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fmhilton

@[email protected]

Life long Mainer, retired. Writer of various things on my blog. I love to make noise and good trouble. Yes, I DO have a blog site:

https://fmhilton.wordpress.com/

I want to inform, engage, amuse and enlighten the world.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

rbreich , to Random
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One of the richest men in the 1920s was Andrew Mellon — an early prophet of trickle-down economics.

Yesterday we learned that his grandson, Timothy Mellon, gave a Trump super PAC one of the largest political donations ever.

This is how dynastic wealth works.

Wealth tax now.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Don't just tax it: confiscate it.
you do not have a constitutional right to have billions of dollars.
Show me where it's written.
NO, not the "happiness" thing, either.

rbreich , to Random
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The Biden administration has taken anti-monopoly action against:

-Amazon
-Apple
-Google
-Facebook
-Live Nation
-JetBlue
-Spirit
-Kroger
-Albertsons

We’ve had years of government forces working on behalf of corporations.

This is what it looks like when they work for the people.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Now if they could get behind taxing large oil monopolies for their carbon output.

georgetakei , to Random
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What do you think of this, folks? https://www.comicsands.com/kim-kardashian-birthday-kids-torture-2668536810.html?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=infeed&utm_campaign=linkprogram

fmhilton ,
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@georgetakei I think she's a rich entitle bitch who has no brains and no class.
I pity her kids.

rbreich , to Random
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Debunking Myth #3: “The rich deserve to be rich” https://robertreich.substack.com/p/debunking-myth-3-the-rich-deserve?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich
That presupposes that the poor deserve to be poor because they're not rich or smart enough to be rich.

arstechnica , to Random
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Microsoft in damage-control mode, says it will prioritize security over AI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is now personally responsible for security flaws.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/06/microsoft-in-damage-control-mode-says-it-will-prioritize-security-over-ai/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

fmhilton ,
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@arstechnica This is a good reason to not keep anything important in the cloud-if MS can screw over the government, then private citizens have no defense. The hackers don't care.

georgetakei , to Random
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They're not wrong!

fmhilton ,
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@georgetakei I'm always holding those damn meetings! We disagree with the whole thing and nobody brought donuts!

rbreich , to Random
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Trump wants to extend his tax cuts for the rich, which would add $4.6T to the deficit.

But he wants to go even further, cutting the corporate tax rate to 15%.

This would result in the 100 biggest corporations receiving a giveaway of $48B annually.

It's clear who he works for.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich It's always been this way-he's only catering to them because he owes so much money to everyone in sight.

rbreich , to Random
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In a misguided effort to be "unbiased," most news media have stopped calling Trump's Big Lie about the 2020 election what it is. Instead they're using terms like "false statements" or "claims without evidence."

Memo to the media: Calling out lies isn't "biased." It's your job.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich They're also soft pedaling lies as "unsupported facts."
Are they afraid of calling him a liar? That he lies?
Everyone knows he does, it's so rampant that everyone assumes he's lying every time he opens his mouth.
The media are cowards and they're complicit in this whole mess.They covered him as a normal candidate and look at what happened.
He's mentally ill, a convicted felon and a unrepentant liar.
Unfit to serve soda or popcorn at a movie concession, let alone as POTUS!

georgetakei , to Random
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For all the animal lovers out there.

fmhilton ,
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@georgetakei How about plants, too?

arstechnica , to Random
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Top news app caught sharing “entirely false” AI-generated news

Most-downloaded local news app adds disclaimer that it's not always "error-free."

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/06/top-news-app-caught-sharing-fake-ai-news-based-on-ai-summaries/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

fmhilton ,
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@arstechnica The fake news has become the news.

rbreich , to Random
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Facing more than half a billion dollars in legal judgments and fees, Trump just sold his $10 million jet to one of his megadonors.

Is the fire sale beginning?

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Next he'll sell his children to MBS..oh, wait, Jared's already been sold..

rbreich , to Random
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34 felony convictions
54 pending criminal charges
2 impeachments
2 popular vote losses
$88M owed to E Jean Carroll
$450M owed for civil fraud
$8T added to nat'l debt
2.9M net loss of jobs

Is this what Trump meant when he promised "numbers like we've never seen"?

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich I don't really think so but those are the numbers he's left us with.

"I'm a loser" was a song, once..now it's a lifestyle for him.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Oh, we won't talk about the people who died during his term from Covid, will we?
"It will fade away. Just like that."

rbreich , to Random
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McDonald’s CEO Salary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxxGDLjnDP0&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich I would like to know the justification for all these exorbitant salaries for the CEO's and why they can't be replaced with AI, as has been proposed. I think AI would be cost saving and more intelligent.

rbreich , to Random
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Trump said that he's "looking at" policies that would restrict birth control access.

He of course later backtracked, but look at his record.

He made it easier for employers to remove birth control coverage from insurance plans.

His Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Hello?

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Before Trump, though there was the Hobby Lobby lawsuit that allowed companies to offer insurance that did not cover birth control. In re: https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/issues/birth-control/burwell-v-hobby-lobby

The anti abortion forces have always been against birth control.

rbreich , to Random
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The DOT regulated junk fees. Airlines are suing.

The CFPB capped credit card fees. Banks are suing.

Medicare is negotiating drug prices. Pharma is suing.

The FTC banned noncompetes. Business groups are suing.

