</em></strong></a></p><p>By Anu Bradford</p><p><em>Oxford University Press</em></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781538163146" href="https://bookshop.org/a/54985/9781538163146" target="_blank"><strong><em>Building Back Truth in an Age of Misinformation</em></strong></a></p><p>By Leslie F. Stebbins</p><p><em>Rowman & Littlefield</em></p></blockquote><hr /><div><br /></div><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.kxly.com/news/money/why-walgreens-pharmacy-workers-are-walking-off-the-job/article_c2bf2d16-7703-500a-9749-d2c1e69e53c0.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.kxly.com/news/money/why-walgreens-pharmacy-workers-are-walking-off-the-job/article_c2bf2d16-7703-500a-9749-d2c1e69e53c0.html" target="_blank" title="">Why Walgreens pharmacy workers are walking off the job</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[CNN, via Naked Capitalism 10-13-2023]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-10-11-bidens-latest-initiatives-junk-fees/" target="_blank" title="">Biden’s Latest Initiatives Against Junk Fees</a></strong><br /></p><p>Robert Kuttner, October 11, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Why did it take so long for other presidents to appreciate the power of these regulatory counterweights?<br /></p><p>To take a tour of all the deceptive “junk fees” imposed on consumers by an array of industries is to appreciate the insidious nature of predatory capitalism that has become all too normal. Getting rid of junk fees and saving consumers hundreds of billions of dollars has been a Biden administration theme.</p><p>It’s also very good politics, since it demonstrates how Democrats are on the side of ordinary people, as well as demonstrating the need for countervailing consumer regulation—and it smokes out Republican fake “populism,” since Republicans hate an activist state constraining corporate abuses.</p><p>Today, the administration <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/11/biden-harris-administration-announces-broad-new-actions-to-protect-consumers-from-billions-in-junk-fees/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/11/biden-harris-administration-announces-broad-new-actions-to-protect-consumers-from-billions-in-junk-fees/" target="_blank" title="">took junk-fee prohibition to a new level</a>, with detailed initiatives by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. New FTC rules will require all businesses to show all fees up front, as well as clear disclosure of whether fees are refundable. This rule would apply to event tickets, hotels, car rentals, apartment rentals, and more. Companies that failed to comply would pay fines as well as customer refunds….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.levernews.com/a-plan-to-stop-the-vulture-funds-fueling-global-debt/" target="_blank"><strong>A Plan To Stop The Vulture Funds Fueling Global Debt</strong></a><br /></p><p> [The Lever, October 12, 2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>As conversations on the global debt crisis heat up, activists push New York State lawmakers to take on exploitative private creditors.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/feds-rein-in-predictive-software-that-limits-care-for-medicare-advantage-patients/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/feds-rein-in-predictive-software-that-limits-care-for-medicare-advantage-patients/" target="_blank" title="">Feds Rein in Predictive Software That Limits Care for Medicare Advantage Patients</a> </strong></p><p>[Pharmacist Steve, via Naked Capitalism 10-09-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/world/2023-10-11-cooperative-that-could-s-group-finland/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Cooperative That Could: How S Group became Finland’s most dominant retailer</strong></a><br /></p><p>Ryan Cooper, October 11, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The interesting thing about S Market, and what brought me all the way to Finland, is not this bog-standard grocery store. It’s the parent entity S Group, a cooperative network owned by its members—and one of the biggest and most successful companies in Finland. S Group has about 2.5 million members—in a country of just 5.6 million inhabitants—representing 78 percent of Finnish households, along with 41,000 employees, 1,984 business locations, and an annual revenue of €13.5 billion last year. S Group accounts for fully 47 percent of the Finnish grocery market.<br /></p><p>While nowhere near Walmart in absolute terms, relative to the size of the Finnish economy, it’s about twice as large as Walmart’s U.S. operations, which controls <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/04/20/most-popular-grocery-stores" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/04/20/most-popular-grocery-stores" target="_blank">about a quarter</a> of domestic grocery spending. And it’s member-owned.</p><p>From an American perspective, this is difficult to understand. Practically our whole society is built on the assumption that the only way to have a wealthy, productive economy is for entrepreneurs to be incentivized with massive rewards for building efficient businesses. It is necessary for people like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to become rich beyond the dreams of avarice, so the theory goes, because otherwise we wouldn’t have Amazon or Tesla.</p><p>One might attack this narrative empirically—Amazon was helped tremendously in its early days by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thecounter.org/amazon-a-whole-foods-south-dakota-wayfair-supreme-court-sales-tax/" href="https://thecounter.org/amazon-a-whole-foods-south-dakota-wayfair-supreme-court-sales-tax/" target="_blank">not paying state sales taxes</a>, while Tesla has relied on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://grist.org/business-technology/taxpayer-subsidies-helped-tesla-motors-so-why-does-elon-musk-slam-them/" href="https://grist.org/business-technology/taxpayer-subsidies-helped-tesla-motors-so-why-does-elon-musk-slam-them/" target="_blank">large government subsidies</a> for most of its existence—but S Group poses a more fundamental challenge. Here we have a hyper-efficient retail operation, run with cutting-edge management and logistics, dominating half the grocery market of a wealthy country, without minting a single billionaire in the process. It is not just competitive with capitalist businesses; it is <em>more</em> successful. It’s enough to make the ghost of Ronald Reagan cry….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://programmablemutter.substack.com/p/shitposting-shit-mining-and-shit" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Shitposting, Shit-mining and Shit-farming Three Stages of Platform Decay</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Progammable Mutter, via The Big Picture 10-13-2023]</p><blockquote><p>This then leads platform executives to explore the exciting opportunities of shit-mining. Social media generates a lot of content – it’s gotta be valuable somehow! Who needs content moderation if you can become a guano baron? But that only makes things worse, driving out more users and more advertisers, until eventually, you may find yourself left with a population dominated by two kinds of users (a) chumps, and (b) chump-vampirizing obligate predators. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Green New Deal - An opportunity too big to miss</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/environment/2023-10-12-low-key-green-pueblo-colorado/" target="_blank" title="">Low-Key Green: Pueblo is a world-class model for the clean-energy economy envisioned in the Inflation Reduction Act. But its residents may not feel it.</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Chase Woodruff, October 12, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Dubbed “The Pittsburgh of the West” by its 19th-century founders, Pueblo is a coal and steel town — which is to say, it’s a railroad town. The former Colorado Fuel & Iron plant, now owned by Russian conglomerate EVRAZ, still churns out roughly half of the railroad track laid down in North America.</p><p>Today, the facility is the world’s first and largest solar-powered steel mill. Its considerable energy needs are almost entirely met by a purpose-built photovoltaic array next to a nearby coal plant, Comanche Generating Station, where the first of three boilers has already come offline as Colorado pursues an aggressive coal-retirement strategy. Shifting energy policy and falling wind and solar costs have helped make Pueblo County a burgeoning renewables hub, and not just for solar; to the south, a sprawling factory owned by CS Wind is the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbine towers.</p><p>“Pueblo is going to be, I hope, known as the renewable energy capital of the world,” said Mayor Nick Gradisar, the son and grandson of CF&I steelworkers. “It’s exciting what’s happening here.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2023/oct/11/culdesac-car-free-neighborhood-tempe-arizona" target="_blank" title=""><strong>‘People are happier in a walkable neighbourhood’: the US town that banned cars</strong></a><br /></p><p>[The Guardian, via The Big Picture 10-14-2023]</p><blockquote><p>For the first piece in our new series the alternatives we visit a community without cars in the desert of Tempe, Arizona. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/the-worlds-first-true-female-car-crash-dummy-is-here-and-its-a-big-deal/?goal=0_3b5aad2288-cdbfcab19f-242838881" data-original-title="" href="https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/the-worlds-first-true-female-car-crash-dummy-is-here-and-its-a-big-deal/?goal=0_3b5aad2288-cdbfcab19f-242838881" target="_blank" title="">The world’s first true female car crash dummy is here — and it’s a big deal</a> </strong></p><p>[ZMEScience, via Naked Capitalism 10-11-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811766" href="https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/811766">report</a> from the US Department of Transportation suggests that women are at a 17 percent higher <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/driving-alcohol-marijuana-15012015/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.zmescience.com/research/studies/driving-alcohol-marijuana-15012015/" title="">risk of dying from a car crash</a>. They are also 75 percent more prone to severe injuries during an accident but, unfortunately, nobody is talking about these facts….</p><p>...“We see from statistics that men and women are at different risks from different types of crashes. The aim of the prototype dummy is to show that we can make models of the female population in the same way as we have, for a long time, made models of the male population,” Astrid Linder, an engineer who is leading the SET 50F team at VTI, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/15/world/female-car-crash-test-dummy-spc-intl/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/15/world/female-car-crash-test-dummy-spc-intl/index.html" title="">told</a> CNN. <br /></p><p>Most women have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/3/e001672" href="https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/3/e001672">less muscle mass</a> and body weight than men of their age. In fact, even if a man and a woman have equal body size, the skeletal size and bone mass will <a data-cke-saved-href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15746999/#:~:text=In%20summary%2C%20despite%20comparable%20body,cortical%20thickness%20in%20the%20tibia." href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15746999/#:~:text=In%20summary%2C%20despite%20comparable%20body,cortical%20thickness%20in%20the%20tibia.">still typically be higher</a> in the man.</p><p>“Women are generally lighter than men, so they are catapulted forward more quickly, and subject to greater acceleration,” Anna Carlsson, a researcher from Chalmers University, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sciencenordic.com/cars-and-traffic-crash-test-dummies-forskningno/gender-equality-for-crash-test-dummies-too/1381623" href="https://sciencenordic.com/cars-and-traffic-crash-test-dummies-forskningno/gender-equality-for-crash-test-dummies-too/1381623">told</a> the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation….</p></blockquote><p><br /><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/05/democrats-campaign-tech-layoffs-2024-bonterra-ngp-van-actionkit/" data-original-title="" href="https://theintercept.com/2023/10/05/democrats-campaign-tech-layoffs-2024-bonterra-ngp-van-actionkit/" target="_blank" title="">As 2024 Looms, Democrats’ Campaign Tech Crumbles Under Private Equity Squeeze</a></strong> </p><p>[The Intercept, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“In recent years, the privately owned monopoly over the Democratic Party’s voter data has changed hands from one for-profit company to another. Apax Partners, a global private equity firm, currently owns EveryAction and NGP VAN, the firms that house the Democrats’ suite of voter file, compliance, and organizing tools. Apax acquired them from another private equity firm in 2021, creating a new merged entity called Bonterra. Last month, according to current and former employees, Bonterra cut at least 20 percent of its staff, more than 200 employees. Staff members across EveryAction and NGP VAN, which hold the Democratic Party’s most sensitive data, were cut. At least a quarter of the people laid off belonged to the union, 51 of them unit members from EveryAction and NGP VAN. At least half of the developers at ActionKit, a fundraising and customer relations management software acquired by EveryAction in 2019, lost their jobs…. The recent cuts at Bonterra come after layoffs earlier in the year, which preceded a wave of contraction in the Democratic-aligned campaign industry.” Makes you wonder how much was funded by SBF. More: “In the two years since Bonterra’s creation, at least 340 people have been laid off. Cuts in January were followed three months later by layoffs at other Democratic and progressive consulting, media, and polling firms like Middle Seat and ActBlue. Last month, EMILY’s List laid off eight people, including most staff working on grassroots candidate outreach and training, and shut down its national training and recruitment program. <strong>The leader of the group who oversaw the cuts, Laphonza Butler, was just appointed to represent California in the Senate on Tuesday.</strong>” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/west-virginia-used-to-be-a-solid-democratic-state-when-will-they-come-back" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/west-virginia-used-to-be-a-solid-democratic-state-when-will-they-come-back" target="_blank" title="">West Virginia Used To Be A Solid Democratic State... When Will They Come Back?</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, October 11, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>On Sunday, Richard Eskow wondered <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/west-virginia-trump-country-democrats" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/west-virginia-trump-country-democrats" target="_blank"><u>if the Democrats could ever reclaim West Virginia</u></a>. Now that the state Democrats have adopted an <a data-cke-saved-href="https://youtu.be/jX6lc52qznw?si=2bkw_ncjEmqzGcD9" href="https://youtu.be/jX6lc52qznw?si=2bkw_ncjEmqzGcD9" target="_blank"><u>updated version of FDR’s Economic Bill of Rights</u></a> (only the 3rd state party to have done so), it may not be as far-fetched as it looks. He focused on McDowell County, the poorest county in the state….</p><p>...Here’s how McDowell County voted in the 2016 primaries:</p><ul><li>Donald Trump: 785</li><li>Hillary Clinton: 817</li><li><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/bernie-sanders" href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/bernie-sanders">Bernie Sanders</a>: 1,488</li></ul><p>That’s right: the democratic socialist got more votes than Trump or Clinton by a factor of nearly two to one.</p><p>The general election results were as follows:</p><ul><li>Hillary Clinton: 1,438 (less than Sanders received in the primary)</li><li>Donald Trump: 4,629</li><li>Decline to participate: 11,433</li></ul><p>That’s a decisive victory -- for political alienation….</p><p>“Trump country”? Nationally, 27 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump. In McDowell, that percentage was a slightly <em>lower</em> (if statistically insignificant) 26.45 percent.</p><p>Yes, Trump won decisively in McDowell among those who voted. But McDowell County isn’t “Trump country.” It’s “None of the Above” country.</p><p>And yet, despite the fact that Donald Trump only won the votes of about one in four voters, the county’s residents soon became the poster children for right-wing “deplorability.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-billionaire-backed-think-tank-keeps" data-original-title="" href="https://jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-billionaire-backed-think-tank-keeps" target="_blank" title="">A billionaire-backed think tank keeps sabotaging Florida workers. More attacks are coming</a></strong></p><p>Jason Garcia [Seeking Rents, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-13-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Dick Uihlein, the Midwestern billionaire and Republican megadonor who is the largest funder of the Foundation for Government Accountability. Uihlein, an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune and the founder of the shipping supply company Uline, has been very good to Ron DeSantis Campaign-finance filings show that Uihlein has given more than $2.4 million to DeSantis over the past five years — including $1.4 million to a state political committee that DeSantis used to control and another $1 million to a federal super PAC now financing his campaign for president. Uihlein’s wife, Liz Uihlein, has given DeSanits another $1.5 million. And Ron DeSantis has been very good to Dick Uihlein and his Foundation for Government Accountability. Emails, schedules and lobbying records show that senior DeSantis aides have worked closely with FGA staffers while simultaneously cultivating Uihlein with perks like invitations to private events at the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee….. With Uihlein’s FGA <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thefga.org/red-wave/" data-original-title="" href="https://thefga.org/red-wave/" target="_blank" title="">cheering him on </a>and providing <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3pAv6MqU5M" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3pAv6MqU5M" target="_blank">public-relations cover</a>, DeSantis has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/22/unemployment-economy-desantis-florida/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/22/unemployment-economy-desantis-florida/" target="_blank">slashed unemployment payments</a> to laid-off workers. He has made it harder for public-sector employees <a data-cke-saved-href="https://x.com/Jason_Garcia/status/1689630895097933824?s=20" data-original-title="" href="https://x.com/Jason_Garcia/status/1689630895097933824?s=20" target="_blank" title="">to band together in unions</a> and collectively bargain for better pay and benefits. And he has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/22/democrats-push-states-expand-medicaid-under-obamac/" href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/mar/22/democrats-push-states-expand-medicaid-under-obamac/" target="_blank">refused to extend Medicaid</a> to an estimated 800,000 Floridians who don’t have health insurance — and is now presiding over a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/map-of-childrens-medicaid-coverage-loss-in-florida" href="https://www.floridapolicy.org/posts/map-of-childrens-medicaid-coverage-loss-in-florida" target="_blank">particularly callous purge</a> of the state’s post-pandemic Medicaid rolls. The FGA is pushing for more. Records show it been working on proposals that could deny food stamps to more Floridians, evict some people from affordable housing, lock full-time college students into near-full-time jobs, and allow government contractors to pay their employees poorer wages.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/big-philanthropy-is-a-scam-that-makes-the-rich-look-better-conceals-their-crimes" data-original-title="" href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/big-philanthropy-is-a-scam-that-makes-the-rich-look-better-conceals-their-crimes" target="_blank" title="">Big Philanthropy Is a Scam That Makes the Rich Look Better, Conceals Their Crimes</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Teen Vogue, via Naked Capitalism 10-13-2023]<br /></p><p><br /><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-deeper-meaning-of-scalises-one-day-speakership-no-really" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Deeper Meaning of Scalise’s One Day Speakership (No Really…)</strong></a><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Josh Marshall, October 12, 2023 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...there’s an elemental breakdown here that transcends the individuals involved. Participating in a majority organizational vote means, if sometimes only implicitly, abiding by its results. The caucus vote wasn’t a straw poll or an advisory opinion. It’s binding. It’s over. And yet it was treated as basically a given, in the GOP caucus and in the press coverage, that Scalise, having won the vote, then had to build from the 113 he got in the caucus vote to 217.</p><p>You’re probably saying: We know this Josh. They’re a mess. But we know this.</p><p>But I think that’s only a measure of how much this has been normalized when it’s actually completely abnormal. The literal definition of a caucus in American political usage is a defined group that collectively decides on actions by majority vote and then acts in unison in a parliamentary context.</p><div><div>From one perspective this is no more than a replay of what happened in January. A group of holdouts refused to vote for the caucus’s candidate….<br /></div><div>there’s a clear thread connecting this to 2020 rigged electionism and, perhaps more tightly, the dramas of debt ceiling hostage-taking and government shutdowns. The premise of all those dramas is that they’re what you do when you don’t have the votes to do what you want. If you’ve got the votes in the Congress and a President who will sign your bills, you just do it. Threatening to shut down the government is what you do when you don’t. Do what I say even though I don’t have the votes or I start breaking things. That’s the bottom line behind every one of these gambits.<br /></div></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176241/house-speaker-race-chaos-jordan" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Republican House Speaker Doom Loop</strong></a><br /></p><p>Matt Ford, October 15, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The House GOP’s problem goes much deeper: a critical mass of their members expect the speaker to refuse to compromise on anything with the Democratic Party—a position that might work well on the campaign trail but is unfeasible in day-to-day governance.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/impeachment-recall-forced-removal-prosecutors-wisconsin-585f9bfc8120919ddc804a46e2b3cd57" target="_blank" title="">Impeachments and forced removals from office emerge as partisan weapons in the states</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[Associated Press, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-10-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“As Republicans in Congress begin their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, the process is calling attention to the increasing use of impeachment in the states as a partisan political weapon rather than as a step of last resort for officeholders believed to have committed a serious offense…. It’s not just impeachment. Over the past two years, Republicans also have sought to pry Democrats and nonpartisan executives from office through recalls, legislative maneuvers and forced removals, even when no allegations of wrongdoing have surfaced.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Conservative / Libertarian Drive to Civil War</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-wont-support-constitution/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-wont-support-constitution/" target="_blank" title="">Trump tells court he had no duty to 'support' the Constitution as president </a></strong></p><p>Matthew Chapman, October 11, 2023 [RawStory]</p><blockquote><p>Former President Donald <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-news/" href="https://www.rawstory.com/trump-news/">Trump</a> is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/brandi_buchman/status/1712206175532392542?s=46" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/brandi_buchman/status/1712206175532392542?s=46" target="_blank" title="">arguing</a> to a judge in Colorado that he was not required to "support" the Constitution as president, reported Brandi Buchman from <em>Law & Crime</em>.</p><p>The argument came as he seeks to dismiss a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rawstory.com/14th-amendment-2664991980/" href="https://www.rawstory.com/14th-amendment-2664991980/" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> filed in the state by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), seeking to have him disqualified from the ballot in the state under the 14th Amendment. The Insurrection Clause of the amendment prohibits those who have "engaged in insurrection" against the United States from holding a civil, military, or elected office unless a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate approve.</p><p>But Trump's lawyers are arguing that the specific language of the Constitution argues that this requirement only applies to people in offices who are bound to "support" the Constitution — and the presidency is not one of those offices.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/26/1200616113/election-official-threats-harassment-turnover" target="_blank" title=""><strong>In some states, more than half of the local election officials have left since 2020</strong></a><br /></p><p>[NPR, via The Big Picture 10-10-2023]</p><blockquote><p> In some battleground states, more than half of the local election administrators will be new since the last presidential race, according to a new report from the democracy-focused advocacy group Issue One shared exclusively with NPR before its release. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/10/2/23900135/supreme-court-fifth-circuit-gerrymandering-louisiana-maga-rig-house" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Two right-wing judges seem to be trying to rig a US House race</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Vox, via The Big Picture 10-10-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p><strong></strong>Once again, the Supreme Court must deal with judicial arsonists on the Fifth Circuit. <br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/09/alliance-defending-freedoms-legal-crusade" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Next Targets for the Group That Overturned Roe</strong></a><br /></p><p>[New Yorker, via The Big Picture 10-09-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Alliance Defending Freedom has won fifteen Supreme Court cases. Now it wants religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws—and is going after trans rights. <br /></p></blockquote><p></p><p>…</p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-33963552921495567742023-10-08T13:12:00.002-05:002023-10-21T23:44:31.694-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 8, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 8, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><div><div id="htlad-5"><br /></div></div><p><strong>War</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/hamas-attacks-what-does-it-mean/" target="_blank" title="">Hamas Attacks, What Does It Mean?</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Ian Welsh, October 7, 2023</p><blockquote><p>Hamas actually captured the Israeli southern command base briefly. It was retaken with massive air strikes (meaning Israel was willing to hit its own people.) In the initial 12 hours or so they wiped the floor with local Israeli forces….<br /></p><p>As I have said repeatedly, and as the last war with Hezbollah showed, the Israeli army, no matter how many weapons or men or planes it has, is weak and incompetent. This is not the military of 1967 or even 1980, when the legend of Israeli military brilliance was created.</p><p>This is due to serving primarily as an occupation army. All occupation armies, fighting against the weak, become weak, brutal bullies incompetent at fighting real opposition.</p><p>The Israeli army was slow to respond, a general was captured and a command base. This is, again, humiliating.</p><p><strong>Humiliation</strong><br /></p><p>Humiliation is the word of the day. Just as a bully whose victim manages to get in a few good punches has to be brutal in response, so Israel will lash out massively….<br /></p><p><strong>Nukes</strong></p><p>In some ways this is the bottom line. Israel has nukes. If they did not, I would expect Iran to join in and if I were Egypt, I might invade. Israel is weak and humiliated. But as long as they have nukes, other countries will shy off from direct war unless they think they have a way of taking out those nukes.</p><p><strong>Diplomatic Damage</strong></p><p>Israeli-Saudi Arabia negotiations are dead for the time being and other Arab allies will not be able to do anything but condemn Israel. There are massive demonstration in support of Hamas in Turkey, Egypt and many other Muslim countries….</p><p><strong>The Ukraine Connection</strong></p><p>Of significant amusement is that it appears that much of the weaponry used by Hamas is from stockpiles sent to Ukraine and sold on the black market. This spread of weaponry was predicted and lo….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-10-05-invading-mexico-destroy-drug-cartels-heres-how/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-10-05-invading-mexico-destroy-drug-cartels-heres-how/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Invading Mexico to Destroy the Drug Cartels? Here’s How!</strong></a></p><p>Harold Meyerson, October 5, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>The Republican candidates for president, <em>The New York Times </em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/us/politics/trump-mexico-cartels-republican.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/03/us/politics/trump-mexico-cartels-republican.html" target="_blank">reports</a>, have united around a common solution for the scourge of fentanyl and other drugs coming across the border: invading Mexico. Almost to a person, they are calling for sending our armed forces—chiefly, special operations troops—into Mexico “to annihilate the Mexican drug cartels,” as Vivek Ramaswamy recently put it.</p><p>More than 20 Republican House members are co-sponsoring a bill that would authorize the deployment of U.S. forces against nine of those cartels. And a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americans-broadly-support-military-strikes-mexico-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2023-09-14/" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americans-broadly-support-military-strikes-mexico-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2023-09-14/" target="_blank">Reuters/Ipsos poll</a> from September shows considerable public support for such action: By a 2-to-1 margin (52 percent to 26 percent), respondents favored sending troops there to take on the cartels. Even Democrats were narrowly divided: While 47 percent opposed such action, 44 percent backed it.</p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://johnhelmer.net/canada-and-the-nato-alliance-against-russia-hunker-down-to-defend-race-war-against-russia-the-new-evidence/" data-original-title="" href="https://johnhelmer.net/canada-and-the-nato-alliance-against-russia-hunker-down-to-defend-race-war-against-russia-the-new-evidence/" target="_blank" title="">CANADA AND THE NATO ALLIANCE HUNKER DOWN TO DEFEND RACE WAR AGAINST RUSSIA — THE NEW EVIDENCE</a></strong></p><p> John Helmer [via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-abrams-polish-contractors-likely" data-original-title="" href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ukraine-abrams-polish-contractors-likely" target="_blank" title="">Who Is Operating Ukraine’s New Abrams Tanks? Presence of U.S. or Polish Contractors Likely</a> </strong></p><p>[Military Watch Magazine, via Naked Capitalism 10-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/army-war-college-report-predicts" data-original-title="" href="https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/army-war-college-report-predicts" target="_blank" title="">Army War College Report Predicts Mass Casualties in Near-Peer Fight Against [Russia] – Analysis</a> </strong></p><p>[Simplicius the Thinker(s), via Naked Capitalism 10-05-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...The general gist of their chief point of concern is something we’ve all known, and something I’ve continuously written about, including in the previously posted report. It’s the fact that the past two decades of U.S. military action abroad have been nothing more than glorified policing actions against insurgent threats, dealing primarily with COIN (Counter Insurgency) training, tactics, and general strategic doctrine.</p><p>They now understand that years of fighting in a way where signal dominance and air supremacy reigned, allowed the U.S. to become undisciplined and lax, never having to worry about being ‘contested’ in any domain. This is the same point made by Dr. Philip Karber’s <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://youtu.be/_CMby_WPjk4" data-original-title="" href="https://youtu.be/_CMby_WPjk4" title="">West Point Talk</a></strong>, where he repeatedly emphasized how bright the U.S. army’s rear logistical and C2/C3 points “glow” in the electromagnetic spectrum, and how easily this would be seen and pinpointed by Russia or any advanced peer force….</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><br /><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/173516/plan-avert-new-cold-war-michael-doyle-book-review" target="_blank" title="">The Plan to Avert a New Cold War</a></strong><br /></p><p>Blaise Malley, October 5, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Michael Doyle’s new book lays out how to avoid conflict with China and Russia.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/political-v-s-physical-tipping-points/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Political vs. Physical Tipping Points</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Ian Welsh, October 7, 2023<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>Back in the 2000’s I belonged to the Netroots movement. Our mantra was “more, better democrats.” We ran primaries, fundraised and put pressure on politicians, on top of all the normal blogging stuff, much of which we were the first mass practitioners of.</p><p>We failed. Obama was our loss moment, as he bypassed us and was able to get our readers without having to appease us.</p><p>But Obama was something more important. The financial crisis of 2007-9 was a moment which would have allowed for radical change. An FDR figure could have changed the nature of America in their response to it, breaking up banks and other monopolies and letting a vast swathe of the rich go bankrupt and charging them with crimes, thus breaking their power for generations to come.</p><p>Obama didn’t do that. He didn’t even seriously consider it….</p><p>I considered it then, and now, a political tipping point. The financial crisis was the last real political chance to change the direction of society, globally (since an American response would have cascaded throughout the world, as it did), enough to perhaps stave off climate change and ecological collapse, since politically dealing with those required breaking the power of the wealthy.</p><p>The most important political tipping point was actually the neoliberal empowerment moment: 79’s election of Thatcher and 80’s election of Reagan. Clinton and Blair ascending to the top of the Democrats and Labor were the second political points, since each of them institutionalized the changes made by their Republican/Conservative predecessors. Thatcher understood well, noting that her victory was sealed by Blair….</p><p>The physical tipping point for climate change was reached this year or last year, I’m reasonably sure. The ecological collapse tipping point may have been somewhat earlier. The civilization collapse point has also probably passed, and I put that around 2020….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://donotpanic.substack.com/p/the-year-poverty-began-to-end" data-original-title="" href="https://donotpanic.substack.com/p/the-year-poverty-began-to-end" target="_blank" title="">The year poverty began to end</a></strong></p><p>Nate Bear [Do Not Panic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-02-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“From 2020 to 2021 every marker of poverty, from child poverty, to overall poverty, to food insecurity, to homelessness, plummeted in the richest countries….. In 2021, US poverty fell to a record low, as did child poverty, which was almost halved, an achievement without precedent in modern US history. These achievements equated to lifting nearly 5 million children out of poverty…. It turns out that when you give people money and food and homes, they no longer suffer from a lack of money and food and homes. It turns out that poverty in rich countries is a choice…. As this transformation was underway in 2020 and 2021, the media was flooded with articles along the lines of: will we learn the lessons from the pandemic? I think we know the answer. Who talks now about the unprecedented reduction in rich world poverty? No one. Not even the left. So predictably, all these gains have been lost…. Homelessness and poverty is capitalism’s live stream, broadcast everywhere to ensure you can never fully escape the sense of precarity about what might be.” • At least for Covid, we also tested a single payer system and found it workable. That was erased, too. (I like the metaphor of “capitalism’s live stream.”)</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_JVGLYLsA" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw_JVGLYLsA" target="_blank">Democracy Awakening: historian Heather Cox Richardson on the state of America</a></strong></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="5" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive-16by9%22%3A1%2C%22embed-responsive%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="dk-editor-embed embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9 center-block"><div class="remove-embed-content"><a class="new_iframe_placeholder" data-cke-saved-href="#" href="#">x</a></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="281" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zw_JVGLYLsA" width="500"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 0px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>TW: Q. Are we moving toward civil war? A. We already are in one (because of gun violence). A. Is there hope? Yes, because their moment for victory has passed, and the American people are paying attention now, unlike ten years ago.</p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/09/trump-desantis-republicans-dismantle-deep-state/675378/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Open Plot to Dismantle the Federal Government</strong></a><br /></p><p> (<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/09/trump-desantis-republicans-dismantle-deep-state/675378/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/09/trump-desantis-republicans-dismantle-deep-state/675378/" target="_blank" title="">The Atlantic</a>, via The Big Picture 10-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p> “As he runs again for a second term, Trump is vowing to ‘dismantle the deep state’ and ensure that the government he would inherit aligns with his vision for the country. Unlike during his 2016 campaign, however, Trump and his supporters on the right—including several former high-ranking members of his administration—have developed detailed proposals for executing this plan. Immediately upon his inauguration in January 2025, they would seek to convert thousands of career employees into appointees fireable at will by the president. They would assert full White House control over agencies, including the Department of Justice, that for decades have operated as either fully or partially independent government departments. Trump’s nearest rivals for the Republican nomination have matched and even exceeded his zeal for gutting the federal government. The businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to fire as much as 75 percent of the workforce. And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis promised a New Hampshire crowd last month, ‘We’re going to start slitting throats on day one.’ These plans, as well as the vicious rhetoric directed toward federal employees, have alarmed a cadre of former government officials from both parties who have made it their mission to promote and protect the nonpartisan civil service. They proudly endorse the idea that the government should be composed largely [doing a lot of work, there] of experienced, nonpolitical employees.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/01/chris-hedges-why-our-popular-mass-movements-fail/#:~:text=The%20social%20media%20platforms%20that,were%20unable%20to%20defend%20themselves." target="_blank" title="">Why Our Popular Mass Movements Fail</a></strong><br /></p><p>Chris Hedges , October 1, 2023 (Sheerpost)</p><blockquote><p>The wave of global popular protests that erupted in 2010 and lasted a decade were extinguished. This means new tactics and new strategies, as Vincent Bevins explains in his book “If We Burn."<br /></p><p>The “techno-optimists” who preached that new digital media was a revolutionary and democratizing force did not foresee that authoritarian governments, corporations and internal security services could harness these digital platforms and turn them into engines of wholesale surveillance, censorship and vehicles for propaganda and disinformation. The social media platforms that made popular protests possible were turned against us.</p><p>Many mass movements, because they failed to implement hierarchical, disciplined, and coherent organizational structures, were unable to defend themselves. In the few cases when organized movements achieved power, as in Greece and Honduras, the international financiers and corporations conspired to ruthlessly wrest power back. In most cases, the ruling class swiftly filled the power vacuums created by these protests. They offered new brands to repackage the old system. This is the reason the 2008 Obama campaign was <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.prwatch.org/spin/2008/11/7926/advertisers-elect-obama-marketer-year-2008" href="https://www.prwatch.org/spin/2008/11/7926/advertisers-elect-obama-marketer-year-2008">named</a> Advertising Age’s Marketer of the Year….</p><p>An absence of political theory led activists to use popular culture, such as the film “V for Vendetta,” as reference points. The far more effective and crippling tools of grassroots educational campaigns, strikes and boycotts were often ignored or sidelined.</p><p>As <a data-cke-saved-href="https://youtu.be/9hzqgL0Mf2Y?t=5" href="https://youtu.be/9hzqgL0Mf2Y?t=5">Karl Marx</a> understood, “Those who cannot represent themselves will be represented.”