US Politics | May 2024 #2

Who owns the student loans? Is forgiveness a double dip for the government on the backs of taxpayers, or is the forgiveness money only from the government? How are the people reimbursed who have already paid off their debt?

Key Takeaways

• Student loans in the U.S. are generally either owned by the federal government or financial institutions.
• The federal government fully guarantees almost all student loans.
• Some student loans are held by agencies like Sallie Mae or a third-party loan servicing company.
• Federal student loans can include Direct Loans, Perkins Loans, and Federal Family Education Loans.
  

Why did tuitions inflate at the rate they have? Wouldn't that again be a government investigation? But since they also control the financing, it’s a circular economy.

Overall Increase in Costs for Service Industries Like Education

One primary reason for the huge jump in college prices since 1980 is a concept called cost disease, argue Robert B. Archibald and David H. Feldman, economics professors at the College of William & Mary.

Unlike other areas of the economy, like manufacturing, it’s difficult to increase productivity in higher education while maintaining the same experience. New technology and improved methods can increase production at a steel mill, for example, but there’s not much innovation to introduce in a traditional 10-person literature seminar without sacrificing quality.

And who gets the forgiveness and the transfer scheme?

What if lawyers were counselors? Yes, parents sue, but is it also parents that fail their kids when they stray from the norm? Does money really solve the problems? Take the Glyphosate cases—there is no real evidence, no clear good vs. bad (farmers vs. hobby gardeners), but a lawyer lobby that makes a killing on the cases, while the farmers and consumers get hit with no alternative and higher prices. Are the settlements real representations of damages or allocations of money by empathetic jurors?

Roundup and Cancer: Lawsuit Decisions

Thousands of lawsuits, including class actions and individual claims, have been filed against Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup, since 2018. Previously, the chemical was manufactured and marketed by Monsanto, which was acquired by Bayer in 2018.

One of the most significant outcomes was a $10 billion settlement in 2020, which Bayer paid to end tens of thousands of lawsuits. A portion of that amount was set aside to cover future lawsuits.

Decisions have not been limited to class action suits. In 2019, a California jury delivered a $2 billion verdict to a couple who claimed Roundup caused their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, though a court reduced the final settlement amount. In that same year, a California man was awarded $80 million in a trial verdict. A 2018 landmark trial awarded $289 million to a groundskeeper who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. That verdict was finalized at $78 million.

Despite numerous settlements, including the $10 billion decision, Roundup litigation is ongoing and law firms continue to take on clients seeking justice.

Here is Bayer's opinion on it and a statement from their website. Perhaps not all jury members are scientists? But all the lawyers need a job, and ethics may not always be the prime driver.

Like all herbicides, glyphosate has been subject to rigorous testing and oversight by regulatory authorities. The leading health regulators around the world have repeatedly concluded that glyphosate-based products can be used safely as directed. Most recently, in November 2023, the EU Commission re-approved glyphosate for 10 years, following the favorable scientific assessments by its health and safety agencies, including the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which “did not identify any critical areas of concern.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the regulatory authorities in

Japan, Australia, Korea, Canada, New Zealand, and elsewhere have also recently reaffirmed that glyphosate-based products can be used safely as directed.

As of January 1, 2023, there were 1,331,290 active lawyers in the United States. In terms of absolute numbers, the American legal profession was the largest in the world as of 2015, and it is thought to be the largest in the world in proportion to domestic population.

The same could be said about immigration—we need more immigration lawyers to get the borders under control, and then we need more social workers and teachers for a union-organized association, all fueling the base of indoctrinated people. Once they collect the money (immigration lawyers), they feel good about solving their income problems, letting other people pay the price.

The U.S. military and its reputation have probably suffered more under President Biden than in any other administration since inception. The latest incident sounds like a joke. So far, it’s operational—really?

The US Military and its reputation, has probably suffered more under President Biden than in any other administration since inception, and the latest incident sounds like a joke? So far, it’s operational, really? 

Four boats stabilizing the $320 million structure detached, U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for military operations in the Middle East, said Saturday. Two of them floated northward, eventually landing on the beach in Ashdod, Israel, it said. Two others are now anchored on the beach near the pier, the military said, adding that the dock is still operational despite the damage. It said that no U.S. military personnel would enter Gaza.

“Efforts to recover the vessels are under way with assistance from the Israeli Navy,” U.S. Central Command said.

