| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Black Elk" |
| Date: |
07 Oct 2005 09:53:53 PM |
| Object: |
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
And the reichwing loves it.
---
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
October 06, 2005
Al Gore was vice president of the United States. The following is the
prepared text of the speech he delivered to the The Media Center's We Media
conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City.
I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave
danger. It is no longer possible to ignore the strangeness of our public
discourse. I know that I am not the only one who feels that something has
gone basically and badly wrong in the way America's fabled "marketplace of
ideas" now functions.
How many of you, I wonder, have heard a friend or a family member in the
last few years remark that it's almost as if America has entered "an
alternate universe"?
I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said
they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on
September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a
half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and
supporting the attack.
At first I thought the exhaustive, non-stop coverage of the O.J. trial was
just an unfortunate excess that marked an unwelcome departure from the
normal good sense and judgment of our television news media. But now we know
that it was merely an early example of a new pattern of serial obsessions
that periodically take over the airwaves for weeks at a time.
Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it feel
right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice? And
does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not this
abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the
American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and
economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem
increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?
-cont.-
http://www.tompaine.com/print/our_democracy_has_been_hollowed_out.php
--
Doomed to defeat by the superior Allied forces, it was thought that the
forces of fascism had been routed and that the world was safe for democracy.
The irony is that the intelligence apparatus of the U.S. government saved
many of the most hardened Nazi war criminals from a certain execution in
order to recruit them as scientists, spies and guerrilla warriors in the
anticipated war with the Soviet Union. And this had dire effects on our
country's democracy.
Many Americans may not be aware of this wide spread recruitment of SS and
Gestapo alumni into our intelligence agencies but it has had a profound
effect on the shaping of our domestic and foreign policy, often with ruinous
consequences. The legacy of this incorporation of Nazis into the CIA and
U.S. military has been a half a century of support for fascist regimes,
juntas, death squads, torture and the overthrow of democratically elected
governments around the world.
http://archive.democrats.com/view2.cfm?id=9099
--
Virtually all of the specific economic policies advocated by the Italian and
German fascists of the 1930s have also been adopted in the United States in
some form, and continue to be adopted to this day. Sixty years ago, those
who adopted these interventionist policies in Italy and Germany did so
because they wanted to destroy economic liberty, free enterprise, and
individualism. Only if these institutions were abolished could they hope to
achieve the kind of totalitarian state they had in mind.
http://www.banned-books.com/truth-seeker/1994archive/121_3/ts213l.html
--
The fair use of a copyrighted work:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site
is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
.
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| User: "Dana" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
07 Oct 2005 10:16:56 PM |
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"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128740034.67fb8f80bfb63f5790896d23bc1caa40@teranews...
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
No, al it has not been hollowed out, you lost the election.
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| User: "Black Elk" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
07 Oct 2005 10:23:03 PM |
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"Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote in message
news:11kee80s1rmcl58@corp.supernews.com...
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128740034.67fb8f80bfb63f5790896d23bc1caa40@teranews...
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
No, al it has not been hollowed out, you lost the election.
Like I said, reichwingers love that fact that our democracy has been taken
over by a bunch of fundamentalist psychos bent on turning the world into
their garbage dump or battlefield.
BTW, Gore won the national popular vote by over a half million votes and
lost by a 5-4 decision of the conservative Republican majority on the USSC.
Further proof that the reichwing has used fascist methods to ensure its
chokehold on power and laughing at what used to be an American democracy.
--
Virtually all of the specific economic policies advocated by the Italian and
German fascists of the 1930s have also been adopted in the United States in
some form, and continue to be adopted to this day. Sixty years ago, those
who adopted these interventionist policies in Italy and Germany did so
because they wanted to destroy economic liberty, free enterprise, and
individualism. Only if these institutions were abolished could they hope to
achieve the kind of totalitarian state they had in mind.
http://www.banned-books.com/truth-seeker/1994archive/121_3/ts213l.html
.
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| User: "Dana" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 12:30:57 AM |
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"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128741786.b730c70ea082f7b7c974fe917f164398@teranews...
"Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote in message
news:11kee80s1rmcl58@corp.supernews.com...
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128740034.67fb8f80bfb63f5790896d23bc1caa40@teranews...
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
No, al it has not been hollowed out, you lost the election.
Like I said, reichwingers love that fact that our democracy has been taken
over by a bunch of fundamentalist psychos
Keep crying loser. All you have are lies, which is why you are always
crying.
