Capitalism Is the Enemy of Democracy

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Capitalism Is the Enemy of Democracy
David Kristjanson-Gural, Truthout: "Excluding people from having a say over what happens to the wealth we create is the first and the most fundamental way that any capitalist system undermines democracy. We are fundamentally disenfranchised in the places we work."
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Can Broadened "Counterterrorism" Rules Open Door to Indefinitely Detaining Peaceful Protesters?
J.A. Myerson, Truthout: "In passing the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress, in the words of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has just voted to, 'authorize the military to go literally anywhere in the world to imprison civilians - even American citizens in the United States itself - without charge or trial./ The ACLU calls it what it is: 'Prison based on suspicion alone.'"
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Burying Your Victories: What if Obama Taxed the Rich but Never Told Anyone?
Paul Rogat Loeb, Common Dreams: "This doesn't completely erase his caving on temporarily extending the Bush tax cuts. For most people, though, it might as well never have happened, because Obama neglected to tell them. But if he wants to convince ordinary Americans that our fates are indeed tied together, he'd better start embracing those moments where his administration has actually made progress, while continuing to talk about how far we have to go."
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Congress vs. the Constitution
Shahid Buttar, Truthout: "The NDAA's military detention provisions thus represent a frontal attack on the Fifth Amendment (which once guaranteed due process) and the Sixth Amendment (which once ensured the rights to trial, access to counsel and an opportunity to confront accusers). They also deeply erode the First Amendment - but in a less obvious way, and a way in which any activist would do well to consider."
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Ex-Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson, Former Democrat, Launches Third Party Presidential Bid Against Obama, GOP (Video)
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: "A new political party has entered the fray as an alternative to Democrats and Republicans ahead of the 2012 elections. On Monday, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson announced he will run for president with the newly formed Justice Party."
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Nick Turse | Did the Pentagon Help Strangle the Arab Spring?
Nick Turse, TomDispatch: "These training missions are only a fraction of the dozens carried out each year in secret, far from the prying eyes of the press or local populations. They are a key component of an outsized Pentagon support system that also shuttles aid and weaponry to a set of allied Middle Eastern kingdoms and autocracies."
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You Cannot Handcuff a Movement Whose Time Has Come: Why I Was Arrested at the State Capitol
Jesse Hagopian, Truthout: "I couldn't believe it - that is, until hundreds of students came streaming by my room with signs that read, 'Fund our future!' and 'No more cuts!' When there were only a few kids in my final class of the day, I realized the students had organized a mass walkout in a single day. It was later estimated that over 500 Garfield students had participated."
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Will Fossil Fuel Companies Face Liability for Climate Change?
Christine Shearer, Conducive Chronicle: "The U.S. perception of scientific consensus about climate change went down in line with the growth of corporate-funded research, particularly among Republicans, even as the science became more clear and the effects more apparent."
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Twenty Examples of the Obama Administration's Assault on Domestic Civil Liberties
Bill Quigley, Truthout: "These 20 concrete examples document a sustained assault on domestic civil liberties in the United States under the Obama administration. Rhetoric aside, how different has Obama been from Bush in this area?"
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Canada Announces Exit From Kyoto Climate Treaty
Ian Austen, The New York Times News Service: "'Kyoto, for Canada, is in the past,' the environment minister, Peter Kent, told reporters shortly after returning from South Africa. He added that Canada would work toward developing an agreement that includes targets for developing nations, particularly China and India."
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On the News With Thom Hartmann: Strong Bipartisan Support for Indefinite Detention of Americans, and More
In today's On the News segment: Controversial National Defense Authorization Act detainment language remains intact, Occupy the Ports, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development warns of a global recession, millionaire pets, and more.
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Occupy Your Education: A Note to Students About Changing the World
Jason Del Gandio, Truthout: "This scenario is upsetting, but not hopeless. You - the students - can reclaim your educational experience as an opportunity to change not just the problems of education, but the problems of society. Education should not be a privilege, or even a right. It should be a way of life, and that life should be a political force for the common good."
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Climate Activists: Durban Deal Is "Very Weak" Agreement, Lacks "Ambition, Equity, Justice" (Video)
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!: "The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, has ended with an agreement to start negotiations for a new legally binding climate treaty to be decided by 2015 - and to come into force by 2020. Negotiators also agreed to a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol and the initial design of a Green Climate Fund. Many environmental groups say the agreement does not do enough to deal with the climate crisis."
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TRUTHOUT'S BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

"We, the people" can restore democracy if we want it badly enough. But there's no standing on the sidelines allowed.

Occupy Wall Street has shown us that; the recall efforts in Wisconsin have shown us that; the landslide referendum defeat of Ohio Republican Gov. Kasich's anti-collective bargaining law has shown us that - as have so many more successful pushback activities at the state and local levels.

No, the insular, incestuous world of the Washington/Wall Street/Lobbyist revolving-door set has yet to recognize the groundswell of progressive pro-democracy citizen activity across the nation. The redoubt of the Capitol Hill status quo appears to be lost to the AstroTurf Tea Party and their corporate sponsors.

One of the key objectives of the oligarchy was to have its mouthpiece, the GOP, limit voting to those with economic and transportation means. This meant the passage of a large number of statewide anti-voter registration and various limitations on voting initiatives. The goal is to keep as many poor, minorities, seniors, students, and others from casting ballots. Because if you don't have money or power, you don't have the right to vote in an aristocracy - and that means those who vote are much more likely to vote Republican.

Therefore, it is energizing to see that, once again in Ohio, the progressives and labor forces have united to stop a law that subverts the Constitution. According to a headline in Brad Friedman's Brad Blog, "It's Official! OH's GOP Voter Suppression Law Now On Hold, Will Face Referendum on 2012 Ballot.":

Secretary of State John Husted (R), officially certified that opponents of HB194 - the anti-voting bill that would have shortened early voting hours and imposed other big government restrictions on the exercise of the franchise in Ohio - were successful in their effort to place the law on the ballot for a voter referendum in 2012. Thus, the act, passed by the GOP legislature and signed by Kasich earlier this year, is officially suspended for now.

The movement to repeal the anti-voting law was spearheaded by Fair Elections Ohio. Although voters in the 2012 November election will decide the fate of Kasich's efforts to suppress voting, a major victory has already been won: the law is suspended pending the 2012 presidential election, at which time the referendum for repeal will be voted upon.

When progressives advise Occupy Wall Street and other initiatives, remember it's the people out there wearing out their shoe leather who are getting the job done. Volunteer to collect some petition or recall signatures, block a port, protest in front of government buildings and banks, participate in civil disobedience. In a word: act, don't let MSNBC speak for you; get out on the street and make your voice heard.

This is your democracy. Do something to keep it that way, because successes are sprouting all around us - and you can help make them happen.

Mark Karlin
Editor BuzzFlash at Truthout

White House Allegedly Behind Bill Allowing Military to Arrest and Detain American Citizens Indefinitely
Read the Article at BuzzFlash

"Occupy the Voting Booth" - Thousands March to Protect the Vote
Read the Article at The Nation

Scott Walker Recall Volunteers Say They Have Proof of Intimidation by Opponents
Read the Article at The Huffington Post

West Coast Port Shutdown Sparks Heated Debate Between Unions, Occupy Movement
Read the Article at Labor Notes

Rare Photographs Show Ground Zero of the Drone War
Read the Article at Wired

Undercover Police Spied on Protesters at Occupy LA
Read the Article at The Guardian UK

Bank of America Ranks Last in Customer Satisfaction Survey
Read the Article at The Boston Globe

ENDS

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