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welcome to reality trivia
reality is the state of things as they actually exist
april 25, 2024
Real News Today
(for previous day's articles see "what's inside" below)
comment/tweet of the day
21st century slavery
Lawsuit: Alabama Is Denying Prisoners Parole to Lease Their Labor to Meatpackers, McDonalds
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thom hartmann
Southern Autoworkers aren’t Listening to the GOP’s BS Any More
The problem for Republicans is that unions are “democracy in the workplace,” and the GOP hates democracy as a matter of principle...
Unveiling the Actual, Shocking Driver of Crime in America
How Trump Lit Up a Fascination with Fascism Trump's vision of fascism,
supported by the neofascist ideologues behind Project 2025 and Project 47, is claiming the Democratic Party is so extreme it’s a threat and needs to done away with...
Unveiling the Actual, Shocking Driver of Crime in America Our entire popular understanding of the cause of much crime — enough to “tipping point” a society into crisis — is usually wrong…
Why Homelessness Stalks America Like the Grim Reaper Both homeless & inflation are the result of America allowing housing to become a commodity that can be traded & speculated in by financial markets & overseas investors...
is this democracy???
Trump Lawyer Says Having Political Rival Killed Could Constitute 'Official' Presidential Act
Source: Rolling Stone
4/25/2024
When asked by Justice Sonya Sotomayor during arguments on Thursday if the president deciding “that his rival is a corrupt person and he orders the military — or he orders someone to assassinate him” would constitute an official act subject to immunity, attorney D. John Sauer said it could.
“It would depend on the hypothetical but we can see that could well be an official act,” Sauer told the court.
In another hypothetical, Justice Elena Kagan asked if the president would be immune from prosecution if he sold nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary. Sauer affirmed that the sale was an “official act” the president would need to first be impeached and convicted before he could be prosecuted.
Sauer also claimed under questioning that a president could theoretically be immune from prosecution if he carried out — or attempted to carry out — a coup against the government.
Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/supreme-court-trump-immunity-oral-arguments-1235010538/
“It would depend on the hypothetical but we can see that could well be an official act,” Sauer told the court.
In another hypothetical, Justice Elena Kagan asked if the president would be immune from prosecution if he sold nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary. Sauer affirmed that the sale was an “official act” the president would need to first be impeached and convicted before he could be prosecuted.
Sauer also claimed under questioning that a president could theoretically be immune from prosecution if he carried out — or attempted to carry out — a coup against the government.
Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/supreme-court-trump-immunity-oral-arguments-1235010538/
american values redefined: greed, racism, hypocrisy
racism: The unfair treatment of people who belong to a different race. Violent behavior towards them. Having the belief that some races of people are better than others. General beliefs about other people based only on their race. Showing this through violent or unfair treatment of people of other races.
greed: intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food
hypocrisy: the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense.
Sanders Responds to Netanyahu's Claim that Criticism of Israeli Gov't Policies is Antisemitic
nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people
House Republicans are officially down to a one-vote margin for error
by David Nir for Daily Kos Elections
Daily Kos Staff
4/22/2024
Despite pleas from House Speaker Mike Johnson that he stay on, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher followed through on his plans to resign from Congress on Saturday. The direct result of Gallagher’s departure is that Johnson can now afford just a single GOP defection on any given vote. That in turn means Johnson, who is already heavily dependent on Democrats to pass any legislation, will grow even more reliant on them.
The math—if you’re Johnson—is grim. With Gallagher gone, Republicans hold just 217 seats in the House while Democrats have 213. On a strict party-line vote, then, if one Republican joins with Democrats, the final tally would be as narrow as it gets: 216-214 in favor of the GOP.
But if two Republicans side with Democrats, then it’s a 215-215 tie—and in the House, a tie is the same as a loss. In fact, we just saw that happen just recently, when an amendment to a surveillance bill failed after deadlocking on the House floor.
Johnson long ago lost control of his caucus, if he ever had it in the first place. Far-right dissidents have repeatedly sunk procedural votes that until now had virtually never failed. Johnson has had to rely on parliamentary maneuvers to bypass these implacable extremists, but those maneuvers mean he needs Democrats to bail him out again and again.
And now the House GOP is on the verge of falling into even deeper disarray. Recent news reports say that more Republican resignations could be coming, and a move to oust Johnson as speaker is gaining steam. Following Saturday’s successful foreign aid votes—which once again saw the speaker forge a coalition with Democrats to pass critical legislation—Johnson’s right flank is more enraged than ever.
Whatever happens next, the chaos in the ranks of House Republicans will only further serve to remind voters in November that only the Democrats are capable of governing the country. In fact, you could even say that they already are.
The math—if you’re Johnson—is grim. With Gallagher gone, Republicans hold just 217 seats in the House while Democrats have 213. On a strict party-line vote, then, if one Republican joins with Democrats, the final tally would be as narrow as it gets: 216-214 in favor of the GOP.
But if two Republicans side with Democrats, then it’s a 215-215 tie—and in the House, a tie is the same as a loss. In fact, we just saw that happen just recently, when an amendment to a surveillance bill failed after deadlocking on the House floor.
Johnson long ago lost control of his caucus, if he ever had it in the first place. Far-right dissidents have repeatedly sunk procedural votes that until now had virtually never failed. Johnson has had to rely on parliamentary maneuvers to bypass these implacable extremists, but those maneuvers mean he needs Democrats to bail him out again and again.
And now the House GOP is on the verge of falling into even deeper disarray. Recent news reports say that more Republican resignations could be coming, and a move to oust Johnson as speaker is gaining steam. Following Saturday’s successful foreign aid votes—which once again saw the speaker forge a coalition with Democrats to pass critical legislation—Johnson’s right flank is more enraged than ever.
Whatever happens next, the chaos in the ranks of House Republicans will only further serve to remind voters in November that only the Democrats are capable of governing the country. In fact, you could even say that they already are.
About 200 bodies recovered from mass grave in Nasser hospital complex, says Gaza official
Gaza's Civil Defence agency said Monday that health workers had uncovered around 200 bodies over the past three days of people killed and buried by Israeli forces at a hospital in Khan Yunis.
france 24
Issued on: 22/04/2024 - 11:17
Modified: 22/04/2024 - 19:23
The Israeli military did not offer an immediate comment.
"Our civil defence crews are still recovering bodies from inside Nasser Medical Complex, and since Saturday bodies of nearly 200 martyrs have been retrieved," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defence, told AFP.
Bassal said several of the recovered bodies had decomposed.
"There is difficulty in the process of identifying them but civil defence efforts are ongoing," he said.
Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas government media office in the Palestinian territory, gave a higher figure of 283 bodies found at the hospital.
"We discovered mass graves inside Nasser Medical Complex" of people killed by "the occupation (Israeli) army", Thawabta told AFP.
Muhammad al-Mughayyir, a senior official at the civil defence agency, also confirmed the discovery of corpses at the facility and said the work to retrieve the remaining bodies would continue until Thursday.
