We don’t have elections anymore, we have popularity contests with constant reporting on the amounts of campaign cash a candidate has raised, and who raised the most. Basically, it amounts to the candidate with the most money, is the one Wall Street, the top 1%; and the major corporations are backing. You know this candidate is never for the ‘common good’ but instead is going to cover Wall Street’s back if elected.
After the New Hampshire primary, Mark Shields syndicated columnist said the biggest difference he’s seen in this election since the Citizens United ruling is that “money is king”. It was reported that Rick Santorum did poorly in the New Hampshire primary because he couldn’t afford TV ads. During the week of the South Carolina primary Mitt Romney went from being in first place to Newt Gingrich being in first place. When Gwen Ifill asked voters what prompted them to change their minds, they couldn’t pinpoint any specific reasons. David Brooks, columnist for the NY Times, said, all those ads have absolutely no influence on voters.
Once again as in all issues the line is drawn, either you believe the TV ads or you don’t. Mark Shields said “when Jim Lehrer used to host the debates he would go out beforehand and tell the audience, no yelling or screaming and no applauding. And if it happens, I'm going to put the camera right on you and humiliate you.”
The Romans used to say “give them bread and circuses”, now we don’t even get the bread, we get the orchestrated media circus of these pep rallies fixed with ringers in the crowd, all conveniently camouflaged as intellectual debates. These present day examples of ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ just goes to prove that P.T. Barnum was right, even today there’s “a sucker born every minute”.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Policing Battle Ground USA
Hypocrisy is in the news a lot lately. Unfortunately most of it relates to the sex life of Newt Gingrich and not the real hypocritical issues, such as states having rights. Republicans contend that states have rights and should decide for themselves whether or not they have to comply with the mandatory purchase of health insurance.
In Vermont, the state legislature passed a law prohibiting pharmacies from selling prescription information to pharmaceutical corporations. The view of the state is that the prescribing information belongs to the physician and the physician has the right to decide whether or not to sell this information. The Supreme Court over ruled the state, saying the decision violated free speech.
The people in the state of California voted to ban sale of violent video games to anyone under 18. The Supreme Court over ruled the voters and tossed out the state mandate.
When the state of Georgia passed laws protecting citizens from unethical lending practices, the federal government over ruled them, saying federal laws prevailed over state laws.
In matters of corporations and banks the federal government decides. With the federal government outsourcing our wars to military contractors, and the SJC’s allegiance to the rights of corporations over states, declaring the US a battleground is all the more disconcerting. Will the federal government over rule the states to team up with corporations as a means of policing the new battleground USA?
Where is the Republican outcry against this assault on laws protecting states from the unconstitutionality of military law imposed by the federal government?
And this is not to be construed as a defense for Democrats, they’ve been silent on this abominable declaration that the US is now a battlefield, it’s just easier to point out Republican hypocrisy on this issue.
In the end, both Republicans and Democrats are paid off to support military contractors along with the collusion of the federal government with corporations as a means of providing services, including policing the streets of America; building prisons and using the police to fill them to capacity and beyond.
In Vermont, the state legislature passed a law prohibiting pharmacies from selling prescription information to pharmaceutical corporations. The view of the state is that the prescribing information belongs to the physician and the physician has the right to decide whether or not to sell this information. The Supreme Court over ruled the state, saying the decision violated free speech.
The people in the state of California voted to ban sale of violent video games to anyone under 18. The Supreme Court over ruled the voters and tossed out the state mandate.
When the state of Georgia passed laws protecting citizens from unethical lending practices, the federal government over ruled them, saying federal laws prevailed over state laws.
In matters of corporations and banks the federal government decides. With the federal government outsourcing our wars to military contractors, and the SJC’s allegiance to the rights of corporations over states, declaring the US a battleground is all the more disconcerting. Will the federal government over rule the states to team up with corporations as a means of policing the new battleground USA?
Where is the Republican outcry against this assault on laws protecting states from the unconstitutionality of military law imposed by the federal government?
And this is not to be construed as a defense for Democrats, they’ve been silent on this abominable declaration that the US is now a battlefield, it’s just easier to point out Republican hypocrisy on this issue.
In the end, both Republicans and Democrats are paid off to support military contractors along with the collusion of the federal government with corporations as a means of providing services, including policing the streets of America; building prisons and using the police to fill them to capacity and beyond.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Individualism vs. Collective Monopoly
Milton Friedman argued that reducing the government and lowering taxes kept inequality from rising, and helped the poor more than social programs ever could.
Hard to believe considering the Nation magazine reports the collective wealth of the bottom third of Americans is barely hovering above the poverty line. One in three Americans either lives in poverty or is one broken leg away from it. Friedman also argued as a nation of self reliant individuals, too many government regulations and social programs like those in the New Deal, led to the struggle between individualism vs. collectivism.
For decades the monopolies who make up the “collective” few have campaigned to eliminate equality of opportunity for individuals by convincing us, the public, that without steadfast devotion to the “unfettered free market”, our liberties and freedoms would disappear.
