Land Of The Sheep And Home Of The Blind...

@lukep:How would this proposed amendment free anyone from anything? I mean, I understand the point that corporate lobbying is corrupt, but there are already all kinds of laws in place concerning lobbying and campaign contributions. None seem to do much good. So how will forcing out corporations change anything?
Hey Frank, good questions. I'll say up front that I don't have every last answer; and the only thing I'm 100% sure of right now is that attacking each political issue individually fails every time, whenever there is corporate profit to be had on the matter. We've never before gone for the head of the snake in american politics; sheeple only seem to attack the nearest scale.

So such an amendment would stop corporations from (at least openly) voiding our votes, and then using their guys on the inside (that's 100% of all federal elected representitives these days, and many state reps too) to pass bills that benefit them at your expense.

In other words; A Democracy could possibly emerge if we stop corporate control of our government.


In an extreme example, how would forcing out corporations help anything if a perfectly non-controversial, generally good company is prevented from lobbying or campaign contributions, but some thoroughly corrupt non-profit, NGO, etc. is not prevented and goes on a lobbying spree to crush or cripple that company?
Although you've got a point that evil will still get through, it will have to hide in the shadows and therefore there will be much less of it.

It's not just about the lobbying sprees that they are allowed to do; it's about how every part of our government is completely and utterly at their disposal.

This shit has to stop.


I'm clueless, I guess, as to why corporations represent such a threat. A corporation is a legal fiction designed to limit liability. The End. Every other benefit conferred on a given corporation is contingent upon other laws that have nothing or little to do with the corporation itself, or corporate laws. So ... the mere existence of a corporation ≠ the existence of a threat to society. Which makes it hard for me to sort out what it is you're proposing.
This 8 minute vid holds the answer to all your questions on this matter:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5kHACjrdEY]YouTube - The Story of Citizens United v. FEC (2011)[/ame]

Corporations are a MAJOR FUCKING THREAT to society, every bit as much as the Matrix is a threat to humanity. (If it were real.) They farm us and keep us in the dark exactly like Neo was kept in the dark until he ate that damn red pill.

They weren't always that way; the film above shows how that changed.
 


OK, so I watched the video -- all I see is economic illiteracy, a very generously-margined interpretation of the history of the corporation, statistics without sources, populist cheerleading, and outright deception regarding CU v. FEC which ironically banks on the ignorance and gullibility of the viewer (eg. the Supreme Court decision in question opens the floodgates for spending from all groups, including for-profit corporations, but also including NGOs, PACs, unions, etc. etc. etc. Look it up, or check the Cliff Notes at Wikipedia or something.) Really, if anything, this is at least as tinfoil hat nonsensical as the stuff you refer to as tinfoil hat nonsense above, if not more so.

It's really depressing to count the number of people in this thread praising the video for opening their eyes.

When I read your and similar posts on this topic, and watch silly ass films like the one linked, what I see is a mash of distinct issues being trotted out as a single problem, and then all blamed on a single, evil source (usually The Corporations, since The Jews and The Cartholics and The Blacks et al. have sort of fallen out of favour this generation.)

If you are interested in a serious analysis of the issues of media and political power, I recommend the very excellent Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman. For money and political power, try Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government by Robert Higgs. Both are throrough in their history, relatively non-partisan, and more concerned with understanding the nature of the respective problems outlined than in pointing fingers and rallying cries.


Frank
 
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OK, so I watched the video
Awesome. It is a good starting point to understand the overall issue. I appreciate you taking the time.

...all I see is economic illiteracy, a very generously-margined interpretation of the history of the corporation, statistics without sources, populist cheerleading, and outright deception regarding CU v. FEC which ironically banks on the ignorance and gullibility of the viewer (eg. the Supreme Court decision in question opens the floodgates for spending from all groups, including for-profit corporations, but also including NGOs, PACs, unions, etc. etc. etc. Look it up, or check the Cliff Notes at Wikipedia or something.)
This 8-minute film has a purpose of highlighting a huge issue that spans over a century of history... You can't possibly expect it to give you all the fine details, can you?

And to the outright deception of CU v. FEC, the fact that they'd open such funding to ALL groups is even worse... Much worse IMHO. -More big, powerful parties that should never have a vote all given power to nullify ours.

