Who Knew Beverage Cans Where So Complicated?

The Coke Can Liner Caper

By Drake Bennett and Jordan Robertson, Bloomberg Businessweek, May 14, 2023

“Shannon You was a good chemist, a bad colleague and a thief.

She planned to use the IP (Intellectual Property) she’d stolen to start a company in China.

And it might have worked if she hadn’t herself been duped.”

File this story in either of two places: Nothing is as simple as it appears. There is no honor among thieves.

The can holding Coke, or beer, or soup, or any other product might seem to be just a simple piece of metal. However, the substance inside the can, Coke in the case of this story of commercial thievery, can react with the metal of the can. This could damage the can, change the taste, appearance, efficacy, or shelf life of the produce in the can. What stands between this happening and the product being delivered to you just the way you want and expect it often is the chemically produced lining inside the can. These formulations vary by product, but all of them are proprietary to the companies producing them, just as the Coke formula is proprietary to The Coca Cola Company.

This Bloomberg Businessweek article reads like an international detective story involving shady individuals and companies, countries including the U. S., China, and Italy, and the FBI. It also provides an education about how science, in this case chemistry, touches our lives, even though we may not realize it. And it illustrates once again how even the smartest people will succumb to greed and in the end trip themselves up. w/c

Facts about Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren

When Grandparents Are Called to Parent — Again

By A. J. Baime, AARP Bulletin, March 2023

When the nuclear family became the norm in the United States, parents expected to raise their children, send them off on their own to marry and raise their own families, while they retired and, if well off enough, traveled and otherwise enjoyed the rest of their lives.

 

That, of course, was a rather new phenomena. Before, parents, their children, and the children of their children, either lived together or in close proximity. These extended families provided plenty of support, the kind the modern American family now pays for, if they can find the help they need.

 

Today, for some grandparents, life is reverting to older times, except these grandparents find themselves on their own raising the children of their children, who for any number of reasons, including early death, illness, drug addiction, neglectful parenting, etc., can’t do it themselves. And these days, grandparents don’t usually have large extended families from whom to draw support.

 

You might think the number in this situation small. However, U. S. census data, as reported by the AARP, shows that 2.3 million grandparents are directly responsible for raising their grandchildren. 

 

Those interested in family matters in the United States will find the AARP Bulletin article informative about the issue and how it impacts the elderly. Grandparents suddenly faced with the prospect of raising their grandchildren will find the AARP guide Grandparents Raising Grandchildren helpful. 

 

If you know of grandparents who find themselves in this situation, you may wish to share these articles with them. w/c

Social Security Scaremongering Have You Worried? Watch This

A Succinct Discussion of Social Security’s Financial Status and Ways to Improve It

Seems the demise of Social Security regularly garners headlines. The prognosis always seems gloomy. Seniors on Social Security worry and those within a decade or so of collecting their Social Security are left feeling resigned to not getting their full benefits, or any benefits at all.

What gets lost in all this scaremongering and political footballing are these facts: Social Security will continue to pay full benefits right up until 2035, and then with a few tweaks can continue to pay retirees throughout the century.

Listening to all the hyperbole directed at Social Security this may seem pretty amazing. Nothing amazing about it, as you’ll learn by watching one of our favorite online commentators review the status and options for ensuring future retirees collect theirs.

David Pakman and his show have around 1.6 million subscribers and can be found on a variety of platforms, including YouTube. Pakman is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst (BA, Economics and Communications) and Bentley University (MBA). Bentley, for those not familiar with it, is a top ranked university located in Waltham, MA, specializing in financial and economics education. Regarding the YouTube video, you will find David’s discussion of Social Security beginning around minute three. Sleep a little easier my friends.  w/c

Know the Scariest Word in American Life?

‘Socialism’: A Molotov cocktail in public discourse

By Byron Williams, Lee Publications, February 19, 2023

Yes, you are correct if you guessed Socialism. Nothing stirs up certain types more than Socialism. Yet, when you ask for their definition, they usually seem lost, or they quickly say Communism, as in the old-style Soviet version, or the more modern Chinese capitalist-communist version.

Never does it occur to them that Socialism is and has been a vital force in American life, and that, probably, they, or someone close to them, is or has benefitted greatly from socialistic programs. With a moment’s thought, you can probably list several. And in that list, you shouldn’t leave out the G.I. Bill of Rights, or various subsidies to American corporations, or medical research funded by our government, or … well, you get it, the list goes on and on. You’d think with all this that we were living in a Socialist country.

