Friday, January 22, 2010

Untitled Post



As you know (because I keep telling you), this is a high-class blog. We don't use family-unfriendly language here. But I have to quote Jason Linkins at Huffington Post:
If you're looking for a concise way of capturing today's Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, how about: "We are all royally, hopelessly f****d for the rest of recorded time"?
If you'd like a more measured, less honest, appraisal of the decision, try here.

The Supremes – the Ted Bundys of Jurisprudence – decided yesterday that corporations are people, money is speech, and Congress can place no limit on the ability of corporations to corrupt the political system. The Reagan Revolution is complete.

Consider this, from Linkins' article:
In the 2008 election, Barack Obama and John McCain combined to spend about $1 billion, a number that Politico's Jeanne Cummings called "an unprecedented figure." And the combined expenditures of the entire 2008 cycle came to "a record-shattering $5.3 billion in spending by candidates, political parties and interest groups on the congressional and presidential races."

By means of comparison:

TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONUSES PAID OUT BY GOLDMAN-SACHS, 2009: $16 billion

TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONUSES PAID OUT BY JPMORGAN CHASE, 2009: $27 billion

TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONUSES PAID OUT BY MORGAN STANLEY, 2009: $14 billion

TOTAL AMOUNT OF BONUSES PAID OUT BY CITIGROUP, 2009: $25 billion
We are all royally, hopelessly f****d for the rest of recorded time. Since Exxon/Mobil will be calling the shots on climate change policy, that shouldn't be too much longer.

Cue Jim Morrison:
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise:
The end.

1 comment:

Bullied Pulpit said...

Can this finally put to rest the bull***t GOP meme about liberals and judicial activism? Even David Gergen, CNN's top GOP guy, called this decision an overreach and activist. There was no need to decide the case so broadly, but decide broadly they did. And now the money comes pouring in.

Hilariously, that evil liberal activist, Justice Stevens, called out the court for overstepping its bounds in his dissent.

Just goes to show, if you yell loud enough, people will think something is true.