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I wasnt quite sure how to answer this, as it seems an actual primary would be more democratic,as for one being more time consuming that the other, I would think an election would take more time, but maybe I am wrong on that.
Given the time that has elapsed, there has undoubtedly been a fire or two. They're lucky the water itself didn't burst into flames.
Why is it that the local activist that have been occupying a vacant wildlife refuge are railing against goverment overreach depriving them of the rights and property, haven't said a word of support for the citizens of Flint that have had their democratic rights and now their livelyhoods stolen from them ???????
As long as our poorly educated population maintains its inability to comprehend anything other than simple logic, the obvious and almost perfect parallel of today's GOP to pre world war 2 Germany remains invisible.
Fascism, taken as a filthy and scary word by our popular tabloids and media, has never been integrated, taught or understood publically. Most are afraid to use it anyway.
America is better than this but it's use of classic denial has entered the Nausea Stage and soon will need more than emetics.
No! Its harder to flip caucus results than to black box electronic votes.
They hate democracy, they want to exploit and enslave the people.
About having a 'businessman run the govenment': First they look with covetousnes at all that is the people's government.
1. They try to take away, give away when they are in office, the lands, the airways that are the public commons. Depriving royalties that are due the people's govenment.
2. They look at the revenues that fund the public coffers. They seek to tap into, and otherwise divert funds and revenue streams for their own and 'personal' (the business's. company's own) use.
3. They seek to interpose their interests between the government and the people. Their 'right' to 'speak' and legitimacy to act against the people (lie, misrepresent). ie the world bank 'imposing austerity' on the world.
Thank you.
I will vote for Hillary if she is the nominee but I think we will still be stuck in the quagmire that we are in if Bernie doesn't prevail!
I love Steph but even though she says she likes both of them she has been very critical of Bernie & most of her guests are Bernie naysayers. Today was the last straw when she said it was "suspicious" that Bernie didn't want another debate unless it was sanctioned. Thom doesn't do that to Hillary.
Damn typos! Went from comment #2 to #6.
Government - or "democracy", as I call it here in the U.S.A. - belongs to everybody and is the collective will of the people. Business belongs to some rich asshole or assholes and is the individual will of those assholes. Thus, business must be made to answer to the democracy.
It is a fallacy to think that neocons, despite everything they say (which is always fraudulent, anyway), don't believe in government. Snyder believes strongly in government but a privately owned government, not too unlike a feudal vassal or monarchy.
He does not, of course, believe in democracy. He would have us in his personal, private tyranny as quick as you could say, "Bechtel" or the name of some other private water service if he could.
What is going to happen when, god forbid a large fire starts in Flint?
Will the firemen use poisen water to fight the fire? Will the firemen be contaminated?
Will the ground and the ground water be poisened forever?
Would it be wiser just to let the city burn?
Time to break out the pitch forks me thinks.
Good luck to all in Flint!
When political and corporate leaders sicken people, we must remove their current legalprotections.
If our lawmakers will not do this, then the people should post the names and addresses of negligent parties on a website.
ct
"If there were no rich class, there would be no poor class"--old Pelagian saying.
I don't think we should dance around the point. These guys are fascists or worse. 'Running the government like a business'. It was Benito Mussolini that said, "Fascism should appropriatley be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power"
Mussolini ran his political platform based largely on privatization, the breaking of labor unions, reduced spending in government and balancing of the budget. His platform is just about like that of the republicans today who have both feet in fascism and don't seem to know it or don't care. They are blinded by the power they crave.
Beware-Mussolini also stated " We have buried the putrid corpse of liberty".
The people involved in the Flint disaster, all of them, should be criminally prosecuted on felony charges of fraud, abuse of power, endangering the public health, and VOLUNTARY manslaughter.
Government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" can never be a business, because government is ABOUT the people, ALL THE PEOPLE, not just a privileged few. Business is about profit, and making a very few people very rich.
Well we know we have to have new leaders who are willing to take responsibility for the all.
Responsibility is for adults willing to move from a primitive culture to one that thrives and puts stewardship at the heart of society .One that works for the highest good of all .A civil society where the rights of the few do not infringe upon the rights of the many .Does there not come a time when the higher good of all supersedes individual rights ?
Does society have a responsibility to itself ? Let that be the question of the day?
Namaste
Alice, You couldn't be closer to explaining our plight. But I'd venture to say it is even worse than you say. Time for change. Take care.
I would bet that that great? Christian Pat Robertson "Billionaire" doesn't give a damn either.
