When the four Republican conservatives on the Supreme Court — Thomas, Scalia, Alito and Roberts — were nominated, each one preached the gospel of judicial restraint. Remember all the talk about how we needed conservatives on the Court because those wacky liberal judges engage in “judicial activism,” which is unconstitutional and evil? Well, I guess judicial activism is only unconstitutional when liberal judges do it, because today, the Supreme Court handed down one of the most radical, game-changing decisions in its history. In a 5-4 decision which the New York Times is rightly calling “a doctrinal earthquake,” and the John Grooms Times calls “lacking even a semblance of common sense,” the Court overturned the federal ban on corporate contributions to political campaigns, ruling that corporations should have the same First Amendment rights of free speech as citizens. Or, as Stephen Colbert said last year when the issue arose, “Corporations are people too.”
The decision, unless Congress legislates to change it — and at this point, the only way to do so would be to pass a law nullifying the whole idea of “corporate personhood,” first declared in an 1886 Supreme Court decision — could let loose a tidal wave of corporate money in U.S. politics that would swamp the system and destroy even the pretense of democracy.
Reaction from groups that document corruption in Congress, as well as from Democrats, and even some Republicans, has been swift and heated.
Pres. Obama said, “The Supreme Court has given a green light to a new stampede of special interest money in our politics. It is a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans … That’s why I am instructing my Administration to get to work immediately with Congress … We are going to talk with bipartisan Congressional leaders to develop a forceful response to this decision.”
Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, said, “We are moving to an age where we won’t have the senator from Arkansas or the congressman from North Carolina, but the senator from Wal-Mart and the congressman from Bank of America.”
Our favorite quip so far is from journalist Greg Palast, who said, “the Court ruled that corporations should be treated the same as “natural persons,” i.e. humans. Well, in that case, expect the Supreme Court to next rule that Wal-Mart can run for President.”
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2010.
Amen, this Supreme Court will be Bush’s true legacy and we are going to pay for it for years.
the problem with this is not that corporations are allowed to spend on political ads.
The problem is that many of the really big corporations rely on gov’t force to restrict competition. Licensing laws and other onerous regulation many times are the result of corporatism — when corporations conspire with government to raise the price of entry into a certain market / industry and restrict competition. The Roberts court is notorious for supporting restriction of free markets, an unconstitutional stand.
Obama would do well to introduce legislation to abolish anti-trust laws and other federal legislation shrinking the feds footprint on corporate america. But, he wont.
Six in one hand, half-dozen in the other. Corporate money and influence ALREADY have a stranglehold on the govt. Who runs, who gets on the ballot, who gets press coverage (and how much and what kind), crafting legislation, affecting foreign policy – you name it – corporate paw prints are all over it. The corptacracy didn’t need no stinking Supreme Court ruling – they’ve been raping and pillaging our asses for quite some time.
FYI: Check out rt.com. I HIGHLY recommend the Keiser Report and The Alyona Show. Click on “Programs” and then click on the Keiser Report, a 30 minute news show on Thursdays – but you can watch it anytime, along with older shows. Don’t miss the December 09 shows – a couple are a hoot. Also, check out the home page of rt.com and click on the thread about the ads in UK airports that were banned in the US.
FYI 2: Democracy Now (available on Directv and Dish Network) has been doing a good job reporting on the Haiti earthquake. You’ll be surprised how “Katrina-like” our govt is acting with regards to relief efforts. Weekdays at 11am or 6pm. Anyone seeking further real dang deal info on what’s going down in Haiti please check out counterpunch.org. There are several articles on the site right now dealing with the crisis; a couple offer excellent backstory how Haiti came to be and explain how Western evildoings over the years have kept the place in dire straits.
FYI 3: Another good news source is uprisingradio.org. Daily and on Saturdays they air a digest of the week’s news. If you can’t access it via uprisingradio.org, try Googling “kpft.org” They broadcast out of kpft in San Francisco I believe.
My feeling is this: The main problem lies with the American voter. Even if corporations pile many more millions of dollars into influencing political campaigns, they can’t (yet) actually walk into the booth with you and cast your vote. So voters still have the power to vote their principles instead of voting based on the number of ads a particular candidate has on the air.
But voters are lazy. Just think about it. You fear unchecked corporate financing of political campaigns. Why? Because it gives corporations the power to buy candidates, which in turn drench the airwaves with ads. This in turn gives them an edge, because the more repetition — i.e, the more ads — the better acquainted voters are with the candidate.
Well, that’s the voter’s fault. Change the channel when the ads come on. Turn down the volume. Look instead at a particular candidate’s record, or resume. Check his or her’s Web site, find out where they stand on issues you care about.
