Posts Tagged ‘Corporations’

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Democrats, DVR to FDR! We’ve heard this song before…

November 29th, 2010

Speech at Madison Square Garden (October 31, 1936)- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

For nearly four years you have had an Administration which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves. We will keep our sleeves rolled up.
We had to struggle with the old enemies of peace—business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war profiteering.
They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.
Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred.
I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.

Full transcripts here

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Libertarianism is Bullyism

July 13th, 2010

Very simply, Libertarianism is Bullyism.

The Libertarian worldview is that the LARGER or more powerful the person/industry is, the better.

According to them, if they are in business, they MUST be right, otherwise the market would correct and put them out of business.

It doesn’t take into account:

  • The sheer size of Mega Transnational Corporations
  • Unfair tax benefits (NAFTA, development-zones, unequal taxation reductions, tariffs)
  • Collusion (price fixing and supply restriction)
  • Lying (that never happens)
  • Advertising (the ability to manipulate purchasing, even though a product may be inferior)
  • Monopolies (THIS is the big one)
  • The RIGHT of representational Democracy (a society or community (Commons) determines how they will be governed)
  • Businesses are artificial creations of Government, not the other way around (“We the People” determine what rights businesses get)

UNCOVERS:

In fact, no matter what a Democratic majority of citizens want through public policy (Government- “We the People”), or organizations of independent people (unions, scientific groups, industry watchdogs), they still favor the most wealthy and powerful for-profit businesses.

This ideology is dangerously naive.

Our Government (the founding fathers created a Government, not Libertarianism) is designed to be citizens coming together, and determining as a group what is best for the society they are a part of.

Governments are tasked to protect “the People” from the schoolyard bullies.  If Wal-Mart, with all of their money and power, was putting cadmium in all of their housewares products, how would a customer know without the Consumer Protections, or laws preventing them from doing something harmful?  How would ONE person fight a HUGE multi-billion dollar organization?

Government fights for the little-guy, Libertarians fight for the Bullies.

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Bad for Business- [Strong Dems Talking Points]

April 28th, 2010

RESPONSE:

You will most often hear this statement in one of two places:

  1. Republican talking points protecting dangerous Corporate activities
  2. Mob movies

FOLLOW-UP:

As any Criminal Organization will tell you is, the Police are bad for business.  So what does that say for Republican talking points?

Basically the Republicans think that protecting those who live by the credo,”There’s a sucker born every minute“, is good policy.  What do you think?

UNCOVERS:

I’m sure that  to con-man Joseph (“Paper Collar Joe”) Bessimer (though this quote is often mistakenly attributed to P.T Barnum) the authorities, laws, and protections from fraud were “Bad for Business.”

Being on the side of PROTECTION for We the People is never a BAD thing, or a sign of weakness.  It’s moral and Constitutionally required.

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Activist Judges or Legislate From the Bench- [Strong Dems]

April 12th, 2010


RESPONSE:

When Republicans say, “ACTIVIST“, think “UPPITY“.

When Republicans say, “CONSERVATIVE“, think “CORPORATE“.

Uppity Judges want to protect individual liberties from the control of big-money elites.

Corporate Judges want to protect billion-dollar corporations, wealthy political candidates, extremist churches, and homophobes.

You choose.

FOLLOW-UP:

Look, the Republicans have no interest in anyone who doesn’t agree with them. When Judicial Activism is in their favor, like Bush v. Gore, or unlimited campaign contributions by transnational corporations, or

When activists like Scalia, Thomas, Alito, Chief Justice Roberts, or former Chief Justice Rehnquist laid down the MOST extremist activist decisions, there was not a peep from the Republican party.

But when Liberal Judges defend the middle-class, the least among us, or the protections afforded to all of us in the Constitution, they are Uppity Activist Judges.

UNCOVERS:

The GOP should just change their name to the Hypocrisy Party and be done with it. Their arguments at this point are tired and transparent. The drive-by politics that they engage in is not meant to be serious or constructive, it is about insuring their anti-democratic legacy.

When all is said and done, ‘Individual Liberty and Constitutional protections, NOT Corporate rule‘ should be the message of the Democratic Party.

SIDE POINTS:

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Thinking the Government Can Solve All Problems- [StrongDems]

March 23rd, 2010

RESPONSE:

Who do you think ‘The Government’ is?  It’s YOU!

‘We The People’ have the responsibility to protect the powerless against the abuses of the powerful.

FOLLOW-UP:

Can you, John Q. Public, fight Goldman Sacks?  Can you build your own tunnel?  Can you cap credit card rates so they don’t go up to 30-40%.  Can you stop a power plant from polluting?  Can you protect food from having diseases?  Can you make Insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions?

Not ALL problems should be solved by Government, just the ones that are controlled by multi-millionaires, and protected by high-priced Corporate Lawyers, out to make a buck on the backs of the middle-class.

When you have a system that gives more power to the wealthy, the odds are stacked against the favor of working families.

‘We The People’ make the rules of the game for Corporations in this country, not the other way around.

UNCOVERS:

Democrats are for the working-class, and Republicans are for the powerful elite.

The often repeated ‘bigger Government’, or ‘more Government’, makes it sound like the bigger Government is, the worse it is.  The fact is, the bigger Government gets, the more it indicates how BAD the problems facing the powerless are.

Government should be as large as it needs to be in order to do the job our founders created it to do.

Average Americans don’t have millions of dollars of their own to pay for lawyers; they don’t have the power to make the rules of the game that these Corporations play by.

Government is us, and only the collective power of an active democracy can insure the safety and security of all Americans.

SIDE POINTS:

Distrust of Government really began it’s overdrive campaign after Reagan famously said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’

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