Wake Up |
 |
Monday, January 06, 2003
A quote "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power" -- Mussolini
Corporations are not people "On December 9, Porter Township, a municipality of 1,500 residents in northwestern Pennsylvania, became the first town in America to ban corporate involvement in their local government. As Paul Cienfuegos reports in Democracy Unlimited, township officials passed a binding law stripping corporations of their civil and constitutional privileges, privileges that have traditionally been used to override the proceedings of local democratic decision-making." In what is hopefully the beginning of a trend, Porter Township declared that corporations are not entitled to the rights of ordinary citizens. Read more here, and an excellent analysis here.
Control "The FCC has initiated a proceeding that will lead to further dramatic changes in our media system. It's clear the FCC Chairman Michael Powell and the Bush-controlled Federal Communications Commission plans to end or weaken federal policies that have served as an important 'check and balance' system for much of our media. These changes will have an impact in every community in the US, where there will soon be even fewer owners of TV and radio stations, newspapers, and cable systems. Nationally, a smaller number of conglomerates will control most of the major media outlets. Given the Powell FCC's recent policy decisions on the Internet, the few remaining dominant owners of 'old' media will have their power extended to the new online medium as well. In short, this is a huge giveaway of public resources and political power to a tiny few." Basically, FCC Chairman Powell wants to get rid of the rules that keep corporations from owning as many media outlets as they want. This will mean that fewer and fewer giant corporations will control what most of the American public sees and hears, which, in addition to almost assuring that the quality of most major media sinks even further, means that these corporations will control the flow of information to an even greater extent than they do now. Read more about it here and here.
Dissent is unpatriotic? "Attacks on dissent related to the war on terrorism and Sept. 11 continued over the holidays with salvos from White House press secretary Ari Fleischer and opponents of Senator Patty Murray, D-WA. More than a year after the 2001 attacks, smear tactics designed to stifle debate about US security policy are still all too common." So begins a piece by Spinsanity's Brendan Nyhan, in which he talks about the continuing efforts to paint those who disagree with the Bush administration as being unpatriotic. Read the whole thing here.
Pandering to the rich "Let's see if we have this right. President Bush plans to propose a stimulus plan the centerpiece of which will have little or no stimulative effect. At a time when some people badly could use help, Mr. Bush's tax cut mostly will help those who need it least. And while the president is warning Congress to restrain its spending on basics such as education and aid to the poor, the tax cuts will further inflate his growing budget deficit. No wonder that Mr. Bush, even before officially unveiling the plan tomorrow, waved his magic 'class warfare' amulet, seeking to obscure the obvious -- another tax cut for the rich -- by preemptively accusing his accusers." There has been a lot published over the past few days about the Bush plan for fixing the economy, which mainly seems to involve giving big tax breaks to the richest people in the U.S., while at the same time claiming that there is little money for things like education. The scariest part is actually how shameless he is about it, despite the last minute addition of a few programs that would seem to be aimed at those of more modest incomes. Compare and contrast with the Democrats' plan, which, while hardly perfect, is certainly a much better deal for most people in the United States.
Driving Korea to the brink of war "But the North-South rapprochement, which for a while showed real promise of effecting detente (if not reunification of the peninsula), was stopped dead in its tracks by the ascension of the hardliners in Washington. The 'sunshine policy' of Kim Dae-jung was overshadowed by the heavy hand of Washington, and the economic meltdown of the North Korean economy proceeded apace, with all hopes of a 'soft landing' by Pyongyang dashed on the rocks of American intransigence. The final straw was the infamous 'axis of evil' speech, in which Bush put Kim Jong Il in the same category as Saddam Hussein and essentially telegraphed to the North Koreans that their turn to be 'liberated' would come soon after Iraq's. In this context, the sudden admission by the North Koreans that their nuclear program is going full-speed ahead is far from inexplicable. In deciding to come out of the nuclear closet, what did they have to lose?" In this column, Justin Raimondo of antiwar.com examines the ways that the actions of the Bush administration have contributed to the current crisis on the Korean peninsula. It's an excellent read for those who may be wondering why North Korea has decided to resume it's nuclear program. Read the whole column here.
|
