Cities have been hollowed out in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of working at home. As office buildings emptied out, urban dwellers were asking themselves why they were paying so much rent to commute to a job that no longer requires them to do so. As warm apartments and storefronts sit empty, there’s probably never been a more searing indictment of capitalism than the fact that American citizens continue to sleep outside in the cold.
Before he allegedly killed United healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Luigi Mangione was considered intelligent, thoughtful, kind, funny, and well-adjusted in every way. Now, because he killed someone, probably for political reasons, he’s considered insane. But what does that say about all the other people who kill for political reasons, like the President? Or Thompson himself?
Defenders of the health insurance industry reacted to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York by saying that murder and violence are never the answer because there’s always the option of working within the political system to reform a business based on profiting off pain, misery and death of sick Americans. In reality, however, the system does not allow any challenge to the status quo.
The overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by Islamist rebels in Syria has outside factions scrambling for influence with the new rulers, HTS, who are former members of Al Qaeda and ISIS. The United States is among the suitors, offering to work with the Islamists. But these love affairs tend to have an expiration date.q
The quote in this cartoon is adapted from an employee of United Healthcare interviewed by the New York Times. It is remarkable for its lack of self-awareness. If the system is the problem, it’s immoral to work for the system.
Corporate executives worried about becoming the targets of the next Brian Thompson-style killing of those who run an evil company have to choose between a chance of losing their lives versus the certainty of making more profits.
Progressive Democrats and Corporate Democrats are blaming themselves for their party’s latest defeat. But the corporate Democrats run the party, it was their candidates including Biden and Harris who fell flat and they didn’t allow progressives to have anything to do with the campaign or their strategy.
The murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thomas coupled with the overwhelmingly gleeful public reaction thereto has corporate executives at evil companies thinking twice–not about their actions, but upping their personal security.
Media organizations are reporting high levels of cancellations of newspapers and other news products in the week of the election of Donald Trump, as liberal Democrats depressed by the results decide to check out rather than to fight a man that they described as an existential threat to democracy.
President-elect Donald Trump is threatening to impose big tariffs on imported goods, especially from countries like China. Might be a good idea to hoard cheap imported crap now.