.
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| User: "Black Elk" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 10:59:33 AM |
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"Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote in message
news:11kem3baum7t05@corp.supernews.com...
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128741786.b730c70ea082f7b7c974fe917f164398@teranews...
"Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote in message
news:11kee80s1rmcl58@corp.supernews.com...
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128740034.67fb8f80bfb63f5790896d23bc1caa40@teranews...
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
No, al it has not been hollowed out, you lost the election.
Like I said, reichwingers love that fact that our democracy has been
taken
over by a bunch of fundamentalist psychos
Keep crying loser. All you have are lies, which is why you are always
crying.
The world has become a negative place since you and your ilk were able to
seize power through the 2000 debacle. That is a fact. It has been downhill
ever since. Name ONE thing that Bush has done that is positive for the U.S.
or world!!
Fundamentlist psychos have taken power with the assistance of stooges like
you who don't have the intelligence to think for yourselves.
Gore gives a perfect example of the lack of intelligence of the reichwing:
Gore sez:
I thought maybe it was an aberration when three-quarters of Americans said
they believed that Saddam Hussein was responsible for attacking us on
September 11, 2001. But more than four years later, between a third and a
half still believe Saddam was personally responsible for planning and
supporting the attack.
Bush sez:
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we, They never stop
thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do
we."
George W. Bush
August 5, 2004
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| User: "Werner Hetzner" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 12:53:40 PM |
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Black Elk wrote:
...
The world has become a negative place since you and your ilk were able to
seize power through the 2000 debacle. That is a fact. It has been downhill
ever since. Name ONE thing that Bush has done that is positive for the U.S.
or world!!
He reduced taxes and some regulations.
But of course this is only at the margins. He depends on his base as
much as the richleft depends on people like you. Essentially nothing
changes. Republians and Democrats can't change. They are prisoners of
politics just as we are. None of us will settle for less of the public
trough.
http://searchtheplace.com/LPNY/reform.html
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| User: "Deaf Power" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 08:29:03 AM |
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On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 21:30:57 -0800, "Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote:
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128741786.b730c70ea082f7b7c974fe917f164398@teranews...
"Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote in message
news:11kee80s1rmcl58@corp.supernews.com...
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128740034.67fb8f80bfb63f5790896d23bc1caa40@teranews...
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
No, al it has not been hollowed out, you lost the election.
Like I said, reichwingers love that fact that our democracy has been taken
over by a bunch of fundamentalist psychos
Keep crying loser. All you have are lies, which is why you are always
crying.
You must be one of those fundamentalist brainwashed psychos!
.
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| User: "Werner Hetzner" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
07 Oct 2005 10:05:17 PM |
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Black Elk wrote:
And the reichwing loves it.
---
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
October 06, 2005
Al Gore was vice president of the United States. The following is the
prepared text of the speech he delivered to the The Media Center's We Media
conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City.
I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave
danger. ...
Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it feel
right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice? And
does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not this
abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the
American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and
economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem
increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?
It seems Gore is not aware of the following:
if "we the people'' must pay for a "money pit'' we obviously don't
want, does that not make us accountable to
government?
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Accountable.shtml
schools
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/PerformanceGap.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/ReportCard.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Schools.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Environment.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Social%20Security.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Health%20Care.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Drugs.shtm
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Education.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Poverty.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/ExampleTOC.shtml
and more
Dollars in the common treasury are like fish in the common sea - anyone
who can will harvest to extinction. That is why socialism is
fundamentally corrupting and can not work. ----
Wasn't America supposed to be about voluntary agreement instead of
forced obedience?
Isn't it high time to join The Resistance?
http://www.ny.lp.org/choice
----
"
In crafting the Bill of Rights, the framers were careful to acknowledge
implicitly and explicitly two key truths:
The first is that government does not grant rights it acknowledges them.
They exist independently of government. They're part of who and what we
are. And, as Jefferson noted in the Declaration of Independence, the
only legitimate function of government is to secure them.
The second is that government is a servant to whom we delegate powers,
not a master who dispenses privileges. The Constitution carefully
enumerates the powers we, the people, delegate to our government and it
specifically denies that government any powers not so delegated. Our
rights lie beyond the pale of that delegation. They are sacrosanct. Any
government which infringes upon them is engaged in an intolerable
usurpation.
"
www.badnarik.org
-----
A "right" as envisioned by the Founders meant that the government was
not permitted to interfere with your pursuit of them, i.e., your
pursuit of happiness was to be unhindered by government.
