Dan,
My kudos. Your post is one of the most succinct, elegant and useful declarations I've ever seen on SI.
LPS5 is, without question, one of the most despicable men on the planet. He's a sociopath who views humanity as an opportunity for exploitation. He has no redeeming qualities that I can find. His intellect, while not deficient in capabilities, is wholly consumed in the quest of cheating other human beings. The evil and malevolent intent that this man eagerly embraces is rare among men. There are rather few scoundrels like him on the face of the planet, and for that we should be grateful.
******
The recent "give back" that sociopaths like Philip Purcell at Morgan-Stanley and others orchestrated shows just how cynical these uber-mensch 'big swinging dicks' feel toward the rest of us. They calculate that the headlines that $1.4 Billion was handed over in a consent decree would be a good one day headline of their contrition, while assuming that the general public were such slow elk that they wouldn't realize that this was the 'punishment' for a $1.4 Trillion swindle perpetrated on the middle class by a parasitic cabal of vampires. In this, they were being generous. A 100:1 swindle of the public isn't exemplary in this day and age of uber-parasites.
A good case in point is the chicanery involved in a settlement recently by a private corporation, Koch Industries. With annual revenues of about $25 Billion, Koch is one of the largest enterprises on the planet. It is also one of the most corrupt, and one of the most politically connected.
When the EPA wanted to throw the book at Koch for air pollution violations, the sum of the complaints could have amounted to $2 Billion. This litigation was commenced prior to the coup d'etat that install George Bush. Shortly after, Christie Whitman's EPA reached a consent decree with Koch. They settled for $20 Million. The reward to the Koch brothers for their bribe to George Bush? 1000:1 reduction in their liability, and a "no contest, no harm" declaration by the EPA.
Truly, as the hippie hookah shop operator "Oat Willie" said in Texas when he was running for the legislature: "It's nice to have friends in high places." |
