The Death of Democracy
On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court of the United States made what has to be the worst decision since the Dred Scott case of 1857 (or, at the very least, Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896). In a case called Citizens United vs. FEC, five of the nine justices ruled that corporations had the right to rape our democracy via the electoral process by means of unlimited - and unregulated - campaign contributions. We are n
ow witnessing in this campaign season the disastrous results of that ruling. To no one's surprise, the justices behind this disgusting judicial atrocity were the usual suspects: John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and, of course, America's favorite "House Nigger", Uncle Thomas.
Two days later, on January 23, I wrote on this site what I thought of that decision. I offer it again with only slight editing. Under the present circumstances I think it bears repeating:
Ascribing humanity to a corporation, to a company like Exxon or Disney for example, raises too many questions to even list here. But let's at least attempt to ask a few of them, shall we, boys and girls? Here goes....
Are corporations really persons?
Do corporations think?
Do corporations weep?
Do corporations fall in love?
Do corporations grieve when a loved one dies as a result of a lack of adequate health care?
Do corporations have loved ones?
Are corporations even capable of loving?
Do corporations sometimes lose sleep at night worrying about disease, violence, destruction, and the suffering of their fellow corporations?
Do corporations feel your pain?
Can a corporation run for public office?
Can corporations laugh at themselves? Are they capable of the self-deprecating sense of humor that the Irish are famous for? (EXAMPLE: "So these two corporations walk into a bar....")
If a corporation ever committed an unspeakable crime against the American people, could IT be sent to federal prison? (Note the operative word here: "It")
Can a corporation register to vote?
We all know that corporations have made a shit-load of cash throughout our history by profiting on the unspeakable tragedy of war. But has a corporation ever given its life for its country?
Is a corporation capable of raising a child?
Does a corporation have a conscience? Does it feel remorse after it has done something really bad?
Has a corporation ever been killed in an accident as the result of a design flaw in the automobile it was driving?
Has a corporation ever written a novel or a dramatic play or a song that inspired millions?
Has a corporation ever risked its life by climbing a ladder to save a child from a burning house?
Has a corporation ever won an Oscar? Or an Emmy? Or a Tony? Or the Nobel Peace Prize? Or a Polk or Peabody Award? Or the Pulitzer Prize in Biography?
Has a corporation ever performed Schubert's Ave Maria?
Has a corporation ever been shot and killed by someone who was using an illegal and unregistered gun?
Has a corporation ever paused to reflect upon the simple beauty of an autumn sunset or a brilliant winter moon rising on the horizon?
If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a noise if there are no corporations there to hear it?
Should corporations kiss on the first date?
Could a corporation resolve to dedicate its life to being an artist? Or a musician? Or an opera singer? Or a Catholic priest? Or a rabbi? Or a Doctor? Or a Dentist? Or a sheet metal worker? Or a gourmet chef? Or a short-order cook? Or a magician? Or a nurse? Or a trapeze artist? Or an author? Or an editor? Or a Thrift Shop owner? Or a EMT worker? Or a book binder? Or a Hardware Store clerk? Or a funeral director? Or a sanitation worker? Or an actor? Or a comedian? Or a glass blower? Or a chamber maid? Or a film director? Or a newspaper reporter? Or a deep sea fisherman? Or a farmer? Or a piano tuner? Or a jeweler? Or a janitor? Or a nun? Or a Trappist Monk? Or a poet? Or a pilgrim? Or a bar tender? Or a tar bender? Or a used car salesman? Or a brick layer? Or a mayor? Or a soothsayer? Or a Hall-of-Fame football player? Or a soldier? Or a sailor? Or a butcher? Or a baker? Or a candlestick maker?
Could a corporation choose to opt out of all the above and merely become a bum? Living life on the road, hopping freight trains and roasting mickeys in the woods?
I realize that this is pure theological speculation on my part but the question is just screaming to be posed: When corporations die, do they go to Heaven?
Our lives - yours and mine - have more worth than any goddamned corporation. To say that the Supreme Court made an awful decision last January is an understatement. Not only is it an obscene ruling, it is an insult to our humanity.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
AFTERTHOUGHT:
No one on the Supreme Court has been more vocal in his disdain of Affirmative Action than Uncle Thomas.
Question:
Just where do you think Clarence Thomas would be today had it not been for Affirmative Action?
Answer:
He would be mounted on the front lawn of some beer distributor's home in Albany, Georgia - wearing a jockey uniform and holding a lamp.
