I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 228 No one can claim "progress" in front of Logan.

The “Prison BA” alliance’s statement claiming to “acquire the federal drug regulatory agency” was initially not taken seriously.

Like Goebbels, most media outlets viewed it as a publicity stunt by the alliance to divert attention and create a spectacle.

As a result, the media, always eager for a good spectacle, happily joined in the hype and sensationalism, discussing its "feasibility" in a serious tone, half-joking and half-curious:
"Ten Advantages of the 'Prison BA' Alliance Taking Over Drug Regulation: At Least They Can 'Test Drugs' Quickly and the Effects Are Immediately Visible!"

"From Fox River to Washington: Which department will be next in 'Prison BA's' capital empire?"

Everyone thought it was just a carefully planned crisis public relations performance, and the public opinion field was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Then, the "Prison BA" alliance solemnly submitted a "Draft Plan on Taking Over the Functions of the Department of Agriculture's Chemical Bureau and Establishing an Independent, Nonprofit American Drug Regulatory Center" to the White House.

Even at this point, the situation is still not out of line with everyone's expectations.

Until President Coolidge said the draft was good, an innovative model of public-private partnership, and he was prepared to formally submit it to Congress for discussion.

The news caused an uproar from all sides!

No, everyone says the president really likes "Prison BA" games. We didn't believe it at first, but now it seems that you "love" them too much, President.
You actually took such an outrageous suggestion seriously and even wanted to initiate formal political procedures?!

Even many in the "Prison BA" alliance couldn't believe it. Fox River Warden Wade Berwick looked at Logan with a strange sense of awe—did you have some secret dealings with His Excellency the President? This pace of progress is terrifying!
It's worth noting that the reason the league approved Logan's outlandish proposal so easily was largely because everyone thought it was a public relations stunt.

Ultimately, it's likely just about establishing an internal drug regulatory center.

Who would have thought that the script would actually head in the direction of "truly transforming the American pharmaceutical industry"!
Are they really going to shoulder the historical responsibility of "giving the American people a healthcare-free America" ​​from now on, with their "Prison Basketball League"?! This script is too surreal!
Logan was actually... well, Logan wasn't too surprised.

If he didn't have much of an impression of former President Harding, he knew much more about the current President Coolidge.

Just as the Lord famously said, "The business of America is commerce," President Coolidge was a staunch "business party" who believed in laissez-faire capitalism. One of his core governing philosophies was "small government"—aiming to cut government spending, lower taxes, and minimize and restrict the regulatory role of federal agencies, which he considered a shackle on business vitality.

It can be said that his "laissez-faire" approach exacerbated the crisis of the subsequent Great Depression!
Besides, there are precedents for privatizing public sector functions in the United States.

From the distant past, there's the Federal Reserve, which appears to be a government agency but is actually composed of private bankers; and more recently, the Fox River private prison system—isn't that a living example?
Another reason why Logan felt there was room for maneuver in "merging" the USDA Chemicals Bureau was that, compared to its future fully-fledged entity—the FDA—which would make global pharmaceutical companies tremble with fear, the current USDA Chemicals Bureau was far too weak.

With limited budgets, a small staff, and limited power, it occupies an awkward position within the bureaucratic system.

In America, weakness is the original sin!

In the eyes of a president who believes in the concept of "small government," such departments may be the best targets for reform (or abandonment).

Of course, Campbell, the current head of the Chemicals Bureau at the Department of Agriculture, must have thought it was absolutely infuriating!
He racked his brains but couldn't understand: We seemed to have done nothing, so why were we the ones who got hurt the most?

How did things escalate to the point where our department was on the verge of collapse?
Is it because we haven't been working hard enough that the Chemical Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture has insufficient regulatory capacity?

Bah! The real reason is the federal government's lack of attention!
Our annual budget is even less than the amount the Department of Agriculture spends on producing newsletters.

Without sufficient funding and manpower, how can we deal with increasingly complex and cunning drug fraud and product risks?
But no matter how wronged he felt, he couldn't just sit and wait for his fate.