"Our civil defence crews are still recovering bodies from inside Nasser Medical Complex, and since Saturday bodies of nearly 200 martyrs have been retrieved," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza's Civil Defence, told AFP.
Bassal said several of the recovered bodies had decomposed.
"There is difficulty in the process of identifying them but civil defence efforts are ongoing," he said.
Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas government media office in the Palestinian territory, gave a higher figure of 283 bodies found at the hospital.
"We discovered mass graves inside Nasser Medical Complex" of people killed by "the occupation (Israeli) army", Thawabta told AFP.
Muhammad al-Mughayyir, a senior official at the civil defence agency, also confirmed the discovery of corpses at the facility and said the work to retrieve the remaining bodies would continue until Thursday.
in the land of stupid!!!
Recycled 'zombie' misinformation targets U.S. voters
David McBrayer - raw story
April 24, 2024 7:28AM ET
Migrants, vaccines, pedophilia rings -- old conspiracy theories are resurfacing ahead of the U.S. election despite being repeatedly debunked, in what researchers call "zombie" falsehoods that appear to resonate with polarized voters.
Americans are deluged with misinformation about political hot-button issues that observers say have the potential to sway voters in the widely anticipated rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump in November.
That includes misinformation that is recycled online despite being repeatedly knocked down by fact-checkers in what seems like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
The trend illustrates the ability of long-debunked falsehoods to mutate into viral political discourse on social media platforms, which now offer fewer guardrails as they scale back content moderation.
"This type of misinformation gets repeated so often that it eventually becomes the gospel truth to believers," Mike Rothschild, an expert on conspiracy theories, told AFP.
"The same tropes get recycled over and over and they work because they're always going to appeal to a certain type of person" in a polarized environment, he added.
That includes a surge of false claims -- inspired by record crossings along the US-Mexico border -- that Democrats are recruiting migrants to sway the presidential election in favor of Biden.
Among the key misinformation spreaders is Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter, who claimed ahead of primaries in swing states such as Arizona that the government was "importing voters" by welcoming unvetted illegal immigrants.
AFP's fact-checkers debunked the narrative, noting that migrants admitted on a temporary basis undergo background checks and have no direct path to citizenship or voting rights.
But the claim -- which echoes years-old false narratives from Trump and other US conservatives that seek to demonize migrants -- still received renewed traction, amassing hundreds of thousands of posts and comments across platforms.
- 'Lot of popularity' -
Republican politicians have made immigration a top issue in swing states such as New Hampshire, even as political observers say their claims are not always backed up by facts.
Some 43 percent of residents said illegal immigration is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" issue in the state, according to a recent poll by the University of New Hampshire.
In recent weeks, AFP has also debunked numerous claims that vaccines are harmful or ineffective, a narrative that has surged since the Covid-19 pandemic despite being repeatedly swatted down.
The deluge comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic whose nonprofit raised millions of dollars during the pandemic, makes political inroads in some states as a challenger to Biden and Trump
In part due to the spread of recycled falsehoods, the anti-vaccine community "is in a stronger and better place than it was pre-pandemic," said Kolina Koltai, a senior researcher at the digital investigative group Bellingcat.
"RFK is gaining a lot of popularity and running as an independent," she said. "He's a very well-known anti-vaxxer. That's not nothing."
Distrust in the government is one reason why zombie claims continue to spread, analysts say -- a trend exemplified by the staying power of the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory.
The theory, which falsely linked a pizza restaurant in the US capital to an underground child sex trafficking ring involving high-ranking Democrats, has been thoroughly debunked since 2016.
Yet it later grew into the sprawling QAnon conspiracy movement, which gained popularity ahead of the 2020 election. Social media users, including Musk, have repeatedly revived the unfounded allegations in recent months.
- 'Cognitive bias' -
Sensational claims that prey on people's innate fears are always going to be fodder for misinformation, experts say.
"Debunking such claims has relatively low impact since people and institutions who do the debunking are considered part of the corrupt system or 'establishment' in the eyes of the people who believe" them, Mert Bayar, from the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, told AFP.
Baseless claims that the 2020 election was ridden with fraud and stolen from Trump still resurface online –- despite being thoroughly debunked by fact-checkers, government officials and audits.
Some of the recycled misinformation goes unchallenged as platforms such as X reduce content moderation in a climate of cost-cutting that has gutted trust and safety teams.
Analysts say misinformation purveyors have a financial motive to continue posting, as X's ad revenue-sharing program incentivizes extreme content designed to boost engagement.
Influencers also tend to reinforce their followers' beliefs.
"This can often be attributed to a cognitive bias known as confirmation bias," Bayar said.
"Content creators might have financial incentives or personal reasons for recycling such claims, but many of the people who spread such claims also genuinely believe in them."
Americans are deluged with misinformation about political hot-button issues that observers say have the potential to sway voters in the widely anticipated rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump in November.
That includes misinformation that is recycled online despite being repeatedly knocked down by fact-checkers in what seems like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.
The trend illustrates the ability of long-debunked falsehoods to mutate into viral political discourse on social media platforms, which now offer fewer guardrails as they scale back content moderation.
"This type of misinformation gets repeated so often that it eventually becomes the gospel truth to believers," Mike Rothschild, an expert on conspiracy theories, told AFP.
"The same tropes get recycled over and over and they work because they're always going to appeal to a certain type of person" in a polarized environment, he added.
That includes a surge of false claims -- inspired by record crossings along the US-Mexico border -- that Democrats are recruiting migrants to sway the presidential election in favor of Biden.
Among the key misinformation spreaders is Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter, who claimed ahead of primaries in swing states such as Arizona that the government was "importing voters" by welcoming unvetted illegal immigrants.
AFP's fact-checkers debunked the narrative, noting that migrants admitted on a temporary basis undergo background checks and have no direct path to citizenship or voting rights.
But the claim -- which echoes years-old false narratives from Trump and other US conservatives that seek to demonize migrants -- still received renewed traction, amassing hundreds of thousands of posts and comments across platforms.
- 'Lot of popularity' -
Republican politicians have made immigration a top issue in swing states such as New Hampshire, even as political observers say their claims are not always backed up by facts.
Some 43 percent of residents said illegal immigration is a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" issue in the state, according to a recent poll by the University of New Hampshire.
In recent weeks, AFP has also debunked numerous claims that vaccines are harmful or ineffective, a narrative that has surged since the Covid-19 pandemic despite being repeatedly swatted down.
The deluge comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic whose nonprofit raised millions of dollars during the pandemic, makes political inroads in some states as a challenger to Biden and Trump
In part due to the spread of recycled falsehoods, the anti-vaccine community "is in a stronger and better place than it was pre-pandemic," said Kolina Koltai, a senior researcher at the digital investigative group Bellingcat.