It’s like blaming Wal-Mart for the corporatization of America. Those big box shops wouldn’t exist if consumers didn’t go there. All they have to do is stop going there, and trust me, Wal-Mart won’t last for long.
Consumers, voters, citizens, et.al., really need to do a better job of policing their own activity and taking more responsibility for themselves.
Cool, all of you actually make some sense. Usually when I post first some of you go BAT CRAZY and then are incapable of thought.
Companies should have a voice. Even if you try to stop them on the airwaves they still have the most important influence which is a lobbyist. We cannot afford one but companies can and DO already. So I think this is a minor change and it is for the better since we are sticking to the constitution instead of ignoring it to do what we like.
Great post Beverly.
Anarchist, I hope you are against card check, since you talk about going into the voting booth. WalMart Rocks BTW.
Frank, stop acting like you are the final arbiter of what “makes sense” and what doesn’t. You have an opinion, no better or worse than anyone else’s. Just because you present your theories as “facts” doesn’t mean we’re buying. We’re adults, not kids. We’re smart enough to smell the bullshit, and that includes yours.
People don’t go “bat crazy” with you. They just don’t like you. Sorry dude.
Wow Frank, sounds like you really gave that last post a lot of thought, eh? Took you, what, 45 minutes out of your busy day to come up with it? That’s another bonus of fucking with you: you’re such a sensitive, defensive little twerp, you’ll just go on and on and on and on until you’ve convinced yourself you’re right. So yes, I gotta admit, it’s fun watching you overreact everytime someone hurts your wittle feewings.
Now Frank, my feeling is this: You’re a misinformed, barely lucid dork who had to order your wife through the mail. But you still have a right to your opinions. so please, by all means, keep them coming.
God Bless America.
Mr. Griffin, you ever get the feeling that things aren’t what they seem?
That maybe the reason so many people mess with you is because it’s so easy to get under your skin? The way a teenage boy likes to tease his little sister, just for the sheer naughty fun of it?
That you really don’t know whether these people are even real, or just made-up characters who exist for no other reason than to log onto this Web site every so often and push your buttons, because they’re so easy to push?
That they don’t really give a rat’s ass about politics at all? But just like waiting for your inevitable, long-winded counterposts whenever someone gives you a nudge? And that they know EXACTLY what to say to get you all fired up again?
Now I don’t know much about politics myself. I think it’s for fools and liars. I’d rather spend my time doing something enjoyable.
But I can’t help but notice the irony in someone like you claiming to be the non-emotional voice of reason, when it’s obvious how easy it is to get you to go off the deep end on a regular basis.
Food for thought, my friend.
My feeling is this:
I have to admit, I do like fucking with Frank. It’s just so damn easy. It’s like fishing. You bait your hook and throw your line out there and you just wait a little while and you know he’s gonna snap it up and come back with some angry, disjointed tantrum.
God help me, it is fun.
Well, that’s mighty nice of you, Frank, helping these folks out like that. It is these acts of pure, selfless kindness upon which we humans will build our Mountain of Love.
As for you, Mr. Anarchist, don’t you have better things to do than log on for the sole purpose of, as you put it, “fucking with Frank?” I just don’t think that’s very nice of you. Frank strikes me as a sensitive person, one with very tender feelings. And I mean that in a good way. It’s ok for men to be sensitive. It’s even ok for men to weep, which I’m sure Frank does from time to time.
All Frank wants to do is enlighten the less fortunate among us. He’s probably went to college and everything. He has many important things to share. Like I say, I’m not an expert on much, especially politics. But I can tell that Frank is person who cares deeply about whatever it is he’s talking about. I really don’t know what he’s talking about.
I’m just a simple guy who likes to drink beer, watch sports, play poker, ramble around and every now and then log on to some blog and watch people jabber back and forth like a bunch of ejaculating monkeys.
I just think Frank’s a douchebag who lives in a fantasy world and doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground about how the real world works.
Is it ok for me to say that, Eyeball? Gosh, I hope so.
Know the sure signs of insecurity, Frank? Someone who has to have the last word, can’t ever just let things go, and has a narcissistic need for attention.
Prove me wrong, Frank. Prove to me you are not that person.
Now I have to say, as long as you say stupid things I will correct you. Its what I do for you guys. If that requires the last word then so be it.
All you have to do is look at previous threads to see that I do not always have the last word. You are probably lazy so you may never know. Its not that important so who really cares. Maybe you care but I dont.
As much as you say you like to mess with me, I enjoy helping you. It sounds like we have a good thing going doesnt it hehe.
