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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices

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To: koan who wrote (545977)	1/25/2010 3:06:19 PM
From: TimF	of 1576883

In any event, I do not want corporations or labor unions influencing our government. 1 - Corporations and labor unions (which mostly technically are corporations), are collections of individuals. 2 - Many political organizations are non-profit corporations. Do you not want people to be able to politically organize? 2 - Newspapers, TV networks, radio stations, etc. obviously influence our political process. They are mostly run by corporations (even the few that are run by not for profit corporations). Should they also be shut out of the political process? We have seen in the past what monopolies can do. 1 - Monopolies mostly exist through government creation and/or support. 2 - Monopolies are really a separate issue, unless your point is that you fear corporations will use their influence to get the government to create or support monopolies. That is an actual danger but the main danger is not corporations putting out a press release saying "vote for candidate X", but rather ordinary lobbying, which was already accepted as clearly constitutionally protected, and isn't related to the new USSC decision. In Alaska the oil companies are always trying to rob us and have used extensive bribary to do so. And many of our legislators are in jail because to it. 20 of our 60 legislators have taken over $10,000 in campaign contributions. Neither bribery nor campaign contributions are at issue in terms of the court decision I was supporting. Bribery still is illegal. Direct campaign contributions from corporations still are illegal. PAC contributions are legal, but where already legal. Nothing in the decision affects any of these things. More generally I don't think shutting people or groups up is a good way to get good government. And its an abusive of or infringement against freedom and constitutional rights. Beyond that restrictions against free speech will only drive attempts to influence to less open channels. Its likely to increase lobbying, and perhaps outright bribes.

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