Among the things Roosevelt said that have been mostly forgotten, this is a gem:
“The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have called into being,” he said.
We tend to forget that we created corporations.
Another gem:
“ He warned that “[t]here can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains…. We must have complete and effective publicity of corporate affairs, so that the people may know…whether the corporations obey the law and whether their management entitles them to the confidence of the public.”
Their political activity. That means Citizens United has to go.
Publicity of corporate affairs. That means shell corporations, offshore headquarters, and more.
We need, but cannot get, a court ruling that corporations in fact are not people. They only exist to maximize profit for shareholders, and so of course aren't people taking civics into account.
Any liberal Supreme Court justice would agree with my opinion, I think. The conservatives justices on the other hand have no intellectual capacity outside of their bubbles.
AI is the modern day railroad. We are seeing only one company dominate the GPU market for AI computation, NVDA. There's no way they can use their trillions of market cap to normalize the supply chain without competition in chip fabrication away from Taiwan. If China takes over Taiwan, NVDA and all other fabless chip companies will lose their Intellectual Property. That's why Biden is fighting to on-shore and regulate this capability using private capital and tax breaks while defending Taiwan with military aid. All Trump cares about are more exclusive golf courses and the corrupt super rich that hang out there on corporate expense accounts.
Yet his biggest concern is getting elected to pardon himself. What a stain on Democracy that will be. He said the border is a huge and important issue —-that needs to wait until his coronation in January and Congress obeyed. People literally dying to get across, fentanyl coming across killing Americans every day and the mass murderer wins 3 more primaries!!? SMH till it hurts. 16 states and American Samoa vote Super Tuesday. 💙🙏🏼 make the news blue and vote.
hence his takeover over the RNC. luckily, he doesn't seem to get that all the real campaign money is in, how apropos, Corporate Funded PACS these days. And even the Monopolists are losing faith in his political viability. I think. I mean, isn't that while Haley the Hale Mary is still running?
Incidentally, I think it's well passed time to talk about how our intellectual property protections can best serve both creators or a product and society as a whole. In my observation, innovation is rarely only one person or organization far ahead of the pack, but more often a wave of innovative potential spreads from the state of what is known and we lock right in with the first past the post, often with many close on their heels. Not that rewards and protections to first past the post are unwarranted, but innovation is enabled by a confluence of sources, and at some point monopolies become the enemy of the common weal.
Oh they certainly are aware. They once again have a chance to surprise us all (now that we are sufficiently suspicious of their integrity), by yielding to popular demand and acting quickly on this absolute immunity debacle. If I were a betting man, I would bet against it heavily. Which is why this situation is so dangerous. If I am right (my track record of predictions on Trump and his legal issues is stellar so far), and SCOTUS continues delaying a "lay-up" legal decision deep into the election season, that means the SCOTUS is a major player in the hostile takeover of our government by anti-democratic authoritarian forces. An outcome nobody could have anticipated I think.
The coup has already taken place. The court was McConnell's gift to his backers. The US Oligarchs? The Russians? The Chinese? I'd say all of the above. Why oh why has there not been an exposé. This fact alone threatens my resolve.
Good to know, Ally. Now, if I can just get my weather people to narrow their reporting to say, "A ton of snow has just fallen all around Oregon except at Ally's house!" Or, "A curious oddity is there are 60-mile-an-hour winds blowing everywhere except at Ally's house!" 🤣🤣🤣
$285,400 per year should be enough in salary to maintain independence. I'm open to them having an increased salary, when CEOs are making 10s of millions or more. Then the President must also get a raise.
Would a little more pay just make them more greedy and more corrupt? I'm not sure.
Well, Clarence threatened to quit unless he could squeeze more money out of donors. He did, and is a happy camper. I’m sure the other cretins can command similar perks. Doubt the Dem types get much “extra.”
And "Corporate Joe" Biden (from tiny Delaware, a corporatist suburb of Wall Street) is just as bad as the Supreme Court. He wants more and more illegal aliens to drive down the price of labor.
Not sure why you call Joe Biden "Corporate". He doesn't own any Corporations and actually walked the picket line. So unless it is for the sheer pleasure of giving him a derogatory moniker, you are all wet.
You speak only of "illegal" Aliens. Do you know that by LAW we have a duty to help REFUGEES? You may not agree with it, but it is the LAW.
I should add that NO, Aliens, illegal or not, do NOT drive down the cost of labor: In part because of the language barrier, they tend to get menial jobs that Americans refuse to take, and it is easy to see why: The standard of living in this country makes it extremely difficult to live on $7.25/hour.
While we are on this topic, It is false to say that compared to Americans, they tend to be criminals.
and if the various articles cited do not convince you, perhaps common sense will:
Folks who sneak through the border are hoping to remain undetected so that "la migra" does not deport them. Remember that once they are deported, even once, the ability to become an American Citizen is basically nil: It remains a blotch, a stain on their record that guarantees they will not have access to citizenship and the work and voting rights that go with it. They don't want to risk that.
Yeah, I know, that the "problem at the border" is all we hear from a certain segment of the political spectrum. Yet the same people are spitting on any solution, even the ones they've worked on, just to give Mr. Trump a plank to run on. [Since 2016, the RNC has not bothered to write a platform. They still don't have one: they don't know where they want to drive the Country past listening to Mr. Trump who, remember, in 2017 passed a tax break he was so proud of that he had a meeting with his CORPORATE donors and stated: "Today, I saved you all a lot of money". and indeed, he added trillions to the National debt by giving away all that money to the richest of the rich.
So the moniker "Corporate Trump" would apply much better .
[Well, except that in spite of all his criming, Mr. Trump still had at least 7 bankruptcies, so maybe he is not such a great Businessman after all. Not a capable Captain of Industry, this Mr. Trump]
Thank you Cécile for your strong denunciation of tfgmanbaby. It’s become apparent to me that magnuts like schmeckle have been carefully taught that the only response to facts about 🎃🤡💩 is lies about Biden. They need reprogramming.
Cecile: no need to preach. We know the guy is false, is a demon that must not be allowed back into the White House. Which is only one reason why Biden must show spine dealing with border restrictions until Congress finally acts. But we know they don’t want to act in order to use it in November. Which is double why Biden must use executive hand.
