Where Do We Go From
Here?–Part 4
Wednesday, April 2nd, yesterday, our
Supreme Court of the United States of America, the last bastion of defense
provided to us by our Founding Fathers through our Constitution for the defense
of our democracy from tyranny, once again failed the American people. With a
final vote of 5 to 4, they lifted the ban on aggregate campaign contributions (Ref.
McCutcheon v. Federal Elections Commission). They once again collaborated in
the grand theft of our voting power, once more robbing from the poor and giving
to the rich and powerful Corporatocracy and
Power Elite who now governs our nation from behind the scenes, or under the
table, whichever you choose to reference. I have been referring to these people
as our Shadow Government. Obviously, they aren't much of a shadow anymore; and
what they do is no longer very secretive. Their actions are more obvious with
every passing day.
When I first
begun to post this particular series, Where
Do We Go From Here, into this blog, I told you we, i.e. our nation, is
engaged in a civil war (albeit not a shooting war). This is just one more
battle we the people have lost; and, if you don’t believe me now, I don’t know
what to tell you when the evidence is so clear. Nothing I say can overturn a
decision of our Supreme Court, but I am compelled to comment. This case,
McCutcheon v. F.E.C., along with that of Citizens United v. F.E.C. in 2010, was
essentially based upon one’s right of freedom of speech. Our Supreme Court
believes money is equivalent to free speech. I say to you unequivocally, money
is not speech. People talk, folks. Only people talk. Never in my life have I
heard a dollar say a word. Money does burn holes in people’s pockets, but it
never talks. God made people. People made money. Only people have the right of
free speech, our illustrious Supreme Court of the United States of America
notwithstanding. Furthermore, when money is deemed equivalent to free speech, our
concept of one person, one vote is, as I have said in the past, completely
negated. There is no way the votes of our people can outweigh the vast wealth
of the rich, especially when the rich are blatantly stealing our money out the
back door with impunity. We have discussed on more than one occasion the
rapidly increasing disparity in income and wealth between the wealthy and the
poor in our nation–worldwide, for that matter.
Neither is this
issue the only issue. Our Shadow Government is attacking our vote from another
angle–more than one as a matter of fact, ranging from gerrymandering of voting
districts, needless requirements for voter I.D.’s, the amendment to the voter
rights act in 2006, pole restrictions, and excessive control over voting
registrations. An excellent point of reference is the Supreme Court Decision in
Bush v. Gore in 2000. We are right around the corner from losing our country,
folks. We are under attack. Sleep at your peril.
The next
question has to be, “What can we do about it?” Let me tell you. Stand up and do
something. Anything! But let your voice be heard! They, our legislative
representatives, for the most part, have already sold out to the enemy; but, at
the end of the day, when the “rubber meets the road, under the law (until they
take that away, too), our elected representatives still need our vote in order
to remain in office. In that respect (and in that respect only) they still care
about your vote. They need it to stay in office. Stay on top of them
constantly. Let them know your objections and objectives as well. If they
respond only perfunctorily or fail to respond at all, keep trying. Write them,
telephone them, whatever. Also, write letters to the editor of your newspapers.
Call into the media, such as C-Span, etc.
Perhaps we need to flood the highways, skyways, and railroads with a one
hundred million man march on our nation’s capital. If that’s what you do, warn
them in advance to have sufficient supplies of toilet paper and outdoor
facilities for your accommodation(s).
There is only
one way to recover our voting rights, folks, and keep them. That is to take any
and all private money out of politics. We should do this immediately by
establishing it in law with legislation; and, subsequently, amending our
Constitution accordingly. Anyone violating
this law, upon conviction, should be penalized by imprisonment along with all
parties involved. No person, corporation, or any other designated person,
organization, immediate family member, relatives, or the candidate themselves
should be allowed to contribute money to political campaigns. All elections
must be financed through our taxes. In the event you think this would be “just
another tax”, don’t worry about it. Do you think you aren't paying that tax
now? You bet you are. You are paying every penny of every exorbitant campaign dollar
currently being spent. It’s in the price you pay everyday on the market for
what you buy, i.e. gas, food, clothing, shelter, heating oil, etc. You surely
know these people don’t buy votes for nothing. They get it all back in spades.
Elections are
enormously expensive. As you have seen in the news media, our elected
representatives spend a significant amount of their time, if not the majority,
on the telephone soliciting money in order to finance their campaigns and get
re-elected. If they didn’t have to spend so much of their time soliciting money,
how much more time would they have to get work done for their
constituents? Before you answer that
question, how much more time would they have, if, in addition, they didn’t work
such short work weeks, going home Thursdays and coming back to Washington on
Monday’s. They say they work when they are home. What would that be–more time
soliciting money? If they could spend more time on the job, perhaps, maybe, we
would see them in the chambers of the House and Senate during debate time for a
change, or at committee hearings (presently, for the most part, their seats are
empty). Doesn't the word debate mean or imply that all parties to the debate
are present for the process? In order to legislate objectively doesn't the
legislator need to understand both sides of the debates? Otherwise, what’s the
use of debating, if no one is there to hear? Perhaps our representatives read
all the records of every day’s proceedings and don’t need to be present for the
vocal arguments. Perhaps they don’t need to debate or be at the hearings. For
that matter, perhaps they don’t need to be objective. What do you think? I
think that if we take away the need of our representatives to be constantly
soliciting money, it would add many hours to their workweek and we would get
our tax money back in spades.
We have to take
back our country, people. This country is supposed to be a nation of the
people, by the people, and for the people; and don’t you understand? We are
losing it; and, when it’s gone, you won’t like what’s left. Trust me. You won’t
like it one bit, and neither will your children or grandchildren. Liberty is
precious. If you don’t fight for it, you will most certainly lose it as there
is always someone ready and willing to take it from you. How did we get our
country in the first place? It’s in your hands.
Ronald Miller
mtss86@comcast.net
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