I can't see how you'd call it deception to say this decision helped the corps gain power over washington... Were they not among the groups that gained power?

For your information, I hate unions badly too, but they aren't as big of a threat because they don't control half of the world's money.


Really, if anything, this is at least as tinfoil hat nonsensical as the stuff you refer to as tinfoil hat nonsense above, if not more so.
So who did you say you worked for? ;)



It's really depressing to count the number of people in this thread praising the video for opening their eyes.
As are we really depressed to see you dismiss and badmouth such an obvious problem that hurts so many without giving it fair due.

The evidence for this problem exists in just about every industry in the US... It's like the political "Theory of Everything" or something along those lines, because it is one single thing you can point to that explains practically everything that happens in america, from animal rights to prisons to schools to energy to the stock market to welfare to climate change to the deficit, etc., etc... All of these things are linked by lots of Corporate lobbying.

All you have to do is step back to see what it all means... That corporations are truly in control, just like Century of the Self showed in detail the chronology of.

When I read your and similar posts on this topic, and watch silly ass films like the one linked, what I see is a mash of distinct issues being trotted out as a single problem, and then all blamed on a single, evil source (usually The Corporations, since The Jews and The Cartholics and The Blacks et al. have sort of fallen out of favour this generation.)
The only thing I have a hatred of is that something always stops good from happening. I have no need to falsely blame a religious or racial group for the wrongdoing of the corporations.

We're talking about an award-winning BBC production; not some left-wing youtube vid made my an american political party here... Century of the Self shows you EXACTLY how corporations rose to such scary power with all the proof you could ever ask for.

Calling that a 'silly ass film' is just wrong. The monty python cast got nowhere near the making of that very serious documentary, and without those guys involvement we all know that no British television can be funny. :eatmousepointer:

If you are interested in a serious analysis of the issues of media and political power, I recommend the very excellent Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman. For money and political power, try Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government by Robert Higgs. Both are throrough in their history, relatively non-partisan, and more concerned with understanding the nature of the respective problems outlined than in pointing fingers and rallying cries.
I don't ever get any time to read anymore (Despite buying that kindle) but I am not opposed to checking them out sometime if given the opportunity. I don't know how relevant to their subjects they can be however if they don't put Edward Bernays first and foremost in the causation of the modern american society.
 
It's really depressing to count the number of people in this thread praising the video for opening their eyes.


Frank

FYI the video(s) I said were eye opening are The Century of Self documentaries. The short cartoon above that you watched is a good starting point for people who did not realize that sort of thing goes on. I suggest you at least watch the first video in The Century of Self series, its very good and not as elementary as the cartoon.
 
1043ptf.jpg
LMAO! +rep
i caught the lyric part but it took me a minute before i realized that was de la rocha.
 
it's coming to a breaking point. Lots of people are pissed off, especially gen x & y. And you guys can say tinfoil hat all you want, but it's going to be a change or die situation in the near future. That or repat to a small island country that flies under the radar of the USA.
 
I try so hard not to do poli threads, but get sucked in like anybody else ... I don't have any more time for this particular one today, but since I was unclear above, I was referring to "Citizens United vs. FEC" as the silly-ass video, not "Century of Self." I have not yet had an opportunity to watch the latter.

@Luke re the books I mentioned, and reading in general: If you think of yourself as too busy to read, but not too busy to watch videos, you may find yourself getting a little antsy reading Amused to Death, since it explains pretty well the problem of an anti-literate society. I am as big a fan of video as anyone else, particularly if there is girl-on-girl fisting involved, but the mental process behind reading and reading comprehension is, as far as research can tell, vastly different from the mental process behind watching a video of almost any nature. Postman's conclusions to that end are a bit more extreme than mine -- ie. he simply denies that it is possible for such a thing as "educational television" to exist -- but the working examples he provides illustrating a gradual shift from printed to televised news and political issuemongering are extremely thought-provoking and very well-written.

ATD is a short book that you could probably read in one night, and re-read with better comprehension in a few days. Higgs' work is much longer and more complicated, but since it deals more with hard history and data than theoretical science and sociology it's not as "brain heavy" and you won't lose the thread if you skip around a bit. Seriously, these are both books that I would classify as potentially life-changing for people who would read and think about them. I realise that's just the sort of daft nonsense people say about every book that agrees with what they already thought before they read it, so I'm a little hesitant to make such a statement -- but all nitpicking over who gets the blame aside, both of these books are immensely useful for understanding the cause and nature of the problem (it's the blacks, of course.) Sorry; just wanted to see if you were still reading.


