#Robber Barrons

[gwydionmisha]

#The Charitable-Industrial Complex #Wealth Inequality #Robber Barrons #Charity #News

[storykernelspod]

This week we welcome (and summarily terrify) special guest and friend of the show, Nanci Schwartz! Nanci is the author of the forthcoming Robber Barrons Trilogy from Aethon Books, which will hit our hot little hands September 13th. Be sure to pre-order it if you can!

With Nanci in the cockpit, our thoughts turn to outer space. We take a fantastic voyage to the moon to discover what’s hiding in the perfect dark. Digressions include: what KL doesn’t know about physics could fill a moon, night science, when we learn we’re afraid of the dark, whether or not Nanci will ever sleep again, and elongated men.

Today’s Prompt System:

Rory’s Story Cubes distributed by Zygomatic studios

What’s Been Inspiring Us Lately:

Loki Soundtrack (TVA Theme especially)

Fringe (trailer)

Stranger Music by Leonard Cohen

External Links:

Star Wars (meme)

Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

Bluey (video)

Captain America soundtracks (Civil War & The Winter Soldier)

The Winter Soldier Theme sounds like KL’s soul.

Mandela Effect

Le voyage dans la lune by Georges Méliès (video)

Moon's First Friends: One Giant Leap for Friendship written by Susanna Leonard Hill & illustrated by Elisa Paganelli

Moon’s haunted (meme)

For All Mankind (trailer)

Stargate: SG-1 (trailer)

Starship Troopers (trailer)

Contact “They should have sent a poet.” (video)

The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike

John Salczi’s Interdepence Trilogy

RayBan ad from the late 90s with the vampires (video)

Slender Man

The Expanse (trailer)

The Fountain (trailer)

Interstellar (trailer)

The X-Files S1E03 “Tombs” (I did watch this video clip, and he’s much less helpful than the stretchy man in MY vents! -KL)

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Music: Cherryblossom by Raptorface is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives.

If you want to help support the podcast and receive additional inspiration, check out our Patreon.

#writing inspiration #writing #inspiration #writing podcast #podcast epiosde #story kernels #space #ghosts #dark #fear #space travel #genetic manipulation #science fiction #horror #nanci schwartz #robber barrons

[contemplatingoutlander]

We have entered the Age of the Robber Barons 2.0.

Billionaires like Musk believe they are entitled to do what they want simply because they have hoarded wealth that in any sane or compassionate society no one person should have.

Musk’s family was wealthy to begin with, so Musk does not have a rags to riches story. And according to the above article by David Nasaw in The New York Times, Musk’s businesses have been heavily subsidized by the U.S. government. Below are some excerpts from the article.

Elon Musk is now the proud owner of Twitter. The danger here is not that we have a rogue billionaire in our midst — that has happened before, and it will happen again — but that this one will be in control of what he has rightly referred to as our “digital town square.”

Mr. Musk is the face of 21st-century tech-based, extreme capitalism, just as the robber barons, who built our railroads, and Andrew Carnegie, who supplied those railroads and the builders of modern American cities with steel, embodied the exuberant and expansive industrial capitalism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [...] For more than two centuries, American moguls like Mr. Musk have transformed our economy and our daily lives (and enriched themselves) by playing a winning game with governments. They sought and received from those governments enormous subsidies and protection, while demanding that they be left alone to conduct their business as they pleased. The railroad robber barons built their fortunes on government-supplied land on which they laid their tracks and then collected government subsidies for every mile of it.

Carnegie and the steel barons elected Republican lawmakers and presidents committed to protecting their companies’ profits by levying high tariffs on foreign competitors. Mr. Musk’s companies, and his fortune, were built with billions of dollars’ worth of subsidies for his electric-car company, Tesla, and billions more in NASA contracts to ferry American astronauts into space, launch satellites and provide high-speed internet services tethered to his fleet of some 3,000 satellites.

What makes Mr. Musk particularly powerful and potentially more dangerous than the industrial-era moguls is his ability to promote his businesses and political notions with a tweet. The effect of such instant communications is enhanced by his firm understanding of media and market dynamics in this era of meme stocks, day trading, instant communications, misinformation and disinformation. [...] Elon Musk is a product of his — and our — times. Rather than debate or deride his influence, we must recognize that he is not the self-made genius businessman he plays in the media. Instead, his success was prompted and paid for by taxpayer money and abetted by government officials who have allowed him and other billionaire businessmen to exercise more and more control over our economy and our politics.

[emphasis added]

Although he’s been touted as being brilliant, I fear that Musk lacks a more nuanced understanding of societal problems to have so much unelected power over people. Given that hate speech has already begun to increase on twitter since he took over, it looks like his acquisition and hands-off approach (in terms of moderating hate speech and disinformation) will turn twitter into a dangerous dumpster fire.

