From Pine View Farm

Mammon category archive

The Crypto Con 0

Sam and the crew talk with Jacob Silverman, author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, about the crypto con and how the crypto con artists are infiltrating politics courtesy of Donald Trump and the Trumpettes.

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This New Gilded Age, Reprise 0

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This New Gilded Age 0

It would seem that I am not alone in thinking that’s where we are today.

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Can You Spot the One that Doesn’t Belong? 0

Caption:  Spiritual and Mental Health Test.  Which of these is revered as a voice of freedom, truth, and wisdom by working class Americans in 2024.  Image:  Pictures of Jesus, Woody (Guthrie), Elon (wearing a Trump 2024 tee shirt).

Via Job’s Anger.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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Responsible Fiscals 0

Some Republican Congresspersons want to go all in on the Crypto Con.

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The Cryto Con 0

Grung_e_Gene sees a parallel with the Galt and the Lamers. Here’s a bit from his article, which was inspired by the reaction to the short-lived (about 15 minutes) “Hawk Tuah” meme coin.

The cries and recriminations of Fraud and various allegations of a Pump & Dump or “Rug Pull” by Welch and a small cadre of accounts who apparently drained all the value and bankrupted “investors” have resounded across Social Media these past few days.

But, it’s staggeringly amazing to me the Crypto Community has immediately called for investigations and “legal action” by Government and Regulatory Bodies on their purposefully Unregulated, Untied to Government Scam Coins. The whole purpose of every crypto was to uncouple it from Government to have a truly free monetary system unburdened by inflationary fiat currency and the over-bearing hand of government.

Although, this is no different than Libertarians demanding a Government Military exist to keep their Slaves in Line but, not put the odious boot of Law & Order on their neck as the scheme and swindle and attempt to create the Randian Utopian.

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Infiltration Nation 0

Jim Hightower follows the moneybags.

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Fee for Servile 0

Paul Krugman gazes into his crystal ball, and what he sees is not pretty. A snippet:

As I understand it, the term “crony capitalism” was invented to describe how things worked in the Philippines under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled from 1965 to 1986.

It describes an economy in which business success depends less on good management than on having the right connections — often purchased by doing political or financial favors for those in power. In Viktor Orban’s Hungary, for example, Transparency International estimates that more than a quarter of the economy is controlled by businesses with close ties to the ruling party.

Now it’s very likely that crony capitalism is coming to America.

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A Consummation Devoutly To Be Wished 0

The Newark Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine makes a convincing case that the term “black Friday” as it is currently used should be stricken from the lexicon.

Aside:

When I lived in Philly, I learned that term originated with the Philadelphia police to refer to the traffic for the Army-Navy game, which used to be played in Philadelphia (neutral territory about half-way between West Point and Annapolis) on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Then, somewhere along the way, it became a marketing term in our retail-obsessed economy, where companies want persons to spend quantities of money that those same companies are unwilling pay them.

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The Privatization Scam 0

In the Charlotte Observer, a doctor speaks out on how the privatization scam is harming public school students with disabilities in North Carolina. Here’s a bit of his article; follow the link for the rest.

By taking money away from public schools and giving it to private schools, North Carolina Republicans are creating a system in which more children with disabilities won’t have access to the accommodations that they are legally entitled to.

The lawmakers who voted for vouchers should know private-school funding with public money is not popular with voters. Across the country, ballot measures to publicly pay for private schools failed in 2024.

That’s why all our Republican legislators and Democratic Reps. Carla Cunningham, Michael Wray and Shelly Willingham waited until after the election to overturn Gov. Cooper’s veto. They knew it would be unpopular with voters and may cost them.

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A Dental Examination 0

Michael Hiltzik drills through the conspiracy mongering, deception, and outright lies behyind RFK Jr.’s crusade against fluoridated drinking water and concludes it could lead quite literally to decay in our society.

Here’s a bit:

Fluoridation revolutionized dentistry, especially for children. Fluoridation of tap water was credited with reducing the incidence of tooth decay by as much as 70% when it was first introduced; by the mid-1980s, when other sources of fluoride, such as fortified toothpastes, were available, the effects of tooth decay in children were still 18% lower among those living in fluoridation communities than in those without it.

Who would benefit from the end of community fluoridation and a recrudescence of tooth decay? Dental supply companies, investors in which are rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of more demand for their products. For example, shares of Henry Schein Inc., a distributor of specialty dental products, have risen more than 9% since RFK Jr. was named as Trump’s choice for HHS secretary.

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Kleptocracy 0

Jim Hightower sees a pattern in Trump’s cabinet picks:

This is what Trump & Company mean by saying they’ll make government “efficient.” Instead of corporate powers having to lobby regulators to get special favors, corporate officials will become the regulators.

Follow the link for the evidence.

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Kleptocracy in Action 0

PoliticalProf.

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The Pusher Men and Women 0

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Establishmentarians 0

Schuyler Mitchell takes deep look at efforts of far right evangelical they-call-themselves Christians to destroy the Constitution’s establishment clause. A snippet:

But in chipping away at foundational constitutional protections, Christian nationalist groups stand to win more than prayer in schools or Bible-based lesson plans. The legal battles playing out in federal courts could give rise to anti-LGBTQ violence and state-sanctioned discrimination against religious minorities.

Realize that this is not about love for God.

It’s about power for preachers.

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The Privatization Scam 0

Minnesota charter schools to Minnesota: Give us the public’s money, but don’t expect us to tell you what we do with it.

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Influencer Idiocy 0

Emily Balcetis, writing at Psychology Today Blogs, has some issues with how “influencers” promote products. She believes that

Stricter rules are needed to limit harmful social media marketing.

Follow the link for her reasoning and, remember, “social” media isn’t.

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This New Gilded Age 0

At the Idaho State Journal, Kim Shinkoskey argues that

MAGA Republicans and their billionaire backers like Elon Musk have finally honed-in on a ten-point formula that works for obtaining political and economic power.

Follow the link and get the points.

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This New Gilded Age 0

Seth discusses Bernie Sanders’s claims that we are will down a path to oligarchy.

Spoiler: Seth thinks Bernie may have a point.

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