The average CEO pay is $5 Million plus. The President gets $400,000, The VP gets $230,700, Congress $174,000, Chief Justice SCOTUS $258,100. Is there something wrong here??? Perhaps we should award bonusses to the president for Creating Jobs and other things. like they do in the U.S. Corporations. However, Corporate Officers earn their bonusses by creating corporate profits for their shareholders in many cases by firing workers or restricting their salaries and benefits. Jamie Diamond Just took a $27 million pay package, a 35% increase in componsation. For what? Taking corporate welfare from the US Taxpayers? And that compensation does not include the dividends and capital gains on stock awards from previous years. Many of the Corporate Officers hold 100.s of thousands of shares of the company that they work at. Many times this compensation is awarded even when they screw up the company, like Leo Apoteker took millions as he exited HPQ following the screwup of Carley Fiorina who also exited with many millions. Is there no justice???? Perhaps the US Government needs to set corporate law. After all, they have to be legally incorporated.
I seriously think, and hope to not get in trouble, that a violent revolution is the only answer if any of these America destroying free trade deals get passed. Life will hardly be worth anything in America if sold out to foriegn dictators. I say we have the right to fight for our country. Any in congress that want the free trade disasters are traitors to our country and deserve to be treated as such. Seems it is us or them. Every thing they do hurts all Americans except the few at the top that pay them. We have the worst of education, credit, health care, and the list goes way on. Get sick? You go bankrupt. In fact that is what most of us are destined to, a piss poor end of life. While the bribed congress just continues to make things worse by the day. Every piece of legislation they push.
NAFTA was the first round in this total takeover of the planet by moneyed interests, as Thom pointed out we were first warned about this abomination in 1992 by Mr. Ross Perot who was attempting to inform Americans concerning the dangers of accepting this international treaty that president Clinton signed into law in 1994. By now, most Americans are aware of the negative effects it has had on our economy, It must be recognized that all of these international treaties contain provisions and rules that supercede member countries existing laws. NAFTA contains some of these that, among other things, give foreign owners legal protection beyond what American owners enjoy. The T.P.P. that Obama is pushing has been called NAFTA on Steroids with the introduction of a 3-person international tribunal whose rulings cannot be challenged, in essence a Star Chamber that can issue harsh financial punishments to any member country who breaks any of the questionable rules that are slanted to favor international bankers, multi-national corporations, wealthy oligarchs, and such. Your not hearing anything about it right now because the privately owned main stream propaganda media in this country has buried it and replaced it with the all important story of the week, closing your bedroom door will protect you in the event of a fire ! Considering that probably 90% of the private homes designed and built in this country locate bedrooms at the end of a hallway with no access to the outside beyond a window, closing the door would be sealing your fate in the event of a fire ! Far better advice has been available for years; Don't stand up, stay below the super heated air above you and make your way to the nearest exit, every second counts ! But then that's become the privately owned media's primary task now, provide distractions from the ongoing theft of our country !
Great show ....
A few quotes .
When do the rights of the few infringe upon the rights of the many ?
That is ,and always has been ,the question facing every civilised society .
Does there come a time when the higher good of all supersedes individual rights ? Does society have a responsibility to itself ?
The socioeconomic system is obscene and we call this the free market economy .Its not free and it's a conspiracy of silence as the rich and powerful created the systems and institutions and it's the rich and powerful who continue to support them .People have a right to life and the resources of the planet belong to all the worlds people not just the rich and powerful who do the exploiting .
My, What History has Wrought
{… a limerick …}
√ Plutocrats have what they’ve sought:
gummint has dun been bought.
√ Birchism lingers
among Right-wingers.
My, what history has wrought.
==============================
How can I share this on Facebook and tweat on Twitter? Everyone needs to know about these trade agreements!
A VERY-worthwhile show. Thanks for't.
So-called "Free Trade" has little to do with trade, trade is already amazingly "free". What it really is about is the abdication of national sovereignty, so that an unelected cabal of the ultra-rich, the top 100 of the obscenely wealthy can continue to expand their program of rape & pillage, without worry of any national government interfering with their unlimited greed.
When all these falsely called "trade agreements" are fully enacted, we can elect all the Bernie Sanders we want but he won't be able to do anything in the vital Banking, Economic, Global Trade, Energy, most environment, the phony Drug war and likely military policy areas due to the restrictions of these international aggreements, arbitrated by unelected & totally corrupted “officials”. The globalist Elites will allow Bernie to pass legislation on LGBT rights, women’s issues, abortion, minor local issues etc, but that will be about it. That is the future. A Globalist cartel of Bankster & Plutocrat elites who effectively control all of our governments.
Like the debt slave Greece which must lick the boots of the unelected European Central Bank and ask them "pretty please can we present our legislation to parliament for approval?" Elections become a charade, essentially just to elect a new mascot.