Showing posts with label campaign contributions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaign contributions. Show all posts
Saturday, May 1, 2021
Big Money in Elections, Politics and Government
Americans need to know we can change this. I think we all know we should, that it's not good.
Americans need to learn how we can change this.
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Quote of the Day -- On All-Consuming Capitalism
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Our Next National Hurdles Once Trump Is Gone
From The New Yorker yesterday.
Along with cleaning up so very many messes after this President and his presidency, we need to make sure that nothing, nothing even remotely close to Donald J Trump ever, ever happens again in America. And the way we do it is by, first, overturning Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court and then ending campaign contributions entirely in our nation. After that, also outlawing gerrymandering and voter ID laws that disenfranchise fellow American citizens from voting. Finally we need to bring back the Fairness Doctrine in our government and media.
I'm not hopeful. We could do it, we could it all but no, I'm not hopeful.
Links:
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Kansas Makes Clear What Our Problem Is
There's an excellent, even important article on the Topeka Captiol-Journal website presently that points out the biggest problem in our states but in Washington, DC, too.
Here's the situation taken from a Facebook friend's, Davis Hammet of Loud Light, page today.
After becoming Chair of the Kansas Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Julia Lynn got a job working at Allied Global Services (AGS). Sen. Lynn endorsed and confirmed Brownback’s Commerce Secretary Soave who later was found to be steering government contracts to his friends. AGS got over $13 million in government contracts the last few years. As that scandal came to light, Sen. Lynn used her Chair position to block an investigation into those deals. When questioned about all this she said that she’s exempt from conflicts of interest... This story just made her resign from the corporate job, but she hasn't resigned from the Senate.
Money.
Money is our problem here in Kansas. And Missouri. And all across every state in the nation and, as I said above, especially in Washington, DC.
It's money that has made our health care system tied to profit instead of being universally available as all other Western, industrialized nations have.
It's money that got us the outrageously priced higher education system we have now that also shuts people of modest or little means from being able to participate.
It's money that has our legislators writing that legislation and our laws for the already-wealthy and corporations, not for the people and nation.
For Kansas and across each state, here is what we need to do to fix this, taken from the same Facebook thread:
It's just not that complicated.
Pay our representatives at the state level enough to be there and do the work. Then, along with it, make any funds taken from any other person or company illegal.
Then, in Washington, in our Federal Government, we need to, first, overturn Citizens United. Then we need to end campaign contributions entirely. We have to think the unthinkable.
Other nations have done and do this. The UK is an excellent example. By making campaign contributions not just possible but legal, we have effectively legalized bribery. It's insane. It's not true, representational government. It's not "for the people."
Ironic, isn't it? We, the US, the "world's wealthiest nation", being crushed by money.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Money Is Crushing Our Nation
Ironically, though, we've come to a time where, in at least several ways, our money is crushing us. It's crushing the people and so, the nation. I'll give examples.
First, there is our healthcare. The evidence:
- We are the only nation that ties health and healthcare to profit and profits
- Ours is the most expensive in the world
- Our citizens, lots of them, go bankrupt, due to healthcare costs and expenses
- We are the only Western, industrialized nation whose citizens do go bankrupt due to healthcare costs and expenses
- More of our citizens go bankrupt due to these healthcare costs than any other reason or source of expense
- Some, far too many, of our citizens die, actually die because they can't afford healthcare
Second, next, is higher education--colleges and university study. We did and do the same with it we did with healthcare. That is, we've made it outrageously expensive, just because we don't limit corporations over-arching need and goal to make money above all costs, students and citizens be damned.
The U.S. Leads The World In Tuition Fees
Then there's what we call defense, military defense of the nation. No one even remotely comes close to what we spend on bombs and tanks and bases around the world. It's crushing us.
Meanwhile, our schools and roads and highways and sewage treatment and all we need the nation over, goes wanting so we, the people go wanting. And let's all keep in mind, it was military spending the world over that bankrupted the now-former USSR. We learn nothing. (And under the "We Learn Nothing" file, look at Vietnam and Afghanistan as just two perfect example).
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why we let business ruin us, ruin the nation--we legalized bribery of our government representatives, most specifically in Congress, in the nation's Capitol.
