Friday, January 22, 2010

Pity the poor corporation

The Supremes say 5-4 that there's nowhere near enough corporate ownership of government:

[Justice Anthony] Kennedy’s majority opinion said the flow of information to citizens should not be restricted.
If by information you mean disinfotainment...

Never mind how much actual legislation is written by corporate lobbyists. The late health care bill? Now that the Republicans hold 41 Senate seats, there are going to be some lobbyists looking to keep some of its corporate welfare. In a bill with none of those pesky provisions that actually help people.

Never mind that corporations always find a dodge or a loophole or an astroturf group to launder their political money. Just ask Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay, each in his own way an apostle of creative financing of reactionary politics. Just think back, oh, a few days, to the thinly disguised insurance companies calling on behalf of Scott Brown.

Never mind that we already have two pro-corporate political parties, not even counting the libertarians, who, with all the enjoyable things in the world, get most aroused by business. Mildly, the way the Democrats do everything, they favor corporations: Some of my best friends are corporations. Corporations are such nice legal persons, and they contribute to my campaign fund! In character as well, Republicans back corporations wildly as the pinnacle of human perfection. Do Dems like corporations? Then Republicans love corporations infinity times infinity. No tag-backs! (Whatever...) An incorporated church? Ahh, they came in their pants a little.

Never mind that the Supremes, in their infinite ... whoredom, left intact contribution limits from actual living people on the logic of this breathtaking piece of self-service colonoscopy:
[T]he justices adhered to previous rulings that there is a more significant “quid pro quo’’ attached to such direct contribution to a candi date [sic]...
Can I pause just a minute to state the clear fact that would be obvious to anyone with two brain cells to rub together? Every single corporate political act EVER was intended to elicit a self-interested result. At least a few contributions from breathing people don't want anything beyond the best effort and good conscience of the recipient.

Never mind that we taxpayers have bailed out banks and other corporations and continued to pay corporate titans obscene salaries, and contrariwise that we've left underwater mortgage-payers and huge numbers of the unemployed with stale, moldy bread crusts (and they should feel lucky to have those, dammit!).

Never mind that corporate disinfotainment is already pandemic. These people are well-practiced at lying. They know how to dress propaganda up in pretty words and pictures. They make some good products, but when they make dreck they'll still sell it to us, soft or hard, whatever it takes.

With apologies to Rousseau, men are born free, but they are everywhere in corporations.

Still, in the end, the only thing that can possibly save us - don't hold your breath - is for American to turn their bullshit detectors waaay up high and stop being such moronic credulous chumps.

1 comment:

Beyond-The-Spectrum said...

Not that I consider myself either liberal or conservative (there are more than two political lifeforms in the known universe), but from the perspective of the democratic process, this is just another example of money being more influential than principle