Open Thread - 08-15-25 - Class Warfare as Policy
Federal politics in America has always been about class warfare. The Founding Fathers were, for the most part, rich land owners. In most states only white male land owners over 21 could vote. This persisted through the early 1800s, but by the 1820s was no longer common. North Carolina was the last state to remove the property requirement in 1856.
Senators were elected by the legislatures of their respective states until 1913 when the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified. This was another way that the wealthy retained power. After the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment Senators were elected by the constituents of the states. This was a good step towards equity, but there were other ways to twist the system in favor of the monied class.
It was set up as a good old boy's club and pretty much remains that way to the present with the addition of some good old girls as well. Sure, some less than wealthy candidates occasionally get elected, but by and large, they don't remain that way for long. We've all seen how some elected officials come into office with a modicum of wealth and within a few years have accumulated a rather large nest egg, much more than what their annual salary justifies. The longer they serve the larger the larder.
To keep the members of congress in line with the system, it has been set up purposely to make them filthy rich while serving, to make sure they kowtow to the class warfare system. That's the purpose of the lobbyist which is nothing less than legalized bribery. It's an open secret that our elected officials at the federal level also engage in insider trading, with some doing better than the biggest traders in the industry. Holding out on major bills is another time tested way to get bribed for a yes vote. These are just a few of the ways that big money has used to infiltrate our government at the federal level. Surely the state and local levels have their corrupt ways as well, since greed has no boundaries.
The Citizens United ruling in 2010 put the icing on the corruption cake. The electoral system is awash in money. The Founding Fathers would be envious.
It's all about money, greed and power. It's been this way from the inception of the Republic.
The two party system is set up to pit the hoi polloi against one another while the upper classes' money is protected. Red meat social issues are meant to fool the electorate into voting against their own best interests under a facade of democracy, and, man o man, is that self evident in today's manipulative environment . It's not about us, it's about them, and money.
The struggle is not horizontal, it is vertical.
Comments
Good morning Free Rangers...
there's nothing new under the sun. There's no great revelation in this post, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded now and again of the real raison d'être of our so called democracy. It's not about We the People, it's about money, power and greed, and keeping it in the hands of a select few.
There was an essay about this very subject called
America's new segragation
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/opinion/trump-democrats-resistance-re...
Some might have a hard time reading though as it's written by someone who likes America. Brooks is also one of those at the pinnacle of cultural elitism. Kind of hard to see things you are in the midst of.
It's not only a question of money, but also the opportunity to make money, that's why so many support lots of illegal immigration, to keep wages low and destroy those places those without traditionally used as a springboard to the middle class.
Cogent response...
although I wish you'd refrain from little pointed digs like this:
I would posit that wanting to change American politics for the better is a proof for "liking" America. But, you're entitled to your opinion.
David Brooks, as you elude to, is a gate keeper and mouth piece for class warfare and pitting Americans against one another, as is the New York Times. Divide and conquer is the sharpest tool in the elitists' tool box.
I don't disagree that the destruction of the middle class is what we're witnessing, and a great wealth redistribution from the middle class to the monied class.
Same as it always was. It's a cycle as old as the advent of civilization.
Swap out
the word "America" for the "status quo" and the sentence would be quite accurate.
Thanks for the OT.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Yep...
an apt descriptor for David Brooks.
We are a country...
...for oligarchs and designed by oligarchs. The US gift is its beauty and natural resources. The political system is hopeless to my mind...just a distraction to make people feel they have a voice.
But the banks are made of marble,
With a guard at every door
And the vaults are stuffed with silver,
That the miner sweated for.
The Alaska summit may prove to be interesting. We'll see. Could be a nothing burger. I'm expecting a new trade deal of some sort, but no real resolution of the Ukraine proxy war. Even if something was worked out, Ukraine and the EU would say NO!. I fully expect the conflict to be solved on the battlefield.
After a week of rain, I've been catching up on mowing and maintenance. Always something.
Have a good weekend and thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
What we engage in...
politically is not a true democracy, it's representative democracy. Which means that once our representative is elected to office they are then free to vote and legislate in accordance with their whims, constituents be damned. That is the door way to corruption and graft and why our system is based on bribery.
I think you are right about the Alaskan Summit, it's probably more about thwarting the rise of the BRICS alliance and not about ending the Ukraine War, although I'm open to being pleasantly surprised. If Ukraine and the EU say no to peace then the US should walk away and let them slug it out.
The rain has slowed down here, but not the grass, sigh.
Man's inhumanity to man
continues apace.
Now we can use bulldozers to clean out the unwanted, just like our "special friends" in the Zionist entity do, every day. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?
Faugh.
https://archive.ph/Xqi7i
Twice bitten, permanently shy.
