LA Times whores for... its own corporate MONOPOLY on the political process....

The two horrible "dirty secrets" of American democracy, which bely the claim that America is, indeed, a democratic republic; are, #1. the DIEBOLDIZATION or "privatization" of the US voting process. "Privatization" has a much simpler term and connotation: slave plantation owners, the foundation of the Southern political process, literally "OWNED" everything they could see for miles in every direction; INCLUDING the local and state government.

#2. For any candidate to win office, they must purchase THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS worth of TV, radio, and press commercials. Therefore, if a citizen wants to elect a populist, progressive, or "Liberal Democrat" to office, they send in money to that candidate.. which that candidate, in turn, hands over by bucketful TO THE VERY MEDIA CORPORATIONS that Mr. or Ms. Citizen is TRYING TO OPPOSE with their votes and donations.

NO WHERE in the US Constitution did the founders ever imagine that MEDIA CORPORTIONS would own or control a VIRTUAL MONOPOLY of the voting process. All through American history, there have been newspapers that pledged allegiance to one party or the other. IT IS ONLY WITHIN THE LAST DECADE or two that ALL media corporations have grown SO POWERFUL, that it is in ALL of their intrest's to OPPOSE ANY populist or progressive agenda... as Mr. Kevin Drum so perceptively points out in this article, the LA Times OPPOSING a .2 - - - POINT TWO PERCENT - increase in taxes to fund a more honest political discourse.


Political Animal
by Kevin Drum
October 15, 2006
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_10/009781.php

CLEAN MONEY....I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but the LA Times has recommended a No vote on Proposition 89, the Clean Money initiative on the ballot in California this November. They agree it's a splendid idea, but:

<< In the details, however, Proposition 89 runs aground. The funding would come from a tax on corporations and financial institutions....The measure worsens both the insult and the injury by sharply limiting a corporation's ability to spend money supporting or opposing a ballot measure. >>

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-clean13oct13,0,4159800.story?coll=la-promo-opinion



Yeah, Prop 89 really sticks it to corporations. It's funded by a 0.2 (that's zero point two) percentage point increase in the corporate income tax, and it prevents corporations from donating more than $10,000 to initiative campaigns unless they set up a PAC to do it.

Can we get real? 0.2% is a tiny increase, and forcing corporations to set up PACs that raise money from wealthy executives and stockholders is a speed bump, not a death sentence. But that's still too bold for the Times. Your liberal media at work.