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A Verdict on (The) Slaughter
24 days ago
- The Supreme Court overturned 90 years of precedent in the Slaughter case, granting the president dictatorial power over regulatory agencies.
- The decision enables corruption by allowing Trump to fire civil servants and direct agencies against their mandates, favoring personal retribution and greed.
- The Court's carve-out for the Federal Reserve is hypocritical, as it's based on market concerns rather than constitutional principles.
- The ruling empowers Trump to reward corporations based on bribes and ego-stroking, undermining antitrust, environmental, and labor protections.
- Profits are soaring due to increased monopoly power and weakened workers' rights, with oligarchs enriching Trump in exchange for favors.
- The Court is seen as partisan, likely to reverse its stance if a Democrat becomes president, reflecting a right-wing view of consolidated Republican power.
China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes
21 days ago
- A former city official in China, Yang Youlin, was sentenced to death for taking over 2.2 billion yuan ($325 million) in bribes over 30 years, along with convictions for embezzlement, abuse of power, and money laundering.
- Yang exploited his positions in Nanjing to help others secure contracts and financing in exchange for money and valuables, causing severe losses to state and people's interests, as part of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign.
- Death sentences for white-collar crimes are rare but occur in cases involving large sums, such as former officials Lai Xiaomin (executed in 2021) and Li Jianping (executed in 2024) for similar high-value bribery and embezzlement.
- While some offenders receive reduced sentences for cooperating, Yang's crimes were deemed too grave for leniency despite his assistance and remorse, reflecting the severe stance in China's anti-corruption drives.
Has America Crossed the Asshole Threshold?
19 days ago
- The concept of an 'asshole threshold' describes a societal tipping point where corruption becomes widespread enough to undermine integrity and cooperation, leading to collapse.
- Historical examples, such as Tammany Hall's corruption in 19th-century New York and ancient Rome's decline due to greed, illustrate how societies can cross this threshold when parasitic behaviors outnumber honest ones.
- Research by figures like Peter Turchin and Garen Wintemute provides modern measurements of this phenomenon, showing signs of elite overproduction, low social cohesion, and normalized political violence in contemporary America.
- The Gilded Age serves as a precedent where America approached this threshold but pulled back through widespread civic organizing and collective action by ordinary people, not through top-down reforms.
- The current situation mirrors past crises, with wealth inequality and political polarization suggesting the threshold may be crossed again, emphasizing the need for individuals to build networks of integrity to resist decline.
FCC Officials Took $$$ Gifts from Paramount as Company Needed Approval for Deals
11 days ago
- FCC commissioners have accepted expensive Kennedy Center gala tickets from CBS/Paramount, raising ethical concerns.
- Commissioners Olivia Trusty and Brendan Carr accepted tickets worth thousands of dollars after voting on or overseeing Paramount-related mergers.
- Ethics experts argue this creates a clear conflict of interest, compromising FCC impartiality in pending merger decisions.
- Federal rules generally prohibit gifts from regulated entities, but exemptions for 'widely attended gatherings' are controversially applied.
- The FCC's ongoing review of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger could be legally challenged due to these ethics issues.
- Some commissioners, including Carr, have a history of accepting such gifts, totaling over $260,000 from CBS/Paramount since 2016.
- Potential recusals could deadlock the FCC, as it currently has only three commissioners, affecting merger approval processes.
- Legal experts warn that ethics violations might undermine the legitimacy of FCC decisions in court.

corruption

A Verdict on (The) Slaughter

China sentences official to death for taking $325M in bribes

Has America Crossed the Asshole Threshold?

FCC Officials Took $$$ Gifts from Paramount as Company Needed Approval for Deals