things like the Fairness Doctrine to be killed by the likes of Reagan in 1984 (whoa! interesting date here...). Because this was part of a corporate plan to create a massive propaganda apparatus to challenge New Deal policies centered around the welfare of the people with an corporate capitalist generated set of ideas designed to manufacture consent around putting aside much of the public good in favor of raping the treasury and transferring tax monies from being used for public good (like roads, infrastructure, old age pensions, prisons, medical care and so on), and instead route the funds to corporate profits.
So, when I say that capitalism sucks, that's just what I mean. Capitalism that is unrestrained by a strong government with a strong sense of, and dedication to, the public good, does in fact suck. It sucks money that could be used to make our lives better away from us, instead to profit big pharma, the insurance industry, oil and gas, and the military industrial complex Ike warned us about.
Many believe that the assassination of JFK was a actually a coup-de-etat by the military industrial complex. Did you know?
Remember what Bobby said about John: "His mistake was that he actually believed he was president."
So we on the left sit here being appalled and basking in righteous anger over the fact the American public is so PROFOUNDLY ignorant. But that's useless, don't you think? Wouldn't it be better if a) we became more active and influential in local politics, and b) through that involvement recaptured the party 'machine,' c) thereby creating a power base at the local level that can propel New Deal socialist candidates in the Warren and Sanders mold into national office, and maybe more importantly d) taking control of school boards so that we can influence textbook choice and overturn the more sinister 'Hitler Youth' approach the right wing has taken to rewriting our children's textbooks. Instead of stupid stuff like young-earth creationism and more sinister stuff like emphasizing obedience rather than civil disobedience.
The other thing we must do is work diligently 24/7/365 to get OUR word out. How do we compete with the huge and pervasive corporate Fox 'news' - hate-talk radio propaganda organs? Just that way. By finding ways to get our word out. Our truth. The idea that we need to organize around human need rather than human greed. The idea that helping fellow human beings is NORMAL and not a radical political position, as has been posited by the right wing.
What do/should we want?
1. Massive public funding to revitalize and rebuild our infrastructure
2. Single payer healthcare
3. Strong Social Security disability and old age pension programs
4. Strong unions and a revision of laws governing corporate charters that will hold the rights and welfare of workers EQUAL to those of shareholders
5. Strong environmental policies and regulations that hold the welfare of the earth as SUPERIOR to the welfare of shareholders - we all have to live here, after all
6. Strong consumer protections around predatory capitalism in banking, insurance, investment, and general business practice so that the welfare of the consumer is held at least EQUAL to the welfare of shareholders AND workers
So...do you guys think we'll actually have the guts and willpower to make this happen? Doubtful. In fact, I doubt that most of you will even agree with what I've said here.
One last question: If our national debt is money we owe to ourselves as a people, then why are we paying back that money with interest to Citibank, JP Morgan Chase and other large banks that have an interest in the Fed? Do you think the Fed is really quasi governmental, as we're told it is, or do you think it is actually owned by, and representative of the interests of, banks over the people?
Just asking...
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