Bad editing (probably by some automation)

900 arrests doesn't sound right. There were 900 traffic stops and 9 arrests. 

https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/massive-traffic-crackdown-on-us-19-results-in-nearly-900-arrests

Disney in a wage theft case

Beginning a few years ago, Disney underpaid its cast members in Disneyland by a wide margin. 

Somewhere between the union contracts, California law, and Disneys policies, many thousands of people were underpaid for their work at the theme park. 

The settlement covered back pay and came to $233 million. 

As the author notes, it's interesting that the company was quibbling about a dollar or two and hour - all the while the CEO made $31 million last year. 

Wealth inequity and corporate malfeasance meet up on this one. 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-13/disney-agrees-to-233-million-settlement-in-wage-theft-case

Walt Disney was cropped out of this photo

Here's a bit of a fun story about how a photo of Stravinsky appeared in The NY Times with a greyed out part on the side. 

It turns out that someone painted over Walt Disney in the photo when it was used in publication several times over the years. 

And recently someone used a mild solvent to clear the grey and see what was underneath. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/15/insider/walt-disney-painted-out-of-the-photo.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

Watch "This Private Equity Firm Owns EVERY Chain" on YouTube

This is a well done piece of reporting that's worth 11 minutes to watch. 

It underscores what is wrong with our capitalist system and why further deregulation is dangerous to most people. 

And you may ask yourself, what can I do? Well for one thing, you should not subsidize any of the brands Roark owns. 

https://youtu.be/0vwGb-Btdl0?si=vJrFOUFvsZtQHlRJ

If you're curious about what they own, they list them here. 

https://www.roarkcapital.com/portfolio

Wrong. But funny.

Families Are Going Into Debt for Disney Vacations

Back in August, the NY Times published the attached article about how people are willing to go into debt in order to afford a vacation to Walt Disney World.

They interviewed some people, and did some research into the costs.  They quote some of the guests who say that their kids are only young once, and it was worth it to go into debt to experience the magic.

I'll agree that this magic does make an impression, but it is pretty sad that it stretches people's finances to experience it.

And it calls to mind a bigger issue: that people are okay with taking on debt in order to do something that they want - rather than saving for it and THEN having the experience, as previous generations have done. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/business/disney-vacation-debt.html

UFOs in Roswell NM

This is a good synopsis of what happened in New Mexico (hint: a weather balloon crashed) and the ensuing news coverage. 

The local media did a pretty thorough job of reporting on what actually happened, including interviews with the military and civilians. 

And that was that. 

Until the National Enquirer ran with a story in the 1970s that omitted some facts and details of the actual account. 

And thus a conspiracy was born and continues to grow today. 

This should serve as a gentle reminder of how easily the media can manipulate people into believing that they are somehow being lied to, and concoct some absurd story which then becomes "fact" in a way. 

https://theweek.com/us/59331/roswell-ufo-crash-what-really-happened-67-years-ago