But as Williams discusses, lacking a clear definition accepted by all, Socialsim has become a convenient political punching bag. For more, read his piece, the conclusion of which is a quote from Harry Truman that pretty well sums up things:

“Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years. Socialism is what they called public power. Socialism is what they called social security. Socialism is what they called farm price supports. Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance. Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations. Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.” October 10, 1952. w/c 

 

Why Good Governance Matters: Ex. Anchorage, AK

From Penis Cookies to Spying: A Growing List of Allegations at Anchorage City Hall

By by Kyle Hopkins and Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, in association with ProPublica

When voters, for whatever reason, elect people with nefarious agendas, bad things often happen. And this appears to be the case in Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city. With the narrow election of Dave Bronson, the city welcomed in some of the worst governance currently in the United States. And that’s saying something.

The link to the ProPublica article provides a timeline with detail on some of the outrageous and costly doings of Mayror Bronson and his band of sycophants. While the article’s title may seem a bit playful, it outlines the kind of government hopefully most Americas would hate to see in their respective cities. It’s a real life lesson as to what happens when you elect people without experience and with a wrongheaded agenda.

For point of reference, Assembly in the article is the same as Town Council, Board of Trustees, Aldermen, Supervisors, etc.

Take this as a cautionary tale, because if it can happen in a midsized city like Anchorage, it could happen in yours, if you are not vigilant. w/c

Controversial NC Plantation to Reopen with Truth about Slavery

Mecklenburg County to reopen former slave plantation as educational site

By Genna Contino, Charlotte Observer, January 6, 2023

If you are not living in the Southeastern U. S., you probably missed this story about America’s troubled relationship with its past of human bondage. Now renamed and rebranded Latta Place, Latta Plantation was built in 1800 and operated as a cotton plantation. James Latta owned 34 enslaved people who planted and harvested the cotton crops.

In modern times, a nonprofit organization contracted with Mecklenburg County, owner of the property, to open the house and plantation to the public as an educational exhibition. However, in June 2021, Latta Plantation put on and promoted an event coinciding with Juneteenth sympathetic to slaveholders and minimizing the plight of the enslaved people. The county closed down the exhibition and ordered a rethinking of how to use Latta Plantation to present a true look back at the place’s slave past, and the effect it had on those ancestors enslaved on the property and their descendants.

A variety of options are now under consideration and will be presented to the county board in the spring. For more about Latta Place, the controversy over the 2021 Juneteenth event, and plans for the future, you’re invited to read this Charlotte Observer article. w/c

How Dark Money Is Used to Influence the Supreme Court

Conservative Activist Poured Millions Into Groups Seeking to Influence Supreme Court on Elections and Discrimination

By Andy Kroll, ProPublica, and Andrew Perez and Aditi Ramaswami, The Lever, 12/14/2022

It’s no secret that dark money plays an influential role in American politics and jurisprudence. But by its very nature of secrecy, determining where money is coming from and how it is being used to fund influence and in the case of the courts legal opinions has been difficult. Fortunately, various organizations, among them the journalism organization ProPublica, regularly launch investigations into different aspects of federal, state, and local governments. These include the courts.

In this recent piece, reporters explore how Leonard Leo, former longtime VP and now co-chair of the Federalist Society, has organized a variety of conservative groups funded with dark money with the purpose of influencing the U. S. Supreme court on a variety of critical issues, not the least of which is Moore vs. Harper. Moore vs. Harper advances the idea that state legislatures should have sole control over elections free of judicial review, essentially allowing legislatures to gerrymander district to their likings. 

This investigation shows you how dark money can have a direct effect on your life. Take a look at this one instance revealed, and then stop and think that this stuff happens constantly, and each eventually affects you. w/c

 

Beware of Pseudoscience in Law Enforcement

Is 911 Homicide Legitimate or Dangerous Pseudoscience?

You may not know this name but the bearer of it may have an impact on your life, if you or someone you know should have to make a 911 call concerning a death. He is Tracy Harpster.

Harpster is a retired police officer and the developer, along with Susan Adams a retired FBI agent with a PhD in Human Development, of a program that purports to suss out a murderer when someone calls 911. The program is called “9-1-1 Homicide – Is the Caller the Killer?” and is based on their book, available on Amazon and other places, Analyzing 911 Homicide Calls: Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations.  Credentialed authors, a published book, a course sold to and conducted in police departments nationwide; it all sounds scientific, proven, and legit. 

