The original name for the video game, Pac-Man, was Puck-Man. You’d think that’s because the little yellow dot-muncher looks like a little hockey puck. But the original name supposedly came from the Japanese phrase “puku taberu” which refers to greedily gobbling something up.
According to good old Wikipedia, the name of the game was unceremoniously changed to Pac-Man by its inventor, Toru Iwatani, or by the company he worked for, Namco, sometime before its North American release. But I remember it a little differently.
I remember standing in line to play what must have been one of the first Puck-Man games in the U.S. It was in one of the video arcades on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey. It was a long, slow-moving line, let me tell you. Kids were going nuts over it. And I distinctly remember it was indeed called Puck-Man because someone had craftily placed a piece of electrical tape over the curve in the “P,” turning it into an “F” so it spelled . . . well . . . you get it. Actually, maybe that explained the long line.
Perhaps the Japanese got wise to the easily vandalized name and switched it up before the broader U.S. release. But, then again . . . who knows? . . . maybe it was Japanese electrical tape on that early machine, some sort of genius marketing scheme to boost early uptake.
Waka waka waka.
Modern Gobblers
Nowadays, PAC Men gobble up cash instead of dots. I’m referring to PAC in the “Political Action Committee” sense. These are the mysterious, tax-exempt organizations that pool campaign contributions for political candidates.
Traditional PACs are supposed to be bound by a $5,000 annual limit on the size of contributions they can accept from individuals, and they are prohibited from accepting contributions from corporations and labor unions. However, so-called “Super PACs” are freed from these fund-raising restrictions as long as they don’t (1) give money directly to a candidate or to other political committees that give directly to candidates, or (2) coordinate directly with a candidate regarding how they spend their money. As long as those two conditions are met, a Super PAC can accept donations directly from individuals, corporations, or unions – or whatever – in amounts limited only by the size of donors’ bank accounts.
You can see where this leads, right? Straight to Loophole City, where transparency is a running joke. All you have to do is call your PAC a Super PAC, and then you can do as you please.
This is the mechanism by which guys like Mark Zuckerberg funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to guys like Joe Biden. (Hypothetical question: What does one get in return for spending $419 million?)
It doesn’t take much electrical tape placed here or there to see that these PACs are seriously fucking with our political system – and with us.
Waka waka waka.
Who’s Who in PAC Land
In case you’re curious about the PACs that are financing the candidates in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, I’ve rounded up some of them up for you. Sorry if I skipped your favorite PAC or candidate – I only took a swing at this in a ‘greatest hits’ sense. I’ve added some comments as a special bonus.
- Joe Biden
- PAC = Future Forward USA Action
- website
Comments:
Future Forward USA PAC (FF-PAC) is a Democratic Party -aligned Super PAC based in Palo Alto, California. Think Silicon Valley and tech oligarchy. Considering the high-tech backing, the FF-PAC official website is surprisingly sparse and low-tech. It looks like it might have been built by a foreign-born high school student using a free template. The “Issues” page on the official website does tell a little about their kooky agendas such as “protecting the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care),” “leveling the playing field” via wealth redistribution, stopping “Russian meddling in our elections,” and so on. But you won’t find much more. You can learn quite a bit more about FF-PAC here than you can from their official website. Here are some interesting highlights: FF-PAC is managed by a guy named Chauncey McLean who runs Berkeley Yeast – a bioengineering company that supposedly develops “unique strains of yeast for beer and wine production.” McLean is, in fact, a Democratic Party operative who’s been lurking around since the second Obama term. FF-PAC made the news in late 2020 for raising over $100 million in “dark money” that was spent on Biden campaign ads. There was no slap on the wrist or anything like that – just a little unfavorable media attention – so FF-PAC is still going strong. Back in 2020, FF-PAC received most of its contributions from the CEOs and presidents of California- and New York-based tech companies, venture capital firms, and wealth management companies. Some examples of 2020 donors: Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz ($91,780,000); cryptocurrency criminal Samuel Bankman-Fried ($10,000,000); Netflix founder Reed Hastings’ wife Patty Quillin ($2,000,000). Does all this money really go to buying ads?
- Donald Trump
- PAC = Save America Leadership PAC
- (no website)
Comments:
I find it odd that the Save America Leadership PAC (SAL-PAC) does not have an official website. Maybe they should hire the high school kid who built the FF-PAC site. Just an idea. FF-PAC does have a LinkedIn page here, which contains a link to DonaldJTrump.com – a well-crafted modern website with plenty of function and information. It’s unknown who (or what) is running the show at FF-PAC, so the money flow is a complete mystery. Between the LinkedIn page and DJT website, you can access and understand a clear agenda. If you’re able to set aside all the Judeo-Christian and God mumbo jumbo, it’s actually pretty good language, focused on individual rights, national sovereignty, and adherence to founding documents. It’s the kind of stuff that would get a big cheer from classic liberals, but would cause modern-day liberals to cringe.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- PAC = American Values 2024 PAC
- website
Comments:
American Values 2024 PAC (AV-PAC) has a well-crafted modern website with plenty of function and information. Issues and agendas are clearly presented. What I find most interesting is that Kennedy’s PAC is at least attempting to identify real issues. Although, it’s clear the see that some of the proposed solutions to today’s pressing problems are saddled by old-school democrat thinking rather than “independent” thinking. For example, even though government-corporation collusion and the War Machine are clearly (and correctly) called out, there’s still a bunch of pro-union rhetoric, reactionary mention of raising the minimum wage, misguided support for job creation through “green energy” initiatives, and so on. The AV-PAC was co-founded by Mark Gorton, CEO of Tower Research Capital, and Tony Lyons, President of Skyhorse Publishing. That’s nicely transparent. You can easily look up these guys and companies to see if you like them.