</p><p>“<a data-cke-saved-href="https://vincentbevins.com/book2/" href="https://vincentbevins.com/book2/">If We Burn</a>: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution,” is a brilliant and masterfully reported dissection of the rise of global popular movements, the self-defeating mistakes they made, the strategies the corporate and ruling elites employed to retain power and crush the aspirations of a frustrated population, as well as an exploration of the tactics popular movements must employ to successfully fight back….<br /></p><p>The seasoned activists who Bevins interviews echo this point.</p><p>“Organize,” <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hossam_Bahgat" data-original-title="" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hossam_Bahgat" title="">Hossam Bahgat</a>, the Egyptian human rights campaigner, tells Bevin in the book. “Create an organized movement. And don’t be afraid of representation. We thought representation was elitism, but actually it is the essence of democracy.”….</p><p>The Iranian American sociologist, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sociology.illinois.edu/directory/profile/abayat" href="https://sociology.illinois.edu/directory/profile/abayat">Asef Bayat</a>, who Bevins notes lived through both the Iranian Revolution in 1979 in Tehran and the 2011 uprising in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/arab-spring-egypt" href="https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/faq/arab-spring-egypt">Egypt</a>, distinguishes between subjective and objective conditions for the Arab Spring uprisings that erupted in 2010. The protestors may have opposed neoliberal policies, but they also were shaped, he argues, by neoliberal “subjectivity.”</p><p>“The Arab revolutions lacked the kind of radicalism — in political and economic outlook — that marked most other twentieth-century revolutions,” Bayat <a data-cke-saved-href="https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/uprising1313/files/2017/09/Revolution-without-Revolutionaries-Chapter-1.pdf" href="https://blogs.law.columbia.edu/uprising1313/files/2017/09/Revolution-without-Revolutionaries-Chapter-1.pdf">writes</a> in his book “Revolution without Revolutionaries: Making Sense of the Arab Spring.” “Unlike the revolutions of the 1970s that espoused a powerful socialist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and social justice impulse, Arab revolutionaries were preoccupied more with the broad issues of human rights, political accountability, and legal reform. The prevailing voices, secular and Islamist alike, took free market, property relations, and neoliberal rationality for granted – an uncritical worldview that would pay only lip service to the genuine concerns of the masses for social justice and distribution.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175314/decade-mass-protest-mass-disappointment" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Mass Disappointment of a Decade of Mass Protest</strong></a><br /></p><p>Osita Nwanevu, September 20, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The demonstrations of the last decade were vast and explosive—and surprisingly ineffective….<br /></p><p>The age of mass protest ushered in by the Arab Spring is hardly over, but that record of failures, setbacks, and cataclysms has been dispiriting even to many of the agitators and demonstrators who shaped the movements in question and whom Bevins has spent the last 10 years or so following and interviewing in search of answers. “The point was not just to notice that the mass protest decade hasn’t really worked out,” he muses toward the end of the book. “The idea was to understand why.” Fortunately, he comes away from his globe-trotting search with critical lessons for activists both here and abroad. Setting the world afire, it turns out, is easier than one might expect. Tending to the flames is harder.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Civic republicanism</strong></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/23873476/america-democracy-authoritarianism-tyranny-minority-levitsky-ziblatt" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Is America uniquely vulnerable to tyranny?</strong></a> <br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/23873476/america-democracy-authoritarianism-tyranny-minority-levitsky-ziblatt" data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/23873476/america-democracy-authoritarianism-tyranny-minority-levitsky-ziblatt" target="_blank" title="">Vox</a>, via The Big Picture 10-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...In their new book <em>Tyranny of the Minority</em>, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt — the authors of <em>How Democracies Die</em> — argue America’s founders faced an analogous problem: navigating between two types of dictatorship that threatened to devour the new country.</p><p>The founders, per Levitsky and Ziblatt, were myopically focused on one of them: the fear of a majority-backed demagogue seizing power. As a result, they made it exceptionally difficult to pass new laws and amend the constitution. But the founders, the pair argues, lost sight of a potentially more dangerous monster on the other side of the strait: a determined minority abusing this system to impose its will on the democratic majority….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-do-we-survive-the-constitution" data-original-title="" href="https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/how-do-we-survive-the-constitution" target="_blank" title="">How Do We Survive the Constitution? </a></strong></p><p>Corey Robin, October 4, 2023 [New Yorker]</p><p>[TW: Robin, as usual, is worth reading in full.]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...The most influential authors of the Constitution were terrified of democratic majorities. They devised a government with a sluice of filters—at least six, which Levitsky and Ziblatt note is “an unusually large number”—to push majorities to the side. More than two centuries later, we still have this “uniquely counter-majoritarian democracy,” which is hardly a democracy at all…. All of the antislavery bills that passed the House between 1800 and 1860 were killed by the minoritarian Senate….<br /></p><p>Many nations entered the twentieth century saddled with the yoke of counter-majoritarianism. They got rid of it. We haven’t, thanks to our mega-counter-majoritarian requirement for constitutional change, which is the sixth and most important filter. Two-thirds of both houses in Congress propose an amendment, and three-fourths of the states must then ratify it. According to Levitsky and Ziblatt, a political scientist has devised something called the Index of Difficulty to measure how hard it is to change a country’s constitution. Ours tops the list, by a wide margin….<br /></p><p>...Yet Levitsky and Ziblatt aren’t equipped for war. Like many analysts, they believe that today’s right is driven by a primitive fear. Conservative voters fear the simple fact of demographic change. As immigrants, people of color, women, and sexual and gender minorities assume greater visibility, dominant groups—straight, white, cis, native-born men—fear a loss of status. That fear of erasure fuels the G.O.P.’s “turn to authoritarianism.” Holding on to government power is an “existential” imperative for the Party and the groups it represents.<br /></p><p>This argument, now ubiquitous on the left, has come to seem like a natural law of the political universe, describing our most elemental drives of identity and anxiety. It makes sense that conservatives would believe it, as they’ve been pushing it since the French Revolution. But it poses a problem for the left, and for Levitsky and Ziblatt, in particular.</p><p>If dominant groups can get members of subordinate groups to identify with them, they may not need minoritarian tyranny to stay in power… Small <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/upshot/biden-trump-black-hispanic-voters.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/upshot/biden-trump-black-hispanic-voters.html">shifts</a> of nonwhite voters away from Democrats and the rise in the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/us/politics/republicans-house-black-latino-asian.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/us/politics/republicans-house-black-latino-asian.html">number</a> of Republican candidates of color suggest that this phenomenon remains salient, even in the age of Trump. In today’s environment, where elections are won at the margin, the effects can be lethal….<br /></p><p>It wasn’t always so. The United States has seen many movements for democracy. The successful ones have treated the Constitution not simply as a document of constraint, weaponized by the courts and politicians, but as a charter of expanding freedom, wielded by and for the people. As Joseph Fishkin and William Forbath detail in their wonderfully counterintuitive book, “<a>The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution</a>,” the very document that Levitsky and Ziblatt are so dissatisfied with is annotated with statements of astonishing democratic vision, penned by the great social movements of the past.</p><p>From the earliest days of the Republic, those movements insisted that the greatest threat to democracy is not the tyranny of one man but the oligarchic rule of wealth. Poor citizens, at the mercy of richer ones, could not be full citizens. More than a moral or political argument, this is a foundational claim about the Constitution and the economy, or what we might call the political constitution of the economy. When we think of the Constitution today, our minds drift to civil rights or to the obstacle course described by Levitsky and Ziblatt. Historically, Fishkin and Forbath remind us, Americans have thought of the Constitution as a weapon in the struggle for economic equality, as a real presence in their material lives….</p><p>Instead of accepting oligarchy as the inevitable consequence of the Constitution, the Populists and Progressives looked for alternatives in the text. Through a close reading of James Madison’s notes and papers, they uncovered an argument for the national government’s design and regulation of the economy. In the commerce clause, they found a tool for Congress to “secure the Blessings of Liberty,” which later proved critical to the passage of the Wagner Act—the cornerstone of workers’ right to organize unions—and the Civil Rights Act. The Gold Standard, which enriched bankers and burdened farmers, was deemed a violation of the equal-protection clause. And, in a brilliant marriage of substance and strategy, the Progressives joined forces with the feminist movement, arguing that women voters would help strengthen child-labor laws, health and safety protections, and so on….<br /></p><p>...To overcome oligarchy—and Levitsky and Ziblatt’s tyranny of the minority—that political economy must be remade.</p><p>Reconstruction and the New Deal offer instructive examples. “By building up a ruling and dominant class,” the congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction declared, slavery “produced a spirit of oligarchy averse to republican institutions.” Slaveholders had accumulated vast wealth and power, not just through enslavement but by forcing wage workers, Black and white, in the North and South, to accept harsh conditions on the ground that they weren’t as bad as slavery….<br /></p><p>We’ve come to think that Reconstruction and the New Deal were defeated by racism and violence in the factories, fields, and streets. But the higher reaches of reaction took a different form: severing race from class and class from race. If overthrowing oligarchy required racial equality in the economy, the oligarchs could best maintain their position by hiving off civil rights from economic issues. Beginning in the eighteen-seventies, reactionary courts and liberal politicians narrowed the meaning of the Reconstruction amendments, applying them to Black Americans only, rather than to workers as a whole…. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=701020068111099100094123092064115106050051026007034010028117065074115031099102094074052006096099098123062126084113070096127008121051066022058088065113028010001120014013001087087078066119077106011088078118005111097023110008004105020108086022022031007&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE" data-original-title="" href="https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=701020068111099100094123092064115106050051026007034010028117065074115031099102094074052006096099098123062126084113070096127008121051066022058088065113028010001120014013001087087078066119077106011088078118005111097023110008004105020108086022022031007&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE" target="_blank" title="">Regulation as Respect</a> </strong></p><p>[Law and Contemporary Problems, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><p>From the Abstract:</p><blockquote><p>The modern regulatory state does not have effective mechanisms for absorbing public perspectives in all their variety and nuance. Notice and comment rulemaking is a bust for ordinary people who want to be heard; structural reforms to inject more public voice into regulatory agencies have gone nowhere; and broadly deliberative, civic republican reform recommendations are not – have never been – a solution. Yet the problem goes deeper than just the need for some new communication tool. In recent decades, regulators’ responsibilities for exercising subject matter expertise have come to be lodged within a broader managerialist model, which evaluates success not by outcomes for ordinary people, but rather by reference to a separate layer of compliance metrics, private sector-derived methods, and a correspondingly hollowed-out normative mandate</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/08/14/fascism-as-triage/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/08/14/fascism-as-triage/index.html" target="_blank" title="">Fascism as triage</a> </strong></p><p>Steve Waldman [via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">...A free and equal society, like all societies, requires that its public think and understand the world in ways conducive to the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/03/31/state-as-coordination/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/03/31/state-as-coordination/index.html" title="">effective coordination at scale</a> that prosperity and defense require. But a free and equal society does not have the luxury of overtly coercing its public to think as they are told. A free and equal society must <em>persuade</em> its public — with speech that individuals are genuinely free to reject, with carrots for prosocial behavior rather than punishments for dissenters — to develop ways of thinking under which people voluntarily, “naturally”, act in ways and within bounds consistent with the functioning of the polity.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">A free and equal society is a harder thing to govern and to keep than a more authoritarian system which can impose ideology, culture, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.interfluidity.com/v2/6970.html" href="https://www.interfluidity.com/v2/6970.html">authority</a>, hierarchy by force. But an effective free and equal society is a much better community for a human being to be a part of….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p><strong>Oligarchy</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://drb.ie/articles/there-will-be-blood-2/" data-original-title="" href="https://drb.ie/articles/there-will-be-blood-2/" target="_blank" title="">There Will Be Blood. Review: <em>End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites and the Path of Political Disintegration</em>, by Peter Turchin </a></strong></p><p>[Dublin Review of Books, via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...There are two primary and two secondary ‘structural drivers’ of instability. One of the latter is external political causes... The other is the state’s loss of legitimacy (usually accompanying a decline in its fiscal health), though this is often a product of the two primary structural drivers. These are ‘popular immiseration’ and ‘elite overproduction’, a combination which Turchin finds that again and again throughout history presages revolution or state collapse. As a driver of instability, popular immiseration needs little elaboration; the interest of Turchin’s analysis is that dangerous immiseration runs across classes, and is often masked. It means not starving masses of peasants, but generalised insecurity caused by stagnation of or decline in real wages over time, imperilling intergenerational upward mobility. Immiseration of this kind in the United States is very real, and is reflected in population vital statistics, not only in rising ‘deaths of despair’ (from suicide, drug abuse or alcoholism) among uneducated populations… Immiseration is commonly masked in statistical analyses concentrating on gross national or domestic product and consumer price indices; its sting is felt most harshly in larger, longer-term outlays, particularly the costs of education (student debt), healthcare and housing, all of which are far more expensive relative to median wages than in previous decades. In the US, in the forty years from 1976 to 2016, ‘the relative wage [wages divided by GDP per capita] lost nearly 30 percent of its value’.<br /></p><p>Popular immiseration comes about because of what Turchin calls ‘the wealth pump’. This is the funnelling to a small number of elites of an ever greater proportion of a nation’s wealth. Where wages are depressed or stagnate, the money produced has to go somewhere else; since the proportion taken by the state in the US has remained relatively constant over decades, this has meant increasing profits to the extremely wealthy and an explosion in billionaires, centimillionaires and decamillionaires. The turning on of the ‘wealth pump’ in any society has calamitous consequences; if it is not turned off, in time revolution or collapse will ensue. One consequence of the situation is that entry into the elite (broadly, those in a society who bear some power or influence) becomes essential for any security in life, making places in elite professions or positions more desirable. This is one trigger for ‘elite overproduction’, a concept which can justly be called Turchin’s most important….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175988/kevin-mccarthy-gaetz-trump-bond-vigilantes" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175988/kevin-mccarthy-gaetz-trump-bond-vigilantes" target="_blank" title="">Who Did in Kevin McCarthy? Maybe Not Gaetz. Maybe Not Even Trump.</a></strong></p><p>Timothy Noah, October 5, 2023 [The New Republic]</p><div><div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><blockquote><p>The bond market is a little like the pilot light on your furnace. You only remember that it exists when it flickers out. My onetime <em>Wall Street Journal </em>colleague David Wessel, who runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, told me it “drives me nuts sometimes” that the only market indicator the press usually reports on is the stock market, when it’s really the bond market that affects normal people by raising or lowering the price of car loans and mortgages. Investors’ current flight from the bond market, which has pushed up 10-year Treasury bond yields to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/global-markets-bond-selloff-graphic-2023-10-03/" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/global-markets-bond-selloff-graphic-2023-10-03/" target="_blank">16-year highs</a>, is, Wessel said, “probably a more significant event in the economy than the stock market moving 500 points.”</p><p>To extend the pilot-light metaphor: The bond market has flickered out. There’s a huge sell-off going on, and, as Nick Timiraos <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/bond-selloff-threatens-hopes-for-economys-soft-landing-80bb152a" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/bond-selloff-threatens-hopes-for-economys-soft-landing-80bb152a" target="_blank">wrote Tuesday</a> in <em>The Wall Street Journal</em><em>,</em> “the exact triggers for the move are unclear.”</p><p>...starting in mid-May, the bond market stopped making sense. Treasury yields resumed their climb, even though inflation was continuing to come down and the Fed was pretty obviously preparing to cut interest rates in 2024. According to Timiraos, “The likeliest causes appear to be a combination of expectations of better U.S. growth,” which will increase demand for borrowing, “and concern that huge federal deficits are pressuring investors’ capacity to absorb so much debt.” </p><p>….Almost nobody in my Harvard graduating class of 1980 did what Harvard President James Bryant Conant and Henry Chauncy, a Harvard assistant dean who went on to create the Educational Testing Service, envisioned Harvard graduates doing when, during the 1930s and 1940s, they assembled the machinery of the modern meritocracy. Conant and Chauncy thought they were creating a class of public philosophers who would guide American government into the twenty-first century. But almost nobody I knew in college went to work for the government. You know what they did instead? They became bond traders. That was 43 years ago, but things don’t appear to have much changed. Over the past 20 years, surveys have shown <a data-cke-saved-href="https://sociology.ucsd.edu/_files/people/binder/binder-davis-bloom-2016.pdf" href="https://sociology.ucsd.edu/_files/people/binder/binder-davis-bloom-2016.pdf" target="_blank">anywhere from one-third to one-half</a> of all Harvard graduates went directly into finance or management consulting. If Harvard (and Yale and Princeton and Stanford) governs America, then it’s hard to escape the conclusion that America is governed by a bunch of bond traders….</p><p>... Biden is the bond vigilantes’ ally, to the limited extent anybody is. He wants to raise taxes. <em>Wall Street wants to raise taxes! </em>Only a Democrat can do that. I don’t think our bond-trader overlords give a damn whether the taxes are progressive or not, so we might as well make them progressive. Let’s do as the bond market tells us and raise taxes. It worked for Clinton, and it can work for Biden too.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/treasury-bond-yields-market-selloff-market-crashes-dot-com-bubble-2023-10" data-original-title="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/treasury-bond-yields-market-selloff-market-crashes-dot-com-bubble-2023-10" target="_blank" title="">The collapse in Treasury bonds now ranks among worst market crashes in history</a> </strong></p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism 10-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Global power shift</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.statista.com/chart/20858/top-10-countries-by-share-of-global-manufacturing-output/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.statista.com/chart/20858/top-10-countries-by-share-of-global-manufacturing-output/" target="_blank" title="">GRAPH China is well past USA as </a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.statista.com/chart/20858/top-10-countries-by-share-of-global-manufacturing-output/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.statista.com/chart/20858/top-10-countries-by-share-of-global-manufacturing-output/" target="_blank" title="">the world’s biggest manufacturing power</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Statista, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-03-2023] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/mineral-hungry-clean-tech-sees-countries-seeking-escape-chinas-shadow-3806526" data-original-title="" href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/mineral-hungry-clean-tech-sees-countries-seeking-escape-chinas-shadow-3806526" target="_blank" title="">Mineral-hungry clean tech sees countries seeking to escape China’s shadow</a> </strong></p><p>[Agence France Presse, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/minerals.jpeg" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/minerals.jpeg" target="_blank">GRAPH — Geographic concentration of key minerals</a> </strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>[Oil, Natural Gas, Copper, Nickel, Cobalt, Graphite, Rare Earths, Lihium]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div id="htlad-5"><div id="htlad-5-gpt"><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/04/ev-electric-china-us-batteries-critical-minerals-energy-oil-renewable/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/04/ev-electric-china-us-batteries-critical-minerals-energy-oil-renewable/" target="_blank" title=""></a></strong><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/04/ev-electric-china-us-batteries-critical-minerals-energy-oil-renewable/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/04/ev-electric-china-us-batteries-critical-minerals-energy-oil-renewable/" target="_blank" title="">How to Break China’s Hold on Batteries and Critical Minerals</a> </strong></p><p>[Foreign Policy, via Naked Capitalism 10-05-2023] </p><blockquote><p>Lovins’s insight was that people do not want oil or electricity but rather cold beer and warm showers, and there are easier ways to deliver those. Similarly, our goal today is not more lithium or copper—although we will surely need both. Rather, our goal is the ability to store energy so cars can run on electricity and the grid can handle much more energy from solar and wind that is not always available and therefore needs a backup source of power. As was true a half-century ago, there is a soft path to meeting the challenges of energy storage by reducing the need for critical minerals in the first place.</p><p>Rather than <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/7qR9q/https://electrek.co/2023/08/09/cadillac-unveils-all-electric-escalade-iq-battery-big-range-price-ev/" href="https://archive.ph/o/7qR9q/https://electrek.co/2023/08/09/cadillac-unveils-all-electric-escalade-iq-battery-big-range-price-ev/" target="_blank">cram</a></u> ever-larger and more mineral-intensive batteries into cars to extend driving range to 500 or 700 miles, for example, fast-charging that allows drivers to charge in minutes combined with more abundant charging infrastructure could allow drivers to embrace cheaper cars with smaller batteries and less range. Rather than use more and more minerals, technological innovation can reduce the amount and types of metals and other minerals needed for batteries, such as <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/7qR9q/https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2020.605129/full" href="https://archive.ph/o/7qR9q/https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2020.605129/full" target="_blank">chemistry</a></u> that replaces the need for lithium and copper with more plentiful sodium, aluminum, and manganese. New electrolytes can enable getting more energy out of the same mineral content in lithium-ion batteries so range can be extended without larger and more mineral-intensive batteries. Up to 10 percent of critical mineral needs can be met with improved recycling, <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/7qR9q/https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/executive-summary" href="https://archive.ph/o/7qR9q/https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/executive-summary" target="_blank">according</a></u> to the International Energy Agency (IEA). And there are promising technological approaches in energy storage, such as pumped hydropower and compressed air, that avoid the use of batteries—and critical minerals—altogether.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></div><div><div><br /></div><div><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/minerals-nickel-batteries-canada-climate-carbon-376f11fd" target="_blank" title=""><strong></strong></a><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/minerals-nickel-batteries-canada-climate-carbon-376f11fd" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/minerals-nickel-batteries-canada-climate-carbon-376f11fd" target="_blank" title=""><strong>$67 Billion of Rare Minerals Is Buried Under One of the World’s Biggest Carbon Sinks</strong></a> </p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via The Big Picture 10-04-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A fight is brewing in Canada about how, or whether, to dig out materials essential for EV batteries that lie deep beneath vast peat bogs. </p></blockquote><br /></div></div><div><br /></div></div></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-10-06-gm-battery-workers-will-be-union/" target="_blank" title="">GM Battery Workers Will Be Union</a></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, Lee Harris, Jarod Facundo October 6, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The union has secured that workers at General Motors’ joint-venture battery plants will be covered under the Big Three master agreement. It’s a major step in a just transition.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/never-seen-anything-like-it-the-biggest?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/never-seen-anything-like-it-the-biggest?" target="_blank" title="">“Neve</a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/never-seen-anything-like-it-the-biggest?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/never-seen-anything-like-it-the-biggest?" target="_blank" title="">r Seen Anything Like It:” The Biggest Month in Antitrust in 50 Years</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 10-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/stacyfmitchell/status/1708489914701037941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1708489916563197987%7Ctwgr%5E564201c8daf7a5bbe7c31d41424a55afad916f93%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-2-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/stacyfmitchell/status/1708489914701037941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1708489916563197987%7Ctwgr%5E564201c8daf7a5bbe7c31d41424a55afad916f93%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-2-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 10-02-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;1. Weird to see the FTC’s Amazon lawsuit described as restrained, a pulled punch. It’s so not that. It strikes at the core of Amazon’s monopolization strategy.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Why the disconnect? One reason is that the commonly told story of Amazon’s strategy is the wrong story.&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Stacy Mitchell (@stacyfmitchell) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/stacyfmitchell/status/1708489914701037941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 1, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 1920px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1708489914701037941" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1708489914701037941&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2197070%2Fedit&sessionId=38a8052f50b563baa5e866a4c05b63c169e14a49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=7e31f10ca29dc%3A1696453545681&width=1920px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 345px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-10-03-lawsuit-highlights-why-meat-overpriced/" target="_blank" title="">Lawsuit Highlights Why Meat Has Been Overpriced for 40 Years</a></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, October 3, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Agri Stats lets meat processors coordinate their pricing. The Justice Department finally decided to go after what it calls collusion.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1710342240596303929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1710342240596303929%7Ctwgr%5E29658244bc0462f7f5ded3976c4c4ff202d2872d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-7-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1710342240596303929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1710342240596303929%7Ctwgr%5E29658244bc0462f7f5ded3976c4c4ff202d2872d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2Flinks-10-7-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 10-07-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Rent. Online shopping. Meat. These are some markets affected by recent price-fixing conspiracies. Is inflation being driven by systemic price fixing across the economy via algorithm? Recent antitrust suits suggest it&amp;#39;s a real factor.&lt;a href="https://t.co/s84BCvXPor"&gt;https://t.co/s84BCvXPor&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1710342240596303929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 6, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 1920px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1710342240596303929" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1710342240596303929&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2197070%2Fedit&sessionId=38a8052f50b563baa5e866a4c05b63c169e14a49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=7e31f10ca29dc%3A1696453545681&width=1920px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 696px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-price-fixing-economy" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-price-fixing-economy" target="_blank" title="">The Price-Fixing Economy </a></strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [via Naked Capitalism 10-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-used-secret-project-nessie-algorithm-to-raise-prices-6c593706" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/amazon-used-secret-project-nessie-algorithm-to-raise-prices-6c593706" target="_blank" title="">Amazon Used Secret ‘Project Nessie’ Algorithm to Raise Prices</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 10-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/26/23835959/ftc-amazon-antitrust-lawsuit-prime-lina-khan" data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/26/23835959/ftc-amazon-antitrust-lawsuit-prime-lina-khan" target="_blank" title="">The government’s case to break up Amazon, explained</a> </strong></p><p>[Vox, via Naked Capitalism 10-05-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/the-bottomless-swamp-of-regulatory" data-original-title="" href="https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/the-bottomless-swamp-of-regulatory" target="_blank" title="">The Bottomless Swamp of Regulatory Capture</a> </strong></p><p>Charles Hughes Smith [via Naked Capitalism 10-07-2023]</p><blockquote><p><strong>As Richard Bonugli and I discuss in our podcast on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCTLO3CQlx0" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCTLO3CQlx0" title="">How Regulatory Capture is a Net Negative to Society</a></strong>, The opportunities for grift are not a bug to those at the top of the democracy machinery, they're a feature: how else can an opportunistic parasite gain wealth while "serving the public"? <br /></p><p><strong>In the old days, warlords exacted tolls at bridges and on pathways. Today, parasitic corporations stripmine the public with cartels, quasi-monopolies, price-fixing and predatory pricing</strong> mandated by the government. Look no further than Americans paying 7 to 10 times more for insulin than the citizenry in other developed nations for an example of how modern-day parasites maximize profits while delivering no additional value for the predatory 7X cost. <br /></p><p><strong>Theoretically, democracies are supposed to limit the pillage, predation and parasitic exploitation of the public by warlords--oops I mean corporations.</strong> But democracy is in effect a wide-open <em>auction of favors</em> in which corporations bid for loopholes inserted in 700-page congressional bills, regulatory tweaks that favor their interests at the expense of competitors and innovators that might threaten their monopoly, etc….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/10/michael-hudson-a-brics-bank-how-would-it-really-function.html" target="_blank" title="">A BRICS+ Bank: How Would It Really Function?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Michael Hudson [Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2023/10/bard-finding-money-new-documentary-on.html" data-original-title="" href="http://mikenormaneconomics.blogspot.com/2023/10/bard-finding-money-new-documentary-on.html" title="">Finding the Money: New Documentary on the Paradigm-Shifting Modern Monetary Theory Features Levy Scholar Stephanie Kelton and Bard Economists</a></strong></p><p>[Mike Norman Economics, October 31, 2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong> <br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/google-antitrust-lawsuit-search-results/" target="_blank" title="">How Google Alters Search Queries to Get at Your Wallet</a></strong> </p><p>[Wired, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-02-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Google likely alters queries billions of times a day in trillions of different variations. Here’s how it works. Say you search for ‘children’s clothing.’ Google converts it, without your knowledge, to a search for ‘NIKOLAI-brand kidswear,’ making a behind-the-scenes substitution of your actual query with a different query that just happens to generate more money for the company, and will generate results you weren’t searching for at all. It’s not possible for you to opt out of the substitution. If you don’t get the results you want, and you try to refine your query, you are wasting your time. This is a twisted shopping mall you can’t escape. Why would Google want to do this? First, the generated results to the latter query are more likely to be shopping-oriented, triggering your subsequent behavior much like the candy display at a grocery store’s checkout. Second, that latter query will automatically generate the keyword ads placed on the search engine results page by stores like TJ Maxx, which pay Google every time you click on them. In short, it’s a guaranteed way to line Google’s pockets. It’s also a guaranteed way to harm everyone except Google. This system reduces search engine quality for users and drives up advertiser expenses. Google can get away with it because these manipulations are imperceptible to the user and advertiser, and the company has effectively captured more than 90 percent market share. It’s unclear how often, or for how long, Google has been doing this, but the machination is clever and ambitious.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://harpers.org/2023/10/a-digital-coup/" data-original-title="" href="https://harpers.org/2023/10/a-digital-coup/" target="_blank" title="">A Digital Coup</a> </strong></p><p>John R. MacArthur (Publisher’s Note) [Harper’s, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><blockquote><p>"Zuckerberg fancies himself the pharaoh of the Web. He uses it to act beyond all regulatory limits, in defiance of national borders and democratic principles."</p><p>In the early morning of June 23, the supranational company Meta (formerly Facebook) launched a digital coup against Canada, an ostensibly sovereign nation, consisting—as many Canadians but few Americans now know—of a pre-emptive strike launched by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook. Its aim, clearly, was to intimidate Ottawa’s parliament and punish it for having dared to pass a law—C18, which was designed to promote fairness between the media and online platforms–that could eventually put an end to the systematic theft of the work of journalists and publishers whom Meta is currently outright robbing.</p><p>With another coup on August 3, using even harsher methods, this vengeful extortion campaign blocked public access to all Canadian and global media publications through Facebook and Instagram. Sharing ad revenues with those who deserve them—as law C-18 stipulates—is not part of the Meta strongman’s master plan. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2023-10-05/column-joe-kiani-masimo-apple-watch-pulse-oximeter-lawsuit" data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2023-10-05/column-joe-kiani-masimo-apple-watch-pulse-oximeter-lawsuit" target="_blank" title=""><strong>An Orange County entrepreneur’s $60-million legal battle to stop Apple from steamrolling startups</strong></a></p><p>[Los Angeles Times, via The Big Picture 10-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Apple hatched a plan to obtain or emulate the technology without paying for it. Instead of acquiring it, Apple decided it could simply emulate its technology while raiding its brain trust. A decade later, they are locked in an acrimonious legal battle, alleging Apple infringed on his patents and stole trade secrets. If Kiani wins, it could stop Apple Watches, which are manufactured in China, from being imported into the U.S. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/censorship-center-guise-combating-hate-covid-elon-musk" data-original-title="" href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/censorship-center-guise-combating-hate-covid-elon-musk" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The New Push for Censorship Under the Guise of Combating Hate</strong></a> </p><p>[The Tablet, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“What, then, do we know about the CCDH? In effect, it seems, the organization provides the White House with a powerful weapon to use against critics including RFK Jr. and Musk, while also pressuring platforms like Facebook and Twitter to enforce the administration’s policies. While few journalists have bothered to investigate the opaque group, the available evidence paints a picture that is likely different from what many in the public would expect of a ‘public interest’ nonprofit. The scale of the CCDH’s success must be emphasized for those unfamiliar with the crowded mob of D.C.-based nonprofits churning out reports that seldom get a passing glance from the nation’s policymakers. For a tiny, unknown, nonprofit to gain so much attention in D.C.’s crowded, competitive policy space is akin to a pudgy, amateur athlete catching the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, while setting a new world record in the marathon, all in one week. So who is the CCDH’s founder and leader Imran Ahmed? Where does he get his money? Why did he decide to leave behind politics and start a nonprofit focused on misinformation? And perhaps most importantly, how did a relative unknown from London gain such enormous influence from the White House bully pulpit and within Democratic Party politics? Imran Ahmed is a political operative who spent several years advising conservative members of the British Labour Party before jumping into nonprofit campaigning to run two interrelated dark money groups: Stop Funding Fake News and the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Shortly after appearing on Twitter in 2019, Stop Funding Fake News claimed some very sizable left-wing scalps in London, mostly by lobbing vague accusations of fake news at political enemies. The group helped to run Jeremy Corbyn out of Labour Party leadership while tanking the lefty news site Canary, after starting a boycott of their advertisers, according to reports in British media outlets, sources who spoke with Tablet, and CCDH’s own claims of success</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/02/world/space-debris-fine-dish-fcc-scn/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/02/world/space-debris-fine-dish-fcc-scn/index.html" target="_blank" title="">FCC issues first-of-its-kind space debris fine against Dish</a> </strong></p><p>[CNN, via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-life-and-death-stakes-of-labor?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-life-and-death-stakes-of-labor?" target="_blank" title="">The Life and Death Stakes of Labor Power</a> </strong></p><p>How Things Work, via Naked Capitalism 10-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>There is a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1_Case-Deaton_unembargoed.