General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: EXCLUSIVE: Justice Department Memo Reveals Legal Case For Drone Strikes On Americans - MSNBC [View all]ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...shudder.
The sooner we figure out that this nation is NOT ruled by the Constitution the sooner we can figure out what to do about it.
Think about it: The Constitution says we should not have a standing Army. The reality is that we have the largest most powerful military -- including an army -- that the world has ever seen. And it is a permanent institution.
The Constitution says that Congress must declare war. The reality is that if the Executive branch pushes hard enough for war, then Congress will abdicate its duty with some wishy-washy "authorization" and voila! there's a war or two going on without any formal declaration. And at the moment we've seen these two wars last longer than any other wars in our history.
The Constitution says that We The People have rights, such as the right against unreasonable search and seizure, and the right to due process, and the right of habeas corpus. The reality is that the government can, will and does scan our emails at will, they can and do raid houses at will, they seize property at will and use it to further fund our out-of-control police.
The Constitution says there shall be no cruel and unusual punishment. The reality is that our jails are so inhumane that it is an accepted fact that prisoners will be raped, that they will suffer in 100-degree-plus heat with no air conditioning, that they will be fed food not really fit for human consumption, et fucking cetera. The reality is that we jail more of our population than any other nation on earth -- as a percentage of our population, and in absolute numbers, beating China handily even though China has 4 times as many people and is supposedly an oppressive government.
The Constitution says that we have equal protection under the law. The reality is that there's one set of rules for the 99% and no rules at all for the 1%. The fat cats have taken over the government and the regulatory agencies, and the lobbyists write the laws, to their own benefit with little to no consideration for how it affects the bulk of the population. And organizations like ALEC coordinate it all, for the benefit of the corporations, From Whom All Good Things Flow.
This is happening here and it is happening around the world. Governments are irrelevant except insofar as they serve the agenda of the corporations. The real power resides with the monied elites. Certainly the monied elites have always maintained a disproportionate share of the power -- it's the way of the world. But what we are seeing is a global takeover on a massive scale. They aren't even hiding it anymore. It's the new feudalism. If you (like me) have often wondered why we have fewer protests today, or why the ones we have are quashed so readily before any real movement can form, look no further than the debt servitude most of us are in. People need money to eat and have a roof over their heads. They are scared to rock the boat when it's already taking on water and listing. Even students have piles of debt, and it's debt that cannot be discharged via bankruptcy.
The schools have become enterprises that are run "by the numbers". Creativity is not cherished, it is squashed. They don't want to our public schools to train the next generation of thinkers and innovators (at least not among the masses); that is best left to the fancy, expensive private schools for the children of the elites. All you have to do is become a billionaire and you, too, can be an elite. Other than that, you can suck on it. The best you can hope for is training to become employable.
People need to learn who the real enemy is. Hint: it's not your working-class neighbor (whether you are a conservative and your neighbor is a liberal, or vice versa). It's the greedy bastards who don't give a rat's ass while they plunder the environment and get rich off the labor of their overworked and underpaid employees; it's the foolish rich who hide behind $500 shades while they ride in limousines with tinted windows and board private jets, never having to sully their day by rubbing elbows with the great unwashed, never having to submit to the cattle chutes of the security line in the airports. It's the manipulative power-mongers who get off on the high of power, never pausing to consider the inevitable consequences of their choices, such as the choice to keep us in a permanent state of war so that the few can benefit while the children of the many are left behind, or used as cannon fodder.
Yes it's that bad.
/end rant