Cecile's comment was good & very informative. It's important that, before making public statements, we have all the facts. Those who rant & make false statements about immigrants often don't have all the facts.
Cecile: I understand what you say and you are correct. When some of us say the border is broken, we really mean that the laws need to be amended because as they are now written, they (immigration laws) are being abused, arguably. We need to create more stringent laws. In my opinion, the same goes for parts of the 14th amendment which will never happen. We no longer need the birthright portion. It was enacted to prevent Afrocentric former enslaved from being returned to Africa. This is no longer an issue. But the border is being exploited by those the world over. And besides, you must not forget this last point, we on the democratic side will lose many votes if we don’t show backbone and respond appropriately.
Which laws Bill must be amended, abolish asylum? Chisel out the motto on the Statue of Liberty or re-write it: "Don't gives your poor or sick.Add "No Irish please. Absolutely no refugees from the Third Reich." Yikes -- send them back on the boat they rode in on.
How does one amend any law Mr. Speaker? Mr Speaker, Mr. Speaker -- does anyone know where the Dude is?
Thank you Cecile .. you’ve cleared a good bit of my misinformation and given me new factual sources which I’ve avoided searching in past as it’s been my head-in-the-sand (“I’m still working, I don’t have time to examine these statements” … etc)
Aliens do drive down the cost of labor. And companies have been importing foreign laborers for 200 years.
For example, did you know that as late as 1980, meat packers were black, and they earned decent middle class wages, thanks to decades of organizing? But that by that decade's end, they were immigrants, toiling under atrocious conditions for barely more than minimum wage? And that the same thing happened to most of the rest of unskilled work beginning around the same time?
See: Back of the Hiring Line: A 200 Year history of Immigration Surges, Employer Bias, and Depression of Black Wealth, by Roy Beck. ($14 on Amazon).
Beck gives the lie to the notion that there are jobs American workers won't do. As part of his research, he interviewed poultry workers recently laid off, in favor of immigrants. He asked the laid off workers if they'd take their jobs back if offered. No, they told him, becuase the wages were now so low that they'd have to sleep in their cars or live many to a house.
By the way, just so you know, I'm a lifelong Democrat, from a Democratic family. My great uncle, Philip Hornbein, a labor lawyer on labor's side, was de facto head of the Colorado Democratic Party for the first half of the last century, and he gave the speech at the '32 convention recommending an end to prohibition. Biden is the best president of my lifetime, which began in the first summer of the Eisenhower ADministration.
Cecile Stelzer-Johnson, you actually make my point. "Nobody" will work minimum-wage jobs as long as Biden ensures a continuing supply of "nobodies" (illegal aliens). Cut off the supply of illegals, and companies will have to pay a living wage for unskilled labor.
"Corporate Joe" Biden comes from tiny corporatist Delaware, a suburb of Wall Street, where the "grass roots" voters work in the corporate headquarters buildings that Delaware is famous for.
Wrong. I think he has been a bit slow because of the psychological trait. If one side says red the other side say blue and so on. We all should stop listening to those who use partisan divide to vomit the same message over and over. Think for yourselves.
I can agree with that. That's part of why I supported Tulsi Gabbard during the 2020 Democratic primary season. She had the ability to make common-sense suggestions in search of a bipartisan consensus.
Alright … y’all knock off the electronic duel so we can continue discussing
Issues that are important to all of us who are going to vote in November for the guy from Delaware vice the Felon from New York (no names please—if the Felon from NY becomes our next President he will seek revenge from posters such as us. You’ve been warned.)
PS. Sidebar comment correcting JS’s accusation of our choices of schools: Ole Miss vice Harvard. Hotty Tottie, y’all.
I think you, John, are putting too much emphasis on his ability to think things through. I can’t understand why he has not acted sooner on dealing with the untenable border.
Any unbiased Supreme Court Justice would agree..I agree with you Matt but think conservative and liberal...as terms have become politicized. I think if we dig deep....we will see the term isn't liberal, it's unbiased.
In the past my comments have brought up how much our language matters. Again, emotional words often misdirect the actual conversation or discussion at hand. To get to the heart of the threats to our Democracy, consider how much meaning/definition matters in that discussion. That is the beauty and importance of Professor Richardson’s writing and explaining of the facts of our history in my opinion.
The conservative justices are not independent thinkers. They take their orders and decide cases based upon the orders from Leo Leonard and the billionaires who fund the Heritage Foundation.
Matt, before the Senate changed SCOTUS Justice approval to a simple majority, Justice nominees had to be more centrist gain support of both parties. Now radical tribal judges have skewed their partisanship drastically into the hands of their oligarch benefactors
Strangely corporations are increasingly granted the rights of persons while being relieved of a person's responsibilities. Isn't that how tyranny works? Extreme privilege with little to no accountability.
There is another way that would be much easier to make happen. But first we have to beat back the MAGA idiots and regain control of both houses of congress and the executive. This will be very hard given the Biden's response to the Gaza situation and the loss of support of the Arab-American voter. Right now, backing Bebe Netanyahu is exactly equivalent to backing Trump.
But saying that a miracle happens at the polls this year (e.g. young people actually turning out to vote for a change?), a simple piece of legislation that creates a national corporate chartering and governance oversight process for companies that congress declares to be critical national assets would do the trick. Then move to grab some key corporate charters away from the State of Delaware, throw out their current boards, and establish some new oversight process consistent with what Drucker envisioned. That would change the relationship.
It's a sad situation, and I wish it were not so, but Biden has become a liability to the Democrats over the past month. I don't think any of the factors that have created this situation are fair. His age should not be an issue given how fit he is. If there wasn't a truly effective campaign by the Russians and Chinese to poison sentiment about him in social media. If the Murdoch family had a tiny shred of decency. If the IDF hadn't acted like a bunch of undisciplined brown shirts in response to an equally horrific attack. Maybe changing any one of these would have been enough, but adding them together and it's just too much. If wishes were fishes...
