oligarchy

Jimmy Carter: America More An ‘Oligarchy Than Democracy’

September 19, 2017 Staff, www.nydailynews.com Educate! Jimmy Carter, Money in Politics, oligarchy

By Staff of The Associated Press - ATLANTA — Former President Jimmy Carter offered a damning indictment of U.S. foreign policy and domestic affairs Tuesday, saying money in politics makes the nation more like an “oligarchy than a democracy” and casting President Donald Trump as a disappointment on the world stage. Carter’s criticisms, offered at his annual presentation to backers of his post-presidency Carter Center in Atlanta, went beyond Trump, but he was particularly critical of the nation’s direction under the Republican president’s leadership. The 39th president, a Democrat, offered this advice to the 45th: “Keep the peace, promote human rights and tell the truth.” Carter, 92, did not mention explicitly Trump’s threatening exchanges this summer with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, but the former president said the U.S. should engage directly with the insular leader and discuss a peace treaty to replace the cease fire that ended the Korean War in 1953. “I would send my top person to Pyongyang immediately, if I didn’t go myself,” Carter said, noting that he’s been three times to the country, even as successive U.S. administrations have refused to deal with the regime. The North Koreans, Carter said, want a treaty that guarantees the U.S. will not attack unless North Korea attacks the U.S. or an ally, particularly South Korea.

Resistance In The Age Of Trump

March 5, 2017 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Donald Trump, Mass Movement, oligarchy

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. This article summarizes the history of the Trump era and the response by the popular resistance movement. It links to a series of articles written over the last six weeks, reporting on the movement, what challenges we face, our task and next steps. In addition, to the articles, we include an interview by Chris Hedges of Popular Resistance co-director, Kevin Zeese. By combining all of this into one document we can see the growth and impact of the movement. We see that people are growing their power, getting organized and mobilizing in effective ways. While there are challenges, the movement is off to a strong start during the Trump era but must keep growing, push for positive change as well as challenging the worst policies of our era. When we do so, the people will realize their power like they have not done in recent generations and the movement will have a greater and longer term impact than Trump and the bi-partisans that run the US government for the wealthiest, and not for the people.

Are We Ready For Class War Yet?

February 9, 2017 Fred Nagel, www.popularresistance.org Educate! Class war, Finance and the Economy, oligarchy, Socialism, Workers

By Fred Nagel. Are we ready for class war yet? Or ready at least to fight back in a war that the very wealthy started in earnest over 30 years ago? Now is certainly the time when millions of American citizens are infuriated about their ever diminishing economic prospects. Even during Obama's eight years, the 1% got almost two-thirds of the nation's income growth. Occupy said it well, and so did Bernie Sanders. The working class understood, and voted for someone who they thought might finally break the neoliberal system. In effect, millions of US workers felt they had no choice since Hillary represented all the evils of corporate control and elite thievery. The two dominant parties, however, have represented the same monied interests for a long time.

Newsletter – Beyond Russia: The Work Ahead

December 18, 2016 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter 2016 Elections, Corporate Media, Democracy, Donald Trump, Healthcare, Hillary Clinton, Human Rights, Immigrant Rights, Indigenous Rights, Medicare for all, oligarchy, People's Agenda, Propaganda, Public Banking, Russia, Vladimir Putin

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese. As the day that the Electoral College casts its vote for President draws near, so does the frenzy of accusations that Russians hacked the election to benefit Donald Trump and are spreading 'fake news' full of Russian propaganda. It seems like everyone is jumping on the anti-Russia bandwagon, including past Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and most of the organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party. Many are calling for the Electors to switch their votes to Hillary Clinton. Russian spying image from the Intercept Russian spying image from the Intercept The absurdity of the 2016 Presidential election doesn't seem to have an end. We urge readers not to get drawn into the manufactured distractions of the day. We have real work to do, no matter who is elected, to organize across multiple fronts of struggle.