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1_Case-Deaton_unembargoed.pdf" title="">new research paper</a> out from Anne Case and Angus Deaton (the economists who coined the term “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691190785/deaths-of-despair-and-the-future-of-capitalism" href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691190785/deaths-of-despair-and-the-future-of-capitalism">Deaths of Despair</a>”), which is always an exciting opportunity to reflect upon a new way in which the United States of America’s shiny facade conceals a monstrous soul. The problems they identify, though, carry with them an inspiration for how to build a better path forward.</p><p>Their new study looks at mortality differences over time between Americans who do and do not have college degrees. The findings are grim. Those with degrees have always had longer life expectancies, but the gap has widened considerably in recent years. In 1992, people with degrees could expect to live 2.6 years longer than those without. By 2021, that gap had grown to 6.9 years—and for men, 8.3 years. Here are two charts which illustrate the trend unambiguously…. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-10-04-workers-funding-misery-private-equity-pension-funds/" target="_blank" title="">Workers Funding Other Workers’ Misery</a></strong><br /></p><p>Rachel Phua, October 4, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Billions of dollars in public pension fund money flow to private equity–owned firms that union-bust, violate labor laws, and put workers’ safety at risk.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-29/angus-deaton-s-new-book-says-economists-value-markets-over-people" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-29/angus-deaton-s-new-book-says-economists-value-markets-over-people" target="_blank" title="">A Nobel Laureate Offers a Biting Critique of Economics</a> </strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Angus Deaton says Larry Summers and other great minds in the profession have lost sight of its most important mission: Improving people’s lives.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/accounting-for-the-widening-mortality-gap-between-american-adults-with-and-without-a-ba/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/accounting-for-the-widening-mortality-gap-between-american-adults-with-and-without-a-ba/" target="_blank" title="">Accounting for the widening mortality gap between American adults with and without a BA</a> </strong></p><p>Anne Case and Angus Deaton [Brookings Institution, via Naked Capitalism 10-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/1709168632750547339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1709168632750547339%7Ctwgr%5Ef76340c6734f501347ecf4ded2eb5c3f6052b497%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2F200pm-water-cooler-10-3-2023.html" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/1709168632750547339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1709168632750547339%7Ctwgr%5Ef76340c6734f501347ecf4ded2eb5c3f6052b497%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F10%2F200pm-water-cooler-10-3-2023.html" target="_blank" title="">Biggest Republican advantage on economy since 1991</a></strong></p><p>[X-Twitter, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 10-03-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="1" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Biggest R advantage on economy since 1991 in newest &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/GallupNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@GallupNews&lt;/a&gt; survey. They’ve been polling this question since 1951 (!!!) &lt;a href="https://t.co/JPyGoUlgSs"&gt;https://t.co/JPyGoUlgSs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Benjy Sarlin (@BenjySarlin) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BenjySarlin/status/1709168632750547339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 3, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 1920px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1709168632750547339" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1709168632750547339&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2197070%2Fedit&sessionId=38a8052f50b563baa5e866a4c05b63c169e14a49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=7e31f10ca29dc%3A1696453545681&width=1920px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 648px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-10-05-lawyers-not-persuaders-littler-mendelson/" target="_blank" title="">Lawyers, Not Persuaders</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jarod Facundo, October 5, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The anti-labor law firm Littler Mendelson’s reputation is a premier example of the limitations in existing labor law.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-big-pharma-company-stalled-tuberculosis-vaccine-to-pursue-bigger-profits" data-original-title="" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-big-pharma-company-stalled-tuberculosis-vaccine-to-pursue-bigger-profits" target="_blank" title="">How a Big Pharma Company Stalled a Potentially Lifesaving Vaccine in Pursuit of Bigger Profits</a> </strong></p><p>ProPublica, via Naked Capitalism 10-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/pentagon-revolving-door/" href="https://responsiblestatecraft.org/pentagon-revolving-door/" target="_blank">When 80 percent of US generals go to work for arms makers</a> </strong></p><p>[Responsible Statescraft, via Naked Capitalism 10-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-09-27/californias-struggle-for-clean-water-is-getting-harder" data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-09-27/californias-struggle-for-clean-water-is-getting-harder" target="_blank" title="">‘A ticking time bomb’: Why California can’t provide safe drinking water to all its residents</a> </strong></p><p>[Los Angeles Times, via Naked Capitalism 10-01-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong><br /></strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/climate-crisis-salting-water" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/climate-crisis-salting-water" target="_blank" title="">The Climate Crisis Is Salting the Water in Major Coastal Cities</a> </strong></p><p>[Common Dreams, via Naked Capitalism 10-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/01/california-groundwater-fight-pits-small-farmers-against-carrot-giants/" data-original-title="" href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/01/california-groundwater-fight-pits-small-farmers-against-carrot-giants/" target="_blank" title="">Small farmers are up against California’s $1.1 billion carrot industry in a vicious fight over groundwater: ‘We are being totally overrun’ </a> </strong></p><p>[Fortune, via Naked Capitalism 10-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/power-beaming-2665745442" data-original-title="" href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/power-beaming-2665745442" target="_blank" title="">DARPA Hopes to Beam Power Across 200 Kilometers</a> </strong></p><p>[Spectrum IEEE, via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/30/2196209/-Ingenious-solar-distiller-makes-fresh-water-from-seawater-for-less-than-1-a-gallon" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/30/2196209/-Ingenious-solar-distiller-makes-fresh-water-from-seawater-for-less-than-1-a-gallon" title="">Ingenious solar distiller makes fresh water from seawater for less than 1¢ a gallon</a></strong> <br /></p><p>skralyx, September 30, 2023 [DailyKos]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...This device breaks the record for rate of fresh water production from seawater by a solar device, and as awesome as that is, it’s actually kind of a charming side note. The bigger breakthrough is that the device can keep running up near this rate for a long time without getting fouled by salt accumulation, and it does this by emulating natural processes that occur in the sea. That cuts costs by about 10x compared to typical solar desalination, making the cost of the fresh water it produces comparable to that of tap water.</p><p>Oh, and because it doesn’t accumulate salt, it can process water containing up to 20% salt (seawater has only 3.5% salt, and salt-saturated water has about 26%). Other solar desalination devices can’t even operate with water that salty. That means you can use this kind of device to process the wastewater from existing desalination systems, to get even more fresh water.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/environment/2023-10-06-metal-from-seawater/" target="_blank" title="">Metal From Seawater</a></strong></p><p>Lee Harris, October 1, 2023 [The American Prospect]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>An Oakland, California–based startup has a business plan that sounds like modern alchemy: turning seawater into metal, and using it to build cars, airplanes, satellites, and drones.</p><p>Magrathea Metals, named after a <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Magrathea" data-original-title="" href="https://hitchhikers.fandom.com/wiki/Magrathea" target="_blank" title="">planet</a></u> in the Douglas Adams sci-fi epic <em>The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy</em>, is developing a more cost-effective way to reduce saltwater to cooked-down brines, and electrolyze the leftover salts to produce magnesium metal….</p><p>Metal from seawater may sound fantastical, but the U.S. was already making it a century ago. Dow Chemical began producing magnesium for aircraft, car parts, and bombs in the 1920s. In the 1940s, Dow refined the process Magrathea is now hoping to resurrect, gleaning magnesium from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://coloradosun.com/2023/10/01/coloradans-saving-local-news/" data-original-title="" href="https://coloradosun.com/2023/10/01/coloradans-saving-local-news/" target="_blank" title="">While many small-town newspapers are vanishing, these Coloradans are working to keep local news alive</a> </strong></p><p>[Colorado Sun, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/2024-election-media-donald-trump-joe-biden-2016" data-original-title="" href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/09/2024-election-media-donald-trump-joe-biden-2016" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Media Is Giving Us 2016 Flashbacks</strong></a></p><p>[Vanity Fair, via The Big Picture 10-03-2023]</p><blockquote><p>After four indictments, two impeachments, and one insurrection, Donald Trump shouldn’t be covered like a conventional candidate. And yet. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Democratic Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://harpers.org/archive/2023/10/against-the-current/" data-original-title="" href="https://harpers.org/archive/2023/10/against-the-current/" target="_blank" title="">Against the Current</a> </strong></p><p>Andrew Cockburn [Harper’s, via Naked Capitalism 10-01-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“Where’s the support for Democratic insurgents?”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/have-they-gone-mad?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/have-they-gone-mad?" target="_blank" title="">Have They Gone Mad? </a></strong></p><p>Matt Taibbi, October 6, 2023</p><blockquote><p>Hillary Clinton last night on CNN said of Trump supporters, “You know, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members.” This among other things came in the context of a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/cfd63f52-7f7a-4427-a4de-72643f90e5a5?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/cfd63f52-7f7a-4427-a4de-72643f90e5a5?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">report in </a><em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/cfd63f52-7f7a-4427-a4de-72643f90e5a5?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/cfd63f52-7f7a-4427-a4de-72643f90e5a5?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">Newsweek</a> </em>to the effect that the federal government, and the FBI in particular, has “quietly created a new category of extremists that it seeks to track and counter: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/bb40265e-cb88-4b82-aae2-2853dc06bcf3?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/redirect/bb40265e-cb88-4b82-aae2-2853dc06bcf3?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank" title="">Donald Trump</a>’s army of MAGA followers.”</p><p>That seems… like a lot of people? In addition to the obvious observation that people like Hillary seem increasingly unmoored from reality, as well as wilfully deaf to the political consequences of their words — <em>Maybe we need to formally deprogram you </em>makes the “Basket of Deplorables” episode seem like a Valentine’s Day card — someone should point out that a month ago, on September 8th, Joe Biden <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/b74ca626-ddd6-4ba2-9957-67b7991e81e9?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/b74ca626-ddd6-4ba2-9957-67b7991e81e9?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">renewed the original State of Emergency</a> issued <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/redirect/38865930-79a3-43c7-bc2b-eb0758b53707?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" href="https://substack.com/redirect/38865930-79a3-43c7-bc2b-eb0758b53707?j=eyJ1IjoiMmNxcmkifQ.19HoHGtxc26EIEMAOYNcPuM-YasXvzXYEP7GadxLDzY" target="_blank">three days after 9/11</a> by George W. Bush. We spent the last 22 years giving presidents the ability to surveil, isolate, and detain even American citizens….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://lesleopold.substack.com/p/is-the-white-working-class-anti-immigrant" target="_blank" title="">Is the White Working Class anti-Immigrant?</a></strong></p><p>Les Leopold, October 7, 2023</p><blockquote><p>Our research for <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://amzn.to/3tcgRae" data-original-title="" href="https://amzn.to/3tcgRae" title="">Wall Street’s War on Workers</a></em> has uncovered compelling evidence that challenges stereotypical views about how working people view divisive social issues. </p><p>The dominant media narrative suggests that the white working class has grown increasingly illiberal on a wide range of social issues including race, gender, and immigration. Pundits, including many progressives, often claim, or assume, that these racist, homophobic, xenophobic white workers form the dreaded MAGA base that has welded the Republican Party to far right-wing positions on social issues.</p><p>Today’s newsletter examines a key survey question concerning undocumented immigrants. It comes from the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://cces.gov.harvard.edu/" data-original-title="" href="https://cces.gov.harvard.edu/" title="">Cooperative Election Study</a> which has 524,713 respondents overall….<br /></p><p>According to this mammoth survey, (many times more respondents than any pre-election poll we see in the media) the white working class is more than twice as likely now to support granting legal status to undocumented immigrants….<br /></p><p>Our basic claim is this: The number one reason why working people have been abandoning the Democrats over the last 25 years is <em><strong>the failure of the party to address mass layoffs. </strong></em> We estimate that during that time over 30 million working people have experienced layoffs involving 50 or more people. These are life-shattering experiences for working people, especially in rural areas.</p><p>Our goal is to get this story out. It’s time to stop blaming working people for positions they do not hold. And it’s time to understand just how Wall Street is financially engineering layoff after layoff.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/culture/books/2023-10-06-its-global-economy-stupid-lichtenstein-stein-review/" target="_blank" title="">It’s the Global Economy, Stupid</a></strong><br /></p><p>Lily Geismer, October 6, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>A new book on the Clinton presidency reveals how it abandoned a progressive vision for a finance-led agenda for economics and geopolitics.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong>They’re not capitalists — they’re predatory criminals</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/10/five-count-felon-jpmorgan-chase-gets-hit-with-another-federal-fine-for-40-million-derivative-violations-pays-37-1-2-cents-per-violation/" target="_blank" title="">Five-Count Felon JPMorgan Chase Gets Hit with Another Federal Fine for 40 Million Derivative Violations; Pays 37 1/2 Cents Per Violation</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, October 2, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<strong></strong><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/gop-dysfunction-on-display-let-the-new-speaker-votes-commence-patrick-mchenry-acting-speaker" target="_blank" title="">GOP Dysfunction On Display-- Let The New Speaker Votes Commence; Patrick McHenry, Acting Speaker!</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, October 3, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p>...</p><blockquote><p>I hate to do this to you, but it would really help if you could surf over to <a data-cke-saved-href="http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/08/wholl-be-next-republican-hypocrite-to.html" href="http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/08/wholl-be-next-republican-hypocrite-to.html" target="_blank">this 2007 post</a> about McHenry's involvement in a triple gay homocide-suicide. Short version: The murdered gay Republicans include Ralph Reed's purported ex-lover, Ralph Gonzalez (former head of the rabidly homophobic Georgia Republican Party), GOP lobbyist David Abrami and McHenry guy-pal Robert Drake, allegedly the shooter. All three were victims in a murder-suicide in an Orlando apartment. According to right-wing website the North Carolina Conservative, "All three men were active in Republican politics." They mention that Drake is "an associate" of McHenry's but don't define that. He is alleged to be an associate of quite a few younger men, some of whom are gay and some of whom are just gay-for-pay.</p><div data-hook="rcv-block60">Drake was associated with the owner of a gay escort service in the Virginia Beach area. The owners of that escort service-- there have been unconfirmed rumors that McHenry was both a client and a silent partner-- are facing charges that they murdered <a data-cke-saved-href="http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2007/08/suicide-murder-in-orlando-who-is-robert.html" href="http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2007/08/suicide-murder-in-orlando-who-is-robert.html" target="_blank">Bryan Kocis</a>, the owner of a rival gay escort service. When I called McHenry's congressional office, the guy who answered the phone confirmed that Drake "worked" there but said he didn't know what his duties were. When I asked to speak to the congressman or someone who would know, he put me on hold, then came back, audibly upset, and said he was mistaken and that he didn't know anything and no one else was in the office and then quickly hung up on me. The murder was completely covered up by the Orlando police department and everything about it pretty much disappeared.</div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block60"><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block60"><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.irishnews.com/arts/film/2023/09/26/news/lost_boys-3644042/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.irishnews.com/arts/film/2023/09/26/news/lost_boys-3644042/" target="_blank" title="">Lost Boys film-makers on exposing Brit-protected Troubles paedophiles</a> </strong></p><p>[The Irish News, via Naked Capitalism 10-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lost-boys-documentary-links-british-27770981" data-original-title="" href="https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/lost-boys-documentary-links-british-27770981" target="_blank" title="">Lost Boys documentary links British intelligence to decades old mystery of missing boys</a> </strong></p><p>[Belfast Live, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-10-04-house-gops-self-immolation/" target="_blank" title="">The House GOP’s Self-Immolation</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Robert Kuttner, October 4, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>It’s a mistake to see the Republican split as normal conservatives versus a far-right splinter. The vast majority of the GOP caucus is almost as extremist on the issues as the Gaetz faction, wanting drastic cuts in domestic spending including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Some of the more florid lunatics in the Republican Caucus, including Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene, did not even vote to oust McCarthy.</p><p>It has become conventional to view Matt Gaetz as someone purely on an ego trip to settle a personal score, with no convictions other than a wish to tear the House down. But if you listened to his performance last night, you could discern an ideology.</p><p>Gaetz’s attack on McCarthy for making a budget deal with Democrats is just a more extreme version of what most Republicans want. Only eight Republicans voted to depose McCarthy, but 90 voted against the budget deal that kept the government running for 45 days. The problem is that both the Gaetz version and the slightly less extreme version are wildly unrealistic, as substance and as politics.</p><p>Perhaps the most important takeaway is that this was a big personal win for Hakeem Jeffries. Going into this fight, some Democrats were uncertain whether their new leader had the stature or savvy to fill the giant shoes of Nancy Pelosi. He does. Over the weekend, there were rumblings that some “Problem Solver” Democrats were inclined either to support McCarthy against Gaetz or to vote “present” to tilt the arithmetic in McCarthy’s favor.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-broken-congress-is-what-maga-always-wanted" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/a-broken-congress-is-what-maga-always-wanted" target="_blank" title="">A Broken Congress Is What MAGA Always Wanted</a> </strong></p><p>[Daily Beast, via Naked Capitalism 10-07-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/the-media-doesn-t-want-to-elect-trump-they-just-want-to-make-money-even-if-it-means-electing-him" target="_blank" title="">What Do Fascist Intellectuals Think About?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, October 3, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>Over the weekend, Jason Wilson explained a term popular among right-wing self-styled intellectuals: <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/01/red-caesar-authoritarianism-republicans-extreme-right" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/01/red-caesar-authoritarianism-republicans-extreme-right" target="_blank"><u>red caesarism</u></a>. The idea is that because “an entire cosmopolitan class that includes much of the entrenched bureaucracy, the military, the media, and government-sponsored corporations” opposes the right-wing anti-democratic project, they need a “post-Constitutional leader,” a dictator.<br /></p><p>Wilson wrote that “For the last three years, parts of the American right have advocated a theory called Caesarism as an authoritarian solution to the claimed collapse of the US republic in conference rooms, podcasts and the house organs of the extreme right, especially those associated with the Claremont Institute thinktank. Though on the surface this discussion might seem esoteric, experts who track extremism in the US say that due to their influence on the Republican party, the rightwing intellectuals who espouse these ideas about the attractions of autocracy present a profound threat to American democracy.Their calls for a ‘red Caesar’ are now only growing louder as Donald Trump, whose supporters attempted to violently halt the election of Joe Biden in 2020, has assumed dominant frontrunner status in the 2024 Republican nomination race. Trump, who also faces multiple criminal indictments, has spoken openly of attacking the free press in the US and having little regard for American constitutional norms should he win the White House again.</p><div data-hook="rcv-block7">The idea that the US might be redeemed by a Caesar— an authoritarian, rightwing leader— was first broached explicitly by Michael Anton, a sleazy former private equity executive for CitiGroup and BlackRock and Trump presidential advise, now ensconced at Claremont. He wrote speeches for Rupert Murdoch and Rudy Giuliani. Ardently anti-American and violently Islamophobic, Anton is an Italian-born neo-fascist who argues that “Diversity' is not 'our strength'; it's a source of weakness, tension and disunion.”….</div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block7"><br /></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/red-airwave-americas-conservative-talk-radio-saturation/news-story/2700457c4d381c797d3972d73b560192" data-original-title="" href="https://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/red-airwave-americas-conservative-talk-radio-saturation/news-story/2700457c4d381c797d3972d73b560192" target="_blank" title="">Red airwave: America’s conservative talk radio saturation</a> </strong></p><p>[Agence France-Presse, via Naked Capitalism 10-07-2023]</p><blockquote><p>When the GOP establishment crafted immigration reform in 2007, conservative radio helped tank it, in what historian Paul Matzko calls "the beginning of the rise of ethno-nationalist nativism in American politics."….</p><p>"We are all in this business as entertainers," Katz acknowledges.</p><p>He dismisses their frequent insults -- Biden was called a "walking vegetable" on Beck's program -- as on-air personalities just being "passionate" about politics.</p><p>"Conservatives in America have for a long time felt marginalized, they've felt that their voice is not respected," Katz says….</p><p>Radio deregulation in 1987 opened the floodgates to partisan programming, and ex-DJ Rush Limbaugh, a master of political bombast, blazed a rightwing trail to challenge the National Public Radio network routinely accused of reflecting liberal sentiments.</p><p>"News talk radio at present is dominated by conservative hosts -- and yes, it's very influential," says Michael Harrison, publisher of leading trade magazine TALKERS.</p><p>Back in 2016, several hosts were Trump skeptics. But they noticed their ratings jumped when he came on their show.</p><p>"The audience loved Trump," Harrison says. "As a result, radio hosts started to be more Trump than they were before."</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/trump-and-the-rise-of-political-violence-in-america-he-and-his-cronies-must-be-held-to-account" target="_blank" title="">Trump And The Rise Of Political Violence In America-- He And His Cronies Must Be Held To Account — Why Isn't Bannon In Prison Yet?</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, October 5, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“Bannon,” wrote Annie Karni, “represents a clear through line from the grievance-driven MAGA base to Congress. And his role in the meltdown that played out this week in the House helps explain why the Republican Party appears to be eating its own. He is a vital part of a feedback loop of red-meat media hits and social media posts, online fund-raising and unfettered preaching to an often angry and fervently right-wing base that rewards disruptions and detests institutions… [H]e offers an unfiltered platform where individual rabble-rousers can speak directly to the base, known on <em>War Room</em> as ‘the posse,’ creating more incentives for them to wreak havoc on the House floor… Bannon, an unrepentant agent of chaos, admits he was spoiling for a government shutdown. ‘You create a firestorm now that totally changes things,’ he said. ‘People right now think government is a benefit. I’m going to show government spending as cootie-infested.’”<br /></p><p>Zach Basu <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/04/trumps-words-turn-violent-pressure-builds" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/10/04/trumps-words-turn-violent-pressure-builds" target="_blank"><u>wrote</u></a> that Trump’ violent rhetoric has been growing more extreme as he contemplates, after all these decades of getting away with everything, Justice coming after him. “Since he left office,” wrote Basu, “Trump's erratic behavior has been masked, numbed and normalized by the political fatigue permeating the media and the public. But his words' violent turn in recent weeks— calling for a U.S. military leader to be executed, mocking a potentially fatal assault on a congressional spouse, urging police to shoot shoplifters— suggest a line has been crossed…. Much of the public may not be aware of Trump's darkening rhetoric… but the people most likely to be radicalized by him or to act on his incitement already hear him, loud and clear.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/01/impeachment-cognitive-warfare-on-capitol-hill/" data-original-title="" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/01/impeachment-cognitive-warfare-on-capitol-hill/" target="_blank" title="">IMPEACHMENT: ‘Cognitive Warfare’ on Capitol Hill</a> </strong></p><p>[Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 10-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/02/politics/john-kelly-donald-trump-us-service-members-veterans/index.html" data-original-title="" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/10/02/politics/john-kelly-donald-trump-us-service-members-veterans/index.html" target="_blank" title="">John Kelly goes on the record to confirm several disturbing stories about Trump </a></strong></p><p>[CNN, via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/milley-always-told-trump-what-he" data-original-title="" href="https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/milley-always-told-trump-what-he" target="_blank" title="">MILLEY ALWAYS TOLD TRUMP WHAT HE WANTED TO HEAR</a> </strong></p><p>Seymour Hersh [via Naked Capitalism 10-06-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/04/after-50-years-this-right-wing-law-factory-is-crazier-than-ever/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/10/04/after-50-years-this-right-wing-law-factory-is-crazier-than-ever/" target="_blank" title="">After 50 Years, This Right-Wing Law Factory Is Crazier Than Ever</a> </strong></p><p>Arn Pearson, David Armiak [The American Prospect]</p><blockquote><p>The American Legislative Exchange Council is where corporations and far-right groups go to buy government policy.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-10-03-north-carolina-shuts-government-off-from-people/" target="_blank">North Carolina Shuts Government Off From the People</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ramenda Cyrus, October 3, 2023 [The American Prospect]</p><p>A change to public records laws, which takes effect today, allows legislators full discretion to retain, sell, or destroy their own documents.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-courts-originalism-doesnt-have-much-do-history" data-original-title="" href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/supreme-courts-originalism-doesnt-have-much-do-history" target="_blank" title="">This Supreme Court’s ‘Originalism’ Doesn’t Have Much to Do With History</a> </strong></p><p>[Brennan Center for Justice, via Naked Capitalism 10-06-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The main story that the originalism wants to tell—and then lock us all into for the rest of time—is the story of the Constitution’s “original meaning.” But historians know that the Constitution, like most texts or historical events, doesn’t have (just) one historical meaning. Debates over its meaning raged during its framing and its ratification. They were widespread through the struggles after the Civil War over the Reconstruction Amendments, amendments that continue to play an important role in American life. And they are still happening to this day because the Constitution is complex.…</p><p>The problems run deeper. The court’s originalist opinions strip away all the context necessary to make sense of the past. All historians know that context is key to understanding any historical source, including the Constitution. The court’s originalist opinions, however, lack that key background. They offer the public hyper-focused discussions of individual words and historical dictionaries alongside lists of citations to old statutes and cases that seem arbitrarily chosen (or arbitrarily rejected). Facts that are key to understanding what was going on at the time are omitted. Can one really interpret the Second Amendment without acknowledging that the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/opinions/supreme-court-gun-rights-case-lethality-tucker/index.html" href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/opinions/supreme-court-gun-rights-case-lethality-tucker/index.html" target="_blank">vast difference in lethality</a> between contemporary assault rifles and the “arms” borne by Americans in the late-18th century—commonly <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/13/the-men-who-wrote-the-2nd-amendment-would-never-recognize-an-ar-15/" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/13/the-men-who-wrote-the-2nd-amendment-would-never-recognize-an-ar-15/" target="_blank">muskets and flintlock pistols</a> that could only fire one round at a time and with little accuracy? This isn’t history. It’s just a collection of old things….</p><p>History can help us all—lawyers, judges, scholars, and everyday people—expose blind spots in old ways of thinking about the Constitution and point to new ones. It can shed light on the values and beliefs that have shaped our politics and law in the nation’s earliest years and show how later generations have met them, exceeded them, failed them, and changed them. It can present the stories of people who were excluded from constitutional decision-making in the past and challenge us to reconsider our constitutional commitments with their perspectives and interests in mind. Remember—history reminds us—women did not have the right to vote at the time the 14th Amendment was ratified. And that’s just for starters.</p><p>History can help the law move forward. Whatever the court’s doing in fixating on the past, it’s not doing that.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-weighs-fate-consumer-090000494.html" data-original-title="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-weighs-fate-consumer-090000494.html" target="_blank" title="">Consumer Agency Hated by Republicans Is in Fight of Its Life at Supreme Court</a> </strong></p><p>[Yahoo!, via Naked Capitalism 10-03-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-10-03-supreme-court-hesitant-toss-out-cfpb/" target="_blank" title="">Supreme Court Seems Hesitant to Toss Out the CFPB </a></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, October 3, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Oral arguments today saw the justices skeptical that the Constitution doesn’t allow Congress to fund the CFPB in a particular fashion.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/new-supreme-court-term-bad-cases.html" data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/new-supreme-court-term-bad-cases.html" target="_blank" title="">This Supreme Court Term’s Grimmest Cases Share One Thing in Common</a> </strong></p><p>[Slate, via Naked Capitalism 10-02-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/9/25/23875036/supreme-court-acheson-hotels-deborah-laufer-testers-disabilities-hotel-website" data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/9/25/23875036/supreme-court-acheson-hotels-deborah-laufer-testers-disabilities-hotel-website" target="_blank" title="">A Supreme Court case about hotel websites could blow up much of US civil rights law</a> </strong></p><p>[Vox, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/176031/supreme-court-rent-control-takings" target="_blank" title="">The Supreme Court Could Eviscerate Rent Control</a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Ford, October 6, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>New York City landlords have petitioned the high court to repeal the laws that have benefited the city’s tenants for generations.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2023/10/01/great-lakes-ins-v-raiders-retreat-realty-maritime-coverage-case-about-to-make-waves-at-supreme-court/?cmp=share_twitter" data-original-title="" href="https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2023/10/01/great-lakes-ins-v-raiders-retreat-realty-maritime-coverage-case-about-to-make-waves-at-supreme-court/?cmp=share_twitter" target="_blank" title="">Maritime Coverage Case About To Make Waves at Supreme Court</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Law Journal, via Naked Capitalism 10-04-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/09/clarence-thomas-chevron-ethics-kochs.html" data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/09/clarence-thomas-chevron-ethics-kochs.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Clarence Thomas’ Latest Pay-to-Play Scandal Finally Connects All the Dots</strong></a></p><p>[Slate, via The Big Picture 10-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>ProPublica released a new report on Friday detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ close relationship with the Koch brothers with previously undisclosed and extraordinarily damning new details. According to ProPublica, the justice developed a friendship with the Kochs as they were funneling hundreds of millions of dollars into right-wing causes, many of which ended up before the Supreme Court. The brothers then used Thomas to raise money for their sprawling network, inviting him to speak at “donor events” that brought in millions of dollars. He disclosed none of these activities on his annual disclosure forms, an obvious violation of federal ethics law. If I were writing a column on SCOTUS I would have to title it “Criminal Justice” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/9/23/23864355/supreme-court-cfpb-unconstitutional-consumer-financial-fifth-circuit-great-depression" target="_blank" title=""><strong>A new Supreme Court case could trigger a second Great Depression</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Vox, via The Big Picture 10-01-2023]</p><blockquote><p>America’s Trumpiest court handed down a shockingly dangerous decision. The Supreme Court is likely, but not certain, to fix it.</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-30143590255697511792023-10-01T13:19:00.002-05:002023-10-08T21:05:20.323-05:00Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 1, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – October 1, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/80-years-ago-denmark-miraculously-saved-8-000-jews-from-nazi-murder" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/80-years-ago-denmark-miraculously-saved-8-000-jews-from-nazi-murder" target="_blank" title="">80 Years Ago Denmark Miraculously Saved 8,000 Jews From Nazi Murder</a></strong></p><p>Harvey Wasserman, September 25, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02981-z?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=ac0c637986-briefing-dy-20230922&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-ac0c637986-43306753" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02981-z?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=ac0c637986-briefing-dy-20230922&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-ac0c637986-43306753" target="_blank" title=""><strong>VACCINE SPECIALIST PETER HOTEZ: SCIENTISTS ARE ‘UNDER ATTACK FOR SOMEONE ELSE’S POLITICAL GAIN</strong>’</a> <br /></p><p>Julian Nowogrodzki, September 21, 2023 [Natue, via <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/23/2194654/-Overnight-Science-News-Politically-motivated-bullies-want-to-tear-down-the-fabric-of-science" data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/23/2194654/-Overnight-Science-News-Politically-motivated-bullies-want-to-tear-down-the-fabric-of-science" target="_blank" title="">Overnight Science News: Politically motivated bullies want to 'tear down the fabric of science'</a><strong>, </strong>DailyKos 9-23-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p><strong>The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning, </strong><em>Peter Hotez,</em> Johns Hopkins Univ. Press (2023)….<br /></p><p><strong>You prefer to say ‘anti-science aggression’ rather than ‘misinformation’. Why?</strong></p><p>Misinformation makes it sound like it’s random junk that appears out of nowhere on the Internet. It’s not: it’s an organized, well-financed, politically motivated campaign that’s meant to tear down the fabric of science. And we have to frame it in that way.</p><p><strong>Anti-science rhetoric is not new. What’s changed?</strong></p><p>Now, it’s fully embraced by a major political party in the United States, and by authoritarian regimes in other countries such as Hungary and, previously, Brazil. It’s sanctioned by elected leaders in the US Congress. It’s reached a new level of organization and aggression — it’s starting to resemble the 1930s, when Joseph Stalin’s regime in the Soviet Union portrayed scientists as enemies of the state.</p><p><strong>How did you see this play out during the COVID-19 pandemic?</strong></p><p>Some 200,000 Americans died because of anti-science aggression…. When I went into the more conservative, rural areas of east Texas, essentially everyone I talked to had lost a loved one because they refused a COVID-19 vaccine. In the intensive-care unit, you saw some people deny COVID-19 existed, yet in their dying words feel remorse and advise their friends: ‘Don’t do what I did, get your COVID-19 immunization.’ These are good people. [Anti-science campaigners] took advantage of that….</p><p>...I’ve been leading this dual life, having to combat aggression against science and scientists. It’s hit me hard because now I’m a major target of far-right extremists. It’s odd to have [former White House strategist] Steve Bannon call you a criminal on social media. Those [statements] act as dog whistles, and then it’s followed by a wave of threats online and by e-mail, and even physical stalking.</p><p>Right now, you’re seeing individual scientists getting picked off by anti-science bullies on the Internet, or getting subpoenaed to testify at show-trial-like hearings. It’s terrible to watch my virology colleagues get paraded on [television network] CSpan as though they’ve done something wrong, when all they did was what I do — science for humanitarian purposes.</p><p>And I see the aggression getting worse as we head for the 2024 election.</p><p><strong>So how can this be stopped?</strong></p><p>This is the hardest question to answer. People in the health sector don’t know what to do; scientific societies discuss it in bland, defeatist language and talk about meeting with social-media companies. But no one seems to be willing to say, as I do, that this is political. As scientists, we are trained to have neutrality, we’re not supposed to talk about Republicans and Democrats or liberals and conservatives. But what do we do when the attacks are partisan?</p><p>We’re not seeing vigorous pushback or response, and neutrality favours the tormentor or the aggressor. We’re not hearing from the leadership of scientific societies, from university presidents, to defend science. I think they don’t want to offend donors coming from that political side, or state legislatures or the federal government. But they need to speak out in a forthright way. </p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="3" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Michael Mann..said Murdoch had been “one of the most &amp;nbsp;destructive forces in modern history...has wielded his global media empire as a cudgel to sow confusion and &amp;nbsp;doubt about the science and the solutions...will go down in history as &amp;nbsp;one of the greatest climate villains”. &lt;a href="https://t.co/LtERgF109G"&gt;https://t.co/LtERgF109G&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Prof Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelEMann/status/1705591444889649207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 23, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1705591444889649207" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1705591444889649207&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2195352%2Fedit&sessionId=47b8c4e4f045ac2d43caddc43e7edd2029c9e3c0&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 489px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>.