"The Blueprint for Corporate Rule" (The Powell Memorandum)

I had totally forgotten about this until I saw it mentioned in a Tweet today so I did a quick search for a refresher and thought I'd share this article here.

If you've ever wondered how we've gotten to where we are with the Chamber of Commerce and corporations having so much power, etc I think you might find learning about this memo interesting in a 'know your enemy' way. The HuffPo article is an older one but seems like as good place to start as any.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-cray/40-years-ago-this-week-th_b_935486.html

Forty years ago this week, Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr., an attorney from Richmond, Virginia, drafted a confidential memorandum for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that described a strategy for the corporate takeover of the dominant public institutions of American society.

-snip-

An astute observer of the business community and broader social trends, Powell was a former president of the American Bar Association and a board member of tobacco giant Philip Morris and other companies. In his memo, he detailed a series of possible “avenues of action” that the Chamber and the broader business community should take in response to fierce criticism in the media, campus-based protests, and new consumer and environmental laws.

-snip-

Because it signaled the beginning of a major shift in American business culture, political power and law, the Powell memo essentially marks the beginning of the business community’s multi-decade collective takeover of the most important institutions of public opinion and democratic decision-making. At the very least, it is the first place where this broad agenda was compiled in one document.

That shift continues today, with corporate influence over policy and politics reaching unprecedented new dimensions. The decades-long drive to rethink legal doctrines and ultimately strike down the edifice of campaign finance laws - breaking radical new ground with the Roberts Court’s decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission - continues apace.

Pfft! Trump's budget director takes aim at SSDI & therefore DISABLED Americans

“Let me ask you a question, do you really think that Social Security disability insurance is part of what people think of when they think of Social Security? I don’t think so,” he said, with a slight grin on his face. “It’s the fastest growing program. It was — it grew tremendously under President Obama. It’s a very wasteful program and we want to try and fix that.”
[God/dess but I want to wipe that smirk off this pond scums face. YouTube clip at article's link below]
-snip-

In 2015, the federal government spent $143 billion on SSDI, which is primarily financed by the Social Security payroll tax. This totals around 4 percent of the federal budget. The average monthly benefit for disabled workers in January 2017 was $1,171.25.

SSDI has its own trust fund that is separate from the Social Security program’s funds reserved for retirees and survivors. The National Academy of Social Insurance illustrates how disability insurance and funds for old age and survivors are financed the same way but administered by two different funds, both run by the Social Security Administration:


The program largely benefits older Americans who have worked decades and are near retirement age. The “I” in SSDI stands for insurance because workers pay into this program so it is there for them when they need it. The average SSDI recipient has worked 22 years, and 75 percent of those who benefit are 50 years old or older. Recall that 53 percent of voters ages 50 and over supported President Trump during the election in November.

It is hardly an easy program to enroll in — the Social Security Administration rejects a majority of those who apply for disability payments. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities notes that fewer than 400 of 1,000 initial applications for approval are accepted.

This still gets to me... 'The Greatest Speech' by Charlie Chaplin

This video using Chaplin's moving speech from, The Great Dictator, was created in 2016 and uses many fairly recent images. Sadly his words are very pertinent again.

Randy Rainbow: The Terrifying, Tolerance-Promoting 'Beauty and the Beast' (video for NYTs)

According to Randy's Tweet about this, "I was asked by @nytimes what I thought of the new tolerance-promoting Beauty & the Beast. Don't worry - I told them" and he certainly did and in his own unique and awesome (IMO) way.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/18/opinion/randy-rainbow-the-terrifying-tolerance-promoting-beauty-and-the-beast.html?_r=0

Trumpcare Raids Medicare To Enrich The Wealthy And Plant A Bomb

I'm just hoping like heck the Senate stops this murderous crap cold and Republican buttwipes pulling this bs pay a huge price at the polls for decades to come.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trumpcare-raids-medicare-to-enrich-the-wealthy-and_us_58c994ace4b0537abd956d5f
*Snip*

While the media has highlighted the impact on Medicaid and on seniors not yet on Medicare, few have spotlighted the roadmap of destruction obviously in the works for Medicare itself. Trumpcare plants the bomb, where it will remain until the Republicans detonate it later this year and blow up Medicare.

The Republicans have certainly telegraphed their ultimate plans. Speaker Paul Ryan has been advocating the dismantling of Medicare for years. Consistent with that, as soon as the election ended, Ryan announced his intention to enact 2017 legislation ending Medicare. Ryan’s plan would force all seniors and people with disabilities onto the private market, arming them only with inadequate voucher coupons. So, that 64-year-old spending more than half her income on her premium will get no reprieve from her cat-food diet when she turns age 65.

Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Tom Price, has also been clear about the Republicans’ plans. Against all evidence, Price claims that “nothing has had a greater negative effect on the delivery of health care than the federal government’s intrusion into medicine through Medicare.” Of course, the exact opposite is true. Medicare saves lives. It allows seniors and people with disabilities, those with the greatest health needs, to obtain life-saving health care.

Now here’s the ticking time bomb: Trumpcare raids Medicare of $117 billion and puts it into the pockets of the rich. That raiding of Medicare, along with a provision that increases Medicare’s hospital payments by $43 billion, paves the way for further destructive action later in the year.

Pentatonix Uses Cover of Lennon's 'Imagine' To Support Inclusivity

It literally brought tears to my eyes...

"We Never Win and We Dont Fight to Win" Trump Attacks Military During Speech

I think this is one of the things that bugs me the most about Jenner...

and other Tantrump voters.

Trump was so incredibly out there and who he is has always been so very obvious, good grief he damn near wore a flashing neon sign for Pete's sake. They had to have chosen (subconsciously or consciously) to ignore it all. It's been like watching a crazy 'Jim Jones's type cult about to suck down the grape Flavor Aid by the bucket full and no matter what facts and evidence, even in Trump's own words, will dissuade them.

Some supporters I feel a tiny quark of sympathy for because I see why/how they've been suckered in but Jenner has easy access to real information, differing POVs and I simply don't buy that she's the archetypical jock who's supposedly dumber than a box of rocks (but often not).

LoL! Why yes, Sean, they DID "nail it."

Apparently Sean lacks reading comprehension skills as much as truth telling ones.

https://mobile.twitter.com/seanspicer/status/825565510418968578

ALTERNATIVE FACTS - Randy Rainbow Song Parody (ft. Kellyanne Conway)