Frank
 
Food for thought:


"When we decide to revitalize China based on the German model, we must not repeat the mistakes they made."

And he means Hitler's model, which he states, specifically.

"Our Party’s historical mission is to lead the Chinese people to go out."

Liebestraum. Ask your family members how that worked out last time..

The Epoch Times | War Is Not Far from Us and Is the Midwife of the Chinese Century

Oh no, those guys wouldn't use biological weapons. And it's complete chance that this guy Haotian happens to me a general, and the Minister of Defense. Complete coincidence. (Rolling Eyeballs)

Here's John Derbyshire's take on it in the National Review:

Sino-Fascism - By John Derbyshire - The Corner - National Review Online

Don't forget they just gave this idiot their equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, the "World Harmony Award" <<cough>> and that was LAST year so that guy Haotian is still a hero to them, officially, as are his views. This is the type of "harmony" they envision for the world.

Rebecca Novick: A Loyalist and a Tiananmen General Win China's Peace and Harmony Awards
 
I don't have any more time for this particular one today, but since I was unclear above, I was referring to "Citizens United vs. FEC" as the silly-ass video, not "Century of Self." I have not yet had an opportunity to watch the latter.
Understood. I hope you realize that one is just a "what to do about it" type of film; the real "WTF happened" stuff is all in Century of the Self.

In a nutshell, they show how Sigmund Freud's nephew created the world you live in, and it's not what anyone would guess at. - Even Hitler himself used this dude's tools to make the 3rd Reich so powerful... And America is Ground zero for this effect today.

Postman's conclusions to that end are a bit more extreme than mine -- ie. he simply denies that it is possible for such a thing as "educational television" to exist -- but the working examples he provides illustrating a gradual shift from printed to televised news and political issuemongering are extremely thought-provoking and very well-written.
I wonder what he would think about educational Web then? From the amazon.com description (and a few review comments) it looks like a great read, thanks for the heads up.

Seriously, these are both books that I would classify as potentially life-changing for people who would read and think about them. I realise that's just the sort of daft nonsense people say about every book that agrees with what they already thought before they read it, so I'm a little hesitant to make such a statement -- but all nitpicking over who gets the blame aside, both of these books are immensely useful for understanding the cause and nature of the problem (it's the blacks, of course.) Sorry; just wanted to see if you were still reading.
LOL; wrong thread, Hellblazers' latest thread is the one just above this one in STS. ;)

I know what you mean about how every revealing Doc or non-fiction book feeling like it's 'life-changing.' I got into the popular Documentaries on Netflix a few months back, starting with Food Inc. I watched a lot of the more notorious and well-researched titles, and I noticed that after each and every last one of them, even smaller ones like Gasland, (small in scope, not in budget or length) I felt like my life had been changed.

But then after a day or two I had thought enough to know that the problems in each doc didn't really affect me directly. For instance I don't even use any natural gas, no matter how much I want the government to stop all the shady shit going on in that industry, _I_ should be focusing on something more relevant to my own life.

Food Inc. is relevant to us all (We all eat) so that one changed my worldview a bit. -But the mother of all documentaries that I have seen in my life, the only one to make me feel like an alien to this entire planet was Century of the Self.

It's that good. Do yourself a favor and watch at least the first part of it Asap. The four chapters are in Chrono order so the last chapter is about more recent politics... But us Marketers would probably find the 3rd chapter most revealing and helpful in our business plans.

Cheers,
Luke
 
OK, have watched the first part of The Century of the Self and consider it to be an ironic example of the sort of problem it sets out to expose: an engineered learning experience.

The premise: "How can we make people feel like they are tools of corporations?" The solution: "Tell the history of a despicable, amoral prick who came up with a lot of things that many people totally hate, demonstrate what a lying sack of shit he was who would push any premise on the public for a buck and to satisfy his own morbid view of society, air it on the Beeb so people will know it isn't biased (wink-wink-nudge-nudge.)"

