The U.S. Supreme Court Killed Democracy Today

In a 5-4 opinion just released today, the Supreme Court killed American Democracy.
Democracy (aged 221 years and clearly frail and fragile) had no comment on its deathbed.
Democracy’s new spokesperson, the Corporation, gave a statement to its Corporate Press:
“Don’t worry. Democracy is resting peacefully. We’re in charge now.”
Democracy’s next of kin, the American People, also had no comment.
The Corporate Media, under new regulations dictated by Our Glorious Overlord Exxon, declined to comment on the duct tape stuffed in the American People’s mouth.”
Here’s the upshot of today’s Supreme Court ruling:
Corporations are people too.
Well, not really people.
Superior people, with far greater rights than you and me.
After all, they can break the law and steal billions without ever going to jail.
Even better, for the corporations at least, less than one-twentieth of Exxon profits has power to influence a Presidential campaign far more than the billions of dollars spent by every single American on every single Presidential candidate (in the primary and general elections) that ran in 2008.
So stay home, America. Don’t participate in the political process.
The corporations have it covered and will tell you who to vote for.
All thanks to that same great Supreme Court that gave Bush the Presidency,
even though more Americans (and more Floridians) voted for Gore.
Good-bye, Democracy. We’ll miss you.
It’s so hard to say goodbye after 200 years.
You weren’t perfect to be sure, but I, for one, will mourn your passing.
But look on the bright side:
One single CEO will have more power than 300 million Americans.
So if you can get to be that CEO, you can be dictator, not only over the USA, but over the entire world!
And do so without firing a single bullet (at least not at first).
Ain’t the Supreme Court wonderful?
A special 3-hour show tonight, as Mark guest-hosts for Leslie Marshall
Sadly, this is no joke.
The Supreme Court’s decision that corporations have more constitutional rights than mere humans was determined by a one-judge margin. Justice Scalia, and four of his buddies, unilaterally determined that corporations have express constitutional rights in excess of human’s constitutional rights, even though the word “corporation” is not found anywhere in the Constitution on the grounds that the Civil War — which some call the “War to Free the Slaves” was actually the “War to Free Corporations from Human Bondage” and that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, passed as a consequence of that war and giving all American “persons” equal rights under the law was actually designed to allow corporations to own and control Members of Congress.  Scalia had ZERO evidence for his decision, but, of course, he didn’t need any.  After choosing the President in 2000, despite the fact that the American People and the Electoral College rejected Scalia’s candidate, Scalia knew that, with four colleagues, he could unilaterally take over dictatorship of the USA. And so he has.)
Read these excerpts from the opinion of Justice John Paul Stevens, in his angry dissent to the Citizens United case, backed up by three justices:
– “The Court’s ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation.”
– “[F]ive Justices were unhappy with the limited nature of the case before us, so they changed the case to give themselves an opportunity to change the law.”
(more…)

Head v. Heart

In the eight years since he lost the Election of 2000 — and was installed as President anyway by a lawless Supreme Court — Bush managed to wreck America big time:  from two badly-fought wars, to the worst deficit in American history, to the worst Depression since the Great one.

And now that Obama can’t undo all of Bush’s catastrophic errors in 12 months, particularly with a Republican Party determined to make America fail, some voters are turning against him.

Is anyone surprised?  Demagoguery works.  It never hurts to play to voter’s emotions over their intelligence.  Sadly, populist anger without solutions works.  Nihilism works.  And it’s a heckuva lot easier to tear a country apart than to build one up.  Just ask Al Qaeda.

Debate: Obama’s First Year

Republican strategist Mike Lane will defend the “Party of No.”

Planned topics:
Haiti
Obama after 1 year
The Massachusetts Senate Election
The Final Round for Health Care Reform
Wall Street Reform
Sarah Palin and FOX News

Catch-22 in the War on Radicalized Islam

Mark hosts the Leslie Marshall show tonight for two hours from 7 to 9 pm Eastern Time.
For the subject, see the blog entry above: “Not just Afghanistan, Not Just Al Qaeda”

Race, Reid, Republicans, and Ridiculousness

Really, Republicans?
Is saying the word “Negro” really the same as advocating segregation?
Republicans claim not to know the difference between an unfortunate use of an archaic phrase and advocacy of racist discrimination. And Michael Steele isn’t helping matters.
Is saying that a “light-skinned” African-American man without a “Negro dialect” is more electable than a darker skinned person with a heavy blaccent (Reid) really worse than saying our country would be better off if racists came to power in the United States and a permanent second-class status for Blacks enshrined into law (Lott)?
Reid’s calling white American voters racist is the same as Lott saying our country would be “better off” if we returned to Jim Crow days?
Would that mean if I accuse Republicans of being racist opportunists — and I am — that that is the equivalent of myself advocating slavery?
Does anyone, other than a complete idiot, buy any of this?