However, as the ProPublica investigative article How Jessica Logan’s Call for Help Became Evidence Against Her
by Brett Murphy illustrates, the program not only appears to be pseudoscience but it’s pseudoscience that has cost people, like Logan, their freedom. Quoting the salient paragraphs from the report, which is recommended to you:

“Twenty researchers from seven federal government agencies, universities and advocacy groups have tested Harpster’s model against other samples of 911 calls to see if the guilty indicators he had identified did, in fact, correlate with guilt. They’ve consistently found no such relationship for most of the indicators. In two separate studies, experts at the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit warned law enforcement officials to exercise caution when using 911 call analysis because their results contradicted so many of Harpster’s claims.

Given the popularity of the training course, one researcher told ProPublica, ‘we had to make sure it could be replicated — and it couldn’t.'”

If you have never heard of 911 call analysis used as evidence in criminal cases, you are not alone. It has flown under the radar of most, while police departments sign up to use the Harpster course as part of their on-the-job training. 

911 analysis might be a useful tool, if it actually worked. To learn more about it, before it comes to your local police department and has an impact on a life near and dear to you, read How Jessica Logan’s Call for Help Became Evidence Against Her. w/c

For Some Anti-Abortionists, Restrictive Laws Are

“We Need to Defend This Law”: Inside an Anti-Abortion Meeting With Tennessee’s GOP Lawmakers

Kavitha Surana, ProPublica, in co-publication with WPLN (NPR) Nashville

Tennessee has the strictest anti-abortion law in the nation currently. Yet, for some anti-abortion advocates, it isn’t strict enough. According to their thinking, once the dust settles, once the abortion issue begins to fade into the background, once this happens then it may be time to expand to prohibitions on IVF, abortion pills, and employer assisted travel for abortions.

In other words, even when anti-abortionist have won their fight to control the lives of women, new ways to exercise control remain.

In this ProPublica and Nashville NPR article, Kavitha Surana and her team go inside an anti-abortion meeting with Tennessee state legislators and Tennessee Right to Life and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. It reveals the strategies these groups employ and the arguments they use to support strict anti-abortion laws, as well as where, how, and when to carry their fight to the next level. The article also explores the various medical complications presented for Tennessee doctors and women.

You’ll find the article worth your time, especially if you are pro-choice, or if you are like the majority of Americans who while not personally in favor of abortion understand that it is and should remain a personal decision made by women faced with an unwanted pregnancy. w/c

Fascism in America Isn’t Anything New

Ultra

By Rachel Maddow; Podcast

In the world’s greatest democratic experiment in self-government, there are many people campaigning for an authoritarian government. Contrary to what some would believe, fascist, anti-immigration, and rightwing conspiracy imaginings are nothing new in American history. As examples, consider the Federalists’ promotion of Thomas Jefferson as trying to bring French radicalism to the U.S.; the wellspring of hate by the Know Nothings against Irish Catholics in the 1840s and 1850s; the rise of the Ku Klux Klan in the post Civil War South and 1920s America; the spread of support for Hitler and fascism in the 1930s and 1940s by such groups as the German American Bund, the Black Legion, the Silver Shirts, and others; the fear of communism that fostered McCarthyism, the John Birch Society, followed by the steady increase in rightwing state militias and paramilitary organizations, such as the Oath Keepers. And this barely exhausts the list.

Inroads made by fascism in America prior to and during World War II is the subject of Rachel Maddow’s eight-part podcast Ultra. Maddow and her team take listeners through the rise of fascism and antisemitism during this period, and it is a startling story. This isn’t so much because of the racism and campaigning for a more authoritarian American government; it’s because not only people outside the U.S. government organized for this, but because elected officials not only supported them, they also used their offices, including their franking privileges, to disseminate propaganda received directly from Germany. If that wan’t sufficient, when brought to trial for conspiring with a foreign power that the United States was at war with, they successfully beatdown the prosecution almost at every turn, demonstrating how inadequate the American justice system was, and is, at defending itself against who have no regard for it.

In light of January 6, all that preceded it, and everything that has and will surely follow it, Maddow’s Ultra could not be more timely.

You can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts. And you can read transcripts of the podcasts, see photos of the cast of historical characters appearing the podcasts, and read supporting documentation on the podcast site at MSNBC, linked here. Listening will be well worth your time. w/c