"RFK is gaining a lot of popularity and running as an independent," she said. "He's a very well-known anti-vaxxer. That's not nothing."
Distrust in the government is one reason why zombie claims continue to spread, analysts say -- a trend exemplified by the staying power of the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory.
The theory, which falsely linked a pizza restaurant in the US capital to an underground child sex trafficking ring involving high-ranking Democrats, has been thoroughly debunked since 2016.
Yet it later grew into the sprawling QAnon conspiracy movement, which gained popularity ahead of the 2020 election. Social media users, including Musk, have repeatedly revived the unfounded allegations in recent months.
- 'Cognitive bias' -
Sensational claims that prey on people's innate fears are always going to be fodder for misinformation, experts say.
"Debunking such claims has relatively low impact since people and institutions who do the debunking are considered part of the corrupt system or 'establishment' in the eyes of the people who believe" them, Mert Bayar, from the Center for an Informed Public at the University of Washington, told AFP.
Baseless claims that the 2020 election was ridden with fraud and stolen from Trump still resurface online –- despite being thoroughly debunked by fact-checkers, government officials and audits.
Some of the recycled misinformation goes unchallenged as platforms such as X reduce content moderation in a climate of cost-cutting that has gutted trust and safety teams.
Analysts say misinformation purveyors have a financial motive to continue posting, as X's ad revenue-sharing program incentivizes extreme content designed to boost engagement.
Influencers also tend to reinforce their followers' beliefs.
"This can often be attributed to a cognitive bias known as confirmation bias," Bayar said.
"Content creators might have financial incentives or personal reasons for recycling such claims, but many of the people who spread such claims also genuinely believe in them."
Welcome to RepublicanDebt.org
This site tracks the current Republican Debt.
The Republican Debt is how much of the national debt of the United States
is attributable to
the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush,
George W. Bush, Donald J. Trump,
and
the Republican fiscal policy of Borrow-And-Spend.
As of Tuesday, April 23, 2024 at 4:58:35PM PT,
The Current Republican Debt is:
$16,678,196,532,885.40
which means that in a total of 24 years,
these four presidents have led to the creation of
94.69%
of the entire national debt
in only 9.6774% of the 248 years of the existence of the United States of America.
Donald Trump now considered 'co-conspirator' in Michigan 2020 election plot: testimony
Kathleen Culliton - raw story
April 24, 2024 12:02PM ET
Former President Donald Trump has been dubbed a co-conspirator in the scheme to claim an unearned victory in Michigan's 2020 presidential election, according to reports of testimony from an Attorney General's office investigator.
Michigan prosecutors consider Trump, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani unindicted co-conspirators in the state's false elector plot, Howard Shock, a special agent for Attorney General Dana Nessel, said in testimony reported Wednesday by The Detroit News.
"That means prosecutors believe they participated, to some extent, in an alleged scheme to commit forgery by creating a false document asserting Trump had won Michigan's 16 electoral votes when Democrat Joe Biden had won them," writes reporter Craig Mauger.
Shock delivered this avowal in Ingham County District Court Wednesday as Nessel seeks felony forgery charges against 16 Republican activists who signed a certificate of votes for Trump, according to the report.
Duane Silverthorn, the lawyer representing elector Michele Lundgren, reportedly went through a list of people whose status as "unindicted co-conspirator" he asked Shock to confirm.
Shock also affirmed Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro — two lawyers who have accepted plea deals in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' election racketeering case — are also considered unindicted co-conspirators, the Detroit News reports.
"Some of the defense lawyers have argued that their clients didn't understand what they were signing when they gathered in Michigan GOP headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020," the report notes.
"They've also contended that it was Trump campaign advisers who orchestrated the false certificate."
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to the Detroit News' request for comment Wednesday, but spokesperson Steven Cheung has previously criticized accusations that Trump's actions in the wake of his failed 2020 presidential election were improper, the report notes.
"Trump was carrying out his duty as president to investigate the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election," Cheung said in January.
One month after Cheung made this claim, the Washington Post reported Trump's campaign commissioned a research firm to prove electoral-fraud claims but didn't release the findings because the probe never found any proof.
Michigan prosecutors consider Trump, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani unindicted co-conspirators in the state's false elector plot, Howard Shock, a special agent for Attorney General Dana Nessel, said in testimony reported Wednesday by The Detroit News.
"That means prosecutors believe they participated, to some extent, in an alleged scheme to commit forgery by creating a false document asserting Trump had won Michigan's 16 electoral votes when Democrat Joe Biden had won them," writes reporter Craig Mauger.
Shock delivered this avowal in Ingham County District Court Wednesday as Nessel seeks felony forgery charges against 16 Republican activists who signed a certificate of votes for Trump, according to the report.
Duane Silverthorn, the lawyer representing elector Michele Lundgren, reportedly went through a list of people whose status as "unindicted co-conspirator" he asked Shock to confirm.
Shock also affirmed Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro — two lawyers who have accepted plea deals in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' election racketeering case — are also considered unindicted co-conspirators, the Detroit News reports.
"Some of the defense lawyers have argued that their clients didn't understand what they were signing when they gathered in Michigan GOP headquarters on Dec. 14, 2020," the report notes.
"They've also contended that it was Trump campaign advisers who orchestrated the false certificate."
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to the Detroit News' request for comment Wednesday, but spokesperson Steven Cheung has previously criticized accusations that Trump's actions in the wake of his failed 2020 presidential election were improper, the report notes.
"Trump was carrying out his duty as president to investigate the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election," Cheung said in January.
One month after Cheung made this claim, the Washington Post reported Trump's campaign commissioned a research firm to prove electoral-fraud claims but didn't release the findings because the probe never found any proof.
THE DAILY TRASH REPORT FEATURING TODAY'S DESPICABLES
THOMAS JEFFERSON CALLED THEM "WASTE PEOPLE" AND BENJAMIN FRANKLIN CALLED THEM "RUBBISH" WE CALL THEM "MAGA PEOPLE"
GOP Senate hopeful used donations 'to play dress-up as a Nevada cowboy'
TRUMP CALLS HIS FORMER A.G. BILL BARR 'GUTLESS' AND 'LAZY' AFTER GETTING HIS ENDORSEMENT
'Trump is a lie': Analyst sees ex-president sweating that 'fictional achievements' exposed
Alvin Bragg hits Trump with more gag order accusations: '4 violations in 3 days'
Utility That Bribed Ohio Regulators Secretly Bankrolled Republican Mike DeWine’s 2018 Governor Bid, Records Show
FirstEnergy gave $2.5 million to a dark-money group backing the GOP nominee.
MARIO ALEJANDRO ARIZA, JESSIE BALMERT - mother jones
4/25/2024
In 2018, the Akron, Ohio-based utility FirstEnergy donated $2.5 million to a Republican Governors Association-affiliated dark money group backing GOP nominee Mike DeWine in a competitive race for Ohio governor, according to newly released records.
