The entire cartoon is nothing but a straw man argument. Dumb.
Plutocrats? You mean like the Hollywood elite supporting Obama?
Here’s a sentence in Wikipedia’s definition of “Plutocracy:” In the political jargon and propaganda of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and the Communist International, western democratic states were referred to as “plutocracies”, with the implication being that a small number of extremely wealthy individuals were controlling the countries and holding them in ransom.
Looks like you’re in good company, Wil.
I would normally advocate voting the bums out of office – whoever you think the bums are But I’ve developed the opinion that our elected officials no longer listen to their constituents anymore.
No. By Plutocrats, I mean ultrarich billionaires like the Koch brothers using Citizen's United to install their preferred candidates into government and they can pass the deregulating, middle-class crushing agenda they want, which is directly counter to what actual Americans want. There's a good reason this congress has the lowest approval rating in history; they do what they're told to do by their wealthy owners, instead of listening to their constituents.
Yes. That. Complete agreeance, and it makes me sad. I need to focus my attention on something cool like your homebrewing hobby to keep me from being completely depressed by what is happening to our country.
No, I’ll tell you what’s dumb: Constructing a self-serving counter-argument atop a cherry-picked argument that was itself self-serving in its original context (as indicated by the heading “As propaganda term” that the part you quoted falls under). If that’s all you’ve got, you would get torn to shreds in any rational fact-based debate. Fortunately for you, we no longer have those in this country and opt instead for paid op-eds and emotional screaming matches. Name-calling fits perfectly within this framework, so congratulations, I guess, for doing that part right.
Now if you want to talk facts, ALL of our politicians are taking full advantage of Citizen’s United. That goes for Obama, that goes for Romney, it goes for whoever represents Montana’s first district, and it goes for the junior Senator from Rhode Island — all of them are after big corporate dollars. The only thing they won’t do for that money is risk alienating their constituents — after all, the whole point is to get elected. Don’t believe me? Ask the politicians themselves. Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle have been telling this to any media outlet that will listen for months now.
Of course, alienating constituents requires that the constituents actually pay attention, and the messages received by the constituents on a daily basis are crafted by organizations backed by corporate dollars.
How is this not plutocracy?
The problems we’re facing go beyond that one ruling. Organizations working for ordinary people have been under attack for decades.
Citizens United wouldn’t have been so bad if unions, social services, and other important institutions weren’t being systematically dismantled by governments at all levels.
Wil – thanks for reposting this cartoon; thanks for keeping up with the current political situation; and, thank you for reaching out with a reasoned argument to people who read your blog. As an educator, I’d like to add that one of the “other important institutions” (thank you, Oar is Peace) that’s been systematically attacked AND over-burdened is the higher educational system in CA. Teachers matter – the good ones teach people how to reason and think and avoid emotional screaming matches. Local school boards are important.
Keep writing, Wil. Your voice is needed.
Yay! The internet arrives here!
Concerned citizen: “The USA is in a sorry state!”
Internet troll: “Obama is ruining the USA, and if you don’t agree you must be a Nazi!!!!”
Dear Internet Trolls:
Rome did not fall in a day, nor can you lay all the blame of any country’s current economic state on its current leadership. It takes – DECADES – many failed leaderships, to put a country as strong as the United States into a position so critical. Likewise, to reverse the trend it will take – DECADES – and ALL the LEADERS making very informed and intelligent decisions.
Unfortunately, this is so hard to do, since too many people would rather blame others for the situation, instead of taking responsibility and fixing it, that there are very few examples in history where things do in fact get better after getting this bad.
Or to put in another way: red states aren’t going to solve it, nor are blue states – this can only be solved by a purple country.
Best Wishes,
Alex Pope
(a concerned citizen of a different colour)
This is sadly way too true, the only thing missing is the politicians distracting the masses with social issues like gay marriage and abortion, which are apparently the only two important issues to some people.
I recommend watching the documentary “Century of the self” if you have the time. You can find it on Google video and Youtube. It helps you understand how conditions like those depicted in the cartoon can exist. Don’t watch it if your depressed though as it really brings you down.
The cartoonist forgot: “Screw me ‘For my convenience.’”
The entire cartoon is nothing but a straw man argument. Dumb.
