This is not going to be a pretty or inspiring post. This is my explanation of why I have become so politically active in recent years, and it is my prayer that heroes step up to save our society.
The world is in trouble. BIG trouble. Conservatives continue to deny or ignore climate change in spite of overwhelming scientific evidence. The top 1% keeps getting wealthier and will do anything to make more money, including polluting our world with pesticides and chemicals. Our bees are dying off, monarch butterflies are disappearing. Multigendered fish and aquatic life are showing up in our rivers. Land formerly used for agriculture has been poisoned with toxic runoff, so badly that it will remain barren for eternity. The ocean is full of plastic of all sizes (including nano) that has been entered into the food chain, causing endocrine changes in all of us once we eat the seafood. Aquatic birds are dying in huge numbers because they have too much plastic in their guts and they can't vomit it up. Mountaintops have been seared off in a search for more coal, leaving coal slurry and putris that is poisoning the surrounding environment and killing people who have nowhere else to go. Although it has been scientifically proven that chemicals like the glyphosate in Roundup causes kidney disease and other illnesses, companies like Monsanto (that are implicitly aided by our government) continue to push it on us and are now genetically modifying plants so that the substance is inserted directly into the DNA of the plant, while we are not allowed to see a label that lets us know we are eating toxins. In spite of the fact that water is predicted to "be the next oil" because it is growing scarce in an ever-warming climate (observe California's current predicament), the fracking industry continues to use up to eight million gallons of fresh water PER WELL. Once contaminated, the water can never be made drinkable again. And that does not even address the problem of the fracking byproducts and methane which pollutes our atmosphere, land and rivers. Yet more wells appear on our blighted landscape every day, and Obama touts fracking as our best hope for energy. Our earth is being sucked dry to the point of sink-ins and earthquakes that are occurring on an alarming scale. Our education system is being sold off piece by piece to for-profit corporations who care nothing about creating the intelligent and critically thinking population that we need in order to survive. We are creating a generation who knows how to bubble in a test, but has been slighted on the joy of learning and thinking.
Clearly, we're in some trouble, and we need heroes to step up. I am looking to the progressives for sanity -- people like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Zephyr Teachout. They speak out against corruption in government. They fight the belief that profit is everything. They know that whether you are a student saddled by an insane amount of school debt, or a struggling worker who does not get paid enough to cover their living expenses, the right thing is to fight for them and right the inequality. They see the need to move our country to an economy built on renewable energy and small businesses. Their predominant goal is to make sure that all of us have a voice, and that those voices are heard. We need true representatives who care about our health, our finances, and our lives. The progressive era in the early 1900's ushered in all of those things we have held dear in the century that has passed - things like workers' compensation, shorter work hours, food and drug safety, meat inspections, the end of child labor in factories, and social security. We can do the same now. Let's help make progressive change happen in our society by supporting those who stand up for progressive ideals.
For today, the Democratic primary in New York, I am voting for Teachout for Governor and Wu for Lieutenant Governor. I'm hoping for a miracle, If it does not happen today, we can't give up. We will need our heroes more than ever.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Make Some Noise!
When I was a kid back in the 50's, I was taught by my parents that children were to "be seen and not heard." The sentiment was so ingrained in me that when I accidentally tore off my pinky nail in a folding chair while at a family party, I sat there and quietly let it bleed on my party dress rather than yell out.
Thankfully, those days are behind me, because I had a lightbulb moment and realized there is much I have to talk about. Climate change, the privatization of education that has been spearheaded by the current era of billionaire "reformers," the adulteration and contamination of our food and water supply, threats to our environment, etc. Most of the problems that have been destroying our way of life are caused by the almighty pursuit of a profit. That's why I'm fighting the hardest to attack the root of the problem, which is the undue influence and corruption of our political system by those who have the most - MONEY (yes, I'm thinking money is the root of all evil here).
True, the corruption of politics and undue influence of the upper class has been an endemic problem since, well like, forever. But I think it is fair to say that the checks and balances on our democratic system has never been more in peril than it is today.
In 1974, Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act and began regulating campaign contributions and election spending. Among other things, it limited the amount that individual contributors could donate to politicians, required disclosure, and provided for public financing of presidential elections. Sensible provisions, right? But, wait. In the Buckley v. Valeo decision, the Supreme Court held that limiting contributions to election campaigns was unconstitutional and against the First Amendment, because political donations were a form of free speech. The court did sustain the limits on individual contributions, as well as disclosure and reporting provisions. What this meant, however, is that while there is a limit on what an individual can donate to a particular campaign, there is no limit to what they can spend on creating political documentaries, commercials, etc. This watershed moment made a profound change to our democratic system, which began functioning a lot like a plutocracy (government controlled by the wealthy few). The era of Super-PACs was born, and the massive amounts of money that poured into political pockets soon dismantled much of the democratic power of the common folk.
