Samizdata quote of the day – the deceivers

Samizdata Illuminatus (Arkham, Massachusetts) · Civil liberty, Law & Regulation · Environment · North American affairs

So, to summarize: it turns out that the “deceivers” were never the energy companies to begin with. Rather, New York City attempted to deceive the legal system by taking information out of context in order to name and shame American energy companies. While unfortunate, this activity isn’t surprising considering the City’s law firm, Sher Edling, is currently under Congressional investigation for its dark money financing and questionable ties to activist-academics.

– Mandi Risko

January 16th, 2025 |

4 comments to Samizdata quote of the day – the deceivers

• bobby b

  January 17, 2025 at 12:30 am

  Oftentimes, it is the lawyers job to “deceive the legal system”, to some extent. (Oh, hell, to a huge extent.)

  More annoying to me is that our current bench lets them get away with it on a partisan basis. The judges are supposed to be the gatekeepers.

  This is the biggest change in my mind – that so many judges have just cast aside that “politically neutral” stance, openly and brazenly and proudly.

  THAT is what needs to change back. It’s the same basic impulse that says “shoot the CEO.” Destroy the system, so long as we win.

• Fraser Orr

  January 17, 2025 at 4:39 am

  The thing I find bothersome about this and similar cases is the use of the legal system as a club rather than seeking justice. If you’ve got lots of money to pay lawyers and you go against someone who hasn’t you are going to win by default. It is outrageously unfair. Boy did we see that with some of the co-defendants in the Trump lawfare.

  I remember one instance in my life where I ended in a business disagreement with someone who was extremely wealthy. Even though there was no legal merit whatsoever to his claims, he was pissed and said something like “I’ve got more money and lawyers than you can imagine, and I’m going to consume all your money defending yourself and you’re going to be going to court for the rest of your life.” Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and he didn’t end up suing me, but there is no doubt that if he had he could certainly have carried out his threat.

  So, I don’t really know what the answer to such a thing is. There are some weak protections, but not many. I remember another time an ex-employee sued my company for some trivial matter and we paid him off with something like $30k. Why? Because even if it gets tossed on a summary judgement it’ll probably cost twice that in legal fees.

  But here the state didn’t like some companies and so used the legal system to hammer them and rob them of their attention, time and money. In fact that is a generous statement. In truth they didn’t like or dislike the companies, they just thought crushing them would score them some political points. Ten years of litigation? I can’t imagine. Even in a “loser pays” system it isn’t clear how you get that ten years of your life back. Of course it is a consequence of the fact that the government runs the courts, and everything the government does is outrageously expensive, deeply unfair, and moves at the speed of a glacier.

  The only outcome? Electricity prices will go up. And maybe that is a good outcome for the state since it will decrease demand for energy, even if not good at all for the people they represent.

• Paul Marks

  January 17, 2025 at 4:32 pm

  Anyone who does business in New York is a fool – stop selling gasoline (or anything else) in places where the government, executive, legislature, and the courts (YES – not this time, but the courts will come around) are out to destroy you.

  Say goodbye to New York, California, Illinois, and-so-on.

  These leftist places can-not-be-saved.

  Try to save them and they will just drag you down with them.

  Get out – leave, right now.

  “But Paul – Wall Street is in New York” – oh dear, how sad, never mind. This changes nothing – get out of New York and get out now.

• Paul Marks

  January 17, 2025 at 4:38 pm

  As for the CO2 increases temperature theory.

  Go to New York State right now – does it feel hot to you?

  Contrary to the lying government agencies, there is no evidence that New York State is hotter now than it was 90 years ago.

  So it is not a matter of people knowing or not knowing about the “harm” that C02 has caused New York – C02 has NOT harmed New York.

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