SUGGESTED READING:
The Brethren
by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong
ow witnessing in this campaign season the disastrous results of that ruling. To no one's surprise, the justices behind this disgusting judicial atrocity were the usual suspects: John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and, of course, America's favorite "House Nigger", Uncle Thomas.Two days later, on January 23, I wrote on this site what I thought of that decision. I offer it again with only slight editing. Under the present circumstances I think it bears repeating:
Ascribing humanity to a corporation, to a company like Exxon or Disney for example, raises too many questions to even list here. But let's at least attempt to ask a few of them, shall we, boys and girls? Here goes....
Are corporations really persons?
Do corporations think?
Do corporations weep?
Do corporations fall in love?
Do corporations grieve when a loved one dies as a result of a lack of adequate health care?
Do corporations have loved ones?
Are corporations even capable of loving?
Do corporations sometimes lose sleep at night worrying about disease, violence, destruction, and the suffering of their fellow corporations?
Do corporations feel your pain?
Can a corporation run for public office?
Can corporations laugh at themselves? Are they capable of the self-deprecating sense of humor that the Irish are famous for? (EXAMPLE: "So these two corporations walk into a bar....")
If a corporation ever committed an unspeakable crime against the American people, could IT be sent to federal prison? (Note the operative word here: "It")
Can a corporation register to vote?
We all know that corporations have made a shit-load of cash throughout our history by profiting on the unspeakable tragedy of war. But has a corporation ever given its life for its country?
Is a corporation capable of raising a child?
Does a corporation have a conscience? Does it feel remorse after it has done something really bad?
Has a corporation ever been killed in an accident as the result of a design flaw in the automobile it was driving?
Has a corporation ever written a novel or a dramatic play or a song that inspired millions?
Has a corporation ever risked its life by climbing a ladder to save a child from a burning house?
Has a corporation ever won an Oscar? Or an Emmy? Or a Tony? Or the Nobel Peace Prize? Or a Polk or Peabody Award? Or the Pulitzer Prize in Biography?
Has a corporation ever performed Schubert's Ave Maria?
Has a corporation ever been shot and killed by someone who was using an illegal and unregistered gun?
Has a corporation ever paused to reflect upon the simple beauty of an autumn sunset or a brilliant winter moon rising on the horizon?
If a tree falls in the forest, does it make a noise if there are no corporations there to hear it?
Should corporations kiss on the first date?
Could a corporation resolve to dedicate its life to being an artist? Or a musician? Or an opera singer? Or a Catholic priest? Or a rabbi? Or a Doctor? Or a Dentist? Or a sheet metal worker? Or a gourmet chef? Or a short-order cook? Or a magician? Or a nurse? Or a trapeze artist? Or an author? Or an editor? Or a Thrift Shop owner? Or a EMT worker? Or a book binder? Or a Hardware Store clerk? Or a funeral director? Or a sanitation worker? Or an actor? Or a comedian? Or a glass blower? Or a chamber maid? Or a film director? Or a newspaper reporter? Or a deep sea fisherman? Or a farmer? Or a piano tuner? Or a jeweler? Or a janitor? Or a nun? Or a Trappist Monk? Or a poet? Or a pilgrim? Or a bar tender? Or a tar bender? Or a used car salesman? Or a brick layer? Or a mayor? Or a soothsayer? Or a Hall-of-Fame football player? Or a soldier? Or a sailor? Or a butcher? Or a baker? Or a candlestick maker?
Could a corporation choose to opt out of all the above and merely become a bum? Living life on the road, hopping freight trains and roasting mickeys in the woods?
I realize that this is pure theological speculation on my part but the question is just screaming to be posed: When corporations die, do they go to Heaven?
Our lives - yours and mine - have more worth than any goddamned corporation. To say that the Supreme Court made an awful decision last January is an understatement. Not only is it an obscene ruling, it is an insult to our humanity.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net
AFTERTHOUGHT:
No one on the Supreme Court has been more vocal in his disdain of Affirmative Action than Uncle Thomas.
Question:
Just where do you think Clarence Thomas would be today had it not been for Affirmative Action?
Answer:
He would be mounted on the front lawn of some beer distributor's home in Albany, Georgia - wearing a jockey uniform and holding a lamp.