Corporate America can't stand government working for the people.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich They don't want the consumer to have any power or breaks.
Sadly, our Supreme Court will probably allow the corporations to get away with it-mostly because they're bought off as well..Thomas and Alito.

rbreich , to Random
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When I was a mere clerk for the 1st circuit appeals court, I wasn't allowed to have a political bumper sticker for fear of creating even the appearance of bias on the court.

How can Justice Alito be allowed to rule on Jan 6-related matters after flying a pro-insurrection flag?

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Because he IS the law!

rbreich , to Random
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The CEO-to-worker pay gap at America’s largest companies was 344-to-1 last year.

In 1965, the ratio was 20-to-1.

This explosion in CEO pay relative to the pay of workers isn’t because CEOs have become so much more valuable.

They've just gamed the system to line their pockets.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich And they've rigged the system so that they never get fired when things go wrong-everyone else does!

georgetakei , to Random
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Does he know something we don't?!

fmhilton ,
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@georgetakei It's the birds v. the squirrels and I'm personally on the birds side.
What is in those Fruit Loops the kids is eating?
Is there something we should know about? (Looks out window to see if squirrels are forming a gang...)

rbreich , to Random
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is our financial watchdog.

Today, SCOTUS upheld the agency's funding from attacks by shady payday lenders.

This is huge. Why?

Since 2011, the CFPB has put $17.5B back in the pockets of 200 million Americans who have been defrauded.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich The court has surprised me in the latest one-we are so very jaded and cynical that they would throw this to the dogs/Republicans/conservative/right wingers.
Thankfully they did not.

rbreich , to Random
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Many of same Republicans in Congress sharing Mother's Day wishes also oppose paid family leave and universal childcare. Hello?

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Only for those who aren't them.
Everyone else can suffer.

rbreich , to Random
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Wondering if wealth inequality is out of control?

Well, Jeff Bezos made over $7.9 million an hour last year.

In just 13 minutes, he made the equivalent of what a typical person earns in a lifetime.

Don't tell me that the rich can't afford a wealth tax.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Oh, they can-but the rich people in every single country in the world do not want to pay extra for the money they steal from the rest of us because that would make them actually be accountable for their acts of greed.

rbreich , to Random
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Trump wants to:

Extend his tax cuts — which have made billionaires $2 trillion richer

Cut Social Security — which working people pay into for a lifetime

Would you like to keep your retirement money? Or would you like to gift it to billionaires?

That is your choice in 2024.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich I am not voting for Trump or his billionaire friends. I'd like to keep on living. Even if one is not retired, think about when you are retired, and you want to live in a house. Don't vote for any Republicans. Vote blue no matter who.

rbreich , to Random
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Top media company CEO pay in 2023:

Disney: $31.6M
Warner Bros: $49.7M
Netflix: $49.8M & $40.1M
Comcast: $35.5M
Paramount: $31.3M

Remember when execs claimed they couldn't afford to pay writers and actors more during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike?

That was pure fiction.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Is that their pay or their entire pay 'package' because I can guarantee you that they all have packages of millions of dollars in bonus money, 'incentives' and stock options out the wazoo. Those are worth 10 times their base pay. So in effect, multiply that money by 10 and you have what they're being paid.

rbreich , to Random
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The CFPB set a rule limiting credit card late fees to save American families ~$10 billion/yr.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued to stop it.

Republicans in Congress are trying to kill it.

The government is tackling junk fees, and corporate interests couldn't be more upset.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich They want their free money! How are they ever going to become billionaires without free money!

rbreich , to Random
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A new CBO report estimates that extending the Trump tax cuts for the next 10 years would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit.

Remember this the next time Republicans propose cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The "party of fiscal responsibility" is full of it.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Then they'll whine that they need raises to their salaries because the cost of living in Washington is so high!

arstechnica , to Random
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DEA to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk drug, reports say

Marijuana to move from Schedule 1, the most dangerous drug group, to Schedule 3.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/dea-to-reclassify-marijuana-as-a-lower-risk-drug-reports-say/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

fmhilton ,
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@arstechnica So now it's no longer as dangerous as cocaine but more like Fioricet with codeine, so instead of doing hard time in federal prison you'll be given a fine but still convicted of having a restricted drug? Some drug legalisation that is! They still get the chance to regulate it. It's still on the books as a habit forming narcotic.

arstechnica , to Random
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Boston Dynamics debuts humanoid robot destined for commercialization

All-electric, 360-degree joints give the new Atlas plenty of inhuman movements.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/boston-dynamics-debuts-humanoid-robot-destined-for-commercialization/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

fmhilton ,
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@arstechnica I wonder if BD plays the Sims?
Looks exactly like the robot from Sims 2!

rbreich , to Random
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Excuse me but how is Louis DeJoy still postmaster general?

His destructive 10-year plan for the Post Office—slowing mail delivery, hiking prices for consumers, and speeding up privatization—is in full effect.

Hello?

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich Why isn't anyone doing something to remove him?
And don't tell me that the "Civil Service Union" is going to stops it. He serves at the pleasure of the President. He should have been removed the minute Biden took office. He's destroying the Post Office. But of course he's profiting from it, too. Corruption sucks.

rbreich , to Random
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Remember, in each of Trump's criminal trials, he was indicted by a grand jury made up of ordinary citizens.

Trump is lying when he says President Biden had anything to do with it.

fmhilton ,
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@rbreich you know the old joke:
"How can you tell when Trump is lying?"
"When he opens his mouth".

Never take anything he says with even a smidgen of trust.

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