I've gained a whole new view of Teddy Roosevelt, from reading LFAA. Ha! I've just been reading an account of his assassination attempt: "Schrank was immediately disarmed by Czech immigrant Frank Bukovsky[1] and captured" A Czech! an immigrant! he probably spoke language! a language nobody else can speak! terrible people! Jokes aside, the whole story was fascinating, and Roosevelt the man comes through it with flying colors.
I dismissed him because of the “big hunter” rep, but I came to realize that he was so much more than that. We owe him what we had until recently, to a great extent…
We have been brainwashed from Reagan on down to detest government. We are very close to Russia, we really are. Jamie Dimon is fine with Trump again. He said so out loud. He knows even if America is a hell hole dictatorship he will be one of the oligarchs who do just fine.
The same old people(like me-70 years old!) who take Social Security and Medicare from the government without batting an eye are the same Fox News watching, immigrant hating, Trump voting idiots who very well may give us a country we will not recognize or want to live in. We are living in literally insane times. If it would not affect me, those I love, and all the other innocent people it would hurt, I would LOVE all these idiots to lose their government benefits in the new world order of Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and DJT. And oh I forget—their military retirements. Looking at you, Michael Flynn.
Again, all this “secession” talk from idiots like my Gov. Abbott is likewise insane. People are so, so stupid and brainwashed to boot. Dr. R, thank you for all the amazing history lessons, today included. Boy, do we need a trust busting TR today.
Of course the American Oligarchs would turn (publicly or secretly) to TFG. Joe is pro-labor, pro fair taxation, and anti-monopoly. Why would any self-respecting Oligarch want Joe in the White House?!
Rick A. it seems that with Reagan we saw the same government pendulum swinging back toward the big business interests similar to the era of the "Robber Barons" of the steel, railroad and banking industries following the last change of the century.
He used his suffering to mold himself. We all should do that because there is plenty of suffering these days. Use it for the good of the people. After all, the government is for the good of the people. A goal corrupted by Reagan (or Peggy Noonan) and the "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." BTW, that's the reason I donate to the National Parks Foundation.
I agree, Pam. Not only is death star a damn criminal, he is a festering cancer on the body politic, bent on destroying everything that decent people value. And how many minions like him have come out of the wall to take advantage like rampaging cancer cells. Rs are now the party of death.
Yes, just a ball of cells with the Trick.....got a boost from RayGun, Bush I, and Dubya, and now the body politic is one big tumor....reeking rotting tumor. We need to cut (vote) it out.
Jeri, he was a man trying desperately to get over the double loss of his wife and his mother on the same day while also trying to recover and strengthen himself from a childhood of sickness and pampering. He was trying to better himself as a a man before then trying to better a government with very lopsided priorities.
But his ego didn’t say, I deserve (blank) because I have suffered. You would think that chump had a horrific personal history. Nah, just a one that made him rotten to the bone
Jeri Chilcutt, so true. My opinion of the man also. And it can be so disconcerting when we read history and because of our recent past ( ~ 40+ years) my critical thinking (and probably others) gets tangled as we read these letters and Republicans & Democratic “titles” are used. The two have flip flopped completely.
The flip flop has apparently confused many, especially during Jim Crow and on until WW2. Reagan may have had some sense before Nancy got hold of him. When I became “woke,” the repubs were the elites (couldn’t stand arrogant Bill Buckley). Rupert did a masterful job (some already greased up by Rush), of convincing people that Dems were demons. From some of the interviews I’ve seen, that BS is still gospel with MAGAts
I always enjoy your comments Jeri! I've been appreciating the voting process here in CA. Everyone got a ballot in the mail. You can complete it and take it to the polls, drop of at a large choice of places - Firestation, library etc (locked Drop boxes of course) or go vote in person. I got a text from the Secretary of State the day after I voted that my ballot had been received and counted. If only everyone had this process
Thanks for your kind words. Wow, that is awesome. The fact that repubs try to discourage and do everything they can to make it difficult, should be reason enough to never vote repub again…
There are several excellent TR quotes in the letter:
"Instead, he believed the American people must create a strong federal government that could exert public control over corporations."
Wall Street hated TR but he was a populist and the people loved him.
Excellent letter today Heather, but I'm a big TR fan. I can't imagine how much more control the corporations and the richest hundred or so Americans would have today if it wasn't for TR's bold actions 100 years ago.
Doris Kearns Goodwin did an excellent bio on TR that I highly recommend. I'm sure there are others equally good. He was - like all humans - a mixed bag. He managed to be both a man of his time, and yet far ahead of it. We need his like in Washington today, for sure.
It was an awesome read! I think of the tragedy of the loss of his mom and wife within hours of each other and how he could not bear to see his daughter.
But there are still so many individual buccaneers, so many privateering corporate pirates messing around with US national policy at home and abroad.
We may in part owe the existence of the current Putin regime to the activities of these loose cannons. It was they that deliberately humiliated Russia when she was down, they that delivered "more shit for your face" -- quoting Bill Clinton to Boris Yeltsin.
They bear huge responsibility for the failure of democracy in Russia. Their activity so strengthened the defeated Communist Party that Yeltsin et al. had to doctor national elections to sideline the CP. The beginning of the end for democracy. Next came the installation of Putin.
Even this dangerous crook could have been handled more skilfully... as so many other s.o.b.s have been. Even without becoming another OUR S.O.B like Anastasio Somoza...
I wonder what Teddy Roosevelt would have thought of Tesla, Amazon, and Nvidia? I bet if he were with us today, he would have gone after Private Equity too, and the way they buy solid mom and pop companies, suck all the value from them with impunity, fire the knowledgeable employees, lock the doors, and leave communities weaker.
OMG, Patricia, Private Equity (formerly known as 'leveraged buy-outs') a ruining entire segments of the economy. They may well be one of the root causes of the housing/rent crisis, since some of them swooped in and bought up every foreclosed house they could after the housing crash, and turned them into rentals or flipped them later. Now they've moved into the medical/industrial complex....................
