Week in Review: Jan 22, 2010
Welcome to the first installment of Week in Review for Friday, January 22, 2010. Some of the top political issues and stories will be highlighted at the end of each week.
Prop 8 Trial
Wanted to direct readers to a live blogging account of the Prop 8 trial. The bloggers there are either in the courtroom or in the overflow room in San Francisco as the trial is being conducted…. Have a good read over at http://prop8trialtracker.com
And don’t forget to take the Gay or Straight Marriage Quiz!
Supreme Court Ruling
We already knew that this one was coming so there is no need to be shocked by the outcome.. the Roberts court has not only reaffirmed personhood on corporations but the ability of those non-human “persons” to provide an infinite amount of cash to political campaigns. What to do next? Here are some actions being proposed in Congress now by a true maverick, FL representative Alan Grayson..
Grayson introduced a handful of bills on Wednesday — the Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act, the Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act, the End Political Kickbacks Act, and two other measures.
The Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act would impose a 500 percent excise tax on corporate contributions to political committees and on corporate expenditures on political advocacy campaigns. The Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act would require public companies to report what they spend to influence public opinion on any matter other than the promotion of their goods and services. The End Political Kickbacks Act would restrict political contributions by government contractors.
MA – Senate
So what’s the story behind the Massachusetts election of a Republican to a Senate seat for the first time since the Eisenhower Administration? The smart money is that voters were upset that the change promised during the Presidential election was not being delivered. So Independents took to the non-Democratic candidate to, in the process, vote against their own self-interests. The traditional media will attempt to spin the results into a story that says that Obama was too liberal. These polling results should put an end to that kind of crazy talk… or will it? MoveOn.org has a petition up requesting signatures from individuals who agree with this:
It’s time to fight for working families
For the last year, Democrats in Washington have let lobbyists and corporate interests run roughshod over the peoples’ business. Wall Street got bailouts. Bankers got bonuses. Big Insurance rewrote the health care bill. Meanwhile, ordinary Americans struggled to make ends meet.
But now thanks to the Massachusetts special election, Democrats finally know they need to change course. The question is, will they learn exactly the wrong lesson? Will they give up on change altogether?
We need to make sure Democrats don’t get it wrong this time. It’s time to demand that they start truly fighting for working families. Pass real health care reform. Reign in Wall street. Take on the banks and special interests that stand in the way of change.
W Emerges!
George W came out from hibernation, saw his shadow, and within moments, was prepared to warn Americans against <insert possible ethnic slur here>:
“One of my concerns is shysters show up and take advantage of people’s good will and generosity”.
I guess W knows a thing or two about that..?