One of the best things one can do for a chronic alcoholic is to bring him a bottle of corn whiskey every day. Right? Okay, just kidding. But I have a point.
On August 26th, it was announced that Meta had settled a lawsuit with 51 attorneys general. This collection of plaintiffs alleged Meta violated state consumer-protection laws by knowingly designing Facebook and Instagram with addictive features intended to induce compulsive use by children and teenagers, despite knowing of the resulting harms, while misleading children, parents, and the public about the safety of its platforms. The settlement amount to be divided up among 47 states and four other government entities is up to $12.7 billion, and if Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube follow suit, the amount will be as high as $18 billion.
The case against Meta reminds me of Lavrentiy Beria, head of Stalin’s secret police, who stated, “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” I guarantee you that what motivated these attorneys general to bring their case was nothing other than money, and when politicians get their hands on other people’s money, there is always corruption. The siren song of “It’s For The Children” is a melody almost always sung by scoundrels.
Virginia used to be the cleanest and most ethical state in the Union. It’s not now. Abigail Spanberger lied to the electorate and said she wouldn’t try to jam through an unconstitutional gerrymandering scheme. She did anyway, knowing that it was illegal. She recently, with a sweep of her pen, restored voting rights to 100,000 felons, in clear contravention of the Virginia Constitution. Speaking of felons, Don Scott, Speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates, is a former felon who spent 7.5 years in prison. Jay Jones, Virginia’s Attorney General, put in writing how he wanted to see two bullets in his opponent’s head. Following up, he stated that he also wanted his opponent’s two children to die in their mother’s arms. The FBI recently raided Senator Pro Tempore Louise Lucas’s office, and she is being investigated for bribery and corruption activities. I could go on. How do these people get elected? One word: MONEY. Spanberger outspent her opponent in the general election by 2.5 times. If you put an X on every dollar that flowed into her campaign, you can bet a large percentage emanated from federal government expenditures filtered through a labyrinthine network of money laundering and concealment.
Virginia Code § 2.2-1819 states very plainly, “[N]o money shall be paid out of the state treasury except in accordance with appropriations made by law.” In accord with that statute, Virginia has a Disbursement Review Committee that makes recommendations to the General Assembly. Two-Bullet Jay Jones and other gubernatorial appointees would be on that committee making recommendations to the General Assembly. Virginia’s cut from Meta is $353 million.
First question: Are these consummate lawbreakers going to even bother with the law? Two, if they do, you can bet that the Commonwealth will form a couple of feel-good-sounding nonprofits, with sappy names like the Foundation for Healthy Kids, dump the money in, and have all of it go to political patronage for their friends and supporters. Slimy tactics like this in thousands of NGOs, nonprofits, and government agencies are why Democrats win elections. It’s also how brainless idiots who couldn’t run a lemonade stand somehow live in $2.5 million houses in Fairfax County, Virginia. Patronage jobs in DC pay well.
But Virginia is not the exception. In New York, the money goes straight to the Attorney General’s Office and not the state treasury. Thus, Letitia James will have control of at least $819 million. What do you think the nation’s most corrupt AG in its most corrupt state is going to do with the money? Oh, she has already stated, in a list of feel-goodisms, where the money will go, all of which are a smokescreen to fool the mushyheads. If you think any of this Nanny State money will prevent one kid from being addicted to social media, I’ve got a bridge to sell you that connects City Hall Park to Dumbo. Only caring parents can do this. $819 million would not have prevented my brothers and me from looking at Playboys, which we were forbidden to have. Every kid has a cell phone, so go figure.
I don’t want blue states to get this money, nor do I want red states. It’s 30 pieces of silver. Blood money. Gotten by ill means through subterfuge for self-aggrandizement and pure political power. You don’t give a crack addict more crack. The money is best left in the hands of Meta, where it can be used to produce new and innovative products and enhance investor returns.
It’s all a corrupt ruse to take money from a very rich corporation and spread it among a pack of lying, thieving jackals.