[edited] 

Manipulated gif sources (before edits): 01 + 02 + 03

#elon musk #the new robber barrons #us politics #oligarchy #billionaires #twitter #david nasaw #the new york times #my manipulated gifs

[shrimplicitly]

hey so. i need to be calmed down im so angry about this. so at the target i work at idk if its every target but the one i work does not allow water on the sales floor claiming its bc of covid or what the fuck ever but i just found out. for you to even be able to have water in a bottle you need a signed doctors note. i need to do something very violent abt that fact

#image.txt #who the fuck do they think they are #my managers (except one) are fucking inhumane they do not have to uphold it. they really dont #so were working mules that arent even allowed to keep water with us for our entire 8 hour shift. huh. wow. #something something we never left robber barrons #we are still in 1850

[forsakebook]

#facebook #Mark Zuckerberg #mark zuckerberg personal life #delete facebook #delete instagram #delete social media #meta #forsakebook #suckerberg #san francisco #the new robber barrons #greedy billionaires

[alaffy]

The Gilded Age, Ep. 2x07 – Wonders Never Cease (Spoilers)

I got to admit, while I still enjoy the actors and the characters, I really feel like the writing has taken a step back this season.  Peggy’s story is still interesting and so is George’s.  Bertha’s, most of it is good, except for Winterton (and I think that has to do with the fact that I’m not particularly fond of how the actress plays the character).  Every other storyline has been predictable and boring. 

John is invited to be part of the clockmakers society and now can be considered for a patent.  The Vallet’s daughter tells her father that she did not know he was being run out of town and is coming up with a plan to make sure he can stay and not be a Vallet.  No one cares.

The episode can be broken up into three parts.  The first, are the last few days leading up to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge.  The second is the day of the opening.  The third is the night/morning after of the opening.

The Days Before:

Marion is clearly unsure about her engagement to Dashell, although she’s convinced herself this is a good match.  The family has an engagement lunch at the Van Rijhn’s; but then Forte is taken ill.  Yes, it’s TV Show Cancer and so, even though he looks perfectly healthy, he will be dead by the end of the episode.  He’s taken upstairs to rest.

Ms. Astor has let Bertha know that she has procured a box at the Music Hall for Bertha.  Bertha says she will have to check with her husband first.  George points out that Bertha will be a founder of The Met and that puts her in a better position than with just the box.

Larry tries to convince one of the trustees, that they should recognize the wife as the builder of the bridge.  Larry is shot down. 

Peggy is helping find a way to deal with the school closures.  The leader of the fight says the only way to fight may be to integrate the schools and that also means they would have to hire white teachers.  Peggy’s father points out that the only way white teachers and parents would listen to such an idea is if another white person talked to them.  Peggy is able to get Marion to come speak to an integrated meeting.  One white male teacher tells the group that he would be willing to work at the school, that he could get other teachers, and students as well.  The problem is, all of these people are Irish and if you know about how Irish immigrates were seen as back then…let’s just say this is not exactly the win that they needed.  They’re white, but not the right white. 

And they are turning George into more of a Robber Barron than I thought.  George has agreed to many of the terms of the Union, except only some people get a raise for six months.  His hope is that, in the end, the Workers Union will split apart.  Specifically, he set it up so that Protestant Faith workers, who would be a good portion of the workers, will turn against the Immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.  Boy is this episode a social lesson. 

The Day of:

At a meeting, Ms. Astor tells everyone that Bertha will be taking a box at the Music Hall.  Bertha turns her down.  This, of course, embarrasses Ms. Astor and, yeah, this won’t be good.

The other business men are angry at Gorge and say he’s on his own.

Ada is told that her husband is about to die.  Agnes and Forte make peace.  Agnes sends for Oscar, but no one can find him. 

The reason no one can find Oscar is because he had a chance encounter with George.  Long story short, Oscar tells George the company he invested in (another railroad company) and Gorge tells him that company doesn’t exist.  Turns out Miss Beaton doesn’t either.  She’s fleeced Oscar.  I wondered if this is where the story was going but…I don’t know, the way they introduced Beaton into the story made it seem like people actually knew her family; not just what Beaton had told them.

That night:

At a private reception, Bertha sees Ms. Astor with the Duke and realizes that she’s stolen him away from Bertha.

Larry, at the same party, is able to tell people about how a woman built the bridge.  But since it’s at a private party, everyone will ignore it and she will be forgotten.

 Forte dies overnight.  Dashell, who stayed at the house, leaves for the day.  After he leaves, Larry sees Marion and she tells him what happened.  They go for a walk.

Oscar comes to the house and admits to Agnes that he’s been swindled.  It’s almost all of their money.  Why do I have a feeling the family will be "saved" because Forte had money and no one knew about it?

#the gilded age #the gilded age spoilers #agnes van rhijn #oscar van rhijn #ada brook #marion brooks #peggy scott #george russell #bertha russell #larry russell

[puthyflapps]

I never knew I needed Sigourney to be an elder lesbian until TLFOAH.

Do I need her to be the secretive, lying, subtly controlling elder lesbian? No, I suppose not. BUT SHE IS GREAT AT IT. Because let’s be real. I am so angry and upset with June. BUT THE ACTING IS PHENOMENAL!!