SUGGESTED READING:
The Brethren
by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong
posted by Tom Degan @ 6:42 AM
42 comments
42 Comments:
"Billionaires and corporations are capturing the political process everywhere; anyone with an interest in democracy should be thinking about how to resist them. Nothing is real any more. Nothing is as it seems." (from The Guardian, Monday, October 25, 2010; The Tea Party movement: deluded and inspired by billionaires, by George Monbiot)
These above last three sentences by Mr. Monbiot say it all. The Roberts Court rang the final death knell to American democracy (what was left of it, which wasn't much) and formally turned over the keys to the elite and already powerful and influential. It was, in reality, Bush's final act of pissing on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In my mind, January 21, 2010 ("1/21") should be put alongside 9/11 as the two dates where the terrorizing of the American people, through internal forces, came to final fruition.
The faux-Bush Administration, just as in the case with the anti-popes of Roman Catholicism, was fraudulent and should never have been. Amazingly, far too many people want to return to that same illegitimate nightmare that ended just last year. It defies logic and it makes no sense.
I'm heading out the door to attend Jon Stewart's "Return to Sanity" rally on the Mall this afternoon. I intend to take a few minutes to walk around to the other side of the Capitol building just so I can spit on the steps of the Supreme Court. That's my feeling about the five treasonous justices who sold-out our democratic republic to the highest bidders last winter.
It is so disappointing but would not work if Americans cared to learn what is going on and didn't depend on the slick sound bites and ads. The very ones who claim they value the Constitution are the same ones who don't give a damn about it when it gets in the way of doing what they want. They are so shortsighted and the whole thing is enough to make a person wonder who the people are in this country and where is it heading? All they value from government is providing a mercenary army for the world?
The money that has been thrown against Democrats has come from billionaires and corporations with the Chamber of Commerce being the shill to make it look good other places. I never knew what a despicable organization they were until now. For some of these 'mistakes' they will get two years; but unfortunately some like Sharron Angle will be there in Congress for 6 years and there are those proud of voting for a woman who only knows how to vote no, who wants to dismantle Social Security and all the other federal programs that help the middle class and poor. It's obvious she plans on being among the rich although her main goal is doubtless religious as she is a fundamentalist. Yet, it takes a majority of those in Nevada, who bother to vote, to make it happen. So I blame the people for this more than the Angles and the O'Donnells. They have always been with us but they used to be on the sidelines because the majority of Americans cared about their fellow citizens and valued their freedoms in things like the Bill of Rights. They are making that past history. :(
This is amazing stuff Tom. It's also incredibly sad. How do the informed of this country attempt to overturn this ruling? Is it possible?
I'm afraid not, Kathleen. The American people have stupidly chosen to hand their country over to the plutocracy. The only thing intelligent people can do is to sit back and try to find some entertainment in America's complete and utter destruction. This is possible. There is a lot of unintentional humor to be found in this apocalypse.
Kathleen, go to Move to Amend and sign their petition. It's a start, unfortunately it's sure to be a long and uphill battle. This craziness didn't happen overnight. It won't be corrected overnight, either. But, the return to sanity has to start somewhere.
Thanks for the link, J.G. I signed the petition.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
Tom
Of the top 100 economies in the world, about half are countries. The other half are multi-national corporations - the bulk of which are not US based. This is not a uniquely American issue - it is global.
"To no one's surprise, the justices behind this disgusting judicial atrocity were the usual suspects: John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, and, of course, America's favorite House Nigger, Uncle Thomas."
"He would be mounted on the front lawn of some beer distributor's home in Albany, Georgia - wearing a jockey uniform and holding a lamp."
What a hyprocrite you are about "teabag racism."
Are these statements the advanced thought of the enlightened ones who call themselves progressives?
Aren't we supposed to judge a man by the content of his character rather than the color of his skin?
Tell me Tom Degan.
Hi Tom,
As always a well written article but I must take exception respectfully with your point of view. Why is it okay for the Unions to be able to "pay to play" but not management? I thought you were all about playing on a level playing field? As a retired Union member I know all too well that Unions are very well financed so lets not make them out to be the underdog on this one either. Unions are a major player at the state and federal levels as well as the local levels and have been for some time. It seems only fair that the other side gets to be heard and afterall it is not going to be the greedy corporate heads or the heavy handed Union bosses who are going to determine the outcome of any election but rather you and I and if one is to suggest that folks are influnenced by who has the biggest, boldest, attractive ads out there than one is equating you and I and the rest of the electorate as simpletons and therefor this country is on auto pilot no matter who is throwing money into the game since according to this mindset we are all mindless robots
Respectfully,
Tom V
"Requiem for the Pelosi Democrats" Real Clear Politics Saturday
Veteran Democratic Rep. Brian Baird says that job creation should have been priority 'number one, two and three.'
