From: Tom Atlee <cii@igc.org>
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2000 07:03:29 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: A painful jab in our political funnybone
Dear friends,The "New Investment Scheme" below is one of the most brilliantly funny pieces of satire I've ever seen. It concerns a primary barrier to real democracy -- big money in legislation and elections. Thanks to Doug Mosel <dmosel@igc.org> for bringing it to my attention. The website noted at the end http://www.billionairesforbushorgore.com/ is real and is packed with page after page of painfully funny stuff which I wholeheartedly recommend reading.
I first heard of Billionaires for Bush or Gore in an email about the demonstrations at the Republication National Convention -- R2K REPORT Issue #9 by L.A. Kauffman (lak@free-radical.org), excerpted here:
**** (snip)
It was remarkable how many irony-impaired spectators didn't get the Billionaires for Bush (or Gore), several dozen delightful performers who marched under the slogan, "Because inequality isn't growing fast enough!" Wearing tuxedos and evening gowns in the Philadelphia heat, the Billionaires put it all in perspective:"Gore or Bush, Bush or Gore,
we don't care who you vote for.
We've already bought 'em
We've already bought 'em"
***** (snip)If you have any doubt that behind this humor is a very solid reality, read the speech by Senator Russ Feingold (D- Wisconsin), which my brother Dick alerted me to, available at http://www.tomPaine.com/opinion/2000/08/15/ . Senator Feingold describes in some detail the corporate takeover of both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. "I'm sorry to say it, but the big story at the Democratic Convention is really influence buying and pedaling....The story is not whether to have a fund-raiser at the Playboy Mansion, but the obscenity of unlimited special interest soft money contributions." Or you can just read the statistics in the tantalizing Investment Scheme below.
Our national elections now are mostly a choice between leading candidates totally beholden to monied interests. Nearly everyone knows this. That's why the "Billionaires for Bush or Gore" chant, above, is so funny.
What's not so clear is when enough of us will say "Enough!" -- and take back the power to shape our collective lives.
Which isn't to say that now isn't a great time to laugh....
Coheartedly,
Tom
_ _ _ _ _
A New Investment Scheme
Now, for the first time, the average investor can take part in the nation's most lucrative industry by purchasing shares in our mutually-held LOBBYING FIRM.
If you're like most of us, you're always looking for higher returns on your investments. And while you may be familiar with stocks and bonds, currency speculation, IPOs, and all the rest, there's a new investment arena you should be aware of -- LEGISLATION.
If a mutual fund returns 20% a year, that's considered quite good. But in the low-risk, high return world of legislation, a 20% return is positively lousy. There's no reason why your investment dollar can't RETURN 100,000% OR MORE !
Too good to be true? Don't worry, it's all COMPLETELY LEGAL. HERE'S HOW IT WORKS:
With the help of a professional legislation broker (called a Lobbyist), you place your investment (called a Campaign Contribution) with a carefully selected list of legislation manufacturers (called Members of Congress). These manufacturers then go to work writing legislation: crafting industry-specific subsidies, inserting tax breaks into the tax code, extending patents, or giving away public property for free. In an assembly-line process that would make Henry Ford proud, the legislation is produced, and you (and your favorite industry) reap the benefits! The effect on your bottom line is immediate and huge.
JUST CHECK OUT THESE RESULTS:
- The Timber Industry spent $8 million in campaign contributions to preserve the logging-road subsidy, worth $458 million -- the return on their investment was 5,725% !
- GlaxoWellcome invested $1.2 million in campaign contributions to get a 19 month Patent Extension on Zantac worth $1 billion -- their net return: 83,333% !
- The Tobacco Industry spent $30 million in campaign contributions for a tax break worth $50 billion -- the return on their investment: 167,000% !
- For a paltry $5 million in campaign contributions, the Broadcasting Industry was able to secure free digital TV licenses, a give-away of public property worth $70 billion -- that's an incredible 1,400,000% return on their investment!
- If you can get this kind of return when you buy a bunch of congressmen, just imagine what you get when you BUY THE PRESIDENT. Don't wait. Invest now and let the paybacks roll in for the next four years. Apply today!
FOR FREE, DO-IT-YOURSELF ADVICE on these and other investment strategies, CONTACT: http://www.billionairesforbushorgore.com/
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Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * Eugene, OR http://www.co-intelligence.org/ http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_Index.html