Must be something about the times that sent me looking for this quote the other day.
Upton Sinclair.
Other great quotes;
The private control of credit is the modern form of slavery.
The American People will take Socialism, but they won't take the label...Running on the Socialist ticket I got 60,000 votes, and running on the slogan to 'End Poverty in California' I got 879,000. I think we simply have to recognize the fact that our enemies have succeeded in spreading the Big Lie. There is no use attacking it by a front attack, it is much better to out-flank them.
Fascism is capitalism plus murder.
The methods by which the "Empire of Business" maintains its control over journalism are four: First, ownership of the papers; second, ownership of the owners; third, advertising subsidies; and fourth, direct bribery. By these methods there exists in America a control of news and of current comment more absolute than any monopoly in any other industry.
Seems perfectly relevant today...
"[W]e have the unfortunate system where we have to run campaigns and raise money for those campaigns."
-- Rep. Henry Waxman on Democracy Now (August 4, 2009)
The health insurance industry is dumping money left and right into this thing trying to convince a skeptical public that they're better off with what they've got while simultaneously trying to game the system. They don't need to run ads. Fox news and the rest of the msm already shill for them 24/7. Does anyone really believe they're holding back? They've got six lobbyists for every congress person and they're calling in all their chips. So far it seems as if the democratic strategy is to bribe the industry with a regulatory scheme designed to give them even more money, and hoping thereby to be forgiven for passing anything at all. Rahm gets week kneed when moveon runs one anti blue dog ad. Pharma's threatening to fund their next opponent to the tune of six, seven figures. Whatever it takes when your a corporation only worried about your bottom line.
Part of the reason I find this whole healthcare reform debate so addictive is that I can't believe that with all of the stars in alignment, minus the economy, which only makes this even more necessary, corporate interests have so bought congress that they can't pass a healthcare reform bill that infringes on corporate profit. The republicans haven't even the courtesy to come up with a plan. They are simply opposed, most likely thinking that's what their donors wanted, and, of course they were probably right... at first. The dems have now one upped them by telling them they'll make even more money under their plan, mandates and subsidies that guarantee they'll make more money. Look for Heath Inc. to be dragged kicking, screaming and laughing all the way to the bank if we don't see some form of public option.
Health Inc. may not be running ads, but, they're paying an awful lot of money to lobbyists. A congressmens' favorite post-congressional job should they ever be so unforunate as to suffer the indignity of needing one. How much does Billy Tauzin make a year and just what exactly is it that he's selling?
People are paying attention though because they actually care about healthcare. All of this is taking place more or less out in the open. We know how much baucus takes in industry money. Grassley, Snowe, blue dogs... all the other whores reps who are trying to find some way to make their refusal to make needed reforms and bring this country the same level of healthcare enjoyed by every other first world country aren't stupid. They just don't have their constituents best interests at heart. They've allowed themselves to be persuaded that their interests and core convictions just happen to align with those of an industry that gives them a lot of money.
The so called bankruptcy reform act, deregulation of banking and subsequent bailout, and on, and on, I mean this list is almost as long as it is depressing and after eight years of this shit all too familiar.
We've had two landslide democratic elections and elected a relative new comer explicitly on the basis of changing the way washington works. bush's financial crimes on behalf of the wealthy and corporations were also repudiated and yet here we are watching our bought and paid for congress folks try to pull one over on us. Ralph Nader was right. There is precious little difference between the two parties right now in terms of whose interests they're serving.
If we can't get this done, then we've pretty much lost any right to claim we are a democracy of and by the people and we should replace the stars with dollar signs and hoist the jolly roger.
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