For some of the shortcomings of financial regulatory reform, Mr. Baird blames the disillusioning battle over ObamaCare. "When the House had to pass the Senate version of health care unchanged, some members asked why should they invest the mental effort in mastering the details" of financial reform. Mr. Baird found parts of the bill mind-numbing.
Although he voted for it, he says he was troubled that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the entities at the heart of the housing meltdown, weren't addressed. They have clearly exercised undue influence on Capitol Hill, he notes. "When I was first elected I was puzzled why they were holding events in my honor as a mere freshman. I asked myself, why is a federal entity so involved in political activity?"
Regarding health care, his specialty, Mr. Baird gave House Democrats real heartburn. He voted against the first version of ObamaCare in November 2009, because the Congressional Budget Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services hadn't yet analyzed the bill's impact on insurance premiums and medical costs.
"What the hell were we doing voting on this? I had labor groups come to me and insist the bill was so important we couldn't wait to know what was in it," he recalls. "I asked them if they were handed a new union contract and told it was so important they had to agree to it without reading it, would they go along?" They continued to insist he vote for the bill and threatened him with a primary challenger.
Tom and PCS, keep living in your fairytale world which will crumble Nov 2.
I think contempt for Clarence Thomas's hypocrisy doesn't qualify as racism, and neither does 'house nigger' when it's applied to, and aimed at, a single individual, and not just a blanket expression of hatred against a race.
How does 'Judas goat' sound, instead? It's funny to me that the only objection you raise to the entire article is manufactured outrage over others claims of 'teabag racism', and not about the people who put our democracy on eBay.
Tom V, the difference between Unions backing political campaigns and corporations and foreign interests doing it post Citizens United is the lack of transparency. I actually wouldn't have any real problem with groups like the US Chamber of Commerce and others spending millions on political ads as long as the source of the money is clearly stated.
I think it would be good for people to know that China and other countries who benefit from American companies who outsource jobs are the ones who are paying to back a politician or party who is in favor of outsourcing, while at the same time their stalking horse front company is assailing the other side for not creating jobs in this country.
I don't mind knowing when a Union is paying for an ad backing a party or a single politician. What are they afraid of? Why did they block the DISCLOSE Act?
Tom Degan, As an African American I find your post extremely racist. Just because Clarence Thomas does not tow the line like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, the "Black liaisons", to the Democrat Party, he is therefore an "Uncle Tom" or a "house nigga" (acceptable Tom Degan vocabulary). Do you also call Clarence a "coon" and "porch monkey"?
I hope that fellow Blacks will one day wake up and discover that they are being used and manipulated by the Democrat Party.
I have left the Democratic party and have become an independent.
Tom, feel free to hurl racial epithats at me for leaving the Democrat Party, but your blood flows with racism.
Tyrone
I wanted to provide a little joy of delusion before reality.
http://www.swingstateproject.com/diary/7887/fk-it-dems-keep-the-house
T-3; Party like it's 1773
On a Dennis Miller’s radio show recently, a caller said Halloween should be a teaching moment for our children.
When the kids return home after trick-or-treating, depending on how full their bag was, you remove between 25% and 50% of the candy. When the child asks why you were taking the candy, you tell them you are going to give it other kids who were too lazy to go trick-or-treating.
The author loves the N word. Go back to his writings on the KKK recruite to whom he shows much admiration.
BTW, for those who dont understand what a corporation actually is (and at the same time ignore the cash coming in from clowns like Soros):
Corporations are a legal nicety given to natural persons.
A corporation is an entity that allows people to apportion assets to invest while limiting personal liability for such investment to the amount invested. Corporations are a legal protection to the members that own the corporation.
Corporations were developed as a method for people to engage in investment without incurring unlimited personal liability. As such, corporations receive many legal treatments afforded to the natural persons that own them. Corporations facilitate taking risk and the byproduct is greater economic growth.
Without liability protection for owners of investment, the economy would be stifled. Corporations are at the end the natural person who own them.
If you take your corporate animosity to its logical ends, no business would get done. You would have killed your golden goose. Who would pay for all the stupid government bs then???