I will fucking praise the shit out of this show and the acting of every single woman in it until the day I die.

PS: this most recent episode was so difficult to watch but also soooo fucking good.

I still have beef with June for keeping certain things from Alice and trying to like control and confine her to Thornfield but after the last episode where we find about the Robber Barron, I will not be hearing any June slander atm. We’re gonna have to go easy on her for a little while cuz wtf??? Like I knew Clem’s daddy was gonna be devilish but I wasn’t expecting all that!!!

This last episode was rough for sure but they did such a good job acting wise and they depicted the heavy material really well. It’s gonna be interesting to see how they wrap everything up in this next episode. I wish we would’ve gotten 10 or even 8. 7 episodes feels so random but whatever, I’ll still be sat ready and waiting

#apparently the show has done really well because it’s like the most streamed Aus original on APV #it does in fact kill me every time I think about how this is by far adc’s best project and performance and she can’t promote it at all!!! 😭😭 #I really need this to be like the project that really causes her star to rise #ask #the lost flowers of alice hart

[swerveable]

Was learning about Robber Barron's in history yesterday. Made an instant realization that Gortash is a Robber Barron.

#bg3 #swerveable #enver gortash

[arcenciel-par-une-larme]

Actual, genuine question, what are your thoughts on theocracy?

Theocracy? Dude, THEY ROCK!!!

OK, on a more serious note, I must open with the disclaimer that I am not anywhere near professionally versed in political theory.

As a Christian, of course it is my wish that Christian values be reflected in society and government. However, I doubt that theocracy is a desirable way of pursuing such a goal, since a theocratic government nowadays is by definition autocratic and unelected -- after all, we do not live in ancient Israel -- and I do not know of any thinking person who does not believe that this is a surefire recipe for disaster.

I believe that C. S. Lewis expressed the problem with theocracy, and with other systems of centralised/authoritarian government, much better than I could do:

I am a democrat because I believe that no man or group of men is good enough to be trusted with uncontrolled power over others. And the higher the pretensions of such power, the more dangerous I think it both to rulers and to the subjects. Hence Theocracy is the worst of all governments. If we must have a tyrant a robber barron is far better than an inquisitor. The baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity at some point may be sated; and since he dimly knows he is doing wrong he may possibly repent. But the inquisitor who mistakes his own cruelty and lust of power and fear for the voice of Heaven will torment us infinitely more because he torments us with the approval of his own conscience and his better impulses appear to him as temptations.

And since Theocracy is the worst, the nearer any government approaches to Theocracy the worse it will be. A metaphysic held by the rulers with the force of a religion, is a bad sign. It forbids them, like the inquisitor, to admit any grain of truth or good in their opponents, it abrogates the ordinary rules of morality, and it gives a seemingly high, super-personal sanction to all the very ordinary human passions by which, like other men, the rulers will frequently be actuated. In a word, it forbids wholesome doubt. A political programme can never in reality be more than probably right. We never know all the facts about the present and we can only guess the future. To attach to a party programme -- whose highest claim is to reasonable prudence -- the sort of assent which we should reserve for demonstrable theorems, is a kind of intoxication.

God bless,

A.

#personal post archive #anon #politics #theocracy

[calvincatalyst]

The foundation of this day is one of independence. Of freedom. This day is remembered because some people believed everyone is equal and should have equal opportunity. Despite this, in their own time, the founding fathers owned slaves, restricted the rights of women, and tore indigenous peoples from their lands. Countless murders and opressions, all in the name of THEIR freedom.

Our country has been bastardized and perverted into an oligarchic police state reminiscent of the very thing the 4th comemorates destroying. The founding fathers, they had the right idea, but it's natural evolution has been impeded by the robber barrons of today and of the last century. Now we are at the will of the rich and political, listening to them for some goddamn reason, and just believing that there's no other option besides right and left. No other option besides division. What a buncha bullshit! A hundred years of corruption will do that to ya.

I pray in the future this day will be celebrated for OUR freedom. That we will no longer have to live in fear of persecution. I pray that We The People will recognize our collective power, our collective energy. Our right, our will, our freedom. And that we will come together in synchronicity, in serendipity, in sublime unity, to claim our better days. God and Gods bless us, each and everyone.

#happy 4th #4th of july #independence day #anti indigenous violence #black lives matter #womens rights #seperation of church and state #there's 3 branches of government #who has a chain saw? #jk jk #but fir real though THIS is what checks and balances are for! #lets check these bitches #y'all fuck around too much more with our autonomy and basic human rights y'all'll find out #indigenous rights #blm #text #self #writers on tumblr #writterscommunity #written

[bookoformon]

Mormon Chapter 1, Part 3. "Wickedness Prevails."

Can you actually tell Donald Trump is diabolic criminal? Is it possible a man like this has broken too many laws, committed too many indecencies and mentions plans for additional ways to mismanage the White House should not be allowed to enter it again? How have our loftiest principals become so involved and confused with this man?

