Occupy and a Little R and R

A Little R and R 


I went out last night with friends from my former job.  This was the first time I'd seen any of them since I got canned.  I'm feeling kind of cruddy today, but it was worth it.  I'm not really hung over, but I drank a lot of beer which I don't usually do, and that has wrecked havoc on my stomach.  I am also really tired.  I haven't slept much over the past week, so being up late and drinking was the catalyst I needed to sleep until 1:00.  Unfortunately, my wife called me several times while I was asleep, and I have no idea what she said.  I'll have to get a recap.

Occupy the Courts


It seems that there is set to be a standoff today in Washington on the steps of the Supreme Court.  From what I can see on Twitter, the whole thing is to protest the Citizens United decision.  I have mixed feelings about this.

You'll see if you stick with reading me long enough that I am what I like to call an "extreme moderate".  What I mean by that is that I don't fall into the mold of liberal or conservative, but when I have an opinion, it tends to be strong.  Here's a brief list of the paradoxical examples (I'm open to discussing these in future blog posts if anyone wants details) :

1. I'm very pro-gun (which I consider to be a liberal point of view, and I think Thomas Jefferson would agree)
2. I'm pro-choice, but only moderately (I don't want to see that vast opening up of the laws, but I think things are okay the way they are.  Nobody likes abortion, and we should work towards fewer abortions, but I don't like taking the right off the table)
3. I'm very pro-gay rights (marriage, etc.)
4. I'm somewhat pro-business (see the Citizens opinions I'm about to express)
5. I'm anti-union (not the concept of a union, as it has done many great things for the world, more the unions as they stand today in their greedy, childish, "if I can't have more than nobody can" ways. They killed a lot of industries and I don't think their members are better for it)
6. I'm pro-free market economics
7. I wish fake, hate-filled "Christianity" would get the hell out of politics, or just go away in general

I think you get the point.  I identify most with libertarianism, but I think most of those guys are too extreme in their views.  

So here's my problem with people protesting Citizens United.  I think it's mostly a fair decision.  I'm not happy with some of the implications, such as the anonymity of contributions through super-PACs (anonymity irony alert), and the fact that these super-PACs are obviously in support of particular candidates if not downright wings of those candidates own organizations.  I don't think that makes this a protest-worthy decision though.  What we need is some legitimate legislation to reign in some of the loopholes and public policy snafus that were caused by the decision.  

Lets face it, big companies are affected by the law and politics far more than the average citizen.  Before this decision, they really had no voice other than the lobby for which they continually take heat.  Business also pays a very large portion of the taxes that go to support the government, and the rest of the taxes come from people who got that money from their employers. I think this shows that they should have some sort of say in  the political realm.  At least as much say as the unions, an institution that enjoys most of the rights of individuals with few of the responsibilities; and that operates very similarly to a public company. 

I'm not saying that there is nothing to protest.  I could probably find something worthy of protest every day.  Certainly some of the fallout of this decision is even worthy of protest.  I just don't think it's directed the right way when it is on the steps of the Supreme Court.  Protest the candidates who are quite obviously coordinating illegally with their super-PACs.  Protest the congress who hasn't fixed any of the loopholes necessarily created by the decision.  Just leave my beloved Court out of this.  They're really just doing their job.