A Bow to Money
By Louise
In a decision that shows the extended impact of the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down limits on contributions to political groups that spend money to support or oppose candidates. The court found that the $5,000 annual limit on contributions to such groups is unconstitutional, writing that the Citizens United ruling "resolves this appeal," in favor of SpeechNow.org, a group that seems to have been started with the specific purpose of challenging campaign-finance regulations. SCOTUSblog concludes that this ruling "significantly broadens the impact of Citizens United, extending its constitutional reasoning from campaign spending to campaign donations." Unless something is done quickly - like amending the Constitution to say that corporations aren't persons are don't get Bill of Rights protections - we can expect to see more and more of our elected officials having to bow to the wishes of the world's largest corporations or get creamed by multi-million dollar corporate financed ad campaigns.
I'm getting dizzy. Sarah Palin at a Tea Party rally paid homage to the Constitution. She said, “Our vision for America is anchored in time-tested truths that the government that governs least governs best, that the Constitution provides the path to a more perfect union — it’s the Constitution." So it's puzzling that she also said, "In these volatile times when we are a nation at war, now more than ever is when we need a commander-in-chief, not a constitutional law professor."
Comments
#2
I'm having a long discussion with a friend who is a very successful lawyer, but seems to believe lies that are quite senseless. His approach to health care is that we should only have catastrophic coverage.
My quick line (besides telling him he's wrong) is another of my hastily thought out patented similes:
A health care system that only cares about catastrophic illness is akin to an airline that does not perform any maintenance. Both kill people; lots of 'em.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
At Mondragon - both the mountain and the cooperative city - in Spain (written about in "Threshold" book)
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann seeks out interesting subjects from such disparate outposts of curiosity that you have to wonder whether or not he uncovered them or they selected him."
From Unequal Protection, 2nd Edition:
"Hartmann combines a remarkable piece of historical research with a brilliant literary style to tell the grand story of corporate corruption and its consequences for society with the force and readability of a great novel."
From Cracking the Code:
"No one communicates more thoughtfully or effectively on the radio airwaves than Thom Hartmann. He gets inside the arguments and helps people to think them through—to understand how to respond when they’re talking about public issues with coworkers, neighbors, and friends. This book explores some of the key perspectives behind his approach, teaching us not just how to find the facts, but to talk about what they mean in a way that people will hear."
You should do the petition in 2 parts. Have them sign the sheet that says NO TO SOCIALISM! After the do that, hand them the list of things they can't do, like drive home on the social roads. Etc.