Any of them?

Successful and Attractive African Americania?

Abu Dhabi?

Corporations = people

Seems like politicians are either whores, or true believers. The later is often far worse.

libranoelrose: Why the fark do they put up a dollar sign over a country where no data is available and have you click on a link to tell you there is no data available?

Why the fark are they using dollar signs at all?

In the UK they use £, in Japan they use ¥, in Norway they use whatever the currency symbol for Norwegian kronor is...

libranoelrose: Why the fark do they put up a dollar sign over a country where no data is available and have you click on a link to tell you there is no data available?

People actually get paid for this nonsense?

came here to say this.

poot_rootbeer: libranoelrose: Why the fark do they put up a dollar sign over a country where no data is available and have you click on a link to tell you there is no data available?

Why the fark are they using dollar signs at all?

In the UK they use £, in Japan they use ¥, in Norway they use whatever the currency symbol for Norwegian kronor is...

Because of sparkly, crying eagles.

At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers



Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

Impasse: Any of them?

All of them.

PanicMan: Impasse: Any of them?

All of them.

Charlie.

So corporations choose politicians in India, too? Glad to know we have so much in common.

You know, I don't like corporate campaign funding any more than the next guy, and I would fully support an amendment to the constitution to get rid of Citizens United.

That being said . . .

As long as elections are still free and fair, you can't really blame anyone except the voters themselves for a screwed up government. That expensive ads on the teevee machine are what get people to vote one way or another isn't a sign that corporations are too powerful per se -it's a sign that people need to grow a brain.

libranoelrose: Why the fark do they put up a dollar sign over a country where no data is available and have you click on a link to tell you there is no data available?

People actually get paid for this nonsense?

That was my first question.

The Name: it's a sign that people need to grow a brain.

Ohwaityourserious.jpg

The Name: -it's a sign that people need to grow a brain.

Just a few hundred thousand more years of evolution and the problem will solve itself. No need for knee-jerk legislation.

Jeepers, remember those scary "one world" horror scenarios circulated during the late seventies and early eighties? Well, it looks like the international corporate community has figured out how to make that happen.

And why, out of all the countries that they probably DON'T have data for, did they choose Nigeria as the one to show "no data available"?

Hotdog453: And why, out of all the countries that they probably DON'T have data for, did they choose Nigeria as the one to show "no data available"?

Yeah. It should have been Kenya for a bit of irony.

Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

This is a seriously good idea.

Wisconsin?

Jacobin: Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

This is a seriously good idea.

And it's pretty close to having been done in satire. Welcome to congress post-endorsements:



Sure, it didn't actually change that the congress critters are all bought and sold, but at least we know by whom! That makes them being pure corporate shills and the public rolling over and accepting it better... right?

/I may be a little cynical today.

Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

They could be forced to assign space to advertisements based on X dollars contribution = Y square inches dedicated to that entity

Some politicians may need to get capes or fancy hats to make space for them all.

FTA: The Center for Responsive Politics estimates $6 billion will be spent in the U.S. elections by campaigns, political parties and corporations hoping to propel their candidates into the White House

Wow that is a good chunk of change that mostly goes to media companies for advertising and I'm sure such companies would like to see it increase. Also having a long drawn out big money campaigns is something to devote news or pseudo-news to which draws viewers giving more advertising bucks.

Which is why media corporations would never favor anything like a shorter campaign process.

Hello? My name is John. Thank you veddy veddy much for american job

Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Leo Bloom's Freakout: Jacobin: Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

This is a seriously good idea.

And it's pretty close to having been done in satire. Welcome to congress post-endorsements:

[3.bp.blogspot.com image 640x359]

Sure, it didn't actually change that the congress critters are all bought and sold, but at least we know by whom! That makes them being pure corporate shills and the public rolling over and accepting it better... right?

/I may be a little cynical today.

Only tangentially related, but I will once again make my point about President Camacho: He respected intelligence. He respected intelligence, he understood there were problems, and when he found the person with the wherewithal to help with those problems, he went out and got him and gave him the support he needed. He was a president who understood the needs of the populace and did the best he could to address them.

Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho was a better president than any real-world president the Republicans, at least, have stood since Nixon.

Might be instructive to have a look at Monsanto in India.

A Dark Evil Omen: Leo Bloom's Freakout: Jacobin: Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

This is a seriously good idea.

And it's pretty close to having been done in satire. Welcome to congress post-endorsements:

[3.bp.blogspot.com image 640x359]

Sure, it didn't actually change that the congress critters are all bought and sold, but at least we know by whom! That makes them being pure corporate shills and the public rolling over and accepting it better... right?

/I may be a little cynical today.

Only tangentially related, but I will once again make my point about President Camacho: He respected intelligence. He respected intelligence, he understood there were problems, and when he found the person with the wherewithal to help with those problems, he went out and got him and gave him the support he needed. He was a president who understood the needs of the populace and did the best he could to address them.

Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho was a better president than any real-world president the Republicans, at least, have stood since Nixon.

I... wow... that is so true that it's mildly depressing... also bears repeating.

Lando Lincoln: political ads are banned from television and radio.

Yet another reason to move to Norway.

Didn't someone also mention the other day that their tax code is so simple that it's all done automatically? You get one income/tax statement a year -- if everything looks okay, you do nothing; if there's an error you contact someone.

(Yes, they pay more taxes, but they also have universal healthcare, and education, job training, safely nets, little crime, social security equivalent, etc.)

if you're weak-minded enough to be that easily influenced by campaign ads, you don't deserve democracy.

I am the enemy, Major Marco.

Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

I love this idea, how do we make it happen?

FTFA:

Norway

Krishnan, citing Scandinavia as a model, believes increased public funding would cut down party dependence on large donations and give the election system more credibility.

In Norway, government funding accounted for 74% of political parties' income in 2010, according to Statistics Norway. And unlike in the U.S., where candidates and their supporters can buy as much television time as they can afford, political ads are banned from television and radio.

Sounds wonderful.

Ishkur: way south: Goodfella: At the very least, politicians should be forced to wear on their suits the labels of the companies who have bribed them, similar to NASCAR drivers

[latimesblogs.latimes.com image 354x404]

Imagine all the congress critters walking around wearing "Exxon-Mobile", "Goldman Sachs" and "Merck" on their jackets.

I love this idea, how do we make it happen?


Well, first you write to your local congressman.....

/i'm just a bill....

Petition initiatives. And make it so the label has to be relative to the campaign contribution.

Oh but wait, we have Citizen's United...

ignatius_crumbcake: FTA: And unlike in the U.S., where candidates and their supporters can buy as much television time as they can afford, political ads are banned from television and radio [in Norway].

By the time this election season is over, I bet we could get 90% of the country to support a Constitutional Amendment to this effect.

Yeah, free speech really sucks man.

Deftoons: ignatius_crumbcake: FTA: And unlike in the U.S., where candidates and their supporters can buy as much television time as they can afford, political ads are banned from television and radio [in Norway].

By the time this election season is over, I bet we could get 90% of the country to support a Constitutional Amendment to this effect.

Yeah, free speech really sucks man.

It also throws the game too much in favor of an incumbent, I would think.

They get to use the power of the office and the money that comes with it (let's be fair, people like to bet on a winning horse) to make their SHIAT not stink under any circumstance. Especially if the news is for sale in that country and not totaled into the candidates campaign expenses.

How does an up and coming replacement fight off his competitors and billions in declared and undeclared support campaigning for the seated politician?
They don't. They either wait for the term limits to kick in or simply lose.

With NoScript, no clicking was involved.

Just sayin'