SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER 2024
Life Notes:
One more day. We have one more day before the crew comes back to work on what started out to be a minor renovation of a screened in porch. Now, after the discovery of a major water leak that has turned one of our outside walls into mush, it is a demolition and rebuild project.
Our cats have been champs, but they spend most of their day on their porches upstairs and down, and they are depressed and disapproving.
Strike at Boeing. Did you know there was an enormous strike at Boeing? No, I didn’t either. The TV news is hopeless. When I turned it on this morning, the line across the bottom of the screen was about Trump criticizing some golfer’s body? One of the panelists was making fun of Trump’s make-up. Now, it’s not that I don’t think that’s fun, but really, with everything that is going on in the world, is this really what we want to be spending time on?
Having said that, Tara Setmayer made a comment about Trump’s supporters that was both obvious and never said enough. “This is who they are.” She is talking about the dummies lined up behind Trump at the rally last night, laughing and yucking it up about Arnold Palmer’s dick. I agree with her. We just have to accept this. Men who make dick size jokes and men who laugh at the jokes, have a problem.
Georgia
The U.S. Justice Department at least criminally sentenced some individuals involved in a big-rigging conspiracy in the concrete industry. These guys were participating in a scheme to fix prices and rig bids near Savannah. Housing involves concrete. Fixing prices of an essential building material affects every person who is trying to buy a home or rent one.
See the DOJ description of the case:
Election: Republicans will lie, cheat, steal, do everything to “win” this election.
The Justice Department has filed suit to stop Alabama’s systematic removal of voters from registration rolls. An order was issued requiring Alabama to stop a “recently-implemented program to remove voters from Alabama’s voting rolls between now and the Nov. 5 general election.” They were also ordered to issue “guidance to all counties in Alabama” to restore deactivated voters.
“ The injunction also requires the state to work with country registrars to ensure that affected voters are notified that their inclusion in the state’s wayward removal program does not establish their ineligibility to vote or subject them to criminal prosecution for registering to vote or for voting. The injunction further requires the State to facilitate a remedial mailing to each registrant inactivated as part of the voter removal process who did submit a voter removal request advising them that if they are a U.S. citizen and otherwise meet voter qualifications, they have the right to vote. Finally, the court ordered the State to inform the Alabama Attorney General in writing that voters were inaccurately referred to the Attorney General for criminal investigation.”
(Note: Can you imagine the confusion? This will have the effect of preventing some people from voting just because they can’t understand and are threatened by all the government contacts. This is going on all over the country.)
White Collar, Corporate Crime
As Jesse Eisinger (author of “The Chickenshit Club”) points out, none of the individuals involved in this massive fraud scheme (that affects national security) were sent to prison.
(Note: This is how corporate crime law is structured and functions to allow powerful and wealthy criminals to operate freely and pay no consequences.)
Excerpts from the DOJ Release
Raytheon will enter into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA)…a criminal information…charging Raytheon with two counts of major fraud against the United States.
….Raytheon admitted to engaging in two separate schemes to defraud the Department of Defense (DOD) in connection with the provision of defense articles and services, including PATRIOT missile systems and a radar system.
Separately, Raytheon entered into a three-year DPA (Note: This means we won’t prosecute you if you behave a little bit better in the future, who wouldn’t want that deal?) in connection with a criminal information…charging Raytheon with…conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision…for a scheme to bribe a government official in Qatar and conspiracy…for willfully failing to disclose the bribes in export licensing applications with the Department of State…
Both agreements require that Raytheon retain an independent compliance monitor (Note: A baby sitter) for three years, enhance its internal compliance program (Note: Are you kidding me?), report evidence of additional misconduct to the Justice Department (Note: Again, are you f…ing kiddingme?), and cooperate in any ongoing or future criminal investigations.
Raytheon also reached a separate False Claims Act settlement… relating to the defective pricing schemes….
…the Justice Department’s resolutions ensure that…federal agencies can proceed with determining whether Raytheon or any other individuals or entities associated with the company should be suspended or debarred as federal contractors. (Note: Not imprisoned).
….
“Raytheon engaged in criminal schemes to defraud the U.S. government in connection with contracts for critical military systems and to win business through bribery in Qatar,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kevin Driscoll… “Such corrupt and fraudulent conduct, especially by a publicly traded U.S. defense contractor, erodes public trust and harms the DOD, businesses that play by the rules, and American taxpayers. Today’s resolutions, with criminal and civil recoveries totaling nearly $1 billion, reflect the Criminal Division’s ability to tackle the most significant and complex white-collar cases across multiple subject matters.” (Note: But not imprison those responsible. This is exactly what Jesse Eisinger’s book “The Chickenshit Club” is about.)
….Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department is committed to holding accountable those contractors that knowingly misrepresent their cost and pricing data or otherwise violate their legal obligations when negotiating or performing contracts with the United States.”
“International corruption in military and defense sales is a violation of our national security laws as well as an anti-bribery offense,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “Raytheon willfully failed to disclose bribes made in connection with contracts that required export licenses. Today’s resolution should serve as a stark warning to companies that violate the law when selling sensitive military technology overseas.” (Note: Yeah, right.)
Law, Power, and Justice 
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