Plutocrats? You mean like the Hollywood elite supporting Obama?
Here’s a sentence in Wikipedia’s definition of “Plutocracy:” In the political jargon and propaganda of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and the Communist International, western democratic states were referred to as “plutocracies”, with the implication being that a small number of extremely wealthy individuals were controlling the countries and holding them in ransom.
Looks like you’re in good company, Wil.
I would normally advocate voting the bums out of office – whoever you think the bums are
But I’ve developed the opinion that our elected officials no longer listen to their constituents anymore.
No. By Plutocrats, I mean ultrarich billionaires like the Koch brothers using Citizen's United to install their preferred candidates into government and they can pass the deregulating, middle-class crushing agenda they want, which is directly counter to what actual Americans want. There's a good reason this congress has the lowest approval rating in history; they do what they're told to do by their wealthy owners, instead of listening to their constituents.
Unfortunately no government is immune from corruption… not even democratic ones. Some just take a lot longer than others.
Yes. That. Complete agreeance, and it makes me sad. I need to focus my attention on something cool like your homebrewing hobby to keep me from being completely depressed by what is happening to our country.
It’s not your country, meatbag. Or did I miss the “Inc.” after your name?
Agreed. Pitiful state, isn’t it?
No, I’ll tell you what’s dumb: Constructing a self-serving counter-argument atop a cherry-picked argument that was itself self-serving in its original context (as indicated by the heading “As propaganda term” that the part you quoted falls under). If that’s all you’ve got, you would get torn to shreds in any rational fact-based debate. Fortunately for you, we no longer have those in this country and opt instead for paid op-eds and emotional screaming matches. Name-calling fits perfectly within this framework, so congratulations, I guess, for doing that part right.
Now if you want to talk facts, ALL of our politicians are taking full advantage of Citizen’s United. That goes for Obama, that goes for Romney, it goes for whoever represents Montana’s first district, and it goes for the junior Senator from Rhode Island — all of them are after big corporate dollars. The only thing they won’t do for that money is risk alienating their constituents — after all, the whole point is to get elected. Don’t believe me? Ask the politicians themselves. Congresspeople from both sides of the aisle have been telling this to any media outlet that will listen for months now.
Of course, alienating constituents requires that the constituents actually pay attention, and the messages received by the constituents on a daily basis are crafted by organizations backed by corporate dollars.
How is this not plutocracy?
The problems we’re facing go beyond that one ruling. Organizations working for ordinary people have been under attack for decades.
Citizens United wouldn’t have been so bad if unions, social services, and other important institutions weren’t being systematically dismantled by governments at all levels.
Wil – thanks for reposting this cartoon; thanks for keeping up with the current political situation; and, thank you for reaching out with a reasoned argument to people who read your blog. As an educator, I’d like to add that one of the “other important institutions” (thank you, Oar is Peace) that’s been systematically attacked AND over-burdened is the higher educational system in CA. Teachers matter – the good ones teach people how to reason and think and avoid emotional screaming matches. Local school boards are important.
Keep writing, Wil. Your voice is needed.
Yay! The internet arrives here!
Concerned citizen: “The USA is in a sorry state!”
Internet troll: “Obama is ruining the USA, and if you don’t agree you must be a Nazi!!!!”
Dear Internet Trolls:
Rome did not fall in a day, nor can you lay all the blame of any country’s current economic state on its current leadership. It takes – DECADES – many failed leaderships, to put a country as strong as the United States into a position so critical. Likewise, to reverse the trend it will take – DECADES – and ALL the LEADERS making very informed and intelligent decisions.
Unfortunately, this is so hard to do, since too many people would rather blame others for the situation, instead of taking responsibility and fixing it, that there are very few examples in history where things do in fact get better after getting this bad.
Or to put in another way: red states aren’t going to solve it, nor are blue states – this can only be solved by a purple country.
Best Wishes,
Alex Pope
(a concerned citizen of a different colour)
This is sadly way too true, the only thing missing is the politicians distracting the masses with social issues like gay marriage and abortion, which are apparently the only two important issues to some people.
I recommend watching the documentary “Century of the self” if you have the time. You can find it on Google video and Youtube. It helps you understand how conditions like those depicted in the cartoon can exist. Don’t watch it if your depressed though as it really brings you down.