Crediting Bernays or Freud with originating the underlying concepts for which Bernays implemented such useful tactics is like crediting Edison with inventing electricity. Religious and political leaders have used crowd/herd mentality to their advantage since the dawn of civilisation. Additionally, Bernays was heavily influenced by Walter Lippman, and Lippman was perhaps the single most influential thinker in the fields of politics and media in the first half of the 20th century. But unless I missed it, there is no exploration of Lippman's ideas at all in the first part of CotS.

All that said, it certainly is interesting to see how many of the practical ideas of modern marketing and media came from Bernays' work. I wish that the video was more about the man than about attempting to frame his work as being like the hand of a perverted god, as from a business/marketing standpoint I would have found analysis of Bernays' failed campaigns -- of which there had to be many, given the number of successes he had -- to be at least as interesting as a study of the successes.

Bottom line on the non-biographical portion though: if you buy it, you've been duped just as surely as the voter, the altar boy and the girl who's still waiting for her prince to come. You just think you're smarter than they are, because you've been duped into believing that as well.

Two more books to add to your reading list when you get the time: The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes, and Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram.

The former is based on a somewhat wacky premise -- that consciousness is less a product of biological evolution than of social evolution, and that the adoption of religion and government are by-products of the way the brain is trying to cope with the "threat" of rational thought, which is incredibly useful for long-term solutions to problems but can really fuck you in the event of, say, being attacked by a tiger. ie. in the short term, thinking about stuff can be a real impediment to actually getting anything done, and in a primitive culture based almost entirely around the immediacy, thought can actually be dangerous and should be resisted in order to stay alive -- hence the engineering of gods and other authorities who will tell us what to do without having to think it through, and the birth of political power in those who see the advantage to letting others worry about everything from crop tending to tiger attacks while the "leaders" think things through on everyone else's behalf. The book has some very interesting historical perspectives which explore the issue of ancient humans, who were biologically identical to modern humans for a very very very long time before they appear to have adopted anything remotely resembling consciousness (Jaynes put the point as recently as the Iliad, the oldest-known written work that actually describes a character's thoughts, feelings, desires, anxieties etc. vs. simply describing his actions and the things that happen around him; ie. it is the oldest-known work that documents human thought.) Jaynes' work is largely ignored by anthropologists as being 70s pop science, but the questions he asked are interesting enough that, even if you disagree with his answers, you can't help but wonder what the answers might be.

Milgram's work is seminal and extremely important in understanding psychological adherence to authority. It's interesting to look at Bernays' history and the results of his work; however, Milgram's experiments in the 1960s sought to understand the cause and nature of human adherence to authority, and is far more interesting than just looking at some examples of the end result of that tendency.


Frank
 
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I took Jaynes' book in to my Anthro prof back in 02 and he scoffed and said it was pseudoscience. Also worth reading is [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Brain-Understanding-Meditation-Consciousness/dp/0262011646"]zen and the brain[/ame].

OK, have watched the first part of The Century of the Self and consider it to be an ironic example of the sort of problem it sets out to expose: an engineered learning experience.

The premise: "How can we make people feel like they are tools of corporations?" The solution: "Tell the history of a despicable, amoral prick who came up with a lot of things that many people totally hate, demonstrate what a lying sack of shit he was who would push any premise on the public for a buck and to satisfy his own morbid view of society, air it on the Beeb so people will know it isn't biased (wink-wink-nudge-nudge.)"

Crediting Bernays or Freud with originating the underlying concepts for which Bernays implemented such useful tactics is like crediting Edison with inventing electricity. Religious and political leaders have used crowd/herd mentality to their advantage since the dawn of civilisation. Additionally, Bernays was heavily influenced by Walter Lippman, and Lippman was perhaps the single most influential thinker in the fields of politics and media in the first half of the 20th century. But unless I missed it, there is no exploration of Lippman's ideas at all in the first part of CotS.

All that said, it certainly is interesting to see how many of the practical ideas of modern marketing and media came from Bernays' work. I wish that the video was more about the man than about attempting to frame his work as being like the hand of a perverted god, as from a business/marketing standpoint I would have found analysis of Bernays' failed campaigns -- of which there had to be many, given the number of successes he had -- to be at least as interesting as a study of the successes.

Bottom line on the non-biographical portion though: if you buy it, you've been duped just as surely as the voter, the altar boy and the girl who's still waiting for her prince to come. You just think you're smarter than they are, because you've been duped into believing that as well.

