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Jim Hightower
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog. -M.Twain
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Hightower Lowdown:
Big biz wants to own the information superhighway while We the People bump along the backroads
In the 1970s, Lily Tomlin developed an iconic comic character she named Ernestine--a telephone clerk who took perverse pleasure from hectoring customers. Her character was a perfect portrayal of the arrogance of AT&T, the monopolistic telephone giant of that day. In one skit on on the TV show, Laugh-In, Tomlin had Ernestine delivering a TV pitch for the corporation:
"A gracious hello," she cheerfully began, speaking directly into the camera. "Here at the Phone Company, we handle 84 billion calls a year. So, we realize that every so often, you can't get an operator, or for no apparent reason your phone goes out of order, or perhaps you get charged for a call you didn't make. We don't care!"
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The General Store
"The People Are Revolting! (in the very best sense of the word)"
With his aw-shucks charisma and no-nonsense attitude, he dishes out what's wrong with the eroding...
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There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos
"I make a lot of money these days speaking to corporations, so I'd really prefer not to admit how...
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Swim Against the Current
The New York Times bestselling author and America's funniest activist gives the lowdown on...
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Have a gander at the whole store here...
DEMOCRACY V. ZIP CODE 10021
The most popular zip code in America for politicians is 10021.
This is the Upper East Side of Manhattan, home to CEOs, stockbrokers, and wealthy investors. In last year's congressional elections, more campaign contributions flowed from this one posh neighborhood than from hundreds of other zip codes combined.
These corporate elites are not writing the big checks to Senator Windbag and Rep. Blowhard because they want to support "good government" – they're out to buy government, using their checks to gain favor from lawmakers who can do favors for them.
Big money has stunted our democracy and corrupted Washington. Instead of representing the folks back home or grappling with the big issues of our time, Congress Critters spend their time dragging a sack to lobbyists’ offices, corporate suites, and other privileged zip codes, filling their sacks with corrupt funds.
The rule of thumb for newly elected senators, for example, is that they must raise $25,000 every single week of their six-year term to have enough to win re-election. That means they're sacking up more money in two weeks than the typical American family earns in a whole year.
Well, that's just the way it is, say those profiting from the system. There's nothing anyone can do about it.
BS! One thing we can do is get behind the Fair Elections Now Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin and Arlen Specter. This proposal, S.936, sets up a clean system that combines spending limits and public funding of congressional campaigns. It's based on highly successful models already working in Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, and elsewhere.
This is Jim Hightower saying... This is reform that works. A Fair Election Coalition of grassroots groups has formed to pass this bill. To get involved, call Public Campaign: 202-293-0222. Let's take our democracy back from the rich zip codes.
www.publiccampaign.org