Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) demonstrates via her famous whiteboard that sharp increases in corporate profits drive at least half of our inflation, and at least one TV station fact-checks, and confirms, that finding. Now that one media outlet has spread the word, the forces of evil face more of an uphill battle. But it’s getting late, so this message needs to be in Democrat ads, like, yesterday, and they should couple it with an anti-monopoly message – and they should remind everyone that Republicans are pro-monopoly and will defund all the federal agencies that fight monopolies if they get control of either or both houses of Congress.
Tired of hysterical Republicans squealing about TEH CRIMEZ RATEZ GOINGZ TEH UPZ!!!!!!? Then perhaps Justin Nix at The Conversation can help you help benighted souls make sense of “the crime rate.” Of course, if you’ve noticed politicians talking about “crime going up” and then justifying it by using data showing one crime (like murder or carjacking) going up, you won’t be surprised by anything you read. And if your relatives all think crime is going up because they’ve been watching the same six clips of violent crime on their news programs for years on end, ain’t nothing we can do for them anyway. We minister to the redeemable; the rest we leave to God.
You’ve heard of auto corporations trying to put some of their features (like heated seats) behind a subscription-enabled paywall? Well, New Jersey state legislators are mulling a bill that might make such things illegal, which might make it the most popular legislation ever, since literally any sentient being can foresee a future where your “subscription” to your brakes “lapses” at the worst possible time. But the bill would still allow subscriptions for software services in cars, and big automakers could drive a Mack truck through that loophole. Of course they’re still whining about it: “the bill would significantly impact the ability of automakers to offer consumers the choice of purchasing additional convenience features through a subscription model,” one law firm says. Didn’t know a corporation’s “right” to force an unwanted “choice” upon you was sacrosanct, did you?
Ho hum, Mississippi wants to privatize Jackson’s water system after that city’s residents went without water for much of August and September, but Naomi LaChance at The Lever instructs us that partial privatization has already helped cause the problems Jackson has been having! The state has received some $75 million in federal funding under the 2021 infrastructure law; how much of that money has gone to Jackson, where the water was brown as coffee for a bit? Zero dollars, naturally. This story also has pollution and bankster interference going for it. Says one observer: “If you can’t afford to improve your water system, how could you possibly afford to have profits extracted from your community just to pad the bottom line of a corporation?” It’s a question worth asking!
Armed Arizona “poll watchers” are already “guarding” ballot drop boxes, even accusing certain individuals of being “mules.” I’m glad they’re not calling me that, because my response would be what’s your address so I can serve you with a slander lawsuit? And this is only the beginning! Just wait until Doug Mastriano’s armed thugs try to prevent any mail-in ballots from being counted in Pennsylvania on Election Day. Hey, it’s not like he’s running ads, raising money, doing interviews, or participating in debates, so how else is he going to win?
Finally, Michael Moore, who predicted Donald Trump's 2016 Presidential win, thinks there’ll be a “blue tsunami” at the polls this November. Too many independents watch the news now and decide there’s no use voting because Republicans "have momentum" – or, worse, decide to vote for Republicans because they "have momentum," how perverse! – but Mr. Moore’s analysis maps onto mine; after January 6, liberals ain’t so much afraid of right-wingers as angry at them, and that anger ain’t subsiding anytime soon. And Democratic ads, for all their faults, actually show a lack of fear for once. And like I said, this “movement” toward Republicans among the electorate is based on nothing. Certainly not Republicans’ declaration that they’re going to cut Social Security and Medicare! I mean, who knowingly votes for that?
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