Two more books to add to your reading list when you get the time: The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes, and Obedience to Authority by Stanley Milgram.

The former is based on a somewhat wacky premise -- that consciousness is less a product of biological evolution than of social evolution, and that the adoption of religion and government are by-products of the way the brain is trying to cope with the "threat" of rational thought, which is incredibly useful for long-term solutions to problems but can really fuck you in the event of, say, being attacked by a tiger. ie. in the short term, thinking about stuff can be a real impediment to actually getting anything done, and in a primitive culture based almost entirely around the immediacy, thought can actually be dangerous and should be resisted in order to stay alive -- hence the engineering of gods and other authorities who will tell us what to do without having to think it through, and the birth of political power in those who see the advantage to letting others worry about everything from crop tending to tiger attacks while the "leaders" think things through on everyone else's behalf. The book has some very interesting historical perspectives which explore the issue of ancient humans, who were biologically identical to modern humans for a very very very long time before they appear to have adopted anything remotely resembling consciousness (Jaynes put the point as recently as the Iliad, the oldest-known written work that actually describes a character's thoughts, feelings, desires, anxieties etc. vs. simply describing his actions and the things that happen around him; ie. it is the oldest-known work that documents human thought.) Jaynes' work is largely ignored by anthropologists as being 70s pop science, but the questions he asked are interesting enough that, even if you disagree with his answers, you can't help but wonder what the answers might be.

Milgram's work is seminal and extremely important in understanding psychological adherence to authority. It's interesting to look at Bernays' history and the results of his work; however, Milgram's experiments in the 1960s sought to understand the cause and nature of human adherence to authority, and is far more interesting than just looking at some examples of the end result of that tendency.


Frank
 
Finally stole a few minutes to respond to this...

OK, have watched the first part of The Century of the Self and consider it to be an ironic example of the sort of problem it sets out to expose: an engineered learning experience.
If that's the main thing you got out of it then I feel very sorry for you and America too.

The premise: "How can we make people feel like they are tools of corporations?" The solution: "Tell the history of a despicable, amoral prick who came up with a lot of things that many people totally hate, demonstrate what a lying sack of shit he was who would push any premise on the public for a buck and to satisfy his own morbid view of society, air it on the Beeb so people will know it isn't biased (wink-wink-nudge-nudge.)"
Wow that is a narrow view of that Opus. In fact I always felt that the Bernays history took a huge backseat to the overall message of "selling by feeling." (Which includes propoganda and all other forms of irrational persuasion that the media use on us 24/7 today. -Not to mention every other industry vertical such as real estate (staging) etc...

Crediting Bernays or Freud with originating the underlying concepts for which Bernays implemented such useful tactics is like crediting Edison with inventing electricity.
I totally agree that selling by feeling was something that would have been Discovered eventually, and can't be called an invention. However what CotS does an excellent job opening ones eyes of is how INCREDIBLE the overall effect of it is. It touches every part of our lives and is totally responsible for everything that's happened to us from the Holocaust to presidential choices, to all our damn Acai Rebillz and how we do business today.

One cannot make sense of the world around us without knowing the Motivations and tools put forth in CofS. -Perhaps you already pieced them together from elsewhere though, so it wasn't so eye-opening to you.

The first chapter gave you the background of the problem, but the next three show you chronologically how it affects those time periods. Freud's Daughter becomes a major player in this too later and helps the effort along tremendously with tragic results.

The Last chapter brings it directly into US and UK politics. -They stop short of saying that Corporations are in complete control of our governments, but they do show you the means and motivation for such a thing to take place... And in my mind there is no other rational thing for them to be doing with all that power and money.


Additionally, Bernays was heavily influenced by Walter Lippman, and Lippman was perhaps the single most influential thinker in the fields of politics and media in the first half of the 20th century. But unless I missed it, there is no exploration of Lippman's ideas at all in the first part of CotS.
Lippman clearly came after Bernays got his start in PR.

While Lippman was an advisor to Wilson, Bernays' client corporations were likely already controlling the white house to some extent. CotS showed how come control or at least cooperation had been established by then and Bernays had the largest penthouse in Manhattan at the time, extremely rich and powerful already.