If anyone says they never get upset, they are either damaged in some way or a liar. When you start getting up in the years people begin to die off and that sucks. I don’t think I would want to be the last one alive tho. Ever seen the Green mile?
Wanna know the truth, Frank? I don’t even read what you write anymore. It’s too long and unstructured and it’s always wrong and usally stupid.
I just like fucking with you for the sheer sport of it. I know that you’ll always bite, every time. Does that make me a bad person Frank?
There is one thing you can do for me, though. Tell me, how exactly does one buy a bride through the mail? I hear you got yours that way. Seriously, can you write your usual 800 words on that subject?
I see what you’re trying to do, Anarchist, baiting Frank into reacting to your posts. But that kind of thing doesn’t work with people like Frank.
For one thing, he lacks the wit to even understand the joke. I don’t mean that as a criticism, but only to point out that some people simply cannot grasp the idea that they are being pranked.
For another, Frank is so pathologically insecure about himself that even if he did understand what you’re doing, it wouldn’t matter. Again, I mean no criticism here. I am simply stating fact.
Frank is like a substance abuser. In this case, the substance is Frank’s worldview. He cannot live without it. It defines him. He is chemically unable to ignore challenges to his socio-political beliefs. He must respond, because the neurons in his brain won’t allow him not to. Part of it is ego, but most of it is rooted in deep psychological scars.
As someone pointed out earlier, Frank is a classic narcissist. Again, this is not opinion, but plain and simple fact. Like all narcissists, Frank sees himself and his ideas as inherently superior to all others. He lacks basic human characteristics such as humility, or reason (as defined by most clinical psychologists), or the ability to listen to others. Again, plain and simple fact. It is also fact that Frank has faced terrible trauma in his life and is still trying to come to grips with it.
Hope this helps.
Well put, Ricardo. I would also add that Frank is a textbook case of someone suffering from psychosis. Even if you accept his demented worldview — I doubt any sane person would — you can’t help but notice how determined he is to convert people who have told him time and again that he is wrong.
People experiencing psychosis may report hallucinations or delusional beliefs, and may exhibit personality changes and thought disorder. This may be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out the daily life activities.
A wide variety of central nervous system diseases, from both external poisons and internal physiologic illness, can produce symptoms of psychosis
In addition, psychosis may involve delusional beliefs, some of which are paranoid in nature. All one need to is glance at Frank’s posts to see all these characteristics.
I bid you good day.
Note the tone of isolation and paranoia in Frank’s latest post. The idea that he is the “normal” one while all others are “misfits;” the fear that others mean him ill; the fantasy that there is some alternate world out there where he would be readily accepted.
Again, this is common among those who suffer from psychosis and antisocial personality disorder. Like most sociopaths, Frank has an inflated sense of self-importance, based almost entirely on the delusion that he is somehow superior in intellect and moral character.
Frank, rather than wish you ill, we all wish you well on your journey to counseling and recovery. Just remember: the first step might be the hardest, but it also is the most important.
Cheers!
You know, after reading these fine and insightful posts on Frank’s mental condition, I have to admit I feel kinda bad. I was basically having fun fucking with Frank because, let’s face it, he’s so easy to fuck with. Now I see that was the wrong path to take.
Frank, I apologize for making fun of you. I see now that it’s not your fault, but probably the chemical makeup of your brain. If you want to believe that right-wingers will save the human race from itself, or that liberal zombies are trying to feed on your brains, or that there’s a bogeyman in the closet, that’s all fine by me. More power to you!
And there’s nothing wrong with taking a mail-order bride. I was just joshing around with you on that one, buddy.
Peace and love.
i’m sure the libbys are aok with soros and all of his proxy organizations and their money and influence….these cry babies are upset because now corp america can fight back against a biased media
Gosh Frank, and just when I was trying to be nice to you on account of your mental condition and the fact that you had to order a bride through FedEx.
But I’ll keep being nice to you because now your paranoia has become so pronounced you’re beginning to think three people are one person.
But I’ll keep being nice. In fact, I won’t even mention how much of a dork you look like in that picture of yours, the one where you sorta resemble my Great Aunt Myrtle after a haircut.
Only Aunt Myrtle probably weighs more, and could kick your skinny little ass.
Have a great day, my friend!
You don’t have ideas, Frank. You have sound bites. And they’ve been recycled about 8 times before they finally filter down to you.
The other posters are right: You are one paranoid, wacked out dude. Somewhere along the line your “mature” gene must have misfired and you got stuck at whatever age it is that children say things like “I win, you lose,” just to make them feel less insecure about themselves.