And why can't President Biden and the Department of Justice do something about him, protect us and take us into a new chapter of American History that does not involve the lurking evil of the Republican Party, which is always waiting to spring something new, weird, and devastating on us?

Everyone on this planet has read the Ten Commandments, everyone knows our value system does not include bigotry, stealing, cheating, violence, or corruption, prophets from every religion have warned us people that seek public office and do these things have to be killed for it.

So what is happening to us, that we can't follow the Directions in this country? You saw and heard correc? Donald Trump allowed Geoff Tunicliffe a conservative Christian publisher rape his son Barron Trump when he was still a minor, claiming his son was a brat and deserved it. The footage is quite horrible, no one could be bratty enough to deserve what I saw. And yes, I turned Trump into the police but somehow he's on the road again.

Can any of you comprehend the implications of such a statement to the future of our country should Donald Trump ever hold the Office of President once again? Does that Geoff Tunicliffe could show up one day and teach your kids how to behave?

He's got AIDS you know, and we aren't talking about a box of chocolates! Niether a sitting nor a current President of the United States nor members of his Cabinet, nor members of Congress or the SCOTUS can have connections to a man like Geoff Tunicfliffe and remain in office, it's a Crime Against Humanity, but all of them do.

Now you know it's time to act like it. Trump admitted to it. It's time to close the GOP, put them all in jail, don't look back. We've seen all this before, it never, ever turns out well:

13 But wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land, insomuch that the Lord did take away his beloved disciples, and the work of miracles and of healing did cease because of the iniquity of the people.

14 And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief.

15 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus.

16 And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them; for behold they had wilfully rebelled against their God; and the beloved disciples were taken away out of the land, because of their iniquity.

17 But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake.

18 And these Gadianton robbers, who were among the Lamanites, did infest the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof began to hide up their treasures in the earth; and they became slippery, because the Lord had cursed the land, that they could not hold them, nor retain them again.

19 And it came to pass that there were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land, even unto the fulfilling of all the words of Abinadi, and also Samuel the Lamanite.

The Republicans are what is called Gandianton, "hiders of secrets." A good Christian man or woman reveals the Mysteries of God by caring for others in a way that is unyielding against the forces of corruption that are trying to cause their demise. O, they'll worry about someone's old jar of jellied octopus eggs in yellow cream sauce in the freezer, but will they worry about you, or the poor, the War, the climate, or the economy? There are no signs they are interested in any of this.

They do love to talk about their freaky magic spells and witchcrafts, but the welfare of their fellow man and the role of State Power in his happiness and betterment they will never broach the subject. They will go on vacation rather than talk about this.

In the Book of Mosiah, Chapter 11, a prophet named Abinadi, "The Father's Ornament" says about persons like Mike Johnson and his coven of evil twisted Avon Ladies Witches:

20 And it came to pass that there was a man among them whose name was Abinadi; and he went forth among them, and began to prophesy, saying: Behold, thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me, saying, Go forth, and say unto this people, thus saith the Lord—Wo be unto this people, for I have seen their abominations, and their wickedness, and their whoredoms; and except they repent I will visit them in mine anger. 21 And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies. 22 And it shall come to pass that they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of my people. 23 And it shall come to pass that except this people repent and turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage; and none shall deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God. 24 Yea, and it shall come to pass that when they shall acry unto me I will be slow to hear their cries; yea, and I will suffer them that they be smitten by their enemies. 25 And except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God, I will not hear their prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions; and thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me.

Samuel the Lamanite "Ignorant, but knows God's Name" said unless we can embrace the Gospels we shall not succeed:

Helaman 13:

2 And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land. 3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart. 4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart. 5 And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the asword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people.6 Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord hath declared it unto me, and he did bring glad tidings to my soul. And behold, I was sent unto you to declare it unto you also, that ye might have glad tidings; but behold ye would not receive me. 8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord: Because of the hardness of the hearts of the people of the Nephites, except they repent I will take away my word from them, and I will withdraw my Spirit from them, and I will suffer them no longer, and I will turn the hearts of their brethren against them.

The Values in Gematria are found in the following verses, 15 and 16.

v. 15: Fifteen years of age. The Value in Gematria is 8062, חאֶפֶסו‎‎ב‎, hafesov, "the resettlement."

v. 16: The Disciples were withdrawn. The Value in Gematria is 11122, אאאבב‎‎, awww, "niether nor."

The above verses refer to what is called a City of Refuge by the Torah which names six. They are not as commonly believed, a place where persons guilty of accidental crims and misdemeanors go to seek refuge from vengeful relatives. They are "torches of holiness", important principals that protect the rest of us from scum sucking witches like the Republicans and Vladimir Putin:

The Six Towns are:

Golan, Ramoth, and Bosor, on the east (left bank) of the Jordan River, and Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron on the western (right) side.

Golan= captive [of God]

Ramoth= within the high places

Bosor= the torch

Kedesh= holiness

Shechem= responsibility

Hebron= friendship

=

"Captive of God in the High Places is the one who carries the torch of holiness, responsibility and friendship."

