Some democracies fall apart because of invasion by a neighbor, terrorism, or a natural disaster, but most are taken down by their own own greedy oligarchs
It seems like the ones taken down by the oligarchs are the ones that disappear because they literally eat themselves alive and have to move on. After all the game of Monopoly has only one winner. Our own democracy has terrorized (starting with the British and American natives), invaded neighbors (like Mexico) and have contributed more to our growing natural disaster (our livable part of the earth). We have grown and beat back our oligarchs before, but money has a way of growing them back. It always comes back to the money (power). Follow the money!
U.S. Code/Title18-Part 1-Chapter 29-Subsection 597:
"Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and
Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."
So what the hell, if Congress and these rich bastards can get around this law, why can't I sell my vote? Maybe I could use the NFT angle.
"You pays your money, and you takes your choice" …of politicians. The American oligarchic faction also buys the public mind and zeitgeist, which of course is the main prize. Human beings are workers and consumers with malleable fears and desires to manipulate and maximize for profit and power. On the sidewalks, that means low wages and benefits, high prices and debt. In the penthouses, that means a bubble economy inflating and popping, comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted (apologies to Finley Peter Dunne), on both the way up and the way down. Rinse and repeat.
Using the “originalist” term of “Faction” (one wonders if Scalia would have acknowledged its existence) is a crucial part of describing who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in our country. Whether we call them oligarchs, fascists, plutocrats, kleptocrats, organized crime bosses, or even televangelists, they are the masters of the “factions,” and they do things “…adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” And they do it by convincing our poorly educated citizens that the real problem is someone “other” than the factions (like women, people of color, LGBTQ+, etc.).
Madison’s definition of “factions” allows us to distinguish them from legitimate businesses, religious organizations, and any other groups that share special interests with our citizens and our government, AND do not do things adverse to our citizens’ rights and/or our communities’ interests. Sociopathic corporate elites and billionaires lead the worst of the factions, and they abuse our constitutional rights to make the rest of us pay for the negative externalities that they have forced on our education, health, security, and our other commons. The kingpins of the big factions are destroying our general welfare at an astounding rate, and the most devastatingly impactful of the factions are collusions consisting of the following co-conspirators:
Faction-masters-They are the transnational oligarchs that take the wealth and wreck the health of the world’s citizens (and other living things) so they can secure even more power and money. They have acquired dominance over our citizens’ constitutional rights and freedoms, enabling them to commit and legitimize their foul deeds.
Lobbyists, lawyers, and various consultants-They are the handlers/content providers hired by their faction-masters to manage exploitable government decision-makers and their “work products.” They “petition” our elected and appointed officials with bribes and/or extortion threats, as well as direct those in academia who choose to sell out their credibility (for example, the credentialed biostitutes of carbon, drugs, food, and war).
Mainstream media (MSM) –The for-hire co-conspirators made up of the most accomplished and technologically sophisticated propaganda whores of all time (e.g., Tucker and Todd). Their faction-masters pay them to engineer our citizens’ beliefs while synergistically selling their customers’ products and services. They persistently report about the salacious symptoms of our country’s decline and religiously ignore the true source of our problems (i.e., the factions). A few of the media oligarchs have also achieved faction-master status.
America’s public sector decision-makers-The elected and appointed employees of our government who have the power to do what their faction-masters tell them to do, and they do it, regardless of the horrific consequences. Many of these folks leverage their public sector power to ensure that their retirement from public life includes an extra-golden parachute (e.g. Tauzin).
It seems like the ones taken down by the oligarchs are the ones that disappear because they literally eat themselves alive and have to move on. After all the game of Monopoly has only one winner. Our own democracy has terrorized (starting with the British and American natives), invaded neighbors (like Mexico) and have contributed more to our growing natural disaster (our livable part of the earth). We have grown and beat back our oligarchs before, but money has a way of growing them back. It always comes back to the money (power). Follow the money!
U.S. Code/Title18-Part 1-Chapter 29-Subsection 597:
"Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and
Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."
So what the hell, if Congress and these rich bastards can get around this law, why can't I sell my vote? Maybe I could use the NFT angle.
"You pays your money, and you takes your choice" …of politicians. The American oligarchic faction also buys the public mind and zeitgeist, which of course is the main prize. Human beings are workers and consumers with malleable fears and desires to manipulate and maximize for profit and power. On the sidewalks, that means low wages and benefits, high prices and debt. In the penthouses, that means a bubble economy inflating and popping, comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted (apologies to Finley Peter Dunne), on both the way up and the way down. Rinse and repeat.
Using the “originalist” term of “Faction” (one wonders if Scalia would have acknowledged its existence) is a crucial part of describing who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in our country. Whether we call them oligarchs, fascists, plutocrats, kleptocrats, organized crime bosses, or even televangelists, they are the masters of the “factions,” and they do things “…adversed to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community.” And they do it by convincing our poorly educated citizens that the real problem is someone “other” than the factions (like women, people of color, LGBTQ+, etc.).
Madison’s definition of “factions” allows us to distinguish them from legitimate businesses, religious organizations, and any other groups that share special interests with our citizens and our government, AND do not do things adverse to our citizens’ rights and/or our communities’ interests. Sociopathic corporate elites and billionaires lead the worst of the factions, and they abuse our constitutional rights to make the rest of us pay for the negative externalities that they have forced on our education, health, security, and our other commons. The kingpins of the big factions are destroying our general welfare at an astounding rate, and the most devastatingly impactful of the factions are collusions consisting of the following co-conspirators:
Faction-masters-They are the transnational oligarchs that take the wealth and wreck the health of the world’s citizens (and other living things) so they can secure even more power and money. They have acquired dominance over our citizens’ constitutional rights and freedoms, enabling them to commit and legitimize their foul deeds.
Lobbyists, lawyers, and various consultants-They are the handlers/content providers hired by their faction-masters to manage exploitable government decision-makers and their “work products.” They “petition” our elected and appointed officials with bribes and/or extortion threats, as well as direct those in academia who choose to sell out their credibility (for example, the credentialed biostitutes of carbon, drugs, food, and war).
Mainstream media (MSM) –The for-hire co-conspirators made up of the most accomplished and technologically sophisticated propaganda whores of all time (e.g., Tucker and Todd). Their faction-masters pay them to engineer our citizens’ beliefs while synergistically selling their customers’ products and services. They persistently report about the salacious symptoms of our country’s decline and religiously ignore the true source of our problems (i.e., the factions). A few of the media oligarchs have also achieved faction-master status.
America’s public sector decision-makers-The elected and appointed employees of our government who have the power to do what their faction-masters tell them to do, and they do it, regardless of the horrific consequences. Many of these folks leverage their public sector power to ensure that their retirement from public life includes an extra-golden parachute (e.g. Tauzin).
The full quote of Dunne's fictional character Dooley is priceless:
“Th’ newspaper does ivrything f’r us. It runs th’ polis foorce an’ th’ banks, commands th’ milishy, conthrols th’ ligislachure, baptizes th’ young, marries th’ foolish, comforts th’ afflicted, afflicts th’ comfortable, buries th’ dead an’ roasts thim aftherward.”
Sounds like Fox "News" -- a whole world unto itself. One-stop shopping for the lazy-minded,
Here's the musical version (excuse the 3 year old references) https://waynemillersongs.com/track/2977581/follow-the-money