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Johan's avatar

This isn’t just a bribe. It’s behavioral theater…and the tech titans are playing their assigned roles.

Google didn’t settle. It submitted. Paramount and Disney didn’t negotiate. They capitulated. Because in a system where legal process is just a mask for coercion, the only rational move is to pay the bully and hope he doesn’t come back tomorrow.

I unpacked this exact dynamic in my latest piece: The Collapse of Moral Authority, Part II. When cruelty becomes currency and spectacle replaces law, the “settlement” isn’t a legal outcome, it’s a loyalty test.

And the U.S. legal system? It’s not malfunctioning. It’s performing exactly as designed.

Read the piece. Then ask yourself: who’s next in line to pay tribute?

Thank you for writing this!

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Dan Leithauser's avatar

It is like a homeowner pouring gasoline on a house fire. Paying a "settlement" for current legal issues thinking that a pay-off will be enough to forestall future legal actions? All prior Trump experiences going back decades would indicate this is delusional. Let's follow that Trump money trail. Where does it end up? The US Treasury or Trump coffers?

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Donna Rogers's avatar

We knew it was coming. I don’t use google for anything as there is so many app alternatives.

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