"Everybody Loves Raytheon!"
An Interview with A. Riche-Persson
Editor's note: We last heard from A. Riche-Persson in 2020 when she told us her perspective on the upcoming elections in Why I Adore Joe Biden. We thought it would be good to make a Zoom call and check in with her to find out how she's been doing during the pandemic and after Joe's first year in office. The transcript of the call follows.
The Revolution Continues: It's good to hear from you, Ms. Riche-Persson. May we call you by your first name Ayn?
A. Riche-Persson: If you're a member of my private club, maybe. Otherwise, I always insist on the press addressing me properly.
TRC: Okay... So, Ms. Riche-Persson, how was your pandemic experience? I notice you're not wearing a mask.
ARP: President Biden said it's over now, and I believe him. I'm not a science denier, truth be told. I simply did my best to stay away from places where lots of poor people were breathing in and out, and I always use hand sanitizer. Other than one really bad bout of pneumonia, I've been perfectly fine these past two years. The whole thing has been one big joke, but I've had the last laugh.
TRC: Oh? How so?
ARP: My friend Nancy told me which pharmaceutical companies to buy stocks in right before they started boo-hooing over this overblown common cold pandemic business. And she was right. It's been very lucrative.
TRC: Would that be Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House?
ARP: One and the same. She's very helpful to her friends with her insider tips. I just tell my stockbroker what she says and he lines it up for me. Ka-ching! Ka-ching! Money in the bank.
TRC: I bet. What other insider tips has Ms. Pelosi given you?
ARP: Lately she's been gushing all about military manufacturers to invest in. Since February those stock prices have soared higher and higher. It's so exciting! Everybody loves Raytheon! I adore Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, too. America is just getting richer and richer by the day.
TRC: Everyone in the US is getting richer, or is it just you and Ms. Pelosi and her friends?
ARP: (Chuckling) What difference does it make? As long as I'm doing okay that's all that matters.
TRC: We don't have time to delve in what the difference is right now, but you're honestly happy with the way things are going?
ARP: Of course I am. When the stock market is on a roll, everyone is on a roll. I think President Biden said we've got something like zero percent unemployment, so that's gotta be good, right?
TRC: Do the closed signs on small businesses' front windows ever catch your eye?
ARP: I'm driven around in a limo with dark-tinted windows. Never seen them.
TRC: Okay, so you're saying you're not worried about a resurgence in the omicron variant of COVID-19 or upset about the conflict going on in Ukraine or that millions of Americans won't be able to pay their rent and risk eviction this year?
ARP: Well, of course I'm upset about all those poor people living on the streets. They bring our property values down. They're so messy with all their possessions in bags littering the place. But the mayor of New York City is doing a great job of rounding them up and putting them elsewhere, so I sleep well at night.
TRC: And the chance of COVID taking off again and killing another million Americans?
ARP: Meh. It's not really a thing thing, you know? At least not among my circle of friends. If others get sick from it or have to bury a family member, I feel sorry for them, but I don't know them, so what? Nothing to lose sleep over. I'm just glad I don't have to smudge my lipstick wearing a mask in public. Masks really killed my sense of style. They never matched my designer outfits.
TRC: (Sighing) The idea that you're making money off of selling armaments to fuel a proxy war that has caused many to flee their homes doesn't cause you any bad dreams, either, right?
ARP: You said it, not me. It's a proxy war. That means American soldiers won't get hurt--just those people who are stupid enough to live there. And fossil fuels aren't making that good a return on investment right now, so why not expand my stock portfolio to include weapons manufacturers? It seems that cute little comedian president can't get enough of them.
TRC: Zelensky?
ARP: Gesundheit. I hope you wear a mask in public so others don't catch your germs.
TRC: Uh, yeah. On a related topic, I've recently learned that your family originally came from Germany and arrived in the US right at the end of World War II. Is that right?
ARP: (Quietly) That's right... Granddad got a job with the government.
TRC: Your grandfather was known to have a very important job within the Nazi government before he immigrated to the US is what I've read.
ARP: Yeah, but he was a good Nazi. Like the Nazis in Ukraine are. America likes the good Nazis.
