Dissident Politics: News: A liberal's thoughts about Davos; Radical right attacks free speech again; Plutocracy in action

Jim's avatar

An essay by our good friend Jim Hightower comments on the self-described World Economic Forum meeting in the hyper-snotty resort of Davos, Switzerland. The hoi polloi elites gather at Davos to solve the world's problems, well, their own problems. Jim makes some good points:

Why You Were Not Invited to Davos

Once again, my invitation to the big shindig in Davos never arrived. Davos is the posh resort village in the Swiss Alps where some 3,000 global power elites gather every January for a weeklong, corporate-funded Schmooze-and-Booze-Fest to solve the world’s problems.

You and I are never invited to this confab, grandiosely titled “World Economic Forum.” That’s because (1) we’re not corporate or governmental VIPs, and (2) we might raise rude questions like, “Who the hell elected you plutocratic know-nothings and screw-ups to solve world problems – which you largely created?” See? We the People can’t be trusted to be polite.

Indeed, the theme of this year’s forum is, “How Can We Rebuild Trust?” By “we,” they mean the Davos clique itself – the Wall Street bankers, Silicon Valley speculators, various oligarchs, industrial barons, billionaire campaign donors, labor abusers, war mongers, mass polluters, high-tech futurists, and other architects of… well, the mess we’re in.

In our country, only about 10 percent say democracy is working for most Americans today, with the Powers That Be not even trying to serve what the majority believes in, wants, and needs. Economic fairness, social justice, and equal opportunity – our society’s fundamental, unifying values – are being trampled by the greed of moneyed elites and the fear and hatred of small-minded ideological extremists. They squabble over even keeping our government operating and fritter away their time and credibility on crap that undermines public trust.

This is Jim Hightower saying… So, no, Davos crowd, you cannot “rebuild trust,” for no one can trust you. You could gain a real measure of credibility if your elite forum would do something truly significant for democracy, like taking corporate money out of our politics. That would make Davos historic. Otherwise, you’re just partying… and stroking your egos.

Good thing the only thing the high ’n mighty are stroking is their egos. It would be obscene & pornographic otherwise.

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Federal Appeals Court circuits

5th Circuit is MAGAlandia

Vox reports about another attack from the authoritarian MAGA-fied 5th federal court circuit (TX, LA, MS) on first amendment free speech rights:

A renegade federal appeals court — one dominated by MAGA-aligned judges who routinely read the law in ways that even the current, very conservative Supreme Court finds untenable — has spent the last half-decade harassing DeRay Mckesson, a prominent civil rights activist and an organizer within the Black Lives Matter movement

As part of this crusade, two of the Fifth Circuit’s judges effectively eliminated the First Amendment right to organize a protest in a case known as Doe v. Mckesson.

Mckesson’s case has already been up to the Supreme Court once, and the justices strongly hinted in a 2020 opinion that the Fifth Circuit’s attacks on Mckesson’s First Amendment rights should end — labeling this case “fraught with implications for First Amendment rights.” But the Fifth Circuit did not take the hint, issuing a new opinion last July reaffirming its attack on First Amendment-protected political protests.

Now the case is before the Supreme Court again, and Mckesson’s lawyers want the justices to restore the First Amendment as fast as they possibly can.

The facts are needed to put this case in context. In 2016, Mckesson helped organize a protest near Baton Rouge’s police department building, after the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling there. During that protest, an unknown person threw a rock or some other hard object at a police officer (“Officer John Doe”), hit Doe in the head, causing injuries. The court previously admitted that Mckesson did not throw the heavy object that injured Doe. Doe sued Mckesson, claiming that, as the organizer of the protest where this injury occurred, Mckesson should be liable for the illegal action of an unidentified protest attendee.

In a 1982 case, the USSC held that “civil liability may not be imposed merely because an individual belonged to a group, some members of which committed acts of violence.” Despite that precedent, the 5th Circuit appeals court is trying to impose liability for protest organizers for anyone present who breaks any law. That could force protest organizers to pay for any unlawful acts of protesters, counter-protesters, bored agitators and anyone else in close proximity to a lawful protest. In essence, the 5th Circuit’s interpretation of the 1st Amendment would make most organized mass protests impossible.

It’s not just that this kind of attack is authoritarian. It’s the case that the same attacks come again and again. America’s ARR (authoritarian radical right), including ARR federal judges, does not give up. If the ARR fails this time, it will keep trying as long as they can or until they get what they want.

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From the Corrupt Plutocrats & Corrupted Congress Files: The Lever reports:

The Oligarch Exemption For New Business Disclosure Rules

After a multimillion-dollar lobbying blitz, Wall Street firms got themselves exempted from anti-money-laundering requirements being imposed on small businesses

As of Jan. 1, small businesses must report who owns and controls the company to financial regulators or face stiff penalties. The disclosure is required under a new anti-money laundering law designed to curb tax fraud and terrorism financing.

But while mom-and-pop cafes and hardware store owners are now busy filling out the disclosure paperwork, many investment vehicles flagged by law enforcement agencies are exempted from those same disclosure rules after Wall Street firms spent millions lobbying on the matter.

Early versions of what became the Corporate Transparency Act did not include the special carve-out. But the final legislation had a line exempting pooled investment vehicles. That means venture capital funds, hedge funds and private equity funds are not required to report their ownership information, even though the FBI has said such opaque entities are among those used in criminal money laundering.

This loophole undermines “anticorruption, counterproliferation, and counterterrorism programs,” Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a 2022 letter to the Treasury Department and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is responsible for regulating the securities markets and protecting investors.

According to lobbying records, the American Investment Council (AIC), an advocacy organization for private equity firms, spent $22 million trying to influence legislators over the past decade. In the two years leading up to the passage of the Corporate Transparency Act — and its inclusion of the loophole — the group lobbied directly on the legislation and related matters. AIC later boasted that it “worked with Members of Congress and their staffs to help craft these exemptions.”

The Corporate Transparency Act?? Bwahahahahaha!! Yeah, right.

This kind of sleaze is what Jim Hightower was referring to when he mentioned world problems and why people distrust plutocrats and government power players. Guess I’m not going to get invited to Davos either. I wanted to guzzle champagne and scarf caviar with the hoi polloi. Bummer.

What they serve at Davos for starters