Lawrence Lessig v. Citizens United: Embrace the consequences of big-money irony

I support the cause, very much. These are the laws that allow the plutocracy to exist.

While we're at it, we need term limits. Career politicians continually advancing the corporate interests of the few is not a democratic system as he states. But there's a flip side to change.

The only people who support the current system are those with something to lose: those employed by the establishment and those with money invested in the corporations who benefit from the current environment as a means for passive income. If the illusion of retirement didn't exist for so many in the current system then there likely would be a bigger demand for change. The truth is, your average Joe voter with a 401k needs Disney and all the other MNC to keep these types of corporate welfare privileges with a fiat currency.

 

Larry is a good guy.

 

Mr. Lessig has been fighting the good fight for a while now.

Disney itself has built a grand empire of ideas from long-dead creators. The list expands every year Marvel, Lucasarts, Muppets, plus its own IP.

For those properties to expire means that one day, those movies that have been mainstays of their own bottom line could be used by a different company or person, make some slight alteration to it and subsequently own a 50 some-odd year old patent to it for as long as the altering author lives.

Personally, I think all IP should last as long as the originator existed, but realistically, the original spirit of that law has been taken over by contract and ownership rights.

Guess the point here is wondering what happens to Disney as a company once those IP expires. They'll probably continue to live on from the new material its producing, but who knows?

 

Free is KRYPTONOITE to a Capitalist Society

Rocket River

 

term limits for all levels of state and federal government

 

i'll go with this

 

I don't expect term limits would do much to help. Our political system can provide an endless supply of politicians who will pass legislation for contributors. You may have the occassional senator who will stand on principle because he's not running again anyway, but the guy right behind him will need that money -- besides, they need to keep up relations for their party. I don't think term limits would be nearly as effective as just keeping corporate money out.

 

no one is talking about the most important elections of 2014; control of state legislatures

It takes 34 state legislatures to propose a constitutional amendment, and 38 to ratify it. This can be done without any consent from governors, the US congress, or the POTUS.

the GOP controls 28 state legislatures at present, dems 17, and 5 are split

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_state_legislatures#Party_summary

The push for a Balanced Budget Amendment and congressional term limits hasn't been this strong in decades.

 

I notice you are not talking about plutocrats buying elections. Sometimes you are in your conservative Grand Old Tea Party hat or at times the "libertarian" hat, both of which seem to like the plutocrats running things.

 

I strongly oppose the Lessig amendment.

There should be no limits on campaign spending, and no disclosure requirements.

Speech is something to be welcomed, not feared.

 

But anonymous "speech" ($$$) where the speaker can hide behind a PAC pseudonym, as demonstrated by the D&D, quickly devolves into garbage. Although I enjoy the occasional poo-flinging, shouldn't we expect more from our actual political system?

 

caveat emptor, it's up to you what weight you give speech from an anonymous source

 

Nice try you and the guys on the S.Ct who go to Koch Bro confabs to scheme for the plutocrats..

Hey we could have Italy in which Berlusconi sp? owned most of the tv stations and plugged himself.

Any limit on paid speech to drown out all other speech in your mind.

I suppose all Americans can run around with rocket launchers, shoulder held missiles capable of taking down airliners etc. under your version of the 2nd Amendment.

 

Do you actually exist in the real world outside your theology of "freedom" and the market god?.

You really have much more in common with the politics of North Korea, rigid "scientific" socialism, ie. Stalinism or even ISIS style Islam.

Don't need no stinking facts or common sense to interfere with the absolutist concepts..

 

Money isn't speech, it's power. And power is something to be feared. We are no longer a democracy.

 

That's an interesting position to take, though it sounds risky.