Barry's Money Tree
http://vimeo.com/15841187
Hey "Tyrone" (aka wingnut white guy pretending to be black),
Tom D. is not a racist. You don't know him and are not entitled to make that assessment. Using a fake name and pretending to be black does not entitle you to level that accusation at random, when it suits you.
Like the other wingnuts who frequent this blog, I believe your purpose is to deflect attention away from, and avoid the argument at hand. And like your incredibly stupid bagnut cohorts, you aren't willing or able to address the actual issues being discussed.
Folks, governments ARE corporations in most senses of the word. This is what you're not getting. China, for example, is a corporation - it's called state capitalism - the natural outcome of failed socialism. And, THAT is what you need to fear for the future (since folks are desiring so desperately to fear). They are a corporation with a standing army. In the end, only capitalism (in some form) is capable of growing an economy and prosperity. It is better when it goes hand in hand with personal freedom - but it's not a necessity. The folks in Washington are no longer at the helm, and the world is so not interested any longer in who sits in DC. Tom's posts of late are dramatic hyperbole in my opinion. Continuing to talk about moving to another country and selling your farms is silly. Go have a cup of coffee and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.
Tyrone, et.al....
When I use the term, "house Nigger", I am referring to the parable Malcolm X used to tell about the House Nigger and the Field Negro. The House Nigger, who did light work inside the home, loved his Master. The Field Negro, who did the back breaking work out on the plantation, hated the old bastard. When you think about the House Nigger, picture Stephin Fetchit. When you think of the Field Negro, picture Ossie Davis. That puts it beautifully.
I wish that you would post this on ZERO Hedge, Catherine Austin Fitts @ Solari, Janet Tavakoli, R.Christopher Whalen, Jesse's Cafe American , Wahingtons Blog, Ives Smith at Naked Capitalism, Alex Jones at prison planet , Charles Hugh Smith from Of Two Minds , Gretchen Mortenson NYT,Matt Tiabbi Rolling Stone, etc,etc., etc.,
I wish we were friends .
Robert T Fanning Jr.
P.O. Box 7 Pray, Montana 59065
Phone 406-333-4121
http://www.takeitbackday.org/
Good one, Tommy V. You make me think - and that's not an easy thing to do tonight (I've had a couple!)
Tommy D
But Tyrone, Clarence Thomas DOES "tow the line" (and I believe the correct spelling is "toe"). Scalia says"Jump" and Thomas asks "How high?"
Clarence Thomas is about as useful on the Supreme Court as tits on a bull.
" Tyrone, Clarence Thomas DOES "tow the line" (and I believe the correct spelling is "toe". Scalia says"Jump" and Thomas asks "How high?" "
Really Charles? Just because Clarence Thomas does not have the same views as Jessie "hymie town" Jackson and Al "Tawana Brawley" Sharpton, and does not toe the line the same as them, he is therefore a "house nigger"?
Tom Degan
Was Barbara Boxer shocked that Harry Alford, the Black Chamber of Commerce President, did not toe the line as a good "house nigger" Democrat during the July 16, 2009 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing? Could Barbara Boxer also refer to the Malcolm X story and tell Harry Alford that she expected him to be a good "House Nigger" and agree to all the Democrat Party positions without question?
The Democrats throw the black race just enough crumbs to shut them up in return for "toeing the line" and voting for the Democrats year after year. This is truly slavery.
"Clarence Thomas is about as useful on the Supreme Court as tits on a bull."
Clarence will be very useful when the constitutionality of the Health Care Bill (i.e. the forcing of people to engage in commerce) is examined.
If Clarence Thomas is so useful on the Supreme Court why is he the only Justice who has never asked a single question? He does not think for himself and just asks Scalia how he should vote. He is a disgrace and his wife is worse. Give me a break.
Tyronne, yes Thomas will be very useful to you in voting against the best legislation of my lifetime. He was so very useful in the worst decision passed buy the Supremes sinc Dred Scott. Aren't you so proud?
Tyrone,
What the fuck is wrong with you conservatives? Reading all of this crap, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but as Anna pointed out, you aren't willing or able to address the issues being discussed.
Charles and Darlene both made good points that you choose to ignore: Clarence Thomas is incompetent and uncurious, waiting for Scalia to tell him how to vote and certainly no constructive or thinking addition to the Supreme Court.
