John Edwards- Born TV Ad

A great ad running in South Carolina.

Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government

I have always enjoyed Sirota's writings on the corrupting influence that corporate money has had on our political system. His latest book, Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--And How We Take It Back,is an in-depth look at how this culture of corruption has twisted the way that government works today. From his site:

Do you ever wonder if there's a connection between the increasingly frequent corruption scandals in the news and the steady decline in the quality of life for millions of Americans? Do you ever wonder what corporations get for the millions of dollars they pour into the American political system? Do you ever think the government has been hijacked by forces hostile to average Americans? Do you ever want to fight back?

If your answer to any of these questions is "yes," then Hostile Takeover is your guide.

Millions of Americans lack health care, millions more struggle to afford it. Politicians claim they care, and then pass legislation that does nothing more than send more cash to the HMO industry. Wages have been stagnant for thirty years, and the minimum wage isn't enough to live on, even as corporate profits skyrocket. Politicians say they want to fix the problem, and then pass bills written by lobbyists that help drive wages even lower and punish those crushed by debt. Jobs are being shipped overseas, pensions are being cut, politicians feign outrage, and then support policies written by their Big Money donors that ships more jobs overseas and help executives eliminate workers' retirement benefits.

People who are worried about their families feel helpless when confronted with this reality; patriotic individuals who love their country are worried about what these trends mean for the future of America. And our government, more concerned about maintaining its corporate sponsorship than protecting its citizens, does nothing about it. In fact, politicians deliberately work to make these problems worse.

In Hostile Takeover, David Sirota seeks to open the eyes of ordinary Americans and show us exactly how corporate interests have conquered our democracy, aided and abetted by their lackeys in our allegedly representative government. At a time when more and more of America's major political leaders are being indicted or investigated for corruption, Sirota takes readers on a journey that shows how all of this nefarious behavior happens right under our noses, how it is all symptomatic of a diseased political system, and how the high-profile scandals are merely one product of a political system and a political debate wholly owned by Big Money interests.

Sirota considers ten of the most pressing pocketbook issues for ordinary citizens' taxes, wages, jobs, debt, pensions, health care, prescription drugs, energy, worker protections and legal rights. In each case, he shows how workable solutions are buried under the lies of lobbyists, the influence of campaign cash, and the ubiquitous spin machine financed by Big Business.

With fiery passion, pinpoint wit, and lucid analysis, Sirota reveals the true enemies of reform and the increasingly sophisticated tactics being used to wage an economic war on ordinary citizens. Hostile Takeover is, in short, an easy-to-read guidebook not for the elitists, the insiders or the bought off politicians, but for the rest of us who are tired of government selling us out - and who want answers about how we can take our country back.

The Business of Business- Chocolate Slavery

It is hard to believe that in this day and age, slavery is alive and well all across the globe. This often is practiced with the complicity of government officials and business leaders. Today I am going to look at this horrid practice in relation to just one issue- chocolate.

The stage- the Ivory Coast in Western Africa. The scene- thousands of children plowing away as slave labor in large cocoa plantations wielding machetes as they work countless hours. The year- 2007! The result- the chocolate you consume in the forms of candy bars and other delectable pleasures. Yes, that’s right. That glass of chocolate milk at breakfast or those candy bars that your kids sell at school for the latest fundraiser are the products of slave labor. Not a pleasant thought, huh?

This sad saga is nothing new. Unfortunately, though, to date nothing substantive has been done about it. Oh there was the ‘outrage’ expressed way back in 2001 by the US Congress. There was the threat to require chocolate makers to certify that their products were ‘slave free’. Imagine that- no question that slaves were actually being used in the cocoa plantations, just that the labeling would have to reflect this! And the response? Oh the horror, the chocolate industry replied. Consumers might boycott our products resulting in lower revenues meaning lower payments to producers which would result in more slaves. The bill, of course, never reached the House-Senate conference committee. The chocolate industry then joined together and declared that they would work together to put an end to this practice by 2005 in a declaration known as the Cocoa Protocol. Just give us a few years, they said...

Well, the deadline came and went and nothing was done. In fact, the deadline was extended to 2008. Congress is once again expressing their ‘outrage’ with Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel declaring, "The deadline came and went and we were very unhappy. They now need to live up to that agreement. If they don't, personally I would be for implementing some sanctions, because I think six years is enough.” Wow- tough talk. I am sure they are really scared.

Meanwhile back on the plantations, life is miserable for the kids that have been sold or traded to these plantation owners. School is not an option for most and the fear of beatings is all too real. The kids are piled into one small hut and sleep on wooden planks. The windows are sealed shut to prevent any of them from trying to escape, although most are too afraid to attempt it as they would be beaten if they were caught.

The Ivory Coast Government has created what they call a model village named Petit Yammousoukro which they claim is a model project under the auspices of the Cocoa Protocol. The village proudly showcases a school at one end and pronounces that this is an example of the chocolate industry’s commitment to end slave labor and put kids back in school. The school, a mud hut, was built by the villagers themselves. The American Government, through USAID provided the school with wooden desks and a blackboard. The chocolate industry provided nothing. The school opened in January of this year, over five years after the Cocoa Protocol was signed.

The American and British chocolate manufacturers claim to know nothing about the project in Petit Yammousoukro and the sad reality is that after many years, nothing has been done. Unfortunately, nothing will get done as long as these companies continue to rake in the profits from this operation. They will continue to claim that progress is being made and that all they need is a little more time. As Susan Smith of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association in the United States put it, “This is a long term project. I think I've learned that they're moving forward on pilots.”

Talk and more talk! Unfortunately for these slave children, every day that passes increases their despair and the very struggle to survive becomes even more difficult.

Visit Stop The Traffik today and see what you can do to stop this despicable practice.


Watch and Weep...

What's Behind the Curtain?

Recently I had a post which looked at the results of the annual 'Corporate Hall of Shame', a poll taken to expose the world's worst corporate abusers. Afterwards, I did a bit of research on each of these companies to see for myself exactly why they made the final list. This was definitely an eye-opening experience! After looking under the PR curtains these companies put up with their slick press releases and sifting through the corporate media stories, a picture developed that was quite disturbing.

This post was originally intended to be a detailed look at just one of the companies on that list but as time passed and I read more and more information, this became impossible. I plan to present this in a series of posts each with its own story. Together, let's study what has gone terribly wrong with business today and the horrific practices employed all in the name of profits and expanded markets.