Repeat, we have a pumpkin.”
Thursday, October 5, 2023
I was watching the 60 Minutes piece on Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX Crypto and I had this sense that I had seen this all before. It’s The Great Gatsby, but from a different angle. Gatsby was a guy involved in some sort of illegal activity, maybe bonds, something. He longed for Daisy, who was rich and trapped in a loveless marriage to Tom Buchanan. Gatsby held lavish parties across the water from where Tom and Daisy lived. Everybody came, except the one object of his desire.
Sam Bankman-Fried was the richest person in the world under 30. He figured out how to make a lot of money in crypto, whatever that is, but to quote Evita, “the money kept pouring in.” He was terribly suited to run a business. He also wanted to save the world. He paid big name atheletes to endorse FTX. We are talking millions and millions of dollars, which given that he was worth 28 billion was small change. The gliteratti came calling. Anna Wintour, head of Vogue, and the chairwoman of the MET Gala asked if he’d sponsor her event. He hubg out with Tom Brady. He saw Trump as the biggest threat to our country and offered to pay him to not run for President. Name your price. It was five billion. Before the deal was finalized his world collapsed.
FTX had a run on the bank. Because there were no controls and no accountability everyone fled. Sam was left holding the bag. No colleagues, no gliteratti, he was persona non grata. Just like Gatsby, no one came to the funeral.
Is he guilty? Of what? I’m not sure. I’ll read Michael Lewis’ book to find out. It seems to me that if he’s guilty of anything it’s the same sort of thing Gatsby was guilty of in society. He tried to buy his way in and as long as he had money everyne was his friend. Then poof. The guilty part in that case is not Sam, but everyone around him who glomed onto him.
Okay, Matt Gaetz and Kevin McCarthy will never be friends and it has nothing to do with politics. It’s a woman. Kevin slammed the door of his cabin in Camp David in Matt’s face. Matt was trying to hit on Cassidy Hutchinson and was so clumsy and stupid that he mistook Kevin’s cabin for Cassidy’s because her golf cart was outside the cabin. Cassidy and a bunch of folks were drinking at Kevin’s cabin. Matt wasn’t invited. Matt was hoping to get lucky with Cassidy – obviously. When he knocked on the cabin door he expected Cassidy not the minority speaker of the house. Whoops. Lame recovery. Slam. See ya Matt.
In response to Cassidy recounting the incident in her book Matt said that he and Cassidy had dated “briefly.” As in never, or as assidy put it, “I would never date Matt Gaetz.” Who ya gonna believe? Okay, there’s no contest here.
Matt took his revenge this week. Now what? Well we are ooking at two of the worst people in Congress viaing for the Speakership, but it really doesn’t matter because anyone in their caucus can blow it up, and like Matt did, they wil again, but nless they change their own rules, which they won’t, so what will happen?
Will aome adult enter the room? How about a knight in shining armor? Not likely.
Maybe the Dems can find five Republicans to form a coalition and stop this nonsense, or maybe five Republicans will do it. Either way it could save the House, but currently it seems unlikely. So the circus like antics will continue.
Many in the news fact business have reviewed how unsucessful the past five Republican speakers have been, and how under their leadership the only thing that got passed was tax cuts for the welathy and sromping on the poor and the middle class.
Now what is called the Republican party is no longer conservative – whatever that meant, but clueless. They have no vision, no principle, no nothing – except they are opposed to Democrats who are trying to fix things. As Bill Clinton pointed out the Republicans main grievance with the Dems is they don’t clean up the mess the Repbulicans make fast enough.
Let’s review a few of the Republican talking points:
Trickle Down Economics – It was Will Rodgers who pointed out that it didn’t work and he was tlaking about Hoover. They were still at it when Reagan come in and it still didn’t work. the rich got richer and there it stopped.
Balance the Budget – This is only mentioned when Democrats are in charge. The last attempt at a budget by Republicans was Paul Ryan. He put together a wish list of things he’d like to see happen in government. He and the Republicans called it a budget. I remember Jon Boehner holding it up to his chest like some holy scroll. Obama showed up, took it and opened to a page – randomly, and read the first paragraph he came to. After reading it Obama said, “you can’t govern based on that,” and what did he get in response? Nothing. Barack was right. I don’t think any of the Republicans had bothered to open the document and read it. There was another prbolem with Ryan’s budget – no numbers. Budgets need numbers to state their case, Ryan’s had none, except page numbers. So much for the wonderkin.
Tax and Spend – This is a charge leveled against Democrats. They never look at themselves in this light. If they did they’d discover that they are Spend and Spend – no Tax folks.
Decrease the National Debt – Under Republican Presidents the national debt goes up and up. Democrats actually spend less, a lot less. The Presidents who have done the most to control the national debt are Clinton, Obama, and Biden – all Democrats. The ones who have done the most to increase the debt are: Trump, Reagan, W, Papa Bush.
Health care – there has never been a Republican health care plan. Never. Period. Full Stop.
So what of Sam? He like so many that become rich and or famous are not normal in their behavior or outlook. So what? We’ll see.
Does the green light on the shore beckon him to his death or his rebirth?