The records show FirstEnergy’s extensive behind-the-scenes work to get DeWine elected. “This Fall Governor race is very important to FirstEnergy from both a legislative and regulatory perspective and getting Mike across the finish line is critical,” then-CEO Chuck Jones wrote in an August 14, 2018 email invitation to a DeWine fundraiser.
The $2.5 million donation, which had never been disclosed, reveals how invested the power company was in the outcome of the Ohio governor’s race between DeWine and Democratic challenger Rich Cordray. At the time, FirstEnergy wanted to bail out two nuclear plants then owned by a subsidiary—but faced opposition from Ohio leaders including then-Gov. John Kasich.
Both DeWine and Cordray had promised to save the two northern Ohio nuclear plants if they became governor, and the company chipped in publicly disclosed money to both the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association.
DeWine has not been implicated in the ongoing bribery scandal surrounding the nuclear bailout. Eight people, including the state’s former House Speaker Larry Householder, have been indicted. Two of those charged in the multimillion-dollar scandal stemming from the passage of the bailout bill have taken their own lives, including Sam Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, who was found dead earlier this month from suicide.
According to the newly released records, FirstEnergy donated $2.5 million in three installments to State Solutions, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit affiliated with the Republican Governors Association that is not required to disclose its donors.
One installment of $500,000 is labeled “DeWine;” the other two are listed as “RGA,” according to records released by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, Floodlight, Ohio Capital Journal, and the Energy News Network.
The documents, including emails among high-level FirstEnergy executives, show multiple efforts by the power company to keep its support of DeWine out of the public eye by using dark money donations.
The records show that on August 14, 2018, Jones—now criminally charged in the scandal—held a fundraiser for DeWine and running mate Jon Husted, calling Husted a “good friend” to the utility.
Then DeWine met with FirstEnergy executives at an RGA fundraiser in downtown Columbus on October 10, 2018, the Dayton Daily News first reported. Shortly after, FirstEnergy Solutions donated $500,000 to RGA, according to tax records
FirstEnergy also donated $200,000 to the Citizens Policy Institute, which blasted Cordray for being “Republican Lite,” according to released records. Cleveland restaurateur Tony George, a close FirstEnergy ally, was behind the group, as BuzzFeed News reported at the time.
In November 2018, DeWine defeated Cordray, 50.4 percent to 46.7 percent as Democrats swept elections across the country. In 2019, FirstEnergy helped Republican lawmakers craft HB 6, an energy overhaul measure that included $1 billion for the two nuclear plants. DeWine signed the bill within hours of it hitting his desk.
When asked if the donations influenced DeWine’s support of nuclear energy, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said: “Gov. DeWine’s support for nuclear energy is documented well prior to 2018, including during his tenure as United States senator.”
FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said the company was unable to comment on pending litigation; shareholders sued FirstEnergy after federal investigators revealed an extensive pay-to-play scandal bankrolled by the Ohio utility.
That federal investigation led to a 20-year prison sentence for Householder, a five-year sentence for ex-Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, and the firing of several FirstEnergy executives. A parallel state-led criminal investigation has brought charges against two FirstEnergy executives and Ohio’s former chief energy regulator.
Attorneys in the shareholder lawsuit have sought to subpoena records from DeWine and depose Husted, but neither faces any criminal accusations. FirstEnergy donated $1 million through a dark money group to back Husted’s campaign in 2017, according to previously released records. Husted and DeWine were competitors until they merged campaigns.
In 2018, the owner of the nuclear plants, FirstEnergy Solutions, was in bankruptcy. So creditors raised concerns about a $1 million payment earmarked to help DeWine’s campaign, according to emails exchanged on August 11, 2018. “They cited it is very large compared to DeWine’s current fundraising.”
Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling tried to allay concerns by explaining that donors can back DeWine’s bid in several ways, including giving to DeWine’s campaign fund, the Republican Governors Association, State Solutions, and the Ohio Republican Party’s state candidate fund.
“Theoretically, DeWine/Husted could have a balance of $10M in their campaign account and the RGA could spend $40M in support of DeWine in Ohio,” Dowling explained in an email. “My point is that comparing the size of a contribution to the RGA to what the DeWine campaign has raised or what the DeWine Campaign’s current balance is can be done, but I’m not sure is logical.”
Republican fundraiser Brooke Bodney, who worked with the RGA, confirmed: “All factually accurate.”
Meanwhile, FirstEnergy Solutions’ David Griffing reassured Akin Gump partner Rick Burdick that there was no connection between State Solutions and DeWine’s campaign. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is a powerful law firm that represented FirstEnergy Solutions during its bankruptcy and lobbied for House Bill 6.
The issue was important because exchanging a political favor for a campaign donation would be illegal, a quid pro quo.
“Thanks,” Burdick wrote. “Just to confirm there is also no understanding with the DeWine campaign re his position on regulatory relief for nuclear plants related to this contribution.”
“Correct,” Griffing replied.
The records show FirstEnergy’s extensive behind-the-scenes work to get DeWine elected. “This Fall Governor race is very important to FirstEnergy from both a legislative and regulatory perspective and getting Mike across the finish line is critical,” then-CEO Chuck Jones wrote in an August 14, 2018 email invitation to a DeWine fundraiser.
The $2.5 million donation, which had never been disclosed, reveals how invested the power company was in the outcome of the Ohio governor’s race between DeWine and Democratic challenger Rich Cordray. At the time, FirstEnergy wanted to bail out two nuclear plants then owned by a subsidiary—but faced opposition from Ohio leaders including then-Gov. John Kasich.
Both DeWine and Cordray had promised to save the two northern Ohio nuclear plants if they became governor, and the company chipped in publicly disclosed money to both the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association.
DeWine has not been implicated in the ongoing bribery scandal surrounding the nuclear bailout. Eight people, including the state’s former House Speaker Larry Householder, have been indicted. Two of those charged in the multimillion-dollar scandal stemming from the passage of the bailout bill have taken their own lives, including Sam Randazzo, the former chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, who was found dead earlier this month from suicide.
According to the newly released records, FirstEnergy donated $2.5 million in three installments to State Solutions, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit affiliated with the Republican Governors Association that is not required to disclose its donors.
One installment of $500,000 is labeled “DeWine;” the other two are listed as “RGA,” according to records released by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio to the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, Floodlight, Ohio Capital Journal, and the Energy News Network.
The documents, including emails among high-level FirstEnergy executives, show multiple efforts by the power company to keep its support of DeWine out of the public eye by using dark money donations.
The records show that on August 14, 2018, Jones—now criminally charged in the scandal—held a fundraiser for DeWine and running mate Jon Husted, calling Husted a “good friend” to the utility.
Then DeWine met with FirstEnergy executives at an RGA fundraiser in downtown Columbus on October 10, 2018, the Dayton Daily News first reported. Shortly after, FirstEnergy Solutions donated $500,000 to RGA, according to tax records
FirstEnergy also donated $200,000 to the Citizens Policy Institute, which blasted Cordray for being “Republican Lite,” according to released records. Cleveland restaurateur Tony George, a close FirstEnergy ally, was behind the group, as BuzzFeed News reported at the time.