They are a blight in our neighborhood. Our neighbor, a former banker, mentioned the number of rentals in the our neighborhood. Then there is also corporate buy out of businesses like vet clinics. Ours in independent but swamped because a corporation bought out a local one nearby. Many years ago, I used to buy lots of seeds from the British company, Thompson and Morgan. Then they were bought out, sucked dry, and I doubt they even exist anymore. I have seen this happen to many companies. When I am grocery shopping at our local natural foods market, I try to buy brands that have not been bought by some large conglomerate. The local Saturday outdoor market started yesterday, another opportunity to support local farmers, ranchers, and artists. We didn't go because the weather early was not good, but well go next weekend. People line up for the good stuff. A friend bought some pastries for our coffee get together from a supermarket that is now part of a Canadian company. She paid 8.79 for each one. Eek.
Does anyone know of a legislator who is willing to write legislation to regulate Private Equity? Maybe we could all write to him/her. There must be one of them out there whose hand isn't getting greased.
Not just mom and pop--remember the rash of "buy, deplete, and bankrupt" raids on airlines? Travel today suffers from the aftermath of those mergers, in service, safety, and squishing travelers like sardines.
KEM, you, Matt Fulkerson and Ally House beat me to these comments. I hope that I live to see our government tame the Supreme Court's rampage against our citizens' rights by overturning Citizens United and codifying Roe v. Wade, for starters.
No more corporate attorneys on the courts, especially the Supreme Court.
Corporations are not people, my friend.
The question this court has framed to consider re immunity smacked to me of the overreach that the citizens United case, which originally was much narrower, exhibited.
I actually think they framed the question as the overriding Constitutional question. The Supreme Court is only supposed to hear matters regarding Constitutional or Federal law issues. My complaint is that the actions under consideration are so flagrantly unconstitutional that they should have refused to hear the appeal.
Doesn't the name "Citizens United" catch an Orwell prize for sound like exactly what it's not?
And yes, if we are the ultimate authority for our government's direction and legitimacy, we have complete control over what behaviors those with a corporate license are and are not permitted to perform, over and above the rights of any citizen. Do we not wield just powers from the consent of the governed? We have been conned into recreating an overarching (think Musk) aristocracy of quasi-feudal lords.
Yes, the name CU makes my blood churn. I was trying to say that so many folks think we just can’t fight the billionaires and their practices and policies. But that’s not true. We fight them by electing as our representatives people who will vote for campaign reform. Amy Klobuchar introduces legislation every session; we can elect people who will join that fight.
It is like a damn Monopoly game played over and over. Capitalism versus representative government. "IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said the total "financial activity" associated with the unfiled returns tops $100 billion, and unpaid tax liabilities could easily run into the hundreds of millions of dollars." Don't pass go, pay your taxes. Slow them down, at least. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxes/us-irs-aims-to-collect-on-125000-unfiled-high-income-tax-returns/ar-BB1j86bZ
Yes and Bobby is the only candidate that can break us free from the corporate capture. He is campaigning on it.Biden has proven ineffective on it. Sinema and Manchin are examples of it.
RFKJR said Biden has appointed the wrong people to the head of government agencies. For example, the head of the NIH came from a pharmaceutical company. He made rules to favor that company. He then went back to work for that company and raked in millions!
Yes I am and I want to correct myself.I do not want to spread misinformation . Please forgive me for texting off the top of my head and getting it wrong. What I was referring to was Scott Gottlieb, a business partner to Pfizer . He was the one who worked for our government and then went back to Pfizer and raked in millions . Is that correct?
It’s too late. The monied class controls government. The fight is all but over. If we can gain super majorities in Congress, maybe there is a chance. But I am doubtful.
Among the things Roosevelt said that have been mostly forgotten, this is a gem:
“The citizens of the United States must effectively control the mighty commercial forces which they have called into being,” he said.
We tend to forget that we created corporations.
Another gem:
“ He warned that “[t]here can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains…. We must have complete and effective publicity of corporate affairs, so that the people may know…whether the corporations obey the law and whether their management entitles them to the confidence of the public.”
Their political activity. That means Citizens United has to go.
Publicity of corporate affairs. That means shell corporations, offshore headquarters, and more.
Great quotes, Professor! Thank you!
We need, but cannot get, a court ruling that corporations in fact are not people. They only exist to maximize profit for shareholders, and so of course aren't people taking civics into account.
Any liberal Supreme Court justice would agree with my opinion, I think. The conservatives justices on the other hand have no intellectual capacity outside of their bubbles.
Agreed, although I think they are well aware of where their owners' interests lie.
AI is the modern day railroad. We are seeing only one company dominate the GPU market for AI computation, NVDA. There's no way they can use their trillions of market cap to normalize the supply chain without competition in chip fabrication away from Taiwan. If China takes over Taiwan, NVDA and all other fabless chip companies will lose their Intellectual Property. That's why Biden is fighting to on-shore and regulate this capability using private capital and tax breaks while defending Taiwan with military aid. All Trump cares about are more exclusive golf courses and the corrupt super rich that hang out there on corporate expense accounts.
At this point, Trump is very concerned with paying judgments against him and his huge legal fees, plus keeping his sorry ass out of jail.
Yet his biggest concern is getting elected to pardon himself. What a stain on Democracy that will be. He said the border is a huge and important issue —-that needs to wait until his coronation in January and Congress obeyed. People literally dying to get across, fentanyl coming across killing Americans every day and the mass murderer wins 3 more primaries!!? SMH till it hurts. 16 states and American Samoa vote Super Tuesday. 💙🙏🏼 make the news blue and vote.
Come on America open your ears, listen to what is happening🙏
Thanks, Gigi .... well put
Sort of like Bibi.
That is why he has invited Orban to visit!$$
My thoughts exactly!!
And a "world leader" who pretends to like him.
hence his takeover over the RNC. luckily, he doesn't seem to get that all the real campaign money is in, how apropos, Corporate Funded PACS these days. And even the Monopolists are losing faith in his political viability. I think. I mean, isn't that while Haley the Hale Mary is still running?
Incidentally, I think it's well passed time to talk about how our intellectual property protections can best serve both creators or a product and society as a whole. In my observation, innovation is rarely only one person or organization far ahead of the pack, but more often a wave of innovative potential spreads from the state of what is known and we lock right in with the first past the post, often with many close on their heels. Not that rewards and protections to first past the post are unwarranted, but innovation is enabled by a confluence of sources, and at some point monopolies become the enemy of the common weal.
