Before the scourge of Fentanyl, there was another, equally devastating wave of destructive and “Killer Drug” that swept America. Do you know who the Sackler family is? They’re the wonderful people who brought us Oxycontin. They controlled a company called Purdue Pharma. They marketed their wonderful new drug aggressively and one of their main points? Oxycontin was non-addictive. You may want to read that again. They pretended Oxycontin was non-addictive and pushed it as hard as they could.

Their efforts became known as the “Opioid Crisis.” Aggressive addiction turned people into zombies – and then killed them. Purdue, under Sackler guidance, continued to push Oxy. After all, while it’s true their drug was ruining lives and killing people, it’s ALSO true that Purdue, and therefore the Sacklers, were making lots and lots of money. Billions, even. And, as we all well know from living in this conservative, Bizarro America, piles of dead bodies are merely “collateral damage” when profits are involved.

Eventually, Purdue ended up pleading guilty to three Federal felonies and thousands of people starting suing the company causing Purdue, and specifically the Sacklers, to flee to bankruptcy court for protection. I’d bet the families of the lost would have appreciated some protection, too. Maybe, not lie about how addictive your product is? Something like that? Anyway, as I mentioned, they had lots and lots of money and they used some of it to stonewall the bankruptcy court. Eventually, the court and the family did something only Billionaires get to do: they entered “negotiations” in which the Sacklers made an offer about how much they were willing to pay in response to their murders and the court said, “Okay.”

The court agreed to let them off the hook by creating a sweetheart deal for them. Yes, Purdue Pharma was dissolved and the Sacklers had to pay $6 Billions dollars – a likely drop in the bucket compared to the killing they made from their killing spree – but they didn’t have to admit any responsibility AND they demanded immunity from future prosecution, and the judge granted that oh-so-stupid request. Oh, and the $6 Billion got paid out over time from future profits, and never touched the money they had already pocketed. It’s a pretty lovely deal for Sackler and Purdue Pharma.

Many people signed off on it because they believed they would never receive ANY compensation if they didn’t, money being a VERY effective stonewall. Most of the legal woes the Sacklers faced came from entities (governments, medical groups, that kind of thing), not individuals. So, most of the individuals would see little to nothing without the settlement and very, very little with the settlement. (“Here. We think your kid’s life was worth about $1.38. Now get out.”) It took no time at all for other corporations to glom onto the same strategy and use it to protect themselves. Johnson and Johnson is using it right now in the lawsuit about leaving so much asbestos in their powders.

Fortunately, not everybody agreed to the deal and the legal process has been playing out. The “legal process” is very slow. The legal part of this all started in 2019. Today, the Roberts Supremely Kangaroo Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the case. CAN corporations use bankruptcy courts to protect themselves from further legal liability after knowingly committing a dangerous act? In other words, can they buy their way out of responsibility for anything they do?

I’ve got to tell you, it always irritates the hell out of me when I hear that some company has “entered negotiations with the court to arrive at a settlement.” The perpetrators shouldn’t get to decide, or even comment, on how much is “fair” to compensate victims for the actions of the company (keyword: “victims”). In MY mind, the penalty should ALWAYS be at least two times the amount they made by engaging in their “activities” (read: crimes) in the first place. I mean, sure, it sounds like a lot, $6 Billion dollars. But if the profits from Oxycontin were, say, $12 Billion, getting away with only $6 Billion payout is a pretty sweet deal. Go ahead, find me a corporation that would do such a thing in the first place that might pass on that kind of profit. I’ll wait. Meanwhile, set the penalty at $24 Billion dollars and start seizing assets until the bill is paid.

I would have a little hope about this reaching the SCOTUS, except this is the Roberts Kangaroo Court. Not only do they LOVE conservative positions, a few of these guys are openly for sale. Any word on whether the Thomas’s are enjoying their new luxury yacht, yet? I’m guessing there will be soon…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I enjoyed watching the Forty Niners beat the stuffing out of the Eagles, yesterday. It settled a bunch of stuff. The Eagles didn’t like the narrative that they only beat the Niners last year in the Championship game because the Niners didn’t have a functioning Quarterback. But yesterday, the Niners DID have a functioning QB, and the Eagles didn’t have a chance. Good. It really has shaken up the NFC, too. The Niners still have an actual shot at the top seed. (C’mon Dallas? Sometimes, the world turns upside down.)

My absolute favorite moment from the game, though, came when Christian McCaffery tried a “flop.” A flop is when a player falls dramatically to the ground in an effort to draw a flag. It’s supposed to look like the opposing team did something wrong. It’s so common, it has a name (Um, a “flop”). It happens, commonly, in Basketball, Futbol (Soccer), and American Football. It’s often executed so poorly, it’s obviously just a flop. McCaffery’s effort was so overly dramatic, it actually drew a laugh from the official, which the camera caught. McCaffery and the official just had a little laugh together and the game went on. McCaffery’s a great player but he’s not a great flopper. He should leave that out of his game going forward…