Do you think you will see Donald Trump or the rest carrying such a torch into the world? No you do not.

As for the information above, which was validated by Donald Trump himself on the air means he needs to be defrocked and put in jail. He cannot be President again, he is an immense security risk and threat to this country, and the madness he has created needs to be quelled.

[johnjankovic1]

Gilded Age 2.0

History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.

Mark Twain

Society’s capture by corporations signals the late stages of capitalism where free markets run roughshod over governments and the public. What abounds is the inexorable creep of business into every facet of life as policy decisions rest in the firm control of monied interests in search of profit with the loss of sovereignty and agency for the elected and electors alike. Each passing year marks a further consolidation and concentration of wealth where income inequality spurs political instability. Not foreign to history is how this very brinkmanship conspires to limp the world into revolution as similarities resonate with the Ancien Régime when deprivation reached a crescendo of resentment for the ruling class amidst the French Revolution. Without confidence a system suffers an erosion to its legitimacy until its proper subversion. Likewise the inordinate clout held by Big Business over politics has had the same effect of sidelining the majority who feel helpless when their job security hinges on the footloose nature of their employers. Such a footprint left by deindustrialization, wage stagnation and automation upon labour markets has ushered the spectre of collapse for middle-income households everywhere.

Everything since has become polarized under the existential threat that is global corporatocracy. The ‘Great Reset’ with its unprecedented transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich marked a nadir of regression in a foil to the immediate postwar boom for the working class. It might be said that society has devolved back to its primitive state under the jackboot of aristocracies from a bygone age. Big Pharma exploited profits to the detriment of public health causing the OxyContin epidemic thanks to a complicit FDA. Big Finance immune to risk cowed policymakers into industry-wide deregulation until the advent of 2008’s Financial Crisis. Big Auto blinkered to fuel economy was left flatfooted after years of protectionism when the high elasticity of demand for SUVs cut payroll on the assembly line. Big Tech manipulated public opinion in a quid pro quo at the behest of politicians in the 2020 election. Big Oil and the military-industrial-complex exported imperialism in the Middle East for oil reserves and defence contracts respectively. The FAA allowed Boeing to self-regulate leading to the crashes of the 737 Max. These examples to name a few bespeak how market capitalization equates with a veto power over the electorate to the perversion of democracy.

What capitalism now approaches is the wild accumulation left for the Robber Barrons at the height of the Gilded Era. Modern companies transcend nationhood to become whole empires with corporate revenue rivalling the GDP of most G7 economies akin to the predation once seen in the railroad, steel, and oil industries when monopolies of upstream and downstream production greatly widened the distribution of wealth. The legacy of these past exploits left a country divided along fault lines between liberalism and populism exactly as it does today. Deregulation, subsidies, legal immunity, protective tariffs and the like were all sought by lavish donations as a form of insurance to maximize those interests presiding over Washington and Wall Street. Such politics in the spirit of Public Choice Theory arouse a species of discontent for the top 1% much like it did then only now it is a symptom of job displacement and scarce labour protections in light of the gig economy and decline in unions. The knowledge economy appears to be a facsimile of the industrial one. Of particular note is how this centennial cycle mimics the fortunes of the affluent and the limited opportunities for the working class in terms of income disparity (Zucman 2019): a pithy explanation would be to say that history has come full circle.

The balance of power in Washington therefore privileges the preferences of the C-suite whose dollars leave little room for ordinary citizens in authoring legislation. The long list of enactments at odds with democratic ideals since backdoors rather than votes are used does vindicate the sort of symbiosis so common between the corporate sector and government. Think tanks, lobbying, campaign finance, and the revolving door of former executives now in office are all strategies that companies avail themselves of to exert influence over policy outcomes. In 1998 the Copyright Term Extension Act expanded exclusive rights to Disney over its intellectual property of Mickey Mouse from seventy-five to nine-five years as a barrier to competitors. In 1994 NAFTA exploited lower wages for automakers by offshoring supply chains in search of profitability. In 1999 the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act consolidated commercial banks with stock exchanges and insurance providers under the aegis of ‘too-big-to-fail’ institutions like Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. In 2003 the Medicare Modernization Act fattened the bottom line of pharmaceutical companies. In 2005 the Energy Policy Act extended the useful life of pipelines to buttress the fiscal health of companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron (Metcalf 2009). In 2008 the Troubled Asset Relief Program preserved the marketshare of General Motors and Chrysler via subsidies. In 2010 the Supreme Court in the Citizens United case equated political spending with the First Amendment right to free speech. In 2023 Big Tech has yet to be hemmed in by any type of federal privacy laws. Finally the National Defence Authorization Act backs the revenue stream for Lockheed, Raytheon and Boeing on an annual basis. These vignettes are but a few in a long saga of corporatocracy.