Not to mention more control over what gets built into to complex products, such as spyware.
Oh they certainly are aware. They once again have a chance to surprise us all (now that we are sufficiently suspicious of their integrity), by yielding to popular demand and acting quickly on this absolute immunity debacle. If I were a betting man, I would bet against it heavily. Which is why this situation is so dangerous. If I am right (my track record of predictions on Trump and his legal issues is stellar so far), and SCOTUS continues delaying a "lay-up" legal decision deep into the election season, that means the SCOTUS is a major player in the hostile takeover of our government by anti-democratic authoritarian forces. An outcome nobody could have anticipated I think.
The coup has already taken place. The court was McConnell's gift to his backers. The US Oligarchs? The Russians? The Chinese? I'd say all of the above. Why oh why has there not been an exposé. This fact alone threatens my resolve.
Morning, Ally! Have been thinking of you, hoping you are weathering the storms that I've seen on the news this past week.
Thanks! The brunt of the weather is far south of us, although we have had measurable snow (1") each of the last two mornings.
I am in Southern Oregon and am happy to report that the four or five inches of snow are beautiful.
My in laws live just south of Ashland on Hwy 66. They’re sharing some cool photos.
Good to know, Ally. Now, if I can just get my weather people to narrow their reporting to say, "A ton of snow has just fallen all around Oregon except at Ally's house!" Or, "A curious oddity is there are 60-mile-an-hour winds blowing everywhere except at Ally's house!" 🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
$285,400 per year should be enough in salary to maintain independence. I'm open to them having an increased salary, when CEOs are making 10s of millions or more. Then the President must also get a raise.
Would a little more pay just make them more greedy and more corrupt? I'm not sure.
Well, Clarence threatened to quit unless he could squeeze more money out of donors. He did, and is a happy camper. I’m sure the other cretins can command similar perks. Doubt the Dem types get much “extra.”
I still wonder if Thomas's mother continues to live in the house that Crow bought.
Probably, since he’s does what Crow wants.
Sounds like the old quip about NYPD cops:
THE BEST THAT MONEY CAN BUY.
If only that were true. We don't get the best bang for our buck - there or in congress.
Our reluctant buck, I should say..............
EVEN more greedy and corrupt...
And "Corporate Joe" Biden (from tiny Delaware, a corporatist suburb of Wall Street) is just as bad as the Supreme Court. He wants more and more illegal aliens to drive down the price of labor.
Not sure why you call Joe Biden "Corporate". He doesn't own any Corporations and actually walked the picket line. So unless it is for the sheer pleasure of giving him a derogatory moniker, you are all wet.
You speak only of "illegal" Aliens. Do you know that by LAW we have a duty to help REFUGEES? You may not agree with it, but it is the LAW.
I should add that NO, Aliens, illegal or not, do NOT drive down the cost of labor: In part because of the language barrier, they tend to get menial jobs that Americans refuse to take, and it is easy to see why: The standard of living in this country makes it extremely difficult to live on $7.25/hour.
While we are on this topic, It is false to say that compared to Americans, they tend to be criminals.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/01/undocumented-immigrant-crime-rate-not-higher/72788637007/
and
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trumps-claims-migrant-crime-wave-are-not-supported-national-data-rcna140896
and
https://www.aol.com/news/myth-migrant-crime-wave-221559025.html
and if the various articles cited do not convince you, perhaps common sense will:
Folks who sneak through the border are hoping to remain undetected so that "la migra" does not deport them. Remember that once they are deported, even once, the ability to become an American Citizen is basically nil: It remains a blotch, a stain on their record that guarantees they will not have access to citizenship and the work and voting rights that go with it. They don't want to risk that.
Yeah, I know, that the "problem at the border" is all we hear from a certain segment of the political spectrum. Yet the same people are spitting on any solution, even the ones they've worked on, just to give Mr. Trump a plank to run on. [Since 2016, the RNC has not bothered to write a platform. They still don't have one: they don't know where they want to drive the Country past listening to Mr. Trump who, remember, in 2017 passed a tax break he was so proud of that he had a meeting with his CORPORATE donors and stated: "Today, I saved you all a lot of money". and indeed, he added trillions to the National debt by giving away all that money to the richest of the rich.
https://equitablegrowth.org/six-years-later-more-evidence-shows-the-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-benefits-u-s-business-owners-and-executives-not-average-workers/#:~:text=Yet%20the%20empirical%20evidence%20has,vast%20majority%20of%20U.S.%20workers.
So the moniker "Corporate Trump" would apply much better .
[Well, except that in spite of all his criming, Mr. Trump still had at least 7 bankruptcies, so maybe he is not such a great Businessman after all. Not a capable Captain of Industry, this Mr. Trump]
Please, do not feed the troll.
Yes he's a troll, but Cécile Stelzer-Johnson - you have said it so well.
Sharon, I agree. Always always ignore him!
Thank you Cécile for your strong denunciation of tfgmanbaby. It’s become apparent to me that magnuts like schmeckle have been carefully taught that the only response to facts about 🎃🤡💩 is lies about Biden. They need reprogramming.
You get a smile from me after a long days work .. thanks!
Gigi, you might check my reply to Cecile Stelzer-Johnson:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-2-2024/comment/50828462
p.s. You blatantly lie by associating me with Trump.
Cecile: no need to preach. We know the guy is false, is a demon that must not be allowed back into the White House. Which is only one reason why Biden must show spine dealing with border restrictions until Congress finally acts. But we know they don’t want to act in order to use it in November. Which is double why Biden must use executive hand.
Cecile's comment was good & very informative. It's important that, before making public statements, we have all the facts. Those who rant & make false statements about immigrants often don't have all the facts.
No such thing as an "Illegal alien".
"It's no fun being an illegal alien."
https://youtu.be/aqQv3qef21A?si=l7G6Croz4uB_UImp
"I'm an alien, I'm a legal alien"
https://youtu.be/d27gTrPPAyk?si=Ayhy0Dcd1unqKjeH
I detest that term and completely agree with you.
