Of course I am 100% behind Tom's feelings about the Citizens United case. First it was "money = speech", and now it's "corporations = people". Scary.
However, I can't agree with his take on judicial power. The Supreme Court's power to rule on the Constitutionality of legislation IS, in fact, enumerated in the Constitution:
"The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution,.."
Tom's view seems to forget that the Constitution itself is law. If the legislature makes a law establishing a national religion, that would be an illegal law. The Constitution, the higher law, tells us so. A court of law is where you go to make your complaint about the injustice.
Jefferson got it exactly backward, IMHO. Without this check on the legislator, THEN the Constitution is but a useless piece of wax. Legislators could simply ignore the Constitution, completely, if they so chose.
By the way, how much do we pay the military to subsidize oil companies, trade routes, etc. We're also subsidizing foreign countries for these services.
Yeah well, remember Washington became president after the Constitution was ratified, not after the revolution.
The Constitutional convention was convened because there were concerns about the need to put down revolts like Shay's Rebellion, where tenant farmers were blockading the courthouse to keep from being forclosed on, after the revolution.
When I was in high school in the 50's, they taught civics. I remember in our BS talks, that it seemed the only workable government would be a benevolent dictator.
Taiwan has a national ID card as a condition of their healthcare system. The cards are linked to a database managed by the government. Taiwan has the lowest administrative healthcare costs.
@Zero G: Chavez got the rules changed to allow his reelection. Perhaps the majority approved. If you'll remember the crowds after our own revolution called for George Washington to become king. Luckily for us, Washington declined. Would Hugo? I don't thiink so.
The good news about the citizens united decision.
The shills that will be elected can use a small part of our trillion dollar budget to sub contract their re-election.
Finally, government funded elections!
Simple way to override the effect of corporate personhood:
It would seem simple, on a federal and then on state-by-state levels, to change corporate charters, which I believe need to be reinstated each year, to include a simple sentence, such as...
'This corporation will follow all campaign finance rules that may apply to natural persons'.
General Patton got a lot of flack when he said (after the war) that the Nazi party of Germany was a political party not much different then the Republican party in the USA. His point was that not every German was a Nazi. If I have it right, it was in regards to a question put to him about using Germans in official capacities to rebuild Germany.
Of course the issue the press had, was that he was saying that Republicans were like Nazi's. Although it can be debated if he meant it that way, it sure seems he was right on target even way back then.
"looks like a dictator to me." What kind of glasses are you wearing?
Yeah, one who was reinstated by popular demand, after a coup.
Sure, he tried to redistribute a small portion of the oil wealth back to the people, and took on the oligarchy owned media companies in his country, but he has consistantly run in elections, and when one of his referenda lost, he respected that.
Hey Thom. Since you already spammed me on the latest blog post then why not post it here?
Compassion for CEOs?
The International Brotherhood of Electric Workers has filed a lawsuit against Bankster Goldman Sachs for overpaying its top executives. The lawsuit "seeks to stop Goldman from allocating roughly 47 percent of 2009 net revenue as compensation, saying such allocations 'vastly overcompensate management and constitute corporate waste.'" Apparently the IBEW and their electrician workers don't realize how hard it is to find employees willing and able to buy and sell stocks and only be paid a few million dollars a year for this brutally hard work. After all, these guys have to buy suits and ties. They have to pay for limousines and thousand-dollar-a-bottle champagne. Being a Goldman Sachs executive is tough work, guys - cut them some slack! Have some compassion!
--Thom Same dribble as always.
What do you do that is "brutally hard work"??? How much do you get on a book sold?
What do you have to buy??? A computer? Notepad and pen??? See how illogical your positions are with regards to your own standings?
@Zero G re: Chavez: Even given the biased MSM reporting on Chavez, he looks like a dictator to me. As Lord Acton said, power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I think that usually, the more humble your beginnings before you come to power, the more quickly and completely you succumb.
thanx Zero G, I'll check it out.
Unbiased? But anyway,
Free press? Venezuela beats the US
Of course Chávez's new media law is bad. But it won't make a dent in the huge amount of press freedom in Venezuela
Mark Weisbrot guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 4 August 2009 18.03 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/04/venezuela-media-free...
@chuckle 8: what if Nixon, Reagan, Bush had served until their deaths?
b ut anyway, I'll try to find an unbiased report on Chavez' recent behavior, and suggest you do the same.:)
Of course I am 100% behind Tom's feelings about the Citizens United case. First it was "money = speech", and now it's "corporations = people". Scary.
