Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Mad King Watch (Take V): Stand Up On May Day!



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From People's Action
Billionaires and corporations have taken over our government and are trying to blame immigrants for the consequences, turning neighbor against neighbor. With their allies on Capitol Hill, the ultra-greedy are trying to steal our medicine (Medicaid), food (SNAP), affordable clean energy, and homes through a murderous budget proposal for the coming year.

And, through their DOGE havoc, they’re firing people and creating chaos to put money in billionaires’ pockets at the expense of our families, our freedoms, and our future.

But they don’t stop there.

Day to day, billionaires and corporate America pay us too little while raising our rent, utility bills, and health insurance premiums. Corporations neglect our homes, pollute our communities and the planet, and deny us needed medical care.

That ain’t right.

This May Day, people across the country are rising up to stop the billionaire takeover and demand that our government put our families over billionaire fortunes—public schools over private profits, health care over hedge funds, prosperity over free market politics. We reject the cynical division between newcomers and long-time Americans. As one of our founders, Gale Cincotta, said: “We have found the enemy and it’s not us.”




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So much for the organizational nitty-gritty. One other thought that occurs to me, however, is that these occasions are not just about America's mad king, but the general sickness that afflicts all of our institutions, all of whom display equally regal instincts.

I got a reminder of this fact yesterday, when I visit Harry's Family Friendly Mart, our chief competitor with Matthew's. The biggest difference between both stores, however, is the clientele they serve. 

Our small town elite prefer Matthew's, because it offers all those high end fripperies that only they can afford -- the $10 organic TV dinners, $6 feta cheese blocks, and $5 pasta bags -- while Happy Harry's caters more toward the proles in town, judging by the preponderance of store brand items, though It doesn't matter which store you visit. Both will leave your wallet equally battered and bruised.

Nevertheless, I gambled on Happy Harry's, lured by the promise of three Diet Pepsi two-liters for four bucks. Simple and straightforward, right? Wrong, as I discovered, when one of the cashiers checked the sign. Guess what? Buried under the "3/$4," in way smaller print, is the actual container that applies -- not the two-liters, but the 1.25-liter ones.

Since the cashier had gone to the trouble of fetching the last three 1.25-liter bottles, I reluctantly parted with my four bucks. I didn't want to waste somebody's best effort, and since Squawker and I were going out of town, the smaller size would come in handy. 

But the whole experience felt sour, as I told the cashier: "You guys are like the cable company. There's always some type of cute little 'wiggle,' or 'out,' and I have to use my jeweler's lens, or magnifying glass, just to see if that 'special deal' still applies. I'm sick and tired of it."

This is the problem with constantly invoking, "Caveat emptor," which bad actors find ways of pushing to the limit, and beyond. I got another unpleasant reminder of this reality when I bought a couple cans of Pepsi from a gas station that I patronize, now and then. But something tasted really off when I took my first sip, which felt like drinking metal and water -- no soda taste to be had!

A quick review of each can's bottom surface solved the mystery, as both expiration dates bore a January 2024 stamp. "What's somebody doing," I asked myself, "trying to sell 16-month-old pop?" I've seen the owner, who drives a bright yellow Hummer, so I'm fairly sure he's making out well enough. It's worth remembering that, barely a century ago, stores routinely adulterated their products with arsenic, chalk, and lead, to keep food on the shelves longer (and thus, maximize profits).

At a certain point, becoming a full-time detective gets downright exhausting. You don't want to risk salmonella from sampling that suspect package of chicken, because the relevant inspectors have been fired -- or the fox is literally guarding the henhouse, to cite two rapidly emerging hallmarks of the restored Trump regime.

You want to feel reasonably confident that your "friendly neighborhood" bank won't pick your pocket by invoking some hidden fee buried in the fine print. But this type of society, amid America's apparent march to competitive autocracy, is what we're staring down -- which is also worth remembering, as we protest nationwide tomorrow. 

It's not just about the cult of personality surrounding these men, so much as the collateral damage that they and their devotees inflict, once all the madness that they've unleashed is finally undone for good -- and we begin the dreary task of picking up the many broken pieces that they've left behind, in their wake. --The Reckoner



Notable Events

Chicago, IL

Des Moines, IA
Join Iowa CCI and allies for a Public School Strong rally:

Maine
Join Maine People's Alliance and allies at events statewide:

Lyon, MA
Join Neighbor to Neighbor and labor allies for events across Massachusetts, from Worcester to Springfield:


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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2025 at 6:28 PM

    I think America is going to collapse, Trump is the hireling meant to dismantle this place for the elite and clean out the tills. The people who live in the country and who can grow their own food are going to survive a lot better than the ones who live in the city. Sadly those billionaires and corporations own each and every one of our politicians too.

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