FINALLY!
I FINALLY saw it in print! I’ve been saying it for over a decade now, ever since the Supreme Court ruled that not all votes have to be counted in Florida, handing the Presidency to unelected George Bush. What they meant, of course, is that not all democratic votes have to be counted. If those Florida votes had been predominantly Republican, you can bet your bottom booties they would have been counted. The Supreme Court disgraced itself with this blatantly partisan decision. It should be noted, however, that the Supremes do include four good, honest, fair-minded justices, including Obama’s recent picks, but the five rock-ribbed Republicans––JohnRoberts (Chief Justice) and Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas––are enough of a majority to control the shenanigans.
In the February 2011 issue of the Lowdown, Jim Hightower said it loud and clear, after highlighting some of the sins of this Republican-dominated court:
1) In 2007in Lilly Ledbetter vs Goodyear Tire. Here they ruled for the Corporation because Ms Ledbetter did not file her sexual discrimination suit within the 180 day filing period. But for years she did not know she was being paid less than men doing the same work. As soon as she found out, she filed. “Tough!” ruled the Gang of Five.
2) In 2008 the five Republicans reduced the damage award Exxon Corporation was ordered to pay for the Alaska oil spill from 5 billion dollars to 500 million––a mere 10% of the original amount.
3) Twice in 2009 the Fearsome Five handed Big Corporate America more windfalls by ruling against the Environmental Protection Agency on two major cases.
4) But let me get to the really bad stuff: In 2010 the five Protectors of Plutocracy pulled off the biggest heist of all. In the notorious Citizens United case they ruled that there shall be no limits to the amount of money corporations and their lobbyists can put into politics. This ruling overturned decades of previous decisions, nullified the sensible laws of 22 states, and thumbed their noses at democracy, decency, and the American people. This issue was not about “freedom of speech,” as they’d like us to believe, but about whose speech will be heard. And now you can be sure that CORPORATE POLITICAL SPEECH, with its millions of dollars, will overwhelm the rest of us.
From the final page of the February Lowdown: “John Roberts, the leader of the pack, has turned into an autocratic, unelected national lawmaker, imposing his political vision as the law of our land. He is doing major structural damage to America’s unifying sense of fairness and justice. We can’t allow him to keep hiding behind the judicial robe while he mugs us and our democratic ideals. HE SHOULD BE IMPEACHED." (Capitals mine.) Someone finally had the courage to write that John Roberts should be impeached!
You can subscribe to the Hightower Lowdown ($15.00/year, $12,00 seniors) at:
PO Box 20596, New York, NY 10011
(I have no financial interest in this publication.)
