fascinating article on the reality of power politics by the wealthy. Think the citizens who vote actually have any power? Think elected officials make the decisions? Think the Tea Party is really a grass roots movement? Read on ...
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/30/100830fa_fact_mayer
Gee, after all the Reagan years, Bush I, Bush II (who made his Dad look intelligent) and the horrid economic policies of all three (Starve the Beast coupled with off the book accounting and tax cuts for the rich) who would think it isn't? As a book I read once said: "The people in charge of this country are actually the people who appear to be in charge in this country."
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If the citizens have power through voting, it is manipulated by politicians and corporate powers to achieve their own ends. The rest get bread and circuses including the diversions of the birthers, demonizing of racial and religious groups, and trivialization of political discussion (tea parties, etc.). But let me tell you what I really feel...
metrognome..
thanks for posting this..
unfortunately too few people will actually take the time to read it in it's entirety.
This was all aptly laid out in a monologue from the 1993 Mike Myers film 'So I Married An Axe Murderer'...
"It's a well-known fact, sonny Jim, that there's a secret society of the five wealthiest people in the world, known as THE PENTAVERATE, who run everything in the world. Including the newspapers. And they meet tri-annually at a secret country mansion in Colorado known as The Meadows. (So who's in this pentaverate?) The Queen, the Vatican, the Getty's, the Rothschild's and Colonel Sanders before he went t*ts up!"
JoB: I skimmed it and I wasn't surprised. The Koch's are just one of the elites that try and control us, mostly successfully. "Welcome to the Machine...it's alright we told you what to feel." It's the end of the week...almost :-)
Jaydee...
i agree..
those who would be surprised to find their tea party financed by the very paper tigers they think they are defeating won't read the article.
it's too long for short attention span theater...
wish i found the tea party more entertaining :(
Isn't the latest mass distraction starting up now aka football season?
CJB - I forgot about colonel Sanders.
Erik: How could you forget the Colonel? Apparently he puts a secret addictive chemical in his chicken that makes you crave it fortnightly. :-)
Let us suppose that some of the Tea Party people are being manipulated.
No . . . let's suppose that they are ALL being manipulated.
Let us also suppose, however, that their anger is no less real for all that. (Else how would they be subject to manipulation?) And let us further suppose that some large part of that anger flows from the same source as the anger simmering on the Left, namely: a growing sense of economic insecurity and frustration.
What, then, is the solution?
DP..
of course they are angry..
the people bankrolling the tea party ran off with their jobs, their homes and their retirement accounts...
the solution is that you don't hand the keys to national vault over to the guys who got their fingers caught in the cookie jar.
insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
dhg
Member Profile
Our best shot is to get money out of politics as much as possible. That means 100% public funding. We also need to curb the Supreme Court decision that says that corporations are people too and they get to fund elections.
difficult to do when those who have the ear of our elected officials are the ones pulling the strings.
but not impossible.
The Supreme Court decision in "Citizens United" was indeed a let-down. Unfortunately that one's probably going to be on the books for a while.
To get the money out of politics permanently, we're going to have to create a new political culture in this country, and for that to happen, Americans will have to get a lot more involved in politics at every level. Although I don't agree with much of the Tea Partyers' philosophy, I admire their willingingness to get out on the streets for a cause they believe in.
Many Sundays, I stand in the Junction with a group of like-minded folks holding signs for peace and social justice. Of the hundreds of people who walk by us, the majority seem to share our opinion. However, typically, only one or two ever stop to talk. Another couple will say "Thanks for doing this," and then hurry past.
At this point, most folks just don't want to participate in politics on any level other than voting and signing a petition now and then. They apparently view the issue of war as something that doesn't affect them, and the economy as a problem for either politicians or investors to solve.
Given Americans' aversion to participatory democracy, I'm afraid things are going to have to get much worse before they get better. Perhaps another full-blown Depression will get people's attention . . .
—David
the tea party demonstrations are big news now...
but those of peace activists and those demonstrating against the latest gift from the Bush administration.. the ruling that gave corporations the right to secretly invest substantial sums in our elections .. didn't get much press coverage at all.
Glen Beck half fills the plaza and it's big news. When a peace cause does the same it is completely ignored.
although i admire those who still get out to walk the streets in a demonstration....
there are a lot of ways to participate in a democracy.
engaging in political conversation in public spaces.. like this forum... is one of them.
at least here someone stops to talk...
it takes conversation to make people think a little more about what they assume is right.