However, I can't agree with his take on judicial power. The Supreme Court's power to rule on the Constitutionality of legislation IS, in fact, enumerated in the Constitution:
"The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution,.."
Tom's view seems to forget that the Constitution itself is law. If the legislature makes a law establishing a national religion, that would be an illegal law. The Constitution, the higher law, tells us so. A court of law is where you go to make your complaint about the injustice.
Jefferson got it exactly backward, IMHO. Without this check on the legislator, THEN the Constitution is but a useless piece of wax. Legislators could simply ignore the Constitution, completely, if they so chose.
By the way, how much do we pay the military to subsidize oil companies, trade routes, etc. We're also subsidizing foreign countries for these services.
@Harry: If George Washington would have served to his death we never would have had John Adams. John Adams the only president worse than dubya.
should be "convened, in part..."
@harry,
Yeah well, remember Washington became president after the Constitution was ratified, not after the revolution.
The Constitutional convention was convened because there were concerns about the need to put down revolts like Shay's Rebellion, where tenant farmers were blockading the courthouse to keep from being forclosed on, after the revolution.
When I was in high school in the 50's, they taught civics. I remember in our BS talks, that it seemed the only workable government would be a benevolent dictator.
Taiwan has a national ID card as a condition of their healthcare system. The cards are linked to a database managed by the government. Taiwan has the lowest administrative healthcare costs.
Sorry chuckle8, I don't get the connection.
Harry are you sure? We got John Adams.
Monopoly is no game, end it before it kills more people
@Zero G: Chavez got the rules changed to allow his reelection. Perhaps the majority approved. If you'll remember the crowds after our own revolution called for George Washington to become king. Luckily for us, Washington declined. Would Hugo? I don't thiink so.
The good news about the citizens united decision.
The shills that will be elected can use a small part of our trillion dollar budget to sub contract their re-election.
Finally, government funded elections!
This via Twitter:
@RepHankJohnson My staff reports literally hundreds of calls per hour for Health Care Reform. At the White House now meeting... http://fb.me/KueFO47HB
Keep up the pressure!!! Call Congress and make your voice heard!
Simple way to override the effect of corporate personhood:
It would seem simple, on a federal and then on state-by-state levels, to change corporate charters, which I believe need to be reinstated each year, to include a simple sentence, such as...
'This corporation will follow all campaign finance rules that may apply to natural persons'.
General Patton got a lot of flack when he said (after the war) that the Nazi party of Germany was a political party not much different then the Republican party in the USA. His point was that not every German was a Nazi. If I have it right, it was in regards to a question put to him about using Germans in official capacities to rebuild Germany.
Of course the issue the press had, was that he was saying that Republicans were like Nazi's. Although it can be debated if he meant it that way, it sure seems he was right on target even way back then.
@harry
"looks like a dictator to me." What kind of glasses are you wearing?
Yeah, one who was reinstated by popular demand, after a coup.
Sure, he tried to redistribute a small portion of the oil wealth back to the people, and took on the oligarchy owned media companies in his country, but he has consistantly run in elections, and when one of his referenda lost, he respected that.
Good on Dennis. Maybe the Dems will give in to the Democrats instead of the GOPhers.
Hey Thom. Since you already spammed me on the latest blog post then why not post it here?
Compassion for CEOs?
The International Brotherhood of Electric Workers has filed a lawsuit against Bankster Goldman Sachs for overpaying its top executives. The lawsuit "seeks to stop Goldman from allocating roughly 47 percent of 2009 net revenue as compensation, saying such allocations 'vastly overcompensate management and constitute corporate waste.'" Apparently the IBEW and their electrician workers don't realize how hard it is to find employees willing and able to buy and sell stocks and only be paid a few million dollars a year for this brutally hard work. After all, these guys have to buy suits and ties. They have to pay for limousines and thousand-dollar-a-bottle champagne. Being a Goldman Sachs executive is tough work, guys - cut them some slack! Have some compassion!
--Thom Same dribble as always.
What do you do that is "brutally hard work"??? How much do you get on a book sold?
What do you have to buy??? A computer? Notepad and pen??? See how illogical your positions are with regards to your own standings?
Carry on...
Oops, an alleged CIA-backed coup.
@glenn n: I could classify many of the people I know as such.
@Zero G re: Chavez: Even given the biased MSM reporting on Chavez, he looks like a dictator to me. As Lord Acton said, power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely. I think that usually, the more humble your beginnings before you come to power, the more quickly and completely you succumb.
Blankley keeps brushing aside facts with "just statistics ..."
He's dishonest. The only question is whether he's a lackey for the corporations or just locked into his ideology