In 2010, the Supreme Court solidified the power of the economically privileged by ruling that Buckley v. Valeo also applied to corporations, associations, or labor unions. The Citizens United ruling was tantamount to giving corporations "personhood," and guaranteeing those organizations constitutional rights and freedoms. The First Amendment provision found in Buckley v. Valeo was therefore applied to corporations. The Supreme Court in essence, made the corruption of our democratic government a legal right. We have seen the result. A Congress that cannot pass any regulation, even when it is bipartisan in nature. The lack of action on climate change? Not at all surprising, considering the money the fossil fuel industry pours into politics. Just about every politician is beholding to some corporate or association entity and is afraid to stand up for what the American public really needs.
The 2014 Supreme Court decision in McCutcheon v. the Federal Election Commission further solidified the power of the rich by removing the overall cap on political contributions. It did not, however, change the limits on individual contributions to federal candidate campaigns, PACS, or party committees.
And let's not even get into gerrymandering - that term we all learned in high school that refers to the practice of reworking political districts in order to manipulate the vote and give a party a decided advantage. Both political parties have used this strategy. In New York State, some of the district maps end up looking slightly less like a subdivision on a map and somewhat more like my 3-year old grandson's art doodles.
We need to restore our representative democracy and demand free and fair elections. I dare to say if we are not successful in this fight, all will be lost. No progress will ever be made to resolve those huge problems that are threatening our way of life. Vested interests always seek the profit line, even when the entire system is falling down around them. You only have to look at the obstructionist Congress that we have, to realize that our country is not making much progress on the real problems that confront us -- climate change, a disintegrating infrastructure, budgeting and financial reforms, etc.
Stand up make some noise. Today. Begin by sharing information on your social networks. Advocate for free and fair elections by contacting your state and federal representatives. Don't just sit in a corner and watch our political system bleed out, because you did not speak up.
"Our nation is facing a crisis of liberty if we do not control campaign expenditures. We must prove that elective office is not for sale. We must convince the public that elected officials are what James Madison intended us to be, agents of the sovereign people, not the hired hands of rich givers, or what Madison called factions." ~Senator Barry Goldwater, 1983
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| Corporate Free Speech, Political Cartoon found at www.ny4democracy.org |
True, the corruption of politics and undue influence of the upper class has been an endemic problem since, well like, forever. But I think it is fair to say that the checks and balances on our democratic system has never been more in peril than it is today.
In 1974, Congress amended the Federal Election Campaign Act and began regulating campaign contributions and election spending. Among other things, it limited the amount that individual contributors could donate to politicians, required disclosure, and provided for public financing of presidential elections. Sensible provisions, right? But, wait. In the Buckley v. Valeo decision, the Supreme Court held that limiting contributions to election campaigns was unconstitutional and against the First Amendment, because political donations were a form of free speech. The court did sustain the limits on individual contributions, as well as disclosure and reporting provisions. What this meant, however, is that while there is a limit on what an individual can donate to a particular campaign, there is no limit to what they can spend on creating political documentaries, commercials, etc. This watershed moment made a profound change to our democratic system, which began functioning a lot like a plutocracy (government controlled by the wealthy few). The era of Super-PACs was born, and the massive amounts of money that poured into political pockets soon dismantled much of the democratic power of the common folk.
In 2010, the Supreme Court solidified the power of the economically privileged by ruling that Buckley v. Valeo also applied to corporations, associations, or labor unions. The Citizens United ruling was tantamount to giving corporations "personhood," and guaranteeing those organizations constitutional rights and freedoms. The First Amendment provision found in Buckley v. Valeo was therefore applied to corporations. The Supreme Court in essence, made the corruption of our democratic government a legal right. We have seen the result. A Congress that cannot pass any regulation, even when it is bipartisan in nature. The lack of action on climate change? Not at all surprising, considering the money the fossil fuel industry pours into politics. Just about every politician is beholding to some corporate or association entity and is afraid to stand up for what the American public really needs.
The 2014 Supreme Court decision in McCutcheon v. the Federal Election Commission further solidified the power of the rich by removing the overall cap on political contributions. It did not, however, change the limits on individual contributions to federal candidate campaigns, PACS, or party committees.
And let's not even get into gerrymandering - that term we all learned in high school that refers to the practice of reworking political districts in order to manipulate the vote and give a party a decided advantage. Both political parties have used this strategy. In New York State, some of the district maps end up looking slightly less like a subdivision on a map and somewhat more like my 3-year old grandson's art doodles.
We need to restore our representative democracy and demand free and fair elections. I dare to say if we are not successful in this fight, all will be lost. No progress will ever be made to resolve those huge problems that are threatening our way of life. Vested interests always seek the profit line, even when the entire system is falling down around them. You only have to look at the obstructionist Congress that we have, to realize that our country is not making much progress on the real problems that confront us -- climate change, a disintegrating infrastructure, budgeting and financial reforms, etc.
Stand up make some noise. Today. Begin by sharing information on your social networks. Advocate for free and fair elections by contacting your state and federal representatives. Don't just sit in a corner and watch our political system bleed out, because you did not speak up.
"Our nation is facing a crisis of liberty if we do not control campaign expenditures. We must prove that elective office is not for sale. We must convince the public that elected officials are what James Madison intended us to be, agents of the sovereign people, not the hired hands of rich givers, or what Madison called factions." ~Senator Barry Goldwater, 1983
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