David, keep it up. I may not agree with you on some items but keep it up.
Rich
WorldCitizen
Member Profile
No real honest and frank discussion over who runs this country is complete without at least addressing this:
http://sclipo.com/videos/view/kang-and-kodos
Favorite quote:
Crowd member: "Well, I believe I'll vote for a third party candidate."
Kang: "Go ahead...THROW YOUR VOTE AWAY!! HAhahahaha..."
Worldcitizen
there are days when i think that's not a joke:(
Every two years, four years, and six years we vote. All votes are equal. That is equality.
Beyond that, not much else is equal. Term limits might be a small push in the right direction.
HMCRich..
i seem to remember some republicans pushing for term limits..
ah yes.. newt and his contract with America.. which quickly expired.
btw..
he is polishing himself off for the next run for president...
perhaps he can run with Sarah..
two candidates who never made a commitment they couldn't break ;->
interesting article on the influence of wealthy voters in both parties...
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/repeal-bush-tax-cuts-for-wealthy
so why vote democrat?
because they care a little less about the agenda of the truly wealthy...
and most of us aren't now and never will be THAT wealthy.
Term limits pretty much guarantees a bunch of easily manipulated neophyte politicians who will be concentrating primarily on who will be signing their paychecks once they have finished their time in office. Talk about making a bad situation worse.
dobro
Member Profile
We already have term limits. They're called "elections" but, unlike fixed limits, they require people to pay attention, do some reading, remember to mail in your ballot (you don't even have to leave your house anymore!)and act like responsible citizens of a democracy. A lot to ask, I know.
the republicans really got the vote out in the primaries...
which caused their current surge of hope.
let's surprise them and get the democrats out too.
all you have to do is mark that ballot that comes in the mail and send it back...
not so much to ask for such a large return.
this was a protest...
and yet.. it wasn't much reported here in the US
and didn't make much of a difference..
"February 15, 2003, a month before the US invasion of Iraq, probably the largest protest in human history, between six and ten million protesters took to the streets of some 800 cities in nearly sixty countries across the globe."
http://blog.pdamerica.org/2010/09/the-anti-empire-report/
perhaps protests have become too common and only anti-protests.. like those of the tea party seem novel..
and then there's this...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/us/politics/06charity.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
how about this...
David Koch's tax free charities and tax free foundations have dumped 176 million into campaign contributions in the last decade... funding candidates who are "pro-business" ... which in his case translates to "against any environmental controls or pollution restrictions"...
* $120 million from the "David H. Koch Charitable Foundation,"
* $48 million from the "Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation," and
* $28 million from the "Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation," Charles Koch controls.
Yup.. we the taxpayers subsidized his campaign donations... to the tune of at least 35 million dollars.
This year with contribution limits lifted he is on track to dump $45 million into this election cycle backing republican "pro business" candidates...
pro business sounds so much more American than polluting, tax avoiding, stealing business doesn't it.
Those campaign contributions are paying off for him... for $176 million :
he was awarded over $100 million in government contracts..
http://mediamattersaction.org/search/tag/americans_for_prosperity
He was allowed to settle huge oil industry pollution fines for pennies on the dollar.. by the administration headed by George W Bush..
lots of interesting reading here..
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Koch_Industries
He was allowed to successfully avoid paying royalties owed to the US government for oil leases on federal and Indian lands by $210 million...
http://www.roberts-partners.com/false_claims_cases_index.html
He was just convicted for this one.. so you can bet he wants to stack the deck when it comes to settling the resulting fines...
and that's just the short list.
A quick read of the link for his recent conviction is illuminating. Koch may be the most visible businessman investing a government he can control.. but as that list shows he is not the only business in the business of scamming America.
The reason businesses invest so much money in campaigns and in lobbying firms is that those investments pay off.. guaranteed at something like 3 to 1.
He has a vested personal financial interest in convincing America to vote for the candidates he promotes through political advertising...
and through all those tea party functions funded by tax-exempt organizations that form to fund them and fold immediately afterward...
and through his investment in the freedom foundation..
http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/200908060005
To put the amount of money Koch is dumping into campaigns in perspective... the amount PACs have donated so far in this campaign season is 200 million...
those are the organizations that were legally able to donate prior to the recent supreme court ruling that opened the floodgates for corporate money ... the mechanism Koch used to invest that $176 million that was his limit in the last 10 years...
before the supreme court ruling that allowed corporations to dump unlimited cash into political campaigns... Koch's political influence was limited to 17.5 million a year funneled through tax exempt organizations... now he is contributing $45 million in a few months .. and that doesn't count his behind the scenes transfusions to the tea party.