The birthplace of these shadow sovereigns can be sourced in the neoliberal doctrine midwifed by economists Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman for the Mont Pelerin Society in 1947. At the time laissez-faire capitalism came to be a nemesis at odds with the fiscal deficits legislated by the zeitgeist of Keynesianism meant to stimulate demand in the wake of WWII. By the 1970s with the onset of stagflation when economies were mired in contraction the marriage between government and the machinery of business ejected the failures of such statism in favour of austerity and its fiscal discipline with greater freedoms given to the private sector. What came to fruition was the Washington Consensus supplanting the Keynesian one as the welfare state receded in the face of supply-side economics that set greater store in deregulation and privatization of public goods. This crusade led by proponents for the shareholder value of financial assets set a premium on investment and trade as precursors to the emergence of modern globalization. A new skepticism for governments summarily begot a substantial degree of autonomy for companies to penetrate new markets in search of profitability from foreign consumption and international supply chains. Ultimately one of the many perquisites aside from political power for these fledgling oligopolies was their limited liability owed to the socialization of their financial risk borne by taxpayers.

#Globalization #Free Trade #Corporatocracy

[uboat53]

"Republicans are determined to repeal the 20th Century"

There's a lot of talk about how Republicans want to go back to the 1950s, but I think this is more accurate; they want to go back to the late 1800s.

Of the last few years we've seen Republicans not only overturn things from the last half century like abortion rights and campaign finance laws, they've also been targeting union rights, laws against gerrymandering, and child labor laws.

They're not trying to take us back to the Eisenhower years, they're trying to go back to the age of the Robber Barrons.

#politics #us politics #republicans

[waitingformyfavoritesongs]

5 March 2023 Sssunday ☀️ 8:46 pmpdt

today is Nick’s birthday 🎉. Incubus has been acidically burning 🔥 away flesh. I’ve never used acid on any ones flesh that I can recall. But my mom bought lotion 🧴 with citric acid in it & forcefully applied it to my skin even though I told her no many times, & I tried it already & didn’t like it. My pores felt as if was burning 🔥 . I’ve also burned myself in the shower 🚿 many times - it’s how I got chilblains more than once. 8:51 pmpdt I’m not sure 🤔 how I karmically deserve that. I also used lemon 🍋 directly on my arm pits. I’ve (8:53 pmpdt head skull brain 🧠 pain 8:54 pmpdt) cruelest most vicious husband in the universe. 8:54 pmpdt if it’s in his genes 🧬 to be this way I don’t want him. You can have him sumner. 8:55 pmpdt

10:58 pmpdt Nick’s birthday 🎉 was the reason I was online talking to random guys who instant messaged me. I think 🤔 I clicked into a teen chat 💬 room on aol. & I watched other people chat 💬. There was a list of screen names on the side that were in the chat room. 11:01 pmpdt No matter how much I preach? I guess, you incubus doesn’t like me. He seemed to punish me for doing it. I suppose he’s right. I shouldn’t do it. But I thought 💭 that’s what he wanted Bcz he made me think 🤔 that that painless utopia was what he really wanted. But he likes to unleash surprises on me to cut down my hope as I go. He builds me up 🆙 to shoot me down. Why do you build me up buttercup ... 🎶🎼🎵🎤🎧🎸 11:04 pmpdt bcz he likes lots of crying & lots of s*x. It’s the way he manipulates & seduces young women. If you watch more news 📰 & analyze the way things are, you will come to understand god had a lot of control over people. So much that people do things that they don’t even know what they are doing until he wants you to know. He controls them like memoryless robots 🤖 = people. You think girls like to play with dolls? Incubus steps it up to make people into the ultimate doll. 11:08 pmpdt & then he makes you think 💭 it’s for your own goood even though he’s tearing you down. Things the incubus allows & makes happen, literally: child kidnappping & rape, rape of women, torture, war, robber barrons, false accusations/framing & murder. If nothing is a coincidence then = god made it happen = god made you do it. 11:11 pmpdt incubus likes to take credit for all things good but not for anything bad. 11:12 pmpdt

