oligarchy

Newsletter: Defeating The Oligarchs

January 30, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter Banks, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Ferguson, Finance and the Economy, Flint, health, Mining, oligarchy, Plutocracy, Solitary Confinement, TPP, Uranium, Water

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers. People in the US are taught that the way to create change is through voting. But in reality, voting in the US is very limited and ineffective. In an article, “Don’t Count on Elections: Organize or Die” the authors examine the myriad of ways that elections fail to create change; how they are designed to place a middleman, your representative, between you and the change you want and how elections tend to reinforce the status quo rather than change it. They point to South Carolina where there have been numerous attempts to rid the state of the Confederate Flag, but it was not until an activist climbed up a flag pole and took it down, that the government finally acted. Direct action, at the right moment, was more powerful than elections.

Newsletter – Democracy, Not Corporatocracy

January 23, 2016 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Bernie Sanders, Climate Change, Corporatocracy, Davos, Democracy, Elections, Gas, Global Redisgn Initiative, oligarchy, Open Debates, Plutocracy, TPP, Wealth Ineqaulity

By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese forPopular Resistance. What does a corporatocracy look like? Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum, says, “the sovereign state is obsolete.” Instead, WEF’s goal is to give a greater role for corporations in global governance through “40 Global Agenda Councils and industry-sector bodies.” In essence, the Global Redesign Initiative of the World Economic Forum seeks to privatize government. The next battle to stop corporate government on a global scale will be the TPP. Stopping the TPP will be a tremendous victory of popular power over corporate power. We can stop the World Economic Forum's vision of a global governance redesigned into a corporatocracy and create a world of popular democracy for a livable future for everyone.

Ralph Nader: The Devastating Cost Of Monetized Elections

January 23, 2016 Ralph Nader, www..nader.org Educate! Corporatization, Corporatocracy, Democracy, Media, oligarchy, Open Debates

Ralph Nader for the Nader Page. Corporatized and commercialized elections reach a point where they stand outside and erode our democracy. Every four years the presidential and Congressional elections become more of a marketplace where the wealthy paymasters turn a civic process into a spectacle of vacuous rhetorical contests, distraction and stupefaction. The civic minds of the people are sidelined by the monetized minds of a corrupted commercial media, political consultants, pundits and the purveyors of an ever-more dictatorial corporate state. The dominance of influence money by the plutocracy and now big business PACs, such as that of the super-rich Koch brothers is just the beginning. The monetized minds don’t just rely on their “quid pro quo” checkbooks. They foster gerrymandering electoral districts so that politicians indentured to them pick the voters instead of a legitimate congressional district’s voters picking a candidate. And the debates now are more ratings inventory for Big Media than a discussion of major issues which remain off the table.

TPP The Great Grandchild Of The Worst Of US Constitution

January 17, 2016 Staff, www.poclad.org Educate! Democracy, oligarchy, TPP, US Constitution

By Staff for POCLAD, It’s not only whether the TPP is akin to NAFTA and previous corporate governance agreements but also how much it can be likened to a “child,” even a “great, great grandchild” of our own U.S. Constitution. This may rub people the wrong way, believing as many do that the Constitution is a most democratic document. While there are elements of the Constitution worth keeping, it has disturbingly similar anti-democratic features as the TPP that favor giant business interests and serve those of extreme wealth and privilege. The Constitution has been covered in a blanket of reverence and the myth of a democratic republic that offers freedom and justice for all. We have failed to examine our Constitution objectively, unemotionally and in comparison with the models of other nations. This is our collective challenge. If we fail to meet it we’ll continue to face brand new, same old stories.

Ecuador’s Citizens’ Revolution: Retaking Power From Old Elites

January 17, 2016 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Create! Democracy, Ecuador, Education, Equality, Healthcare, Human Rights, Inequality, Media, oligarchy, Rafael Correa, Revolution, Wages

By Staff for Telesur. President Rafael Correa marks nine years in office Jan. 15, 2016, having overseen the transformation of Ecuador. It will be his last full year in power after his recent decision not to stand again. Correa will go down in history as one of the most successful Ecuadorean presidents. Ecuador before Correa was defined by its political and economic instability, with seven presidents forced out of office in a decade. Neoliberal measures applied by previous administrations left the country one of the poorest and least-developed in the region, but the government of Rafael Correa has undertaken a series of deep reforms, which have delivered remarkable changes for Ecuador's long-excluded majority. President Rafael Correa said in 2014, “People must prevail over capital,” adding that politics is about whose interest governments serve: “Elites or the majority? Capital or humankind? The market or society? Policies and programs depend on who holds the balance of power."