-So the two would certainly have met but I don't see any mention of Lippman in CotS either. Perhaps he just wasn't directly involved in the message the BBC was interested in talking about.


I wish that the video was more about the man than about attempting to frame his work as being like the hand of a perverted god, as from a business/marketing standpoint I would have found analysis of Bernays' failed campaigns -- of which there had to be many, given the number of successes he had -- to be at least as interesting as a study of the successes.
The later ones spend a lot of time talking to Bernay's daughter (who obviously didn't agree with her father's ethics) and they actually show interviews with Bernays himself near his death in 2001 or so. I think you'd enjoy the rest of the series.

As for "framing his work as being like the hand of a perverted god," I never saw it as that... More like being the guy who opened Pandora's box. All kinds of evil is in the world today thanks to his discovery. -But he's no god... It would be much more accurate to say he created Gods out of Corporations.

Bottom line on the non-biographical portion though: if you buy it, you've been duped just as surely as the voter, the altar boy and the girl who's still waiting for her prince to come. You just think you're smarter than they are, because you've been duped into believing that as well.
So tell me then, what purpose/motivation did the BBC or whomever have for this grand duping of us, in your opinion?

This theory of Freud's that led to the world around us today explains SO MUCH (everything, really) that I could never make sense of otherwise. -And I know I'm not the only one putting the pieces together like this, so how could it be a duping?

Also, I don't think I'm smarter than the corporate overlords are; I think I'm just smart enough to see their methods, M.O., and where its' taking us at the current rate... But they're much bigger and have a longer head start so I admit that I can't know as much as they about this.
 
Just briefly ...

posted by lukep:
posted by fm1234:
... Bernays was heavily influenced by Walter Lippman, and Lippman was perhaps the single most influential thinker in the fields of politics and media in the first half of the 20th century. But unless I missed it, there is no exploration of Lippman's ideas at all in the first part of CotS.

Lippman clearly came after Bernays got his start in PR.

-So the two would certainly have met but I don't see any mention of Lippman in CotS either. Perhaps he just wasn't directly involved in the message the BBC was interested in talking about.

Bernays cited Lippman as a major influence on the development of his work; given Lippman's better-known (if not more extensive) influence, I just found it curious he wasn't mentioned at all.

Also wanted to add that I found a copy of Propaganda online, here. Interesting reading.

@PM: As I said, people in anthro/archaeological fields tend to look down their noses at Jaynes' work. Irrespective of the accuracy of his answers, his questions are what I find interesting about his work. While I don't want to start a flame war with the tweed elbow patch crowd, it is worth pointing out in Jaynes' defence that those fields in particular are very resistant to any line of questioning or reasoning that bucks the established theory. It's an uncomfortable field; where concrete proof of anything tends to be so scant, sometimes all you have is consensus, so people poking and sniffing around those carefully-negotiated consensus are usually dismissed as quacks.


Frank
 
Sorry if its a bit of topic but I want to share this video see what you guys think.

It does remind me of matrix somehow...in the end we are just $$$.....

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME7K6P7hlko]YouTube - Meet Your Strawman![/ame]
 
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." -- Thomas Jefferson

revolution, FTW. unfortunately without bloody war this task can hardly be accomplished
 
Scalped: That film is the most scare-mongering POS I've ever seen... Couldn't watch it all the way through. Ugghh. I bet they can sell life insurance with that film if they just link to it at the end...

revolution, FTW. unfortunately without bloody war this task can hardly be accomplished
I've been giving a non-bloody revolution some thought lately.

What if a group like Anonymous were to distribute a social App freely that helped coordinate (and educate, I'd guess) a more peaceable revolution? Like on Voting Day, and by purchase choices...

Of course there is more room in this idea for it to be misused if leadership were anything less than ideal, but technically, Americans now have the option of getting together and working together without ever reading a newspaper or turning on their TVs... And as we become more networked, I bet in time this will in fact be the de facto way to organize a vote... Kind of like a huge-ass union...
 
Sorry if its a bit of topic but I want to share this video see what you guys think.

It does remind me of matrix somehow...in the end we are just $$$.....

YouTube - Meet Your Strawman!

Yes, i have got out of paying my credit cards by copyrighting my strawman name. Each time they send me a letter, bam, i hit them with an invoice.

Legalese is not English, its a totally different language.