By Jon Faulkner
The Smirking Chimp
There are four areas in which congress and the next president could begin to reclaim the republic, restore the balance of power in government, and act in the interests of the public good.
The Supreme Court's ruling that gave corporations the same rights as people. In 1886, in Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, the Supreme Court decided that corporations, under the 14th Amendment, are afforded the same constitutional rights as people. It was U.S. political histories most egregious example of the court reinterpreting the constitution. Aside from the fact that corporations can't possibly be construed as people, nowhere in the constitution does the word "corporation" appear. As if this decision weren't bad enough, the court accepted the ruling without argument.
Justice Morrison Remick Waite wrote, "The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporations. We are all of opinion that it does." The clerk of the court, in two sentences, opened the gate wide for corporations to become the powerful, multinational, and far too often destructive entities of the public good they have time and again, proven themselves to be. The clerk wrote, "The defendant Corporations are persons within the intent of the clause in section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment, to the Constitution of the United States, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
This decision needs to be revisited. Republicans, corporate shareholders, and anyone who thinks dictatorships are better than democracy, will howl in outrage when it's determined, as it will inevitably be, that corporations are not people, and Justice Waite may have been imbibing the day he wrote his decision. Let them howl. Let them twist in the wind. The U.S. either lives under a constitution, or it does not. That is all that must be decided.
Deregulation is the second crippling blow directed against the U.S. public and the constitution that protects them. Deregulation has been sold to Americans as the answer to a meddling, bureaucratic government. It's been packaged as the magical force that broke the chains of communism and socialism. It's claim that competition is healthy and will bring lower prices and better quality service to all Americans if only government will get out of the market's way has been exposed as false time and time again. After each crushing, financial blow that deregulation visits upon the nation, the taxpayers must step in to bail out whichever industry has bitten the dust. Reagan pushed for the deregulation of industry as one of the major goals of his presidency, and the first casualty was the nation's S&L's. Before it was over 1,043 thrifts, with total assets of 500 billion, would fail. The new, "Depository Institutions Deregulation And Monetary Control Act" encouraged risks and speculative opportunities. The thrifts, once deregulated, were able to charter themselves as state, or federal institutions. Not surprisingly, they opted for federal charters, where they would be insured by the nation's taxpayers under the FDIC. Corporate thieves recognized that as long as the FDIC replaced the depositors stolen cash, the heat could be easily deflected. But the experiment in deregulation was only just beginning.
The most public outrage against American consumers was Enron's rip-off of California's energy ratepayers. Incredibly, California is once again considering the deregulation of their energy producing infrastructure. It never ceases to astonish how easily people are led to self immolation. But the damage of deregulation is insidious. It allowed corporations to speculate on illusory positions the various markets may occupy at a future date. Wall Street dreamed up lots of new financial instruments with which to hoodwink investors. Beginning with junk bonds, and continuing with credit derivatives, most of them have one essential purpose - to steal money from investors, most often through the inflated share values. By the time the first Bush was elected, deregulation was in full swing.
The high tech bubble burst when the startup companies began sprouting like mushrooms. They were traded for high dollars even though they had little or no assets, and couldn't show a profit on their books. But the greed driven market, with its carrot and stick, promised fantastic returns on comparatively minimal investments. After a pile of cash had accumulated, the overpriced shares would be sold by corporate managers, often for many millions of dollars. Then the startup would be left to languish, and eventually enter into bankruptcy.
Reagan was Mr. Sunnyside up to many Americans. "Well I've said it before and I'll say it again - America's best days are yet to come. Our proudest moments are yet to be. Our most glorious achievements are just ahead." He meant these words, undoubtedly, but he lacked the intellect to understand where his policies would take the nation. Twenty years went by and George W. Bush was appointed president by a fraudulent Supreme Court. After almost 8 years of disastrous policy decisions Bush said, "There is no magic wand to wave right now. It took us a while to get to this fix." Yes, it did, didn't it Junior? Reagan could not have foreseen Bush, or the 20 years of republican administrations that brought the nation to this "fix." Junior criticizes congress for dragging its feet and says he's open to "any ideas" to boost the sagging economy. Any ideas meaning he hasn't a clue except opening Alaska's wilderness to oil field development, and building more refineries. Einstein defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Today's housing bubble is arguably the biggest economic threat against the nation's economy that has ever been. For years lenders presented home owners unrealistic loan proposals that depended on illusory speculations that property values would keep rising. Consumers borrowed against the rising value of their homes until reality intervened and property began reflecting its true value. The U.S. economy was driven by these loans as Americans went ever deeper into debt and today, the reverse is happening, as property values fall and interest rates rise.
Compounding the problem of unrealistic lending was the investment banks practice of packaging the loans and selling them to Wall Street as Collateralized Debt Obligations, or CDO's. The banks promised a steady positive income from the interest payments of the loans, but as greedy as ever, Wall Street wasn't thinking about the soundness of the loans. Standard and Poor's and Moody's were supposed to be assessing the loans for risk, but they were in bed with the banks that were packaging the CDO's. The net effect is now being seen with millions of foreclosures and a mind boggling 739 billion dollar taxpayer bailout of the financial industry. The SEC, so far, has found no evidence of wrongdoing! This is like walking into a chicken coup and finding only foxes, then contemplating the mystery of what could have happened to the chickens. If Americans don't wake up very soon they're going to find themselves barefoot and hungry and looking for somewhere to pitch their tents. There must be rules - regulations, if Americans desire civilization.
