Columnists

In the private sector, being successful in your endeavors toward making money and achieving status are worshipped. The culture is often narcissistic, and it is all about promoting oneself and being the best at something. People compare themselves to others and try to see how well they measure up. People who've made a fortune are admired, emulated, and asked to do public speaking. In the private sector, ethics do exist. Sometimes they are overshadowed with the quest for more profit at any cost. But many companies are run conscientiously. Being an entrepreneur is generally a signal of status. And if a person can make their company successful, (which happens less than half the time) meaning the company is profitable and remains in business, more so. -more-

In a Senate procedural vote on whether to start debate on Senator Joe Manchin’s compromise For the People Act, which would add a nationwide voter ID requirement or other alternative like providing a utility bill receipt to prove identity; make Election Day a public holiday; along with an outline of about 24 other proposals that incorporate some of the original bill, including tighter campaign finance and ethics rules. The For the People Act ended as expected in a 50-50 vote along party lines. Sixty votes had been required to overcome Republicans’ use of the filibuster. -more-

The 100 Millionaires Who Make Mitch Rich

Minority Lynchpin Mitch McConnell likes to snort that his fondness for the Jim Crow-era filibuster is rooted in his concern for "protecting the rights of the minority." Of course, Mitch is not talking about any impoverished racial minority here. No, he's talking about a much smaller cohort — the very-very-very tiny minority that controls the political levers of this country.

Public Citizen President Robert Weissman recently exposed how small Mitch's Minority really is. As Weissman noted: "Just 100 donors are responsible for 70 percent of Super PAC contributions" that power the Republican Party. Call them the .00000001 Percenters.

Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday, You Twos

Thanks to the political fund-raising gambit of asking citizens to "surprise" elected political representatives by "signing a birthday card" addressed to the lucky individual, I was surprised to discover and am pleased to report that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) both share the same birth date—June 22.

Warren's emailed response read: "It was a busy day in the Senate, and we ran headfirst into a Republican filibuster, but reading notes like yours always gives me just the fire I need to stay in the fight…. PS: My best present yesterday? Going out to a birthday dinner with my sweetie." -more-

The week started with a roundtable discussion Sunday evening on TOPA, the Tenants’ Opportunity Purchase Act. I was surprised by the slick mailers in opposition to TOPA that were shared on zoom during the discussion. TOPA was passed out of the Land Use Policy Committee May 20 with Councilmembers Hahn and Robinson voting yes and Droste voting no. If I had to take a guess on the outcome, TOPA has not shown up in any draft council agendas, making it look like the opposition is the winner. Of course, the city is in full throttle to finishing the budget by Tuesday evening. If TOPA does happen to squeak by in a vote later this year, I doubt it will benefit more than a handful of tenants. -more-