Welcome to The Now

  Not who you think : Every year companies in the US spend around $8 billion on DEI efforts, according to research by the consulting firm McKinsey. With all the financial investment, time and attention put into advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in corporations, it is crucial to understand who benefits from these efforts. In 2019 a report entitled Being Black in Corporate America, released by global nonprofit, think tank, and advisory Coqual, found that Black professionals are more likely to encounter prejudice and microaggressions than other ethnic groups. They are also less likely than their white counterparts to have access to senior leaders and managerial support. The report lays out employees' everyday experiences of systemic racism in workplaces and the consequences it creates for those trying to advance to senior leadership positions. For example, Black professionals are nearly four times as likely as white professionals to say they've experienced racial pre...

 

 But not for any moral reasons:

  In 2021 , The US imported around 8.47 million barrels barrels per day of petroleum from 73 countries, and exported about 8.63 millions barrels per day of petroleum to 176 countries (and 4 US territories. In other words, American was a net exporter of 0.16 million barrels per day.  President Biden's ban on petroleum gases from Russia is " largely symbolic ," mostly because the US doesn't import that much gas from Russia.  In light of the rising price of gas-at-the-pump, these two facts raise the question of what Biden and the Democratic Party plan to do going forward. Should that much petroleum be exported in light of current events? Why imposed a ban that doesn't matter? How would continuing either help people who need affordable gas in order to " get back to the office ," as Biden has requested/suggested?

In 2018 , the US Congress approved $639 billion in military spending. On January 9, 2019 , Forbes ran a story titled: " Holding U.S. Treasurys? Beware: Uncle Sam Can't Account for $21 Trillion " which involved the Departments of Defense and Housing and Urban Development. In 2019 , the US Congress approved $686.1 billion for the Department of Defense.  On January 23, 2020 , Yahoo posted a story from the Financial Times titled, " The Pentagon's $35 Trillion Accounting Black Hole ," which described the situation as a " persistent lack of internal financial controls at the Pentagon ."  In 2020 , the US Congress approved $714 billion for defense spending.  On May 19, 2021 , NPR published a story titled, " The Pentagon Has Never Passed An Audit. Some Senators Want to Change That ," which reminds us the the Pentagon's "first-ever independent financial audit" was in 2017 and that "the department has never detailed its asset...