Populism Defeated: Trump’s Bait And Switch

December 11, 2016 Nomi Prins, www.tomdispatch.com Educate! Donald Trump, oligarchy, Plutocracy

By Nomi Prins for Tom's Dispatch. Only a month has passed since November 8th, but it’s already clear (not that it wasn’t before) that Trump’s anti-establishment campaign rhetoric was the biggest scam of his career, one he pulled off perfectly. As president-elect and the country’s next CEO-in-chief, he’s now doing what many presidents have done: doling out power to like-minded friends and associates, loyalists, and -- think John F. Kennedy, for instance -- possibly family. Here, however, is a major historical difference: the magnitude of Trump’s cronyism is off the charts, even for Washington. Of course, he’s never been a man known for doing small and humble. So his cabinet, as yet incomplete, is already the richest one ever. Estimates of how loaded it will be are almost meaningless at this point, given that we don’t even know Trump’s true wealth (and will likely never see his tax returns). Still, with more billionaires at the doorstep, estimates of the wealth of his new cabinet members and of the president-elect range from my own guesstimate of about $12 billion up to $35 billion.

Endorse The People’s Agenda

November 22, 2016 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Organize! Government, Human Rights, oligarchy, Plutocracy

Right now is the opportune time for people to say no to plutocracy and demand a people's agenda. The rejection of the Democrats and the unexpected election of Donald Trump have caused confusion among the elites and have opened political space. The people's defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a victory over the power of transnational corporations, confirms that when a movement of movements works together, we win. People across the country are rising up and will continue to do so. This is critical for social transformation. We encourage you to organize in your communities and to take the streets.We must also be clear in our demands. We are offering an outline for a People's Agenda.

Newsletter: Time For Boldness, Clarity & Assertiveness

November 11, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Bigotry, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Climate Change, Democracy, Donald Trump, Fair Trade, Hillary Clinton, Immigrant Rights, Labor, Living Wage, oligarchy, Racism, TISA, TPP, Trade, TTIP, War crimes, Wars and Militarism, Women's Rights, Worker's Rights

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. In this moment, the movement for economic, racial and environmental justice needs be bold, clear and assertive in putting forth an agenda that will serve the economically dispossessed, those under attack by militarized police, immigrants facing detentions and deportations and demonstrate policies that ensure economic security. Where Trump is right, as in detente with Russia, the movement will support him against the neocons and humanitarian war supporters; and we will push him further for an end to war as the primary tool of foreign policy. Both parties are confronting major fissures, leadership challenges and questions about where they go from here. Their confused leadership provides an opportunity for the popular movement to fill the leadership void with policies that put people, planet and peace over profit.

Newsletter: Elections Expose the Oligarchs

October 9, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Austerity, Banking and Finance, Big Banks, Big Pharma, Corruption, Democracy, Donald Trump, health insurance industry, Healthcare, Hillary Clinton, Neoliberalism, oligarchy, Sexism, Single payer health care, Tax Evasion, Wikileaks

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. The 2016 presidential election has shown how the duopoly, the two parties that represent big business interests and the wealthiest, are corrupted in ways that prevent the people’s voices from being heard, their necessities being met and the planet being protected from human greed. During the campaigns, leaks have given people a behind-the-scenes look at how the parties operate and research on the candidates shows their personal failures. They give voters an image of elites who behave as if the law does not apply to them and who put themselves ahead of the public interest. Last Friday was a day of embarrassment for both the Republican and Democratic Parties. A tape showing Donald Trump bragging about sexual assault in lewd ways has gotten the bulk of attention, but Wikileaks also released thousands of pages of The Podesta Emails, 2,060 emails and 170 attachments. John Podesta is the ultimate insider.