</p><p>[TW: Below is not exactly the other side of the argument, because the dangers Taibbi warns against are all too real:]</p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/anthony-fauci-was-americas-warmup?r=5mz1&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web" target="_blank" title="">Anthony Fauci Was America's Warmup Dictator </a></strong><br /></p><p>Matt Taibbi, September 30, 2023</p><blockquote><p>He institutionalized the purposeful lie, suppressed critics, mastered emergency politics, even sold himself as a sex symbol. Anthony Fauci gave the next monster a playbook<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/23/latest-news-on-the-war-these-past-two-days-we-have-advanced-considerably-to-a-full-blown-russia-nato-war/" data-original-title="" href="https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/09/23/latest-news-on-the-war-these-past-two-days-we-have-advanced-considerably-to-a-full-blown-russia-nato-war/" target="_blank" title="">Latest news on the war: these past two days we have advanced considerably to a full-blown Russia-NATO war</a> </strong></p><p>Gilbert Doctorow [via Naked Capitalism 9-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...This past week Western media broke ranks on the prospects for a Ukrainian victory. It appeared that there is growing consensus that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had failed and there was more talk of Ukraine-fatigue in American political circles. Speculation now turned both in major media and in dissident media on how the United States will respond to a looming defeat in Ukraine. Many decided that Washington would just move on after ‘throwing Ukraine under the bus’ and raise the war cries against China so as to avoid getting bogged down in recriminations over ‘who lost Ukraine.’</p><p>However, that was two days ago. Today Washington’s Plan B is becoming clearer. And what I see does not look good for world peace and for our chances of surviving this conflict.</p><p>Plan B took the form of the Storm Shadow strike a couple of days ago directly on the General Staff building of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol….<br /></p><p>The next troublesome straw in the wind is the reversal of the Biden administration on the question of sending the ATACMS to Kiev. The optimal moment to announce such a decision would have been during Zelensky’s day on Capitol Hill and meetings in the Oval Office. Instead Jake Sullivan told reporters that no decision had been taken as yet by the President.</p><p>I believe there is a clear connection between the successful Storm Shadow attack on the general staff building in Sevastopol and the decision to ship ATACMS to Ukraine now. I also note that the decision to supply the American missiles will surely be followed in a few days by the German decision to ship its long-range TAURUS missiles. Both decisions have till now been held back on grounds that they would lead to a Russian escalation of the war. Now it would appear that, facing imminent defeat, the Biden administration is throwing caution to the wind and is ready to risk outbreak of a direct, not proxy Russia-NATO war.</p><p>As a further straw in the wind, I point to another deeply troublesome bit of information that you will not find in <em>The New York Times</em>. The Russian news ticker today carries a report from a Russian commander in the field in Ukraine that his unit just destroyed a Leopard tank and found that the entire crew was Germans. Two of them were killed and one injured tank officer was taken prisoner. Those manning a Leopard surely were not soldiers of fortune but genuine Bundeswehr boys. Put in other words, NATO is now directly on the battlefield and not as advisers or instructors. We are headed into very dangerous territory.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/09/23/leopard-2-manned-by-a-german-bundeswehr-crew-destroyed-russia/" data-original-title="" href="https://bulgarianmilitary.com/2023/09/23/leopard-2-manned-by-a-german-bundeswehr-crew-destroyed-russia/" target="_blank" title="">Leopard 2 manned by a German Bundeswehr crew destroyed – Russia</a> </strong></p><p>[Bulgarianmilitary.com, via Naked Capitalism 9-24-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/simonateba/status/1705996702950240618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1705996702950240618%7Ctwgr%5E3e367559445d29ec14cf11044615b5b771f8e20a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F09%2Flinks-9-26-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/simonateba/status/1705996702950240618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1705996702950240618%7Ctwgr%5E3e367559445d29ec14cf11044615b5b771f8e20a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F09%2Flinks-9-26-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 9-26-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;SHOCKING NEW DETAIL: U.S. Army Hospital in Germany Is Treating American Soldiers Hurt Fighting in Ukraine. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;NY Times writes, &amp;quot;The Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center has quietly started admitting Ukrainian Army soldiers who were wounded in combat, most of them American… &lt;a href="https://t.co/Iie9cP8ZNd"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Iie9cP8ZNd&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Simon Ateba (@simonateba) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/simonateba/status/1705996702950240618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 24, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1705996702950240618" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1705996702950240618&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2195352%2Fedit&sessionId=47b8c4e4f045ac2d43caddc43e7edd2029c9e3c0&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 749px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/19/twenty-years-of-outsourced-war-missionaries-phil-klay/" target="_blank" title="">Twenty Years of Outsourced War </a></strong><br /></p><p>Suzy Hansen [The New York Review, October 19, 2023 issue]<br /></p><blockquote><p>In Uncertain Ground, Phil Klay sets out to determine what twenty-first-century US foreign policy has done to the cocksure American mind.<br /><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/what-you-need-to-know-about-azerbaijan-baku-nagorno-karabakh-the-republic-of-artsakh" target="_blank" title="">What You Need To Know About... Azerbaijan, Baku Nagorno-Karabakh & The Republic of Artsakh</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, September 30, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Drive to Civil War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/trump-milley-execution-incitement-violence/675435/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/trump-milley-execution-incitement-violence/675435/" target="_blank" title="">Trump Floats the Idea of Executing Joint Chiefs Chairman Milley</a></strong></p><p>Brian Klaas, September 25, 2023 [The Atlantic]</p><blockquote><p>Late Friday night, the former president of the United States—and a leading candidate to be the next president—insinuated that America’s top general deserves to be put to death.</p><p>That extraordinary sentence would be unthinkable in any other rich democracy. But Donald Trump, on his social-media network, Truth Social, wrote that Mark Milley’s phone call to reassure China in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was “an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.” (The phone call was, in fact, explicitly authorized by Trump-administration officials.) Trump’s threats against Milley came after <em>The Atlantic</em>’s publication of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/general-mark-milley-trump-coup/675375/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/general-mark-milley-trump-coup/675375/">a profile of Milley</a>, by this magazine’s editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who detailed the ways in which Milley attempted to protect the Constitution from Trump.</p><p>And yet, none of the nation’s front pages blared “Trump Suggests That Top General Deserves Execution” or “Former President Accuses General of Treason.” Instead, the post barely made the news. Most Americans who don’t follow Trump on social media probably don’t even know it happened.</p><p>Trump’s rhetoric is dangerous, not just because it is the exact sort that incites violence against public officials but also because it shows just how numb the country has grown toward threats more typical of broken, authoritarian regimes. The United States is not just careening toward <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/04/us-extremism-portland-george-floyd-protests-january-6/673088/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/04/us-extremism-portland-george-floyd-protests-january-6/673088/" title="">a significant risk of political violence</a> around the 2024 presidential election. It’s also mostly oblivious to where it’s headed.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/will-it-take-bloodshed-for-americans-to-wake-up-to-the-danger-trump-his-maga-movement-pose" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/will-it-take-bloodshed-for-americans-to-wake-up-to-the-danger-trump-his-maga-movement-pose" target="_blank" title="">Will It Take Bloodshed For Americans To Wake Up To The Danger Trump & His MAGA Movement Pose? </a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, September 26, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p><strong>In 1860 The Freedom Caucus Was Known As The Fire Eaters</strong></p><p>On February 4, 1861, the rebel governments of South Carolina, which had seceded in December, 1860, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana (all of which seceded in January) and Texas, which seceded on February 1, sent representatives to Montgomery, Alabama to form the Confederate States of America. This was a month before Lincoln was sworn in as president. Although, officially the first bloodshed was on April 12 at Fort Sumter, there had been blood spilled leading up to all this. Bleeding Kansas (1854-1858) resulted in a few hundred deaths. John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in 1859 failed to start a slave rebellion and resulted in Brown and his men being executed. Elements of the federal government tried compromising with the secessionists by guaranteeing slavery (the Citttenden Compromise, December 1860, and an actual constitutional amendment in early 1861, the Corwin Amendment), though both ultimately failed, as did the 1861 peace conferences— akin to today’s Problem Solver’s Caucus. The country was probably already too polarized over slavery and other issues for a peaceful solution. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, Senators John Calhoun and Jefferson Davis and the members of those days' Freedom Caucus, called the Fire Eaters (like Robert Rhett, Edmund Ruffin, Louis Wigfall and William Yancey) were as divisive and anti-patriotic then as Trump, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.aol.com/news/greene-hard-no-two-spending-123148030.html" href="https://www.aol.com/news/greene-hard-no-two-spending-123148030.html" target="_blank"><u>Marjorie Traitor Greene</u></a>, Matt Gaetz, Paul Gosar, Matt Rosendale, Ralph Norman, Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Rick Scott are today.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>They’re not capitalists — they’re predatory criminals</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/09/jpmorgans-settlements-reach-365-million-over-civil-claims-it-banked-jeffrey-epsteins-sex-trafficking-of-minors-criminal-charges-could-lie-ahead/" target="_blank" title="">JPMorgan’s Settlements Reach $365 Million Over Civil Claims It Banked Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Trafficking of Minors; Criminal Charges Could Lie Ahead</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, September 27, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/how-to-hide-a-2-trillion-antitrust" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/how-to-hide-a-2-trillion-antitrust" target="_blank" title="">How to Hide a $2 Trillion Antitrust Trial</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 9-25-2023] </p><p>Here is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bigtechontrial.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bigtechontrial.com/" target="_blank" title="">Stoller’s trial reporting site</a>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/the-selling-of-americas-most-controversial-gun-3c86127f" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/the-selling-of-americas-most-controversial-gun-3c86127f" target="_blank" title="">The Selling of America’s Most Controversial Gun</a> </strong></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 9-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Private equity turned the AR-15 into a big profit-maker and a charged symbol in the debate over gun rights and mass shootings.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-24/private-equity-zombie-firms-leave-pension-funds-with-hard-choices#xj4y7vzkg" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-24/private-equity-zombie-firms-leave-pension-funds-with-hard-choices#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank">Private Equity’s Slow Carnage Unleashes a Wave of Zombies</a> </strong></p><p>[Businessweek, via The Big Picture 9-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A historic shakeup is threatening to snare many small, struggling or fading money managers unable to raise fresh funds.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/79117c1b-7a1f-411a-8472-d41f8539fad7" href="https://www.ft.com/content/79117c1b-7a1f-411a-8472-d41f8539fad7" target="_blank">A power grab against private equity threatens the US economy</a> </strong></p><p>[Financial Times, via Naked Capitalism 9-28-2023] </p><p>Lambert Strether summarizes as “A power grab against tapeworms threatens digestion.”</p><blockquote><p>The US is a beacon for global investment and innovation. And private equity plays a vital role in building better businesses, employing millions and delivering strong returns to support the retirements of millions of working Americans. Approximately 85 per cent of private equity investments support small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.</p><div>Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s regulatory agenda is currently threatening this system, which supports workers and small businesses across the US. Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan used a recently filed healthcare case as an opportunity to take a swipe at it — all in pursuit of a radical new antitrust theory.</div></blockquote><p><br /><strong><a href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/19/conspicuous-destruction-plunder-brendan-ballou/" target="_blank">Conspicuous Destruction</a></strong></p><p>Kim Phillips-Fein [The New York Review, October 19, 2023 issue]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Two new books argue that the private equity industry has created an economic order in which getting rich quickly preempts every other value, undermining companies and evading the law.</p><p>Reviewed:</p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bookshop.org/a/312/9781541702103" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bookshop.org/a/312/9781541702103" target="_blank" title="">Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America</a></p><div>by Brendan Ballou</div><div>PublicAffairs, 353 pp., $30.00</div><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bookshop.org/a/312/9781982191283" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bookshop.org/a/312/9781982191283" target="_blank" title="">These Are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America</a></p><div>by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner</div><div>Simon and Schuster, 383 pp., $30.00</div><div><br /></div><div>...It is easy to draw parallels between the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century and our contemporary era of inequality, but aside from a penchant for conspicuous consumption, there are important differences between the old-time captains of industry and tycoons like Schwarzman. After all, the Carnegies and Rockefellers made steel and pumped oil; the Morgans (and attorneys like Bradley Martin) financed their endeavors, the building of factories and the laying of railroads. Their wealth was created in a mad rush for the profits to be gained by developing an agricultural country into an industrial urban one. But what does Blackstone do? How does it affect our world, and how has it made its owners so phenomenally wealthy?</div><div><br /></div><div>Two new books on private equity—<em>Plunder</em> by the federal prosecutor Brendan Ballou and <em>These Are the Plunderers</em> by the journalist Gretchen Morgenson and the researcher Joshua Rosner—aim to shed light on these questions. Ballou adopts a lawyerly, academic tone, while Morgenson and Rosner prefer cliff-hangers reminiscent of a true-crime podcast; both present forceful briefs for regulating the industry. In the take-no-prisoners style of the Progressive Era’s muckraking reporters, each book provides an impassioned rebuke of the men (they’re mostly men) and women who have profited from private equity….<br /></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ft.com/content/84409cde-1197-49c9-bf88-dbe371e44313" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/84409cde-1197-49c9-bf88-dbe371e44313" target="_blank" title="">Private equity firms pivot away from traditional buyouts</a> </strong></p><p>[Financial Times, via Naked Capitalism 9-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Top executives from Apollo and Blackstone were among those laying out the potential for the business, known as private credit, as well as infrastructure investing as thousands of dealmakers and investors gathered this week in Paris at the annual IPEM industry conference.</p><p>In a sign of how private equity is rapidly moving beyond its swashbuckling roots in buying large companies, the focus in Paris was squarely on how firms are positioning themselves as an alternative to the traditional banking system, capable of making multibillion-dollar corporate loans.<br />Jim Zelter, Apollo’s co-president, said that in an era of higher rates there were “unprecedented” returns available in private credit. The New York-based firm is increasingly targeting loans to large companies, according to people familiar with the matter. A recent example includes a €500mn loan to Air France.</p><p>Apollo’s private credit unit now manages more than $400bn, dwarfing the $100bn in assets under management in its buyout division, historically the cornerstone of the group’s business. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-27/citadel-is-preparing-to-fight-gary-gensler-s-sec-over-whatsapp-probe" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Citadel Is Ready to Fight With SEC Over WhatsApp Probe</strong></a></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 9-28-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Ken Griffin’s hedge fund discusses legal plans with peers SEC is investigating money managers’ recordkeeping practices.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/vision-insurer-vsp-accused-market-power-abuse-optometrists-lawsuit-2023-09-27/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/vision-insurer-vsp-accused-market-power-abuse-optometrists-lawsuit-2023-09-27/" target="_blank" title="">Vision insurer VSP accused of market power ‘abuse’ in optometrists’ lawsuit</a> </strong></p><p>[Reuters, via Naked Capitalism 9-28-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/09/19/addiction-foods-hyperpalatable-tobacco/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Many of today’s unhealthy foods were brought to you by Big Tobacco</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Washington Post, via The Big Picture 9-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A new study suggests that tobacco companies, who were skilled at marketing cigarettes, used similar strategies to hook people on processed foods. </p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/crisis-in-the-bread-basket/" href="https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/crisis-in-the-bread-basket/" target="_blank">Crisis in the Bread Basket</a> [Punjab, India]</strong></p><p>[Phenomenal World, via Naked Capitalism 9-24-2023]</p><blockquote><p>While industrial growth has been slow for decades, recent indicators suggest that the country may be actively <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theindiaforum.in/economy/india-derailed-falling-investment-rate-and-deindustrialisation" href="https://www.theindiaforum.in/economy/india-derailed-falling-investment-rate-and-deindustrialisation">deindustrializing</a>. After two decades of “jobless growth,” a record high unemployment rate suggests that the economy may be actively <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/44/insight/jobless-job-loss-growth.html" href="https://www.epw.in/journal/2019/44/insight/jobless-job-loss-growth.html">shedding jobs.</a> </p><p>At the same time, agriculture’s share in the country’s GDP has been steadily declining, exemplified by the state of Punjab, where, between 2020 and 2021, protests erupted around three new farm laws that threatened to unsettle the existing agrarian regime. The mobilizations evoked agricultural land as a lifeline of last resort, a source of protection and security when all other ventures failed. Today, Punjab’s political economy is at a crossroads: agriculture is not as stable or profitable as it used to be, and industry is incapable of providing employment and economic diversification.</p><p>The trajectory is symptomatic of what the development scholar Subir Sinha has termed a “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920516641732" href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920516641732">sustained state of deferral</a>” of “mature,” competitive capitalism in postcolonial India. Defying the conventional development narrative, increased investment in the agricultural sector has not automatically led to industrial development or increased employment.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://stayathomemacro.substack.com/p/why-cant-we-shake-the-gloom-its-more" data-original-title="" href="https://stayathomemacro.substack.com/p/why-cant-we-shake-the-gloom-its-more" target="_blank" title="">Why can’t we shake the gloom? It’s more than inflation or higher prices.</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Claudia Sahm, Stay-At-Home Macro (SAHM), via Naked Capitalism 9-24-2023]<br /></p><p> Well worth a read, including the mechanics of discerning “consumer sentiment.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-29-what-writers-won-wga/" target="_blank" title="">What the Writers Won</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, September 29, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The end of the five-month Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike was the most important thing that’s happened in Hollywood in a while, but another important development has been largely overlooked. Amazon has announced that it would <a data-cke-saved-href="https://deadline.com/2023/09/amazon-ads-prime-video-series-movies-ad-free-tier-1235552984/" data-original-title="" href="https://deadline.com/2023/09/amazon-ads-prime-video-series-movies-ad-free-tier-1235552984/" target="_blank" title="">start running ads</a> in Prime Video series and movies, which viewers can escape by purchasing a more expensive “ad-free” tier.</p><p>With Amazon’s move, pretty much every streaming service now has at least one tier with advertising, from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-ads-tier-pricing-explained-and-all-your-questions-answered/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-ads-tier-pricing-explained-and-all-your-questions-answered/" target="_blank" title="">Netflix</a> to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://help.max.com/us/Answer/Detail/000002547" href="https://help.max.com/us/Answer/Detail/000002547" target="_blank">Max</a> to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://help.hulu.com/s/article/ads-on-hulu" data-original-title="" href="https://help.hulu.com/s/article/ads-on-hulu" target="_blank" title="">Hulu</a> to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://screenrant.com/peacock-premium-plus-ads-why-explained/" data-original-title="" href="https://screenrant.com/peacock-premium-plus-ads-why-explained/" target="_blank" title="">Peacock</a> to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/is-disney-plus-with-ads-worth-it/" href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/is-disney-plus-with-ads-worth-it/" target="_blank">Disney+</a>. It’s just one way in which the streaming model, which has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/24/1189240124/the-streaming-model-is-cratering-heres-how-thats-hurting-actors-writers-and-fans" data-original-title="" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/24/1189240124/the-streaming-model-is-cratering-heres-how-thats-hurting-actors-writers-and-fans" target="_blank" title="">lost enormous amounts of money</a> for virtually every company that has tried it, is slowly but surely turning back into traditional television….<br /></p><p>The writers were on strike because the actual entertainment creators were poised to become the only ones to lose out in this transition. As <a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-05-08-writers-face-new-deadline-industry-survival/" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-05-08-writers-face-new-deadline-industry-survival/">I wrote when the strike began in May</a>, entertainment writing over the past decade has shifted to a gig-economy model, making it next to impossible to earn a living. This was a function of streaming video popping up as a “new” distribution channel, unrestricted by the contractual agreements of broadcast and cable.</p><p>The WGA went into the strike to fight that trend, which the contract they’ve won largely does. It will earn writers $233 million more per year than their previous agreement, according to Guild estimates, nearly tripling the offer that the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) first made. More important, it begins to add the kinds of protections and revenue-sharing that made the entertainment business so successful for creators for decades. But there is one important caveat that must be spotlighted: Whether writers will get fairly compensated depends on the quality of streaming viewership data.</p></blockquote><p><br /><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175862/wga-strike-victory-hollywood-ceos" target="_blank" title="">Hollywood CEOs Thought They Could Wait Out a Writers’ Strike. They Were Wrong.</a></strong><br /></p><p>Sal Gentile, September 29, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The Writers Guild of America didn’t just secure a victory for their own membership—they blazed a trail for other workers to follow.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://statuscoup.substack.com/p/why-the-uaw-strike-is-more-important" data-original-title="" href="https://statuscoup.substack.com/p/why-the-uaw-strike-is-more-important" target="_blank" title="">Why the UAW Strike is More Important Than the 2024 Election (and We Need You)</a> </strong></p><p>[Status Coup, via Naked Capitalism 9-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Over 40 years ago, social Darwinists fueled by Reagan—and aided by Democrats— recognized an important fact: the only lock on the bank vault preventing us from robbing the working class blind was…labor unions. That’s why systematically, with the help of robber barons like the Koch Brothers and the rest of the army of Republican mega-donors and corporations, began attacking labor unions. As their union-busting strategy proved successful, income earned by the working class was literally STOLEN and redistributed to the wealthy.<br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F155ee367-8679-43cb-bee2-5e8250079d46_1006x782.png" target="_blank" title="">GRAPH — When fewer people are in unions, the top 10% capture a much bigger piece of the pie</a></strong></p><p><strong></strong>….Workers from John Deere, GM, Warrior Met Coal, Starbucks, Amazon, Nabisco, Frito-Lay, Kroger, Kellogg’s, Columbia University, Mercy Hospital, and many others began going on strike and/or organizing union campaigns. Just last year, major strike activity <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.epi.org/publication/2022-work-stoppages/" href="https://www.epi.org/publication/2022-work-stoppages/">surged</a> by 50 percent.</p><p>And now, for the first time ever, UAW has gone on strike against all three of the Big Three car companies (who have already made a combined $21 billion in the first nine months of 2023).</p><p>Not only has UAW made history striking against all three companies; the union is making history by doing it in a creative, strategic way. UAW is stretching their $850 million strike fund way longer by not going out on strike all at once. Instead, they have begun the strike at three targeted plants with threats to strike at additional plants if the car companies don’t significantly sweeten their contract offers…. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-09-27-biden-on-the-picket-line-trump-in-the-wings/" target="_blank" title="">Biden on the Picket Line, Trump in the Wings</a></strong><br /></p><p>Harold Meyerson, September 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The most pro-labor thing Franklin Roosevelt ever did—I’d argue, the most radical thing he ever did, period—was, precisely, nothing. When San Francisco and Minneapolis were shut down by general strikes in 1934, and when autoworkers barricaded themselves inside General Motors factories in 1936-1937, FDR did what none of his presidential predecessors would have done. He refused to send in the Army (or, as some had demanded, the Navy, to end San Francisco’s waterfront-centered strike). He let these epochal uprisings play out without deploying troops to break the strikes (and strikers’ heads), as his presidential predecessors (including Democrat Grover Cleveland) had routinely done. Privately, Roosevelt and his labor secretary, Frances Perkins, did lean on GM President Alfred P. Sloan, as well as CIO President John L. Lewis, to come to terms.</p><p>On Tuesday, Joe Biden raised the bar on presidential pro-labor action by joining a UAW picket line in Michigan and telling workers that their demands were just and necessary if the American middle class were to grow again. (Whether that surpasses Roosevelt’s pro-labor inaction in the annals of our nation’s ever-present class wars, I leave to future historians.) Biden spoke of the sacrifices the union had made—which included abandoning the yearly cost-of-living adjustments that had been a key part of UAW contracts since 1950—when the auto companies faced bankruptcy in 2009 following Wall Street’s implosion. He referenced the immense profits that the companies had made since then, and said it was time that the workers themselves shared in that bounty.</p><p>He went, in short, where no president, even FDR, had gone before, and, however brief his remarks, he got to the heart of a lot of what ails the American economy. According to the yearly SEC report, the CEOs of General Motors and Stellantis <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/business/auto-ceos-make-about-300-times-what-their-median-worker-is-paid-heres-how-that-stacks-up-cefc9a5" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/business/auto-ceos-make-about-300-times-what-their-median-worker-is-paid-heres-how-that-stacks-up-cefc9a5" target="_blank" title="">made in a single day last year</a> what it took their median worker the entire year to make (the ratio between CEO and median worker pay last year at Stellantis was 365-to-1, and at GM 362-to-1)….<br /></p><p><strong>I WON’T BE COVERING TRUMP’S EVENT</strong>, but in a sense, I’ve already been there and done that. In 1996, I spent a week covering the Republican presidential primary campaign of Pat Buchanan for the <em>L.A. Weekly</em>, as Buchanan swung through Michigan and Illinois in the days before they held their primaries.</p><p>Buchanan was Trump <em>avant la lettre</em>. He was the first to proclaim that Republicans should wage a culture war against liberalism, the first to say that Republicans should wave the banner of economic nationalism by opposing NAFTA, and later, the first to argue that Republicans should support the then-new Russian president, Vladimir Putin, because Putin was anti-gay just as they should be. Buchanan lost the Republican nomination that year to Bob Dole, but he routinely won about a third of the primary vote, chiefly from the party’s blue-collar members….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/09/the-strangest-moments-from-trumps-non-union-rally.html" target="_blank" title="">Trump Tells Autoworkers ‘I Don’t Care What You Get’ in Bizarre Nonunion Rally</a></strong><br /></p><p>[New York Magazine, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-28-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p> “Throughout the rally, Trump tried to frame himself as the pro-union candidate for killing the Trans-Pacific Partnership that had the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-manufacturing/409591/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-manufacturing/409591/" target="_blank">potential</a> to take auto-manufacturing jobs abroad…. At one point during a long diatribe against electric vehicles, he said, ‘I don’t care what you get in the next two weeks, or three weeks, or five weeks,’ referring to the length of the strike. (According to Trump, it wouldn’t matter due to the Biden administration’s support of electric vehicles and the potential for the growing industry to undercut union jobs.) ‘I don’t think you’re picketing for the right thing,’ he added…. As for the Autoworkers for Trump signs in the audience, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/27/donald-trump-returns-auto-industry-strike-uaw-ev-taking-center-stage-presidential-election-joe-biden/70960155007/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/27/donald-trump-returns-auto-industry-strike-uaw-ev-taking-center-stage-presidential-election-joe-biden/70960155007/" target="_blank" title="">reporters</a> at the rally <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/MattZeitlin/status/1707189214578667973" href="https://twitter.com/MattZeitlin/status/1707189214578667973" target="_blank">found</a> that Trump campaign staffers were passing them out to non-union workers.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/26/igch-s26.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/09/26/igch-s26.html" target="_blank" title="">“Go full force”: Autoworkers press for all-out strike, as Biden intervenes to facilitate UAW sellout</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[WSWS, via Naked Capitalism 9-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/automakers-electric-vehicle-lie/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Automakers’ Electric Vehicle Lie</strong></a></p><p>Lucy Dean Stockton, September 27, 2023 [The Lever]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Executives at General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis are pushing back on worker demands by invoking the climate crisis. They say it is impossible to give workers what they want while also making a swift transition to manufacturing electric vehicles.</p><p>On September 14, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said that the union’s demands — higher wages, better hours, an end to tiered employment, and guaranteed job security in a green energy transition — could <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-ceo-says-uaw-proposal-could-force-bankruptcy-2023-09-14/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-ceo-says-uaw-proposal-could-force-bankruptcy-2023-09-14/" target="_blank" title=""><u>send</u></a> the company into bankruptcy. Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, said that the union’s demands are “unrealistic” and would make GM less <a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/gm-and-uaw-remain-far-apart-ceo-barra-calls-demands-too-costly" href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/gm-and-uaw-remain-far-apart-ceo-barra-calls-demands-too-costly" target="_blank"><u>competitive</u></a>. Major outlets have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/how-uaw-strike-impact-biden-green-revolution-1827377" data-original-title="" href="https://www.newsweek.com/how-uaw-strike-impact-biden-green-revolution-1827377" target="_blank" title=""><u>echoed these claims</u></a>, even <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.levernews.com/new-at-6-30-anti-union-propaganda/" href="https://www.levernews.com/new-at-6-30-anti-union-propaganda/"><u>arguing</u></a> that the UAW’s strike will harm the environment by stalling EV production.</p><p>But these corporate arguments are undercut by the fact that these companies have authorized billions in stock buybacks, special dividends, and executive compensation. The automakers could have invested that money into worker compensation and electric vehicles, but instead steered it toward stockholders….</p><div><p>GM and other auto manufacturers are making the same mistake again. During the pandemic, profits at the Big Three spiked by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/15/1199673197/uaw-strike-big-3-automakers" href="https://www.npr.org/2023/09/15/1199673197/uaw-strike-big-3-automakers" target="_blank"><u>65 percent</u></a>, as they used the supply-chain shortage to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/raulelizalde/2022/02/23/car-prices-above-msrp-reflect-price-gouging-rather-than-inflation/?sh=68b2c86cb60a" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/raulelizalde/2022/02/23/car-prices-above-msrp-reflect-price-gouging-rather-than-inflation/?sh=68b2c86cb60a" target="_blank"><u>raise prices</u></a>. Instead of reinvesting these profits in EV technology or workers — with the exception of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.carscoops.com/2021/02/despite-pandemic-gms-hourly-uaw-workers-are-getting-larger-profit-sharing-cheques-than-in-2019/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.carscoops.com/2021/02/despite-pandemic-gms-hourly-uaw-workers-are-getting-larger-profit-sharing-cheques-than-in-2019/" target="_blank" title=""><u>mild boosts in profit-sharing</u></a> — the companies authorized <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.levernews.com/automakers-hand-billions-to-shareholders-while-stiffing-workers/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/automakers-hand-billions-to-shareholders-while-stiffing-workers/" title=""><u>$5 billion</u></a> in buybacks in 2022, a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://uaw.org/uaw-releases-new-video-corporate-greed-whats-really-going-auto-industry/" data-original-title="" href="https://uaw.org/uaw-releases-new-video-corporate-greed-whats-really-going-auto-industry/" target="_blank" title=""><u>1,500 percent increase</u></a> from the year prior. <br /></p><p>In February of this year, Ford <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2023/02/07/ford-stock-spotlight-red-bull-ford-partnership-ford-special-dividend-and-investing-in-the-auto-industry-in-2023/#:~:text=A%20special%20dividend%20was%20announced,provide%20one%20for%20numerous%20reasons." data-original-title="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/qai/2023/02/07/ford-stock-spotlight-red-bull-ford-partnership-ford-special-dividend-and-investing-in-the-auto-industry-in-2023/#:~:text=A%20special%20dividend%20was%20announced,provide%20one%20for%20numerous%20reasons." target="_blank" title=""><u>announced</u></a> a record $2.6 billion special dividend on top of its typical quarterly dividend of about $600 million. All told, Ford has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/f/dividend-history" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/f/dividend-history" target="_blank" title=""><u>spent</u></a> over $4.3 billion on dividends since November of last year. Stellantis has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.stellantis.com/en/investors/stock-and-shareholder-info/distribution-information/2023-ordinary-distribution" href="https://www.stellantis.com/en/investors/stock-and-shareholder-info/distribution-information/2023-ordinary-distribution" target="_blank"><u>issued</u></a> about $4.1 billion in dividends this year, while GM is <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/gm/dividend-history" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/stocks/gm/dividend-history" target="_blank" title=""><u>set</u></a> to distribute half a billion in dividends to its shareholders. <br /></p><p>Union workers hardly benefit from buybacks and excessive dividends. At the Big Three automakers, CEO salaries have gone up by 40 percent in the four years since the last UAW contract. Ford CEO James Farley received nearly $21 million in total compensation in 2022, a 21 percent increase over the $17.4 million then-CEO Jim Hackett received in 2019. Farley’s package last year included $15.1 million in stock awards….</p></div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-28-union-of-their-own-flight-attendants/" target="_blank" title="">A Union of Their Own: How a culture of gross sexism in the airlines created America’s most militantly feminist union</a></strong><br /></p><p>Robert Kuttner, September 28, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The first thing to appreciate about the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) is that it was born feminist. Its feminism and its militance have nourished each other. The second thing to appreciate is that AFA is among the most democratic of American unions. Every officer comes from the ranks of working flight attendants, so there is no gap between the lived experience of the rank and file and the union bureaucracy….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-last-gasps-american-labor" data-original-title="" href="https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-last-gasps-american-labor" target="_blank" title="">The Last Gasps of American Labor </a></strong></p><p>Michael Lind [The Tablet, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The major obstacle to a revival of private sector unionism is American labor law itself…. [T]he Wagner Act was designed with a flaw. As amended by later law and court interpretations, it requires “enterprise bargaining”—that is, the unionization of each worksite, not each company, unless a company agrees otherwise. This was not a problem in the case of integrated, consolidated steel or automobile factories. But it means that each Amazon warehouse must be unionized one at a time. This presents a huge obstacle to unionization efforts of companies with many worksites. Unionization can also be thwarted by franchise organization, and by the replacement of full-time employees with contractors.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.okdoomer.io/praise-doesnt-pay/?ref=ok-doomer-newsletter" data-original-title="" href="https://www.okdoomer.io/praise-doesnt-pay/?ref=ok-doomer-newsletter" target="_blank" title="">Sorry, You Matter Too Much to Make a Living Wage</a> </strong></p><p>[OK Doomer, via Naked Capitalism 9-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Everyone thinks it's vulgar for you to ask for money. Your job is too important for that. Instead of giving you a raise, they want to talk about how valuable you are. They want to talk about how much you sacrifice for some noble, greater good. They want to make movies about you.