Right, the shadowy them that you guys take as an article of faith. If that were the case, this oligopoly would have been able to enforce a consistent public-health policy across the board. Instead, here you have a patchwork of approaches, with policies and compliance varying county by county, largely mirroring the local politics. Last winter, during the worst peak, all you had to do in this state was drive an hour outside the city to find people happily coofing all over each other. That tells me the people are still (thankfully) in control of their government, local politicians doing what is locally popular, highly attuned to the culture of their constituencies. Nobody is in control. It is the local culture, and where the local consensus falls on the collective-vs.-individual-responsibility scale, that determines things. Exactly as it should be.
Wow... So no oligarchy, and the corporations have just donated hundreds of millions because they want to see the best for America and it's citizens.
Have you ever looked at the wikileaks emails around citigroup and the Obama cabinet? You can dislike wikileaks all you want- but I don't think anybody has accused them of making up the stories. Just leaking things that would be better left hidden.
Here are a few links for you, if you want to break your illusion that the corporations do not control your government. I assume they didn't make the mainstream press. Coles notes is that citigroup emailed Podesta to let him know who should be in Obama's cabinet. And just about every name on their list ended up in the cabinet. I know- it was just coincidence. Obama and citigroup just came to the same conclusion, completely independently. Now, if you believe that, you have to ask yourself what would give citigroup the idea that they should be sending lists of candidates for senior level positions. And you have to conclude that they thought Obama would be receptive for some reason (or maybe it was the millions they gave him...)
Here is the best one. There is an attachment link for the lists that were sent.
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/8190 "John -- Attached are three documents: -- A list of African American, Latino and Asian American candidates, broken down by Cabinet/Deputy and Under/Assistant/Deputy Assistant level, plus a list of Native American, Arab/Muslim American and Disabled American candidates. We have much longer lists for most of the groups, and the lists will continue to grow
as we reach out further and more openly,* but these are the names to date that seem to be coming up as recommended by various sources for senior level jobs. (I have tried to include member of Barack's campaign and Senate policy staff, as well as participants in the Transition project, as appropriate.)
*Why is citigroup reaching out openly about who should be in government? Is that not the job of the elected official and not his corporate masters?
And then the follow up.
https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/3560 " If you all could take a quick look at the lists for the agencies in your area, that would be helpful. I think the hope is that, while there are no guarantees, some of the people on these lists might make their way into the agencies ultimately. "
