Friday, June 15, 2007
Pacifica Commentary For June 14, 2007
ELECTING A WINNER
As we reach bottom at the lowest point in U.S. history, it becomes clear that people want a new springtime. Yes, in the midst of the crass corruption, violence, ignorance and obscene banality of our government, there is hope.
And how is this change going to take place? The best current example of the triumph of grass roots politics can be seen in Latin America today. In past years the representatives of corporate capital including Wall Street would select Latin American candidates useful to their interests.
Some candidates would even make progressive noises for propaganda purposes. But the power of corporate capital and U.S. military interventions maintained a static status quo in Latin America.
In recent years, however, Latin American candidates representing the hopes, desires and anxieties of the Latin America people have been elected. This rapid change has been helped by the fact that the United States is hopelessly engaged in losing unnecessary wars. While the cat's away, the mice will play.
And now Democrats are faced with the same problem over which Latin America has triumphed. They can work for one of three candidates who have been approved by corporate capital and Wall Street, while accepting the religion of militarism or they can go to the grass roots and make history as Latin America is making history. Latin Americans had faith enough to believe they could change corrupt systems and they are doing it.
If Democrats have the same level of faith and grass roots action, they can elect a candidate who is not acceptable to corporate capital, who will bring us a Department of Peace, a single payer health system and the return of the public sector.
And those who say, "Oh, he doesn't have a chance," are parroting just what the lobbyists for militarism want them to say as captives of false advertising.
So let's have the same faith that Latin America has demonstrated and put someone in the White House who does not bow to the corporate lobbies which are now running the United States of America.
As we reach bottom at the lowest point in U.S. history, it becomes clear that people want a new springtime. Yes, in the midst of the crass corruption, violence, ignorance and obscene banality of our government, there is hope.
And how is this change going to take place? The best current example of the triumph of grass roots politics can be seen in Latin America today. In past years the representatives of corporate capital including Wall Street would select Latin American candidates useful to their interests.
Some candidates would even make progressive noises for propaganda purposes. But the power of corporate capital and U.S. military interventions maintained a static status quo in Latin America.
In recent years, however, Latin American candidates representing the hopes, desires and anxieties of the Latin America people have been elected. This rapid change has been helped by the fact that the United States is hopelessly engaged in losing unnecessary wars. While the cat's away, the mice will play.
And now Democrats are faced with the same problem over which Latin America has triumphed. They can work for one of three candidates who have been approved by corporate capital and Wall Street, while accepting the religion of militarism or they can go to the grass roots and make history as Latin America is making history. Latin Americans had faith enough to believe they could change corrupt systems and they are doing it.
If Democrats have the same level of faith and grass roots action, they can elect a candidate who is not acceptable to corporate capital, who will bring us a Department of Peace, a single payer health system and the return of the public sector.
And those who say, "Oh, he doesn't have a chance," are parroting just what the lobbyists for militarism want them to say as captives of false advertising.
So let's have the same faith that Latin America has demonstrated and put someone in the White House who does not bow to the corporate lobbies which are now running the United States of America.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Pacifica Commentary For June 6, 2007
Govenment By Lobby
Who do members of Congress listen to most avidly before making a decision? They listen to military corporate lobbyists and that is why the rest of us three hundred million people continue to wait for some representation.
Friends, the greatest structural obstacles to democracy are the corporate Washington lobbies. This conglomeration of profiteers have more political power than all of the people of the United States put together.
Now we can understand that when the majority of the people want a national health system administered in a fashion similar to Social Security, they can't have it because the insurance companies want 30% of those funds for profit rather than to have a system that operates as smoothly as Social Security has for eight decades while using only 2-3% of the fund for administration.
And the same lobbies function on behalf of the everlasting war system. Members of Congress sell themselves very cheaply as they become servile to the dictates of what our Republican President Eisenhower called the Military/Industrial/Congressional complex. Take note that Ike was pressured to remove and did remove the word "Congressional", but today that word is back and we can say with clarity the Military/Industrial/Prison/Gun and Congressional Lobby.
One of those lobbies is called AIPAC which represents the government of Israel and which has fostered the notion that people who oppose Israeli government policy are anti-Semites. Well, that is a cheap shot and it has been leveled at many world class intellectuals in the Jewish community like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Norman Finkelstein and Norman Solomon.
Government by corporate capital lobbies has no relationship to democracy and before our nation can function properly these lobbies must be outlawed. Make sure your Representatives know that you know who they are listening to and that you refuse to allow them to continue to sell themselves to corporate lobbyists.
And please listen to WORLD FOCUS this Sunday at 10:00 AM, my guests will be Scott Ritter and Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie who was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer.
Who do members of Congress listen to most avidly before making a decision? They listen to military corporate lobbyists and that is why the rest of us three hundred million people continue to wait for some representation.
Friends, the greatest structural obstacles to democracy are the corporate Washington lobbies. This conglomeration of profiteers have more political power than all of the people of the United States put together.
Now we can understand that when the majority of the people want a national health system administered in a fashion similar to Social Security, they can't have it because the insurance companies want 30% of those funds for profit rather than to have a system that operates as smoothly as Social Security has for eight decades while using only 2-3% of the fund for administration.
And the same lobbies function on behalf of the everlasting war system. Members of Congress sell themselves very cheaply as they become servile to the dictates of what our Republican President Eisenhower called the Military/Industrial/Congressional complex. Take note that Ike was pressured to remove and did remove the word "Congressional", but today that word is back and we can say with clarity the Military/Industrial/Prison/Gun and Congressional Lobby.
One of those lobbies is called AIPAC which represents the government of Israel and which has fostered the notion that people who oppose Israeli government policy are anti-Semites. Well, that is a cheap shot and it has been leveled at many world class intellectuals in the Jewish community like Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Norman Finkelstein and Norman Solomon.
Government by corporate capital lobbies has no relationship to democracy and before our nation can function properly these lobbies must be outlawed. Make sure your Representatives know that you know who they are listening to and that you refuse to allow them to continue to sell themselves to corporate lobbyists.
And please listen to WORLD FOCUS this Sunday at 10:00 AM, my guests will be Scott Ritter and Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of Rachel Corrie who was killed by an Israeli military bulldozer.
