bullypulpit
10-25-2011, 08:19 AM
I work with intelligent, highly educated people for whom critical thinking skills are essential, It continually surprises me, however, just how many of them uncritically accept the portrayal of the Occupy Wall Street movement as a bunch of “dirty hippies”, spoiled children and freeloaders by FOX News and the, supposedly, librul media in this country.
The fact is that the OWS movement arose from the ashes of the Supreme Court’s decision in “Citizens United v. FEC”, which allows corporations to further distort the democratic process by contributing unlimited funds to produce ads for or against a given candidate (Brennan Center for Justice, 2010) (http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/citizens_united_v_fec/). And no matter what pretzel logic the majority decision used to justify the decision, money is not free speech and corporations are not persons.
As a result, the voices of the people are being drowned out by the flood of corporate money, much of it anonymous (Public Citizen, 2011 (http://www.citizen.org/documents/Citizens-United-20110113.pdf)), into the coffers of groups like American Crossroads, Crossroads GPS, Freedom Works, the Tea Party and other right wing PACs which, due to the huge influx of corporate money, have come to be known as “super PACs”.
Occupy Wall Street, in fact represents a wide variety of people, from various walks of life. Young and old, poor and middle class, black, white, and Hispanic, for and against President Obama…but they came together for a common cause (Boykin, 2011) (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-boykin/occupy-wall-street-media_b_1019707.html). A cause people all over the country are responding to. They have come together at the epicenter of the near collapse of the US economy in 2008…Wall Street. They have come to seek redress from those who helped create the system which led to that near collapse…Our elected leaders and in particular, the Republican Party. They are simply doing that which is our right and responsibility, they are seeking to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions and seek redress for a system which serves and places the interests of corporations above those of the interests of “We, the people…”
References:
Boykin, K. (2011, October 19). Everything The Media Told You About Occupy Wall Street Is Wrong. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from The Hufington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-boykin/occupy-wall-street-media_b_1019707.html
Brennan Center for Justice. (2010, January 21). Citizens United v. FEC (Amicus Brief). Retrieved October 25, 2011, from Brennan Center for Justice: http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/citizens_united_v_fec/
Public Citizen. (2011). 12 Months After: The Effects of Citizens United on Elections and the Integrity of the Legislative Process. Public Citizen. http://www.citizen.org/documents/Citizens-United-20110113.pdf
The fact is that the OWS movement arose from the ashes of the Supreme Court’s decision in “Citizens United v. FEC”, which allows corporations to further distort the democratic process by contributing unlimited funds to produce ads for or against a given candidate (Brennan Center for Justice, 2010) (http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/citizens_united_v_fec/). And no matter what pretzel logic the majority decision used to justify the decision, money is not free speech and corporations are not persons.
As a result, the voices of the people are being drowned out by the flood of corporate money, much of it anonymous (Public Citizen, 2011 (http://www.citizen.org/documents/Citizens-United-20110113.pdf)), into the coffers of groups like American Crossroads, Crossroads GPS, Freedom Works, the Tea Party and other right wing PACs which, due to the huge influx of corporate money, have come to be known as “super PACs”.
Occupy Wall Street, in fact represents a wide variety of people, from various walks of life. Young and old, poor and middle class, black, white, and Hispanic, for and against President Obama…but they came together for a common cause (Boykin, 2011) (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-boykin/occupy-wall-street-media_b_1019707.html). A cause people all over the country are responding to. They have come together at the epicenter of the near collapse of the US economy in 2008…Wall Street. They have come to seek redress from those who helped create the system which led to that near collapse…Our elected leaders and in particular, the Republican Party. They are simply doing that which is our right and responsibility, they are seeking to hold our elected officials accountable for their actions and seek redress for a system which serves and places the interests of corporations above those of the interests of “We, the people…”
References:
Boykin, K. (2011, October 19). Everything The Media Told You About Occupy Wall Street Is Wrong. Retrieved October 25, 2011, from The Hufington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-boykin/occupy-wall-street-media_b_1019707.html
Brennan Center for Justice. (2010, January 21). Citizens United v. FEC (Amicus Brief). Retrieved October 25, 2011, from Brennan Center for Justice: http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/citizens_united_v_fec/
Public Citizen. (2011). 12 Months After: The Effects of Citizens United on Elections and the Integrity of the Legislative Process. Public Citizen. http://www.citizen.org/documents/Citizens-United-20110113.pdf