Newsletter – US Democracy Crisis: Illegitimate System

June 4, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www,.popularresistance.org Newsletter 2016 Elections, Corruption, Democracy, oligarchy, Plutocracy, Revolution, TPP, Transparency

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. Two years ago we wrote that the task of the movement is to build national consensus. We have shown in previous articles that national consensus is being reached on many issues, but the government is not responding to the public consensus. We have also reported on research that shows the US is really an oligarchy operating in the worst democracy in the western world. The government's lack of responsiveness to the people and elected officials who fail to represent the people’s views are resulting in a crisis of democracy. This week the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs reported on that crisis. They found the legitimacy of US government has disappeared

The System That Chooses & Elects The President Is A Farce

June 4, 2016 Mohsen Abdelmoumen, www.ahtribune.com Educate! Democracy, Hillary Clinton, oligarchy, Plutocracy

By Mohsen Abdelmoumen for the American Herald Tribune. The super-rich whose interests lie with Wall Street, the global corporations, and what Eisenhower called the military-industrial complex, own and control both the Democrat and the Republican parties and their candidates. This shared monopoly prevents any anti-oligarchy party from emerging effectively to compete, under their rigged laws at the state level for establishing and funding national political parties. It's a hell of a system, a total fraud on democracy, painted up to look like democracy. This is why even in an election year as controversial as this one, most Americans will not vote. The majority of Americans have lost faith in what has become a charade that betrays their interests.

The Movement Will Continue No Matter How The Election Turns Out

April 19, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org Strategize! Bernie Sanders, Corruption, Democracy, oligarchy, Plutocracy

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. Below is an announcement of a partnership between Popular Resistance and Resistance Against Plutocracy which created the 'Bernie or Bust Campaign.' This is not an electoral alliance but a movement building alliance. We recognize the incredible work the Bernie Sanders campaign has done to build national consensus around the issue of the unfair Wall Street dominated economy and the corruption of the US electoral system by big money interests. We also recognize that despite the national consensus on these issues an independent mass movement is essential for creating the trasnsformational change need. We hope other supporters of Sanders 'political revolution' recognize that a revolution does not coincide with an election but is much bigger than an election. The people need to build a movement that is able to impact whoever is elected president, as well as congress, state legislatures and local governments. We need to unite Sanders supporters with the popular movement.

Newsletter: The Corruption Of Money

April 16, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Black Lives Matter (BLM), Citizens United, Corporate tax, Democracy, Fight for 15, Living Wage, Occupy, oligarchy, Panama Papers, Tax Evasion, Tax Haven

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. As tax day approaches, there will be numerous reports about how US oligarchs – wealthy individuals and major corporations – do not pay their fair share in taxes. A GAO report released this week found “at least two-thirds of active U.S. corporations paid zero federal income taxes between 2006 and 2012. The report also found that large, profitable corporations only paid 14% of their profits in federal income taxes on average from 2008 through 2012, while approximately one-fifth of them paid nothing at all.” This is not only due to tax laws that provide corporations with a wide array of loopholes to lower their taxes, but is also due to the intentional hiding of money off-shore. A 2015 report found that nearly 75% of Fortune 500 companies tucked away $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to avoid paying US income taxes.

Jimmy Carter: The U.S. Is Completely Subverted By Oligarchs

April 15, 2016 Edmondo Burr, www.yournewswire.com Educate! Jimmy Carter, oligarchy, United States

By Edmondo Burr for Your News Wire - According to former President, Jimmy Carter (1977 to 1981), the American Essence or value has been compromised through “unlimited political bribery” using “unlimited money” by “oligarchs” to elect their chosen politicians to office. The system subverts the American definition of Democracy and allows the few to rule over the many without officially being labelled as sovereigns- and thus neglecting any social obligations they might have towards the unwashed.

Newsletter: The Unfolding Story Of Latin America

March 27, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Argentina, Boliva, Brazil, Cuba, Democracy, Ecuador, Honduras, Imperialism, oligarchy, Venezuela

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. Latin America has been a key battleground in the conflict between neo-liberal capitalism and US hegemony against the growing people power that is demanding a more equitable economy that builds from the bottom up and is more democratic. Venezuela has been the focal point of the campaign against the progressive cycle. The amnesty bill shows the extreme actions the US and oligarchs are willing to take to wrest power from the people and return it to the wealthy business interests. The wealthy have made progress in some key countries leading to people ask whether the progressive cycle has come to an end and what lies ahead for the region.

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