11:13 pmpdt when I dated my first real boyfriend I didn’t do it for his money 💰. I gave him a futon w/ convertible frame that might cost ≈$2000 to replace that was handed down to me from my mom’s friend & was nicer than the one we had. If I was smart I would have kept that one & gave away the other one. But that’s a different conversation. I was happy eating pizza 🍕 from the grocery store 🏬 & watching anime movies movie 🎥 with him. I think his mom was a receptionist/secretary? We went to the same school 🏫 & were close in age. He wasn’t the most handsome but he wasn’t ugly. My attraction grew for him & then it dropped. When my attraction dropped/went away I still decided to date him. Maybe yeah I was ashamed that we started kissing 😽 & (acid pain in throat 11:19 pmpdt) touching b4 making it official, & Bcz of that shame & being afraid of being thought 💭 of as a whore I decided to date him/ be boyfriend girlfriend. But b4 I started kissing him I thought 💭 that I had started to like him & then I grew attracted to him, & it seems like such a con if god controlled my feelings & made the feelings inside me die. I stayed with him for almost 1.5 years. I was probably 1.5-2 months shy of the 1.5 years mark. & we spent a lot of time together. We were together as friends only from the start of fall 2003 until April 2004. Then when we were boyfriend girlfriend we were together before school 🏫 during school 🏫 after school 🏫 & some weekends & we went on at least 3 trips together. (Corrected to he not I’ve 11:40 pmpdt) He didn’t have children or a wife so I didn’t have to share him with anyone. We spent A LOT of time together which makes me think 💭 the incubus is lying 🤥 to me a lot. He NEVER physically hurt me. & he had a very cute expression on his face when he was h*rny, so much that I sometimes missed it/him. He didn’t buy me expensive jewelry. He bought me one necklace once which I unfortunately lost. It wasn’t anything expensive I think 🤔 although I guess I really don’t know. I assumed it wasn’t expensive. It wasn’t a diamond 💎 or any stone/gem like a diamond 💎 11:30 🕦 pmpdt. He was silly & serious & nice & nonviolent. He did cardio & karate 🥋. Karate 🥋 is I guess supposed to teach self restraint & self defense? & he wore glasses 👓 glasses 🤓. (Vag burning pain 11:32 pmpdt brain 🧠 skull 💀 pain nausea 11:33 pmpdt). His mom offered to buy me clothing for his cousins wedding. I borrowed my sisters dress 👗 bought cheap thongs which he was happy to see me wear Bcz I really had a nice a*s & cheap flip flops 🩴. She already gave him money 💰 to buy me food & I think his parents paid for my plane ✈️ tickets 🎫. Even though I probably should not have dated him, I dated him hoping for my feelings to grow for him. I went about it all wrong 😑. & I cried a lot which basically he took as a sign 🪧 to break up with me. 11:37 pmpdt it wasn’t meant to be. 11:38 pmpdt my first real boyfriend is nothing like the incubus. 11:38 pmpdt 11:42 pmpdt & he’s not famous & he’s not a genius & he’s not super rich 🤑 but he wasn’t poor. 11:43 pmpdt

11:52 pmpdt also, I guess on a subconscious level, Maybe I did not believe I could find any one else to want to be my boyfriend. Bcz of my Saint Lucia curse, bcz I got the feeling my mom didn’t really like me, maybe no one would like me & maybe I would become lonely like my father who had difficulty finding jobs in a good area as a high school 🏫 teacher 👨🏻‍🏫. 11:56 pmpdt there are things that may be my dad should not have said? About my mom. I don’t think 🤔 I should repeat it. My dad once said he knows something is wrong with him but he doesn’t know what it is /or why. Maybe 🤔 he has a similar curse? I am afraid 😱 to write ✍️ what I said to adnan, thinking 💭 if I write ✍️ it the incubus will punish me with it & I don’t have any life buffers left. I am warn (hot 😤🥵😤🥵😖😭 12 am pdt) worn down too much. I am at the end of my rope. Incubus really looks apathetic. I can’t believe he’s saying he doesn’t want to be away from home 🏠 as much as possible yet he dated stroh in person. 12:02 am pdt he’s really unbelievable 12:02 am pdt

[preppernewstoday]

SHTFPreparedness might be compensated with a portion of the sales made through the links on this site. Report WPVI TV that armed robbers entered a Philadelphia apartment belonging to college students. They robbed them at gunpoint and then locked them in a basement. Police were dispatched to an off-campus student housing complex for a report of a home invasion and robbery at 7:15 a.m. Friday. The incident occurred in the presence of eight female residents and three males. WPVI-TV students at Temple University reported that two masked men knocked on their door in the wee hours of the morning to wake them up. Students stated that one of their roommates let them in because she believed they might be friends with someone in the building. Captain Michael Goodson of Philadelphia Police said that at least one suspect had a gun. "We had all just woken up. A man was holding a gun. He entered a few of our rooms. One of the students said that he made one of us leave and woke up the other roommates with the man with the gun." Victims claimed that they believed the men weren't at the right address since they kept asking "Where are the drugs?" The robbers didn't find any drugs in the apartment so they locked the entire 11 residents up in the basement. One victim stated that they were kept together in the same room for more than an hour. "I think the sad thing is that we all talked in a room, and we all realized once we got into the room that everyone was like, 'oh! it's our turn now'," another student stated. The home invaders were made to hand over the victims' cell phones, their debit cards and car keys. The authorities claim that the robbers stole a 2015 Lincoln MKZ sedan. Although none of the students suffered any physical injuries, they were shaken by the harrowing robbery. One student said, "You never know when it will happen to you, but it happens, and it's like shock," Some victims managed to access their laptops while in the basement and send messages to someone to contact the police. A similar home invasion took place Wednesday morning in the case of Temple University student Kayla Barrone. Barone claims that three masked robbers entered her home and forced her, her roommates and herself into a room. Barone was robbed of her cash, debit cards and cell phone. Jennifer Griffin, Temple University's VP of Public Safety, stated in a statement Friday that violence against one of us affects us all. Every incident that affects a member or community member is dealt with the greatest care and concern. Bonus: Root Cellar that Can be Used as a Bunker Do you remember the old root cellars our great-grandparents used to have? In fact, they probably built it themselves, right in their back yard. Easy Cellar is the best way to learn how to build your own backyard bunker, just like your grandparents did. Easy Cellar will help you: How to select the perfect site Cost-effective building methods How to protect your bunker against nuclear fallout and blasts How to hide your bunker Basic life support available at an affordable price Easy Cellar also reveals how a veteran built a small nuclear bunker right in his backyard with just $421 Also included:

[alaffy]

The Gilded Ages, Ep. 2x06 – Warning Shots (Spoilers)

OMG, the moment that everyone has finally waited for has happened….

