California is leading the charge in holding Monsanto (now owned by Bayer AG) accountable for the widespread health damage caused by its cancer-causing herbicide Roundup (glyphosate). But the Trump administration is actively fighting against this justice-seeking endeavor by pushing to overturn a landmark court ruling that found Monsanto guilty of basically committing crimes against humanity.
It was August of 2018 when Monsanto lost its first major lawsuit involving glyphosate, the primary active ingredient in Roundup. Dewayne Johnson, a groundskeeper in California, successfully argued that Monsanto knowingly hid evidence linking Roundup exposure to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
The jury in the case ultimately decided that Monsanto had acted with "malice," and the company was consequently ordered to pay $289 million in damages. But if the Trump administration gets its way, then Monsanto will eventually be vindicated of this conviction – or as we call this type of situation here in the United States, just more crony capitalism as usual.
A Ninth Circuit court brief filed back in December reveals that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) both want to see this ruling against Monsanto overturned by a higher court. Immediately after this filing, Bayer, Monsanto's new owner, saw its stock prices immediately soar, according to reports.
"This decision isn't surprising seeing as [how] Trump ran his whole campaign on the economy, not environmental or health safety," writes Phillip Schneider for Waking Times.
"According to a 2017 Associated Press analysis, almost half of Trump's EPA appointees have previous industry ties, with about one-third previously working as lawyers or lobbyists for chemical or fossil fuel companies like Monsanto."
For more related news about how it's just more of the same under Trump, be sure to check out Trump.news.
Bush, Obama, Trump – they all support corporate fascism
Believe it or not, despite all of his "drain the swamp" rhetoric, Trump is really no different than previous administrations when it comes to revolving-door politics between industry and government.
During the Obama administration, nearly 70 "ethics waivers" were signed allowing former industry heads to move into government positions "regulating" the very industries for which they previously worked. Already under Trump, some 24 of these same ethics waivers have been signed by Trump pick Don McGahn – with likely many more on the way.
Schneider also notes that back in November, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration had "unlawfully excluded millions of tons of toxic materials from undergoing safety review, including common products such as fire retardant, house paint, and insulation."
In other words, the only thing that seems to matter to Trump is posting higher stock market numbers that can be falsely equated with a "good economy." Public safety doesn't seem to matter, which means more hormone-disrupting poisons on Americans' dinner plates (but at least Israel got the Golan Heights!).
America First isn't really panning out the way that a lot of Trump's supporters had hoped, based on his earlier campaign promises. "America," in this context, would appear to only mean American corporations. Ordinary American people, on the other hand, are being left behind to fend for themselves, at least when it comes to trying to find clean food for their families to eat.
"It doesn't appear that the Trump administration will allow Bayer's stock to go down without a fight," concludes Schneider, "but I have a feeling that isn't going to stop victims of [Roundup] from seeking justice."
To keep up with the latest news about the continued collapse of America under this current hybridized system of crony capitalism and budding socialism, be sure to check out Collapse.news.
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