TRC: It appears we do. The Azov Battalion and other Nazi units in the Ukrainian military are accepting billion of dollars of armaments from the US. Biden gave Ukraine $800 million worth of arms just this last week. Some of those guns in the future may be used to terrorize or kill people that Nazis don't like such as LGBTQIA persons, the Roma, and ethnic Russians. You're okay with that?
ARP: (Sighing) Well, what can I say? People get hurt in wars, but wars are good for business.
TRC: They are. And all is fair in love and business, right?
ARP: Hey, like I said everybody loves Raytheon--my stockbroker, Ukrainian Nazis, the US Defense Department… You know, important people.
TRC: Uh-huh. You certainly have an interesting perspective on things, Ms. Riche-Persson.
ARP: I do. And I have one other thing you and your friends don't have.
TRC: What's that?
ARP: Money, so people in power have to listen to me. Even Nazis in power.
TRC: Sad to say but true. Thanks for talking with us today, Ayn Rand--uh, Ms. Riche-Persson. I'm sure you'll sleep well tonight. I know I won't.
BIO: "A. Riche-Persson" (or Ayn to her friends) is a member of the country club down the road and thinks she knows what's best for those who haven't been blessed with her good looks (and face lifts) and brains (she attended Yale, but married a millionaire and forgot to finish her degree). Heed her advice and you, too, can become well-connected in the corporate-owned-and-operated establishment duopoly. Just leave your conscience at the door with the coat check girl.
Related Articles:
More Military Spending Won't End Atrocities, We Must Focus on Preventing Them https://truthout.org/articles/more-military-spending-wont-end-atrocities-we-must-focus-on-preventing-them/
Some of the Weapons Delivered to Ukraine Will Be Used Against Us https://popularresistance.org/some-of-the-weapons-delivered-to-ukraine-will-be-used-against-us/
Lockheed Martin and Friends Don't Want You To Know What They're Up To https://jacobinmag.com/2022/04/defense-contractors-human-rights-transparency-lockheed-raytheon
US Spent 7.5 Times More On Nuclear Weapons Than Vaccine Donations https://popularresistance.org/the-u-s-spent-7-5-times-more-on-nuclear-weapons-than-global-vaccine-donations/
Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent on War-Making to Sustain Itself https://truthout.org/articles/global-capitalism-has-become-dependent-on-war-making-to-sustain-itself/
How the War in Ukraine Is Being Fought in the Media (video) https://youtu.be/j9YewFqws2M
Gonzalo Lira Speaks Out (video) (There's lots of good information in this video from an investigative reporter in Ukraine.) https://youtu.be/AhjcVTCDLLI
Why I Adore Joe Biden by A. Riche-Persson https://bernie2016.blogspot.com/2020/04/why-i-adore-joe-biden.html
The Rich Haven't Just Gotten Richer--They've Also Gotten A Lot More Selfish https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/23/us-billionaires-taxes-elon-musk-week-in-patriarchy
Raytheon CEO ADMITS Ukraine War Is A Racket https://t.co/NriCWRwu1J via @YouTube
— MoneyIsObsolete🌍 (@HumanBehavior13) April 21, 2022
Second half of the video on Vogue making Stepan Bandera One of History's Most Distinguished Ukrainians pic.twitter.com/yjFpbCGDok
— 🕊Guillotine Party ☭ 🔜 (@Chacelounge) April 19, 2022
Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone
— Tita Jr Smith (@katika0418) April 22, 2022
In less than a week, the US has announced TWO military packages to Ukraine, totaling $1,600,000,000 in heavy weapons.
— CODEPINK (@codepink) April 20, 2022
That's over a BILLION spent on militarism when 30 million+ Americans have no insurance, millions more are in poverty & the world careens toward climate calamity.
Chants of support for the controversial Azov Battalion break out at a pro Ukraine rally in lower Manhattan
— Elad Eliahu (@elaadeliahu) April 23, 2022
Attendees chant “Azov” pic.twitter.com/fFguwpRa82
Remember when Facebook changed their policy and made it ok to praise the Nazis in Ukraine?
— Black in the Empire (@blackintheempir) April 24, 2022
If you get the feeling that all this Ukraine flag-waving is one more vapid mainstream propaganda initiative used to manufacture consent for an agenda that has nothing to do with what you're being told, it's because that's exactly what is happening.
— Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) April 25, 2022
This post first appeared on Our Revolution Continues -- The Bernie, please read the originial post: here