Koch is counting on the best outcome his money can buy in the coming election.
It's up to us as individuals to ask ourselves if his best outcome is really in your best interests.
And lest you think i am only speaking to the republican half of this equation...
i would like to remind you that every democrat... every liberal.. every independent... who does not bother to vote in this election contributes to his victory...
In light of the disaster that just happened in the Gulf of Mexico.. that should be a sobering thought.
redblack
Member Profile
let's increase the c-span contribution on our cable and satellite bills.
the first caveat: that c-span present a news program from 7-9 a.m. and 7-9 p.m. eastern time, 7 days a week. second caveat: carriers would be required to carry all 3 c-span channels across all platforms of their network. third caveat: carriers would broadcast c-span over the air, as well, so that low-income folks would have access. any extra funds would be put toward broadcasting c-span news over AM radio.
for the 4 hours of news programming: just news. just facts. no comment. no opinion. no advertising. no influence. no profit motive. funded by all subscribers equally, regardless of income, and able to be consumed by anyone, regardless of their contribution to its funding.
i remember the founding fathers saying something about an informed electorate...
redblack...
have you discovered LINK TV?
I know it is available on DISH but not so sure about other local carriers...
Some think it is as radically left as FOX is right... but there is one major difference. Programs like Democracy Now are produced my committed journalists who factcheck everything.
I would love to see some sort of network news program that was legally required to give you all the facts that could be verified... the FOX ruling that presenting all the facts is not required by news or investigative programs has been taken to heart by all of the network news...
I have stopped watching.
JoB, thanks for the info, re:#26. I had been wondering how much of the Koch family's donations were considered tax deductible. It would be interesting to know how much they and others like Richard Mellon-Scaife have been able to save over the years in taxes supporting non-profits which are created solely to tear down our government and enrich the already super-wealthy.
These bogus foundations they set up are often simply barely disguised front organizations designed to employ relatives and funnel cash back in to personal accounts on low-interest, open-ended "loans."
Mike Leavitt, HHS secretary under Gee Whiz, had one of the more public airings of laundry in recent years concerning the Leavitt Family Foundation. I remember it being resolved as all TECHNICALLY legal, and so the rank-and-file happily forgot as their handlers swept it under the rug:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001906.html
As far as I can tell, Grassley was unsuccessful in getting his reforms passed.
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End wealthcare now!
The only good thing i can see that came out of the latest Bush administration is that having their hand in the cookie jar made the both real and wannabe robber barons so arrogant that they forgot to cover their trails.
it's all there in the public record if anyone wants to dig far enough to find it.
right now there is a small window of opportunity that a lot of good investigative reporters are taking advantage of.
I fear the upcoming election will close that window and that any form of net neutrality will be the first casualty...
redblack
Member Profile
jo: love him or hate him, obama has said he would veto any effort to end net neutrality. so we may have a good two years left, possibly six.
besides, i think the citizenry have come to enjoy their freedom of communication too much for the telco's - and their puppets in the capitol and on the FCC - to attempt any such b.s.
redblack...
while Obama has vowed to end any effort to end net neutrality..
he has not pushed to save wireless net neutrality...
coming to a carrier near you soon :(
So how did we go so far of course ?
This article points you to an interesting read with a plausible theory...
and it's a good read for both sides of the political fence because this book says that in a way it's the liberal's fault ;->
the book is Winner-Take-All Politics, by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson
and you can a short intriguing synopsis here...
http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/paul-pierson-jacob-s-hacked
Jiggers
Member Profile
To answer the original ? here, the middle-class does. The rich are trying to squeeze them into being poor. People better wake up.
Hey money does talk. Convicted inside trader George Soros learned a lesson from his French conviction. Be out front and spend as much as you can to clear your name. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d488e5a4-c10c-11df-afe0-00144feab49a.html
Interesting JoB. Thanks.
Recently an email supposedly from Charles Krauthammer speaking was proven false by Snopes. Keep the internet free but check your facts. There are wackos everywhere.
rich :)
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