</p><p>There's a term for this.</p><p>It's vocational awe.</p><p>Fobazi Ettarh <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/?ref=okdoomer.io" href="https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2018/vocational-awe/?ref=okdoomer.io">introduced</a> the term in 2018. She was talking about the way everyone praises librarians for how much they sacrifice while simultaneously expecting them to keep doing it, despite the long hours and low pay and atrocious work conditions. Since then, the idea has caught on with teachers and other essential workers. It got a little bit of attention during the early days of the pandemic, but it deserves more.</p><p>You see, vocational awe serves a central function in our grotesque work culture. It's a cornerstone of predatory capitalism. If your boss doesn't want to pay you more, they distract you with praise. They puff up your ego by talking about how essential you are to their mission. The culture surrounding public education has done this for decades to quell dissent.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://mishtalk.com/economics/minimum-wage-for-fast-food-workers-jumps-30-to-20-per-hour-in-california/" data-original-title="" href="https://mishtalk.com/economics/minimum-wage-for-fast-food-workers-jumps-30-to-20-per-hour-in-california/" target="_blank" title="">Minimum Wage for Fast Food Workers Jumps 30% to $20 Per Hour in California </a></strong></p><p>Michael Shedlock [via Naked Capitalism 9-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.home-economics.us/p/why-denmarks-housing-market-works" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Why Denmark’s Housing Market Works Better than Ours</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Aziz Sunderji, via The Big Picture 9-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Danish borrowers can buy back their loans at market prices. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/26/23809817/amazon-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-monopoly" target="_blank">FTC files a massive antitrust lawsuit against Amazon</a></strong> <br /></p><p>[The Verge, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-26-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“‘Our complaint lays out how Amazon has used a set of punitive and coercive tactics to unlawfully maintain its monopolies,’ FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement Tuesday. ‘The complaint sets forth detailed allegations noting how Amazon is now exploiting its monopoly power to enrich itself while raising prices and degrading service for the tens of millions of American families who shop on its platform and the hundreds of thousands of businesses that rely on Amazon to reach them.’… The suit targets the parts of Amazon’s business that service consumers and sellers, according to an FTC press release. Specifically, the agency is accusing Amazon of punishing sellers who offer lower-priced products on different platforms and restricting which sellers are eligible for Prime shipping benefits. The agency is also targeting Amazon’s ability to bias its search results in favor of the company’s own products.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-09-27-redacted-case-against-amazon/" target="_blank" title="">The [REDACTED] Case Against Amazon</a></strong><br /></p><p>Maureen Tkacik, September 27, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...the agency nevertheless felt compelled, at least at the outset, to drown its case against the “superstore” in (my fast-depleting supply of) black toner. Similar to a complaint the agency <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-09-22-private-equity-medical-rollups-malpractice-insurance/" href="https://prospect.org/health/2023-09-22-private-equity-medical-rollups-malpractice-insurance/">filed last week</a></u> against a private equity firm, this case against Amazon was scrubbed of virtually every number meant to quantify the company’s epic scope and sweep: the unit number of orders fulfilled by Amazon in 2020; the unit number of orders Amazon fulfilled, per resident of the United States, in 2020; the dollar value of goods sold through the Amazon store in 2021; the number of countries with a gross domestic product smaller than the dollar value of Amazon’s gross 2021 sales; the number of subscribers to its ubiquitous Prime service; the internally calculated percentage share of the gross merchandise value sold in 2021 by a redacted internally maintained list of a redacted number of competitors, and so on and on….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-09-29-monopolist-secrecy-demands-overwhelming-illegal/" target="_blank" title=""><strong></strong></a><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-09-29-monopolist-secrecy-demands-overwhelming-illegal/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/justice/2023-09-29-monopolist-secrecy-demands-overwhelming-illegal/" target="_blank" title="">Monopolist Secrecy Demands Are Overwhelming—and May Be Illegal</a></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p><p>Like Goldstein, September 29, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>One anti-monopoly group contends that withholding basic financial information violates federal securities laws.<br /></p><p>A common demand that recurs across challenges to corporate power, from <u><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-18-uaw-strikes-built-american-middle-class/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-18-uaw-strikes-built-american-middle-class/" title="">union strikes</a></u> to antitrust cases, is forcing companies to “open the books” and unspool their webs of financial secrets for the public to see. In the <em>U.S. v. Google</em> trial, the government’s efforts to pull back the curtain on key company documents critical to its case have been especially difficult. Google’s legal defense team has obstructed at every turn, objecting to the unsealing of documents and pushing for closed-court sessions, which choke off public access entirely. At the outset of the trial, Google was even in hot water for tampering with evidence by deliberately turning off its chat history, which drew a sanction from a California court but not yet from the D.C. district court….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-telecom-chair-seek-reinstating-net-neutrality-rules-rescinded-under-trump-2023-09-26/#:~:text=WASHINGTON%2C%20Sept%2025%20(Reuters),on%20the%20matter%20said%20Monday." target="_blank" title="">US FCC chair to seek reinstating net neutrality rules rescinded under Trump</a></strong><br /></p><p>[Reuters, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-26-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>“U.S. Federal Communications Commission chair Jessica Rosenworcel plans to begin an effort to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules rescinded under then-President Donald Trump, sources briefed on the matter said Monday. The move comes after Democrats took majority control of the five-member FCC on Monday for the first time since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021 when new FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez was sworn in. The FCC is set to take an initial vote on the net neutrality proposal in October, the sources added.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2023/September-2023/09_25_2023_Randomly_Chosen_Panel_Should_Guide_Airports_Future.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2023/September-2023/09_25_2023_Randomly_Chosen_Panel_Should_Guide_Airports_Future.html" target="_blank" title="">Randomly Chosen Panel Should Guide Airport’s Future, Officials Say </a></strong></p><p>[Santa Monica Lookout, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The future of Santa Monica Airport should be hammered out — not by the usual community activists and civic volunteers — but by randomly selected ‘everyday people,’ City officials told the City Council Monday. The information item from top Public Works officials proposes using a democratic lottery to ‘engage new residents through a randomized selection process,’ instead of relying on ‘the same self-selected individuals.’ After meeting in person for six weekends over the course of some nine months starting next fall, the panel would make recommendations to the Council for the 227-acre site that under a 2017 agreement with the FAA would cease to operate as an airport at the end of 2028. The panel will be charged with what City officials have said ‘is likely to be the most transformative urban planning event of the century for the City’ (‘Airport Plan Takes Off,’ January 25, 2023). The lottery system — which is not common in North America — ‘would result in a panel that demands broad demographic representation, and minimizes the influence of special interests,’ said the report from Public Works Director Rick Valte.”</p></blockquote><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/forget-collusion-was-interference" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/forget-collusion-was-interference" target="_blank" title="">Forget Collusion. Was “Interference” Also Fake News?</a></strong><strong> </strong>and <strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.racket.news/p/timeline-darpa-and-the-dnc-hack" data-original-title="" href="https://www.racket.news/p/timeline-darpa-and-the-dnc-hack" target="_blank" title="">Timeline: DARPA and the DNC Hack</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Matt Taibbi [Racket News, via Naked Capitalism 9-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ifixit.com/News/82867/iphone-15-teardown-reveals-software-lockdown" data-original-title="" href="https://www.ifixit.com/News/82867/iphone-15-teardown-reveals-software-lockdown" target="_blank" title="">iPhone 15 Teardown Reveals Software Lockdown</a> </strong></p><p>[iFixIt, via Naked Capitalism 9-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“To effectively repair these models, you have to procure parts within Apple’s sphere and validate the repairs. Without calibration, the parts either don’t work at all, or have compromised functionality and incessant warnings.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://leehamnews.com/2023/09/26/were-sick-and-tied-of-new-technologies-avolon-ceo/" data-original-title="" href="https://leehamnews.com/2023/09/26/were-sick-and-tied-of-new-technologies-avolon-ceo/" target="_blank" title="">“We’re sick and tired of new technologies:” Avolon CEO</a> </strong></p><p>[Leeham News and Analysis, via Naked Capitalism 9-28-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/29/norway_facebook_behavioral_ads/" href="https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/29/norway_facebook_behavioral_ads/" target="_blank">Norway wants Facebook behavioral advertising banned across Europe</a></strong></p><p>[The Register, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“Norway has told the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) it believes a countrywide ban on Meta harvesting user data to serve up advertising on Facebook and Instagram should be made permanent and extended across Europe. The Scandinavian country’s Data Protection Authority, Datatilsynet, had been holding back Facebook parent Meta from scooping up data on its citizens with the threat of fines of one million Kroner (about $94,000) per day if it didn’t comply. In August, it said Meta hadn’t been playing ball and started serving up the daily fines. However, the ban that resulted in these fines, put into place in July, expires on November 3 – hence Norway’s request for a ‘binding decision.’ The July order came after a Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling [PDF] earlier that month stating Meta’s data processing operation was also hauling in protected data – race and ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation etc. – when it cast its behavioral ads net. Norway is not a member of the EU but is part of the European single market, and the CJEU, as Europe’s top court, has the job of making sure the application and interpretation of law within the market is compliant with European treaties (this part would apply to Norway) as well as ensuring that legislation adopted by the EU is applied the same way across all Member States.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Collapse of independent news media</strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roblafranco/2023/09/22/how-rupert-murdoch-outfoxed-american-media/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>How Rupert Murdoch Outfoxed American Media</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Forbes, via The Big Picture 9-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>As the 92-year-old billionaire steps down as chairman of his empire, a look back at how he changed the landscape of newspapers, TV, movies and politics—and the coming fight over, yes, succession. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-09-21/column-rupert-murdoch-may-say-hes-stepping-down-but-his-damage-to-politics-and-journalism-is-indelible" target="_blank" title=""><strong>His malign influence isn’t going anywhere</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Los Angeles Times, via The Big Picture 9-26-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The truth is, of course, that it’s hopelessly premature to declare as dead and done the impact Murdoch has had on newspaper and cable journalism, and on American politics generally. The DNA he injected into the American bloodstream is a hardy virus indeed. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/michael-wolff-fox-news-rupert-murdoch-tucker-carlson-book-excerpt.html" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/michael-wolff-fox-news-rupert-murdoch-tucker-carlson-book-excerpt.html" target="_blank"><strong>Breaking Up Is Hard to Do</strong></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/michael-wolff-fox-news-rupert-murdoch-tucker-carlson-book-excerpt.html" data-original-title="" href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/michael-wolff-fox-news-rupert-murdoch-tucker-carlson-book-excerpt.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>: How Rupert Murdoch Decided to Dump Tucker Carlson</strong></a></p><p>[New York Magazine, via The Big Picture 9-29-2023]</p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20230927-portuguese-youth-bring-unprecedented-climate-case-to-european-rights-court" data-original-title="" href="https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20230927-portuguese-youth-bring-unprecedented-climate-case-to-european-rights-court" target="_blank" title="">Portuguese youth bring ‘unprecedented’ climate case to European rights court</a> </strong></p><p>[France24, via Naked Capitalism 9-28-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://macropolo.org/cost-of-ev-industrial-policy-vs-adoption/" href="https://macropolo.org/cost-of-ev-industrial-policy-vs-adoption/" target="_blank">Getting to $30,000: The Cost of EV Industrial Policy vs. Adoption</a> </strong></p><p>[Macro Polo, via Naked Capitalism 9-25-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Now, while advanced economies like the United States are preoccupied with EV industry building, China boasts an increasingly integrated supply chain and scale efficiencies that can drive down the cost of EVs. And bending that cost curve rapidly matters a lot for EV adoption, because industry consensus suggests that mass adoption requires EVs to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/blogs/chicago-fed-insights/2023/2023-ais-keynote" href="https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/blogs/chicago-fed-insights/2023/2023-ais-keynote" target="_blank">reach a sweet spot</a> of $30,000 and 300 miles of range.</p><p>That’s why <a data-cke-saved-href="https://macropolo.org/digital-projects/vantage/" href="https://macropolo.org/digital-projects/vantage/" target="_blank">we created</a> the Vantage, an “everyman EV,” to make the EV supply chain tangible and to understand how cost might inform consumer decisions on going electric. The bottom line is that, at the moment, China appears to be the only major EV manufacturer that can produce EVs around $30,000, about the same price as an entry level Honda Accord.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/german-auto-makers-are-pouring-406-billion-into-evs-the-race-is-on-894cc3f7" href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/german-auto-makers-are-pouring-406-billion-into-evs-the-race-is-on-894cc3f7" target="_blank"><strong>German Auto Makers Are Pouring $406 Billion Into EVs. The Race Is On</strong></a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/german-auto-makers-are-pouring-406-billion-into-evs-the-race-is-on-894cc3f7" href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/german-auto-makers-are-pouring-406-billion-into-evs-the-race-is-on-894cc3f7" target="_blank">.</a> </p><p>[Barron’s, via The Big Picture 9-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>While the U.S. Big Three grapple with a revived United Auto Workers union, German counterparts Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz Group, and BMW have troubles of their own—trailing badly in the race toward the electric vehicle future. U.S.-based Tesla and rising Chinese star BYD racked up more than a third of global EV sales between them in the first half of this year, according to Clean Technica. Volkswagen was No. 3 and fading with 7%. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/09/28/louisiana-saltwater-intrusion-federal-emergency" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/local/new-orleans/2023/09/28/louisiana-saltwater-intrusion-federal-emergency" target="_blank" title="">Louisiana saltwater intrusion declared a federal emergency</a> </strong></p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism 9-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://news.mit.edu/2023/desalination-system-could-produce-freshwater-cheaper-0927" data-original-title="" href="https://news.mit.edu/2023/desalination-system-could-produce-freshwater-cheaper-0927" target="_blank" title="">Desalination system could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water</a> </strong></p><p>[MIT Technology Review, via Naked Capitalism 9-30-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/28/plastic-eating-bacteria-enzyme-recycling-waste" target="_blank" title=""><strong>‘We are just getting started’: the plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world</strong></a><br /></p><p><strong></strong>[The Guardian, via The Big Picture 9-30-2023]</p><blockquote><p>When a microbe was found munching on a plastic bottle in a rubbish dump, it promised a recycling revolution. Now scientists are attempting to turbocharge those powers in a bid to solve our waste crisis. But will it work? </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/watch-which-democrats-call-for-menendez-to-resign-and-which-democraps-stand-by-one-of-their-own" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/watch-which-democrats-call-for-menendez-to-resign-and-which-democraps-stand-by-one-of-their-own" target="_blank" title="">Watch Which Democrats Call For Menendez To Resign-- And Which Democraps Stand By One Of Their Own—Corruption Runs Very Deep In The DC Establishment</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, September 26, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/menendez-is-defiant-it-probably-wont-matter" data-original-title="" href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/menendez-is-defiant-it-probably-wont-matter" title="">Menendez is Defiant. It Probably Won’t Matter</a></strong></p><p>Josh Marshall, September 26, 2023 [Talking Points Memo]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/RealScottRitter/status/1707760992300490794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1707760992300490794%7Ctwgr%5Ee2cd87c778006e309011cb250500c15b111fea03%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F09%2Flinks-9-30-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/RealScottRitter/status/1707760992300490794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1707760992300490794%7Ctwgr%5Ee2cd87c778006e309011cb250500c15b111fea03%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F09%2Flinks-9-30-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 9-30-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="0" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;I met Senator Diane Feinstein once, in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She had just recently been assigned to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (in 2001), and it was in that capacity that she had a senior staffer from the committee ask me to come to Washington… &lt;a href="https://t.co/QQPA04hP22"&gt;pic.twitter.com/QQPA04hP22&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&amp;mdash; Scott Ritter (@RealScottRitter) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/RealScottRitter/status/1707760992300490794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 29, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1707760992300490794" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1707760992300490794&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2195352%2Fedit&sessionId=47b8c4e4f045ac2d43caddc43e7edd2029c9e3c0&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 680px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p>.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/21/democracy-alliance-no-labels-00117365" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/21/democracy-alliance-no-labels-00117365" target="_blank" title="">The biggest donor group in Democratic politics privately moves against No Labels</a></strong> </p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-28-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“A powerful network of liberal donors is joining the push to stop No Labels’ threatened plan to launch a third-party presidential run — warning major political funders to stay away from the group. The donors club, Democracy Alliance, shared its thinking about the bipartisan organization’s operation exclusively with POLITICO. Democrats have grown increasingly concerned that an independent No Labels ticket would function as a spoiler and help former President Donald Trump or another Republican candidate defeat President Joe Biden in 2024. ‘No Labels has no chance of winning the 2024 election. But it has a very real chance of tipping that election to Donald Trump and catapulting our country into MAGA authoritarianism,’ said Pamela Shifman, president of the Democracy Alliance. ‘They want to splinter the coalition of voters who banded together to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.'” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://gaiusbaltar.substack.com/p/what-is-wrong-with-the-western-political" data-original-title="" href="https://gaiusbaltar.substack.com/p/what-is-wrong-with-the-western-political" target="_blank" title="">WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WESTERN POLITICAL CLASS?</a> </p><p>Gaius Baltar [via Naked Capitalism 9-26-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/09/america-us-democracy-conservative-party/675463/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2023/09/america-us-democracy-conservative-party/675463/" target="_blank" title="">American Democracy Requires a Conservative Party</a></strong></p><p>Tom Nichols [The Atlantic]</p><blockquote><p>...Slightly more than a year ago, I tried to think through <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/peacefield/62d74c4e30d04800225b7346/republican-party-trump-conservatism/" data-original-title="" href="https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/peacefield/62d74c4e30d04800225b7346/republican-party-trump-conservatism/" title="">what being a conservative</a> means in the current era of American politics. I have not been a Republican for several years, but I still describe myself as a conservative: I believe in public order as a prerequisite for politics; I respect tradition, and I am reluctant to acquiesce to change too precipitously; I think human nature is fixed rather than malleable; I am suspicious of centralized government power; I distrust mass movements. To contrast these with progressivism, I think most folks on the left, for example, would weigh social justice over abstract commitments to order, be more inclined to see traditions as obstacles to progress, and regard mass protests as generally positive forces….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>In<a href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/what-s-a-fascis-what-s-a-conservative-what-s-a-republican-a-democrat-what-s-a-progressive" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/what-s-a-fascis-what-s-a-conservative-what-s-a-republican-a-democrat-what-s-a-progressive" target="_blank" title=""><strong>What's A Fascist? What's A Conservative? What's A Republican... A Democrat? What's A Progressive?</strong></a> Howie Klein responded: <br /></p><blockquote><p>“We have a conservative party... It’s the Democratic Party. And the other one, for ex-conservative party he’s so worried about, is now a fascist party. What I’m worried about is not that we’re missing a conservative party— or at least a corporate party of careerists that doesn’t prioritize the aspirations of the working class— but a progressive party.”<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: The fundamental flaw — and danger — of conservatism is that the universe we are part of is always changing; therefore a philosophy opposed to change is simply in conflict with the very nature of the universe. Resources are used and depleted to sustain and reproduce life, so new resources must be found, as well as technologies to use known resources more efficiently and with less waste. Our understanding of the universe also is always changing, requiring new thinking and new approaches to old problems. In Christian doctrine, humans are understood to be imperfect being who nonetheless are capable of striving for perfection, and expected to do so. This is reflected in the Preamble of the US Constitution, with its phrase “to establish a more perfect Union.”] <br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/26/heather-cox-richardson-us-democracy-america-history-republican-party/" data-original-title="" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/09/26/heather-cox-richardson-us-democracy-america-history-republican-party/" target="_blank" title="">How the U.S. Created Its Own Reality</a> </strong></p><p>[Heather Cox Richardson, Foreign Policy, via Naked Capitalism 9-27-2023]</p><blockquote><p>[After the collapse of the Soviet Union], Republicans set out to vanquish the liberal consensus once and for all. As anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist wrote in the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>: “For 40 years conservatives fought a two-front battle against statism, against the Soviet empire abroad and the American left at home. Now the Soviet Union is gone and conservatives can redeploy. And this time, the other team doesn’t have nuclear weapons.”</p><p>In the 1990s, movement conservatives—who wanted to gut the liberal state that had been in force since 1933 and rely instead on market forces—turned their firepower on those they considered insufficiently committed to free enterprise. Their enemies included traditional Republicans who agreed with Democrats that the government should regulate the economy, provide a basic social safety net, promote infrastructure, and protect civil rights.</p><p>Their first public victim was President George H. W. Bush, who had come to office from the traditional wing of the Republican Party and set out during his presidency to repair the holes cut in the country’s fabric by Reagan’s supply-side economics….</p><p>Their primary target, though, was Democrats, who had frustrated movement conservatives once again in 1992 by putting former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton into the White House. James Johnson, a jurist from Arkansas who had stood fervently against the integration of Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957, called Clinton a “queer-mongering, whore-hopping adulterer; a baby-killing, draft-dodging, dope-tolerating, lying, two-faced, treasonous activist.” Surely such a man was not a legitimate president. In 1996, the Fox News Channel debuted on cable television, joining right-wing radio talk show hosts to feed the idea that their political opponents were socialists trying to destroy the country….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/how-synonymous-are-trumpism-and-violence" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/how-synonymous-are-trumpism-and-violence" target="_blank" title="">How Synonymous Are Trumpism And Violence?</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, September 25, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>This afternoon, a quintet of <em>NY Times</em> reporters took on the increasingly <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/24/us/politics/trump-prosecutions-threats-violence.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/24/us/politics/trump-prosecutions-threats-violence.html" target="_blank" title=""><u>threats of violence emanating from the MAGAts</u></a> in light of Trump’s prosecutions. Judges, FBI agents’ families, prosecutors are being threatened by violent Trumpists. “As the prosecutions of Trump have accelerated,” wrote Michael Schmidt, Adam Goldman, Alan Feuer, Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush, “so too have threats against law enforcement authorities, judges, elected officials and others. The threats, in turn, are prompting protective measures, a legal effort to curb his angry and sometimes incendiary public statements, and renewed concern about the potential for an election campaign in which Trump has promised ‘retribution’ to produce violence.”</p><p>….</p><p>Let’s keep in mind this pretty dire <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/ever-since-fascism-became-a-thing-respectable-mainstream-conservatives-have-enabled-them" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/ever-since-fascism-became-a-thing-respectable-mainstream-conservatives-have-enabled-them" target="_blank"><u>warning from yesterday</u></a>: “Trump’s racism is linked to his willingness to deploy violence in order to foster identification. Trump’s lies became the vehicle for bringing together large numbers of people who would have liked to lash out but didn’t have the courage. He made them feel that their anger and contempt [especially toward people of color]— whatever its source— was legitimate. And, very importantly, <strong>he convinced people viscerally that the norms of civilized society were part of a rigged system</strong>.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249" data-original-title="" href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249" target="_blank" title="">Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire</a> </strong></p><p>[AP, via Naked Capitalism 9-27-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/judge-rules-trumps-business-empire-committed-fraud/675466/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The End of Trump Inc</strong></a><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/judge-rules-trumps-business-empire-committed-fraud/675466/" target="_blank">.</a> <br /></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 9-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The courts are finally catching up to a man who has long behaved as though there would never be any consequences for his deceptions. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://lithub.com/fire-and-fury-and-the-first-amendment-how-trump-tried-to-censor-his-critics/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Fire and Fury and the First Amendment: How Trump Tried to Censor His Critics</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Literary Hub, via The Big Picture 9-29-2023]</p><blockquote><p>John Sargent on the Furious Publication Journey of Michael Wolff’s Tell-All Book. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/american-socialism-racist-origins/675453/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/american-socialism-racist-origins/675453/" target="_blank" title="">The Origins of the Socialist Slur</a></strong></p><p>Heather Cox Richardson, September 26, 2023 [The Atlantic]</p><blockquote><p>Reconstruction-era opponents of racial equality popularized the charge that protecting civil rights would amount to the end of capitalism.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/ever-since-fascism-became-a-thing-respectable-mainstream-conservatives-have-enabled-them" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/ever-since-fascism-became-a-thing-respectable-mainstream-conservatives-have-enabled-them" target="_blank" title="">Ever Since Fascism Became A Thing, "Respectable" Mainstream Conservatives Have Enabled Them — And They're Still Doing That Today</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, September 24, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]</p><blockquote><p>I saw <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/brian-kemp-on-why-hell-back-donald-trump-if-he-wins-the-gop-nod/VUM3D4SMXBCYHGXPTEBNDQ7AQU/" href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/brian-kemp-on-why-hell-back-donald-trump-if-he-wins-the-gop-nod/VUM3D4SMXBCYHGXPTEBNDQ7AQU/" target="_blank"><u>this article</u></a> by Greg Bluestein in the <em>Atlanta Journal-Constitution</em> in which he quoted Georgia’s mainstream conservative governor Brian Kemp, who is often held out— along with Arizona and Virginia governors Doug Ducey and Glenn Youngkin— as conservative opponents of Trump….</p><p>Conservatives may fight fascists for a (very short) while, but in the end, they unite against any kind of working class agenda. Bluestein’s Kemp quote yesterday:</p><div>“Despite all of that, despite all of his other trials and tribulations, he would still be a lot better than Biden. And the people serving in the administration would be a lot better than than Joe Biden. And it has nothing to do with being a coward. It has everything to do with winning and reversing the ridiculous, obscene positions of Joe Biden and this administration that literally, in a lot of ways, are destroying our country.”</div></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/28/texas-county-approves-abortion-travel-ban/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/28/texas-county-approves-abortion-travel-ban/" target="_blank" title="">With no opposition in the room, a rural Texas county makes traveling for an abortion on its roads illegal</a> </strong></p><p>[Texas Tribune, via Naked Capitalism 9-30-2023]</p><p><br /><br /><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175775/right-doesnt-understand-constitutional-government-works" target="_blank" title="">The Right Doesn’t Understand How Our Constitutional Government Works</a></strong><br /></p><p>Robert Schlesinger, September 28, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...compromise long ago became a dirty word on the right—a sign of personal weakness, if not venal corruption. When <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/1142751143/poll-americans-want-compromise-but-have-no-confidence-congress-will-work-togethe" data-original-title="" href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/15/1142751143/poll-americans-want-compromise-but-have-no-confidence-congress-will-work-togethe" target="_blank" title="">NPR/PBS <em>NewsHour</em>/Marist asked Americans</a> in December whether they prefer compromise or principled stands, a supermajority (74 percent) favored compromise, but Republicans (66 percent) lagged well behind independents (78 percent) and Democrats (82 percent). Similarly, 58 percent of Democrats <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/01/31/republicans-leery-of-compromise-with-biden-majority-want-gop-to-focus-on-investigations/" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/01/31/republicans-leery-of-compromise-with-biden-majority-want-gop-to-focus-on-investigations/" target="_blank">told Gallup</a> in January that they want Biden to work to compromise with Republicans, even if it disappoints some of his voters. Only 34 percent of Republicans said the same of working with Biden, with nearly twice as many, 64 percent, saying that the GOP ought to stand up to the president—even, as the poll put it, if doing so makes it “harder to address critical problems.”<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/justices-have-financial-interest-in-major-tax-case/" target="_blank" title="">Justices Have Financial Interest In Major Tax Case</a></strong><br /></p><p>Julia Roack, September 27, 2023 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>According to a review of public company documents and judicial financial disclosures, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito together own shares in 19 companies that could see combined tax relief of more than $30 billion if the court issues a broad ruling in the <em>Moore v. United States </em>tax case and strikes down a one-time corporate tax imposed in 2017.</p><p>“In <em>Moore,</em> the Roberts Court could decide with the stroke of a pen to simultaneously forgive big business decades of tax dues in the billions; increase the federal deficit; jeopardize future public revenue and essential social programs; aggravate the disadvantages facing domestic, taxpaying competitors; escalate these multinational companies’ already sizeable after-tax profits; and further enrich their shareholders,” notes a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://itep.org/supreme-court-moore-v-us-mandatory-repatriation-tax-corporate-tax-avoidance/" href="https://itep.org/supreme-court-moore-v-us-mandatory-repatriation-tax-corporate-tax-avoidance/" target="_blank"><u>new report</u></a> from the Roosevelt Institute and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, which conducted the analysis of Roberts and Alito’s financial interests in the case.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/09/theres-a-trump-era-charles-koch-big-law-firm-behind-the-supreme-court-case-that-hopes-to-gut-the-federal-agency-that-fights-for-the-little-guy/" target="_blank" title="">There’s a Trump Era/Charles Koch Big Law Firm Behind the Supreme Court Case that Hopes to Gut the Federal Agency that Fights for the Little Guy</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens, September 28, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade] [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Next Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could have far reaching effects on the legislative ability of Congress to have flexibility in how it funds regulatory agencies, as well as place in jeopardy the survival of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a government watchdog for the little guy, elderly, young, poor and unsophisticated against goliaths on Wall Street and other financial predators.</p><p>The case arrives at the Supreme Court as a result of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://aboutblaw.com/5mY" href="https://aboutblaw.com/5mY">a decision</a> handed down in October by a three-judge panel at the right-wing 5<sup>th</sup> Circuit Court of Appeals. All three judges on the panel (Don Willett, Kurt Engelhardt, and Cory Wilson) were appointed by former President Donald Trump. The 5<sup>th</sup> Circuit effectively ruled that the CFPB’s funding system, legislated by Congress, was unconstitutional.</p><p>The shadow of Trump and the invisible hand that had an outsized role in setting the agenda for his administration, fossil fuels billionaire Charles Koch, and his corporate law firm – Jones Day – have their footprints all over this case. On Trump’s first day in office, January 20, 2017, Jones Day announced that 12 of its law partners were moving into the Trump administration. Among the 12 was Noel Francisco, who became Trump’s Solicitor General. Francisco is now one of the five Jones Day lawyers representing the opposing side at the Supreme Court attempting to gut funding for the CFPB.</p><p>Gutting the funding and power of federal regulatory agencies is something that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2020/10/charles-koch-should-be-on-the-presidential-debate-stage-tonight-not-donald-trump/" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2020/10/charles-koch-should-be-on-the-presidential-debate-stage-tonight-not-donald-trump/">Charles Koch and his myriad front groups have been attempting to do for the past 40 years</a>.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/22/facebook-x-supreme-court-censorship-coercion-social-media/70796180007/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/22/facebook-x-supreme-court-censorship-coercion-social-media/70796180007/" target="_blank" title="">How the Supreme Court could alter the way Americans interact on the internet</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[USA Today, via Naked Capitalism 9-24-2023]<br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413935813892441553.post-9758650030533528362023-09-24T13:25:00.002-05:002023-10-08T21:06:35.001-05:00 Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – September 24, 2023<p>Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – September 24, 2023</p><p>by Tony Wikrent</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>USA Government Shutdown</strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/175701/government-shutdown-republican-fault-mccarthy" target="_blank" title="">The Looming Government Shutdown Is Not the Fault of Dysfunction</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>Jason Linkins, September 22, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><blockquote><p>... It’s become rivetingly clear that Kevin McCarthy’s charges are hurtling toward a spectacular self-own—and a government shutdown. A slew of inconveniences and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/issue-briefs?id=B7FCE9F4-4DFE-495C-8263-AD277CE4716B#:~:text=The%20Congressional%20Budget%20Office%20(CBO,the%20U.S.%20economy%20never%20regained." href="https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/issue-briefs?id=B7FCE9F4-4DFE-495C-8263-AD277CE4716B#:~:text=The%20Congressional%20Budget%20Office%20(CBO,the%20U.S.%20economy%20never%20regained." target="_blank">vaporized economic activity</a> are about to land, hard, on ordinary Americans….<br /></p><p>If there’s anything that Democrats should emphasize about the looming government shutdown, it’s the essential Republican-ness of it all. This shutdown is the pure product of the modern GOP, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/169050/masters-vance-weird-right-republicans" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/169050/masters-vance-weird-right-republicans" title="">packed with antisocial weirdos</a> and redolent of their <a data-cke-saved-href="https://newrepublic.com/article/161084/republican-retreat-governance-voter-suppression" data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/161084/republican-retreat-governance-voter-suppression" title="">inability to govern</a> themselves or anyone else. Here, Democrats may have to joust with a media that vastly prefers to pin this kind of dysfunction on mushy concepts like polarization, or point the finger of blame—more nebulously—at “Congress,” as <em>The New York Times</em> did in a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/1703160394917810609" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/JamesFallows/status/1703160394917810609" target="_blank" title="">limp headline</a> last week. More recent reporting has, happily, hit the ball more squarely, properly identifying “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-infighting-paralyzes-house-call-shutdown-inevitable-rcna105882" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republican-infighting-paralyzes-house-call-shutdown-inevitable-rcna105882" target="_blank" title="">Republican infighting</a>” as the proximate cause of the impending calamity.