Cecile: I understand what you say and you are correct. When some of us say the border is broken, we really mean that the laws need to be amended because as they are now written, they (immigration laws) are being abused, arguably. We need to create more stringent laws. In my opinion, the same goes for parts of the 14th amendment which will never happen. We no longer need the birthright portion. It was enacted to prevent Afrocentric former enslaved from being returned to Africa. This is no longer an issue. But the border is being exploited by those the world over. And besides, you must not forget this last point, we on the democratic side will lose many votes if we don’t show backbone and respond appropriately.
Which laws Bill must be amended, abolish asylum? Chisel out the motto on the Statue of Liberty or re-write it: "Don't gives your poor or sick.Add "No Irish please. Absolutely no refugees from the Third Reich." Yikes -- send them back on the boat they rode in on.
How does one amend any law Mr. Speaker? Mr Speaker, Mr. Speaker -- does anyone know where the Dude is?
Not to mention, Bill, the urgent need for more agents and judges (or administrators?) to process the prodigious and growing backlog of cases!
Ah, if only it were a plank to Walk... tick tock
Thank you Cecile .. you’ve cleared a good bit of my misinformation and given me new factual sources which I’ve avoided searching in past as it’s been my head-in-the-sand (“I’m still working, I don’t have time to examine these statements” … etc)
You’ve made my day! Thank you!
Aliens do drive down the cost of labor. And companies have been importing foreign laborers for 200 years.
For example, did you know that as late as 1980, meat packers were black, and they earned decent middle class wages, thanks to decades of organizing? But that by that decade's end, they were immigrants, toiling under atrocious conditions for barely more than minimum wage? And that the same thing happened to most of the rest of unskilled work beginning around the same time?
See: Back of the Hiring Line: A 200 Year history of Immigration Surges, Employer Bias, and Depression of Black Wealth, by Roy Beck. ($14 on Amazon).
Beck gives the lie to the notion that there are jobs American workers won't do. As part of his research, he interviewed poultry workers recently laid off, in favor of immigrants. He asked the laid off workers if they'd take their jobs back if offered. No, they told him, becuase the wages were now so low that they'd have to sleep in their cars or live many to a house.
By the way, just so you know, I'm a lifelong Democrat, from a Democratic family. My great uncle, Philip Hornbein, a labor lawyer on labor's side, was de facto head of the Colorado Democratic Party for the first half of the last century, and he gave the speech at the '32 convention recommending an end to prohibition. Biden is the best president of my lifetime, which began in the first summer of the Eisenhower ADministration.
Don’t feed the troll.
Cecile Stelzer-Johnson, you actually make my point. "Nobody" will work minimum-wage jobs as long as Biden ensures a continuing supply of "nobodies" (illegal aliens). Cut off the supply of illegals, and companies will have to pay a living wage for unskilled labor.
"Corporate Joe" Biden comes from tiny corporatist Delaware, a suburb of Wall Street, where the "grass roots" voters work in the corporate headquarters buildings that Delaware is famous for.
The only truth in your post is that Biden is from Delaware. Stop posting nonsense
Please, do not feed the troll.
...said the hungry troll.
Rick Smith, you might check my reply to Cecile Stelzer-Johnson:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-2-2024/comment/50828462
Sorry to see you are still around. Get a life JS.
Please do not feed the troll.
Stop it both of you children.
...said the hungry troll.
Yes, Steve Wagener, you are sorry, with your content-free trollish sneer.
Cecile Stelzer-Johnson actually tried her hand at a rebuttal:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-2-2024/comment/50828462
Wrong. I think he has been a bit slow because of the psychological trait. If one side says red the other side say blue and so on. We all should stop listening to those who use partisan divide to vomit the same message over and over. Think for yourselves.
I can agree with that. That's part of why I supported Tulsi Gabbard during the 2020 Democratic primary season. She had the ability to make common-sense suggestions in search of a bipartisan consensus.
Hello! Our favorite troll retuns 👋👋👋👋👋👋👋
..to this hell-hole of lily-white Bidenista Harvard elitists.
Alright … y’all knock off the electronic duel so we can continue discussing
Issues that are important to all of us who are going to vote in November for the guy from Delaware vice the Felon from New York (no names please—if the Felon from NY becomes our next President he will seek revenge from posters such as us. You’ve been warned.)
PS. Sidebar comment correcting JS’s accusation of our choices of schools: Ole Miss vice Harvard. Hotty Tottie, y’all.
I think you, John, are putting too much emphasis on his ability to think things through. I can’t understand why he has not acted sooner on dealing with the untenable border.
Please do not feed the troll.
This is a comment post please don’t tell me what to do.
...said the hungry troll.
Any unbiased Supreme Court Justice would agree..I agree with you Matt but think conservative and liberal...as terms have become politicized. I think if we dig deep....we will see the term isn't liberal, it's unbiased.
In the past my comments have brought up how much our language matters. Again, emotional words often misdirect the actual conversation or discussion at hand. To get to the heart of the threats to our Democracy, consider how much meaning/definition matters in that discussion. That is the beauty and importance of Professor Richardson’s writing and explaining of the facts of our history in my opinion.
Don’t forget “corrupt”😡
The conservative justices are not independent thinkers. They take their orders and decide cases based upon the orders from Leo Leonard and the billionaires who fund the Heritage Foundation.
Matt, before the Senate changed SCOTUS Justice approval to a simple majority, Justice nominees had to be more centrist gain support of both parties. Now radical tribal judges have skewed their partisanship drastically into the hands of their oligarch benefactors
They presumably have the capacity, but space without content is just empty air.
Strangely corporations are increasingly granted the rights of persons while being relieved of a person's responsibilities. Isn't that how tyranny works? Extreme privilege with little to no accountability.
There is another way that would be much easier to make happen. But first we have to beat back the MAGA idiots and regain control of both houses of congress and the executive. This will be very hard given the Biden's response to the Gaza situation and the loss of support of the Arab-American voter. Right now, backing Bebe Netanyahu is exactly equivalent to backing Trump.
But saying that a miracle happens at the polls this year (e.g. young people actually turning out to vote for a change?), a simple piece of legislation that creates a national corporate chartering and governance oversight process for companies that congress declares to be critical national assets would do the trick. Then move to grab some key corporate charters away from the State of Delaware, throw out their current boards, and establish some new oversight process consistent with what Drucker envisioned. That would change the relationship.