In November 2018, DeWine defeated Cordray, 50.4 percent to 46.7 percent as Democrats swept elections across the country. In 2019, FirstEnergy helped Republican lawmakers craft HB 6, an energy overhaul measure that included $1 billion for the two nuclear plants. DeWine signed the bill within hours of it hitting his desk.
When asked if the donations influenced DeWine’s support of nuclear energy, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said: “Gov. DeWine’s support for nuclear energy is documented well prior to 2018, including during his tenure as United States senator.”
FirstEnergy spokeswoman Jennifer Young said the company was unable to comment on pending litigation; shareholders sued FirstEnergy after federal investigators revealed an extensive pay-to-play scandal bankrolled by the Ohio utility.
That federal investigation led to a 20-year prison sentence for Householder, a five-year sentence for ex-Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, and the firing of several FirstEnergy executives. A parallel state-led criminal investigation has brought charges against two FirstEnergy executives and Ohio’s former chief energy regulator.
Attorneys in the shareholder lawsuit have sought to subpoena records from DeWine and depose Husted, but neither faces any criminal accusations. FirstEnergy donated $1 million through a dark money group to back Husted’s campaign in 2017, according to previously released records. Husted and DeWine were competitors until they merged campaigns.
In 2018, the owner of the nuclear plants, FirstEnergy Solutions, was in bankruptcy. So creditors raised concerns about a $1 million payment earmarked to help DeWine’s campaign, according to emails exchanged on August 11, 2018. “They cited it is very large compared to DeWine’s current fundraising.”
Senior Vice President of External Affairs Michael Dowling tried to allay concerns by explaining that donors can back DeWine’s bid in several ways, including giving to DeWine’s campaign fund, the Republican Governors Association, State Solutions, and the Ohio Republican Party’s state candidate fund.
“Theoretically, DeWine/Husted could have a balance of $10M in their campaign account and the RGA could spend $40M in support of DeWine in Ohio,” Dowling explained in an email. “My point is that comparing the size of a contribution to the RGA to what the DeWine campaign has raised or what the DeWine Campaign’s current balance is can be done, but I’m not sure is logical.”
Republican fundraiser Brooke Bodney, who worked with the RGA, confirmed: “All factually accurate.”
Meanwhile, FirstEnergy Solutions’ David Griffing reassured Akin Gump partner Rick Burdick that there was no connection between State Solutions and DeWine’s campaign. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is a powerful law firm that represented FirstEnergy Solutions during its bankruptcy and lobbied for House Bill 6.
The issue was important because exchanging a political favor for a campaign donation would be illegal, a quid pro quo.
“Thanks,” Burdick wrote. “Just to confirm there is also no understanding with the DeWine campaign re his position on regulatory relief for nuclear plants related to this contribution.”
“Correct,” Griffing replied.
Migrants Tricked Into DeSantis Flight Scheme Qualify for Residency Visas
The migrants “are now able to legally work in the United States” and are protected from deportation, their lawyer said.
By Chris Walker , TRUTHOUT
Published April 23, 2024
Some of the dozens of migrants who were tricked by a scheme orchestrated by Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office into boarding an airplane in Florida and flying to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022 have been granted temporary visas due to the fact that they may have been victims of a crime.
DeSantis’s office coordinated two planes to fly the migrants (most of whom had come to the U.S. from Venezuela) from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Those who had recruited the migrants, around 50 in total, to fly on the planes had done so with false promises to them that jobs, shelter and food would be available upon their arrival.
Instead, the migrants were left with nothing. Volunteer groups helped them to find temporary housing in the short term after they made it to the community.
DeSantis’s office, which had spent around $615,000 in state-based funds authorized by the state legislature for the transporting of migrants in the state, was widely lampooned for the action, which was described as a political stunt meant to make him look tougher on immigration during his 2022 reelection campaign (and in the run-up to his failed presidential campaign). Some also suggested that he may have committed a crime — indeed, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar has filed a criminal case with the county district attorney’s office, alleging “unlawful restraint” violations. No decision on the advancement of that case has been made as yet.
However, because of that filing, and with help from civil rights lawyers, some of the migrants were able to apply for what are called “U visas,” which grant temporary residency rights to immigrants who are “victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.”
Some of the migrants “are now able to legally work in the United States and have temporary protections from deportation — because they are considered victims of a potential crime,” said Rachel Self, an attorney for the migrants, who spoke to The Miami Herald about the update on their statuses.
It’s not clear how many of the approximately 50 migrants who were victims of the DeSantis-orchestrated scheme have received these visas, but those who have them will be allowed to live and work in the U.S. potentially for several years while the investigations are ongoing. Many U visa recipients are also eventually granted permanent residency protections.
Some of the migrants who were part of the flights have also sued DeSantis and his allies, as well as the airline, Vertol, that was part of the scheme, alleging that their civil rights were violated. That suit describes the actions taken by DeSantis and his allies as a “premeditated, fraudulent and illegal scheme” meant to advance the “personal, financial and political interests” of the governor.
“These immigrants, who are pursuing the proper channels for lawful immigration status in the United States, experienced cruelty akin to what they fled in their home country,” the lawsuit added.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Boston said the lawsuit had met the legal standards to move forward. The judge removed DeSantis from the lawsuit, which places Vertol as the central focus of the litigation, but did so “without prejudice,” which means, as the lawsuit progresses and more evidence is presented, there is a possibility of having the Florida governor brought back into it later on.
DeSantis’s office coordinated two planes to fly the migrants (most of whom had come to the U.S. from Venezuela) from San Antonio, Texas, to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. Those who had recruited the migrants, around 50 in total, to fly on the planes had done so with false promises to them that jobs, shelter and food would be available upon their arrival.
Instead, the migrants were left with nothing. Volunteer groups helped them to find temporary housing in the short term after they made it to the community.
DeSantis’s office, which had spent around $615,000 in state-based funds authorized by the state legislature for the transporting of migrants in the state, was widely lampooned for the action, which was described as a political stunt meant to make him look tougher on immigration during his 2022 reelection campaign (and in the run-up to his failed presidential campaign). Some also suggested that he may have committed a crime — indeed, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar has filed a criminal case with the county district attorney’s office, alleging “unlawful restraint” violations. No decision on the advancement of that case has been made as yet.
However, because of that filing, and with help from civil rights lawyers, some of the migrants were able to apply for what are called “U visas,” which grant temporary residency rights to immigrants who are “victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity.”
Some of the migrants “are now able to legally work in the United States and have temporary protections from deportation — because they are considered victims of a potential crime,” said Rachel Self, an attorney for the migrants, who spoke to The Miami Herald about the update on their statuses.