And this is the result.
We have to take our nation back. We have to take it back from the money, back from the big money, back from the corporations and already-wealthy. We have to take it back, honestly, from the Republicans and their political party.
And it's got to come from us, people.
Friday, June 7, 2019
How to Fix the Corruption In Congress and Washington
Redux. From a few years ago.
We need to do this.
We need to overturn Citizens United.
We need to end campaign contributions entirely.
We need to Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government
Thursday, February 28, 2019
We Must Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government
Jennifer Lawrence says what I've been saying for at least a few years.
Don't let anyone say or tell you we can't do this.
We can and must.
It has to come from us.
Links:
Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government
Monday, February 11, 2019
What Is It With Republicans Undoing Voters', Constituents' Expressed Wishes?
Time and again both in Missouri and across the nation, Republicans have been shown to be working to undo things their constituents already voted on. It's happening right now, right here in Missouri.
We Missourians all voted to have more openness in our government and to know what's going on in it. Those pesky Republicans want nothing to do with it so they're working to undo our vote.
There is, fortunately, just one little problem with their trying to undo the voters' will, at least this time.
But it's not just here in Missouri. Republicans in other states, too, have, time and again, gone against their own constituents, gone against the will of the people, the popular vote, people be damned.
This is from last month.
This is happening now, too.
How long are we going to put up with this, folks?
How long are we going to tolerate this?
Link:
Get the Big, Ugly Money Out of Our Election System and Government
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Quote of the Day: On Money In Politics
"The money that is spent in elections is absolutely unconscionable - even if it's private money. It's true that one's not corrupted by the expenditure of one's own money, but to some extent the system is. We cannot have a system in which the only people you can count on for a vote that doesn't look as though it might be a vote for a special-interest group are people with enormous fortunes."
Monday, May 28, 2018
On Memorial Day -- You Want Patriotism?
So it's Memorial Day.
So yes, honor the soldiers. Honor their sacrifice. Honor their sacrifices.
But let's go a step or more further.
To all the government representatives out there, you want patriotism? Do you expect it?
Fine, you want patriotism, then give us the following, do the following--
- Stop creating wars for the soldiers to fight and die in.
- In fact, see to it we bring home thousands of our military, scattered all over the planet.
- Shrink the Defense budget. That's right, shrink it. It's bloated, it's wasteful and it weakens us, weakens the nation.
- Then, internally, give us a country that's more just.
- Give us a country with at least less wealth inequality. Fight wealth inequality, large and small.
- Give us a nation that works, even fights for those with less.
- Work for, fight for a nation that's not segregated.
- Write bills to fight racism and yes, racists.
- Write bills to fight segregation, racial segregation.
- Work to make our schools better. All our schools, for all of us, not just for those who can afford Charter and private schools.
- Fight for the common man and woman, the working man and woman of America.
- Work for the middle class.
- Heck, work for the lower classes. So many of you call and consider yourself Christian and Christians.
- Fight to overturn Citizens United.
- Work to end "dark money" in our government and politics. We deserve to know where campaign contributions come from.
- Better yet, fight to end campaign contributions entirely. Let's do away with the problems of campaign contributions.
- Fight to bring back the Fairness Doctrine so people give two sides, minimum, to each news story in our media. They're our airwaves, after all.
- Work to ensure clean air, water and soil and for all.
- Stop working and fighting for only or mostly the already-wealthy and corporations.
- Stop working more or only for your political party and work for the nation. Be statesmen and women in your governmental work
In short, give us back our nation. All of us. Work for all of us.
When you do this, you make us all better and you make the nation stronger. In doing these things, you would truly "make America great again."
Then we'll talk patriotism.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Quote of the Day -- Prescience
"The fact is that there is a serious danger of this country becoming a pluto-democracy; that is, a sham republic with the real government in the hands of a small clique of enormously wealthy men, who speak through their money, and whose influence, even today, radiates to every corner of the United States."
--William McAdoo, amazingly, in 1912
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Fantastic Article On American Health Care Today
There is, as said above, a fantastic article in the New York Times today outlining things we ought to get, rights we ought to have, from our health care providers and system. It's an eye opener, not least of which because we all know these are out there and we can be subject to each and every one of them.
