40-41 “Paradoxically, we are in the golden age of books, documentaries, and films that sharply expose the abuses, crimes and authoritarian essence of corporate commercialism. Never have so many of these muckraking gems been produced and never, with few exceptions, have they had less impact for change. Their minimal effect, aside from their small indie audiences, is mainly due to the strategically-planned takeovers of the very democratic institutions–from the public airwaves to Congress–that otherwise would have made it easier for these exposés to mobilize forces of public resistance.” !!!
[…]
45 “The major commercial newspapers, magazines, and television networks are more likely to cover corporate shenanigans, especially given their bread-and-butter advertisements, if they view corporations as having significant adversaries in Congress. I learned this firsthand when I used to direct my letters exposing destructive behavior by big business to responsive senators such as the powerful chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Warren Magnuson (D-WA). Reporters on Capital Hill knew that going to Magnuson was not tilting at windmills, given his sterling record of enacting pro-consumer and other reforms. When I couldn’t locate influential sponsors on Capital Hill, there was no media coverage, no matter how important the content was in regards to the people’s well-being.” !!
45 “The two parties even colluded and bankrolled, in 1987, the takeover of the presidential debates from the League of Women Voters through a private corporation that was given a name that sounds like an unbiased non-profit or government agency–the Commission on Presidential Debates.”
46 WALTER CRONKITE “The debates are part of the unconscionable fraud that our political campaigns have become … the candidates participate only with the guarantee of a format that defies meaningful discourse.” !!
THREE: HOW THE SYSTEM IS RIGGED
[…]
57 “In the cold war between the public and private interests, plutocracy offers democracy death by a thousand cuts” !!
[…]
FOUR: WHY DEMOCRACY WORKS
[…]
97 ANTONIO R. DAMASIO “Pain and pleasure are not twins or mirror images of each other, at least not as far as their roles in leveraging survival. Somehow, more often than not, it is the pain-related signal that steers us away from impending trouble, both at the moment and in the anticipated future. It is difficult to imagine that individuals and societies governed by the seeking of pleasure, as much or more than by the avoidance of pain, can survive at all.” !!
98 “The first leveraging step is taken when one percent of the people connect with one another in legislative districts throughout the country, with each person devoting 300 volunteer hours a year and each raising two-hundred dollars to three-hundred dollars to staff full-time activist offices. The second step is taken in the form of the agenda citizens pursue through 535 members of Congress, and the support of public opinion–sixty to seventy percent–garnered through the force of creative social networking. Such public support is already out there, while many people are ready for the outreach necessary to reach those levels.” !!!
[…]
108 “all reforms will suffer counterattacks if they do not produce expanding, institutional defenses in the public sphere.” !!!
136 – 140 “Generate Direct Democracy at the State Level, Revert Airtime to the People to Use on Their Public Airwaves to Debate Issues […] Defend and Extend Civil Liberties […] Abolish Unconstitutional Acts of War as Have Been Waged Against Korea, Grenada, Vietnam, Iraq, Libya […] Drive Change by Changing Taxation[:] Increase taxes on pollution, addictive products, corporate crime, and, the big one, Wall Street speculation; and decrease taxes on paid labor and home properties. […] Collect uncollected federal income taxes that the IRS estimates to be around 300 billion dollars a year that reflect the ease for many tax escapes by plutocracy […] Empower People to Challenge Corporations and Government in Court[:] Allow taxpayers the “standing to sue” the government and corporate contractors. […] Establish rigorous and open procedures for evaluating demands for government bailouts, subsidies, handouts, and giveaways, plus rigorous annual reviews, which would significantly diminish crony capitalism and corporate welfare. […] Increase Minimum Wage Nationwide […] Rein in Wall Street[:] Big banks need to be broken up. Wall Street suits suspected of crimes need to be investigated, and if prosecuted and convicted, imprisoned […] Audit the U.S. War Machine[:] Require, at long last, that the Department of Defense budget be auditable and audited by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the U.S. Congress. Disclose all government budgets. […] Assist Community-level Businesses […] Crack Down on Corporate Crime, Jail Corporate Criminals[: …] providing updated penalties and enforcement budgets with special attention to corporate crimes involving government programs (Medicare, defense contracting) and against consumers, labor, and the environment. […] Protect the Commons[:] Charge going market prices for exploiting our public lands, public airwaves, and taxpayer-funded science and technology presently given away free or at bargain-basement prices. Develop trust funds for people nationwide as the people of Alaska have done with oil-royalty revenues. […] Rein in the Fed”
140 – 142 “volunteer a minimum of 300 hours a year, working together to support and establish offices in each district with at least four full-time advocates to advance their substantive policy agenda. The efforts of these offices and their 4,000 (or less) committed citizens would have two goals. The first goal would be to establish an in-person advocacy relationship with their representative and two senators. This is the strategy used by all successful lobbyists. The second goal would be to continually arouse and mobilize the quiet majority of public opinion. The greater the number of people informed, the greater the number of people who will get involved to counter power. Forming local groups to actively spread the word through co-workers, friends, relatives, and larger social networks can have an enormous impact. […]
in most congressional districts there are almost always some traditional, beleaguered organizations that could be convinced to join ranks and take up the local agenda. Even more, in some districts, there are civic associations, charities, unions, educators who would happily contribute their time, expertise, and donations. These groups are likely to have affiliations with national groups headquartered in Washington D.C. […]
raise money through small contributions and fundraisers to hire staff as quickly as possible. Most people don’t personally know any rich people, fewer still know any rich people who are genuinely progressive. If anyone in your local group does, consider forming a delegation to approach them for support. A delegation of twelve people could include educators, parents, clergy, builders, and representatives from local businesses, labor associations, and civic groups. The more varied the delegation, the more impressed your potential donors will be. […]
call members of Congress to return home for sustained questioning and education by their voters about the set of points on the citizen empowerment agenda.” !!