Unrestrained capitalism has no conscious, generosity or compassion and has slowly bought out our politicians and government. It also has no respect for long-standing norms, traditions or morals, or for the earth and its environment.

Corporate goals are primarily increasing control of every aspect of our lives, with greed being the highest honor. Just look at what receives Wall Street's applause each quarter (ever increasing efficiency, sales and margins - apparently with no limits). To further these corporate goals, rampant consumerism, individualism and entertainment has now become primary life-objectives of most of our citizens.

For the first time in my recollection, the international corporate world has almost 100% control of the American system of government. This is clearly evident by the actions of this administration and the Republican-controlled congress.

Until we remove the power of wealth to influence elections and our politician's thinking and motives, I feel we're doomed to fail. This situation is not getting any better. My opinion has always been that a person's ability to influence elections and government should not be in proportion to one's wealth.

Not intending to lecture here 'cause I'm sure you're well aware of these major issues. Just needing to vent.

We didn't just turn it over, it was there for the taking.

Just like clothing and the bulk of semiconductors, they are now mass produced using automation and very cheap labor. China also has a heavy hand in controlling access to some of the basic raw materials. Therefore, it's almost impossible for us to compete. Even if we had more highly automated plants here making solar panels, there would be very little labor involved.

The Chinese have used capital gained from us via decades of trillions of sales dollars of commodity goods at Walmart/Target/Amazon, etc. to invest in basic resources (copper, iron, etc.) and automation to further push the US standard of living and job security down, and unemployment upward. They also invest heavily in research and development.

So, we fund them and they screw us. Welcome to our race to the bottom.

Sorry, but when I hear that phrase, I always think of the Repug system of passing talking points around in their big bullshit bubble, LOL. I would hope that DU is and always will be a forum open to all ideas friendly to Democrats across the spectrum.

One big problem in our society today is the "us vs them" and defensive posture mindset that has become pervasive in so many everyday folks. The right-wing media complex has done this horrible thing to us. When in this mode, one has to compartmentalize everyone into sub-groups and everyone has to wear a damned label, LOL.

What we need is more old-fashioned "ladies and gentlemen" open-minded debate. Any idea - good or bad - is just that and nothing else, and no one owns any idea or thought.

One of my personal hang-ups is that I struggle when there's a discussion that's completely one-sided. I have an irresistible habit of tossing an opposing view (or two) into the ring to make it interesting. That does not mean that I support that view, it's just that I feel a discussion should include a wide range of thinking to be meaningful. That process does piss some folks off, though.

Years ago, some sources wrongly attributed it to Bill, although it was discussed in some interviews with him. Apparently, it arose from the results of a 1995 research paper on the multiple conspiracies surrounding the Clintons, and then Hillary used it first in an interview.

I found this statement interesting from the Wiki:
(snip)
It (the paper) described how online conservative media outlets such as The American Spectator spread conspiracy theories about the suicide of Vince Foster, the Whitewater controversy, and other events. According to the memo, these conspiracies spread from conservative think tanks to British tabloids, and then to the mainstream press.

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That would suggest that Rupert Murdoch had his fingers in our political process via his tabloids even prior to Faux News coming to air.

there is a right-wing system of think tanks feeding their political network with talking point memos each day, and I specifically recall Heritage Foundation and AEI mentioned as having the boiler rooms doing that work. One of Bush's people admitted that they received the memos (I think by email) every day, and they were also sent to Repug CongressCritters and key editors at Faux News, Limbaugh, etc.

This allows their leadership and the right-wing machine to keep all the rubes (including the Repug press) singing off the same page, and that's why we hear the same arguments repeated over and over, almost verbatim. That seems to apply both to policy ideas and to attack strategies against Democrats.

They realized they would have to do that because after all the populist know-nothing Repugs that were elected during the Nixon and Reagan revolts, those guys would be saying off-the-cuff bullshit to the press and the party would look like a train wreck.

Not sure whose bright idea this was, but it must have came about via some summit meetings between some very powerful people, probably going back to the Nixon years and the thinking of Lee Atwater. In reality, it has become the glue that holds the "vast right-wing conspiracy" together mentioned in the 90s by Bill Clinton.

those already cash-strapped employees will likely spend most of their bonus and raise on basics in their stores. What's not to like for Walmart?

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how much false info Russia is still planting on social media about the Clintons and the Foundation. Goodness knows, Faux News and right-wing talk radio will be doing their share. Some days I think every citizen's head in the USA must surely be spinning in total confusion...

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I would suspect all our MSM are scared to death of backlash from the Republican money and media machinery along with a Repug-controlled Congress, and scared of being labeled "liberal-friendly".

If any one of them had crashed the election, they knew they could be held liable for any errors in the dossier and their board of directors (probably loaded with Republicans) would roll many heads.

Follow the power and follow the money. The coup of the plutocrats is nearly complete.

Unfortunately, lying and dishonesty is not unconstitutional. It's up to us to find new ways to call them out on every single lie and deception.

They also seem to always be out front first with dirt on opponents. It's time for Democrats to get out in front early in campaigns and stay there.

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The basic thing that allows so few to control the minds of so many is money. "Follow the money", as they say. For many decades, profits from our daily routine purchases have trickled upwards into the coffers of billionaires such as the Waltons, Koches and Murdochs, and these people in turn use those funds against us in hundreds of ways that originated from our paychecks, savings and retirement funds.

I'm convinced that until the public is willing to inflict some serious pain on these corporations, this situation will only worsen. Translated, a large percentage of the public would have to sacrifice some pleasure and consumerist habits for a while, and either strike against or boycott a select group of these corporations until their quarterly earnings were tanked. In other words, force Wall Street to yield and pay attention.

For example, if half the American public swore to not enter a Walmart for a year, or if several million people dropped all services from AT&T as a boycott, that might get some of the upper crust to listen. However, a single non-political organization would be needed to table the demands such as stopping funding of outfits such as ALEC and Heritage Foundation.

That to me, is the only way to reverse this corrosive trend. I doubt if a deep recession or even a mild depression would do the trick because these people are deeply hedged against losses, and they own tremendous amounts of capital around the globe as their safety net.

There are currently several small organizations that are doing this - such as a boycott of Koch-brand products and of Limbaugh's advertisers - but they are too piecemeal to have a big-punch effect.

I would also love to see a hostile takeover of News Corp by a group that would turn their cable feeds into cartoon and educational channels.