U.S. continues to degrade as a misguided banana republic, and the swelling police state will keep us down. This report compares us to other countries on such metrics as Internet access, health care and happiness.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Democracy's Obit
Democracy died at 10:30 a.m. EDT April 2, 2014, when the Supreme Court posted its 5-4 ruling for unlimited total political campaign contributions in McCutcheon et al vs. Federal Election Commission.
Democracy had been in a coma since December 9, 2000, when the court hijacked the presidential election, thwarting the will of millions of citizen voters, and appointed George W. Bush to be president over Al Gore, who had obtained more votes.
The ruling signaled that the court would continue to equate money with speech and would knock down limits to campaign contributions. Previously, the court's most infamous ruling on the subject was Citizens United vs. FEC, which allowed corporations to spend money on elections.
Democracy was 227 years old at time of death as marked from the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, Sept. 17, 1787. The principles of democracy are asserted in the first words of the Constitution: "We, the People of the United States..."
The Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, had outlined key tenets of democracy and the basis for the establishment of a new nation. The principles that "all men are created equal" and that government derives its power from the "consent of the governed" as written by Thomas Jefferson were trumped, however, by the recent Supreme Court ruling which legalizes the buying of elections and politicians by those who spend the most money. Thus, the court nullified the will and consent of millions of U.S. citizen voters.
The story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-strikes-down-limits-on-federal-campaign-donations/2014/04/02/54e16c30-ba74-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html
Commentary:
by Lynn Evans in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, April 7, 2014
In the spirit of the “All men are created equal” clause in the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers included in Article 1 of the US Constitution a prohibition against aristocracy: “No title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States.” And to make certain that all people have the right to influence their government, the First Amendment prohibits Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Nevertheless, Chief Justice John Roberts and the four more conservative justices of the US Supreme Court in their McCutcheon ruling last Wednesday abolished federal and any applicable state limits to how much one individual can give to political campaigns. By equating money with speech, the Roberts Court enabled Big Money donors to drown out the voices of everyday Americans with a deluge of campaign cash.
Democracy had been in a coma since December 9, 2000, when the court hijacked the presidential election, thwarting the will of millions of citizen voters, and appointed George W. Bush to be president over Al Gore, who had obtained more votes.
The ruling signaled that the court would continue to equate money with speech and would knock down limits to campaign contributions. Previously, the court's most infamous ruling on the subject was Citizens United vs. FEC, which allowed corporations to spend money on elections.
Democracy was 227 years old at time of death as marked from the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, Sept. 17, 1787. The principles of democracy are asserted in the first words of the Constitution: "We, the People of the United States..."
The Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, had outlined key tenets of democracy and the basis for the establishment of a new nation. The principles that "all men are created equal" and that government derives its power from the "consent of the governed" as written by Thomas Jefferson were trumped, however, by the recent Supreme Court ruling which legalizes the buying of elections and politicians by those who spend the most money. Thus, the court nullified the will and consent of millions of U.S. citizen voters.
The story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-strikes-down-limits-on-federal-campaign-donations/2014/04/02/54e16c30-ba74-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html
Commentary:
by Lynn Evans in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, April 7, 2014
In the spirit of the “All men are created equal” clause in the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers included in Article 1 of the US Constitution a prohibition against aristocracy: “No title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States.” And to make certain that all people have the right to influence their government, the First Amendment prohibits Congress from “abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Nevertheless, Chief Justice John Roberts and the four more conservative justices of the US Supreme Court in their McCutcheon ruling last Wednesday abolished federal and any applicable state limits to how much one individual can give to political campaigns. By equating money with speech, the Roberts Court enabled Big Money donors to drown out the voices of everyday Americans with a deluge of campaign cash.
CIA Torture Report
Even with redactions and limited de-classification, this report to the U.S. Senate is clear that the CIA has been fully engaged in torturing human beings. Link to story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/11/cia-harsh-interrogations_n_5130218.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/11/cia-harsh-interrogations_n_5130218.html?view=print&comm_ref=false
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