In previous writings I've used the word "fascism" and "neo-fascism" to describe where we heading in America, and I've noticed that the use of those words tends to divert attention from my main message. It seems like many readers, when confronted with that word, immediately equate it to a scenario where you have brown-shirted thugs dragging people off their beds in the middle of the night.
This confirms what I should already know, which is that semantics do matter. So instead of using those words, I'll use the term "Corporate State." I think that's more palatable for many people.
And that's because by now, the idea that corporations have too much power in the U.S. has become conventional wisdom.
What I'm arguing today is that we are entering a period that future historians may see as a clear demarcation of when the total corporate takeover of our government was completed.
Many people are also willing to entertain the idea that media conglomeration by a handful of corporations is not a good thing. As the corporate takeover of the levers of power continues unabated, it is important to point out how it is also happening with the judicial system. I argue that the takeover of the judicial system completes the process... The Corporate State has arrived.
No better example of this exists than the wholesale takeover of the justice system in California by the Judicial Council's Administrative Office of the Courts.
Many readers are familiar with the work of Bob Sloan exposing the nefarious activities of the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. As described on the Website ALEC Exposed:
Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called "model bills" reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations. Through ALEC, corporations have "a VOICE and a VOTE" on specific changes to the law that are then proposed in your state.
The key statement in that quote is that the "model legislation" drafted by ALEC "reach[es] into almost every area of American life, and often directly benefit huge corporations."
And so it does. Getting back to the issue of California's Judicial Council and AOC, and to expand on the point of the corporate takeover of our government, I think it's instructive to examine some points made by retired judge of the Superior Court Loren E. McMaster, in a letter dated June 19, 2011, where he declines to renew his membership to the California Judges Association.
I encourage readers to read the entire letter, but here's one quote that I think it's very important:
Why did not CJA shed light on the AOC’s clandestine plan to amend to the point of emasculation Government Code section 77001, and completely alter the California judicial system, bringing all trial courts under the direct management by AOC? Did not the CJA leaders know that AOC staff had drafted such legislation and were intending to attach it to a Budget trailer bill, all without Judicial Council direction or contemporaneous approval? If so, why did they do nothing about it? If CJA leaders are still unaware of AOC staff’s plan to grossly inflate their powers at the expense of the trial courts, I am attaching the AOC proposed legislation in question.
Folks, yes, this is a conspiracy and it's happening all across the country in a brutally efficient corporate-style. Power is being consolidated in the hand of a plutocratic ruling class at an amazing pace.
Not only is there an unprecedented rapid flow of wealth to the top; they are also consolidating political power in a way that undermines (or destroys) our democracy.
No better case for the concept of "justice delayed is justice denied" has been put forward than that by the current presiding judge of the San Francisco Court System, Katherine Feinstein, during a recent press conference explaining the consequences of cutting 40% of the court system's staff:
I'm disappointed with the decisions that have been made by the AOC and Judicial Council; they've not been in the best interest of this court.
In the meantime we are seeing a rise in violent and insulting political rhetoric, like the recent statements by Congressman Allen West where he calls Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz "vile" and "Not a lady" among other insults. And we are also seeing violent acts: "Brian Ross Received 'Mafia'-Style Bruising From Bachmann Staff."
Folks, all these seemingly unrelated events and trends portend the rise of a neo-fascist State, or if you prefer a "Corporate State."
Freedom and democracy are being dismantled in this country, in real-time, right before our eyes; it's happening right now as you read this.
The so-called Gang of Six "compromise" in the debt ceiling negotiations is just one more example of the undermining of our democracy.
The net result will be more wealth and power transfer to the ruling elite at the expense of the populace and our democracy. Another blow to the social safety net, in the guise of "preserving those important programs" like (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid). And under the threat of "economic catastrophe" if we don't raise the debt ceiling.
We are being manipulated again, through fear; just as we were manipulated during the 2008 financial crisis.
At this point I think it is counterproductive (to our freedom and democracy) to think that we are still operating under a normal democracy. We are past that point. The entire government has been taken over. The media is being used as a propaganda machine to manipulate us. Oppressive structures are being put in place to deny justice, and to eventually suppress any credible resistance movement or uprising.
My main point is that the longest it takes people to realize what's happening, the hardest is going to be to restore democracy.
And is not that I don't believe democracy will be restored. The question is at what price? Throughout history the American people have demonstrated that we will not put up with oppression. The longest we wait to come to a full realization of how a tiny group of sociopaths is trying to enslave us, the higher the possibility of violence.
And that's because once all these repressive systems that are being put together right now take hold (like California's Judicial Council's AOC, or ALEC), it would take a violent revolution to bring them down. So let's not wait to be totally enslaved and forced that outcome.
Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities.
- Winston Churchill
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