Newsletter: Why Protests Will Continue To Grow

January 16, 2016 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Newsletter #BlackLivesMatter, #FightFor15, Black Lives Matter (BLM), China, Climate Change, COP21, Corporatism, Democracy, Economic inequality, Empire, Environment, FERC, Finance and the Economy, Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, Human Rights, Iraq, Jobs, militarism, Necessity defense, oligarchy, Poverty, Russia, Solar Energy, Stratfor, Syria, TPP, Trade, Wealth Ineqaulity

By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. This week the reason that there are a growing protest movement and growing disenchantment with government was put on display. The divergence between government and reality was thrust in our faces. The entire government came together, Members of Congress, the Cabinet, military leaders, the Supreme Court, Vice President and President (minus the 'selected survivor' in case the Capitol was attacked, the head of Homeland Security) to hear the State of the Union. The choreographed self-praise of people who will spend $5 billion this year of mostly big business money to get re-elected was evident from the moment the door was opened. Hugs and kisses, backslapping all around, required applause as the President approached the podium, more staged applause when he was introduced and then, as if they were trained, dozens of standing ovations on cue – 89 times in a 58-minute speech the President was applauded.

Boycott ExxonMobil Because #ChildrenRNot4Sale

December 31, 2015 Staff, www.educatingthegatesfoundation.com Resist! Common Core, Education, Exxon, Oil and Gas, oligarchy

By Educating the Gates Foundation. Rex Tillerson’s CEO of Exxon) viewpoint is anti-education, anti-American, anti-human. It’s a reminder that the education debates are not about Left versus Right or GOP versus Dems. The education debates are about the interests of the human beings who are citizens of a nation and stakeholders in its public institutions versus the interests of a those who believe their power and money entitle them to stripmine an entire nation in order to gather more power and money for themselves. The education debates are about democracy versus oligarchy. The education debates are about valuing the voices of all citizens versus giving voice only to the special few Who Really Matter.

Trump Exposed Corruption Of The US Political System

August 8, 2015 Mike Whitney, www.counterpunch.org Educate! Corruption, Democracy, Donald Trump, oligarchy

By Mike Whitney for Counterpunch - Just think about what Trump said. He not only explained that the whole system is rigged (Baier: “And when you give, they do whatever the hell you want them to do.”…TRUMP: “You’d better believe it.”), he also said that the politicians will do whatever they’re told to do. (TRUMP: Well, …with Hillary Clinton, I said be at my wedding and she came to my wedding. You know why? She didn’t have a choice because I gave.”) Doesn’t that confirm your darkest suspicions about the way the system really works, that money talks and that elections are just a way to get the sheeple to rubber-stamp a corrupt, fraudulent system? Trump explained to 80 million dumbfounded Americans watching prime time TV, that the system is a total fraud, that the big money runs everything, and that even he thinks the system is broken.

Jimmy Carter: The US Is An Oligarchy

August 3, 2015 Paige Lavender, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Democracy, Government, oligarchy, Politics

By Paige Lavender in The Huffington Post - Former President Jimmy Carter spoke with the Thom Hartmann Program earlier this week about "political bribery" in the United States, saying it's created “a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.” Carter was asked about Supreme Court cases like Citizens United, which he said has turned America into an "oligarchy." "It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or to elect the president," Carter said. Carter said the power of money isn't limited to just the presidency, claiming "the same thing" applies to lawmakers on the state level and in Congress. "The incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves," Carter said. "Somebody’s who’s already in Congress has a lot more to sell to an avid contributor than somebody who’s just a challenger."

Oligarchy Of Super PAC Megadonors Conquers US Politics

August 2, 2015 Paul Blumenthal, Educate! Corruption, Electoral Politics, electoral reform, oligarchy

By Paul Blumenthal for Huffington Post - A new oligarchic era of American politics came into full view on Friday, as super PACs disclosed fundraising details showing billionaires bankrolling the 2016 presidential race to an unprecedented degree. The unlimited-money super PACs account for one-third of all federal election funds raised in the first half of 2015 -- up from 4 percent at this time in the last presidential election. Three-quarters of all super PAC money came from more than 500 wealthy donors, corporations and unions in contributions above $100,000. More than half the money in the presidential race so far -- to super PACs and to campaigns -- came from donors who have given at least $100,000. For the first time in more than a century, the majority of funding for a presidential election is coming in six-figure or larger checks from corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The presidential campaigns, limited to a maximum of $5,400 from a single donor, raised a combined $128 million. Super PACs supporting those candidates pulled in $260 million, with $208 million from those giving $100,000 or more.

