This morning I was outside with the stars.  I rose on starlight.

I’m reading The Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe.  It was a book group choice and I was hesitant, but wow.   Thumbs and toes way up.  I can’t stop.  It’s a drama that will keep you entranced as you see how power, money, and lies manipulate and corrupt.  It looks at the Sackler family and their founding of Purdue Pharma and the lies they tell as they hire lawyers to cover up what they do.

This is a taste of how they buy politicians.

“Shortly after Rudolph Giulani stepped down from his position as mayor of New York City, he went into business as a consultant, and one of his first two clients was Purdue. When he entered the private sector, Giuliani was looking to make a lot of money quickly.  In 2001, he had a net worth of $1 million; five years later, he would report $17 million in income and some $50 million in assets.  For Purdue, which was working hard to frame OxyContin abuse as a law enforcement problem, rather than an issue which might implicate the drug itself or the way it was marketed, the former prosecutor who had led New York City after the 9/11 attacks would make an ideal fixer. In Michael Friedman’s view, Giuliani was “uniquely qualified” to help the company.”

And help he did.

Because I often feel our government could move a little more quickly to address obvious wrongs I’m with these words of Auguste Rodin: 

Patience is also a form of action.

I’m also with today’s report from Robert Hubbell:

• Biden created more jobs in his first year in office than any other president did during their first year.
• Biden created more jobs in his first year in office than Trump created in 4 years—because the economy lost 2.9 million jobs during Trump’s tenure.
• Biden created more jobs in his first year in office than Trump created his first three years in office (before the pandemic recession).

https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/the-biden-economic-boom