The "right" of free speech means that government cannot interfere
with your free speech. The "right" of gun ownership means that the
government cannot infringe your gun ownership. What does "right" to
health care mean? It means that the government cannot stand in the
way of your pursuit of health care, or impede your obtaining health
care. The "right" to an attorney means that the government cannot
prevent you obtaining an attorney to represent you.
Of course, "right" has incorrectly come to mean that someone must
supply you with something. If your "right" to housing means that some
slave must supply you with housing, and your "right" to health care
means that some slave must supply you with health care, and your
"right" to an attorney means that some slave must supply you with an
attorney, does your "right" to free speech mean that some slave must
supply you with a loudspeaker, or TV air time? Does your "right" to own
guns mean that some slave must supply you with guns?
Gary Popkin,
NYC
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Rights.shtml
---
.
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| User: "Black Elk" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
07 Oct 2005 10:19:07 PM |
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"Werner Hetzner" <whetzner@mac.com> wrote in message
news:4347376F.9030907@mac.com...
Black Elk wrote:
And the reichwing loves it.
---
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
October 06, 2005
Al Gore was vice president of the United States. The following is the
prepared text of the speech he delivered to the The Media Center's We
Media conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City.
I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave
danger. ...
Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it
feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the practice?
And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not
this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of the
American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily and
economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem
increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?
It seems Gore is not aware of the following:
if "we the people'' must pay for a "money pit'' we obviously don't want,
does that not make us accountable to government?
The fact is the peoples money is being siphoned off by rightwingers for
corporate tax cuts and unnecessary wars. The Bush administration is spending
7 billion dollars a month in Iraq, where do you think that money is coming
from?
--
"From the brief time that we did spend occupying Iraqi territory
after the war, I am certain that had we taken all of Iraq, we would
have been like the dinosaur in the tar pit - we would still be there,
and we, not the United Nations, would be bearing the costs of
the occupation. This is a burden I am sure the beleaguered
American taxpayer would not have been happy to take on."
- Norman Schwarzkopf, from his 1993 autobiography, "It Doesn't
Take a Hero."
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Accountable.shtml
schools
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/PerformanceGap.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/ReportCard.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Schools.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Environment.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Social%20Security.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Health%20Care.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Drugs.shtm
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Education.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Poverty.shtml
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/ExampleTOC.shtml
and more
Dollars in the common treasury are like fish in the common sea - anyone
who can will harvest to extinction. That is why socialism is fundamentally
corrupting and can not work. ----
Wasn't America supposed to be about voluntary agreement instead of forced
obedience?
Isn't it high time to join The Resistance?
http://www.ny.lp.org/choice
----
"
In crafting the Bill of Rights, the framers were careful to acknowledge
implicitly and explicitly two key truths:
The first is that government does not grant rights it acknowledges them.
They exist independently of government. They're part of who and what we
are. And, as Jefferson noted in the Declaration of Independence, the only
legitimate function of government is to secure them.
The second is that government is a servant to whom we delegate powers, not
a master who dispenses privileges. The Constitution carefully enumerates
the powers we, the people, delegate to our government and it specifically
denies that government any powers not so delegated. Our rights lie beyond
the pale of that delegation. They are sacrosanct. Any government which
infringes upon them is engaged in an intolerable usurpation.
"
www.badnarik.org
-----
A "right" as envisioned by the Founders meant that the government was
not permitted to interfere with your pursuit of them, i.e., your pursuit
of happiness was to be unhindered by government.
The "right" of free speech means that government cannot interfere with
your free speech. The "right" of gun ownership means that the
government cannot infringe your gun ownership. What does "right" to
health care mean? It means that the government cannot stand in the way
of your pursuit of health care, or impede your obtaining health care.
The "right" to an attorney means that the government cannot prevent you
obtaining an attorney to represent you.
Of course, "right" has incorrectly come to mean that someone must supply
you with something. If your "right" to housing means that some slave
must supply you with housing, and your "right" to health care means that
some slave must supply you with health care, and your "right" to an
attorney means that some slave must supply you with an attorney, does your
"right" to free speech mean that some slave must supply you with a
loudspeaker, or TV air time? Does your "right" to own guns mean that some
slave must supply you with guns?
Gary Popkin,
NYC
http://1marketsquare.com/CapLP/Rights.shtml
---
.
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| User: "Dana" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 12:30:00 AM |
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"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128741548.8353657946928a0eca34a80eaf144977@teranews...