As for your statement that the Democrats throw the black race just enough crumbs to shut them up in return for "toeing the line" and voting for the Democrats year after year, I would challenge you to tell us what crumbs the GOP has tossed out. They have ONE token black in the person of Michael Steele - another useless incompetent.
RedStateFred Although he voted for it, he says he was troubled that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the entities at the heart of the housing meltdown, weren't addressed.
The what at the heart of what now?
Tyrone Witherspoon "I hope that fellow Blacks will one day wake up and discover that they are being used and manipulated by the Democrat Party. I have left the Democratic party and have become an independent."
And that means what, exactly? You left the party that lacks spine, choosing to sit in between it and the party of the Southern Strategy?
"Tom, feel free to hurl racial epithats at me for leaving the Democrat Party, but your blood flows with racism."
Tyrone, Thomas succeeded Thurgood Marshall. Thomas is no Marshall.
JJ "When the kids return home after trick-or-treating, depending on how full their bag was, you remove between 25% and 50% of the candy. When the child asks why you were taking the candy, you tell them you are going to give it other kids who were too lazy to go trick-or-treating."
Or you could be, y'know, reality based and tell them…
"This candy paid for the road that you crossed and the lights and signs and laws and enforcement that help stop cars from running you down. This candy paid for the sidewalk. This candy paid for the lighting that brightens the night streets. This candy paid for the guys that empty those garbage cans and take it away. This candy paid the police who keep you safe. This one pays for the Emergency Rooms for sick kids who have no candy of their own. These paid for the military that defends your right to Trick-or-Treat. This one paid for Sesame Street on the TV. This one paid for the State programs that keep mercury and lead out of your candy, and this one helps stop your neighbor's factory from dumping all its bad candy in your treehouse. This one paid for the school where you will sit and swap candies with your friends. This one paid for someone who lost his job. Don't worry, if you lose your job some day you'll get another candy back."
Heck, go all the way…
"This candy paid the people in your government who deregulated Wall Street so that they could make more candy without the people in your government getting in the way, and these candies paid to bail out Wall Street after they ate all the candy they got, and sold packages of bad candy to everybody, and in some cases bet on those packages of bad candy being bad so that they could get even more candy. This candy paid for your government to give subsidies to the company that laid-off that guy, making it even more profitable for them to move the candy factory to a neighborhood that lacks paved streets, sidewalks, lights, garbage men, police that protect their kids, doctors for poor people, a military that defends their kids, Sesame Street, people that make sure all candy given to kids is good candy, other people who stop bad people from ruining kids' treehouses, and schools. And the kids there, even if they're good, and they work hard on their costume, and they go to every house, get barely any candy at all!"
Sooner or later the people will see wise up. The problem is: do we have 70 years like it took for the Soviet Union to finally see the light?
You folks should read the book "First Principles" about C Thomas and read other black authors that have strayed from the liberal plantation. Sowell could teach many of you fools much about economics given his ability to write for the general audience.
Liberals love to lynch any black stupid enough to learn how to think independently and critically. Stray from the democratic plantaion = liberal wrath and the N word.
I am trying to understand why the author would use the N word.
First, liberals are the most thoroughly protected by the 1st ammendment, so its safe for him to use.
Closet racists or subliminal racists enjoy to use the term. Actually, I think they love to use it.
These racists employ reverse logic to grant themselves license to humiliate those of color. It goes something like this: (1) A racist wouldn't use the term because it may expose him as a racist. (2) By using the word freely, a situation that would normally incur ridicule and retribution, the audience will conclude that the author must not be a racist because who would knowingly invite the label of a racist. (3) By knowing the audience will believe (2) above and that liberals own the blacks and are fully protected under the 1st ammendment, the author has a blank check to scream the N word in the streets.
I think the author should print out his blog, go find some black neighbors, hand it to them in person, and ask their thoughts.
The is another why the deplorable cheap shot was unfortunate: it's distracted the discussion away from the far more serious question about our democracy.
In every other context under the law, money is treated as property. Its use can be regulated, unlike speech. It can be taxed, unlike speech. It can even be seized by the government, unlike speech.
That the Court would treat money as "speech" in the particular instance of elections is an intellectually unfathomable decision that not only undermines what's left of our democracy but does so in a way completely inconsistent with the way money is treated in every other context.
"Bringing race into is not only a lame cheap shot but detracts from the very real point you're trying to make."
But Brian, it is virtually impossible not to bring race into the picture with respect to Clarence Thomas He has spent his entire legal career bringing up the ladder to prevent other members of his oppressed race from using the opportunities that he so skillfully exploited as a young man.
