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The argument seems to be that some will still do it so why even try. Well people still murder people even though we have laws against it. Should we just get rid of those laws as well. Donations by corporations is no more than bribery. Lets call it for what it is. We already have laws on the books for this. If they do it, put them in jail. That would be a good start. Right now it is legal bribery.
That's a pretty good counter argument. It's going to take me some time to come up with a reply. But I believe I can. Stay tuned.
That's a pretty good counter argument. It's going to take me some time to come up with a reply. But I believe I can. Stay tuned.
Why try to prove me wrong. Why not consider the possibility that I am actually right. This is not a partisan issue. Republicans should and have agreed on this issue. It was the activist supreme court that gave corporations 1st amendment rights and said that laws that limit corporations free speech rights were unconstitutional...at least 5 out of 9 of them did.
2, The media, The media in Canada is prevented, by law from reporting falsehoods over the airwaves. If they do they are caught, charged, fined and if they persist they will lose their permit to broadcast. Why do you think we have no FOX or MSNBC stations in this country? They would have to change their entire modus opperendi in order to be here and what they do is all they know. The media has a horrible detrimental effect in the USA and it always has. Even George Washington was slandered and libeled by his opponents. John Adams actually got the unconstitutional "Aliens and sedition act" passed because of this horrible character asasination that was the public discourse of the day. William Randolph Hearst took full credit for forcing the American government into the Spanish American war with his poison pen. You would think that after over 200 years the American public would get wise to the lying propaganda that comes at them from the media bit alas, that does not seem to be the case.
Excellent post.
In my view the internet is one of the most powerful and democratic communication mediums the 20th century has produced.
A housewife can theoretically set up a website which is just as accessible to the global community as one created by Fox News.
It truly has ushered in a information and communication revolution. Not to mention a few that have made elites around the world spooked into trying to censor and control this great medium.
In my view, non-discrimination in terms of accessibility of information on the Net AND the ability of individuals to store information on the Net (not using Net Neutrality here, because it has become such a loaded term and its definition has become confounded) should be made extensions to the Constitutional rights of Freedom of Speech and/or Freedom of Press.
Let the emo-lunatic scribble whateva he wants on that d@mn chalkboard, just don't take away my ability to rip to shreds and debunk any and everything him and his cult say and do, on this global platform.
In one of the greatest signs yet that the 99 Percenters are having an impact, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, today introduced an amendment that would ban corporate money in politics and end corporate personhood once and for all.
Deutch’s amendment, called the Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in our Elections and Democracy (OCCUPIED) Amendment, would overturn the Citizens United decision, re-establishing the right of Congress and the states to regulate campaign finance laws, and to effectively outlaw the ability of for-profit corporations to contribute to campaign spending.
“No matter how long protesters camp out across America, big banks will continue to pour money into shadow groups promoting candidates more likely to slash Medicaid for poor children than help families facing foreclosure,” said Deutch in a statement provided to ThinkProgress. “No matter how strongly Ohio families fight for basic fairness for workers, the Koch Brothers will continue to pour millions into campaigns aimed at protecting the wealthiest 1%.
No matter how fed up seniors in South Florida are with an agenda that puts oil subsidies ahead of Social Security and Medicare, corporations will continue to fund massive publicity campaigns and malicious attack ads against the public interest. Americans of all stripes agree that for far too long, corporations have occupied Washington and drowned out the voices of the people. I introduced the OCCUPIED Amendment because the days of corporate control of our democracy. It is time to return the nation’s capital and our democracy to the people.”
At least someone is (possibly, hopefully more than lip-service) learning from our mistakes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chickenfriedbananas
I see why we need corporate 'persons' (they're not fully persons anyway), so I don't want to scrap that.
Why do corporations need personhood?
Last edited by chielgirl; 11-20-2011 at 01:42 PM..
well this should be a non partisan issue. I mean who really wants special interests groups controlling congress.
I don't disagree with democrats because they are democrats but because I usually disagree with their politics. Nothing partisan about that. I just happen to agree with this one on this particular issue.
I don't disagree with democrats because they are democrats but because I usually disagree with their politics. Nothing partisan about that. I just happen to agree with this one on this particular issue.
Well I agree with Paul on a number of issues, and I am not a republican. We should all come together on this issue. It will take bipartisan support to get a constitutional amendment through.
We have a thing called freedom of speech. It allows news agencies to tell outright lies, if they so choose. We believe that are people are smart enough to see through the lies.
No censorship, no thanks
But apparently we are not smart enough to see through the lies
Because they have "permission" to tell outright lies how does freedom of speech come into play? From my understanding they are not restricted from saying anything but the airwaves are censored from telling lies
Why try to prove me wrong. Why not consider the possibility that I am actually right. This is not a partisan issue. Republicans should and have agreed on this issue. It was the activist supreme court that gave corporations 1st amendment rights and said that laws that limit corporations free speech rights were unconstitutional...at least 5 out of 9 of them did.
Sorry it took so long to respond. Why try to prove you wrong? Because while you put up an excellent argument, nevertheless I believe you are wrong.
I go back to the war on drugs--we have regulated, restricted out the wazoo, yet still drugs are widely available. The war on drugs has not acheived the intended results of stopping the flow--not even close.
Regarding your comparison to murder, there is a key distinction between murder and either campaign or drug violations. Murder is malum in se i.e. wrong in itself, and thus prohibited. Drugs & campaign violations are prohibitum malum, i.e. wrong simply because they are prohibited.
When something is prohibitum malum it is inherently tough to enforce, and invariably loopholes will be found and/or black markets arise. We see this time and time again, whether with drugs, booze, prostitution, gambling, etc. But there is really not much of a black market for 'murder for hire' (pulp novels notwithstanding) because it is malum in se and thus much more readily enforceable.
Again, as long as government is so big, powerful, and has 4 of every 10 dollars flowing thru its hands, people are going to find ways to access it and direct some of that money flow into their pockets. The solution is not to regulate & restrict the buying & selling of influence. The solution is to eliminate the influence in the first place by radically reducing the size and scope of government.
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