The Department of Agriculture's Chemical Bureau embodies the ideals and struggles of generations of progressives! From Upton Sinclair's *The Jungle*, which exposed the shocking dark side of food safety, to generations of reformers tirelessly advocating for the enactment of the Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, and then to the establishment and development of the Department of Agriculture's Chemical Bureau…

This incredibly arduous path was paved by Campbell and many of his colleagues—progressives who truly considered it their sacred duty to “protect the health and safety of millions of ordinary Americans.”

He absolutely does not believe that handing over the regulatory power concerning the health of the people to private capital that is driven by profit—especially to an alliance like "Prison BA" with a complex background, crazy behavior, and unscrupulous means for the sake of popularity—will result in any good outcome!

The president is out of the question.

Campbell knows all too well the nature of this ruling party, which wants every policy to support and encourage private enterprises, and to change the law from one that used to protect the public interest through punishment to one that relies on the "self-awareness and conscience" of enterprises!
What he can count on is the progressive forces that this country has never lacked, his colleagues who share his beliefs, and the public opinion that stands on the right side of history!

He contacted his progressive allies on Capitol Hill overnight and held a press conference, where he lamented the dangers of privatizing government functions and stressed that the independence and authority of scientific regulation should not be interfered with by capital.

"To hand over regulatory power concerning the lives and health of the people to a private alliance whose highest goals are entertainment and profit is extremely irresponsible to the American people! It is a step backward in history!"

As one of the symbolic achievements of the Progressive Movement at the beginning of the twentieth century, the crisis of the Chemical Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture immediately garnered support from almost all progressives.

They published articles in major newspapers and gave speeches on the radio, vehemently explaining the advantages and disadvantages:
"A business league that plays prison basketball and uses underhanded tactics to grab attention dares to talk about acquiring federal departments and taking over public health? What a ridiculous joke!"

What everyone doesn't understand is, what qualifications does it have to regulate pharmaceuticals?
What's even more outrageous is that the federal government is actually considering having it regulate it?

This is simply playing with the fate of the nation!

Many media outlets that had initially joined the chorus of criticism, seeing the progressives' aggressive approach, quickly switched sides and joined the public outcry against the "Prison BA" alliance.

"The Wild Fantasy of 'Prison Basketball': Saving American Medicine with Basketball?"

Next Acquisition Target: The War Department?

When the Prison League Starts Dreaming of Taking Over the Federal Government!

Even Sarah, the leader of the women's liberation organization who had once sided with The Sun over the "Underwear Wars," wrote a worried letter to Logan, urging him "not to aid and abet evil" and to return to the right path of "progress."

This immediately reignited Logan's passion for the laning phase.

No one can occupy the moral high ground of "progress" in front of me!
He once again transformed into an octopus, using multiple pseudonyms to launch a barrage of attacks in newspapers supporting "Prison BA," spewing a torrent of rhetoric:

"Doesn't 'Prison BA' have regulatory qualifications? 'Prison BA' without drug technology is not a complete 'Prison BA'. Relying on government regulation? Nobody wants to be hit by 'biological weapons' again, right?"

"The cornerstone of a democratic country is small government! And small government requires downsizing and increased efficiency! Those who oppose it are merely using the banner of 'public interest' to protect their own bureaucratic positions!"

"The 'Prison BA' alliance champions neo-progressivism! It dares to break with convention and uses market efficiency to reform government incompetence! Those so-called 'progressives' who are obsessed with big government and bureaucratic systems are essentially a new form of conservatism, a vested interest group that hinders the improvement of social efficiency!"

—There was a time when “small government” became a myth of progress for a segment of the population. Logan thought that if they were born in America today, they would be so happy they would cry!
And these backward "progressives" don't even cherish it? We must lead them to truly "progress"!
As a result, Campbell and his progressive allies found themselves, in the eyes of a significant portion of the media, labeled as "conservatives" and "stumbling blocks to reform"!
This reversal of identities and usurpation of positions infuriated them!

Their lifelong ideal—a strong, effective, and proactive government capable of protecting the vulnerable—has been stigmatized as "conservative" and "hindering progress"? And the plan to sell public power to capital has been cloaked in the halo of "neo-progressivism"?!
Is there no justice left in this world?!
……

(End of this chapter)