"Some men rob the passers-by for a little cash to spend. Some men rob whole countries dry and still get called their friend..."
Jenny H. wrote, in part:
Given what Dorie Rae G. posted about the lawmakers not following their own rules and laws,
what really concerns me is the high level of hypocrisy we are experiencing from these
public officials and the ensuing cynicism that is bound to follow for any thinking
citizen. Cynicism is corrosive to democracy, just like too much power and too much money
concentrated in the hands of a few. Perhaps this goes a long way to explaining why as a
nation the numbers of people voting in each election keep declining ... folks get it. They
get that it really doesn't matter who they cast their vote for. The election has already
been decided. Money always wins. It always has. And a cynical person believes that it
always will.
<<<<<
Supporters of the current stadium tax refuse to address objections. Meanwhile, arguments for the stadium tax consists of smoke and mirrors, charts of inflated numbers seen through rose-colored glasses, propaganda geared to distract us all from the corporatist crime.
The stadium issue is indeed just one aspect of a complex political scene. Even so, it poignantly represents the pathology of American culture as expressed in Minneapolis and Minnesota politics. Americans with heads planted firmly in the sand, unwilling to take responsibility for the present and future implications of their actions, following the lead of corporatists who pose as pillars of the community.
National, state, county, and city politics subvert democracy and give us as diversions: Michael Jackson's trial, "America's Top Model," a severed finger in Wendy's chili, scary stories from "those" neighborhoods, and a stadium tax we ought not even to be talking about.
We are a Banana Republic now. Read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" or see the video interview on Democracy Now. Look at how the IMF and USA treat Ecuador today. The same tactics are used here to plunder the middle class and poor on behalf of the wealthy.
Unsupportable debt is added to unsupportable debt. Dollars flow directly to accounts of the wealthy while the poor end up as debt-slaves. Projects are based on false economic premises while huge corporations control government and resources and collect payments from the poor.... ad infinitum.
-- pedaling through the rain -- from Lynnhurst, for now -- Gary Hoover
From Noam Chomsky: "Necessary Illusions: Thought Control In DemocraticSocieties"
p10
... the media serve the interests of state and corporate power, which are closely interlinked, framing their reporting and analysis in a manner supportive of established privilege and limiting debate and discussion accordingly.
p22
Most [Western democracies] have not achieved the U.S. system of one political party, with two factions controlled by shifting segments of the business community.
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