Nine Rights Every Patient Should Demand
And they are:
1. The right to an itemized bill in plain English.
2. The right to never receive a surprise out-of-network bill.
3. The right to accurate information about the provider network in my insurance plan.
4. The right to a stable network.
5. The right to be informed of conflicts of interest.
6. The right to be informed in advance about any facility fees.
7. The right to see a price list for elective procedures.
8. The right to be informed of cheaper options.
9. The right to know that a disputed bill will not be sent to a collection agency.
Here are 9 things we're subject to, as Americans, as patients and each one is pretty outrageous, really. After all, it's our health and it's our health care system. Yet we're subject to all of these any time we go to a doctor or the hospital. It is, again, outrageous.
And why do we put up with this? Why do we tolerate this?
Partly because we have to. Partly because we know the corporations and moneyed people are in charge. They can give their Congressional representative---our Congressional representatives--some money and they get the laws and government they want.
They're in control.
Welcome to "free market", profit-driven health care, America.
What're you gonna' do about it?
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Senator Blunt Rightly Takes a Well-Earned and Very Deserved Beating In the Media With This Latest Florida Slaughter of Innocents
So yet 17 more Americans, innocent Americans were, once again, slaughtered here in America.
Having what they thought was a normal, peaceful even, likely, beautiful day when a fellow American got and took an AR-15 automatic weapon---because they could---and gunned these people down.
It's beyond disgusting.
Now, rightfully, our own Missouri Senator Roy Blunt is taking a beating in media for his bought and paid for complicity in one more of these massacres in our country.
A writer for JImmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, posted this yesterday on Twitter.
This is not a political issue. This is not a Constitutional debate. This is a pandemic that's killing children. And it's perpetrated by hypocrites who preach a doctrine of "life" but take money from a profit-driven gun lobby. @RoyBlunt @SenatorBurr @SenThomTillis @SenCoryGardner
The New York Times showed, last year, how our Senator was the third highest paid Republican Party Senator by and from the NRA. The New York Times published this article last October.
The Congress Members Receiving
the Most N.R.A. Funding
In it, one can read how Senator Blunt took in more than 4 million five hundred fifty one dollars from the NRA last year.
Imagine that.
Our Senator took in $4,551,146 from the NRA, from just one, single source.
What would be, what is, really, a person's or even a family's fortune, this one government representative took in from one organization.
It's obscene.
I've said it probably a thousand times. It's why I created this group on Facebook.
Florida shooting: Senators singled out
over gun lobby funds
This is where we are presently, as a nation.
We have to finally, at last, get things done about weapons in America. I propose the following, at minimum:
1) Require background checks for ALL weapons purchases, coast to coast, for criminal history
2) Require background checks for ALL weapons purchases, coast to coast, for mental stability and finally
3) Ban the purchase of all automatic weapons, including and especially the AR-15 and all like it, again, nationwide.
These are not difficult things but they are important. If they save even one life, let alone more, they will have achieved their goals and what we so desperately need in our country. We need to bring back the Assault Weapons Ban.
The time for "thoughts and prayers" and inaction is over.
You hear that, Senator Blunt?
The days of putting money and the NRA before the people, before we Americans, needs to be over and soon as possible.
As with our health care, we must put people and American lives ahead of profit and profits.
Links:
This we cannot allow:
Monday, September 18, 2017
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Republican State Senator From My Hometown Making Us Proud
Yes sir, St. Joseph's own Republican Representative Rob Schaaf, no less, is asking questions and trying to hold our very Republican Governor, Eric Greitens, to task for what he said and claimed and challenged during the now-Governor's campaign for that job.
Bait-and-switch
Some of the article:
Since that time, Greitens has turned his back on transparency, accepting millions of dollars from undisclosed donors and now disavowing donor disclosure altogether. With this reversal, he has betrayed the Republican Party and the people of Missouri. His new stance threatens the integrity of our republic.
It's a great article, I think, and even important. Any and every voting age Missourian would do well to read it so they know what's going on in our state and what should likely change.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
