Five of the nine people who work in this building have decided that big interests in oil, Wall Street, insurance, unions and other powerful conglomerates can marshal their resources to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.
Until yesterday, corporations and unions were barred from spending their treasury funds on ads or billboards that urge either the election or defeat of a federal candidate. This dated back to President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907 who also included national banks and railroads. Congress extended that ban to labor unions after W.W. ll. In 2002, the McCain-Feingold Act added an extra limit on broadcast ads in the month before an election. All that is gone.
We have spent billions on a "war" that was for oil interests. Wall Street has put people out of work and on the streets, while profits pour in from using cheap foreign labor. Insurance companies have left millions uninsured due to high premiums, loss of a job or preexisting conditions. Unions have handled Detroit so well, it's on it's knees, begging for money. These are the people who want to decide your future.
The electoral process is so diminished by this as to be a joke. Here's why. It's all about money. It hasn't been about the American people in years. Your rights have been eroded - because you can't be heard over the shouting of the big money interests and idiotic talk shows. It is not about intelligent discourse. Its about ratings and money. We can't afford to be heard!
If we want to know the truth about anything, we are going to have to do some work. The truth is out there, all around us. And we can start right here, on this wonderful tool called the internet. Look everything up - question everything. Our votes are the wedge we have against this kind of tyranny. Here are two places to start.
www.democracynow.org
www.pbs.org
We can't let money make the decisions for us.
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ATTAGIRL and thank you again Linda! Thursday's disastrous Supreme Court ruling is shameful. I hope you and your readers won't mind if I urge them to sign Alan Grayson's petition -- his attempt to dilute the consequences of money and tyranny? If not, go to: SaveDemocracy.net
ReplyDeleteLorna
I like this poem – I have it in my poem document copied from City Lights Bookstore. I am so sad at what is happening in this country. My husband and I were just talking about it this afternoon – how things have changed since we were in San Francisco in the 60s – some for the better but a lot for the worst. One of the problems is lack of education and ignorance among many of the people. They think they are “patriotic” and don’t realize that they are allowing their self-destruction by voting the way they do, by allowing multinational corporations to take over this country. I think it will get much worse because the super Right Christian Fundamentalists will keep at it in tandem with the corporations and lobbyists. The rest of the people will allow it because they don’t pay enough attention and only watch mass media news (which is owned by the big corporations) celebrity shows and the like. I think the Founders of this country would be shocked at what is happening.
ReplyDeleteI've had the pleasure of reviewing "Arizona Skies" and I'm pleased to inform you that your blog has been added to Blogging Women.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your blog with me and now the many readers of our blog directory.
Keep up the great work and I'm looking forward to your future post.
Definitely a case of judicial activism, one that shows where their hearts (or pocketbooks) are. Time to tear it all down and start over. It's so sad that it's almost funny, how the powers that be slip these things past us while we are distracted by other important issues that they should be focusing on as well. They only care about the people when we have an effect on their income, so maybe we should disrupt their income a little more....
ReplyDeleteoh it's going to get busy around here!
ReplyDelete♥
Testing..........
ReplyDeleteLorna,
ReplyDeleteThere you go! Alan Grayson against tyranny! Makes you want to throw tea in the harbor, doesn't it?
Vagabond,
Lawrence Ferlinghetti gets it right doesn't he? I wonder if the Fundamentalists ever see themselves as sheep being led to the slaughter (of the U.S) - probably beyond critical thinking by now.
Brad,
I would love to try, but I'm too old to sit on steps any more. Maybe a lawnchair and my old peace sign necklace? Lets make a noise.......
Kay,
ReplyDeleteThank you! What a nice compliment. There are some awesome ladies at Blogging Women.
kj,
Not half as busy as yours when that new book comes out. The tidbits are wonderfully entertaining and so well written. Well, we knew that, didn't we!