Posts
[Breaking News: Egypt's Military Won't Take "NO!" For Answer?]
Remember how quickly they got rid of this guy?
Sheesh!
Mike Gravel was intelligent, well-educated (a dream candidate for the progressives), not afraid to make his opinions known and my favorite Senator when I was in college, but just another nightmare to be disposed of for the powers that be. As a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee throughout his Senate career, he took a "leadership role on every major piece of environmental legislation dealing with air, water, waste, and energy that emerged from the U.S. Congress during this period." Among his many accomplishments as both a member of the Alaska House of Representatives and its speaker, as well as a U.S. Senator:
Six months before Henry Kissinger's secret mission to the People's Republic of China (PRC), Senator Gravel introduced unpopular legislation to recognize and normalize relations with the PRC, in the hope of bringing about a re-examination of our outdated policy towards the Chinese people.Unfortunately, he was in Alaska (ring a bell?) and could be gotten rid of and replaced by a corporate-sponsored suit in a heartbeat without even a thud in the night to America's consciousness.
. . . The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was the first major political settlement of aboriginal claims, which were customarily dealt with what came to be recognized as a biased process. Senator Gravel co-authored the legislation and provided outspoken leadership for some of its important, but less popular, land-use features in the Settlement Act. He was responsible for removing the federal government's paternalistic role in the management of native economic affairs once the settlement had been approved by Congress.
. . . In an effort to broaden the ownership of capital in our society, Senator Gravel authored and secured the passage into law of the General Stock Ownership Corporation (GSOC), Subchapter U of the Tax Code. With the hope of first using this law in Alaska, he brought about a ballot initiative in the state's general election of 1980 on the creation of an Alaska General Stock Ownership Corporation (AGSOG). As part of this effort, he negotiated a tentative agreement with the British Petroleum Company to sell its interest in the Alaska Pipeline to the AGSOC. The electorate failed to approve the AGSOC initiative. BP now considers its pipeline interest to be one of the most profitable of its Alaska holdings. Had the AGSOC been approved and the purchase consummated, it would be paying out dividends of several hundred dollars annually to every citizen/shareholder in Alaska.
And if you think the Tea Party "primarying" of so-called progressive opponents (see Mike Castle's for an example) is a new rightwing tactic, you'll be surprised to hear as Senator Gravel:
became nationally known for his forceful but unsuccessful attempts to end the draft during the Vietnam War and for putting the Pentagon Papers into the public record in 1971 at risk to himself. . . .He was defeated by a movement within his own party (Republicans) by Lisa's Dad, (Frank) Murkowski!
In the video below we hear Gravel speak about what we have come to under the phony banner of "American Exceptionalism." He also advises us to "leave Iran alone." He brings in Iran's political history saying that he believes they will rebuild their own type of democratic government like they had when the Brits and U.S. replaced Mossadegh, an elected leader, with the Shah in a bloody coup.
November 22, 2011
America Exposed by US Rep Mike Gravel
I haven't heard one man, or woman, tell me what's wrong with America, expose the Corporate ruling of America, and what hope there is for a solution. That is, until I listened to the below RT America video where former Alaska Representative Mike Gravel weighs in.
Mike Gravel campaign button image [found here]
Homeland Security equals armed occupation. The TSA is tyranny. Corporations own America. Corporations need to be regulated, not in charge. Are the corporations that run the US aligned with Israel out to bomb Iran? Mike Gravel is an insider with the answers. Gravel isn't going along with those who have sold their souls to the international organized criminals, banks and corporate owners.
Why are American taxpayers paying for so many wars? Why have so many citizens died in the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, etc., for no good reason? Why do most Americans do nothing when citizens are targets for being outspoken?
James Corbett of the Corbett Report talks about the US/Iran situation in video here.
To show corporate owners and banksters, the US isn't about international organized crime, New York City Mayor Bloomberg should be arrested and prosecuted for judge shopping to try to squash the Occupy Wall St. Movement, OWS.
And who should be giving the most thanks during this season right now in corporatedom?
From Kenny's Sideshow:
Criminals Count Their Blessings on Thanksgiving
The Wall Street 'elitists' are so thankful that most of them have not been indicted this year and that the OWS folks are a kinder and gentler group than they are that they will raise a toast with a few glasses of imported champagne for their luck to continue.
The top boys at MF Global give thanks that they can enjoy their turkey while the U.S. Attorney’s office decides whether or not the missing $1.2 billion was just sloppy bookkeeping and that they didn't really intend to steal the money. Jon Corzine's appearance before a US House of Representatives Subcommittee should clear it all up as he reminds them that they are all really brothers in the big scheme of things.
Members of congress are especially thankful that this was not an election. year and they've got a little time to counter the 'throw them all out' talk and co-op those pesky protesters. The end of the world was starting to look good to them.
Jack Abramoff counts his blessings instead of cellmates as he tours the country hawking his book and getting interviewed by all the media, even NPR who now calls him a Washington reformer. He's an expert in corruption and Jack is hoping that his 'confessions' will lift the public's perception of him as slightly better than Newt Gingrich. He doesn't speak of his possible 9/11 connections and a great number of people are thankful for that.
Most folks don't realize it but Israel celebrates Thanksgiving wholeheartedly although it's with a sneer for having to kickback some of the U.S. contributions they receive and they resent the costs of their blackmail campaigns. They seem to feel that it's all owed to them, perennial victims you know, so any thanks they may give is relative.
What might be some of the ways Israelis should be 'thankful?'
From The Council for the National Interest:All this and it's still never enough. It's hard to imagine just what it would take for them to say 'thank you.'American taxpayers give Israel over $8 million per day
Additional financial costs: $3 trillion
On top of this are the costs of the Iraq war: hundreds of thousands of lives & over $3 trillion
Special-interest lobbying.
Israel partisans in the U.S. government and media
Campaigns by pro-Israel funders to engender Islamophobia: to create fear and hatred of Muslims
Israeli-centric news reporting by the U.S. media
Hollywood movies and television shows, which often play a significant role in shaping attitudes and beliefs.
The Trolls of Hasbara have had a good year and should be very thankful for their jobs. With the increase in anti-Israel, anti-zionist talk they have been busy and they should celebrate because the coming year will see even more opportunity for their 'work.'
Bush and Blair are extremely thankful that they have been found guilty of war crimes by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal instead of in their home countries. They won't be vacationing there anytime soon.
Obama pardons a couple of turkeys and gave thanks in hope that whoever is the next president will show the same mercy on him for his crimes against humanity.
Military contractors have had a big year and so it's expected that they party down in thanks. Lots of their products got used up. The talk about cuts to their business have been fake. They continue to be number 1 in the world with exports on the rise.Their 'toys' are big sellers every season.
Big pharma is grateful that ONLY every 14 minutes, a person is killed by prescription drugs. Yippee, pass the pie!
The industrial prison system is blessing counting that the number of those incarcerated in the U.S. is going up, up, up. 2.3 million and rising. No end in sight. A big shout out to the neverending 'War on Drugs' is always in order.
The U.S. nuclear industry is overwhelming thankful that it was Fukushima and not one of their own. Despite the initial flush of reports of danger, the industry thanks the media and government for dropping the subject and for telling us thousands of times how deadly deep frying turkeys can be.
Last but not least, the mainstream media thanks congress and state legislatures for once again not passing any laws prohibiting them from lying about anything and everything they want to and are paid to do.
For the rest of us just being alive and having friends and family to share some time and a meal with is about all we have left. Although we're thankful for that we still have this urge to shout for something better.
No comments:
Post a Comment