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9632. Trillium - 3/6/2014 4:17:23 AM Argggh. Okay, I laughed. 9633. judithathome - 3/7/2014 12:14:51 AM As did we all, I'm sure.
Unfortunately...it's not a laughing matter. 9634. arkymalarky - 4/15/2014 2:22:31 AM What's next in Ukraine? 9635. Wombat - 4/15/2014 5:20:54 PM I don't know. Ukraine is in a potentially terrible position. 9636. bhelpuri - 8/25/2014 5:43:35 AM I discovered just now that Pseuder has set up a blog: pseudoerasmus.com, in which is explored and addressed many of the same topics that have engaged him for years. A bit deadly serious + eye-wateringly voluminous for me, but still some good stuff there.
Most fascinating to me is the rather decent series of banner photos, noth flashy but consistently decent. Where do they come from? Our man's own ouevre? Hidden depths and all that... 9637. alistairconnor - 9/10/2014 3:32:03 PM Yeah it looks pretty good... a fair proportion of narcissistic stream-of-consciousness, but one expects no less from the Pseud. 9638. bhelpuri - 10/27/2014 3:32:27 PM The New Yorker fudges around the obvious - the US has been increasingly oligarchic in its internal functioning since Reagan. 9639. iiibbb - 10/27/2014 8:54:31 PM We live in an idiocracy 9640. iiibbb - 10/27/2014 8:57:07 PM Or possibly the best term would be oligarchic-idiotheocracy 9641. arkymalarky - 10/28/2014 1:36:00 AM when we were working our butts off to support rural schools, poor and minority communities, and equal funding we were demonized and the chamber of commerce was meeting privately--yes, privately--with groups of legislators, directly impacting legislation. I told my superintendent at the time that as long as we were on the other side of the door we wouldn't get anywhere. our greatest success was getting a poison pill into Governor Huckabee's pet bill. since then I've seen and read a lot and it is scary. this situation has been flying under the radar for years. no way ANY grassroots group, including the tea party, influences decisions at even local levels. it's a corporatocracy and has been moving toward that since the 1980s. 9643. arkymalarky - 10/28/2014 1:38:07 AM what's happening with the internet and FCC is. as telling as anything wrt where things are headed IMHO. 9644. bhelpuri - 10/28/2014 12:32:55 PM of course it is not just the US. China is oligarch-run and corporatist to the max, and India just held the most expensive election in world history in which big business finally wrested the reins of government into its own hands.
9645. arkymalarky - 10/28/2014 4:31:43 PM I think it's the biggest global issue. for those who say no, it's global warming or human rights or dependence on fossil fuels or virtually any world problem you can name, it goes back to corporate domination of government policies. 9647. alIstaIrcOnnOr - 10/30/2014 6:06:00 PM The European Union is pretty toxic in that respect. Possibly it will get cleaned up a bit, because it's become a public issue. Basically corporate lobbyists have been writing EU legislation for decades. Corruption is not even required, legislators can be honest and conscientious and still influenced by reasonable, persuasive professionals who help them with their work... 9648. iiibbb - 10/30/2014 7:00:35 PM Don't get caught in the trap that Corporate = evil.
I'm sure there are legitimate good ideas brought to the table by them.
We should concentrate on outing actual problems. 9649. arkymalarky - 10/30/2014 7:27:23 PM I thoroughly disagree. Corporate control of what has been the democratic process by definition kills it. Citizens United is ruining our ability to control our decision making process. It was bad before that decision, and now it's just insane. My brother in law as a state rep Had to fight against a lot of Koch money spent to defeat him. He beat it, but he was one of the very few who did. 9650. arkymalarky - 10/30/2014 7:27:28 PM I thoroughly disagree. Corporate control of what has been the democratic process by definition kills it. Citizens United is ruining our ability to control our decision making process. It was bad before that decision, and now it's just insane. My brother in law as a state rep Had to fight against a lot of Koch money spent to defeat him. He beat it, but he was one of the very few who did. 9651. Ms. No - 10/30/2014 9:57:53 PM I agree --- one person, one vote, not one dollar, one vote.
9652. judithathome - 10/30/2014 10:59:29 PM Or...millions of dollars, enough votes to sway things their way.
We no longer have a Democracy...our government is open to the highest bidder. 9653. alIstaIrcOnnOr - 10/31/2014 10:55:06 AM The Mote - International I'm sure there are legitimate good ideas brought to the table by them.
Sure. Absolutely. But come on, follow the money... Lobbyists are not paid to promote the public good; they are paid to promote private interests.
In the EU, the Commission has official consultation committees. No more than 50 of the members may be paid lobbyists. The Commission complains that there are not enough qualified civil-society candidates to make up the numbers; so generally some extra lobbyists sign up as "private citizens".
Part of this is the fact that civil-society groups are mostly organised on a national, not European, basis. But part of it is that it suits the bureaucracy very well to work with industry groups... Often opening up revolving-door opportunities when they get tired of public service and go to work for their good friends in industry.
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