It’s not clear how many of the approximately 50 migrants who were victims of the DeSantis-orchestrated scheme have received these visas, but those who have them will be allowed to live and work in the U.S. potentially for several years while the investigations are ongoing. Many U visa recipients are also eventually granted permanent residency protections.
Some of the migrants who were part of the flights have also sued DeSantis and his allies, as well as the airline, Vertol, that was part of the scheme, alleging that their civil rights were violated. That suit describes the actions taken by DeSantis and his allies as a “premeditated, fraudulent and illegal scheme” meant to advance the “personal, financial and political interests” of the governor.
“These immigrants, who are pursuing the proper channels for lawful immigration status in the United States, experienced cruelty akin to what they fled in their home country,” the lawsuit added.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Boston said the lawsuit had met the legal standards to move forward. The judge removed DeSantis from the lawsuit, which places Vertol as the central focus of the litigation, but did so “without prejudice,” which means, as the lawsuit progresses and more evidence is presented, there is a possibility of having the Florida governor brought back into it later on.
'Oxymoron': Nobel Prize economist dismantles 'neoliberal theorists' and 'unrestrained capitalism'
Alex Henderson -alternet
April 24, 2024
The late conservative economist Milton Friedman was an aggressive promoter of the "shareholder theory," arguing that corporations' main obligation was not to society on the whole, but to their shareholders. Friedman influenced many libertarians and neoliberal thinkers who equate a laissez-faire or hands-off approach to economics with personal freedom.
But in an in-depth essay/think piece published by The Atlantic on April 24, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz challenges those beliefs and stresses that "unfettered" capitalism isn't necessarily synonymous with freedom.
"(Economist) F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman were the most notable 20th-Century defenders of unrestrained capitalism," Stiglitz explained. "The idea of 'unfettered markets' — markets without rules and regulations — is an oxymoron because without rules and regulations enforced by government, there could and would be little trade. Cheating would be rampant, trust low."
The economist continues, "A world without restraints would be a jungle in which only power mattered, determining who got what and who did what. It wouldn't be a market at all. Nonetheless, Hayek and Friedman argued that capitalism as they interpreted it, with free and unfettered markets, was the best system in terms of efficiency, and that without free markets and free enterprise, we could not and would not have individual freedom."
Stiglitz goes on to lay out some reasons why his "conclusions" about economics are "radically different" from Hayek and Friedman's laissez-faire views — and why "neoliberalism" isn't necessarily an antidote to authoritarianism.
"It was because of democratic demands that democratic governments, such as that of the U.S., responded to the Great Depression through collective action," Stiglitz argues. "The failure of governments to respond adequately to soaring unemployment in Germany led to the rise of Hitler. Today, it is neoliberalism that has brought massive inequalities and provided fertile ground for dangerous populists. Neoliberalism's grim record includes freeing financial markets to precipitate the largest financial crisis in three-quarters of a century, freeing international trade to accelerate deindustrialization, and freeing corporations to exploit consumers, workers, and the environment alike."
Stiglitz adds, "Contrary to what Friedman suggested in his 1962 book, 'Capitalism and Freedom,'' this form of capitalism does not enhance freedom in our society. Instead, it has led to the freedom of a few at the expense of the many."
According to Stiglitz, "neoliberal theorists and their beneficiaries" are promoting — not discouraging — a dangerous "polarization."
The economist writes, "They forget that, for all the rhetoric, free markets can't function without strong democracies beneath them — the kind of democracies that neoliberalism puts under threat. In a very direct way, neoliberal capitalism is devouring itself."
But in an in-depth essay/think piece published by The Atlantic on April 24, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz challenges those beliefs and stresses that "unfettered" capitalism isn't necessarily synonymous with freedom.
"(Economist) F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman were the most notable 20th-Century defenders of unrestrained capitalism," Stiglitz explained. "The idea of 'unfettered markets' — markets without rules and regulations — is an oxymoron because without rules and regulations enforced by government, there could and would be little trade. Cheating would be rampant, trust low."
The economist continues, "A world without restraints would be a jungle in which only power mattered, determining who got what and who did what. It wouldn't be a market at all. Nonetheless, Hayek and Friedman argued that capitalism as they interpreted it, with free and unfettered markets, was the best system in terms of efficiency, and that without free markets and free enterprise, we could not and would not have individual freedom."
Stiglitz goes on to lay out some reasons why his "conclusions" about economics are "radically different" from Hayek and Friedman's laissez-faire views — and why "neoliberalism" isn't necessarily an antidote to authoritarianism.
"It was because of democratic demands that democratic governments, such as that of the U.S., responded to the Great Depression through collective action," Stiglitz argues. "The failure of governments to respond adequately to soaring unemployment in Germany led to the rise of Hitler. Today, it is neoliberalism that has brought massive inequalities and provided fertile ground for dangerous populists. Neoliberalism's grim record includes freeing financial markets to precipitate the largest financial crisis in three-quarters of a century, freeing international trade to accelerate deindustrialization, and freeing corporations to exploit consumers, workers, and the environment alike."
Stiglitz adds, "Contrary to what Friedman suggested in his 1962 book, 'Capitalism and Freedom,'' this form of capitalism does not enhance freedom in our society. Instead, it has led to the freedom of a few at the expense of the many."
According to Stiglitz, "neoliberal theorists and their beneficiaries" are promoting — not discouraging — a dangerous "polarization."
The economist writes, "They forget that, for all the rhetoric, free markets can't function without strong democracies beneath them — the kind of democracies that neoliberalism puts under threat. In a very direct way, neoliberal capitalism is devouring itself."
STUCK ON STUPID!!!
elected officials who owe their offices to stupid voters
'So appalled': What witnesses told special counsel about Trump's handling of classified info while still president
(ABC News) In the summer of 2019, only hours after an Iranian rocket accidentally exploded at one of Iran's own launch sites, senior U.S. officials met with then-president Donald Trump and shared a sharply detailed, highly classified image of the blast's catastrophic aftermath. The image was captured by a U.S. satellite whose true capabilities were a tightly guarded secret. But Trump wanted to share it with the world -- he thought it was especially "sexy" because it was marked classified, one of his former advisers later recalled to special counsel Jack Smith's investigators, according to sources familiar with the former adviser's statements.
Newt: Trump's Trial Is Just Like Civil Rights Workers In 1960s
Yes, Newt, it's exactly like that, you choad.
Susie Madrak — crooks & liars
April 23, 2024
Newt Gingrich, who is famously a Catholic convert, has some very strange ideas regarding the commandment about lying. But then, he lied just as enthusiastically back when he was a Baptist, so there you go. He's just a liar by nature! Via Media Matters:
NEWT GINGRICH (GUEST): Let me tell you, I am deeply worried that tomorrow, a totally corrupt judge and a totally corrupt district attorney are going to try to put a former president of the United States, candidate of his party, and front-runner in the polls in jail. Now, I think this is so horrendous that there has to be some way to reach out to the Supreme Court.