Thanks for opening my head to broader ‘view’ of complexity and possibility for change … very messy c
It's a sad situation, and I wish it were not so, but Biden has become a liability to the Democrats over the past month. I don't think any of the factors that have created this situation are fair. His age should not be an issue given how fit he is. If there wasn't a truly effective campaign by the Russians and Chinese to poison sentiment about him in social media. If the Murdoch family had a tiny shred of decency. If the IDF hadn't acted like a bunch of undisciplined brown shirts in response to an equally horrific attack. Maybe changing any one of these would have been enough, but adding them together and it's just too much. If wishes were fishes...
I've gained a whole new view of Teddy Roosevelt, from reading LFAA. Ha! I've just been reading an account of his assassination attempt: "Schrank was immediately disarmed by Czech immigrant Frank Bukovsky[1] and captured" A Czech! an immigrant! he probably spoke language! a language nobody else can speak! terrible people! Jokes aside, the whole story was fascinating, and Roosevelt the man comes through it with flying colors.
I dismissed him because of the “big hunter” rep, but I came to realize that he was so much more than that. We owe him what we had until recently, to a great extent…
We have been brainwashed from Reagan on down to detest government. We are very close to Russia, we really are. Jamie Dimon is fine with Trump again. He said so out loud. He knows even if America is a hell hole dictatorship he will be one of the oligarchs who do just fine.
The same old people(like me-70 years old!) who take Social Security and Medicare from the government without batting an eye are the same Fox News watching, immigrant hating, Trump voting idiots who very well may give us a country we will not recognize or want to live in. We are living in literally insane times. If it would not affect me, those I love, and all the other innocent people it would hurt, I would LOVE all these idiots to lose their government benefits in the new world order of Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and DJT. And oh I forget—their military retirements. Looking at you, Michael Flynn.
Again, all this “secession” talk from idiots like my Gov. Abbott is likewise insane. People are so, so stupid and brainwashed to boot. Dr. R, thank you for all the amazing history lessons, today included. Boy, do we need a trust busting TR today.
Of course the American Oligarchs would turn (publicly or secretly) to TFG. Joe is pro-labor, pro fair taxation, and anti-monopoly. Why would any self-respecting Oligarch want Joe in the White House?!
Why would any self-respecting poor slob want chump back in the WH….
Rick A. it seems that with Reagan we saw the same government pendulum swinging back toward the big business interests similar to the era of the "Robber Barons" of the steel, railroad and banking industries following the last change of the century.
Almost choked when I read the Dimon quote. He knows better, but “I got mine.”
His time in the west increased his reverence for the value of wilderness and the establishment of national parks.
He used his suffering to mold himself. We all should do that because there is plenty of suffering these days. Use it for the good of the people. After all, the government is for the good of the people. A goal corrupted by Reagan (or Peggy Noonan) and the "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you." BTW, that's the reason I donate to the National Parks Foundation.
He has that in common with President Biden.
Indeed
And, boy, have some of us taken advantage of that reverence. The value of the wilderness....one of my top values.
I agree!!
Yes!
Jeri, I'd much rather have a "damn cowboy" as president than a damn criminal as president.
What a world!
I agree, Pam. Not only is death star a damn criminal, he is a festering cancer on the body politic, bent on destroying everything that decent people value. And how many minions like him have come out of the wall to take advantage like rampaging cancer cells. Rs are now the party of death.
Me thinks a cancer that started Out as a Nixon zygote but has grown Into a T. rex sized monster…
Yes, just a ball of cells with the Trick.....got a boost from RayGun, Bush I, and Dubya, and now the body politic is one big tumor....reeking rotting tumor. We need to cut (vote) it out.
You have said it!!
Jeri, he was a man trying desperately to get over the double loss of his wife and his mother on the same day while also trying to recover and strengthen himself from a childhood of sickness and pampering. He was trying to better himself as a a man before then trying to better a government with very lopsided priorities.
But his ego didn’t say, I deserve (blank) because I have suffered. You would think that chump had a horrific personal history. Nah, just a one that made him rotten to the bone
Jeri Chilcutt, so true. My opinion of the man also. And it can be so disconcerting when we read history and because of our recent past ( ~ 40+ years) my critical thinking (and probably others) gets tangled as we read these letters and Republicans & Democratic “titles” are used. The two have flip flopped completely.
The flip flop has apparently confused many, especially during Jim Crow and on until WW2. Reagan may have had some sense before Nancy got hold of him. When I became “woke,” the repubs were the elites (couldn’t stand arrogant Bill Buckley). Rupert did a masterful job (some already greased up by Rush), of convincing people that Dems were demons. From some of the interviews I’ve seen, that BS is still gospel with MAGAts
I always enjoy your comments Jeri! I've been appreciating the voting process here in CA. Everyone got a ballot in the mail. You can complete it and take it to the polls, drop of at a large choice of places - Firestation, library etc (locked Drop boxes of course) or go vote in person. I got a text from the Secretary of State the day after I voted that my ballot had been received and counted. If only everyone had this process
Thanks for your kind words. Wow, that is awesome. The fact that repubs try to discourage and do everything they can to make it difficult, should be reason enough to never vote repub again…
Very very true!!!!
The problem with tfg’s statement is at least ONE person can speak the language, not “no one.”
"Mornings on Horseback" is a brilliant read.
There are several excellent TR quotes in the letter:
"Instead, he believed the American people must create a strong federal government that could exert public control over corporations."
Wall Street hated TR but he was a populist and the people loved him.
Excellent letter today Heather, but I'm a big TR fan. I can't imagine how much more control the corporations and the richest hundred or so Americans would have today if it wasn't for TR's bold actions 100 years ago.
Doris Kearns Goodwin did an excellent bio on TR that I highly recommend. I'm sure there are others equally good. He was - like all humans - a mixed bag. He managed to be both a man of his time, and yet far ahead of it. We need his like in Washington today, for sure.
It was an awesome read! I think of the tragedy of the loss of his mom and wife within hours of each other and how he could not bear to see his daughter.
