The Independent News Source
NCR on Kindle - NCR classifieds - YouTube - Twitter - Facebook - Email Alerts - RSS
PDF versionPutting Your Money Where Your Senator Is
by Ken Briggs on Jan. 22, 2010
If a relilgious group were to pour tons of money toward electing a Senator, that would be blasted as a blatant violation of the much-venerated "separation of church and state." It would be widely scorned as contrary to the first amendment of the Constitution which in essence struck a deal. You, religion, stay out of politics and we, government, favor no religion over another.
Until yesterday, the rough equivalent of that dividing line kept giant corporations from bankrolling political candidates. The Supreme Court's decision now allow the country's goliaths to spend whatever they want on politicians and parties that offer them the best deal. Favoritism, the very scourge that the church-state principle tries to prevent, thus becomes a staple of the electoral process, giving the biggest and wealthiest players an overwhelming advantage. All in the ludicrous name of "free speech."
If religions were permitted to do the same, to curry privileges by courting public figures, most of us would probably shudder until our teeth rattled. Yes, it happens even now, but to a limited degree. Imagine if the door were thrown open?
Money as speech does make a certain amount of sense. The rich speak volumes in their material exploitation of everyone else. But it is not, of course, what speech is meant to be. The Supreme Court has spoken with forked tongue.
UPON a related topic, readers
UPON a related topic, readers might be interested to note that the price of Mr. Briggs' crucial sociological study: "Double Crossed" only rises on the turbulent waters of amazon.com, not falling as I had hoped, and remains over fifty dollars, as it is a study we all need read (and so this always cruel application of the ruthless law of supply and demand).
It is a study we need send to each of Rode's inquisitors, for reading in the Motel 6 upon their beetle-browed journeys to our good sisters.
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70106513?referer=br&ht=edition
May we truly call it "The
May we truly call it "The Supreme Court's decision" when it is yet another contentious five-four call, with the truly Venerable Justice Stevens eloquently raising the solid objections?
In fact this court so heavily packed by the firm of Bush and Bush (Thomas, Roberts, Scalia, Alito AKA Scalito Lite) has produced so many five-four decisions with solid objections that these are not decisions at all, but considerations left for a later, more judicious and less politicized court.
This is also the court which gave us the 2000 election results, stopping in its tracks a full counting in Florida in order to deliver us Bush fils as commanded by the Bush family member at FoxNews. This decision, with which the first woman on the Court agreed, later made Justice Connors throw up her hands in despair and leave the Court upon observing the monster she had birthed (while providing a convenient slot to be filled).
This Court's constant five-four decisions indicates the uselessness and invalidity of that politicized Bush voting bloc (which while bearing reputed Catholics votes for the death penalty's application) and shows that further litigation will take place simply to clarify the very divided decisions. Thus we await a more professional court, but waiting for this in the America of Scott Brown, and of Palin, and of this decision placing the selection of our elected officers in the hands of FoxNEWs as certainly as the media magnate, pal of Pinochet, who just won handily in Chile, controlling the media, is like waiting for Santa Claus.
And so I hide out in a desert hermitage, waiting for Jesus to come.
frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco
In history class I learned
In history class I learned that the most successful idea of modern times was the nation state. We are now in post-modern times. The nation state becomes less and less important as corporations become the dominant institutions in our world. Yesterday's Roberts Court ruling means our government will be sold to the highest bidder. Since multinational corporations have more money than anyone else, including most countries, they will take over the control of nation states. At some point the nation states, like The Holy Roman Empire, will live on as mere technicalities as corporations control every aspect of our lives.
Steve
and jobs go already to the
and jobs go already to the nation with the lowest cost slaves, to the lowest bidding slaveholder, while the corporate clones in our legislature vote to export jobs south and overseas via more favorable "Free Trade Agreements" etc.
The Bush and Bush Supreme
The Bush and Bush Supreme Court
The gift that keeps on giving . . .
Post new comment