JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: Going back to the question of stare decisis, the one thing that is very interesting about this area of law for the last 100 years is the active involvement of both State and Federal legislatures in trying to find that balance between the interest of protecting in their views how the electoral process should proceed and the interests of the First Amendment.

And so my question to you is, once we say they can’t, except on the basis of a compelling government interest narrowly tailored, are we cutting off or would we be cutting off that future democratic process? Because what you are suggesting is that the courts who created corporations as persons, gave birth to corporations as persons, and there could be an argument made that that was the Court’s error to start with, not Austin or McConnell, but the fact that the Court imbued a creature of State law with human characteristics.

But we can go back to the very basics that way, but wouldn’t we be doing some more harm than good by a broad ruling in a case that doesn’t involve more business corporations and actually doesn’t even involve the traditional nonprofit organization? It involves an advocacy corporation that has a very particular interest.

Although she tailored her remarks to the case at hand, very narrowly, just the idea of questioning from the bench the notion of the correctness of corporate personhood is like a clarion call in the chaos.  Corporate personhood is why we have the mess in Washington, D.C. that we do.  We need corporations to be for the public benefit again, and not immortal, and unable to lobby or donate to political campaigns.

Thank you, Justice Sotomayor!

After President Obama’s Address to Congress, the Republican Party’s response was delivered from Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal.  I am loving that Sarah Palin, Michael Steele and Bobby Jindal are the new faces of the Republicans – they are the new Three Stooges!

I wonder if he even bothered to watch the President’s speech? I wonder what planet he’s living on? He’s got an interesting personal story, but his ideas? Just more of the same failed Republican policies that got us into this ridiculous mess to begin with – tax cuts for the rich, abandoning public education. Really, Bobby Jindal? Is that the best the Republicans can do in this time of economic crisis?

Tax cuts will increase the debt but not have an appreciable effect on the economy, except to encourage more borrowing – people will pay off old debts but not buy new stuff. Recent history has shown this to be the case. And while paying off debt is good, it won’t create any jobs right now, which we need.

And charter schools and vouchers? There’s plenty of indication that charter schools do not improve education over traditional public schools – they are essentially a wash.

And getting rid of corruption and increase transparency in Washington, DC?  No one has seen the text of the stimulus package?  I guess he hasn’t seen http://recovery.gov/ yet,  or the other websites the Obama Administration has published to enable the public to see how the money is being spent.

It’s no wonder that the Republican Party is becoming more and more irrelevant, and no longer a national party, but a regional party of the South.  If this is the best they can do, then I say let them fade more and more into obscurity.

But what I want to know is which of the Three Stooges is Jindal?  Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Curly Joe?

More to the point, why are we, the world’s largest debtor nation, the world’s policeman? I despise the fact that we send our armed forces where they are both not needed, and not wanted, and that we cannot afford to do it.

This might sound selfish and Amerocentric, but let the United States take care of the United States, and let the rest of the world take care of itself. Be a good neighbor, lead by example, stop being aggressive, be more cooperative, help other nations when they are in humanitarian crisis, voice our opinion, and that’s it. The policy of the United States should be one of non-aggression and peaceful cooperation with other nations. Our military should be for defense of the nation’s borders.

Living within our means means scaling back our military power, and boosting spending on domestic services like universal healthcare, sophisticated and effective public education, including comprehensive sex education, civic education, strong arts and sciences education, and most of all, critical thinking skills. These are the things that create true wealth: cultural wealth, entrepreneurial innovation, and a passion for participatory governance.

I say, globalization has not resulted in a raised standard of commonweal; instead it has resulted in increased poverty, more environmental degradation, decreased civil rights, and a bankrupt global financial system. Globalization has increased the gap between rich and poor in this country.

The United States was such a wonderful and fertile imaginative landscape, and I believe it can be again if we contract our global ambitions and focus on rebuilding infrastructure, public education, respect for the sciences and arts, paying off our national debt, rebuilding our manufacturing sector, and fully restoring our civil rights.

I believe that people have to shed their own blood to earn their own freedom – that is the only true way to value that freedom. Our way is the way that works for us, and can serve as an example of one particular path to freedom, but each nation needs to find its own path that works for them. We can talk about our way of life and why it works for us, but that’s all we should do. To do otherwise isn’t being a good neighbor. Our best example of leadership is to live our nation’s life and let the strength of our ideas be demonstrated by how successful we are as a nation, and how we treat the most vulnerable among us. Our American ancestors paid their blood and lives so that future generations of Americans could live in freedom and prosperity. Let the people of the world do the same.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? … Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. Thee’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do… It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson

As we focus our energies on making manifest the success and prosperous light within the American nature, we can give other nations the courage and inspiration to do the same.

But that leads back to the question of how do we increase the light of the American cultural soul? The only way to do that is to increase freedom. This country was founded on the principal of individual freedom, but also freedom that is responsible for each other as a nation, and species. And freedom is only increased through a liberal dose of education and participatory civic action by the populace. The power of the government is derived by the will of the governed. We must always remember that, and not just at election time. The voices of the citizenry must be louder than the voices of the corporate lobbyists.

