Great to see this issue get such direct reference and dissection via a national media platform. It is unfortunately becoming of even more relevance these days, what with the Supreme Court ruling giving corporations nearly unlimited carte blanche rights to purchase the American political process.

“Corporations do everything people do except breathe, die and go to jail for dumping 1.3 million pounds of PCBs in the Hudson River.”

Watch The Video on the Colbert Nation website.

Sunday talk show pundit and syndicated columnist George Will outdoes himself with this stellar performance in the service of the governing (and owning…same thing) elites of America.

“Now, some people are saying, oh, corporations, that means Microsoft will be buying ads. Microsoft’s trying to sell software. They’re not interested in getting into political fights.”

Well, in a way he’s right. Corporations have no interest in political fights, the same way mob families would prefer not to have to wage war against each other, as it is detrimental to business. And after all, as a colleague of mine pointed out, there’s no need to fight over someone you already own. And campaign donations don’t necessarily determine votes, they just determine, in the end, who gets to cast them. You don’t need to bribe ideological and economic allies. We are replete in data showing how in the near unanimous majority of time, those who spend the most within a campaign cycle attain the office. As the adage goes, we don’t have elections, we have auctions.

George Will’s assertion is not only blatantly disprovable, but is desperately at odds with basic common sense. However, he does reveal, whether inadvertently or not, one basic truth here…

“[The Supreme Court decision is a vindication of free speech rights] because the court recognized the obvious, which is that you cannot disseminate political speech without money. And, therefore, to restrict money is to restrict the dissemination of speech. To that end, they have freed up the amount of money that will be spent.”

Yes, in our society money is indeed, speech, and so we live with a political system inherently undemocratic, and one in which those with the most money get the most speech, in both quantity as well as, and possibly more importantly, volume.

Watch/Read The Full Video Transcript

Perhaps ABC and Mr. Will should consider including some more lucid and informed perspectives on the issues such as these, before they continue to blather on with their platitudes towards the “market of ideas” in our political arena.

A video on the Supreme Court ruling granting corporations unfettered access to our political system, and for organizing a movement for a Constitutional amendment to counter the egregious growth of corporate dominance over our political system.

On a day America honors the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., this is one of his speeches most likely not to be quoted or referenced by our politicos or by many, if any, members of the punditocracy.

Delivered in NYC on April 4, 1967, King delivers a cogent analysis as to our responsibility as citizens of a nation which plays the role that it does in the world, and our responsibility as Americans for how war skews the values which become emphasized in our a political and economic system. It becomes ever-more obvious as to its modern relevancy with the ever-expanding military budgets our nation continues to incur in the face of economic break down, and ever-increasing disparities in wealth and opportunity between our haves and growing numbers of have-nots.

Read the full transcript of this lucid and unfortunately still all-too-relevant speech.

As a related video, here’s Martin Luther King, Jr. On War

These people have clearly had enough. Amazing footage of protesters surrounding and swallowing up members of the paramilitary Basij militia, who operate under the direction of the Ayatollahs and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. It seems Iran is likely descending into full-fledged police state soon. A sure sign that the regime will eventually fall, and possibly in the not-too-distant future, but at what cost, and to whose long-term benefit?

UnCommon Sense TV - “Media Bill of Rights” An overview on the “Bill of Media Rights” as promoted and advanced by a large coalition of organizations and activists working towards a more democratic media system. The program includes a point-by-point description of the principles inherent in it and required for a media system that is truly reflective of and responsive to the needs and interests of the public. Amongst these discussed are the inherent rights to free expression, and for access to the platforms for being able to receive that expression, particularly those whose accessibility is provide through “net neutrality” and well-funded local public access. The program also features a brief history and overview as to the importance of media to the functioning of, if not the very existence of, a truly democratic society (including segments from the documentary film “Manufacturing Consent”).

ThinkProgress spoke with Wendell Potter, a former VP of communications at health insurance giant CIGNA, about exactly how insurance companies derail reform and preserve the status quo. Working in public relations for CIGNA, Potter had a direct role in multiple campaigns in the past to minimize public outrage at insurance company abuses, defeat legislation aimed at regulating insurers, and the massive effort to discredit Michael Moore and his movie SiCKO. In addition to enormous amounts of money spent in direct lobbying and campaign contributions, Potter spelled out precisely how insurance companies have prepared to defeat meaningful reform.

More on this strategic campaign and how it works (and who is working it) is outlined Here at ThinkProgress.org

This whole expropriation of the life and legacy of Thomas Paine by the ilk of Glenn Beck, for an ideological cause which runs almost totally 180 degrees counter to what Paine fought for, is a libelous slander to history.

Thom Hartmann and Harvey J. Kaye, author of the excellent book “Thomas Paine and The Promise of America” discuss this whole phenomenon and ways to counteract it.

UnCommon Sense TV - “Paul Rieckhoff, IAVA: ‘Chasing Ghosts’ “ Iraq war veteran and the founder & executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America talks about his book “Chasing Ghosts”, which details his experiences in Iraq. Rieckhoff also elaborates on the needs and concerns of our military veterans and how they are being overlooked. This includes both how our nation apportions social and economic support for them, as well as how current political debate on Iraq policy is sorely missing the inclusion of more voices of experience from those who have actually served on the ground there.
Joining the discussion is Paul Hackett, fellow Iraq war veteran and former candidate for U.S. Congress, who weighs in with his own observations and commentary regarding the politics of the Iraq war.