"Moderna is quadrupling the cost of covid vaccines, from $26/dose to $110-130. Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel calls the price hike "consistent with the value" of the mRNA vaccines. Moderna's manufacturing costs are $2.85/dose, for a 4,460% markup on every dose...
What will Moderna do with the billions it reaps through price-gouging? It won't be research. To date, the company has spent >20% of its covid windfall profits on stock buybacks and dividends, manipulating its stock price, with more to come...
It's not an outlier. Big Pharma is a machine for commercializing publicly funded research and then laundering the profits with financial engineering. The largest pharma companies each spend more on stock buybacks than research."
Article- Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised the possibility that Congress should consider subpoenaing Chief Justice John Roberts if he stands by his refusal to testify about ethical questions hanging over the high court....
Former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi wasn't happy after watching Republicans grill FBI director Christopher Wray in the House Wednesday. While Democrats questioned Wray for ignoring warnings about Jan. 6, Republicans sought answers to a slew of conspiracy theories and culture war grievances that go a...
In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.
Leo is well-known for shepherding conservative judicial nominees, but the public relations campaign shows how he has continued to exert influence in support of right-leaning justices after helping them secure lifetime appointments....
I think that the worst and most dangerous misconception #people have about #fascism is that it's this sort of turbocharged "Beast Mode" that #countries can go into to increase their production, win wars, and make the trains run on time, and that the primary objections to it centre on whether the "obvious" increase in efficiency that fascism offers is worth the loss of #freedom and lives. But in reality #fascist regimes like to put up a façade of strength and efficiency, even as they practice #corruption on a scale unimaginable in #democracies and even as the public interest is hollowed out by parasitical #opportunists. There is no trade-off; fascism is a #grift all the way down.
If you are out there happily applying the new #Debian pointrelease - DO NOT REBOOT into the updated #linux#kernel. It contains a serious (and silent) #data#corruption#bug that MAY (not must) affect you.
Fixes are in preparation, but builds will take a bit to complete.
Latest cartoon on the right's plans to destroy the "administrative state" and replace government workers with cronies under the next Republican president
An elected Democratic prosecutor whose removal Ron DeSantis boasted about during the first Republican presidential debate said the hard-right Florida governor and his allies ousted her because she was “prosecuting their cops”....
Powerful and Continuing #Nationalism
Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of #patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. #Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
Disdain for the Recognition of #HumanRights
Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of “need.” The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, and long incarcerations of prisoners.
Supremacy of the #Military
Even when there are widespread #domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
Rampant #Sexism
The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional #gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to #abortion is high, as is #homophobia and anti-#gay legislation.
Controlled #MassMedia
Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation or by sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Government #censorship and #secrecy especially in war time, are very common.
Obsession with #NationalSecurity
Fear of hostile foreign powers is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
#Religion and Government are Intertwined
Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions.
Protection of #Corporate Power
The #industrial and business #aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
Suppression of #Labor Power
Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor #unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
Disdain for #Intellectuals and the #Arts
Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to #HigherEducation and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other #academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.
Obsession with #Crime and #Punishment
Under fascist regimes, the #police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego #CivilLiberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
Rampant #Cronyism and #Corruption
Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
#Fraudulent#Elections
Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by #SmearCampaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control #voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
This post is a summary of Fascism, Anyone? by Lawrence W. Britt published in 2003 by Free Inquiry magazine."
Oil baron Philip Anschutz has hosted Neil Gorsuch for weekends of dove shooting at a mountain resort called ‘Eagles Nest.’
A resort named after Hilter’s getaway- are they all on the take? And Neil Gorsuch shooting doves. JFC rid of us these monsters. Shooting doves at a resort named after Hitler’s getaway.
If SCOTUS overturns the Chevron deference precedent in the upcoming Loper v. Raimondo case, he will benefit significantly.
Update: When Mitch McConnell was blocking Obama‘a Supreme Court nominee, holding open the seat that Neil Gorsuch would later fill, Anschutz gave $500,000 to McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund (superPAC) on March 15, 2016.
#ProPublica won the prestigious #PublicService#Pulitzer for “groundbreaking & ambitious reporting that pierced the thick wall of secrecy surrounding #SCOTUS to reveal how a small group of politically influential #billionaires wooed justices w/lavish gifts & travel, pushing the Court to adopt its first code of conduct.” The prize is given to the staff of a news organization that performed “meritorious public service.”
Since we now know Alito was flying his flag upside down at the time, let’s review one of the plans the coup plotters had involving him.
This interview by criminal defendant Powell is interesting. It suggests that the purpose of the insurrection was to DELAY the electoral college certification to give #Alito time to intervene on this legal challenge. But, Powell says they didn’t anticipate Pelosi reconvening Congress that day.
Crimal defendant Powell is interesting. It suggests that the purpose of the insurrection was to DELAY the electoral college certification to give #scotus#Alito time to intervene on this legal challenge. But, Powell says they didn’t anticipate Speaker Pelosi reconvening Congress.
As Heather Cox Richardson reports, the Supreme Court just signed off on a South Carolina congressional map that dilutes Black votes by gerrymandering.
And Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion. She writes,
"Almost exactly 70 years after the Supreme Court unanimously decided Brown v. Board, it appears that the framed timbers designed to reverse the expansion of minority rights are falling into place."
AOC urges Congress to consider 'subpoenas' if Chief Justice Roberts won't testify about SCOTUS gift scandal (www.businessinsider.com)
Article- Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised the possibility that Congress should consider subpoenaing Chief Justice John Roberts if he stands by his refusal to testify about ethical questions hanging over the high court....
Ex-FBI official says GOP is telling agents: 'If you investigate our party, you are going to pay the price' (www.rawstory.com)
Former FBI official Frank Figliuzzi wasn't happy after watching Republicans grill FBI director Christopher Wray in the House Wednesday. While Democrats questioned Wray for ignoring warnings about Jan. 6, Republicans sought answers to a slew of conspiracy theories and culture war grievances that go a...
Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court (www.propublica.org)
In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.
Supreme Court disclosures reveal more luxury travel from private interests - OpenSecrets News (www.opensecrets.org)
Justices received reimbursement for 34 individual trips in 2021 and 2022, with some traveling to Europe as private groups foot the bill.
Dark Money - Clarence Thomas got a personal media campaign worth at least $1.8 million from conservative nonprofit groups led by lobbyist Leonard Leo, part of $1.6 billion in donated by Barre Seid to Leo. (www.washingtonpost.com)
Leo is well-known for shepherding conservative judicial nominees, but the public relations campaign shows how he has continued to exert influence in support of right-leaning justices after helping them secure lifetime appointments....
Israel drove suitcases stuffed with cash into Gaza to keep Hamas in power (www.businessinsider.com)
Israeli officials are facing backlash after years of Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu quietly allowing Hamas to remain in power....
[News] State attorney says DeSantis fired her because she was ‘prosecuting their cops’ (www.theguardian.com)
An elected Democratic prosecutor whose removal Ron DeSantis boasted about during the first Republican presidential debate said the hard-right Florida governor and his allies ousted her because she was “prosecuting their cops”....
Analysis: A Quick Guide to Justice Clarence Thomas’s Ethics Scandals (nymag.com)
We’re keeping track of the recent pileup of revelations regarding secret financial arrangements between the justice and his rich friends.