America, It is Time to Wake Up

I was doing some calculating and figured if everyone who supported President Obama gave $5, he would have a fighting chance against the rich people who are buying the election. I find the current strategies of the extreme right appalling and have struggled within myself of whether I can or want to join in the battle. But there is no choice. Sadly, until we can restore campaign finance laws, money may buy our elections.

With their unlimited supply of financial wealth, conservative super pacs and corporations can buy up ALL the advertising time on local television stations, then fill those slots with blatant lies. It has been well documented that this tactic works. In California, Proposition 29 implemented a $1 tax on cigarettes. In March, two thirds of California voters supported this bill. The tobacco companies came in and spent 47 million dollars on advertising, and the tax was defeated in the election by less than one tenth of one percent of the vote. Their ads changed the minds of the voters. California voters. Scarey.

This is serious. Corporations and the extremely wealthy are buying America. If we let this happen, our environment will be devastated, the middle class and poor will suffer greatly, things that we have fought so hard for will be reversed with the swoosh of a pen.

Have we forgotten the social changes that the Republican Party promises to deliver if they win the elections? The attack on women's rights, gay and lesbian rights, your right to have sex however you choose, whether you can get reproductive health care, remember? This hasn't gone away.

I fear we are suffering from dementia. Did we forget the circus of the Republican debates? The broken party was about as cohesive as a chocolate chip cookie in a glass of milk. What happened? How could they evolve from a bunch of crazies to a seemingly unified party passing legislation to restrict voting rights, abortion rights, and run neck and neck with the Dems? How could the recall Scott Walker movement, who had the support of most Wisconsinites, fail? Money and lies. Shame on them. And shame on us for allowing it.

Here are some facts from Wikipedia that you might want to put into your memory:

"In 2007 the richest 1% of the American population owned 34.6% of the country's total wealth, and the next 19% owned 50.5%. Thus, the top 20% of Americans owned 85% of the country's wealth and the bottom 80% of the population owned 15%. Financial inequality was greater than inequality in total wealth, with the top 1% of the population owning 42.7%, the next 19% of Americans owning 50.3%, and the bottom 80% owning 7%. However, after the Great Recession which started in 2007, the share of total wealth owned by the top 1% of the population grew from 34.6% to 37.1%, and that owned by the top 20% of Americans grew from 85% to 87.7%. The Great Recession also caused a drop of 36.1% in median household wealth but a drop of only 11.1% for the top 1%, further widening the gap between the 1% and the 99%."

The top 1% own about 37% of the wealth. The top 20% almost 90% That leaves a bit more than 10% for us minions to scrap over. Unfrickin believable.

Not a fair fight at all when it comes to buying political ads. But that doesn't mean we should give up. I don't have much money, but you can bet I will send $5 to Obama's campaign. I never send money to campaigns, but this country of ours is moving in a dangerous direction and I have no choice. Neither do you. Whether we like it or not, money will dictate this election. If we all reach into our pockets and contribute to our candidates, we might just have a chance. Our money is magic. It is hard earned. It has power. The power of the People.

Could it be the hatred of Obama by the right has pushed them to the point of doing ANYTHING to get him out of office, democracy be damned?

Seems like their was another civilization once upon a time that went the same direction our 1% friends are pushing this country towards. It fell.

Wake up America.

For Sale - Democracy

I went to bed last night with a sinking feeling in my stomach. The 1% had successfully bought and paid for the elections in Wisconsin. This is a terrible tragedy for democracy.  Sadly, we no longer know what is true in our world. Since the beginning of television and radio, we have blindly believed what we've heard or seen in the media. Maybe I am being naive, but wasn't there some level of integrity in the media once upon a time? Now, we have a select number of very wealthy individuals buying advertising around the country to further their personal wealth and agendas. In these ads, they blatantly lie. And many Americans fall for these lies. Have we become a nation of idiots, of unthinking doddles who have no motivation to seek truth?

I am hoping the FDA comes out with a study that shows consuming too much cheese inhibits brain function. If not, we are in a world of trouble.

Democracy - Michigan's New Endangered Species

203,238 Michigan residents took a ball point pen in their hands, exerted the power of democracy, and signed petitions circulated by Stand Up for Democracy to put a proposal to overturn the Michigan Emergency Manager law on the November ballot. The ballots were delivered to the State Board of Canvassers, reviewed, and deemed valid.

The petition gatherers were everyday folks who spent hundreds of hours volunteering their time to obtain the required number of signatures to bring this issue before the voters. They worked hard. And other everyday folks took a few minutes out of their busy lives to read these petitions and sign their names, all in good faith that our democratic process was intact.

A last minute appeal to the challenge was made by Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, an opposition group formed by the Sterling Corporation, a Republican political consulting firm (wanna see something scary? visit their website). The group argued the font size on the petitions is too small, in violation of state rules.

Font size. Ridiculous right? Would never happen, right?

The State Board of Canvassers deadlocked along party lines and the proposal failed to get on the ballot. On font size.

Of course.

Jeffrey Timmer, Republican, is on the State Board of Canvassers. Jeffrey Timmer voted against putting this proposal on the November ballet. Jeffrey Timmer also works for the Sterling Corporation.

A clear, unequivocal conflict of interest. He chose to do it anyway and nobody stopped him.

Proponents will fight this all the way to the Supreme Court and let them decide whether the proposal will make the ballot.

Michigan's Supreme Court has four Republican and three Democratic Justices. Which way do you think they will vote?

When will we the people of this most beautiful state in the country stand up and say enough is enough? When will we the people do like the folks in Wisconsin did and take to the streets? The Republicans are destroying democracy in this state. Not hiding behind closed doors and doing it, well OK I am sure they are. They are blatantly throwing it in our faces. Is this the kind of government we want? We the people must take back our rights, our integrity, our quality of life from Michigan's Republican-run government. Do it with your votes in November. Do it by protesting. Do it every way you can. It is our responsibility to each other and future generations to preserve democracy in this country.

I know we Michiganders are tired. Many of us are struggling and broke. Many of our cities are in trouble. Does that mean we throw up our hands, roll over, and play dead? Turn over our democratically elected process to a takeover by one party or the other without even a peep? I say NO! We are Michiganders! We NEVER give up! I call upon our strong unions to take be the leaders they are and rally the folks for change.

We the people want democracy. Stand up and tell them so. Loudly. Then vote the bums out.