Once upon a time, the running gag about political campaigning was that vote seekers were out kissing babies. Now it seems that politicians are out kissing rich old men and not on their foreheads.
The latest kowtowing was the parade of Republican hopefuls to visit Sherman Adelson to seek his blessing on their quest. The worst groveling was when Gov. Chris Christie apologized to Adelson for a remark about Israel.
This obscene parade is a sign of how much we have moved from a “democracy” to a definite plutocracy.
Have we become like Iran where the ayatollahs have to approve the candidates?
I can’t say it too much. The best way to stop this trend is to be sure to always vote in every election. We have too many elections where the “winner” comes in a distant second to a de facto “none of the above”. A majority of the registered voters don’t show up for the primaries. More people don’t vote in the regular elections than vote for the supposed winner.
Showing posts with label ayatollahs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ayatollahs. Show all posts
Monday, April 07, 2014
Monday, February 20, 2012
Foreign policy rhetoric can bite you back
There are tabloids and there are tabloids! There's the National Inquirer and then there's the Onion. They both make up stories to titillate their readers. The Inquirer makes up stories hoping its readers will believe them. The Onion makes up stories hoping readers will see the irony in them.
One such unbelievable ironic story is "New Breeding Program Aimed At Keeping Moderate Republicans From Going Extinct".
You know, I know, the writers know that there is no such program. But given the way that so many Republicans who don't fall in lockstep with the ALEC program are being sidelined, don't you wish there was a way to bring back Republicans who think for themselves.
The story that inspired the title of this entry is "Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon". The Onion has Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi parroting much of the rhetoric that the U.S. has used to describe Iran. Unfortunately, U.S. military policy based on short-term goals too often loses sight that U.S. actions may be causing more problems than they solve. Remember, the U.S. toppled the democratically elected Mossadegh of Iran and supported the Shah; then Iranians toppled the Shah and got the ayatollahs. The U.S. hasn't forgiven Iran for the capture of the Embassy and Iran has forgiven the U.S. for the installation of the Shah.
One such unbelievable ironic story is "New Breeding Program Aimed At Keeping Moderate Republicans From Going Extinct".
You know, I know, the writers know that there is no such program. But given the way that so many Republicans who don't fall in lockstep with the ALEC program are being sidelined, don't you wish there was a way to bring back Republicans who think for themselves.
The story that inspired the title of this entry is "Iran Worried U.S. Might Be Building 8,500th Nuclear Weapon". The Onion has Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi parroting much of the rhetoric that the U.S. has used to describe Iran. Unfortunately, U.S. military policy based on short-term goals too often loses sight that U.S. actions may be causing more problems than they solve. Remember, the U.S. toppled the democratically elected Mossadegh of Iran and supported the Shah; then Iranians toppled the Shah and got the ayatollahs. The U.S. hasn't forgiven Iran for the capture of the Embassy and Iran has forgiven the U.S. for the installation of the Shah.
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