DaveinJapan
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:39 AM
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Blaming the corporations for their evildoing is a waste of energy |
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It is all too obvious these days that trying to "shame" or "blame" faceless corporate entities is nothing but a waste of energy.
They will do ALL THEY CAN, within the strictest boundaries of the law, to further their interests.
Blame instead, the lawmakers who allow the loopholes. Make them put a stop to it. Regulate the crap out of the companies. And let them squeal about it all they want.
Beyond that, blame the consumers who continue to patronize shitty companies who do nothing but harm, spend your time educating people about which companies need to be shut out.
It's pathetic for us to get all hot and frothy about the companies not doing "what they should". You might as well ask a snake not to bite.
Just my 2 cents.
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Oregone
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:41 AM
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1. "Blame instead, the lawmakers who allow the loopholes" |
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The lines blur when the corporations buy up all the lawmakers and there is no one in charge acting in good faith.
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DaveinJapan
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:43 AM
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2. I can certainly agree with THAT! nt |
Enrique
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:45 AM
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3. true, but use the companies to get the regulations |
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put Don Blankenship out there as the villain, which he is, and say when we're fighting for stricter safety rules, do you want to be with this guy or against him?
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Jamastiene
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:53 AM
Response to Original message |
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One thing though: Most snakes won't bite you unless you step on them or muck with them too much.
Still, you make a good point and I think you are right about corporations.
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DaveinJapan
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Tue Apr-06-10 12:01 PM
Response to Reply #4 |
9. Okay, that's fair. Better analogy would be expecting a Venus Flytrap not to shut. |
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Does that make more sense?
In any case, we're all talking about the same thing here. Typical corporations these days will skirt the boundaries of the law as much as they can get away with and not a scintilla less.
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ananda
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:53 AM
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5. well, they do own the law now |
RKP5637
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:54 AM
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6. We need public campaign financing to stop the buying of congress & admin. We also |
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in addition to restoring regulations need to rethink our capitalistic system in that it rewards extreme greed.
IMO capitalism is fine, it's that we have no controls to prevent runaway capitalism wherein in the big just get bigger and bigger.
I really get a laugh out of people screaming about gov. control, etc., etc. This country is already controlled, it's controlled by the huge obscene greedy gross corporations...
We need to legislate a balance back into our capitalistic system, but as long as congress is bought and controlled by corporate money, influenced and often the same people, squat will happen.
And on top of this we have a Supreme Court that now thinks huge corporations are, oh well, just another person.
How could we possibly have a system that is fair and balanced with this crap going on.
:wtf: :rant: :banghead: :grr:
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jotsy
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Tue Apr-06-10 01:04 PM
Response to Reply #6 |
13. That's an inclusive list of legitimate grievances. |
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There is an inequitable distribution of justice and selective enforcement of the rule of law. Fair and balanced will remain out of reach until that is remedied.
I wish I thought changes in campaign finances would be enough to make elected officials and the peacock duo of parties take notice of the will of the people, but I rather doubt it. I'd be interested in knowing if some widespread pursuing of impeachments is a worthwhile option to explore, just to let them know we don't want to wait any more for representation reflective of our intent. It sure would be nice to see them have to address something besides raising funds for the next election cycle.
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Newest Reality
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Tue Apr-06-10 11:57 AM
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7. I don't think blame is the important issue anyway |
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What is important is that the nature, structure and responsibility regarding the increasingly Fascist, (yes, I used the F-word) activities of megalithic power structures that currently function solely for their own interests and now, more obviously, to the detriment of growing numbers of non-corporate entities, namely us as a collective of living beings.
If this is obvious, and we can agree that the nature of the beast is to continue to concentrate, merge, grow and bring vast amounts of power and influence gained from draining the "customers" of corporately provided goods and services to bear against those who provide the money from using said, then we have a very real and immediate, clear and present danger in our midst.
What are our tools, rights, or powers to address this trend? That is, especially when we see a rather shocking collusion between big business and government, (see first sentence)?
Raising awareness of a crises like this, rather than placing blame, is critical and essential for our own well-being and in regards to the future society resulting from a military/industrial, corporately-ruled monoculture. I don't think one needs to be prophetic about it when it is not difficult to extrapolate what this can mean for future generations of the planet's inhabitants if passivity and ignorance allow propaganda and inverse totalitarianism to continue to dominate life as we know it.
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newtothegame
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Tue Apr-06-10 12:01 PM
Response to Original message |
8. As Alec Baldwin says in Team America... |
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Gl-global warming...and and CORPORATE AMERICA!!!!!
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Big Blue Marble
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Tue Apr-06-10 12:46 PM
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10. Corporations are not abstractions. |
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Edited on Tue Apr-06-10 01:11 PM by Big Blue Marble
They are organizations of people. People with extreme amounts of power and wealth. They distribute this power and wealth to their advantage. It is right to hold them accountable, for at this time they are at the forefront of destroying our lives, our environment and this planet. They are rapacious and nearly unstoppable.
It is so easy to say regulate them. They have spent the last 50 years dismantling all the safeguards that were in place to regulate them. They have staffed the government agencies with their underlings. They have filled the legislatures with their representatives.
It is so facile to say educate the people. They have spend billions to "educate" the people and continue to do so with their slick advertising and multi-media propaganda.
We are facing a deluge of power unseen in human history . A deluge that has spread across the globe, one that has allegiance to no nationality or humanity only to the profit motive.
Corporations are the source of the problem, not tangential to it.
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DaveinJapan
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Tue Apr-06-10 12:59 PM
Response to Reply #10 |
12. Excellent synopsis here! |
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I do hope that my OP in no way implied that I think they shouldn't be held accountable.
Hell yes they should!
Since you gave such an excellent overview of what we're up against, can you suggest where we should go from here?
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Big Blue Marble
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Tue Apr-06-10 08:49 PM
Response to Reply #12 |
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The multi-national corporate structure has become the main organizing principle of our extremely complex society. How would we unwind them without destabilizing vast aspects of our economy is the basic question. This was the issue that faced our government when the financial corporations faltered.
It is important to remember that every powerful system that has ever held sway over humanity has collapsed brought down ultimately by its own internal corruption. This time it is different because we are running out of time.
Individually we do have the responsibility to be as aware as we can be, to make choices in our daily lives that are informed by our knowledge and to share our understanding with others. Because I do know that if change is to be brought, it will only come when millions of us around the planet demand that change.
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DaveinJapan
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Wed Apr-07-10 06:15 AM
Response to Reply #14 |
15. Thanks for your enlightening insights. Appreciate them! nt |
TheKentuckian
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Tue Apr-06-10 12:54 PM
Response to Original message |
11. They are acting in their nature but the out of sight out of mind factor has to be dealt with |
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Calling attention to their actions helps to shame politicians, voters, and consumers to take action.
Blaming Jim Crow was a waste of energy but showing it for what it was proved to be a tremendous investment of effort.
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Hannah Bell
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Wed Apr-07-10 06:20 AM
Response to Reply #11 |
16. yes. they should be blamed & shamed, publicly & often. |
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