It appears that the Chamber of Commerce wants to play “Star Chamber,” so far as its secrecy of procedings goes. Mother Jones’ Kevin Drum writes, responding to C of C lobbyist Bruce Josten’s lame explanation for keeping donors’ names secret, “Josten is . . . saying that rich corporations want the ability to hound and attack anyone in the political sphere they don’t like, but want to be protected from being hounded and attacked by others. … I don’t think most Americans will be sympathetic. …” <http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/10/quote-day-secret-corporate-donors>
Real Americans will find it wanky, skanky, smarmy and snarky at the same time. But, that describes reactionary misbehavior for ya. (I’ll leave the light on.) Get a bunch of money-avid folks together in an office, they turn into hoodlums. Take much, give little. Wrap yourself in the flag, motherhood, apple pie. Freedom for me, obligation for you. (Messy, if you think about it. Need more light?)
Okay, message for today: There are some unreal Americans around us. Wishfully, they don’t see us here except to try to make us not exist. Liberals will stay around. We’re warm, fuzzy and adaptable to the times, but tenacious of mental freedom and strong connection to reality. They can’t do without us because they steal all our ideas and turn ‘em against us and themselves, too. They don’t have ideas, they have dogma. Liberals have no permanently set ideology. Liberalism belongs to the 18th Century when it wanted free enterprise and free trade as opposed to total contol by the crowned heads of Europe and Asia. That’s why today we seem to have no strong, brand identification with the whole electorate.
Conservatives have always been branded by religious grip on their dogma: 1. Low Taxes, 2. Tiny Government, 3. Status Quo (no matter how flawed,) 4. Traditional Family (no compromise for social dysfunction, genetic difference or bad economy, 5. Local Police & Fire Protection, 6. Strong National Defense (so we can attack whom we please any time) 7. Nationalistic Patriotism (infused during education mainly in the Three-r’s with little attention to mental development,) 8. Fiscal Responsibility (spend only on what supports us in what we like,) 9. Administration limited by constitutional “originalism,”) and 10. Free Markets (no matter who or what they harm, whether they rise or fall, crash and burn.) Here is America’s illness, conflating good with bad.
The Liberal/Progressive cure? 1. Taxes high enough to pay the bills, 2. Government big enough to do its needed work, 3. Status Fluency, 4. Social Family (help where needed for health, child-care and senility,) 5. Community Police & Fire, 6. Adequate Defense (in small presence beyond our borders,) 7. Caring Regard for the world and our impact on it, 8. Financial Transparency, 9. No meddling with Bill of Rights, 10. Free Enterprise under reasonable Market Regulations, 11. No more Corporate Personhood, 12. Public Campaign Finance and 13. Crack down on rampant lobbying .
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