Between the war in Iraq and the thieves who run the nation's financial institutions, the American taxpayers are in for a very rough ride. Add the Bush Administrations huge tax breaks to the corporations that engineer these rip-offs, and economic disaster is here. It's being artificially postponed until a democrat is elected president. The few regulations that are left are administered by industry lobbyists and corporate fat cats - all pals of Junior's. In other words, there are no regulations. It's a free for all of who can get their hands into the nation's treasury and grab the most cash. The banks, before they begin falling like dominos, have rigged up a bailout package worth 739 billion dollars. Bear & Stearns was the first recipient of the taxpayers largess. But the banks don't want the public to know how much they'll be paying to pull the banks back from the brink. In this upside down, turned inside out nation, this is good news. It means that banks are still respectful enough of the public that they still feel it's necessary to lie.
One bank official puts it this way. "We believe that any intervention by the federal government will be acceptable only if it is not perceived as a bailout of the bond market." The twist of the knife will be when Bush runs the Fairy Tale of how the generous, compassionate banks helped struggling homeowners keep their homes.
The Fairness Doctrine is number three on the list of "Things to make right." The Fairness Doctrine must be brought back. The public owns the airwaves and the lies spread by conservative republicans must not go unchallenged. The Fairness Doctrine will bring contrasting points of view back into highly partisan and opinionated programs such as the Rush Limbaugh Show, and Fox News. Rupert Murdoch, a foreign national, would not be tolerated in any country except the U.S. His media empire consistently attacks democrats because Rupert knows that democrats, if they ever reclaim their courage, will bring back the Fairness Doctrine, and Fox News will be forced to adhere to some modicum of truth. It's a disgrace that someone as ignorant and intellectually weak as Limbaugh is in a position to sway public opinion. Imagine him attempting a debate with highly intelligent, well informed democrat. Limbaugh can't hold his own on the David Letterman Show.
Number four on the list is getting rid of the outrageously partisan justices that perch like vultures on the Supreme Court's bench. If Barrack Obama wins the general election and becomes the nation's 44th president, one of his first responsibilities must be in asking Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy for their resignations. These, of course, are the three justices who still befoul the court after handing the 2000 election to Bush. If they refuse to resign they should be impeached. For the first time in the nation's history the Supreme Court intervened in an election to decide its outcome. That the court was willing to sacrifice its legitimacy to get Bush into office is condemnation enough. The justices who argued for Bush should have the native intelligence to resign.
Rehnquist, being dead, can't resign. But when he was alive he went after Clinton. He wanted to see him impeached and he didn't try to disguise the fact. When Gore was elected, it was too much. How dare Americans vote for a man the court didn't approve of! In a split decision, the justices decided that states have no right to hold elections when it can result in Gore being elected. The court is still carrying on its mischief with its recent decision denying millions of Americans the right to vote if they can't show proper identification as determined by the court. They are the most disgusting examples of humanity to ever violate the public's trust. They pick the fleas from each other's backs, and they know perfectly well that it's the poor, the black, the homeless, who are most likely to lack drivers licenses, and to vote for democrats.
At some point there must be some accountability. The justices are supposed to be the best, the brightest legal minds in the country. But once again they've proven themselves to be nothing more than cheap, partisan hacks, who won't hesitate to manufacture law from convoluted reasonings. These arbitrarily, unelected and fraudulent imposters pose as interpreters of constitutional law and Obama, if elected, has a duty to get rid of them like the dangerous pests they are. They've demonstrated time and again that they are eminently unsuited for the high offices they consistently corrupt. How dare these disgusting old men presume upon themselves to impose Bush, a born loser by any account, upon the American people? They must be unceremoniously run out of office, preferably wearing tar and feathers. "In the United States at the present day, the reverence which the Greeks gave to the oracles and the Middle Ages to the Pope is given to the Supreme Court. Those who have studied the working of the American Constitution know that the Supreme Court is part of the forces engaged in the protection of the plutocracy." -- Bertrand Russell
The way in which campaigns are financed must end. There is not much to say on this topic, other than it is a terribly corrupting influence on public policy. Fixing it is simple. No more campaign donations from any private parties. Elections will be paid for with government tax dollars. If the public can be fleeced for 739 billion to bailout the nation's financial institutions, the money is damn sure available to pay for the candidate's campaigns. The public's airwaves will be used to broadcast the candidate's views. Debates will be regularly scheduled and once again, the public's airwaves will be used to broadcast them. If the airwaves can be used to visit the Rush Limbaugh Show upon Americans, its doesn't seem a lot to ask that television be used to familiarize Americans with congressional and presidential candidates. As Bush has so clearly demonstrated, it's of paramount importance who Americans choose as their president. The nation may not survive Bush, and another one like him, for instance John McCain, may hammer the final nail into what was once a free republic.
These problems are not hard to fix, but in a nation where roughly half of the population is ready to replace Bush with McCain, there doesn't seem much hope. How could so many Americans fail to recognize a buffoonish loser when they had months to watch Bush stumble over two syllable words? When they had months to hear him present ultimatums as if the world were black and white and as easy to understand as Bush perceives it to be. If Americans can only recognize what's been done to their great nation there is a chance they can put aside their differences and rise to the challenge of reclaiming their nation from the thieves, the rogues, the liars. Corporate television and other corporate media will fight bitterly against any changes, and unless Americans act to turn the quid quo pro around, they can expect to loose what remains of their free, democracy.
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