Heck, I wonder why do we allow corporate lobbyists? Corporations cannot vote in elections, they cannot be citizens. Only individual human beings can be citizens be reason of birth or naturalization. So it seems to me that a major problem is the existence of corporate personhood. The abolition of corporate personhood would put corporations back on the other side of the government/person line, and “We the People” would actually be people again, and a huge return of power back to the population.

The return of corporations to the side of being in the public interest is crucial to regaining full civil rights. Noninterventionism and the abolition of corporate personhood. Neighborliness and helping others. Huge investment in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and a tremendous reduction in military spending. These are the things that liberals need to be fighting for.

Albert Einstein said, “You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war.” The only way forward is through peaceful work and democratic action. Let your light shine forth, people.

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/37295

Gore Vidal et al to Obama: Do Not Concede!
Submitted by davidswanson on Sat, 2008-11-01 17:06. Elections
An Open Letter to Senator Obama and the Democratic Leadership:
On Election Night, DO NOT CONCEDE!

“Eight years is too much” is how Barack Obama explained why we must win the coming election and begin to restore America. But, even if we receive the most votes, will we win the election?

DO NOT CONCEDE!
Both of the last two elections were conceded by the Democratic presidential candidate. The 2004 election was handed to George Bush while votes were still being counted in closely-fought Ohio. While the 2000 election was contested to the Supreme Court, it too was ultimately conceded to Bush “for the good of the country.”

Some good.

Numerous politicians, investigators and authors, including Robert Kennedy, Jr., agree the 2004 election was stolen, not only in Ohio but in several other battleground states. Tactics included purging of legitimate voters and the use of nefarious voting software–but when even these actions did not yield the required numbers, Republican election officials simply changed the vote tallies in several states, all without a peep from the Democratic Party.

DO NOT CONCEDE!
In the time since the last general election the public has learned much about these scandals, which have led some states to reject electronic touchscreen voting (and which caused the infamous Diebold voting machines corporation to hide behind a new corporate name,) yet the Democratic Party seems to have learned nothing.

THREE STRIKES AND WE’RE OUT!
If we cannot afford another Republican administration, we cannot afford a third concession in the face of election fraud. Already there is evidence of massive fraud such as voter purging and caging of Democratic voters, and “flipping” of votes in early voting on electronic touchscreen machines. It is reasonable to once again expect further manipulation on election night by some Republican operatives and election officials, as was seen in 2004; should we also expect our Democratic Party leaders and candidates to repeat history, by once again conceding in the face of such blatant fraud? Senator Obama, we need you, our Party and all candidates to stand firm, come what may on election night. You ask us to work for you, contribute to you–and to have your back; we ask that you promise to have our back: We ask that you PLEDGE TO STAND FIRM, AND NOT CONCEDE THE COMING ELECTION in the face of election irregularities, no matter how long it takes to contest such fraud, while there remains any doubt as to any part of the process. Be assured, Democratic voters will be more–not less–energized if we see you promise to stand firm.

Senator Obama, if there is any reason to contest the election,
DO NOT CONCEDE!

Signed: (Titles for identification purposes only)
Gore Vidal, Author
Bob Fitrakis, Professor of Political Science, Columbus State Community College, Attorney; Editor of The Free Press (freepress.org)
Harvey Wasserman, Senior Editor, FreePress.org, Author of SOLARTOPIA! Our Green-Powered Earth
Mark Crispin Miller, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University, Author of Fooled Again, How the Right Stole the 2004 Election
Tim Carpenter, Director, Progressive Democrats of America
Mimi Kennedy, Chair, National Advisory Board, Progressive Democrats of America
David Swanson, Co-Founder, After Downing Street
Eric Bauman, Chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Garry S. Shay, Member, Democratic National Committee (CA)
Lead Chair, Rules Committee, California Democratic Party
Jo Olson, MD, Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Mal Burnstein, Co-Chair, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Marcy Winograd, Executive Board representative, California Democratic Party, 41st AD, Former Chair, Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles
David Earnhardt, Filmmaker, “Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections”
Don Goldmacher, Chair, Election Integrity, Progressive Caucus, California Democratic Party
Michael Jay, Progressive Democrats of America, Special Projects, Former Delegate, California Democratic Party, 42nd AD
Sheri Myers, Director, “Wake Up and Save Your Country”
Robert A. Feuer, Former Chairman, Stockbridge, MA Town Democratic Committee
Thomas Patrick O’Shaughnessy, Region 3 Vice Chair, Los Angeles County Democratic Party Chair, Irish American Caucus, California Democratic Party
Howard Jennings, PDA-Virginia, State Co-Coordinator
Sarah Stott, Chapter Chair, PDA-Virginia
Lisa Pease, Co-editor, “The Assassinations: Probe Magazine on JFK, MLK, RFK and Malcolm X”
Cindy Asner, Former Delegate, California Democratic Party, Member, National Advisory Board, Progressive Democrats of America
Julie Lopez Dad, President, Santa Monica Democratic Club, Chair, 41st AD Committee, Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Dr. Bill Honigman, PDA California State Coordinator and Orange County Chapter Leader, Delegate, California Democratic Party, 73rd AD
Linda Milazzo, Senior Editor, OpEdNews.com, Blogger, Huffington Post
Rady Ananda, Senior Editor, OpEdNews.com
Jan Baumgartner, Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com
Cheryl Biren-Wright, Managing Editor, OpEdNews.com
Sherry Healy, Co-Founder California Election Protection Network, Coordinator, Election Defense Alliance
Laura Bonham, Summit County, UT Democratic Party Chairperson
Albert E. Fairchild, Retired Foreign Service Officer
Dorathea Peters, Precinct Captain, Alexandria, VA Democratic Committee

