How to buy members of Congress: A case study involving Comcast

It's all legal of course, thanks to be playing field itself being corrupt, as reported by The Consumerist:

Senators Pat Toomey, whose campaign hauled in $70,600 in contributions from Comcast and its employees this election cycle, and Bob Casey, who really felt the love from Comcast’s $114,000 in combined contributions in 2014, penned a joint letter to FCC Chair Tom Wheeler today, urging him to hurry up and approve this merger already.

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New Study: United States no longer a Democracy

Is the U.S. government following the will of the People? The answer is no, according to a new study:

Asking "[w]ho really rules?" researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page argue that over the past few decades America's political system has slowly transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where wealthy elites wield most power. Using data drawn from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, the two conclude that rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of or even against the will of the majority of voters.
[Cartoon by Jonik reprinted here with his permission] Jonik cartoon

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Primaries for the one percent make elections irrelevant

Excellent 6 min video by Lawrence Lessig illustrates that a tiny slice of Americans control our Congressional primaries, making general elections unimportant. Our Owners run our elections much like the Chinese elites are running Hong Kong's elections. What's different is that residents of Hong Kong are demonstrating in huge numbers to force change and we are generally complacent. That is in large part because our "news" ignores our huge problem. We have allowed democracy to die in America. Lessig challenges us - are we willing to fight for it? Quote by Boss Tweed near the beginning: "I don't care who does the electing, so long as I get to do the nominating." Private money primaries make elections almost irrelevant. Lawrence Lessig nails it here.

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The vision and plans of Bernie Sanders

Very few politicians speak for ordinary people any more. Mostly, they speak to those with money in order to get some of that money for themselves. A shining example is Bernie Sanders. Recently, he was interviewed at length at Salon:

What I’ll tell you is what I do say in public, which is that, at a time when the middle class is collapsing; when we have more people living in poverty than ever before and we have huge income and wealth inequality; when we are the only major nation on earth that does not have a national healthcare system; when we have millions of young people leaving college deeply in debt; when we have the planetary crisis of climate change; when we, because of Citizens United, have a billionaire class now controlling our political process, we need candidates who are prepared to stand up without apology representing the working families of America and are prepared to take on the billionaire class which controls so much of America. I think that’s absolutely imperative that that takes place. What I have said is that I am giving thought to running for president. I haven’t made that decision. It’s a very, very difficult decision. I have gone to Iowa on a couple of vacations. I’ll be back there. I’ve gone to New Hampshire. I’ll be there this Saturday. And I’ve gone to other places in the country including the south—North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi—to get a sense of how people are feeling. But yes, I am giving thought and I will make the decision at the appropriate time.

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Behind ALEC

Bill Moyers has done an in-depth analysis of ALEC.   If you wonder how so many conservative bills are being pushed through state legislature, look no further than ALEC:

A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — presents itself as a “nonpartisan public-private partnership”. But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge. In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers — each accomplished without the public ever knowing who’s behind it. Using interviews, documents, and field reporting, the episode explores ALEC’s self-serving machine at work, acting in a way one Wisconsin politician describes as “a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests.”

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