The rapid march...
into a dark future is picking up pace. Boots in the streets of America, military rapid response teams being set up, a panopitcon of digital surveillance, if these things were included in a campaign plank how many people would vote for it? I'd initially say very damn few, but I would probably be shocked at how wrong I may be.
That image could easily be a microcosm of what's happening to the whole country.
Lee Camps latest episode
of Unredacted addressed the surveillance state we are living in today.
MAGA
Morons
Are
Governing
America
Good video...
and funny, thanks for posting it.
What the flock, man!
I see an opportunity for some enterprising person or persons. Something along the order of a type of film that goes over license plates to thwart the flocking Flock. There's always a way.
There used to be
a plastic cover that would somehow block a camera from reading your plate, but it was banned in California a couple of decades ago. I presume the other states have followed.
I think it was the flash that reflected back that obscured the numbers and letters.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Hola, Johnny et. al. Thanks for the OT JtC,
Finny thing about License plate cams. I considered defeating them using a frame painted with a WWII dazzle pattern + somr IR leds to blind the cam. It has long been illegal here to cover your plate, as in most states, I think. So I checked our current law, and it is written so that anything that makes it hard for readers to read it would be illegal, very broad and a bit vague.
This all reminded me of something that happened at least 10 years ago, in MN of all places. I got stopped and the officer said something about reading my plate. I had a removable bike rack that stepped into a fixture attached to my dock bumper. I said that I'm sure they could read it and the officer siad that he could, but the automated plate reader could not, and that was a big no-no. He decided to let me go, but advised me that if my route back home went through TX I would be wise to remove the mount before I got there.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
If we're not allowed
to cover our vehicles license plates, than law enforcement should not be allowed to cover their faces.
Fair is fair, right.
MAGA
Morons
Are
Governing
America
I've seen vehicles...
with what appears to be a tinted film over the plates, I couldn't see the plate at all. How do they get away with that?
Hola sp, thanks for the laugh. "Fair" is a place where one
goes to buy corn dogs and watch pig racing and sheep shearing or some such stuff. Dunno what we can do about cops in masks except via rico or conspiracy charges
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good afternoon, mi hermano...
and a good morning out there on the left coast.
License plate readers is just one worry in a myriad of worries. There's also facial recognition cameras along the roads. You may get a ticket in the mail for some traffic offense with a photo of yourself behind the wheel. It's been said that everyone has a doppelganger somewhere in the world, no chance for any mix ups there. Add facial recognition AI software into the mix and there's no where to hide.
I've seen cars on the road with their license plates totally obscured by cargo on the bumper rack. That's just asking for it.
Hmmm, routing through Texas from Minnesota to get to California, now that's taking the long route home. Unless of course that was the plan all along.
Heh, don't think it was that trip, but once, MN to IA to
visit for a couple of days and then somebody from a distribution center in IA calls to say that the truckers are saying that all the normal highway routes west are snowbound somehwere along the route so we went something like I 35 waaay south before turning west, maybe I 10 to I 8. Back then we made a lot of trips to MN + IA and I'd swear that we never took the same exact route twice. My fave is to head North toward Sacto then grab 50 until it peteres out and then grab I 70 and wing it from there.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I wish I could argue with you
because then I would take the position things are not as bad as you say. Unfortunately, I think they're far worse. We are not as bad as Russian the government is today, but it sure seems like we are headed in that direction.
Rights?...Rights? We don't need no stinkin' rights!
Sometimes I tell myself...
that things aren't really that bad, then I wake up from the dream and reality takes the form of a nightmare.
I never in a million years thought things would get so bad when I was younger. Then reality takes hold again. I'm glad I'm an old fart but I fear for my son and granddaughter.
Many of our rights are thought of as inalienable, but in today's world they have morphed into privileges granted to us by those on high. How quaint?
Facial scans
Recently I reserved a van at Home Depot to move some things. $20 to rent for a day. Reading my drivers license with a QR scan wasn’t sufficient for them. When they tried to do a biometric scan of my face I told them I couldn’t do this. They politely refunded my deposit. I know I’m behind the times with technology, but it felt invasive.
Anya
If your...
drivers license has a photo ID then you're probably already in a national database. If your license is Real ID with a gold star then you most certainly are.
Kudos for standing up for yourself though.
I can't wait for smart toilets so our last night's meal can be monitored. No doubt that shitty reality is coming.
Unbelievable
I thought I heard a comment from Newsome about a senator being thrown on the ground by police or words to the effect. I'm not familiar with the event he talked about. And this is going on outside his venue?
語必忠信 行必正直
There ought to be...
a law against that. Oh wait, I forgot law is only for the common folk, AKA the little people.
I'm afraid we're being conditioned for martial law, my friend.
I have to ask myself if the troops in DC are there to clean it up or are they there to protect the pols when some shit hits the fan.