The Trump Hush Money political trial will be decided in the coming days or weeks. The Judge and Prosecutor Teram certainly have delivered the setup for a potentially damaging outcome for a staged and created case, perhaps orchestrated directly by the White House by one of the AG implants into the case. That the Jurors are not in seclusion and basically can get their daily dose of CNN politics and friends unlimited support speaks volume of the politics in the case? Wonder if it will change the needle for Biden, 

The 12 jurors deciding Trump’s fate include an investment banker, physical therapist, teacher and two lawyers. Their closed-door deliberations will come after more than a month of testimony in the first and perhaps only trial Trump will face before the election. Three other prosecutions of Trump, one in Georgia and two at the federal level, are facing legal hurdles and procedural delays.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, brought the hush-money case. His prosecutors have argued that Trump falsified business records to cover up a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with the former president, on the eve of the 2016 election. The bogus records, prosecutors allege, constitute a felony because they were intended to conceal an unlawful effort by Trump and others to boost his electoral prospects by removing negative stories from the market.

Any outcome will certainly fuel the fodder for the Anti – Trumpers, craving for any momentum in the election cycle as for far all attempts to put current President Joe Biden in a favorable spotlight have failed. 

Not sure if the outcome is definite, as the left propaganda Machine will continue in case of a missing guilty verdict pounce on the “guilty” narrative as others may see it more like Mr. Law. Alan Dershowitz? 

“The only way it’s not extortion is if the money was paid to avoid a lawsuit, and if the money was paid to avoid a lawsuit, it’s a legal expense,” Mr. Dershowitz said.

Describing the case as a “fabrication of a crime” against the former president, Mr. Dershowitz added on social media that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “made up a crime” and used a “witness” who he knew “could not tell the truth,” referring to Mr. Cohen. “There are so many ethical violations” at play, he added.

If anything, President Biden may have good legal advice to visit his Sons Beau’ Widow the eve of Memorial Day. What a show of empathy on the start of the legal trial for Hunters Gun charges, where she is a Witness, no Gag orders here? And no outcry over the transparency to release the transcripts of the Hur interview, claiming executive privilege. 

Biden’ support with Hollywood, the view, and Guess who, Robert the Niro? That may well be more comedy than all if TV can produce at this time, but certainly if you look at Robert de Niro’ life, it seems like a Shakesperean comedy, while the view looks more like a Muppet show, but if it gets you votes I guess, but so goes the decline of democracy. 

Anti-Trump actor Robert De Niro lent his staunch support to the Biden-Harris campaign this week, narrating a new ad that painted Trump as an unstable "dictator" who will do anything to grab power.

De Niro, who has gained notoriety throughout the Trump years by trashing the former president on many occasions, provided a voice-over for the new ad which trotted out some questionable or debunked narratives about Trump that the Democratic Party and media outlets have pushed.

"Trump wants revenge, and he’ll stop at nothing to get it," De Niro began in the quick 30-second spot, which also included quotes from Trump that prominent conservatives say have been taken out of context.

De Niro married actress Diahnne Abbott in 1976. They have a son, Raphael, a former actor who works in New York real estate.[250] De Niro also adopted Abbott's daughter Drena De Niro from a previous relationship. He and Abbott divorced in 1988. Afterwards, he was in a relationship with model Toukie Smith between 1988 and 1996. The couple has twin sons, Julian and Aaron, conceived by in vitro fertilization and delivered by a surrogate mother in 1995.[251][252]

In 1997, De Niro married actress Grace Hightower.[253] Their son, Elliot, was born in 1998 and the couple split in 1999. The divorce was never finalized and in 2004 they renewed their vows.[253] In December 2011, their daughter Helen was born via surrogate.[254] In 2014, he and Hightower moved into a 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom apartment at 15 Central Park West.[255][256] Four years later, De Niro and Hightower separated after 20 years of marriage.[257] De Niro has four grandchildren: one from his daughter Drena and three from his son Raphael.[258][259] On April 19, 2021, De Niro's lawyer argued in a virtual divorce hearing presided by a Manhattan judge that he is "working at an unsustainable pace" in order "to support Hightower and pay off all his back taxes". Hightower's lawyer claimed that since the pair filed for divorce in 2018, De Niro had been "unfairly decreasing" the agreed-upon payments to her.[260]

In April 2023, De Niro welcomed his seventh child, a daughter Gia, with his girlfriend Tiffany Chen.[261][262][263][264] At age 79, De Niro is one of the oldest fathers on record.[265][266]

In July 2023, it was announced that De Niro's grandson through his daughter Drena, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, had died at age 19.[267] The cause of death was determined as a combined drug intoxication involving particularly fentanyl and cocaine.[268]

Sounds like a socio.. No, psychopath to me. Perhaps fitting for a supporter of Biden. 

The UAW’ 40 million waste in Alabama, blamed on Corporate Greed, so who financed their campaign? Anyone who pays a dime to the Union, is simply wasting his own Money to fill pockets of scammers. In today’s world, the Unions are simply an outdated relict of greedy (Mafia Style) bosses, achieving nothing different then any Companies employer council can. To say the strike in Michigan was a success, is simply a view of a hostile environment, not of a cooperation? Good for the Workers in Alabama to see the scheme?