Opinions and Letters

Do You Remember?

 

End Corporate Rule; Legalize Democrary - move to amend

<

Justice Stevens, in dissent, was compelled to state the obvious:

. . . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their “personhood” often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established.

IT'S ABOUT TIME SOMEONE TAKES ON WALL STREET BANKS

Largo/Mid-Pinellas Democratic Club members are celebrating President Obama's appointment of Elizabeth Warren to establish a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Most agree with MoveOn.org that this is the boldest step Obama's taken so far to rein in the big Wall Street banks. And it's a major victory for grassroots progressives who rallied for Warren. 

According to MoveOn, "the banks fought to keep her out of this job—and now that she has it, they'll do whatever they can to keep her from exercising her full authority. That's why we need to get the word out—to make sure she has the grassroots support she needs to aggressively police Wall Street. So we made a video of Warren's greatest hits from her appearances on the "Daily Show" and a list of five cool facts about her. Check them out at the link below and send them to all your friends:
http://pol.moveon.org/warren_fivethings_share.html?id=23504-11149306-SVeFSGx&t=2
Top Five Things You Should Know About Elizabeth Warren
1. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was her idea.  Here's why she thinks this agency is so critical: "It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance your home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting your family out on the street."
2. The Republicans are so scared of her, they tried to pass a law blocking her from leading the agency. Republicans in Congress and the big Wall Street banks have always been against Warren leading the new consumer agency. Republicans even offered an amendment that was widely understood as designed to block Warren. That amendment failed.
3. She is one of the most prominent, successful and fierce female lawyers in America. Coming from working-class roots, she graduated from high school as a debate star at 16. She finished law school when she was nine months pregnant. And she has repeatedly been named one of the 50 most influential female lawyers by the National Law Journal and was twice nominated as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People (among other honors).
4. She spoke truth to power about the failed foreclosure program. The Home Affordability Modification Program was supposed to save homeowners from losing their homes but has left many deeper in debt than they were before. Warren used her position on the Congressional Oversight Panel to bring the voices of these disaffected homeowners right to the decision makers in the administration and demand accountability.
5. She may have actual superpowers. She once calmed a crowd at an NBA game with her encyclopedic basketball knowledge. She explained the financial meltdown so clearly to Jon Stewart that he said it made him "want to make out with" her. And there's a viral cowboy rap video about her.

Kathleen Jamison, Club Member

One and the Same: Great new DNC web ad.

Slow recovery, double-dip or worse?

The deficit hysteria among Florida and national Republicans is not only slowing the recovery, but may actually cause a second recession.

The deficit hawks won the day w/ FDR in 1937-38 resulting in big cuts in spending which caused the 1938 recession. I'm reminded of the famous quotation, " Those who can not remember the past are condemned to repeat it" which is exactly what the Republican public officials are attempting to do.

Also, short term stimulus, such as extending jobless benefits, saving jobs of police officers, fire fighters and teachers, giving tax breaks to small businesses to encourage more hiring, and directly aiding states to protect vital services to it's citizens is not at odds w/ long term deficit reduction as many Republican public officals are claiming.

Many economists, including Diane Lim Rogers, the Chief Economist of the Concord Coalition, a non-partisan organization which advocates for fiscal responsibility, states that short term stimulus spending need not conflict w/ deficit reduction. Rogers states a fairly serious injection of funds-say $300 billion over the next two years, could be paired w/ twice as much deficit reduction in the three years following the spending.

We need a second stimulus package now to accelerate the recovery and avoid a second recession which will get us to a full employment economy sooner and allow significant deficit reduction.

I urge the Republican elected officals to learn from history so we're not condemned to repeat it.

Frank Lupo , St. Petersburg, Florida  (PC DEC Member, Dist 54 member and Dem activist)

Published by the St Pete Times July 21

Rep Markey: .... Foreign oil ... keeps US troops in harm's way. (video)

Rep Markey " The BP oil spill highlights our need to move to clean energy alternatives to oil, but it is not our only oil problem. Foreign oil continues to account for 1/2 our trade deficit and keeps US troops in harm's way. "

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse: "America . . must never be on it's knees before Corporate Power!" (C-SPAN video)

This is a very powerful speech.  This sums up the damage done by decades of deregulation and worshiping at the altar of greed and profit.  I have always been impressed by Sen. Whitehouse, but this..... wow.   This says it all. 

Mr. President, we have watched with horror the unfolding disaster in the Gulf. We have seen precious lives lost; hard-earned livelihoods hammered; treasured ways of life imperiled. We have seen the largest deployment of resources ever against an environmental disaster. We have seen astonishing corporate negligence. But we have seen something else too-something that ought to be a lasting lesson from this catastrophe: we have seen the revolting specter of an agency of government subservient to - captive to - the industry it is supposed to regulate. ... ...What lesson of history, if left unlearned after this disaster, are we condemned to repeat? I hope that the lesson we learn is this one: that we can never, never, never again let agencies of the government of the United States of America fall so far under the influence of the corporations they are supposed to regulate.... ...This American government of ours should never, never be on its knees before corporate power, no matter how strong. It should never be in the thrall of corporate wealth no matter how vast. This American government of ours should never give the American citizen reason to question whose interests are being served. Never.... ...We must act in defense of the integrity of this great government of ours, which has brought such light to the world, such freedom and equality to our country. We cannot allow this government - that is a model around the world, that inspires people to risk their lives and fortunes to come to our shores - we cannot allow any element of this government to become the tool of corporate power, the avenue of corporate influence, the puppet of corporate tentacles.

Please make the time to watch the entire video (click below).   The transcript is also <<here>> with commentary added by MinistryOfTruth.

The Raging Grannies

I agree!  

posted by Wanda Schwerer

PFAW: Tell Congress to Restore Our Rights Over Corporations'

From a PFAW email forwarded by Rich Piper:

In Citizens United v. FEC, the 5-4 conservative majority of the Roberts Court gave corporations nearly identical rights as you and I to participate in elections. As I wrote in a piece published on the Huffington Post last month, I have always been a fierce advocate for the First Amendment, but giving corporations unlimited ability to influence our elections is not an expansion of free speech -- it's a mockery of it.

I've spoken out since this disastrous Supreme Court decision in January to say that action is needed to undo the damage of Citizens United and close the floodgates on the corporate cash that threatens to upend our democracy. Last week, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the DISCLOSE Act, a strong first step in doing just that.

Join People For the American Way and me in taking action to pass these necessary reforms now.

Email your members of Congress and demand that they sponsor and support the DISCLOSE Act.

'Fair Districts' approved for ballot

Future Senate President Mike Haridopolos is holding hearings and is seeking some way to scuttle or defeat the proposed constitutional amendment, which needs 60 percent voter approval to pass.

via blogs.tampabay.com

The hard work of gathering signatures on the petitions paid off.  The initiative is on the ballot in November.   It will, however, be difficult to win the necessary 60% approval without a lot more very hard work.  Rest assured that our Republican state legislators, whom the current gerrymandering procedures favor, plan to fight this tooth and nail.  Big Business, which benefits from continued Republican domination of the Florida legislature and congressional delegation, will fight it with all the freedom to spend that the Supreme Court has recently given them. 

Get some comfortable walking shoes.  Save up your phone minutes.  The campaign for 60% will be a tough one!  

Wanda Schwerer, Belleair Beach