She told voters to dial 1-888-2FL-OBAMA to find an early voting site or report voting problems.

According to the AP:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spent $87.5 million last month and began October with nearly $134 million in the bank.

The numbers illustrate his vast financial advantage over John McCain, his Republican rival, in the final stretch of the contest. McCain ended September with $47 million in the bank.

Joe Klein wrote about John McCain’s “fabulous loon[iness]” over the past weekend:

Legitimate and truthful? I supposed that’s why Susan Collins, one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate, criticized him for this trashball tactic. Oh, and the “same guy” Wallace was referring to is none other than Warren Tompkins, whose name was a synonym for satan among the McCain inner circle in 2000. I can imagine John breaking the news to Cindy, “Hey, honey, great news! Remember that guy who was involved in spreading the rumors about your addiction to pain killers and Bridget being an illegitimate interracial child? Well, we’ve got him doing that same sort of high-minded stuff for us!”

We have got to keep up the pressure on McCain, measure our pace and maintain stamina for supporting Obama.  The election is so close now, and we musn’t flag or founder in our efforts.

John McCain knew about this investigation when he chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate, as it had been ongoing since July, weeks before he picked her.  This shows his bad judgment and that a McCain administration would be corrupt and self-serving.  How exactly would this be different than the Bush adminstration has been?  No one seems to be able to answer that question.

Read the entire report here.

It’s chilling to see Palin using the same tired phrases and ideology as Bush. Just exactly how is she different from Bush? Oh, yeah, she has a vagina…

If McCain and Palin represent anything at all, they represent more of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and the GOP Washington establishment: take from the middle class and give to the wealthy.

Well, John McCain, the American people are tired of that larceny and cronyism. Your supposed maverick status is a sham, a myth of you concocted by you for you. We have had enough.

The Keating Five was the corruption scandal that was a part of the larger Savings and Loan failure of the 1980s, and John McCain had a role in it back then. He claims to have learned lessons from that scandal, but if he has, he certainly isn’t showing it, based on how he treats one of his largest campaign contributors, Donald Diamond.

Back in April 2008, and it’s worth bringing this article back up, the New York Times reported on the questionable dealings John McCain has had with Mr. Diamond, a real estate developer from Arizona.

When Mr. Diamond wanted to buy land at the base, Fort Ord, Mr. McCain
assigned an aide who set up a meeting at the Pentagon and later stepped
in again to help speed up the sale, according to people involved and a
deposition Mr. Diamond gave for a related lawsuit. When he appealed to
a nearby city for the right to develop other property at the former
base, Mr. Diamond submitted Mr. McCain’s endorsement as “a close
personal friend.”

and

A longtime political patron, Mr. Diamond is one of the elite
fund-raisers Mr. McCain’s current presidential campaign calls
Innovators, having raised more than $250,000 so far. At home, Mr.
Diamond is sometimes referred to as “The Donald,” Arizona’s answer to Donald Trump
— an outsized personality who invites public officials aboard his
flotilla of yachts (the Ace, King, Jack and Queen of Diamonds),
specializes in deals with the government, and unabashedly solicits
support for his business interests from the recipients of his campaign contributions.

Mr. McCain has occasionally rebuffed Mr. Diamond’s entreaties as
inappropriate, but he has also taken steps that benefited his friend’s
real estate empire. Their 26-year relationship illuminates how Mr.
McCain weighs requests from a benefactor against his vows, adopted
after a brush with scandal two decades ago, not to intercede with
government authorities on behalf of a donor or take other official
action that serves no clear public interest.

In California, the
McCain aide’s assistance with the Army helped Mr. Diamond complete a
purchase in 1999 that he soon turned over for a $20 million profit. And
Mr. McCain’s letter of recommendation reinforced Mr. Diamond’s selling
point about his McCain connections as he pursued — and won in 2005 — a
potentially much more lucrative deal to develop a resort hotel and
luxury housing.

It makes you wonder how McCain can look himself in the mirror.    John McCain sold his integrity up the river a long time ago, and he never tried to buy it back.

Current Mood:  angry

Now look, I’m all for people making money and owning whatever they want, but methinks the Senator doth protest too much.