"Werner Hetzner" <whetzner@mac.com> wrote in message
news:4347376F.9030907@mac.com...
Black Elk wrote:
And the reichwing loves it.
---
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
October 06, 2005
Al Gore was vice president of the United States. The following is the
prepared text of the speech he delivered to the The Media Center's We
Media conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City.
I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave
danger. ...
Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it
feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the
practice?
And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not
this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of
the
American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily
and
economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem
increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?
It seems Gore is not aware of the following:
if "we the people'' must pay for a "money pit'' we obviously don't
want,
does that not make us accountable to government?
The fact is the peoples money is being siphoned off by rightwingers for
corporate tax cuts
You are a liar.
.
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| User: "Black Elk" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 11:00:26 AM |
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"Dana" <whoya@whoya.com> wrote in message
news:11kem1hd16h14dd@corp.supernews.com...
"Black Elk" <windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1128741548.8353657946928a0eca34a80eaf144977@teranews...
"Werner Hetzner" <whetzner@mac.com> wrote in message
news:4347376F.9030907@mac.com...
Black Elk wrote:
And the reichwing loves it.
---
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
October 06, 2005
Al Gore was vice president of the United States. The following is the
prepared text of the speech he delivered to the The Media Center's We
Media conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City.
I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave
danger. ...
Are we still routinely torturing helpless prisoners, and if so, does it
feel right that we as American citizens are not outraged by the
practice?
And does it feel right to have no ongoing discussion of whether or not
this abhorrent, medieval behavior is being carried out in the name of
the
American people? If the gap between rich and poor is widening steadily
and
economic stress is mounting for low-income families, why do we seem
increasingly apathetic and lethargic in our role as citizens?
It seems Gore is not aware of the following:
if "we the people'' must pay for a "money pit'' we obviously don't
want,
does that not make us accountable to
government?
The fact is the peoples money is being siphoned off by rightwingers for
corporate tax cuts
You are a liar.
No, you're a knee-jerking fundamentalist psycho.
--
Virtually all of the specific economic policies advocated by the Italian and
German fascists of the 1930s have also been adopted in the United States in
some form, and continue to be adopted to this day. Sixty years ago, those
who adopted these interventionist policies in Italy and Germany did so
because they wanted to destroy economic liberty, free enterprise, and
individualism. Only if these institutions were abolished could they hope to
achieve the kind of totalitarian state they had in mind.
http://www.banned-books.com/truth-seeker/1994archive/121_3/ts213l.html
.
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| User: "Werner Hetzner" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 08:18:49 AM |
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Black Elk wrote:
...
The fact is the peoples money is being siphoned off by rightwingers for
corporate tax cuts and unnecessary wars. The Bush administration is spending
7 billion dollars a month in Iraq, where do you think that money is coming
from?
Money grows on tree. Afer all, that is how it's spent.
Corporations don't pay taxes any more than they pay wages or raw
material costs. Their customers pay for everything. Clearly customers
prefer to pay less so they buy cheaper stuff from overseas.
Basically, politicians have the ability to fill the treasury with your
money and use it to buy votes.
Clearly the treasury is an essential element of political power. Dollars
in the common treasury are like fish in the common sea. Fish can be
harvested to extinction. Dollars can be spent into bankruptcy. Taxes can
no longer replenish the stock. Borrowing is no longer possible.The
political process is so out of control that treasury dollars become an
endangered species. Worst of all, votes can no longer be bought.
Government has gone beyond dysfunction and become impotent. So,
government entities like Erie County and the City of Buffalo find
themselves taken over by a financial control board. A financial control
board is essentially a capitulation to an un-elected
dictatorial governmet because democracy has failed. The treasury is no
longer controlled by politicians. Buying votes is not possible.
Of course voters sell their votes to get access to the treasury and
exploit others.
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| User: "nevermore" |
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| Title: Re: Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out |
08 Oct 2005 06:09:18 AM |
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On Fri, 7 Oct 2005 20:53:53 -0600, "Black Elk"
<windriver2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
Our Democracy Has Been Hollowed Out
Al Gore, Jr.
October 06, 2005
Al Gore was vice president of the United States. The following is the
prepared text of the speech he delivered to the The Media Center's We Media
conference on October 5, 2005 in New York City.
I came here today because I believe that American democracy is in grave
danger. [....]
No, actually, there's no danger any more that Gore might become
President....
--
Steve
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