- Ron DeSantis
- PAC = Never Back Down
- website
Comments:
Never Back Down (NBD) has a modern-appearing website, but it is strangely void of anything to do with policies, issues, or agendas. Instead, it contains a Meet Ron page that simply provides some personal/biographical information about DeSantis. Until a few weeks ago it was unknown who (or what) was running the show at NBD, so the money flow was a mystery. But on December 17, some things started to unravel, and some names were named. Joe Roe, a top NBD strategist, resigned in the aftermath of an NBD statement that discussed allegations of “mismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information” that led to the termination of several senior officials. As of this writing, there is apparently a new PAC forming to back DeSantis. It’s called the Fight Right PAC (FR-PAC; no website yet). Interestingly, there is a leftist/progressive PAC with a confusingly similar name: Fight the Right PAC.
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- PAC = American Exceptionalism PAC
- website
Comments:
American Exceptionalism PAC (AE-PAC) has a well-crafted modern website. It’s a little sparce, but it’s punchy and direct, with a noticeable branding/marketing touch. Agendas and core policies are clearly presented, and are probably a bit offensive to the power establishment, i.e., “Shut down toxic government agencies: Dept of Education, FBI, IRS . . .” It’s certainly interesting that this voice is being tolerated at this level. It’s unknown who (or what) is running the show at AE-PAC, so the money flow is a mystery. The group’s only publicly known donor is Nevada Gold Mines, which, according to a voluntary disclosure by one of the company’s co-owners, donated $750,000 back in 2020. However, it is known that Ascent Strategic, a campaign marketing consultancy based in Washington D.C., officially joined AE-PAC in a senior advisory role in May 2023.
Phil’s Two Cents
Make no mistake: PACs are super shady. Money is pushed around in ways that we can’t imagine. “Debts” and “obligations” are certainly accrued and favors are certainly granted. When we “vote” for a candidate, we’re actually sanctioning a well-financed organization (rather than any individual) who’s aim is to put their people and agendas in place.
Should we blindly accept the existence of PACs as “business-as-usual?”
I think not.
I’ve rounded up the above PAC summaries because I feel like it might be helpful to view the candidates in the upcoming U.S. presidential election through the lens of their PACs, since it possibly reveals the agendas that are being financed. But you can take it or leave it. It’s a given that any published agendas may not correspond to real intentions.
All that said, here’s my two cents on the above PACs, and . . . well . . . some predictions for how all this might play out:
FF-PAC (Biden): Spooky, near-infinite big tech money. My best guess is that they’ll boot Biden as their front man and install a candidate who will end up “winning” the 2024 “election.” The candidate is immaterial to them. The “win” will merely reflect the currently dominant agenda.
SAL-PAC (Trump): Huge mysterious money. But ultimately, as before, controlled opposition to the tech-driven agenda. Trump himself is likely just an actor/agitator, an agent provocateur, who ultimately serves the left in his role as a J.R. Ewing-esque bad guy.
AV-PAC (Kennedy): Relatively honest money and a reasonably well-intentioned front man. But likely doomed to the dustbin of history. One potential bright spot would be to see and hear Kennedy on the debate stage with Trump and whoever the Democrats prop up, as RFK would be (by far) the smartest guy on stage.
NBD or FR-PAC (DeSantis): Excellent choice for a front man, as DeSantis is basically likeable. But no shot for the Republican nomination against the better organized (and financed) SAL-PAC Trump machine. DeSantis will likely fade away into the same dustbin of history as RFK unless SAL-PAC Trump wants him for VP – in which case, he’ll at least remain relevant until election day.
AE-PAC (Ramaswamy): Mysterious money backing a voice that is remarkably anti-establishment. Ramaswamy’s messaging seems a bit too honest to be controlled opposition, e.g., on the debate stage he has blurted out that the climate agenda is a hoax. That said, Ramaswamy gets zero push-back from other candidates when he accuses them of being backed by Super PACs when he, himself, is backed by one – and that seems rather odd. It seems like a stretch to imagine SAL-PAC Trump wanting him for VP, but no matter: Ramaswamy is hyper-intelligent and vocal, and he’s enough of an enigma to remain relevant after the election, but it’s hard to say in what capacity.
Anyway . . . I look forward to revisiting this blog a year from now to see what’s gone down. Care to join me?
– “Phil”
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