Please, read this piece I wrote two years ago when his autobiography was published:
http://tomdegan.blogspot.com/2007/10/americas-favorite-house-nigger.html
Sincerely,
Tom Degan
As I continue to ponder the genius of this particular blog, and how I would answer the question of where would Clarence be? I have a couple thoughts.
1. I don't know where Clarence would be, but I am sure he would not be a House African American for a beer distributor.
2. I am feeling a little racist this morning. I'd like to ask the question: Where does a white male of means, who presumable has accomplished essentially nothing, feel entitled to question the progress of anyone who has risen from poverty.
3. I am sure the HN in (1) would have been more accomplished than the WM in 2 without affirmative action.
Good Lord!! Let's step back & see what is really happening in America.
Corporations are dividing us into tribes so they can keep the power. It's the old divide & conquer.
I mention a book out where Americans, in spite of their differences, do unite (SOLIDARITY) against corporations who want to keep the power, but the people fight back.
www.booksbyoliver.com
Remember...it's We the People...not you the government (corporations).
We need to find common ground among all of us & take back the power fm corrupt government & corporations.
Tom,
I'm looking forward to "The Death of the Democratic Party" this Tuesday.
Did you buy that big bottle of Irish Whiskey yet?
Archie
Archie, it's not the death of the Democratic party I fear, however the death of the nation surely seems to loom closer (and sooner) as the people vote for more right-wing demagoguery and corporatist policy -- the same raping and pillage that brought us to this point over the course of the last thirty years.
{sigh...}
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/why-rage-not-facts-will-win-20101101-17abm.html
The Oz view!
Enjoy
Den from Oz
No, corporations would like us to think they cared, but that's only if they can get us to buy more useless stuff that makes us feel emptier, not satisfied.
I will vote, mostly as an act of defiance (thinking about the mouse giving the happy Hawaiian good-luck sign to an eagle) - because I still can do so.
We live in an age of nutured fear and sound-bites. What better way to lull folks into a frenzy that keeps them from seeing the fox in the middle of our proverbial hen-house?
I intend to be defiant, keep living, keep writing and talking and voting. Keep demanding that we be better than we are, it will annoy them.
Anne
From, presumably, an AA beneficiary:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/11/02/guess_who_107804.html
Vote different:
http://www.politizoid.com/component/seyret/?task=videodirectlink&id=35
T-0
Tommy Boy,
Question:
Just where do you think Imam Child would be today had it not been for Affirmative Action?
Harry from Mass
the dem ship is sinking! SOS SOS SOS
boltok "You folks should read the book "First Principles' about C Thomas and read other black authors that have strayed from the liberal plantation. Sowell could teach many of you fools much about economics given his ability to write for the general audience."
An Amazon'ing shows that another author wrote that. Good thing, too, as Sowell (who may be an Expertologist in Economics) in other subjects is a kook; an anti-elitist elitist, which is par for the course on the Right.
Anonymous "Question: Just where do you think Imam Child would be today had it not been for Affirmative Action?"
As with Sonia Sotomayor (and, yes, Clarence Thomas), Affirmative Action gets you a hand up. You have to keep yourself there. It gets you a seat in the class, not the GPA. Obama, for one, graduated magne cum awesome. So did Sotomayor. And Thomas graduated cum laude.
Anonymous "the dem ship is sinking! SOS SOS SOS"
Hurrah! Party like it's 1994! Woo! (But with no Moderate Republicans. Woo. And with the remainder shifted way over to the Right. Wuh? And with them doing whatever it takes to make sure that Obama is a one term president, even if the country has to burn for a total of four years for them to do it. Woah.)
"Obama Can Learn From FDR"
This statement by OP is not supported by any observed facts.
To Mr. Deagan your article really hits home and is very depressing!! However that is not enough reason to run off to some deserted island and hide out form society. We must fight back!!!!! I also offer Mr. Deagan and Kathleen from Ct another option and it is not one that is all that familiar. Supreme Court Justices can be impeached just as the President. The process is probably only marginally shorter than signing the petition "move to ammend" but more open from the political view!! Also those that are being targeted would now that their actions are not what John Q Public wants and will not accept. With both avenues it is going to take a very strong Congressial force to bring either one to bear!!!! So we must press on and keep pressure on those legislaturers that believe in "Of the People", "By the People" & "For the People" OGRed
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