<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/issue-briefs?id=B7FCE9F4-4DFE-495C-8263-AD277CE4716B#:~:text=The%20Congressional%20Budget%20Office%20(CBO,the%20U.S.%20economy%20never%20regained." target="_blank" title="">The Economic Costs of a Republican Shutdown</a></strong> <br /></p><p>Joint Economic Committee Democrats, September 5, 2023 [via The New Republic]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/politics/2023-09-19-absurdity-of-washington-brain/" target="_blank" title="">The Absurdity of Washington Brain</a></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>David Dayen, September 19, 2023 [The American Prospect]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>... The Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Republicans, who are nominally more moderate and forgiving, reached a deal “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/17/us/politics/mccarthy-gop-spending-impasse.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/17/us/politics/mccarthy-gop-spending-impasse.html" target="_blank" title="">to avert a shutdown</a>,” as <em>The New York Times</em> puts it. Except there’s no way that this deal would avert anything. Rather than a continuing resolution, it would cut programs overall by 1 percent. However, because the Pentagon, veterans’ programs, and disaster relief are exempted, the actual cut to programs affected is about 8 percent, and only for the month of October….<br /></p><p>In short, the Republican right demands major concessions in return for getting to demand more major concessions in one month. No Democrat will vote for this CR, and Democrats control the Senate and the White House…. </p><p>The Freedom Caucus didn’t let the ink dry on this “agreement” before calling it “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/18/house-republican-groups-government-funding-bill-stopgap" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/18/house-republican-groups-government-funding-bill-stopgap" target="_blank" title="">a gift to Joe Biden</a>.” Cutting discretionary programs by “only” 8 percent is seen as a deep betrayal by <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/09/18/mccarthys-latest-gambit-falls-flat-00116484" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2023/09/18/mccarthys-latest-gambit-falls-flat-00116484" target="_blank" title="">virtually the entire far right</a>. Since Democrats won’t support this CR, that means it has no shot of passing. <br /></p></blockquote><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09/house-gop-unveils-budget-with-trillions-in-cuts-to-medicaid-food-benefits-and-more.html" target="_blank" title="">House GOP Unveils Budget With Trillions in Cuts to Medicaid, Food Benefits, and More</a></strong><br /></p><p>Jake Johnson [Common Dreams, via Naked Capitalism 9-23-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p>House Republicans unveiled a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BU/BU00/20230920/116397/BILLS-118pih-FY24ConcurrentResolutionontheBudget.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/BU/BU00/20230920/116397/BILLS-118pih-FY24ConcurrentResolutionontheBudget.pdf" target="_blank" title="">budget blueprint</a> on Tuesday that proposes trillions of dollars in federal spending reductions over the next decade, specifically targeting Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance for steep cuts.</p><p>House Budget Committee Republicans’ new resolution also calls for the establishment of a “bipartisan debt commission” to examine and propose changes to “the drivers of U.S. debt… such as Social Security and Medicare.” (Social Security <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/social-security-debt-ceiling" href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/social-security-debt-ceiling" target="_blank">does not</a>, in fact, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-miller-socialsecurity/social-security-and-the-u-s-deficit-separating-fact-from-fiction-idUSKCN1N64GR" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-column-miller-socialsecurity/social-security-and-the-u-s-deficit-separating-fact-from-fiction-idUSKCN1N64GR" target="_blank">contribute</a> to long-term federal deficits.)</p><p>“MAGA Republicans are driving our nation towards a costly government shutdown because they want to make cruel cuts to everything from healthcare to education, and this MAGA Budget doubles down on their extreme cuts,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://democrats-budget.house.gov/news/press-releases/boyle-statement-house-republicans-maga-budget-plan" href="https://democrats-budget.house.gov/news/press-releases/boyle-statement-house-republicans-maga-budget-plan" target="_blank">said</a> in response to the new proposal.</p><p>“Make no mistake: America is barreling towards a government shutdown because Republicans reneged on the bipartisan budget agreement in their thirst for cruel budget cuts—cuts which will raise the cost of living when it’s already too high,” Boyle added.</p><p>The Republican proposal, which has no chance of becoming law given Democratic control of the Senate, would cut federal discretionary spending by nearly $5 trillion over the next decade, <em>Roll Call</em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://rollcall.com/2023/09/19/balanced-budget-plan-unveiled-by-house-republicans/" href="https://rollcall.com/2023/09/19/balanced-budget-plan-unveiled-by-house-republicans/" target="_blank">reported</a> Tuesday. The plan would cut mandatory spending—a category that includes Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—by nearly $9 trillion over a 10-year period.</p><p>The proposal would gash federal Medicaid spending by close to $2 trillion and SNAP by $800 billion. The resolution also calls for punitive new work requirements for the two programs.</p></blockquote><p>[TW: We can either totally dismantle the social safety net and let USA descend into a social Darwinist fight for scraps, or restore high tax rates on the rich. Restoring high tax rates would not only better ensure social cohesion, it would begin to address the problem of the oligarchy that has grown to threaten republican self-government. Leaders of the Democratic Party needs to start making this argument. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote: “We can have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we can't have both.” ]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/09/21/whos-bankrolling-the-shutdown-showdown/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/09/21/whos-bankrolling-the-shutdown-showdown/" target="_blank">Who’s Bankrolling the Shutdown Showdown?</a></strong> </p><p>[Exposed by CMD, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The ‘<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/freedomcaucus/status/1693624211695079521" href="https://twitter.com/freedomcaucus/status/1693624211695079521" target="_blank">No Security, No Funding</a>‘ framework used by the Freedom Caucus for its demands is echoed in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://conservativeactionproject.com/conservatives-must-reject-the-spending-policies-of-joe-biden-chuck-schumer-nancy-pelosi/" href="https://conservativeactionproject.com/conservatives-must-reject-the-spending-policies-of-joe-biden-chuck-schumer-nancy-pelosi/" target="_blank">materials</a> being circulated by right-wing groups including the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Conservative_Partnership_Institute" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Conservative_Partnership_Institute" target="_blank">Conservative Partnership Institute</a> (or CPI, which effectively provides <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/09/13/maga-group-grooms-members-of-congress-and-their-staff-for-america-first-movement/" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/09/13/maga-group-grooms-members-of-congress-and-their-staff-for-america-first-movement/" target="_blank">staffing</a> for the Freedom Caucus), the secretive <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_National_Policy" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_for_National_Policy" target="_blank">Council for National Policy’s</a> Conservative Action Project, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=America_First_Policy_Institute" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=America_First_Policy_Institute" target="_blank">America First Policy Institute</a>, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heritage_Foundation" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heritage_Foundation" target="_blank">Heritage Foundation</a>, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Club_for_Growth" target="_blank">Club for Growth</a>, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Competitive_Enterprise_Institute" target="_blank">Competitive Enterprise Institute</a>, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Family_Research_Council" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Family_Research_Council" target="_blank">Family Research Council</a>, and the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eagle_Forum" href="https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Eagle_Forum" target="_blank">Eagle Forum</a>, all of which are pushing for a government shutdown unless their ideological demands are met. Although these groups’ arguments focus on reigning in government spending, their demands have hardly anything to do with the federal budget since they’re all based on culture war priorities. For example, a recent <a data-cke-saved-href="https://conservativeactionproject.com/conservatives-must-reject-the-spending-policies-of-joe-biden-chuck-schumer-nancy-pelosi/" href="https://conservativeactionproject.com/conservatives-must-reject-the-spending-policies-of-joe-biden-chuck-schumer-nancy-pelosi/" target="_blank">letter</a> circulated by the Conservative Action Project and signed by more than 100 individuals — including representatives from the groups mentioned above — contends that any spending bill must include policy reforms that would ‘stop the woke cancer that has infected the Pentagon.'”</p></blockquote><p><strong>Strategic Political Economy</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175314/decade-mass-protest-mass-disappointment" target="_blank" title="">The Mass Disappointment of a Decade of Mass Protest</a></strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>Osita Nwanevu, September 20, 2023 [The New Republic]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>The demonstrations of the last decade were vast and explosive—and surprisingly ineffective….<br /></p><p>...While the revolution is still commemorated each year in Tunisia, the optimism that took hold of the country in the wake of Ben Ali’s fall has <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/world/middleeast/tunisia-press-freedom.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/16/world/middleeast/tunisia-press-freedom.html" target="_blank">withered</a>. And in his new book, <em><a data-cke-saved-href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/if-we-burn-mass-protest-major-setbacks-and-vital-lessons-for-the-new-resistance/18943852" data-original-title="" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/if-we-burn-mass-protest-major-setbacks-and-vital-lessons-for-the-new-resistance/18943852" target="_blank" title="">If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution</a></em>, the journalist Vincent Bevins writes that Mohamed Bouazizi’s name is not only remembered but cursed in the very town that had once given him a hero’s burial. “Most people hate him,” a teen flatly informs Bevins near Bouazizi’s grave. Another local assessed Bouazizi more kindly, but with regret for all he had wrought. “I knew him,” he said. “He was a nice guy. But this revolution did not benefit the Tunisian people. Tunisia did not take one step forwards. It moved backwards.”</p><p>Of the 10 places that Bevins examines in his account of the most disruptive mass protest movements of the last decade or so—Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Hong Kong, South Korea, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Yemen—the same might be said of six more of them, Bevins contends. Repression has arguably deepened in Bahrain, Egypt, and Hong Kong. Brazil and Turkey both saw right-wing authoritarians come to power. And the events following the ouster of Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2012 led to an ongoing <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.unrefugees.org/news/yemen-crisis-explained/" href="https://www.unrefugees.org/news/yemen-crisis-explained/" target="_blank">civil war</a> that has killed nearly 400,000 people thus far and produced what remains one of the world’s most acute humanitarian crises—at <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.unfpa.org/yemen-crisis-women-and-girls" data-original-title="" href="https://www.unfpa.org/yemen-crisis-women-and-girls" target="_blank" title="">last count</a> by the United Nations Population Fund, some 21.6 million Yemenis are thought to need basic aid and assistance of some kind today….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/18/opinion/human-population-global-growth.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/18/opinion/human-population-global-growth.html" target="_blank" title="">The World’s Population May Peak in Your Lifetime. What Happens Next?</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 9-20-2023]</p><blockquote><div>...Most people now live in countries where two or fewer children are born for every two adults. If all people in the United States today lived through their reproductive years and had babies at an average pace, then it would add up to about 1.66 births per woman. In Europe, that number is 1.5; in East Asia, 1.2; in Latin America, 1.9. Any worldwide average of fewer than two children per two adults means our population shrinks and in the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/JhwiR/https://population.un.org/wpp/publications/Files/PopFacts_2017-4_Population-Momentum.pdf" href="https://archive.ph/o/JhwiR/https://population.un.org/wpp/publications/Files/PopFacts_2017-4_Population-Momentum.pdf" target="_blank">long run</a> each new generation is smaller than the one before. If the world’s fertility rate were the same as in the United States today, then the global population would fall from a peak of around 10 billion to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/JhwiR/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4534047" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/JhwiR/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4534047" target="_blank" title="">less than two billion</a> about 300 years later, over perhaps 10 generations. And if family sizes remained small, we would continue declining.</div><div>What would happen as a consequence? ….</div><div><br /></div><div>...In fact, in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/eahsC/https://sites.utexas.edu/pwi/files/2023/01/Geruso_Spears_Longtermism_and_Population_OUP.pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/eahsC/https://sites.utexas.edu/pwi/files/2023/01/Geruso_Spears_Longtermism_and_Population_OUP.pdf" target="_blank" title="">none of the countries</a> where lifelong fertility rates have fallen well below two have they ever returned above it….<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>...If we wait, the less inclusive, less compassionate, less calm elements within our society and many societies worldwide may someday call depopulation a crisis and exploit it to suit their agendas — of inequality, nationalism, exclusion or control…. In a world of sustained low birthrates and declining populations, there may be threats of backsliding on reproductive freedom — by limiting abortion rights, for example. Some will inexcusably claim that restricting reproductive choice is a way to curb long-run population decline. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/eahsC/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6927381/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/eahsC/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6927381/" target="_blank" title="">Some</a> already do….<br /></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.ianwelsh.net/money-is-not-wealth/" target="_blank" title="">Money Is Not Wealth</a></strong><br /></p><p>Ian Welsh, September 20, 2023<br /></p><blockquote><p>...In the modern world, when new money is created without an increase in actual productive ability (goods, resources, improvements in land, improved real productivity) wealth hasn’t been created. Wealth is only created by increases in money if there is unused productive capacity and that capacity is being held back by lack of money (i.e. it’s available, but not being used by the people who would use it productively) and that money gets to the people who would use it productively AND those people then get control of those resources and use them productively. (That’s a lot of “ands”.</p><p>We’ve been pumping a ton of money into the economy ever since 2008. It mostly, in the West, has not been used to increase production, it has been used either in attempts to gain control of already existing productive resources or to loot said productive resources, burning them to the ground, as with much of private equity. A good example is Toys’R’Us, which was entirely profitable till it was bought and larded up with debt by the buyers.</p><p>Money isn’t wealth. Sometimes, in some times and societies, it seems like it, but at best it is a proxy for wealth.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/the-missing-inflation-data/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Missing Inflation Data</strong></a><br /></p><p>Matt Stoller, September 20, 2023 [The Lever]</p><blockquote><p>... Earlier this month, Biden <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/15/uaw-calls-on-biden-to-do-more-00116322" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/15/uaw-calls-on-biden-to-do-more-00116322" target="_blank" title=""><u>gave a speech</u></a> in Philadelphia celebrating Labor Day, and ahead of it, he said, “I’m not worried about a strike,” and “I don’t think it’s going to happen” — comments that are clearly a result of his senior staff giving him bad information.</p><p>These delusional comments prompted a Detroit Congresswoman to call up senior White House advisor Steve Ricchetti and scream, “Are you out of your f—ing minds?”</p><p>And this gets to a common question I hear in D.C., which goes as follows: Why is the public so unhappy? The economy looks, by most conventional measurements, as if it’s doing well….<br /></p><p>There are two reasons why the White House simply cannot seem to govern effectively. The first is that the tools the political class uses to understand inflation are misleading them. The second is that Biden doesn’t have one unified policy agenda, but has a bunch of policy agendas that work against each other.</p><p>The result of these two factors is that Biden’s story — “look at all this prosperity I have delivered” — doesn’t work in the face of strikes and anger….</p><p>The government <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/06/10/owners-equivalent-rent-a-key-property-of-inflation/" href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/06/10/owners-equivalent-rent-a-key-property-of-inflation/" target="_blank"><u>simply</u></a> “underestimates changes in housing costs,” according to an economist at Redfin, especially when interest rates are spiking. “And that’s because housing costs for the person who is actually active in the market experiences much greater fluctuation.”</p><p>The reason to change this measurement was so that inflation would look lower than it actually was. Over time, subsequent administrations sustained this shift. Lying about the symbols used to govern has a short-term political benefit in that it perhaps gets you some good media coverage — but over time, it means that the CPI for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://harpers.org/archive/2008/05/numbers-racket/" data-original-title="" href="https://harpers.org/archive/2008/05/numbers-racket/" target="_blank" title=""><u>housing costs</u></a> isn’t necessarily reliable….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/strikes-and-bidenomics?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/strikes-and-bidenomics?" target="_blank" title="">Strikes and Bidenomics</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Today’s issue is about the incoherence of the Biden economic agenda, so-called ‘Bidenomics.’ With strikes in the auto industry and Hollywood, as well as sour polling numbers, something about the White House framework for policy isn’t working.</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://real-economics.blogspot.com/2023/09/sen-fetterman-senate-dress-code-and.html" target="_blank" title="">Sen. Fetterman, the Senate dress code, and Conspicuous Consumption</a></strong><br /></p><p>Tony Wikrent [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://real-economics.blogspot.com/2023/09/sen-fetterman-senate-dress-code-and.html" data-original-title="" href="https://real-economics.blogspot.com/2023/09/sen-fetterman-senate-dress-code-and.html" target="_blank" title="">Real Economics</a>]<br /></p><blockquote><p>... Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929)... is famous for coining the phrase “”conspicuous consumption.”” It was the title of the fourth chapter of his 1899 book, <a data-cke-saved-href="http://moglen.law.columbia.edu/LCS/theoryleisureclass.pdf" data-original-title="" href="http://moglen.law.columbia.edu/LCS/theoryleisureclass.pdf" target="_blank" title="">The Theory of the Leisure Class</a>. The title of Chapter Seven in that book is, “”<a data-cke-saved-href="https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Veblen/Veblen_1899/Veblen_1899_07.html" data-original-title="" href="https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Veblen/Veblen_1899/Veblen_1899_07.html" target="_blank" title="">Dress as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture</a>,”” and it is here that Veblen explains how the Leisure Class — basically, the rich and their hangers on, and the various elites of the different parts of society — creates and enforces standards of taste and culture (the pecuniary culture) that reinforces and perpetuates their dominant role in society. Quite simply, elites dress in such a way as to make clear they do not have to do any work in order to exist….<br /></p><p>Excerpts from Thorstein Veblen, Chapter Seven, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Veblen/Veblen_1899/Veblen_1899_07.html" href="https://brocku.ca/MeadProject/Veblen/Veblen_1899/Veblen_1899_07.html" target="_blank">“Dress as an Expression of the Pecuniary Culture”</a></p><p>“...Other methods of putting one’s pecuniary standing in evidence serve their end effectually, and other methods are in vogue always and everywhere; but expenditure on dress has this advantage over most other methods, that our apparel is always in evidence and affords an indication of our pecuniary standing to all observers at the first glance. It is also true that admitted expenditure for display is more obviously present, and is, perhaps, more universally practiced in the matter of dress than in any other line of consumption….</p><p>“But the function of dress as an evidence of ability to pay does not end with simply showing that the wearer consumes valuable goods in excess of what is required for physical comfort. Simple conspicuous waste of goods is effective and gratifying as far as it goes; it is good <em>prima facie</em> evidence of pecuniary success, and consequently <em>prima facie</em> evidence of social worth. But dress has subtler and more far-reaching possibilities than this crude, first-hand evidence of wasteful consumption only. If, in addition to showing that the wearer can afford to consume freely and uneconomically, it can also be shown in the same stroke that he or she is not under the necessity of earning a livelihood, the evidence of social worth is enhanced in a very considerable degree. Our dress, therefore, in order to serve its purpose effectually, should not only he expensive, but it should also make plain to all observers that the wearer is not engaged in any kind of productive labor… The pleasing effect of neat and spotless garments is chiefly, if not altogether, due to their carrying the suggestion of leisure exemption from personal contact with industrial processes of any kind… It not only shows that the wearer is able to consume a relatively large value, but it argues at the same time that he consumes without producing....</p><p>“...Conspicuous waste and conspicuous leisure are reputable because they are evidence of pecuniary strength; pecuniary strength is reputable or honorific because, in the last analysis, it argues success and superior force….”<strong></strong><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thewire.in/books/how-the-unilateral-neoliberalism-of-the-us-helped-china-to-weaponise-its-economy-for-geopolitics" data-original-title="" href="https://thewire.in/books/how-the-unilateral-neoliberalism-of-the-us-helped-china-to-weaponise-its-economy-for-geopolitics" target="_blank" title="">How the ‘Unilateral Neoliberalism’ of the US Helped China to Weaponise its Economy for Geopolitics</a> </strong></p><p>[The Wire, via Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy </strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/" title="">Biden's NLRB Brings Workers' Rights Back From the Dead</a> </strong></p><p>Harold Meyerson [The American Prospect, via <a data-cke-saved-href="http://sideshow.me.uk/" data-original-title="" href="http://sideshow.me.uk/" target="_blank" title="">Avedon’s Sideshow</a>]</p><blockquote><p>It astonishes me to say so, but there are some things the Biden administration is doing that I would like to see continue and I'll really really hate seeing Republicans replace the people who are doing them. "<a data-cke-saved-href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/" data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/labor/2023-08-28-bidens-nlrb-brings-workers-rights-back/" title="">Biden's NLRB Brings Workers' Rights Back From the Dead</a>: Last Friday, the National Labor Relations Board released its most important ruling in many decades. In a party-line decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, the Board ruled that when a majority of a company's employees file union affiliation cards, the employer can either voluntarily recognize their union or, if not, ask the Board to run a union recognition election. If, in the run-up to or during that election, the employer commits an unfair labor practice, such as illegally firing pro-union workers (which has become routine in nearly every such election over the past 40 years, as the penalties have been negligible), the Board will order the employer to recognize the union and enter forthwith into bargaining. The Cemex decision was preceded by another, one day earlier, in which the Board, also along party lines, set out rules for representation elections which required them to be held promptly after the Board had been asked to conduct them, curtailing employers' ability to delay them, often indefinitely. Taken together, this one-two punch effectively makes union organizing possible again, after decades in which unpunished employer illegality was the most decisive factor in reducing the nation's rate of private-sector unionization from roughly 35 percent to the bare 6 percent at which it stands today."</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://truthout.org/articles/unionized-auto-workers-are-taking-on-a-three-headed-behemoth-of-big-capital/" data-original-title="" href="https://truthout.org/articles/unionized-auto-workers-are-taking-on-a-three-headed-behemoth-of-big-capital/" target="_blank" title="">Unionized Autoworkers Are Taking on a Three-Headed Behemoth of Big Capital</a></strong></p><p>Derek Seidman, September 10, 2023 [TRUTHOUT, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...In taking on the Big Three automakers, auto workers are quite literally confronting a three-headed behemoth whose leadership and governance are closely embedded and directly interlocked within a wider corporate power network that stretches well beyond the auto industry.</p><p>A <em>Truthout </em>analysis of top executives and board directors — in other words, an analysis of the few dozen people who sit at the heights of power within the Big Three — reveals a web of representatives from powerful corporations and industry associations who for decades have been at the forefront of fighting unions, lowering workers’ living standards and awarding huge executive pay.</p><p>It shouldn’t be surprising that the Big Three executives and directors are playing hardball with autoworkers. Many of the people who run the show at GM, Ford and Stellantis are the same people who have overseen private equity firms like KKR as they profit from slashing jobs. They are the same people who help run ruthlessly anti-union empires like Amazon and Walmart. Their ranks include leaders of industry groups like the Business Roundtable, which lobbies tooth-and-nail to defend corporate interests and entertainment giants like Disney who are pitted against striking actors and writers. They are acculturated to, and products of, a regime of business rule that lavishes CEOs with huge pay and uses billions in profits for dividend payouts and stock buybacks rather than higher wages and more benefits for workers….</p><p>Take Mary Barra, for instance, the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.gm.com/company/leadership.detail.html/Pages/bios/global/en/corporate-officers/Mary-Barra" href="https://www.gm.com/company/leadership.detail.html/Pages/bios/global/en/corporate-officers/Mary-Barra">chair and CEO</a> of General Motors. She’s been the top executive at helm of the auto giant for nearly a decade now. In 2022, she raked in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6" href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6">nearly $29 million</a> in total compensation in 2022 and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6" href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6">over $81 million</a> from 2020 to 2022. According to company <a data-cke-saved-href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6" href="https://investor.gm.com/static-files/b64a3a95-3f28-41e5-b43f-afc8a50c7ce6">filings</a>, the CEO to median worker pay ratio at GM is an astounding 362 to 1.</p><p>But Barra also holds another powerful role: She’s been a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/mary-t-barra/" href="https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/mary-t-barra/">board director</a> of the Walt Disney Company since 2017….</p><p>Mark Stewart, who is Stellantis’s chief operating officer in North America with a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/chrysler-parent-stellantis-criticizes-uaw-demands-labor-talks-2023-08-11/" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/chrysler-parent-stellantis-criticizes-uaw-demands-labor-talks-2023-08-11/">central role</a> in company negotiations with the UAW, previously was the vice president of operations at Amazon in <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-stewart-0b29497?challengeId=AQHsV3meSGlYswAAAYpG6U0mMlyvl53HcgaKbhf3MioX3DaWKorpJ7pHU0czsCakvkmDfYd9LeWGKg3Gy8f0cIxGaXNc3VL39w&submissionId=81890453-8530-8017-1cf0-4995304a7d22&challengeSource=AgEaBbDnj_xVCAAAAYpG6dIZ-qUPH90D7KZT2sn0HjF0SQK0sDqA-xpsW5N114U&challegeType=AgFB32FtAM1emQAAAYpG6dIcKs_rZfADIKolbsQEVoZuodEXWhJ7hDs&memberId=AgFnk4gOipUPNAAAAYpG6dIe-pcaeaqWT6IwWPlZ-LiSQMA&recognizeDevice=AgGMxdZEDvm6cgAAAYpG6dIhxngSyMEDK6oagEFKNM0pLDj37leT" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-stewart-0b29497?challengeId=AQHsV3meSGlYswAAAYpG6U0mMlyvl53HcgaKbhf3MioX3DaWKorpJ7pHU0czsCakvkmDfYd9LeWGKg3Gy8f0cIxGaXNc3VL39w&submissionId=81890453-8530-8017-1cf0-4995304a7d22&challengeSource=AgEaBbDnj_xVCAAAAYpG6dIZ-qUPH90D7KZT2sn0HjF0SQK0sDqA-xpsW5N114U&challegeType=AgFB32FtAM1emQAAAYpG6dIcKs_rZfADIKolbsQEVoZuodEXWhJ7hDs&memberId=AgFnk4gOipUPNAAAAYpG6dIe-pcaeaqWT6IwWPlZ-LiSQMA&recognizeDevice=AgGMxdZEDvm6cgAAAYpG6dIhxngSyMEDK6oagEFKNM0pLDj37leT">2017 and 2018</a>.</p><p>Stewart’s role at Amazon was significant, and his managerial prerogatives were pitted against workers’ interests. According to his <a data-cke-saved-href="https://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=20490" href="https://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=20490">Stellantis biography</a>, Stewart was Amazon’s “lead executive for customer fulfillment across 200 operations facilities in North America,” and responsible for “overseeing operations, procurement, construction and engineering with teams dedicated to pursuing automation, artificial intelligence and advanced robotics and conveyance.”</p><p>Worker stories of hyper monitoring, workplace accidents and mistreatment were <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/30/accidents-at-amazon-workers-left-to-suffer-after-warehouse-injuries" href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/30/accidents-at-amazon-workers-left-to-suffer-after-warehouse-injuries">reported</a> during Stewart’s tenure. Amazon is a notoriously anti-union corporation with a reputation for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/technology/amazon-unions-virginia.html" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/technology/amazon-unions-virginia.html">union busting</a>….</p><p>Three directors of Big Three auto companies have backgrounds with another poster child for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/union-walmart-shut-5-stores-over-labor-activism/" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/union-walmart-shut-5-stores-over-labor-activism/">union busting</a> and for <a data-cke-saved-href="https://equitablegrowth.org/walmart-is-a-monopsonist-that-depresses-earnings-and-employment-beyond-its-own-walls-but-u-s-policymakers-can-do-something-about-it/" href="https://equitablegrowth.org/walmart-is-a-monopsonist-that-depresses-earnings-and-employment-beyond-its-own-walls-but-u-s-policymakers-can-do-something-about-it/">holding down</a> the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://hbr.org/2006/12/the-high-cost-of-low-wages" href="https://hbr.org/2006/12/the-high-cost-of-low-wages">wage floor</a>: Walmart. GM Director Joanne Crevoiserat held a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/about-us/members/joanne-crevoiserat-chief-executive-officer-tapestry-inc" href="https://www.businessroundtable.org/about-us/members/joanne-crevoiserat-chief-executive-officer-tapestry-inc">senior role</a> at Walmart from <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-crevoiserat?original_referer=" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-crevoiserat?original_referer=">2005 to 2007</a>, while Stellantis Director Wan Ling Martello was a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.stellantis.com/content/dam/stellantis-corporate/group/governance/leadership/bio/eng/Wan%20Ling%20Martello.pdf" href="https://www.stellantis.com/content/dam/stellantis-corporate/group/governance/leadership/bio/eng/Wan%20Ling%20Martello.pdf">senior executive</a> at Walmart from 2005 to 2011, including executive vice president of global ecommerce. GM Director Thomas Schoewe <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.gm.com/company/leadership.detail.html/Pages/bios/global/en/bod/Thomas-Schoewe" href="https://www.gm.com/company/leadership.detail.html/Pages/bios/global/en/bod/Thomas-Schoewe">served</a> as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Walmart from 2000 to 2011.</p><p>Schoewe has a history with another company with a poor record on workers’ rights: The private equity behemoth KKR, where he previously served as a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1404912/000110465911009143/a11-6487_1ex99d2.htm" href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1404912/000110465911009143/a11-6487_1ex99d2.htm">director</a>. GM’s Lead Independent Director Patricia Russo also currently serves on the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ir.kkr.com/corporate-governance/" href="https://ir.kkr.com/corporate-governance/">KKR board</a>. Among other things, KKR was one of the firms that drove Toys “R” Us into <a data-cke-saved-href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/how-private-equity-killed-toys-r-us" href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/how-private-equity-killed-toys-r-us">bankruptcy</a> and left tens of thousands of workers unemployed. It also owns Refresco, the world’s largest independent bottling company, which until recently had long <a data-cke-saved-href="https://jacobin.com/2023/02/jersey-factory-workers-pensions-private-equity-kkr" href="https://jacobin.com/2023/02/jersey-factory-workers-pensions-private-equity-kkr">stalled</a> on a contract for unionized workers in its New Jersey plant….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/09/23/eight-and-skate-uaw-strike/" target="_blank" title="">Eight and Skate: Today’s iteration of the United Auto Workers—now on a decisive strike—is both a renewal of an old tradition and a new creation</a></strong><br /></p><p>Gabriel Winant, September 23, 2023 [The New York Review]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Because of the wide social implications of the union and its actions, the UAW had a leadership function beyond its narrow remit, and its legendary president Walter Reuther often stood at the left edge of American liberalism, pointing toward the future. The Port Huron Statement, the founding manifesto of the 1960s student left, was drafted at the union’s lakeside retreat, which the young radicals from the University of Michigan borrowed for their meeting. The union provided crucial support to the civil rights movement, helping organize the 1963 March on Washington….<br /></p><p>The last two decades of the twentieth century and the first of our own threw a wrecking ball through the UAW’s heroic image. Intensifying global competition brought the Big Three to their knees (from which the federal government repeatedly pulled them back up, most famously in the 2009 bailouts), automation ate away at the number of available jobs, and UAW membership declined from its peak of 1.5 million in the 1970s to more than 400,000 today, which includes a significant proportion outside its core jurisdiction. (About 100,000 members, for example, are graduate student workers.) The union’s leadership devolved into an increasingly complacent and corrupt clique. No one would have tried to kill Dennis Williams or Gary Jones, the UAW’s presidents from 2014 to 2019, who recently spent nine months each in federal prison for embezzlement.<br /></p><p>Beginning in the 1980s, the union negotiated a series of concessionary contracts, giving back victories it had won during its heroic age and dividing workers into tiers. Under these plans, employees hired after a certain point can never attain the same terms as more senior workers—fragmenting the workers and corroding the principle of industrial unionism on which the UAW was founded. Autoworkers’ real wages are down 19 percent from 2008….<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"></p><p>...The UAW is not alone. In the past several years labor militancy has been on the rise across sectors, challenging not only particular employers but also, increasingly, the direction of the country. For a decade, beginning in Chicago in 2012 and escalating to the strike wave of 2018–2019 and the struggles over pandemic reopenings, teachers have resisted privatization and fought for smaller classes and safer, better staffed schools. Similarly radicalized by the pandemic, thousands of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/05/25/the-fight-for-fair-wages-essential-jamie-k-mccallum/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/05/25/the-fight-for-fair-wages-essential-jamie-k-mccallum/" target="_blank" title="">Starbucks and Amazon workers</a> have stood up to these giants of the new economy, long thought to be unorganizable. In these and other campaigns, workers have faced relentless, often flagrantly illegal antiunion repression, prompting the Biden administration’s National Labor Relations Board to come to their aid with some of the most favorable interpretations of labor law in decades.</p><p>In Hollywood, by striking against the algorithmic production and distribution of television and film, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/05/storyboards-and-solidarity-the-disney-revolt-friedman/" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2023/10/05/storyboards-and-solidarity-the-disney-revolt-friedman/" target="_blank">actors and writers</a> are defending the very idea of human culture as something more than pellets of pasteurized and predigested content…. <br /></p><p>In higher education, resistance to a collapsed academic job market and the depredations of increasingly mercenary administrations has quickly accelerated. Unions have launched major strikes across the industry, most notably in 2022 at the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/02/08/tenant-debtor-worker-student/" href="https://www.nybooks.com/online/2023/02/08/tenant-debtor-worker-student/" target="_blank">University of California</a>, and won an extraordinary string of near-unanimous union victories across the private sector in the past several years—pro-union vote share is regularly above 90 percent in electorates that often exceed three thousand workers. Eight of the ten largest new union bargaining units since January 2022 have been at universities. (The other two were at hospitals.) Academic workers have revivified the democratic left wing of labor, not just contributing to the reformation of the UAW but also rapidly rebuilding the membership of the United Electrical Workers, once the third-largest CIO union but reduced to a tiny rump by the purging of the labor movement’s radical wing in the early Cold War….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"> <br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/corporate-tax-dodgers" data-original-title="" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/corporate-tax-dodgers" target="_blank" title="">Auto Giants Refusing Union Demands Paid Just 1% in Federal Taxes on $42 Billion in Profits: Analysis </a></strong></p><p>[Common Dreams[X-Twitter, via Naked Capitalism 9-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/technology/2023/09/tornado-cash-crypto-ruling.html" data-original-title="" href="https://slate.com/technology/2023/09/tornado-cash-crypto-ruling.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>A Recent Court Ruling Will Help the U.S. Government Go After Cryptocurrency Criminals</strong></a> </p><p>[Slate, via The Big Picture 9-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/14/23870526/elizabeth-warren-digital-consumer-protection-commission-big-tech" data-original-title="" href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/9/14/23870526/elizabeth-warren-digital-consumer-protection-commission-big-tech" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Elizabeth Warren created a federal agency once. Can she do it again?</strong> </a></p><p>[Vox, via The Big Picture 9-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The Massachusetts senator explains why we need an FCC for Big Tech. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/14/business/economy/michael-barr-federal-reserve-banks.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/14/business/economy/michael-barr-federal-reserve-banks.html" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Meet the Man Making Big Banks Tremble</strong></a></p><p>[New York Times, via The Big Picture 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Michael Barr, whom President Biden appointed as the Federal Reserve’s top bank cop, has drawn blowback for his bank regulation push. