[GPSCC-chat] Supreme Court Nominations--Romney v. Obama

[Spencer Graves]

       Lawrence Lessig's 2011 book "Republic, Lost" explains how the US 
political system is so corrupt that few if any can survive in office 
without playing their part in this corrupt system.  Lessig says the 
corrosive influence of money in government is "the gateway problem" 
facing the US today in the sense that we must solve this problem before 
we can make progress against any of the other problems facing the nation.


       My reaction is summarized in my essay on "Gateway Problems in US 
Politics & Economics" 
(http://occupy.pbworks.com/w/page/52167684/Gateway%20Problems):  To 
raise the massive amounts of money required to get reelected, congress 
extorts (Lessig's term) money from big business by passing legislation 
with special privileges for a few years at a time.  As each one expires, 
it provides another excuse to shake down the big businesses for more 
money.  Since the 1990s, the masters of this game are the bankers, which 
is why the world economy is in such terrible shape.  For me, the gateway 
problem is the failure of the US public to seek out and support 
substantive investigative journalism, especially about how this corrupt 
system works:  In the 1980s and 1990s, a massive wave of media 
consolidation produced a media oligopoly with more power than at any 
time in US history.  In the 1990s, the media companies all but 
eliminated their previously anemic investigative journalism function, 
because no matter how it's managed, it's a losing proposition.  If they 
find anything, they don't dare run a story for very long or they'll lose 
advertising.  Similarly, if they publish any serious information about 
politics, it would increase the chances that someone could win an 
election without so much advertising -- in addition to the money they'd 
lose from offended advertisers taking their business elsewhere.


       My bottom line, in a phrase similar to yours but I think with a 
little broader appeal is that voting for any candidate or initiative 
that can afford television advertising is voting for bribery.  I refuse 
to vote for bribery.


       I agree with your position, but I think it's harder to convince 
people that Obama is a war criminal.  Besides, if Obama actually abided 
by the law, the media would work hard to find something to cripple his 
presidency.  I think Obama knows this, which is why he does what he does.


       Spencer


On 5/31/2012 10:32 PM, Brian Good wrote:
> http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/6571/scotusromneyobama260dpi.jpg
>
> I first heard this argument from a Occupy Redwood City guy--that if Romney
> wins, he'll pack the Supreme Court with neocons,  My own position is 
> that as
> a matter of principle I refuse to vote for the war criminal Obama, 
> lest I be
> seen as complicit in his crimes.
>
> We need a counterargument with wider appeal than mine.
>
>
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-- 
Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
President and Chief Technology Officer
Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
751 Emerson Ct.
San José, CA 95126
ph:  408-655-4567
web:  www.structuremonitoring.com

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