If Congress wants democracy to survive, it must both roll back Citizens United & regulate Big Tech, forbidding them from allowing foreign governments to pretend to be Americans on social media
As always, Thom’s rant is excellent, and as always, our democracy remains Catch-22ed, for how can you get an oligarch controlled Congress to pass any legislation that promotes our general welfare and protects us from the very same morbidly rich sociopaths who command our elected officials (and routinely do things adverse to our rights and communities’ interests)?
We need three things to happen, first, we have to elect enough citizens who pledge to promote our general welfare using best practice-based solutions and protect us from the evil doers (basically, what’s in the Preamble). Second, we need to hold them to their pledge. Third, Congress will have to lead the effort to make Move To Amend successful so that money is no longer speech and corporations are no longer people. Legislation to nullify Citizens United would be nice, but without an amendment, the ugly head of corporatism will always be just around the corner for the right price. With today’s technology and knowledge, there are no good reasons why it can’t be done, just a lot of bad ones.
While what needs to be done in this country is well laid out in Thom's article today, and Tokyo Rose serves well as a metaphor, I would like to point out that the woman we have always viewed as being "The" Tokyo Rose, suffered greatly and needlessly at our hands. Iva Toguri D'Aquino was an American citizen from Los Angeles who was unable to sail back to her home before the war started due to a slip up in paper word regarding her passage. The actual Tokyo Rose was a compendium of women with varying interest levels in political matters. Iva's interest was in giving comfort to our sailors and troops. She always opened her show by slyly "warning" them of "dangerous propaganda," and telling them to keep the children out of hearing range. She never mentioned wandering wives or girlfriends, US losses in the war, and the music she played was British so as to avoid causing homesickness. The "propaganda" she delivered was a satirical, but subtle enough that her Japanese masters never caught on. Mostly the troops and sailors eagerly tuned into her shows because she was genuinely entertaining.
Unfortunately, when she was captured after the war, someone started a campaign in the media about her treason, and she wound up being convicted and placed in prison. She was finally pardoned by President Gerald Ford. She moved to Chicago to be close to her father and kept to herself. She did participate in a 60 Minutes episode that supported her, then stayed away from the media thereafter until her death at the age of 86.
I first learned this story from my writing mentor, Hollywood name of Doug Murray, writer and director, and formerly captain in the US Army in the Philippines. If you would like the full story in print, here is the link:
Great reads! IMHO, the historical perspectives presented here are some of the most informative and interesting on the internet, an oasis in the desert.
Aristotle said the job of a scientist is to discover facts, and the job of a philosopher is to ponder those facts. In these wrought times, it is a most critical step to present accurate, usable knowledge; it is a giant leap to add meaning.
To find the deeper significance in this swirling maelstrom of deliberate ignorance and malfeasance engulfing the world today requires dedication, hard work, and an open mind. It's no easy task to get at the true motives of the people behind all the scary headlines. Worldwide climate disasters, wars and rumors of wars, extreme wealth disparity, dwindling resources, and even the destruction of democracy itself are the inevitable effects of manmade causes. So, just what the hell are the stupid, greedy bastards who made all this everyone's new depressing reality really thinking anyway, if anything, beyond the shallowest, most self-centered thoughts imaginable?
But more importantly, what are they feeling, and why? Until those ugly feelings and truly insane thoughts based on all those negative emotions are fully aired out and clearly understood by as many people as possible, the major rift in this country and those occurring in other influential democracies, as well as the discontent on the rise in autocratic countries suffering under minority rule, will only get worse, feeding on the host like cancer.
Yet, this is not about some godawful civil war raging against some fascist machine in some future wasteland; this is dystopia right now!
And the psychological roots run deep. The outward events destroying democracy -- indeed, the world -- are the poisonous fruits of the inward turmoil raging in people's minds. At this late date, on the brink of destruction, those are the hidden facts humans must now discover and ponder. There is no other choice that is not based on delusion.