Both Major U.S. Parties Are Plagues On Humanity

July 3, 2015 Glen Ford, www.blackagendareport.com Educate! Democratic Party, Imperialism, oligarchy, Republican Party, Wars and Militarism

By Glen Ford in Black Agenda Report - There has never been a dime’s worth of difference between the Clintons (Bill and Hillary) and Barack Obama, and less than ten cents separates the worldviews of these Democratic political twins from the Bush wing of the Republican Party. Each has their individual quirks. Barack destroys international order and the rule of law while dabbling at song; Bill dismantled the U.S. manufacturing base and threw record numbers of Blacks in prison as he toyed with his trumpet; George W. played the fool who would Shock and Awe the world into obedience; and Hillary is the evil crone that curses the dead while screaming “We are Woman” like a banshee. But they are all the same in their corporate soullessness.

How The US Became An Oligarchy

April 10, 2015 Ellen Brown, www.truth-out.org Educate! Democracy, Imperialism, oligarchy

According to a new study from Princeton University, American democracy no longer exists. Using data from over 1,800 policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, researchers Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page concluded 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. America's political system has transformed from a democracy into an oligarchy, where power is wielded by wealthy elites. "Making the world safe for democracy" was President Woodrow Wilson's rationale for World War I, and it has been used to justify American military intervention ever since. Can we justify sending troops into other countries to spread a political system we cannot maintain at home?

The List Of 80 People Who Own Half The World

January 28, 2015 Michael Krieger, www.libertyblitzkrieg.com Educate! oligarchy, wealth inequality

In a nutshell, while many oligarchs are extremely wealthy (or have access to extreme wealth), not all people with extreme wealth are oligarchs. The term oligarch is reserved for those with extreme wealth who also want to control the political process, policy levers and most other aspects of the lives of the citizenry in a top-down tyrannical and undemocratic manner. They think they know best about pretty much everything, and believe unelected technocrats who share their worldview should be empowered so that they can unilaterally make all of society’s important decisions. The unwashed masses (plebs) in their minds are unnecessary distractions who must to be told what to do.

Machiavelli: Oligarchs The Gravest Threat To The Well-Being Of People

September 23, 2014 Lorenzo Del Savio and Matteo Mameli, www.truth-out.org Educate! Finance and the Economy, Government, oligarchy

In the past, the super-rich were often directly involved in government. They were princes and kings, senators and warlords - or held some other important office. Nowadays, this direct involvement is comparatively rare, especially in democratic regimes. Even so, the levers of political power are firmly in the hands of the oligarchs. In Jeffrey Winters' typology, contemporary democracies are classified as civil oligarchies. In order to emphasize their contradictory nature, we prefer to simply call them oligarchic democracies. Huge concentrations of wealth allow oligarchs to capture the electoral-representative institutions of contemporary democracies. The mechanisms of oligarchic capture vary from one country to another, but they are robust and entrenched in most, if not all, modern democracies. They include straightforwardly illegal forms of corruption, but also a variety of insidious mechanisms that are permitted by current legislation and are indeed typical of electoral-representative regimes.

Clear Demands Needed At People’s Climate March

August 31, 2014 Anne Petermann, www.dailykos.com Resist! Climate Change, Corporatism, oligarchy, United Nations

A big tent, as in, the circus is coming to town… But this tent is so big that it even includes organizations that support fracking and the tar sands gigaproject. Yup, they’re in the tent, too. Call me crazy, but I think that tent is too damn big. According to some of the organizers, as long as everyone agrees that climate action is needed, then it’s all good. But are all climate actions created equal? No. In fact, there is another entity called The Climate Group that is planning a whole week of activities around the Ban Ki-moon summit to call for “climate action.” Who is this Climate Group? They are a self-described “campaign” whose goal is a “low carbon economy.” Okay, so? Well, their idea of action on climate change includes many “solutions” debunked as false by the global climate justice movement, including carbon capture and storage, and other technologies that allow business as usual to bounce happily along while the planet slowly burns. This is not surprising since The Climate Group’s corporate partners include Duke Energy, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Greenstone, Nike and many others.

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