Are you ready? 

Here goes…

The alarm clock has been fixed!  Seriously, why is this dragging on?  Anyway, something about trying to get a patent and needing to be part of a guild. Skip.

Also, they bring back something to do with the butlers?  I don’t remember this storyline and I don’t care.

In this episode, Bertha kind of takes a back seat to the rest of the plots.  We do find out that Miss Winterton has decided to join team Met and is able to bring some of the other old families with her.  Of course, this mean she wants Bertha’s box as, as far as anyone knows, this means the Winterton’s have done more than anyone else for the Met.  Well, not so fast. It turns out that George, even though he swears that he didn’t give money to get The Met project started again, actually did give money.  A lot of money.  And while it’s fine to pretend that the Winterton’s are going to get the main box for now, on opening night Bertha will be in that main box.  If not, well, George is coming for his money.  Also, Bertha is not going to be happy he lied to her...again.

Also, the Duke of Buckingham is going to be at The Met opening night.  Ms. Astor is not pleased and has charged McAllister with finding a way to…buy off The Duke?  So that he will come to their opening night.

Oscar gets more involved with the investment and Miss Beaton. I'm still not sure where this storyline is going. Or rather, I can see three ways this story can go.

Peggy lets her parents know about everything that happened to her in the South (minus the kiss).  And I can understand her parents’ reaction (yes, both parents).  It’s not that they don’t think what she’s doing isn’t admirable, but she’s their daughter and she could have been…well, there’s many things that could have happened to her.  But Peggy’s mom has an idea about how Peggy can advance the cause, while staying away from the South.  It turns out that the School Board in New York is trying to shut down all the schools that were created specifically for black students, citing a bogus report that the teachers are unqualified.  Peggy agrees to run the story by Fortune.  And, of course, Fortune knows that, not only do they need to cover this story, but they need to rally the community.  It is also clear, in this interaction, that Peggy is trying to avoid spending time with Fortune.  Probably because, as Marion pointed out earlier in this episode, Peggy has developed feelings for Fortune.

Speaking of Marion, well long story short, Cousin Dashiell uses this party at the Botanical Gardens as an excuse to propose to Marion in front of all her friends, family, and his daughter.  Now I’m not a huge fan of Marion, although she’s not as annoying as she was first season, but I can’t blame her for her answer.  I mean, in that day and age, turning down that proposal in front of everyone pretty much would have been…it would be a scandal she may not have survived socially.  Although it is interesting to note that Larry seemed a bit upset by the proposal, even though I’m sure he couldn’t explain why.  But the proposal quickly flees Marion’s mind when….

Yeah, Luke is diagnosed with Cancer.  He’ll be dead soon, to the surprise of no one.  Still, we see how Agnes truly loves her sister as she immediately rushes to her side and tries to convince the two to come live with Agnes, so she can take care of both of them.  However, they decide to remain in their home.

As for George…so the biggest challenge with this show is the fact that George is likable and a Robber Barron; something that shouldn’t really go together.  Now, George’s workers are about to go on strike and have made it clear that they won’t let any “scabs” come into the factory to take over their jobs.  Meanwhile, George’s business associates are willing to use the army to keep the workers from preventing the “scabs” from coming in.  See, the workers are looking for better pay and 8,8,8 ( 8 hours of work, 8 hours of rest, 8 hours of what you will).  Now George is unwilling to budge on pay as, long story short, if he gives into the demands on pay it will create a domino effect that causes other business men to no longer work with George and possibly could ruin George's company …but the 8,8,8, that’s something he’s willing to consider.  Furthermore, after visiting the house of the Union Leader, he begins to realize that are other necessities the workers may want that he can provide, such as free school for the children; leading to better opportunities for those kids. Although, wouldn't this also create a domino effect? I mean, this all boils down to the writers trying to make George the middle men between the two sides and disbelief has to be somewhat suspended as, realistically, no real middle ground exists here.  

Anyway, the strike happens.  The workers are facing off with the army and it looks like the army is about to mow them workers down.  But, at the last moment, George calls off the army as he can’t bare the though of killing people who are trying to provide for their families.  Like I said, I have a feeling that the whole 8,8,8, and the school will eventually be used a bargaining chips to get the workers back to work, making George a (somewhat) good guy (or, at least, better than the other Robber Barrens). 

#the gilded age #the gilded age spoilers #George Russell #bertha russell #Larry Russel #Marion Brooks #Ada Brook #agnes van rhijn #oscar van rhijn #peggy scott