This is literally like some of the civil rights workers in Mississippi in the 1960s. The New York system is now so deeply corrupted and it's so bitterly, deeply anti-Trump. The absurdity of the judge's daughter, who made millions and millions of dollars doing anti-Trump politics, and the judge would like us to believe, much like Joe Biden, he had no idea what his children were doing?
I mean the whole thing frankly resembles "On the Waterfront," Stanley Kubrick's brilliant film. This is about corruption. It has nothing to do with honesty, and what worries me is it's a genuine threat to Donald Trump. I mean, I think any step that would put him close to a New York prison is an extraordinarily dangerous step and I would hope that there's some legal way to block it and make sure that it never happens, because the thugs he's dealing with are totally out of control, have total contempt for the rule of law, and frankly are unworthy of being in the offices they hold.
Yes, just like the civil rights workers who were castrated and brutalized before they were killed. You unctious pile of excrement, you.
NEWT GINGRICH (GUEST): Let me tell you, I am deeply worried that tomorrow, a totally corrupt judge and a totally corrupt district attorney are going to try to put a former president of the United States, candidate of his party, and front-runner in the polls in jail. Now, I think this is so horrendous that there has to be some way to reach out to the Supreme Court.
This is literally like some of the civil rights workers in Mississippi in the 1960s. The New York system is now so deeply corrupted and it's so bitterly, deeply anti-Trump. The absurdity of the judge's daughter, who made millions and millions of dollars doing anti-Trump politics, and the judge would like us to believe, much like Joe Biden, he had no idea what his children were doing?
I mean the whole thing frankly resembles "On the Waterfront," Stanley Kubrick's brilliant film. This is about corruption. It has nothing to do with honesty, and what worries me is it's a genuine threat to Donald Trump. I mean, I think any step that would put him close to a New York prison is an extraordinarily dangerous step and I would hope that there's some legal way to block it and make sure that it never happens, because the thugs he's dealing with are totally out of control, have total contempt for the rule of law, and frankly are unworthy of being in the offices they hold.
Yes, just like the civil rights workers who were castrated and brutalized before they were killed. You unctious pile of excrement, you.
Bites from Real News
*4/25/2024*
*HOW CITIZENS UNITED CLEARED THE WAY FOR THE BIGGEST POLITICAL BRIBERY SCANDAL IN OHIO HISTORY
*Texas School Districts Violated a Law Intended to Add Transparency to Local Elections
ProPublica and The Texas Tribune analyzed 35 Texas school districts that held trustee elections last fall and found none that posted all of the required campaign finance records.
*China stopped taking our plastic. Now America is drowning in it.
merica has long had a plastic problem. It's an urgent question — what do we do with the 40 million tons of plastic waste we produce annually? One year of plastic waste is roughly enough to smother the entirety of Manhattan a meter deep, and it has to go somewhere. For years, the answer was simple: Make a lot of it, dump most of it in the landfill, and make the rest of it someone else's problem — the US regularly exported 7 million tons a year to China alone. Some of it was melted into lesser plastic; the rest was incinerated or buried.
*10 Times as Much of This Toxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal
Against the guidance of scientific advisory panels, the EPA is relying on industry-backed tests to relax regulations on acephate, which has been linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. “It’s exactly what we recommended against,” one panelist said.
*Nevada Supreme Court Allows Abortion Rights Ballot Initiative to Move Forward
The proposed amendment would guarantee a right to an abortion up to fetal viability.
*New Legislation Would Expand Access to Disaster Relief, Provide Help With Titles for Large Number of Black Landowners
The bills come after ProPublica’s reporting on land passed down informally within families, known as heirs’ property. Representing about one-third of Black-owned land in the South, it can be ineligible for aid and vulnerable to forced sales.
*'This guy couldn't get a job at the local mall': Brutal anti-Trump ad claims he's unfit
*Kremlin-linked Truth Social investor linked to dangerous 'sex pills' operation: reportOpinion
Alabama Boy, 10, Played Dead to Survive Mom’s Drowning Attempt: Cops
MONSTROUS
Published Apr. 25, 2024 12:54PM EDT
DAILY BEAST CHEAT SHEET
An Alabama mom has been arrested for allegedly trying to drown her 10-year-old son in the bathtub—a horror show that only ended when he played dead. The terrifying episode happened after the child told Ashley Elizabeth Jones he would rather live with his father than stay with her—and she threw bleach on him in a rage. AL.com reports that, according to court papers, the boy went into the tub to wash off the caustic chemical and Jones, 34, followed him in and held his head under water for 45 seconds until he pretended to go limp. But the nightmare wasn't over: She allegedly then locked him in the closet for three hours. The boy’s ordeal came to light when he told his father, who has joint custody, that Jones was abusing him and had also bitten and hit him, leaving cuts and bruises, according to court records. The Sheffield resident has been charged with aggravated child abuse but denied the accusations; she was released on $50,000 bond.
Arizona House Votes to Repeal Civil War-Era Abortion Law
ONE STEP CLOSER
Josh Fiallo
Breaking News Reporter
Published Apr. 24, 2024 8:49PM EDT
DAILY BEAST CHEAT SHEET
Arizona’s House of Representatives voted Wednesday to repeal a Civil War-era abortion ban that was recently upheld by the state Supreme Court, ushering in a near-total prohibition on the procedures. The decision was a blow for the state’s conservative Republicans, who equated abortion to slavery and murder in arguing lawmakers should leave the legislation—that was penned before Arizona was even a state—untouched. With Republicans holding a slight majority in the Arizona House, a vote along party lines would have doomed the repeal. However, three Republicans—two from the metro Phoenix area, and another from a rural farming region—broke with their party to join Democrats in repealing the ban, which had a final vote of 32 to 28. Now, the repeal vote must also pass the Arizona Senate—where Republicans also hold a slight majority—if the legislature is to put an end to the 1864 law. Should Democrats fail, undergoing—or assisting someone undergoing—an abortion procedure will become a felony punishable by two to five years in prison.
the key to republican support
*What's Inside*
SHATTERING DECEPTIVE MIRRORS: YOUNGER GENERATIONS HAVE THE CHANCE TO BUCK THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY SCAM(REALITY)
BOTTLED WATER CONTAINS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PLASTIC BITS: STUDY
REALITY
THE GREAT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE MARKETING SCAM
CORPORATE CRIMINALS
2023 SAW RECORD KILLINGS BY US POLICE. WHO IS MOST IMPACTED?
GESTAPO USA
AMERICA HAS NEVER BEEN UNITED. SO HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD TOGETHER?
COMMENTARY
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLANS: THE HIDDEN DANGERS AND THREATS TO PATIENT CARE
REALITY
A NEW STUDY DESCRIBES IN GROTESQUE DETAIL THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE ULTRARICH HAVE PERVERTED THE CHARITABLE GIVING INDUSTRY.
