..our country just become the United States of Exxon. Prepare to welcome president Blackwater, Vice President Aetna, and Secretary Monsanto.
Yes, there were diaries about this yesterday, but the implications of this SCOTUS ruling need to be followed to their logical conclusions.
Notice that smirk on Justice Roberts' face? That is the smile of a made man. Thanks to SCOUTS, now that corporations can virtually appoint members of government at all levels, you, the taxpayer, may well become the guarantor of every international corporate scheme of thievery, thuggery, fraud and murder.
Corporations have no loyalty to any one country, let alone its citizens. They have no loyalty to ethics or values. They have to follow laws, but if they ARE the lawmakers, laws will serve corporations and only corporations. And given that we now have transnational corporations, our country isn't just for sale to the highest American bidder, it's for sale to the highest international bidder.
What are the bounds of this new "corporate freedom"? It was cute that Barney Frank on Rachel's show last night suggested that Congress can regulate corporations in other ways. Unfortunately, any law passed now can be dragged before this corporatized Supreme Court. Second, how long, Barney, do you think it will take WalMart or Halliburton or Pharma or the Carlysle Group to replace you and every other populist-minded simpleton with their guy?
Didn't like the bank bailouts? Those were just the beginning. Prepare to "bail out" Kraft and Blue Shield and Shell and Lockheed-Martin and the Mormon Church and the Vatican when they get frisky in the marketplace, or when board members accidentally "lose" billions of dollars.
This is the good news. The bad news is that Chinese companies can dump enough money into our system to elect Reps who will remove laws against feeding your kids lead and melamine, or even against warning you that they are eating it. Iranian companies can get their thugs to pass laws to force you to buy and subsidize Iranian oil. Hell, if bin Laden created a corporation with his Saudi oil ties, he can put his buddies in the very center of government and force taxpayers to bail out HIS operation!
Like your organic products? Tyson and Hormel can elect enough of their guys to draw enough of your tax money for their corporations to price you right out of your own garden. And that's if they don't dream up some "public health" rule to make it illegal for you to buy organic, local products, or to own and sell heirloom seeds. Your local co-op and Farmers' Markets may soon be subject to FDA crackdowns.
Kiss every law regulating water quality, air quality, soil quality, food quality, product quality and safety, GOODBYE.
Yeah, I'm being melodramatic. Ten years ago it would have been melodramatic to suggest that GWB would institute torture and gulags and extraordinary rendition. The question is, what is to stop these corporations from doing ANYTHING they want? To ANYONE?
This is the kind of treason that impeachment of judges was made for. Unfortunately, the GOP sees this as a temporary cash cow, and right-wingers only and always think sort-term, in terms of what they can steal now.
This problem is bigger than ideology or party. We really need to get this message to anyone who will grab a torch and a pitchfork and put the brakes on this catastrophe before it's impossible to reign in.
Update: Title change