Let this sink in!
Are You Scorpion, Frog, or Free
We live on the cusp of great achievement or great despair. But do we have to live this dilemma between the devil and deep blue sea. Absolutely not. The solution is really simple for both you and me.
I sometimes wonder if we are living in the golden age of criminals, con men, and junkies. I am not talking about the crime the GOP is pushing in their continuous fake-concern verbal diarrhea. Crime on the street and in our back yard is mostly down these past decades. True, murders since during the pandemic are up a bit but one could easily argue accurately that easy access to inappropriate firearms that the GOP has been pushing is primarily the cause. So simply, republicans are responsible for that increase in that street crime. But that's not the end of that story.
The Crime Wave We Face Every Day
No, I am talking about the crime wave in the corporate boardrooms, at the country clubs, and in the halls of congress. You do understand that if you aid in a robbery but don't actually commit it you can still be charged as an accessory to the crime? Hell, republicans want to prosecute the Uber driver that carries a woman to a legal abortion clinic. Yet they stand aside, at best, when their acquaintances, neighbors, or club members bribe public officials, pseudo-legally or not. In many cases, they are ones with criminal intent to defraud.
Not a day goes by that some "legitimate" company doesn't attempt to defraud, abuse, or con you. For mental protection, we ignore, shrug our shoulders, or blindly go forth because if we focused on every little event we might go mad.
Just This Week's Crime Wave
In this clip from the 11th Hour, Stephan Rule takes on the childish behavior of Elon Musk who has not only drastically and unnecessarily brought upheaval into the lives of Twitter employees but into the many Twitter users worldwide. So that is how he pays back the world for the help the US and state governments gave him which allowed him to become the world's richest man. To add insult to injury, he then endorses voting for the republican dismantlement of democracy.
Next up is the Bernie Madoff of crypto. Crypto is a game being played by people with money to burn. This is the real phenomena brought to us by the Federal Reserve's very loose money and low interest rate approach these past decades. I am not suggesting that their approach was entirely wrong. I am suggesting that what the money bought us was wrong. Instead of investing this money in transportation, schools, R&D, energy upgrades and other things that make all of our lives more efficient, productive, and worthwhile, we spent it on tax cuts for those with no need, stock buybacks, wars, and other typical republican rat holes.
And last up is Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes who conned her way to more than 11 years in prison for fraud.
Then again maybe we are once again just watching real-time proof of the Peter Principle at the top and not the smartest man in the room
Common Thread To These Type Of Crimes
There is a common thread to these high profile cases. Rightly so Stephanie Ruhle covered these stories but it takes little people to point out these are big profile money cases and typically a republican or someone with more money than most has been harmed. They are seldom about the little guys.
In one response to one of the greatest cons in history that brought on the Great Recession in 2008-2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was formed for the federal government by Elisabeth Warren. It is designed to protect us little fish from the big fish. Since its' creation, republicans have been falling all over themselves to destroy it. Suffice it to say republicans, for the most part, favor freedom to abuse -- while others favor freedom from abuse. - Robert Jennings
Even Beyond Hypocrisy
Keith Olberman asks how could the Republicans be this stupid? "The man who will lead their attack on Hunter and Joe Biden, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, has been credibly accused by his college girlfriend of violence, psychological abuse, threatening her life, and driving her to the clinic to abort their child." This can best be answered by the animal fable The Scorpion and the Frog. As pointed out in the clip above, a scorpion has to do what a scorpion has to do. I would additional analogize that those who vote republican mindlessly are the fable's frog to the scorpions who propagandize them. - Robert Jennings
This next clip is the Green News Report brought to us by the Brad Blog. It is short and sweet and brings us mostly up to date twice a week. As those that follow InnerSelf know, we have been covering climate news for 20+ years. Why? Simply because it is our only existential threat if we continue down this republican-led path. If we throw the bums out will we remove the threat? Not necessarily but at least we have a chance. But we must throw them out. Those in control of the republican party know that we are at the brink, yet they continue with their greedy power hungry behavior. Why? Because a scorpion has to do what a scorpion has to do. - Robert Jennings
Crunch time for an agreement at the U.N. COP27 climate summit in Egypt; NASA projects sea levels will rise a foot by 2050; Trump repeats well-worn litany of climate lies in 2024 announcement; PLUS: Climate disinfo is surging again, deceiving the public about solutions...
One last thought for all those wannabe scorpions out there. Are You Scorpion, Frog, or Free?
About the Author
Robert Jennings is the co-publisher of InnerSelf.com, a platform dedicated to empowering individuals and fostering a more connected, equitable world. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army, Robert draws on his diverse life experiences, from working in real estate and construction to building InnerSelf with his wife, Marie T. Russell, to bring a practical, grounded perspective to life’s challenges. Founded in 1996, InnerSelf.com shares insights to help people make informed, meaningful choices for themselves and the planet. More than 30 years later, InnerSelf continues to inspire clarity and empowerment.
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