Paul Carr — Chris Christie lies yet again. Tells press conference that Sirota was fired by Pando over inaccuracies

I thought we’d already put this to bed, but apparently not. Speaking in a press conference today, New Jersey governor Chris Christie responded to the continuing scandal over his handling of New Jersey pension funds by adding yet another lie to his long, long record of untruths.

Asked once again about the scandal, he responded that David Sirota, the journalist who broke the story while at Pando, was fired for inaccuracy. He also called David a “discredited journalist” and a “hack.”

As I’ve written before, but apparently need to do once again, David Sirota wasn’t “fired” for anything. Rather he was laid off during our recent restructuring of our editorial team, allowing us to refocus on our core beat of holding to account the “new power” tech moguls and companies taking over the world. David was quickly snapped up by IBT which continues to publish his excellent investigations into financial corruption in all its forms.

As Christie is well aware, not only does Pando stand by David’s reporting but we continue to cover any legal expenses he incurs as a result of Christie’s cronies threatening to sue over our coverage. To date, despite attempts to silence us with threats of multi-hundred-million dollar lawsuits, no such suit has been filed.

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Chris Christie lies yet again. Tells press conference that Sirota was fired by Pando over inaccuracies
Paul Carr | Editorial Director of Pando

The Economic Normalcy Bias — David Sirota

In 1977, two Boeing 747s collided on an airstrip in the Canary Islands. According to accident investigators, those who survived the initial blast in one plane had time to escape before a fire consumed the wreckage. But eyewitnesses reported that many remained in their seat looking perfectly content--as if nothing was wrong.

Not surprisingly, dozens of these dazed victims were burned to death, and the episode became a reminder of the so-called normalcy bias--a cognitive phenomenon whereby many who are faced with imminent disaster instantly convince themselves that everything is normal and that they don't have to modify their behavior.

Unpleasant as this anecdote is to recount, it exemplifies the psychology at the root of one of America's most destructive traits: our obsession with materialism and consumerism. To extrapolate the metaphor, if our damaged economy, record-low savings rate and sky-high personal debt levels are that smoldering plane about to explode, then America's "shop till you drop" normalcy bias may be engineering yet another avoidable tragedy.

The most recent holiday binge exemplified the impending crisis. Despite persistent unemployment, flat wages and higher prices for necessities (food, health care, etc.), America nonetheless went on its usual post-Thanksgiving buying spree.

Read the rest at In These Times

The Economic Normalcy Bias
by David Sirota

"Obsession with materialism and consumerism" rots the human spirit. Sages of all times and climes were not being grinches when they cautioned against the corrosive effects, which are deadly for a culture as well as for individual aspirations based on enduring values. The so-called rational pursuit of maximum utility all too easily turns into what Keynes dubbed "animal spirits."