A Confluence of Conspiracies and Complacencies
I’ve dragged myself out of the depths of stupefaction after my fourth major surgery in less than 12 months. This latest round involved trying to fix what was fixed before (twice), and now that we know radiation damage to the tissues in my throat was the culprit, I’m apprehensive about the longer term prognosis.
“One day at a time...” I keep telling myself... “...Focus on what you can do...”
I’d hoped going into the hospital that I’d come out on the other side hearing that Congress had worked something out with the challenges facing the country. Instead, the forces of “No” have held their ground.
Breadcrumbs will be distributed to the peasants right after the FOUR THOUSAND corporate lobbyists working to maintain the status quo have finished with the celebratory toasts.
“One day at a time...” I keep telling myself... “...Focus on what you can do...”
https://twitter.com/lukebroadwater/status/1445108636649508878?s=20
Pandora’s Paper Box…. Yet another batch of leaked documents opened the curtain on the world of tax havens this week, surprising exactly nobody when it was revealed that the rich are getting even richer.
The cache of nearly 12 million documents lays bare the hidden wealth, secret dealings, and corruption of hundreds of world leaders, billionaires, public officials, celebrities, and others.
From the Guardian:
More than 100 billionaires are featured in the leaked data, as well as celebrities, rock stars, and business leaders. Many use shell companies to hold luxury items such as property and yachts, as well as incognito bank accounts. There is even art ranging from looted Cambodian antiquities to paintings by Picasso and murals by Banksy.
Some observers claim to have been surprised by the dearth of American citizens on the list. There’s a simple reason for this --the US already provides its billionaire class with a multitude of opportunities for legal tax avoidance. None-the-less, those facing legal consequences for their misdeeds at home are part of the picture.
Busted for a ponzi scheme in Florida? No problem.
The real domestic news here is that our state governments in places like South Dakota have discovered the benefits to be reaped via fees on the laundering of dirty cash. The state’s trust industry now holds an estimated $367 billion in assets, up from $75.5 jus ta decade ago.Trust owners’ assets are protected by state law from foreign governments, taxes and even former spouses.
“This is where our missing hospitals are,” Susana Ruiz, the tax policy lead at Oxfam International, said in a statement. “This is where the pay-packets sit of all the extra teachers and firefighters and public servants we need. Whenever a politician or business leader claims there is ‘no money’ to pay for climate damage and innovation, for more and better jobs, for a fair post-Covid recovery, for more overseas aid, they know where to look.”
The really sad part of the Pandora Papers, as was true with the The Panama Papers, The Paradise Papers, The Luxemburg Leaks, and The Swiss leaks, is that most of it is legal.
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It’s funny, not funny, how, if you look at one bit of horror in today’s news, you’ll find a connection with another part of the putrid post-COVID economy.
Take, for instance, the pipeline breach that spilled up to 144,000 gallons of oil off the Southern California coast, fouling waters and beaches. Of course there’s probable cause for criminal liability by the company owning the pipeline:
The company that operates the pipeline suspected in one of California's largest oil spills has been cited 72 times for safety and environmental violations that were severe enough that drilling had to be curtailed or stopped to fix the problem, regulatory records show.
But wait! It gets worse! If you’d tried to buy a major appliance lately --or noticed the bare shelves at Target-- you might be aware of the backups at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach of container ships. More than four dozen container vessels are in a holding pattern, waiting for the opportunity to unload.
The prime suspect is the current oil spill happens to be the anchor of a cargo ship that parked in a no parking zone. Things might not be so bad, except that the Amplify Energy, operator of the pipeline alarm system which could have shut the problem down in five minutes, was apparently asleep at the wheel.
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https://twitter.com/JesseLehrich/status/1445393314983948292?s=20
Sorry, the page you requested is not available right now… Then there’s the Facebook story, the short version of which is that the company has known about its negative impacts on society and its users, but opted to smooth things over with a wink and a nod, along with dinners at the White House.
We are LITERALLY looking at implementation of the same playbooks used by the tobacco and dirty energy industries.
The much ballyhooed Senate testimony by a whistleblower --who backed up her claims with documents-- took place before the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security. Eleven of its twelve members have received campaign donations from Facebook, just so you know.
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Along the way, a video including a plethora of local politicians, revealed another aspect of just how disconnected from reality they are.
You could say, as Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis did, that ”An old version of San Diego politics clashed with a new one this week and it was awkward as hell.”
Content-wise, the Downtown San Diego Partnership created a lip-synced version of Mark Morrison’s 90s hit “Return of the Mack,” with lyrics now including a few super insider jokes and a chorus about how former Mayor Kevin Faulconer lied to current Mayor Todd Gloria.
Production --which wasn’t paid for by taxpayers-- involved getting a big pile of politicos to rub elbows while they smirked and snarked their way through the headaches of dealing with the woes of the little people.
VOSD Scott’s right, in the sense that such shenanigans would have not raised eyebrows in the past. But here we are, on the precipice of partisan disagreements encompassing whether or not some humans are even worthy of consideration as humans. Yes, it’s that effin’ serious.
Four decades of politically induced structural inequality, deferential policies toward entities destroying the future environment, a revival of white nationalism, and the rise of a patriarchy-focused theocratic movement make the back-slapping politics of the past a non-starter for those looking at the short end of the stick.
Does the other Scott around town (namely Rep Peters) really think his friends on the other side of the aisle are really interested in job creation/innovation in big pharma? What about the 175 House Republicans that voted against investigating the January 6th insurrection?
https://twitter.com/BMeiselas/status/1444898474508627969?s=20
I’m not saying that Mayor Todd Gloria is oblivious --he’s not-- or that local political conflicts can only be resolved with mobs and pitchforks. It’s just that the other side has chosen to take a stand.
Half our city’s police force and even more County Sheriffs have decided to ignore the number one killer of law enforcement officers by refusing to vaccinate;
the US Department of Justice has ordered to FBI to provide assistance to boards of education and voting commissioners in the face of increasing death threats;
Steve Bannon, the ex-Trump aide whose role as a bridge between extremists and party activists is increasingly clear, is calling on “shock troops” to be at the ready to assist in deconstructing the state in the months ahead.
I also get it that politicians who can count votes will succeed more often than armchair activists.
Being tough doesn’t preclude being nice. But smiling while getting little to nothing done, whether it’s on homeless issues or expanding Medicare sends a message to voters; namely that Democratic politicians don’t care.
One day at a time is the right time to do the right thing.
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Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com