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/ftc-sues-welsh-carson-anesthesiology-texas" data-original-title="" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/21/ftc-sues-welsh-carson-anesthesiology-texas" target="_blank" title="">FTC sues private equity firm Welsh Carson for medical price-fixing</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Axios, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09/mexicos-amlo-rips-up-usurious-public-private-partnership-finance-agreements-for-9-public-hospitals.html" target="_blank" title="">A Valuable Lesson from Mexico: AMLO Government Cancels Extortionate Public-Private Partnerships for 9 Public Hospitals</a></strong><br /></p><p>Nick Corbishley, September 22, 2023 [via Naked Capitalism]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Restoring balance to the economy — antitrust trial of Google</strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-13/google-apple-meta-control-most-of-us-internet-usage" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-13/google-apple-meta-control-most-of-us-internet-usage" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Google’s Dominance Over the Internet, Visualized</strong></a></p><p>[Businessweek, via The Big Picture 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A graphic analysis of the companies customers rely on during their daily visits online. </p></blockquote><p>[<a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1704179746983034887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1704179746983034887%7Ctwgr%5E5948d2c5da248ed49e56f428a4a415b1db0f15af%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F09%2Flinks-9-20-2023.html" href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1704179746983034887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1704179746983034887%7Ctwgr%5E5948d2c5da248ed49e56f428a4a415b1db0f15af%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2023%2F09%2Flinks-9-20-2023.html" target="_blank">X-Twitter</a>, via Naked Capitalism 9-20-2023]</p><div class="cke_widget_wrapper cke_widget_block cke_widget_selected" contenteditable="false" data-cke-display-name="div" data-cke-filter="off" data-cke-widget-id="2" data-cke-widget-wrapper="1" tabindex="-1"><div class="dk-editor-embed center-block cke_widget_element" data-cke-widget-data="%7B%22align%22%3A%22center%22%2C%22classes%22%3A%7B%22center-block%22%3A1%2C%22dk-editor-embed%22%3A1%7D%7D" data-cke-widget-keep-attr="0" data-cke-widget-upcasted="1" data-twitter-content="&lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;&lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;In the leaked document Microsoft confirmed the gist of the FTC&amp;#39;s case, which is that the future of gaming is about the cloud. Judge Corley should be embarrassed, and hopefully she gets overturned. &lt;a href="https://t.co/rPTyZzaA87"&gt;pic.twitter.com/rPTyZzaA87&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/matthewstoller/status/1704179746983034887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 19, 2023&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;" data-widget="dkEditorEmbed"><div class="remove-embed-content">x</div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; max-width: 550px; width: 100%;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1704179746983034887" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1704179746983034887&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailykos.com%2Fstories%2F2194081%2Fedit&sessionId=d75e77fcafa4bb0917f37ac515b608984326b50e&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px" style="display: block; flex-grow: 1; height: 552px; position: static; visibility: visible; width: 518px;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div></div><span class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler_container" style="background-color: rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); background: url("https://www.dailykos.com/assets/ckeditor/plugins/widget/images/handle.png") rgba(220, 220, 220, 0.5); left: 122px; top: -15px;"><img class="cke_reset cke_widget_drag_handler" data-cke-widget-drag-handler="1" height="15" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==" title="Click and drag to move" width="15" /></span></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>.</p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://searchengineland.com/department-of-justice-removes-google-evidence-432271" data-original-title="" href="https://searchengineland.com/department-of-justice-removes-google-evidence-432271" target="_blank" title="">Department of Justice removes key Google evidence from its website</a> </strong></p><p>[Search Engine Land, via Naked Capitalism 9-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23883680/us-google-antitrust-trial-amit-mehta-doj-exhibit-documents" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/21/23883680/us-google-antitrust-trial-amit-mehta-doj-exhibit-documents" target="_blank" title="">Here are the documents the Google antitrust trial judge didn’t want you to see</a> </strong></p><p>[The Verge, via Naked Capitalism 9-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wired.com/story/law-geeks-exposing-google-secretive-antitrust-trial/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/law-geeks-exposing-google-secretive-antitrust-trial/" target="_blank" title="">Meet the Law Geeks Exposing Google’s Secretive Antitrust</a></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wired.com/story/law-geeks-exposing-google-secretive-antitrust-trial/" href="https://www.wired.com/story/law-geeks-exposing-google-secretive-antitrust-trial/" target="_blank"> Trial</a></strong> </p><p>[Wired, via Naked Capitalism 9-21-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/power/2023-09-21-amazons-185-billion-pay-to-play-system/" target="_blank" title="">Amazon’s $185 Billion Pay-to-Play System</a></strong><br /></p><p>David Dayen, September 21, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Amazon now takes 45 cents in fees out of every dollar of third-party sales at its marketplace, according to updated statistics in a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://ilsr.org/AmazonMonopolyTollbooth-2023" href="https://ilsr.org/AmazonMonopolyTollbooth-2023" target="_blank">new report</a> from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.</p><p>The e-commerce giant’s extraction from third-party sales revenue was just 19 percent in 2014. It grew to 27 percent in 2017, 35 percent in 2020, and reached 45 percent this year, according to ILSR’s figures. This has imposed significant pressure on sellers’ ability to make a profit, and is contributing to inflation woes as fees get passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.</p><p>Overall, Amazon is projected to make $185 billion in fees from third-party sellers in 2023: $125 billion from U.S. third-party sellers and another $60 billion from foreign-market businesses and vendor ads. In 2014, that number was $13 billion. Put another way, in nine years, Amazon has increased its fee revenue 14-fold.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Climate and environmental crises</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.space.com/nasa-2023-summer-hottest-on-record" data-original-title="" href="https://www.space.com/nasa-2023-summer-hottest-on-record" target="_blank" title="">NASA confirms summer 2023 was Earth’s hottest on record</a> </strong></p><p>[Space.com, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/climate-change-southeast-asia-survey-serious-threat-decline-urgency-level-food-security-3788561" data-original-title="" href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/climate-change-southeast-asia-survey-serious-threat-decline-urgency-level-food-security-3788561" target="_blank" title="">Less than half of respondents in Southeast Asia believe climate change poses ‘serious threat’ to region: Survey</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Channel News Asia, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/09/20/minnesota-judge-rules-that-criminalizing-enbridge-line-3-water-protectors-would-be-a-crime/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/09/20/minnesota-judge-rules-that-criminalizing-enbridge-line-3-water-protectors-would-be-a-crime/" target="_blank" title="">Minnesota Judge Rules That Criminalizing Enbridge Line 3 Water Protectors Would Be a Crime</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Exposed by CMD, via Naked Capitalism 9-21-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20230922-brazil-s-indigenous-peoples-celebrate-massive-land-rights-victory" data-original-title="" href="https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20230922-brazil-s-indigenous-peoples-celebrate-massive-land-rights-victory" target="_blank" title="">Brazil’s Indigenous peoples celebrate massive land rights victory</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[France24, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Green New Deal - An opportunity too big to miss</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newatlas.com/energy/touchwind-floating-wind-turbine/" data-original-title="" href="https://newatlas.com/energy/touchwind-floating-wind-turbine/" target="_blank" title="">Single-bladed floating wind turbine promises half the cost, more power </a></strong></p><p>[New Atlas, via Naked Capitalism 9-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-28/electric-cars-pass-a-crucial-tipping-point-in-23-countries" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-28/electric-cars-pass-a-crucial-tipping-point-in-23-countries" target="_blank">Electric Cars Pass a Crucial Tipping Point in 23 Countries</a></strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 9-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Once 5% of new car sales go fully electric, everything changes — according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of the latest EV adoption curves. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/ford-gm-tesla-ev-war-aa553d83" href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/ford-gm-tesla-ev-war-aa553d83" target="_blank"><strong>Why the UAW Strike Isn’t the Biggest Problem for Ford and GM</strong></a></p><p>[Barron’s, via The Big Picture 9-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The labor action highlights the biggest issue: Can the auto makers afford to spend what it takes to thrive in the new world of EVs? </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90952175/this-spanish-city-has-been-restricting-cars-for-24-years-heres-what-we-can-learn-from-it" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90952175/this-spanish-city-has-been-restricting-cars-for-24-years-heres-what-we-can-learn-from-it" target="_blank" title=""><strong>This Spanish city has been restricting cars for 24 years. Here’s what we can learn from it</strong></a></p><p>[Fast Company, via The Big Picture 9-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>With its “Fewer cars, more city” campaign still going strong after more than two decades, Pontevedra offers some of the best evidence available about what happens when a city is reconfigured to accommodate people, rather than automobiles.</p><p>Here are five lessons that Spain’s car-free pioneer can offer local officials elsewhere who might want to follow its lead….</p><p>The number of cars in Pontevedra has plummeted during the last two decades following the elimination of on-street parking, the conversion of traffic lanes into sidewalks, and the reconfiguration of streets to prevent through traffic. “If you want to drive across Pontevedra, you can—but you will waste a lot of time and realize it is impractical,” Fernandez Lopez told me. <a data-cke-saved-href="https://trix.gal/es/portfolio-item/menos-coches-mais-cidade/" href="https://trix.gal/es/portfolio-item/menos-coches-mais-cidade/" target="_blank">According to the city</a>, car trips have fallen 97% since 1999 in the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-26/norway-pulls-the-plug-on-ev-tax-incentives-and-subsidies#xj4y7vzkg" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-26/norway-pulls-the-plug-on-ev-tax-incentives-and-subsidies#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank">4.5-square kilometer</a> historic center and 53% across the entire city (at 46 square miles, it’s two-thirds the size of the District of Columbia)….</p><div><p>Before Pontevedra underwent its mobility transformation, the city’s population growth was flat. Mayor Fernandez Lores said that when he took office in 1999, the historic center was largely devoid of young families and old people—many of whom felt unsafe due to the traffic roaring by.</p></div><div><p>Now the story is very different: Pontevedra has become the fastest-growing city in the province of Galicia. “People are relocating from suburbs into the city, as well as from other parts of Spain,” Fernandez Lores told me.</p><p>Many of Pontevedra’s newcomers are young families enticed by safe streets as well as the clean air (local carbon dioxide levels have <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/europa-abierta/europa-abierta-pontevedra-ejemplo-reduccion-emisiones/5510851/" href="https://www.rtve.es/play/audios/europa-abierta/europa-abierta-pontevedra-ejemplo-reduccion-emisiones/5510851/" target="_blank">fallen by two-thirds</a> since motor vehicle traffic was restricted). The city’s population is also the youngest in Galicia….</p><div><p> In a <a data-cke-saved-href="http://g4plus.uvigo.es/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2021_OUP_Doc-Final_visualizacion.pdf" href="http://g4plus.uvigo.es/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/2021_OUP_Doc-Final_visualizacion.pdf" target="_blank">recent economic census</a>, Pontevedra showed higher net business growth than any other Galician city from 2016 to 2020.</p></div><div><p>“We bet on the local shops,” said Mayor Fernandez Lopes. “We wanted the entire city center to be a place where you can buy a pair of shoes or trousers at a variety of different shops.” Since taking office, he has refused to approve any new mall construction on the urban periphery, concerned that suburban retail could drain energy from the pedestrian-oriented urban core. “If you spread retail services throughout the city, people have to drive to reach them,” the mayor told me.</p></div></div><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Creating new economic potential - science and technology</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.topspeed.com/astron-aerospace-omega-1-piston-less-engine/" href="https://www.topspeed.com/astron-aerospace-omega-1-piston-less-engine/" target="_blank">Can This Piston-Less Engine Save Internal Combustion And Pose A Threat To EVs?</a> </strong></p><p>[Top Speed, via Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wired.com/story/cosmic-neutrinos-origin/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wired.com/story/cosmic-neutrinos-origin/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>A New Map of the Universe, Painted With Cosmic Neutrinos</strong></a></p><p>[Wired, via The Big Picture 9-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Physicists finally know where at least some of these high-energy particles come from, which helps make the neutrinos useful for exploring fundamental physics. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.space.com/news/live/nasa-osiris-rex-asteroid-bennu-sample-return-updates" data-original-title="" href="https://www.space.com/news/live/nasa-osiris-rex-asteroid-bennu-sample-return-updates" target="_blank" title="">NASA’s OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return to Earth: Live updates</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Space, via Naked Capitalism 9-21-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Predatory finance</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/09/lobbyists-grab-control-at-house-financial-services-hearings-backing-jamie-dimons-push-to-gut-higher-capital-proposals/" target="_blank" title="">Lobbyists Grab Control at House Financial Services Hearings, Backing Jamie Dimon’s Push to Gut Higher Capital Proposals </a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens: September 20, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<strong></strong><br /></p><blockquote><p>...if you’re not watching Senate Banking or House Financial Services Committee hearings when the topic is about increasing bank capital or any new regulations to make the U.S. banking system less prone to blowing up, you are likely seriously underestimating how corruption has become the new normal in the United States of America.</p><p>The big banks’ trade associations and law firms that pay millions of dollars each year to registered lobbyists to bend Congress to their will are now dominating the witness list at these hearings. The right-wing Republican Senators that are funded by the banks and Wall Street then read from a script written by the lobbyists to ask their toady questions, pretending there is actually a give-and-take in these hearings….</p><p>What has Jamie Dimon’s hair on fire and him racing about telling the media how the higher capital requirements will make banks unattractive as investments, lessen lending and harm competitiveness is that JPMorgan Chase is sitting on a larger pile of dangerous derivatives than any other bank. According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as of June 30, JPMorgan Chase had <em>$3.38 trillion</em> in assets and <em>$57.97</em> <em>trillion in derivatives</em> – of which 96.6 percent were the black hole variety of over-the-counter contracts. (See <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/quarterly-report-on-bank-trading-and-derivatives-activities/files/pub-derivatives-quarterly-qtr2-2023.pdf" href="https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/quarterly-report-on-bank-trading-and-derivatives-activities/files/pub-derivatives-quarterly-qtr2-2023.pdf">Table 15 on page 19 at this link</a>.)</p><p>Dimon is beside himself because the new regulatory proposal calls for the following:</p><p><strong>“Changes to the credit valuation adjustment (CVA) risk capital requirement</strong>: CVA risk is the exposure to changes in the valuation of over-the-counter (OTC) derivative contracts driven by changes in counterparty credit risk. The proposal would replace the current approaches for measuring capital requirements for CVA risk for OTC derivative contracts with non-model-based approaches, including a less burdensome option intended for less complex banking organizations.”</p><p>JPMorgan Chase is, clearly, not going to get the “less burdensome option” and is going to have to start holding more capital to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/REPORT%20-%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Whale%20Trades%20(4-12-13).pdf" data-original-title="" href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/REPORT%20-%20JPMorgan%20Chase%20Whale%20Trades%20(4-12-13).pdf" title="">run its casino</a> if the derivative changes are allowed to take effect. It might have to do that by retaining more earnings to beef up capital, which would mean less money to splurge on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/04/jpmorgan-chase-has-sunk-84-billion-into-buying-back-its-stock-over-past-5-years-now-its-stock-is-sinking/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/04/jpmorgan-chase-has-sunk-84-billion-into-buying-back-its-stock-over-past-5-years-now-its-stock-is-sinking/" title="">all those stock buybacks</a> which have propped up the stock price and <a data-cke-saved-href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/01/jpmorgans-board-made-jamie-dimon-a-billionaire-as-the-bank-rigged-markets-laundered-money-and-admitted-to-five-felony-counts/" data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2022/01/jpmorgans-board-made-jamie-dimon-a-billionaire-as-the-bank-rigged-markets-laundered-money-and-admitted-to-five-felony-counts/" title="">made Dimon a billionaire</a>….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/09/professors-point-to-jpmorgan-chase-as-poster-boy-of-a-financial-system-dependent-on-corruption-to-sustain-itself/" target="_blank" title="">Professors Point to JPMorgan Chase as Poster Boy of a Financial System Dependent on Corruption to Sustain Itself</a></strong><br /></p><p>Pam Martens and Russ Martens: September 18, 2023 [Wall Street on Parade]<br /></p><blockquote><p>The full day conference sponsored by nonprofit watchdog Better Markets last Wednesday was a unique opportunity to gain brilliant insights from academic experts who have battled on the frontlines of the most unprecedented and ongoing era of corruption in U.S. financial history. (You can <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/live/-t9YghlG_mo?si=7SbSENS3GMi92YQ1&t=1020" data-original-title="" href="https://www.youtube.com/live/-t9YghlG_mo?si=7SbSENS3GMi92YQ1&t=1020" title="">watch it on YouTube at this link</a>.) In fact, at the close of the conference, Anat Admati, Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business, summed up the U.S. financial system in five words: “Corruption has become <em>the system</em>.”<br /></p><p>Admati’s celebrated 2013 book, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.amazon.com/Bankers-New-Clothes-Banking-Expanded/dp/0691251703/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694978723&sr=8-3" data-original-title="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Bankers-New-Clothes-Banking-Expanded/dp/0691251703/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1694978723&sr=8-3" title=""><em>The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It</em></a>, co-authored with German economist Martin Hellwig, will have an expanded new edition coming out in early January….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2c7n225r2z9oe01ga7kzk/portfolio/jehoshaphat-research-comes-out-of-the-shadows" data-original-title="" href="https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2c7n225r2z9oe01ga7kzk/portfolio/jehoshaphat-research-comes-out-of-the-shadows" target="_blank" title=""><strong><strong>Jehoshaphat Research</strong> Comes Out of the Shadows</strong></a></p><p>[Institutional Investor, via The Big Picture 9-21-2023]</p><p>[TW: interesting details on companies suing shortsellers]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-09-19/peek-inside-cargill-s-cash-machine-as-america-s-largest-privately-owned-company?embedded-checkout=true#xj4y7vzkg" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-09-19/peek-inside-cargill-s-cash-machine-as-america-s-largest-privately-owned-company?embedded-checkout=true#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" title=""><strong>Peek Inside America’s Largest Privately Owned Company</strong></a></p><p>[Bloomberg, via The Big Picture 9-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Looking in aggregate at the 2020-to-2023 period makes for more interesting reading. Cargill, controlled by two billionaire families linked by marriage, has been a lucrative cash machine. Over this four-year interval, the company has reported profits of about $18.5 billion, nearly as much as it made in the entire decades of the 1990s and 2000s combined….</p><p>With some 155,000 employees across 70 countries, Cargill is the “C” in the vaunted “ABCD” of the agricultural commodity trading industry. The other members of that storied club are Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., Bunge Ltd. and Louis Dreyfus Co. This quartet has jointly dominated grain trading for more than a century.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/business/2023/09/simon-schuster-kkr-private-equity-publishing-pete-stavros.html" href="https://slate.com/business/2023/09/simon-schuster-kkr-private-equity-publishing-pete-stavros.html" target="_blank"><strong>Can Private Equity Be … Nice?</strong> </a></p><p>[Slate, via The Big Picture 9-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>The incoming owners of Simon & Schuster are giving employees a stake in the publisher. Is it corporate whitewashing, good capitalism, or both? </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://ritholtz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Most-Valuable-Companies-2023_Main.jpg" href="https://ritholtz.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Most-Valuable-Companies-2023_Main.jpg" target="_blank">GRAPH — Most Valuable Companies</a></strong></p><p>Barry Ritholtz [The Big Picture 9-21-2023]</p><p>[TW: Note how small is the representation of manufacturing companies. The results of deindustrialization and financialization.]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/" target="_blank">Airlines Are Just Banks Now</a></strong> </p><p>[The Atlantic, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Consumers now charge nearly 1 percent of U.S. GDP to Delta’s American Express credit cards alone. A 2020 analysis by the Financial Times found that Wall Street lenders valued the major airlines’ mileage programs more highly than the airlines themselves. United’s MileagePlus program, for example, was valued at $22 billion, while the company’s market cap at the time was only $10.6 billion.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://medium.com/@mary.williams.walsh/an-issue-of-trust-482bd30c1e17" href="https://medium.com/@mary.williams.walsh/an-issue-of-trust-482bd30c1e17" target="_blank"><strong>An Issue of Trust</strong></a></p><p>[Medium, via The Big Picture 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Jay Alix, a retired corporate turnaround man and certified fraud examiner, has spent the last seven years ricocheting from courtroom to courtroom, arguing that <em>McKinsey</em>, the elite global consulting firm, has been breaking the law, improperly enriching itself, and rigging cases in the bankruptcy courts, where it’s required to act as a fiduciary. Not just once, but again and again. “If somebody’s doing this across multiple cases, across billions of dollars of transactions, they’ve corrupted the system.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Information age dystopia / surveillance state </strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/when-authorities-believe-their-citizens" target="_blank" title="">When Authorities Believe Their Citizens Will Become Dangerous… As the climate crisis evolves, government has just two choices</a></strong><br /></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, September 20, 2023] [God's Spies]<br /></p><blockquote><p>I'll be focusing on this subject in the coming months, as <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/fbi-hoovered-up-over-21-million-dna" data-original-title="" href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/fbi-hoovered-up-over-21-million-dna" title="">more and more evidence appears</a> that surveillance of the American public is increasing. It’s not just the <em>fact</em> of surveillance that’s concerning. The reason they’re doing it is frightening as well.</p><p>Consider: Who do you think the NatSec elites are protecting themselves against? Who are they worried about? It’s not, as you may have imagined, those mad Republican others. Many in the NatSec state <a data-cke-saved-href="https://time.com/6235552/the-fbi-has-always-been-political/" data-original-title="" href="https://time.com/6235552/the-fbi-has-always-been-political/" title="">ARE those “others.”</a></p><p>No, they worry about you.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/p/davos-man-says-total-transparency" target="_blank" title="">Davos Man Says 'Total Transparency' For You, And total privacy for him and his friends</a></strong><br /></p><p>Thomas Neuburger, September 13, 2023] [God's Spies]<br /></p><blockquote><p>As many <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/notes/post/p-136269759?selection=edc645cb-e67a-4c32-b7ac-0b33cba6bd1e#:~:text=Transparency%20in%20Schwab%E2%80%99s%20conception%20has%20been%20turned%20on%20its%20head%2C%20to%20mean%20an%20unavoidable%20system%20of%20total%20non-privacy%20the%20world%20must%20learn%20to%20accept." data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/notes/post/p-136269759?selection=edc645cb-e67a-4c32-b7ac-0b33cba6bd1e#:~:text=Transparency%20in%20Schwab%E2%80%99s%20conception%20has%20been%20turned%20on%20its%20head%2C%20to%20mean%20an%20unavoidable%20system%20of%20total%20non-privacy%20the%20world%20must%20learn%20to%20accept." title="">have pointed out</a>, this definition of “transparency” turns the term on its head. In Davos Man’s mouth, it means, “I get to see everything you’re doing; you get to see nothing I’m doing.” About the latter, witness the “prosecution unto death” being visited on <a data-cke-saved-href="https://substack.com/inbox/post/136982740" data-original-title="" href="https://substack.com/inbox/post/136982740" title="">Julian Assange</a> for the crime of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://neuburger.substack.com/i/36007021/treated-like-an-enemy-of-the-state" data-original-title="" href="https://neuburger.substack.com/i/36007021/treated-like-an-enemy-of-the-state" title="">revealing American war crimes</a>, among other secrets….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently" data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently" target="_blank" title="">Apple fucked us on right to repair (again)</a></strong></p><p>Cory Doctorow [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently" data-original-title="" href="https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/22/vin-locking/#thought-differently" target="_blank" title="">Pluralistic</a>, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-22-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“Right to repair has no cannier, more dedicated adversary than Apple, a company whose most innovative work is dreaming up new ways to sneakily sabotage electronics repair while claiming to be a caring environmental steward, a lie that covers up the mountains of e-waste that Apple dooms our descendants to wade through….. Tim Cook laid it out for his investors: when people can repair their devices, they don’t buy new ones. When people don’t buy new devices, Apple doesn’t sell them new devices. It’s that’s simple…. VIN-locking is used by automakers to block independent mechanics from repairing your car; even if they use the manufacturer’s own parts, the parts and the engine will refuse to work together until the manufacturer’s rep keys in the unlock code.” • Well worth a read, since everybody’s VIN-locking. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-fry-ai-cloned-voice-create-audio-illegally-2023-9" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-fry-ai-cloned-voice-create-audio-illegally-2023-9" target="_blank">Harry Potter’ audiobook narrator Stephen Fry said AI was used to steal his voice, and warned that convincing deepfake videos of celebrities will be next</a></strong></p><p>[Business Insider, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“He added: ‘It could therefore have me read anything from a call to storm Parliament to hard porn, all without my knowledge and without my permission. And this, what you just heard, was done without my knowledge. So I heard about this, I sent it to my agents on both sides of the Atlantic, and they went ballistic — they had no idea such a thing was possible.’ Fry said he warned his agent that this was just the beginning. ‘It won’t be long until full deepfake videos are just as convincing,’ he said.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/books/authors-openai-lawsuit-chatgpt-copyright.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/20/books/authors-openai-lawsuit-chatgpt-copyright.html" target="_blank" title="">Franzen, Grisham and Other Prominent Authors Sue OpenAI</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“More than a dozen authors filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on Tuesday, accusing the company, which has been backed with billions of dollars in investment from Microsoft, of infringing on their copyrights by using their books to train its popular ChatGPT chatbot. The complaint, which was filed along with the Authors Guild, said that OpenAI’s chatbots can now produce ‘derivative works’ that can mimic and summarize the authors’ books, potentially harming the market for authors’ work, and that the writers were neither compensated nor notified by the company. ‘The success and profitability of OpenAI are predicated on mass copyright infringement without a word of permission from or a nickel of compensation to copyright owners,’ the complaint said.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://kalz.cc/2023/09/15/ai-destroys-principles-of-authorship.-a-scary-case-from-educational-technology-publishing./" data-original-title="" href="https://kalz.cc/2023/09/15/ai-destroys-principles-of-authorship.-a-scary-case-from-educational-technology-publishing./" target="_blank" title="">AI destroys principles of authorship. A scary case from educational technology publishing.</a></strong> </p><p>[Marco Kalz, via Naked Capitalism 9-19-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/09/15/eighth-circuit-says-cops-can-come-with-probable-cause-for-an-arrest-after-theyve-already-arrested-someone/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.techdirt.com/2023/09/15/eighth-circuit-says-cops-can-come-with-probable-cause-for-an-arrest-after-theyve-already-arrested-someone/" target="_blank" title="">Eighth Circuit Says Cops Can Come With Probable Cause For An Arrest AFTER They’ve Already Arrested Someone</a> </strong></p><p>[Tech Dirt, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://lithub.com/the-spy-who-shushed-me-how-the-government-is-removing-our-right-to-read-in-private/" data-original-title="" href="https://lithub.com/the-spy-who-shushed-me-how-the-government-is-removing-our-right-to-read-in-private/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Spy Who Shushed Me: How the Government Is Removing Our Right to Read in Private</strong> </a><br /></p><p>[Literary Hub, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>War</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ukraine-lost-around-85-of-its-initial-mobilized-force:-field#:~:text=Sounding%20the%20alarm%2C%20Berezhny%20told,in%20urgent%20need%20of%20reinforcements." data-original-title="" href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ukraine-lost-around-85-of-its-initial-mobilized-force:-field#:~:text=Sounding%20the%20alarm%2C%20Berezhny%20told,in%20urgent%20need%20of%20reinforcements." target="_blank" title="">Ukraine lost around 85% of its initial mobilized force: Field general</a> </strong></p><p>[Al Mayadeen, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/we-can-no-longer-hide-truth-about-russia-ukraine-war-opinion-1826532" data-original-title="" href="https://www.newsweek.com/we-can-no-longer-hide-truth-about-russia-ukraine-war-opinion-1826532" target="_blank" title="">We Can No Longer Hide the Truth About the Russia-Ukraine War</a></strong> </p><p>[Newsweek, via Naked Capitalism 9-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/09/21/us-cant-deal-with-defeat/" data-original-title="" href="https://consortiumnews.com/2023/09/21/us-cant-deal-with-defeat/" target="_blank" title="">US Can’t Deal with Defeat</a> </strong><br /></p><p>Michael Brenner [Consortium News, via Naked Capitalism 9-23-2023]<br /></p><blockquote><p><span style="text-align: justify;">...We now are about to enter the final act. Kiev’s vaunted counter-offense has gone nowhere — at an enormous cost to the Ukrainian military. It has been bled white by massive losses of manpower, by the destruction of the greater part of its armor, by the ruin of vital infrastructure. </span><span style="text-align: justify;"></span><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Western-trained elite brigades have been mauled and there are no longer any reserves to throw into the battle. Moreover, the flow of weapons and ammunition from the West has slowed as U.S. and European stocks are running low (e.g. 155mm artillery shells). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The shortage is being aggravated by newfound inhibitions about sending Ukraine advanced weapons which have proven highly vulnerable to Russian fire. That holds especially for armor: German Leopards, British Challengers, French AMX-10-RC tanks as well as Combat Fighting Vehicles (CFV) like the American Bradleys and Strykers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Graphic images of burnt-out hulks littering the Ukrainian steppe are not advertisements for either Western military technology or foreign sales….</p><p style="text-align: justify;">...Ukraine, in turn, is not cooling the ardor for confrontation with China. An audacious, and by no means a compelling, enterprise that is ensconced as the centerpiece of Washington’s official national security strategy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Senior Washington officials openly predict the inevitability of all-out war before the end of the decade — nuclear weapons notwithstanding.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Moreover, Taiwan is cast in the same role as that played by Ukraine in the American scheme of things. So, having provoked a multi-dimensional conflict with Russia which has failed on all counts, the U.S. hastily commits itself to the nearly exact same strategy in taking on an even more formidable foe….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/what-the-us-will-learn-and-not-learn-from-the-war-in-ukraine.html#more" data-original-title="" href="https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/09/what-the-us-will-learn-and-not-learn-from-the-war-in-ukraine.html#more" target="_blank" title="">What The U.S. Will Learn, And Not Learn, From Its War In Ukraine</a> </strong></p><p>[Moon of Alabama, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>Health care crisis</strong></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/what-to-know-about-the-medicare-open-enrollment-period-and-medicare-coverage-options/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/what-to-know-about-the-medicare-open-enrollment-period-and-medicare-coverage-options/" target="_blank" title="">What to Know about the Medicare Open Enrollment Period and Medicare Coverage Options</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[KFF, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p>“Option” = complex eligibility requirements for “access.” A veritable Jenga tower of PMC gatekeeping and rental extraction.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/21/metro/medicaid-massachusetts-glitch-2023/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/21/metro/medicaid-massachusetts-glitch-2023/" target="_blank" title="">‘Glitch’ deprived some 4,800 Mass. residents of Medicaid coverage</a> </strong><br /></p><p>[Boston Globe, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p>500,000 nationwide.</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/after-missing-mid-year-financial?" data-original-title="" href="https://wendellpotter.substack.com/p/after-missing-mid-year-financial?" target="_blank" title="">After missing mid-year financial expectations, here are the ways big health insurers are going to get back into Wall Street’s good graces</a> </strong></p><p>[HEALTH CARE un-covered, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023] </p><p>“Hint: it will be at the expense of patients and taxpayers.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/106361?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/106361?" target="_blank" title="">Medical Debt Is Killing Our Patients</a> </strong></p><p>[MedPage Today, via Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kaiser-permanente-strike-largest-healthcare-walkout-us-history-2023-9" data-original-title="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kaiser-permanente-strike-largest-healthcare-walkout-us-history-2023-9" target="_blank" title="">Kaiser Permanente workers vote to authorize a strike, setting the stage for what could be the largest healthcare strike in US history</a> </strong></p><p>[Insider, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>The carnage of mainstream neoliberal economics</strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90953326/low-income-americans-minimum-salary-financial-security" data-original-title="" href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90953326/low-income-americans-minimum-salary-financial-security" target="_blank" title="">Americans who aren’t making this minimum salary could face ‘severe’ mental health issues</a> </strong></p><p>[Fast Company, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023] </p><blockquote><p>$52,000 for “low-income” individuals, $75,000 for “average” American. A quick search <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/203183/percentage-distribution-of-household-income-in-the-us/" target="_blank" title="">shows that</a> a little more than 52 percent of Americans had an annual household income that was less than $75,000 in 2021.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/16/realestate/home-sales-north-carolina-wall-street.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/16/realestate/home-sales-north-carolina-wall-street.html" target="_blank" title="">What Happens When Wall Street Buys Most of the Homes on Your Block?</a> </strong></p><p>[New York Times, via Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...Wall Street has come for the starter home.</p><div>First-time buyers, who overwhelmingly rely on mortgages, were often outmatched by cash buyers at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, when interest rates plummeted below 3 percent and home prices soared. Across the United States, more than a third of all sales in 2022 were in cash. Many of those houses went to families and individuals, but investors’ paying cash accounted for nearly 10 percent of home purchases that year, <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://www.attomdata.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://www.attomdata.com/" target="_blank" title="">according to data from </a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://www.attomdata.com/" href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://www.attomdata.com/" target="_blank">ATTOM</a>, a property data analytics company. Investor activity was even higher in fast-growing Sun Belt cities like Charlotte, Atlanta and Phoenix.</div><div><br /></div><div>Investors were largely uninterested in wealthier enclaves. Instead, they targeted middle-income neighborhoods, many with larger Black and Latino populations….<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><p class="is-empty-p"></p><div>“It’s a thing of scale — they’re reaching near monopoly in some places,” said Madeline Bankson, a housing research coordinator at the nonprofit <a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://pestakeholder.org/" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://pestakeholder.org/" target="_blank" title="">Private Equity Stakeholder Project</a>. “They’re shutting people out of the home-buying process.”</div><div><br /></div><div>For most Americans, their home is their largest investment and their primary source of generational wealth. Yet only 46 percent of Black households and 49 percent of Latino households own a home,<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=296&eid=784188" href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=296&eid=784188" target="_blank"> both </a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=296&eid=784188" data-original-title="" href="https://archive.ph/o/MG6f8/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/release/tables?rid=296&eid=784188" target="_blank" title="">well below the national average</a> of 66 percent….</div><div><br /></div><div><div>When Ms. Barber renewed her lease last year, Progress increased her rent by 11 percent, to $1,876 a month, an amount Ms. Sloup described as “below market rates.”