However it seems the opposite has happened. With fewer laws and less regulations, millions of Americans have become poorer and powerless against the “collective few“. With millions ending up with less economic freedoms, fewer liberties and no political influence, the inequality of wealth has become glaringly obscene, unconscionable, and downright cruel.
Adam Smith, proponent of the free market, believed rules were necessary to reign in the crookedness of human nature. Smith said, even though it’s unlikely that members of the same trade speak together, the conversation usually ends up in a conspiracy against the public.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Who is ALEC?
Who’s writing the laws? ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, is writing the laws. ALEC is described in the Nation magazine as “the Nation’s largest, non-partisan, individual public private membership association of state legislators” and is made up of 2,000 legislators and 300 corporate members.
The Washington Spectator reports ALEC is the single largest source of pro-corporate anti-regulatory legislation in the country, and describes them as a “corporate funded corporate bill-mill, cross dressing as an association of state legislators.” The Nation wrote ”dozens of corporations are investing millions of dollars a year to write business-friendly legislation that is being made into law in statehouses coast to coast, with no regard to the public interest” says Bob Edgar of Common Cause.”
According to the Washington Spectator, ALEC was founded in 1973 by a small right wing group of activists and elected officials such as Paul Weyrich, who with help from brewing magnate Joseph Coors, set up the Heritage Foundation. Buz Lukens another founder lost his seat in 1990 after being convicted of paying a 16 year old girl for sex. And Woody Jenkins whose campaign commission paid a fine for filing false disclosure forms while Tony Perkins (now director of the Christian right Family Research Council) was his campaign manager.
The Nation also reports bills introduced in Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Illinois and South Carolina, mirror the ALEC model’s with some state’s bill coming directly from ALEC written legislation. Stacks of new ALEC inspired laws passed in Ohio and Wisconsin with both governors former ALEC alums. Voter ID is an ALEC agenda with 33 states introducing voter ID laws. And the Nation magazine states-“Corporate donors retain veto power over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces”.
The Spectator lists some of the corporations supporting ALEC as Koch Industries; Exxon-Mobil; Wal-Mart; AT&T Services; and GlaxoSmithKline. ALEC’s private enterprise board includes Exxon-Mobil; Koch Industries; Entergy, and Peabody Coal.
Between the secretive writing of legislation and the legalized corporate ownership of politicians, thanks to Supreme Court‘s Citizens United ruling, it seems pretty well sewn up to be a corporate government against the people. Real issues affecting the lives of everyday Americans will not be addressed by any politician; their corporate masters won‘t allow it. The problem is, with all the corporate money being paid to buy the politicians, and pay the media to overlook; spin & whitewash the issues, most people see only the PR spin, and are hoodwinked… they buy it “hook, line and sinker“, and even clamor for more of the same.
The Washington Spectator reports ALEC is the single largest source of pro-corporate anti-regulatory legislation in the country, and describes them as a “corporate funded corporate bill-mill, cross dressing as an association of state legislators.” The Nation wrote ”dozens of corporations are investing millions of dollars a year to write business-friendly legislation that is being made into law in statehouses coast to coast, with no regard to the public interest” says Bob Edgar of Common Cause.”
According to the Washington Spectator, ALEC was founded in 1973 by a small right wing group of activists and elected officials such as Paul Weyrich, who with help from brewing magnate Joseph Coors, set up the Heritage Foundation. Buz Lukens another founder lost his seat in 1990 after being convicted of paying a 16 year old girl for sex. And Woody Jenkins whose campaign commission paid a fine for filing false disclosure forms while Tony Perkins (now director of the Christian right Family Research Council) was his campaign manager.
The Nation also reports bills introduced in Virginia, Maryland, Arizona, Kansas, Oregon, Illinois and South Carolina, mirror the ALEC model’s with some state’s bill coming directly from ALEC written legislation. Stacks of new ALEC inspired laws passed in Ohio and Wisconsin with both governors former ALEC alums. Voter ID is an ALEC agenda with 33 states introducing voter ID laws. And the Nation magazine states-“Corporate donors retain veto power over the language, which is developed by the secretive task forces”.
The Spectator lists some of the corporations supporting ALEC as Koch Industries; Exxon-Mobil; Wal-Mart; AT&T Services; and GlaxoSmithKline. ALEC’s private enterprise board includes Exxon-Mobil; Koch Industries; Entergy, and Peabody Coal.
Between the secretive writing of legislation and the legalized corporate ownership of politicians, thanks to Supreme Court‘s Citizens United ruling, it seems pretty well sewn up to be a corporate government against the people. Real issues affecting the lives of everyday Americans will not be addressed by any politician; their corporate masters won‘t allow it. The problem is, with all the corporate money being paid to buy the politicians, and pay the media to overlook; spin & whitewash the issues, most people see only the PR spin, and are hoodwinked… they buy it “hook, line and sinker“, and even clamor for more of the same.
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