As always, Thom’s rant is excellent, and as always, our democracy remains Catch-22ed, for how can you get an oligarch controlled Congress to pass any legislation that promotes our general welfare and protects us from the very same morbidly rich sociopaths who command our elected officials (and routinely do things adverse to our rights and communities’ interests)?
We need three things to happen, first, we have to elect enough citizens who pledge to promote our general welfare using best practice-based solutions and protect us from the evil doers (basically, what’s in the Preamble). Second, we need to hold them to their pledge. Third, Congress will have to lead the effort to make Move To Amend successful so that money is no longer speech and corporations are no longer people. Legislation to nullify Citizens United would be nice, but without an amendment, the ugly head of corporatism will always be just around the corner for the right price. With today’s technology and knowledge, there are no good reasons why it can’t be done, just a lot of bad ones.
While what needs to be done in this country is well laid out in Thom's article today, and Tokyo Rose serves well as a metaphor, I would like to point out that the woman we have always viewed as being "The" Tokyo Rose, suffered greatly and needlessly at our hands. Iva Toguri D'Aquino was an American citizen from Los Angeles who was unable to sail back to her home before the war started due to a slip up in paper word regarding her passage. The actual Tokyo Rose was a compendium of women with varying interest levels in political matters. Iva's interest was in giving comfort to our sailors and troops. She always opened her show by slyly "warning" them of "dangerous propaganda," and telling them to keep the children out of hearing range. She never mentioned wandering wives or girlfriends, US losses in the war, and the music she played was British so as to avoid causing homesickness. The "propaganda" she delivered was a satirical, but subtle enough that her Japanese masters never caught on. Mostly the troops and sailors eagerly tuned into her shows because she was genuinely entertaining.
Unfortunately, when she was captured after the war, someone started a campaign in the media about her treason, and she wound up being convicted and placed in prison. She was finally pardoned by President Gerald Ford. She moved to Chicago to be close to her father and kept to herself. She did participate in a 60 Minutes episode that supported her, then stayed away from the media thereafter until her death at the age of 86.
I first learned this story from my writing mentor, Hollywood name of Doug Murray, writer and director, and formerly captain in the US Army in the Philippines. If you would like the full story in print, here is the link:
https://www.historynet.com/tokyo-rose-they-called-her-a-traitor.htm
Great reads! IMHO, the historical perspectives presented here are some of the most informative and interesting on the internet, an oasis in the desert.
Aristotle said the job of a scientist is to discover facts, and the job of a philosopher is to ponder those facts. In these wrought times, it is a most critical step to present accurate, usable knowledge; it is a giant leap to add meaning.
To find the deeper significance in this swirling maelstrom of deliberate ignorance and malfeasance engulfing the world today requires dedication, hard work, and an open mind. It's no easy task to get at the true motives of the people behind all the scary headlines. Worldwide climate disasters, wars and rumors of wars, extreme wealth disparity, dwindling resources, and even the destruction of democracy itself are the inevitable effects of manmade causes. So, just what the hell are the stupid, greedy bastards who made all this everyone's new depressing reality really thinking anyway, if anything, beyond the shallowest, most self-centered thoughts imaginable?
But more importantly, what are they feeling, and why? Until those ugly feelings and truly insane thoughts based on all those negative emotions are fully aired out and clearly understood by as many people as possible, the major rift in this country and those occurring in other influential democracies, as well as the discontent on the rise in autocratic countries suffering under minority rule, will only get worse, feeding on the host like cancer.
Yet, this is not about some godawful civil war raging against some fascist machine in some future wasteland; this is dystopia right now!
And the psychological roots run deep. The outward events destroying democracy -- indeed, the world -- are the poisonous fruits of the inward turmoil raging in people's minds. At this late date, on the brink of destruction, those are the hidden facts humans must now discover and ponder. There is no other choice that is not based on delusion.