But there are still so many individual buccaneers, so many privateering corporate pirates messing around with US national policy at home and abroad.
We may in part owe the existence of the current Putin regime to the activities of these loose cannons. It was they that deliberately humiliated Russia when she was down, they that delivered "more shit for your face" -- quoting Bill Clinton to Boris Yeltsin.
They bear huge responsibility for the failure of democracy in Russia. Their activity so strengthened the defeated Communist Party that Yeltsin et al. had to doctor national elections to sideline the CP. The beginning of the end for democracy. Next came the installation of Putin.
Even this dangerous crook could have been handled more skilfully... as so many other s.o.b.s have been. Even without becoming another OUR S.O.B like Anastasio Somoza...
Our Democracy may have died long ago Gary Loft. The right leader at the right time. That’s how I view “old President Biden”
We are the board of directors of the boards of directors.
We have to do a much better job of it — b.rad
I wonder what Teddy Roosevelt would have thought of Tesla, Amazon, and Nvidia? I bet if he were with us today, he would have gone after Private Equity too, and the way they buy solid mom and pop companies, suck all the value from them with impunity, fire the knowledgeable employees, lock the doors, and leave communities weaker.
OMG, Patricia, Private Equity (formerly known as 'leveraged buy-outs') a ruining entire segments of the economy. They may well be one of the root causes of the housing/rent crisis, since some of them swooped in and bought up every foreclosed house they could after the housing crash, and turned them into rentals or flipped them later. Now they've moved into the medical/industrial complex....................
They’ve been there a while—
Medicine, Care, Education, and Prisons don’t belong in the for-profit sector
You are so right!
They are a blight in our neighborhood. Our neighbor, a former banker, mentioned the number of rentals in the our neighborhood. Then there is also corporate buy out of businesses like vet clinics. Ours in independent but swamped because a corporation bought out a local one nearby. Many years ago, I used to buy lots of seeds from the British company, Thompson and Morgan. Then they were bought out, sucked dry, and I doubt they even exist anymore. I have seen this happen to many companies. When I am grocery shopping at our local natural foods market, I try to buy brands that have not been bought by some large conglomerate. The local Saturday outdoor market started yesterday, another opportunity to support local farmers, ranchers, and artists. We didn't go because the weather early was not good, but well go next weekend. People line up for the good stuff. A friend bought some pastries for our coffee get together from a supermarket that is now part of a Canadian company. She paid 8.79 for each one. Eek.
Does anyone know of a legislator who is willing to write legislation to regulate Private Equity? Maybe we could all write to him/her. There must be one of them out there whose hand isn't getting greased.
Not just mom and pop--remember the rash of "buy, deplete, and bankrupt" raids on airlines? Travel today suffers from the aftermath of those mergers, in service, safety, and squishing travelers like sardines.
Don't forget hostile takeovers!
Are you referring to Bain Capital - Romney’s company?
Would love to see Citizens United ride off into the sunset on a rough ridin' horse!
Yes, but it won't ride off by itself...
True. Vote ‘em out!
Juxtapose Trump saying that for every new regulation, 5 regulations should be dismantled. The party of Lincoln is no more. But we already knew this.
Kem, I was about to say the same thing. Now, I will just share your post.
KEM, you, Matt Fulkerson and Ally House beat me to these comments. I hope that I live to see our government tame the Supreme Court's rampage against our citizens' rights by overturning Citizens United and codifying Roe v. Wade, for starters.
If only
No more corporate attorneys on the courts, especially the Supreme Court.
Corporations are not people, my friend.
The question this court has framed to consider re immunity smacked to me of the overreach that the citizens United case, which originally was much narrower, exhibited.
I actually think they framed the question as the overriding Constitutional question. The Supreme Court is only supposed to hear matters regarding Constitutional or Federal law issues. My complaint is that the actions under consideration are so flagrantly unconstitutional that they should have refused to hear the appeal.
Doesn't the name "Citizens United" catch an Orwell prize for sound like exactly what it's not?
And yes, if we are the ultimate authority for our government's direction and legitimacy, we have complete control over what behaviors those with a corporate license are and are not permitted to perform, over and above the rights of any citizen. Do we not wield just powers from the consent of the governed? We have been conned into recreating an overarching (think Musk) aristocracy of quasi-feudal lords.
Yes, the name CU makes my blood churn. I was trying to say that so many folks think we just can’t fight the billionaires and their practices and policies. But that’s not true. We fight them by electing as our representatives people who will vote for campaign reform. Amy Klobuchar introduces legislation every session; we can elect people who will join that fight.
It is like a damn Monopoly game played over and over. Capitalism versus representative government. "IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said the total "financial activity" associated with the unfiled returns tops $100 billion, and unpaid tax liabilities could easily run into the hundreds of millions of dollars." Don't pass go, pay your taxes. Slow them down, at least. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/taxes/us-irs-aims-to-collect-on-125000-unfiled-high-income-tax-returns/ar-BB1j86bZ
Great complements KEM
Yes and Bobby is the only candidate that can break us free from the corporate capture. He is campaigning on it.Biden has proven ineffective on it. Sinema and Manchin are examples of it.
What could Biden have done to "break us free from the corporate capture"?
And what will Bobby be able to accomplish that Biden couldn't?
Careful Gary you might get blocked for talking to me.That’s what HCR did to me on her facebook politics chats.
Waaugh.
RFKJR said Biden has appointed the wrong people to the head of government agencies. For example, the head of the NIH came from a pharmaceutical company. He made rules to favor that company. He then went back to work for that company and raked in millions!
The head of NIH is a woman, and she did not come from a pharmaceutical company. You are spreading propaganda.
Yes I am and I want to correct myself.I do not want to spread misinformation . Please forgive me for texting off the top of my head and getting it wrong. What I was referring to was Scott Gottlieb, a business partner to Pfizer . He was the one who worked for our government and then went back to Pfizer and raked in millions . Is that correct?
Or RFKJR is.
It’s in a Kennedy video 2 weeks ago titled Do you think Trump drained the swamp . Please look it up Kathy and thanks for correcting me!
It’s too late. The monied class controls government. The fight is all but over. If we can gain super majorities in Congress, maybe there is a chance. But I am doubtful.