REALITY
HOW TRUMP AND BUSH TAX CUTS FOR BILLIONAIRES BROKE AMERICA
REALITY
FROM 1947 TO 2023: RETRACING THE COMPLEX, TRAGIC ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
REALITY
RED STATE CONSERVATIVES ARE DYING THANKS TO THE PEOPLE THEY VOTE FOR
REALITY
HOW TEXAS BECAME THE NEW "HOMEBASE" FOR WHITE NATIONALIST AND NEO-NAZI GROUPS
AMERICA
HOW THE GOP SUCKERED AMERICA ON TAX CUTS
REALITY
ADVOCATES SUE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR FAILING TO BAN IMPORTS OF COCOA HARVESTED BY CHILDREN(SLAVERY 21ST CENTURY)
RACISM AT HEART OF US FAILURE TO TACKLE DEADLY HEATWAVES, EXPERT WARNS
WHITE SUPREMACY
'MISLEADING': ALARM RAISED ABOUT MEDICARE ADVANTAGE 'SCAM'
REALITY
SLAVERY ISN’T JUST BLACK HISTORY — IT’S US HISTORY
RACE MATTERS
*late news of interest*
A Meditation On Practical Applications Of Stupidity
The Mystery of Anti-Vax & Anti-Mask
Kat Ignatz - DAILY KOS
Sunday August 01, 2021 · 5:00 AM PDT
...“The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity” seems as good a way as any to explain the insane situation we’re in. It’s speculative, but in my opinion, guessing is all we’ve really got right now.
In his essay, Cipolla divides human beings into four categories and builds his theory on these characteristics.
His categories are:
And he presents his theory as five laws:
Taking Cipolla’s laws and looking for correlations with anti-vax/mask behavior, you can map out anti-vax/mask actions like this:
And you could do the same matching of Cipolla’s laws with anti-vax/mask actions, and together, we could come up with a big, five-part list of parallels between Cipolla’s theory and the anti-vax/mask movement.
And it would prove nothing.
But looking at it might make you wonder, like me, if there’s anything but dangerous, illogical, and incomprehensible behavior there.
Cipolla doesn’t explain stupid people. He simply says that they exist, and they’re irrational, unpredictable, and hazardous. He states that irrational people can’t be understood by rational minds and cautions against getting involved with irrational people because it always comes with a cost that’s often a big cost.
He says the only hope is for rational people to create more gains than the losses that irrational people cause. He was an economist so his theory is all gains and losses, and another way to think about his four human traits is total gain, loss/gain, gain/loss, and total loss.
And maybe that’s the real answer here. Maybe, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with why anti-vax/maskers act like they do. Perhaps, we should simply accept them as an incredible danger to our country, states, cities, friends, families, and selves, and we should just do everything we can to do more good than they do harm.
I like Cipolla’s theory, and I find it to be a compelling model for many of the problems we’re experiencing—like, for instance, Republicans.
In this writings, Cipolla makes a point of dividing bandits into Intelligent Bandits and Stupid Bandits. Intelligent bandits cause an equal amount of loss and gain, and they get everything they take from others. Stupid bandits cause more loss than gain, and they only get part of what they cause others to lose.
When I read that, I think about how Republicans are actively working to crash the US so they can keep their wealth and power. And then I think that they’re going so far with it that they may have moved from being stupid bandits to fully stupid because it’s irrational to think they’ll keep much of anything if the country collapses.
I also start thinking about how prevalent stupid banditry is in the world—as if it’s the only way to do business. The “bigs” are especially dangerous: big agriculture, apparel, chemical, electronics, oil, pharmaceuticals, retail, etc.
We’re all losing our lives in one way or another to these dubious ventures.
But that’s my mind drifting on to a topic for another diary, and I’ll stop this one here.
In his essay, Cipolla divides human beings into four categories and builds his theory on these characteristics.
His categories are:
- Intelligent People whose actions benefit others and themselves
- Helpless People whose actions harm them but benefit others
- Bandits whose actions harm others but benefit them
- Stupid People whose actions harm others but don’t benefit them and may, in fact, harm them, too
And he presents his theory as five laws:
- Everyone always underestimates how many stupid people there are.
- Stupidity is unrelated to any other human trait.
- Stupid people cause losses to others without gain and, possibly, with losses to themselves.
- Non-stupid people always underestimate how harmful stupid people are.
- Stupid people are the most dangerous type of person.
Taking Cipolla’s laws and looking for correlations with anti-vax/mask behavior, you can map out anti-vax/mask actions like this:
- How many: 30% of the US population is hesitating, resisting, or outright refusing to get a coronavirus vaccine.
- Unrelated to other traits: Health care workers are protesting against getting vaccinated.
- No gain and possible losses: Not even the threat of death is changing anti-vax/mask behavior.
- How harmful: Who would have predicted that Missouri would end up in such terrible condition?
- Most dangerous: Anti-vax/maskers are bringing the systems we rely on for our safety and health to the brink of crashing.
And you could do the same matching of Cipolla’s laws with anti-vax/mask actions, and together, we could come up with a big, five-part list of parallels between Cipolla’s theory and the anti-vax/mask movement.
And it would prove nothing.
But looking at it might make you wonder, like me, if there’s anything but dangerous, illogical, and incomprehensible behavior there.
Cipolla doesn’t explain stupid people. He simply says that they exist, and they’re irrational, unpredictable, and hazardous. He states that irrational people can’t be understood by rational minds and cautions against getting involved with irrational people because it always comes with a cost that’s often a big cost.
He says the only hope is for rational people to create more gains than the losses that irrational people cause. He was an economist so his theory is all gains and losses, and another way to think about his four human traits is total gain, loss/gain, gain/loss, and total loss.
And maybe that’s the real answer here. Maybe, we shouldn’t concern ourselves with why anti-vax/maskers act like they do. Perhaps, we should simply accept them as an incredible danger to our country, states, cities, friends, families, and selves, and we should just do everything we can to do more good than they do harm.
I like Cipolla’s theory, and I find it to be a compelling model for many of the problems we’re experiencing—like, for instance, Republicans.
In this writings, Cipolla makes a point of dividing bandits into Intelligent Bandits and Stupid Bandits. Intelligent bandits cause an equal amount of loss and gain, and they get everything they take from others. Stupid bandits cause more loss than gain, and they only get part of what they cause others to lose.
When I read that, I think about how Republicans are actively working to crash the US so they can keep their wealth and power. And then I think that they’re going so far with it that they may have moved from being stupid bandits to fully stupid because it’s irrational to think they’ll keep much of anything if the country collapses.
I also start thinking about how prevalent stupid banditry is in the world—as if it’s the only way to do business. The “bigs” are especially dangerous: big agriculture, apparel, chemical, electronics, oil, pharmaceuticals, retail, etc.
We’re all losing our lives in one way or another to these dubious ventures.
But that’s my mind drifting on to a topic for another diary, and I’ll stop this one here.