</div><div><br /></div><div>What would have happened if a person, instead of a corporation, had bought the three-bedroom house for $300,000 in 2021? With a modest 3.5 percent down payment on a 30-year loan, the homeowner would now be paying roughly $1,200 a month in interest and principal, given the mortgage rates at that time. While homeowners are responsible for utilities, property taxes, repairs and association fees, they also build equity over time.</div></div> <br /></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-barely-afford-homes-problem-100000710.html" data-original-title="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-barely-afford-homes-problem-100000710.html" target="_blank" title="">Americans Can Barely Afford Homes — and That’s a Problem for Biden</a></strong></p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-18-2023] </p><blockquote><p>“Record-low US housing affordability is squeezing homebuyers and renters while threatening to spill into presidential politics… Milwaukee, the largest city in key swing state Wisconsin, saw affordability deteriorate in its rental market more than almost any US metro area in the year ended July, according to a measure by the National Association of Realtors. The region also recorded one of the greatest increases in mortgage burden among the biggest 50 metros in the past year, data from Zillow show…. Philadelphia, another major population center in a closely fought battleground state, is also among the US metros with the largest increases in mortgage burdens last year, according to Zillow data.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-14/hoa-foreclosures-continue-in-colorado-despite-reform" target="_blank" title=""><strong>When the Homeowners Association Comes for Your Home</strong></a><br /></p><p>[Citylab, via The Big Picture 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A spate of foreclosures filed by HOAs in Denver illustrates the potential risks of an increasingly common homeownership model. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-iphone-modem-chip-failure-6fe33d19" data-original-title="" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-iphone-modem-chip-failure-6fe33d19" target="_blank" title="">Inside Apple’s Spectacular Failure to Build a Key Part for Its New iPhones</a> . <a data-cke-saved-href="https://daringfireball.net/2023/09/craptacular_is_more_like_it" data-original-title="" href="https://daringfireball.net/2023/09/craptacular_is_more_like_it" target="_blank" title="">Commentary</a>.</strong><br /></p><p>[Wall Street Journal, via Naked Capitalism 9-22-2023]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/09/16/faith-in-u-s-institutions-and-each-other-takes-dangerous-drop/" data-original-title="" href="https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/09/16/faith-in-u-s-institutions-and-each-other-takes-dangerous-drop/" target="_blank" title="">Faith in U.S. institutions and each other takes dangerous drop</a> </strong></p><p>[Modern Diplomacy, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><br /><strong>Democrats' political malpractice</strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/22/2194836/-NJ-Dems-We-NEED-you-to-rip-off-the-corruption-band-aid" target="_blank" title="">NJ Dems: We NEED you to rip off the corruption band-aid</a></strong></p><p>GReen4994, September 22, 2023 [DailyKos]</p><blockquote><p>So, what say you Sen. Booker? Gov. Murphy? Mayors Fulop & Baraka? Reps. Pascrell, Pallone, Sherrill, Watson Coleman, Kim, Gottheimer, Payne Jr, Norcross? Are you going to try to gaslight us that these charges are lies & a witch hunt?</p><p>Enough is enough, it is YOUR responsibility to clean your own house so we don’t jeopardize a crucial, should-be-safe Senate seat next year with one of the most notoriously corrupt senators in recent memory. The fate of the nation hangs in the balance.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/today-s-new-developments-in-the-bob-menendez-saga" target="_blank" title="">Today's New Developments In The Bob Menendez Saga</a></strong></p><p>Howie Klein, September 22, 2023 [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/" target="_blank" title="">www.downwithtyranny.com</a>]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...New Jersey elected officials-- from the governor, Assembly speaker, Senate president down to local candidates-- and some party bosses are all breaking against him and demanding he resign. Why resign instead of retire? If he resigns, the governor gets to appoint a placeholder who will serve out the rest of his term without a special election. If he waits to retire, it jeopardizes the whole Democratic ticket— both in New Jersey and nationally. </p><div data-hook="rcv-block4">Today, John Fetterman (PA— lots of shared media markets) became the first Democratic senator to <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/23/fetterman-menendez-resign-00117800" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/23/fetterman-menendez-resign-00117800" target="_blank"><u>publicly call for him to resign now</u></a>. Andy Kim, a Democratic swing district congressman, already called on him resign and today <a data-cke-saved-href="https://twitter.com/AndyKimNJ/status/1705658967878230372" data-original-title="" href="https://twitter.com/AndyKimNJ/status/1705658967878230372" target="_blank" title=""><u>announced</u></a> he’s primarying Menendez and has started raising money, although that money is fungible for his House reelection campaign. The party bosses have pretty much decided that corrupt conservative Bergen County Democrat Josh Gottheimer will be the consensus Senate candidate for 2024, no matter what Menendez says or does….</div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4">Writing for the <em>Star-Ledger</em> today, Tom Moran asserted that “Menendez (Sr) is a stain on our public life and has been for a decade. It’s unlikely he’ll resign anytime soon, because he is a man without shame. So, he’ll have to be pushed out by his fellow Democrats, one way or another. This is a defining moment for the Democratic Party in New Jersey. If the machines stick with Menendez again, they are inviting decent people who are tired of this stench to abandon the party. That could affect state races, but more importantly, it could put the slim Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate at grave risk if Menendez is the candidate in 2024…<br /></div></blockquote><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><br /></div><div data-hook="rcv-block4"><br /></div><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://jacobin.com/2023/09/wealth-tax-supreme-court-katyal-safe" data-original-title="" href="https://jacobin.com/2023/09/wealth-tax-supreme-court-katyal-safe" target="_blank" title="">Some Democrats Are Trying to Preemptively Outlaw a Billionaire Tax</a></strong><strong></strong><br /></p><p>[Jacobin, via Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/19/trump-biden-uaw-strike-00116928" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/19/trump-biden-uaw-strike-00116928" target="_blank" title="">‘Trump scooped us’: Dems sound alarm on Biden’s handling of the auto worker strike </a></strong></p><p>[Politico , via Naked Capitalism 9-20-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/whose-fault-is-it?" href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/whose-fault-is-it?" target="_blank">Whose Fault Is It?</a><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/whose-fault-is-it?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/whose-fault-is-it?" target="_blank" title=""> Unifying around the class war is an enormous opportunity for the Democratic Party</a></strong></p><p>[How Things Work, via Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>...the choices that Democratic politicians are making right now about how to react to things like strikes and how to position themselves regarding the recent surge in popular interest in unions is a real matter of concern. You can read extremely interesting labor history books for your entire life but if you would rather have all of US labor history summed up in a single sentence, a decent one would be “Organized labor has made gains when it had the support of the government and it has been beaten down when the government was trying to crush it.”</p><p>….Last winter, there was a national railroad strike looming. Biden <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-signs-bill-block-us-railroad-strike-2022-12-02/" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-signs-bill-block-us-railroad-strike-2022-12-02/">blocked</a> it, robbing those workers of their fundamental right to strike. When an enormous Teamsters strike at UPS was looming, the overwhelming posture of the White House was “we are nervous about what this will do to the US economy.” The same feels true with this UAW strike. I’m not talking about superficial signals of support, but rather of what the Democrats seem to feel is the most important consequence of these labor actions. There is a big difference between “We want to get this strike settled for the good of the US economy” and “We support the workers.” If Democrats—or just Biden himself—can be compelled to adopt the second position, there are incredible gains to be had. Not just for working people, or for unions, or for the American income distribution, but for <em>Democrats themselves</em>.</p><p>Democrats need to accept that the class war is real. After fifty years of rising wealth inequality, the task of working people fighting to secure a bigger piece of the pie for themselves is justified virtually always. Which is to say, just about every strike has a right and a wrong side to support. Democrats could unlock a whole world of opportunity for themselves by simply acknowledging this reality and acting on it. By becoming the party that represents the right side of the class war. By saying: “In the UAW strike, we support the workers.” “At UPS, we support the Teamsters.” “At the railroads, we support the unions.” The Bernie wing of the party is there, but this is not the default position of the Democrats, nor of the White House. It is a problem of both substance and of messaging. Every attempt at concerned neutrality, every failure by Biden to smack his hand on the desk in the Oval Office and say “We’re with the workers!” creates an opening for the monumentally tiresome Republican pseudo-populist rhetoric that is allowing that part of fascists to lure working people into their arms. Those working people<em> know</em> that the class war is real. They are living it. Make the Democratic Party the party that is theirs! Stop equivocating! Draw a line in the sand and stand on the right side of it and make that your message! The political instinct to pull back from the hottest battles in the class war, to try to smooth down the harsh rhetoric coming out of the mouths of Shawn Fain or Sean O’Brien, to always try to leaven the demands of workers with the demands of Wall Street is not just wrong on the morals. It is a missed opportunity. The membership of our two parties are already well into the process of sorting themselves around the issue of inequality, because inequality is the issue that defines our time, and that fuels all the other issues that people perceive as a decline in the quality of their own lives. Democrats must accept that politics is about heroes and villains. The less they are prepared to lionize the heroes and villainize the villains, the less distinct the party is in the public mind, and the wider the door for Republicans to try to seduce people with culture war bullshit.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2023-09-20-winning-ideas-losing-politics/" target="_blank" title="">Winning the Ideas, Losing the Politics</a></strong><br /></p><p>Robert Kuttner, September 20, 2023 [The American Prospect]<br /></p><blockquote><p>Progressives have won the battle of ideas. And reality has been a useful ally.</p><p>No serious person any longer thinks that deregulation, privatization, globalization, and tax-cutting serve economic growth or a defensible distribution of income and wealth. “Free trade” has been revealed as a corporate scheme to outsource production and undermine domestic regulation of capitalism.</p><p>The neoliberal era that spanned three Democratic presidents deepened economic concentration and created political feedback loops that produced pressure for more neoliberalism. President Biden, surprisingly and mercifully, broke with this self-annihilating consensus….</p><p>Yet he is languishing in the polls. As I’ve written in previous pieces, there are two big reasons. He looks too old for the job; and more importantly, even Biden’s accomplishments have not been nearly radical enough to change entrenched patterns in the American economy when it comes to jobs, paying for college, health care, and housing. There is little prospect of altering that, absent Roosevelt-scale majorities in Congress….<br /></p><p>There’s a terrific piece in <em>The Atlantic</em> by our friend Caroline Fredrickson, who was the longtime head of the American Constitution Society. It’s titled “<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/federal-judiciary-biden-court-appointments/675336/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/federal-judiciary-biden-court-appointments/675336/" target="_blank" title="">What I Most Regret About My Decades of Legal Activism</a>.”</p><p>She writes, “By focusing on civil liberties but ignoring economic issues, liberals like me got defeated on both.” And while Biden is trying to reduce corporate power, she concludes, “that hasn’t generated much excitement from a liberal base that is still more focused on social issues. Progressives, especially, must recognize that preserving constitutional freedoms depends on winning the fight for economic liberties. Treating them as separate goals will ultimately mean losing out on both.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/strikes-and-bidenomics?" data-original-title="" href="https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/strikes-and-bidenomics?" target="_blank" title="">Strikes and Bidenomics</a> </strong></p><p>Matt Stoller [BIG, via Naked Capitalism 9-17-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Today’s issue is about the incoherence of the Biden economic agenda, so-called ‘Bidenomics.’ With strikes in the auto industry and Hollywood, as well as sour polling numbers, something about the White House framework for policy isn’t working.</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09/california-democrats-double-down-on-efforts-to-involuntarily-commit-the-homeless.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/09/california-democrats-double-down-on-efforts-to-involuntarily-commit-the-homeless.html" target="_blank" title="">California Democrats Double Down on Efforts to Involuntarily Commit the Homeless</a></strong></p><p>Conor Gallagher [Naked Capitalism 9-18-2023]</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p>“How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Elite Parents Enabled His Crypto Empire” [<a data-cke-saved-href="https://archive.ph/2023.09.18-040646/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-14/sam-bankman-fried-s-parents-did-they-enable-ftx-s-rise#selection-4535.0-4540.0" href="https://archive.ph/2023.09.18-040646/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-09-14/sam-bankman-fried-s-parents-did-they-enable-ftx-s-rise#selection-4535.0-4540.0" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>]. </p><p>[Bloomberg, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-20-2023]</p><p>This should be read in conjunction with the material on Arabella under Democrats <em>en Déshabillé</em>. The whole piece is well worth a read for detail on the Bankman-Fried milieu, but this on Stanford itself: “And then there’s Stanford itself. Bankman-Fried’s arrest came just a month after Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in prison in connection with fraud at her medical device company, Theranos Inc. She’d founded the company on campus as a student and had recruited well-known faculty members to serve as employees and directors. The Holmes case—coupled with the resignation of Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne over allegations of manipulated data in several academic papers—has caused some professors and students to ask why the university hasn’t been quicker to identify cases of misbehavior.”</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/09/bill-clinton-history-legacy-centrism.html" href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/09/bill-clinton-history-legacy-centrism.html" target="_blank">The Left Can’t Stop Wondering Where Bill Clinton Went Wrong. The Answer Explains a Lot. </a></strong></p><p>Paul M. Renfro and Matthew E. Stanley, September 15, 2023 [Slate, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-18-2023]</p><p>Review of Nelson Lichtenstein and Judith Stein’s <em>A Fabulous Failure: The Clinton Presidency and the Transformation of American Capitalism </em>(Princeton University Press, 2023)</p><blockquote><p>...historians Nelson Lichtenstein and Judith Stein (1940–2017) contend that the path to Clintonian neoliberalism was not a fait accompli, a top-down conspiracy, or even a set of strategic policy choices. Rather, it was contingent and crooked. Exploring the “how and why” of Clinton’s supposed transmutation from progressive to centrist, the authors argue that Bill Clinton and his team were not so-called New Democrats when they arrived at the White House. Rather, they gradually and fitfully moved toward the center between 1993 and 2001, thereby solidifying a host of short- and long-term structural changes and political shifts: the end of the Cold War, growing Wall Street influence, hyperglobalization, the explosion of the carceral state, the emergence of a more punitive and less generous welfare state, the decline of unions, and eventually the rise of Trumpism.</p><p>These disastrous outcomes were never Clinton’s intention, Lichtenstein and Stein insist. But as thorough, insightful, and nuanced as their book is, this argument is not entirely convincing. <em>A Fabulous Failure </em>overlooks the fact that Clinton’s deep-seated hostility toward organized labor closed the door on the possibility of a more populist, interracial working-class electoral coalition—in the mold of Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition—and precluded the development of genuinely bold, progressive policies. We are all paying the price today….</p><p>As a young politician, Clinton could have done far more. Arkansas in the 1970s was actually the most unionized state in the former Confederacy, and the AFL-CIO was its most influential political organization. Meanwhile, voters across the border in Missouri—a state comparable to Arkansas in many ways—supported “a far more robust liberal-labor presence.” Under Clinton’s leadership, organized labor disintegrated in Arkansas. As governor, he broke pro-labor campaign promises and opted not to challenge the state’s right-to-work law. Ever the triangulator, Clinton even launched attack ads against progressive challengers, warning that unions were “disastrous for the economy of Arkansas”—all part of an effort to encourage corporations to relocate to the state and grow low-wage jobs there.</p><p>Such double dealings stemmed from Clinton’s distorted understanding of other economic systems and a failure of imagination. For example, Clinton dreamed of remaking Arkansas’ economy in the image of the small-scale, high-skill, and flexible production models—“microenterprises”—he encountered when he toured northern Italy in the 1980s. Curiously, though, Clinton did not see that region’s massive trade union movement, syndicalist traditions, or municipal communism as critical to its economic success. The deterioration of organized labor under Clinton’s watch was, the authors write, a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” as he deliberately undermined unions in the state and then cited their shrinking numbers as cause for writing them off entirely.</p><p>In the Oval Office, Clinton repeated these “calculated betrayals” on the national stage….</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/23873568/biden-polling-black-latino-voters-2024-election-trump" href="https://www.vox.com/2024-elections/23873568/biden-polling-black-latino-voters-2024-election-trump" target="_blank">Three reasons Biden is struggling with Black and Latino voters</a></strong></p><p>Christian Paz, Sep 15, 2023 [Vox]</p><blockquote><p>Bad feelings about the economy are still the single largest issue affecting Biden’s standing with all voters, including voters of color. Though the state of the economy is objectively improving (there’s no recession in sight, inflation is improving, and unemployment remains low), those material conditions take longer to improve when you’re on the lower end of the economic spectrum….</p></blockquote><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/attendance-at-religious-services/by/racial-and-ethnic-composition/" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/compare/attendance-at-religious-services/by/racial-and-ethnic-composition/" target="_blank">Attendance at religious services by race/ethnicity</a> </strong>Pew Research Center</p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://thekennedybeacon.substack.com/p/whos-funding-the-dnc" data-original-title="" href="https://thekennedybeacon.substack.com/p/whos-funding-the-dnc" target="_blank" title="">Who’s Funding the DNC?</a></strong> </p><p>Liam Sturgess [The Kennedy Beacon, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“It’s time to ask directly: who is funding the DNC and thus deciding the party’s nominee?”….</p><p>[T’here are additional donors contributing directly to the DNC. The largest individual donor is Michael Sacks, Chairman and CEO of Grosvenor Capital Management (GCM), an ‘<a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.gcmgrosvenor.com/" href="https://www.gcmgrosvenor.com/" target="_blank">alternative investments</a>‘ firm in Chicago. Sacks is a <a data-cke-saved-href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/11/1/21545212/the-inside-story-on-gov-pritzker-othertop-illinois-political-donors-joe-biden-bundlers-whos-who" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2020/11/1/21545212/the-inside-story-on-gov-pritzker-othertop-illinois-political-donors-joe-biden-bundlers-whos-who" target="_blank">part-owner</a> of the Chicago-Sun Times newspaper, which ran a story in July titled<a data-cke-saved-href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2023/" target="_blank"> Don’t let RFK Jr. kill you</a>. The piece is filled with vitriol towards Kennedy and re-interpretations of his criticisms of the pharmaceutical industry, the FDA, and the CIA’s established <a data-cke-saved-href="https://thekennedybeacon.substack.com/p/yes-big-media-jfk-and-rfk-were-the" href="https://thekennedybeacon.substack.com/p/yes-big-media-jfk-and-rfk-were-the" target="_blank">complicity</a> in the murder of his uncle and father. Sacks is also <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.obama.org/about/leadership/michael-sacks/" href="https://www.obama.org/about/leadership/michael-sacks/" target="_blank">on the board of directors</a> for the Obama Foundation [of course], whose namesake declared in June that he didn’t anticipate ‘any kind of serious primary challenge to Joe Biden,’ and that the Democratic Party was unified in support of the incumbent. With his trifecta of influence in finance, politics and the media, Sacks’ donations are not difficult to view as conflicts of interest.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/major-progressive-donors-including-swiss-foreign-national-hansjorg-wyss-funded-press-herald-purchase-and-are-funding-yet-another-news-outlet-in-maine/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/major-progressive-donors-including-swiss-foreign-national-hansjorg-wyss-funded-press-herald-purchase-and-are-funding-yet-another-news-outlet-in-maine/" target="_blank" title="">Major Progressive Donors, Including Swiss Foreign National Hansjörg Wyss, Funded Press Herald Purchase and Are Funding Yet Another News Outlet in Maine </a> </strong></p><p>[The Maine Wire, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“The majority of daily news outlets in Maine are now bankrolled by some of the country’s largest donors to the Democratic Party and left-wing interest groups. Mega donors George Soros and Swiss foreign national Hansjörg Wyss are among the uber wealthy progressives that are bankrolling a new ‘non-partisan’ news outlet in Maine, the Maine Morning Star, through the left-wing nonprofit States Newsroom…. Wyss, who grew a billion dollar fortune in the medical device industry, and Soros, who became a billionaire through currency speculation and other investments, are now financially involved with the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel (now combined as CentralMaine.com), the Lewiston Sun Journal, and the Brunswick Times Record…. States Newsroom, like dozens of liberal political groups in Maine, has been funded by progressive donors, including major contributions from the Wyss Foundation as well as the North Fund and the Hopewell Fund, two funds managed by Arabella Advisors.”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong>(anti)Republican Party</strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/general-mark-milley-trump-coup/675375/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/general-mark-milley-trump-coup/675375/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Patriot: How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump</strong></a></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 9-23-2023]</p><blockquote><p>A plain reading of the record shows that in the chaotic period before and after the 2020 election, Milley did as much as, or more than, any other American to defend the constitutional order, to prevent the military from being deployed against the American people, and to forestall the eruption of wars with America’s nuclear-armed adversaries. Along the way, Milley deflected Trump’s exhortations to have the U.S. military ignore, and even on occasion commit, war crimes. Milley and other military officers deserve praise for protecting democracy, but their actions should also cause deep unease. In the American system, it is the voters, the courts, and Congress that are meant to serve as checks on a president’s behavior, not the generals. Civilians provide direction, funding, and oversight; the military then follows lawful orders….</p><p>For the actions he took in the last months of the Trump presidency, Milley, whose four-year term as chairman, and 43-year career as an Army officer, will conclude at the end of September, has been condemned by elements of the far right. Kash Patel, whom Trump installed in a senior Pentagon role in the final days of his administration, refers to Milley as “the Kraken of the swamp.” Trump himself has accused Milley of treason. Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump White House official, has said that Milley deserves to be placed in “shackles and leg irons.” If a second Trump administration were </p><p>to attempt this, however, the Trumpist faction would be opposed by the large group of ex-Trump-administration officials who believe that the former president continues to pose a unique threat to American democracy, and who believe that Milley is a hero for what he did to protect the country and the Constitution.</p><p>“Mark Milley had to contain the impulses of people who wanted to use the United States military in very dangerous ways,” Kelly told me. “Mark had a very, very difficult reality to deal with in his first two years as chairman, and he served honorably and well. The president couldn’t fathom people who served their nation honorably.” Kelly, along with other former administration officials, has argued that Trump has a contemptuous view of the military, and that this contempt made it extraordinarily difficult to explain to Trump such concepts as honor, sacrifice, and duty….</p><p>Milley was careful to refrain from commenting publicly on Trump’s cognitive unfitness and moral derangement. In interviews, he would say that it is not the place of the nation’s flag officers to discuss the performance of the nation’s civilian leaders. But his views emerged in a number of books published after Trump left office, written by authors who had spoken with Milley, and many other civilian and military officials, on background....</p><p>Milley answered, “Mr. President, we have military ethics and laws about what happens in battle. We can’t do that kind of thing. It’s a war crime.” Trump answered that he didn’t understand “the big deal.” He went on, “You guys”—meaning combat soldiers—“are all just killers. What’s the difference?”….</p><p>[After the near debacle of walking with Trump across Lafayette Square] Milley set several goals for himself: keep the U.S. out of reckless, unnecessary wars overseas; maintain the military’s integrity, and his own; and prevent the administration from using the military against the American people. He told uniformed and civilian officials that the military would play no part in any attempt by Trump to illegally remain in office.</p><p>The desire on the part of Trump and his loyalists to utilize the Insurrection Act was unabating. Stephen Miller, the Trump adviser whom Milley is said to have called “Rasputin,” was vociferous on this point. Less than a week after George Floyd was murdered, Miller told Trump in an Oval Office meeting, “Mr. President, they are burning America down. Antifa, Black Lives Matter—they’re burning it down. You have an insurrection on your hands. Barbarians are at the gate.”….</p><p>In the weeks before the election, Milley was a dervish of activity. He spent much of his time talking with American allies and adversaries, all worried about the stability of the United States. In what would become his most discussed move, first reported by Woodward and Costa, he called Chinese General Li Zuocheng, his People’s Liberation Army counterpart, on October 30, after receiving intelligence that China believed Trump was going to order an attack. “General Li, I want to assure you that the American government is stable and everything is going to be okay,” Milley said, according to <em>Peril</em>. “We are not going to attack or conduct any kinetic operations against you. General Li, you and I have known each other for now five years. If we’re going to attack, I’m going to call you ahead of time. It’s not going to be a surprise … If there was a war or some kind of kinetic action between the United States and China, there’s going to be a buildup, just like there has been always in history.”</p><p>Milley later <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/28/milley-china-congress-hearing-514488" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/09/28/milley-china-congress-hearing-514488">told the Senate Armed Services Committee</a> that this call, and a second one two days after the January 6 insurrection, represented an attempt to “deconflict military actions, manage crisis, and prevent war between great powers that are armed with the world’s most deadliest weapons.”</p><p>The October call was endorsed by Secretary of Defense Esper, who was just days away from being fired by Trump. Esper’s successor, Christopher Miller, had been informed of the January call. Listening in on the calls were at least 10 U.S. officials, including representatives of the State Department and the CIA. This did not prevent Trump partisans, and Trump himself, from calling Milley “treasonous” for making the calls….</p><p>If Trump is reelected president, there will be no Espers or Milleys in his administration. Nor will there be any officials of the stature and independence of John Kelly, H. R. McMaster, or James Mattis. Trump and his allies have already threatened officials they see as disloyal with imprisonment, and there is little reason to imagine that he would not attempt to carry out his threats. </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong></strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://newrepublic.com/post/175711/department-justice-corrupt-just-indicted-democratic-senator" target="_blank" title=""><strong>The Department of Justice Is So “Corrupt” It Just Indicted a Democratic Senator</strong></a><br /></p><p>Edith Olmsted, September 22, 2023 [The New Republic]<br /></p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/15/too-hot-for-heritage-00116094" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/15/too-hot-for-heritage-00116094" target="_blank" title="">Too Hot For the Heritage Foundation!</a></strong></p><p>Michael Schaffer, September 15, 2023 [Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-18-2023]</p><blockquote><p>Avik Roy, a longtime fixture in Republican policy-wonk circles, made a splash this summer when he organized a manifesto pushing back on the nationalist, market-skeptical tendencies on the new, Trump-era right. The document, signed by Jeb Bush, Grover Norquist, George Will, and a couple hundred other conservative worthies, generated a decent amount of inside-the-Beltway buzz when it launched in July.</p><p>It wasn’t just that <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.freedomconservatism.org/p/freedom-conservatism-a-statement" data-original-title="" href="https://www.freedomconservatism.org/p/freedom-conservatism-a-statement" target="_blank" title=""><em>Freedom Conservatism: A Statement of Principles</em></a> highlighted a family feud within the movement. It was the very fact that its pieties about the majesty of capitalism were even controversial — an indication of just how far conservative economic theology had drifted.</p><p>An even bigger indication came early this month. That’s when Joel Griffith and Peter St. Onge, two scholars from the Heritage Foundation, reached out to Roy to ask that their names be removed from the document.<br /></p></blockquote><p>[TW: There is a very serious split developing on “the right” over economic issues. Reality is just too powerful to ignore, and the results of neoliberal free market ideology can only be described as catastrophic, especially the strategic error of thinking free markets would democratize China. But the “nationalist cons” have yet to grasp the problem of oligarchy and its associated political and social pathologies. Quite simply, no society can tolerate a bunch of rich pricks running everything, and expect to remain stable. The nat cons ignore the oligarchs in USA, who merely pillage the nation. and focus instead on the globalist oligarchs, who have no allegiance to any nation, which the nat cons find abhorrent.] </p><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/19/project-2025-trump-reagan-00115811" data-original-title="" href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/09/19/project-2025-trump-reagan-00115811" target="_blank" title="">Inside the Next Republican Revolution</a></strong> </p><p>[Politico, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-21-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“In truth, the program laid out by [Paul] Dans and his fellow Trumpers, called Project 2025, is far more ambitious than anything Ronald Reagan dreamed up. Dans, from his seat inside The Heritage Foundation, and scores of conservative groups aligned with his program are seeking to roll back nothing less than 100 years of what they see as liberal encroachment on Washington. They want to overturn what began as Woodrow Wilson’s creation of a federal administrative elite and later grew into a vast, unaccountable and mostly liberal bureaucracy (as conservatives view it) under Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society… The Project 2025 team is scouring records and social media accounts to rule out heretics — effectively administering loyalty tests — and launching a so-called Presidential Administration Academy that tutors future MAGA bureaucrats with video classes in ‘Conservative Governance 101.’ Dans says 17 lectures have been prepared (with titles such as ‘Oversight and Investigations’ and ‘The Federal Budget Process’), with another 13 in production, and nearly a thousand potential new bureaucrats recruited from around the country are already in training. These efforts are intended to ensure that the chaos and high-level defections of Trump’s first term never happen again, along with prosecutions like the ones the ex-president now faces.” </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://newcriterion.com/issues/2023/10/the-new-conservative-dilemma" data-original-title="" href="https://newcriterion.com/issues/2023/10/the-new-conservative-dilemma" target="_blank" title="">The new conservative dilemma</a> </strong><br /></p><p><strong></strong>by James Piereson</p><p>[TW: Definitely worth reading to expose yourself to the conservative mindset. They really do see the world much, much differently — largely because, I believe, a result of all their “feeding red meat to the base” propagandizing has caused them to believe their own hokum.]</p><blockquote><p>Conservatives were also caught flat-footed by the societal convulsions of recent years that abruptly converted corporations, cultural institutions, and professionals to the belief that the United States is a racist nation, that white people must make amends for the crimes of slavery and imperialism, and that Americans with contrary ideas should be prevented from expressing themselves. The Constitution, the Founding Fathers, the heritage of liberty and limited government—all were cast to the winds by the hysteria of the Trump years, forcing conservatives into an agonizing reappraisal of their situation.</p><p>How do conservatives challenge the cultural revolution and the new world of politicized law enforcement without rending the constitutional order, causing a new civil war, or wrecking the capacity of government to function? </p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><strong></strong><br /></p><p><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/tory-party-boris-johnson-brexit-proposals-expelled/675354/" data-original-title="" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/tory-party-boris-johnson-brexit-proposals-expelled/675354/" target="_blank" title=""><strong>What to Do When Your Political Party Loses Its Mind</strong></a></p><p>[The Atlantic, via The Big Picture 9-20-2023]</p><blockquote><p>I was a Conservative until Boris Johnson expelled me. It was a painful experience, but here’s what I’ve learned….</p><p>It has taken me a long time to acknowledge how and why my center-right tradition failed. But I am beginning to grasp how the Tory Party I signed up to spent too much time making technocratic arguments about policy, which offered no emotional connection for voters. The political class to which I belonged upheld a system that distanced us from a proper sense of shame at how bad things in our country had become.</p><p>Politicians like me were slow to acknowledge our past mistakes: how market orthodoxies and globalization had led to stagnant incomes, inequality, and lost industries; how the fantasies of nation-building in Iraq and Afghanistan were brutally exposed; and how the rise of China undermined our complacent assumptions about prosperity, democracy, and global security. These were the failures that populism exploited, and we could not defeat populism by defending the system that created it.</p><p>We need to reject the old ideas and develop new ones: trade and industrial policies that evaluate investments for more than simply financial returns, and that consider their consequences for the environment and social justice; climate-change policies that do not hit the poorest hardest; economic policies that deliver results for the middle class without reducing foreign policy to domestic self-interest. </p></blockquote><p><strong>The (anti)Federalist Society Infestation of the Courts</strong></p><p><strong><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-secretly-attended-koch-brothers-donor-events-scotus" href="https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-secretly-attended-koch-brothers-donor-events-scotus" target="_blank">Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events</a></strong> </p><p>[Pro Publica, via Naked Capitalism Water Cooler 9-22-2023]</p><blockquote><p>“During [the annual winter donor summit of the Koch network], the [Justice Thomas] went to a private dinner for the network’s donors. Thomas has attended Koch donor events at least twice over the years, according to interviews with three former network employees and one major donor. The justice was brought in to speak, staffers said, in the hopes that such access would encourage donors to continue giving. That puts Thomas in the extraordinary position of having served as a fundraising draw for a network that has brought cases before the Supreme Court, including one of the most closely watched of the upcoming term. …. Thomas’ involvement in the events is part of a yearslong, personal relationship with the Koch brothers that has remained almost entirely out of public view. It developed over years of trips to the Bohemian Grove, a secretive all-men’s retreat in Northern California. Thomas has been a regular at the Grove for two decades, where he stayed in a small camp with real estate billionaire Harlan Crow and the Kochs, according to records and people who’ve spent time with him there…. ‘I can’t imagine — it takes my breath away, frankly — that he would go to a Koch network event for donors,’ said John E. Jones III, a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush. Jones said that if he had gone to a Koch summit as a district court judge, ‘I’d have gotten a letter that would’ve commenced a disciplinary proceeding.’ ‘What you’re seeing is a slow creep toward unethical behavior. Do it if you can get away with it,’ Jones said.'”</p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.downwithtyranny.com/post/who-s-more-corrupt-bob-menendez-or-clarence-thomas-and-yet-menendez-is-resigning-but-thomas-isn-t" target="_blank" title="">Who’s More Corrupt, Bob Menendez Or Clarence Thomas? And Yet… Menendez Is Resigning But Thomas Isn’t; Both Belong In Prison</a></strong><br /></p><p>Howie Klein, September 22, 2023 [downwithtyranny.com]<br /></p><blockquote><p>...Almost immediately after ProPublica dropped their explosive investigation, it got wiped right off the top of the news feeds because of <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/22/nyregion/menendez-indictment-document.html" data-original-title="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/22/nyregion/menendez-indictment-document.html" target="_blank" title=""><u>the indictment</u></a> of another corrupt scumbag, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez. There’s a glaring difference of course. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, New Jersey Senate President Nick Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin— all Democrats— all called on Menendez to resign. And so did county party chairs and Democratic elected officials up and down the ladder… very different from the Clarence Thomas bribery situation, where not a single Republican has called on him to resign or do anything else….<br /></p></blockquote><p class="is-empty-p"><br /></p><p><strong><a data-original-title="" href="https://www.levernews.com/the-menendez-scandal-reflects-the-world-that-scotus-built/" target="_blank" title="">The Menendez Scandal Reflects The World That SCOTUS Built</a></strong><br /></p><p>David Sirota, September 22, 2023 [The Lever]<br /></p><blockquote><p>But if the alleged facts in the indictment prove true, the big question is: Why would any politician think he could get away with something so brazen?</p><p>Perhaps because Menendez knows that to secure a conviction, prosecutors will have to prove that it was illegal for him to accept the gifts in exchange for a “performance of an official act,” as the indictment says. And like every American politician, Menendez almost certainly knows that while that may seem straightforward, the corruption-plagued Supreme Court has deliberately made it anything but.</p></blockquote><p><strong></strong><span style="text-align: justify;"></span><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><br data-cke-eol="1" /></p>Tony Wikrenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10964470090360660584noreply@blogger.com0