A Horrific Law That Shows We're in a Corporatocracy

In my recent book, 'The Elements of the Corporatocracy', I observed  the U.S. has already evolved from a democracy (or to be technical, a Republic that operates using democratic machinery) to a Corporatocracy which represents a government - corporate nexus by which corporate power is able to purchase legislative leverage and overtime contaminate the wheels of government itself.  Thus, the corporate sphere uses the power of its wealth and influence (especially in the media and via lobbying) to control a nation's political and economic destiny.


Numerous incidents, events over the past couple years have shown this meddlesome influence in stark relief and at the same time, disclosed the public's faith in government plummeting to record lows, even as many (such as Obama) preach that government can be a force for good. I believe that also, but in order for a majority to accept it, they must see the manifestations of the "good" outweigh the evils, negatives. Thus, when gov't uses 58 cents of every dollar for new military toys (like F-35s) while schools rot, teachers lose jobs and bridges collapse, this is not a good thing..


When people see what are supposed to be regulatory agencies, like the SEC (in the case of the Madoff pyramid scheme), and the USDA (in the case of pink slime), and the FDA (in the case of Gulf seafood) look the other way for political gain or spin, then this is made difficult.


In the most glaring form, people will examine the laws that have been passed or will be passed and then ask how these laws benefit them or whether in fact they hide an agenda. Thus, The National Defense Authorization Act falls into the negative category. Obama assures us he won't use or invoke any or all of the extensive powers it confers (enabling a potentially dictatorial executive) but that doesn't console us if someone less honorable or judicious were to become commander-in chief, say like Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman or Mitt Romney.  The fact is, ANY bad law left on the books can be used later by an indiscriminate or paranoid leader if it not killed now when a decent leader is in office.


One recalls here the history of the Reichstag (German Parliament) on the heels of the passage of  The Enabling Act- by which the Reichstag essentially dissolved itself. -Thereafter,  all opposition political parties were outlawed, even the pretense of democracy was passe.  While the Enabling Act may be extreme, it portends and warns of the nature of unintended consequences when any laws are merely passed by the force of political posturing and not careful thought of how they might mutate to the detriment of all. Or.....in different hands!


The Patriot Act was another such ill -advised  law, in which the protections of the 4th amendment were essentially shredded as the terror hysteria in the wake of 9-11 (whipped up by the Bushies) seized congress. The same hysteria also incited them to vote for the Iraq War Resolution - leading us into a devastatingly costly war that many estimate unnecessarily added $3.3 trillion to the deficit. (See 'The $3.3 TRILLION DOLLAR WAR'). Meanwhile, hidden provisions within it enabled militarization of police depts. around the country (check out the look of the cops waylaying the Occupy protestors last year) and approved 'black bag' searches of domeciles without use of a FISA warrant (which had formerly been a staple, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). But as with many laws in Nazi Germany, including those ushering in the Reich laws that overthrew German jurisprudence - what was once deemed illegal was suddenly deemed legal via new laws. And we won't even get into the extent to which the NSA has extended its own purview into domestic spying on emails, and everything else - which it could never do in the wake of the Church Commission findings in 1978.


Anyway, let us jump to the present.


Congress is seriously considering a bill called the "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act"  (CISPA) which is intended to allow information sharing both between corporations and between corporations and the government. It doesn't take a genius to see that it presents serious dangers to individual privacy. The most important parts of the proposed act permit corporations to share information about their customers with each other and with the government if they assert that this information sharing is necessary for national security.


The only thing remotely analogous to this in the not too distant past, was the setting up of the ASC or American Security Council in the 1950s, which of course laid the groundwork for the nascent Corporatocracy.  Quoting author Russ Bellant in my book, 'The Elements of the Corporatocacy' (Chapter 1: The Emergence of the Corporate Control State, p. 12) :


"The ASC began in Chicago in 1955, staffed primarily by former FBI agents. In its first year it was called the Mid-American Research Library. Corporations joined to take advantage of what former FBI agent William Turner described as ...'a dossier system modeled after the FBI's, which was intended to weed out employees and prospective employees deemed disloyal to the free enterprise system."

And further (ibid.):

(Continued)