Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Sen. Sanders Held a Tax Cut Filibuster [8+ hrs video]

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, December 17, 2010

Sen. Sanders Held a Tax Cut Filibuster [8+ hrs video]

from C-Span.

C-Span has the links to his filibuster speech on December 10th in opposition to the tax bill that was recently passed by both houses of Congress and signed today by Obama. I think that this speech is destined to become one of the greatest speeches in the history of the US Congress.

Although the fact of the speech was widely reported, very few people actually heard it. Few people in the Senate stayed to hear it, mainstream TV media did not carry any significant segments from it, little of its content was reported in print media (I only found that the NY Times carried a link, now obsolete, to the speech), and I have seen no links to the speech on the internet although I'm sure there were some somewhere.

Bernie Sanders is no radical. He has labeled himself as a "socialist", but in the US that usually means a social democrat--one who supports a kinder, gentler capitalism which, of course, is an oxymoron. But Senator Sanders is a decent, honest man who knows of what he speaks. The only criticism I have is that he makes too many references to party labels with the Republicans being the bad guys. This is nonsense. Democrats are currently in the majority in both houses of Congress.

Because I am retired, I was able to listen to much of the speech on Dec. 10th. Also, I have had the time to follow the many sordid activities of the ruling class before and during this economic collapse by following reports in alternative internet sources, but I still learned a lot more listening to this speech. He goes into the details about the bankster activities that enriched them and caused devastating consequences for many ordinary Americans and other workers in the world. He also sees so many things that could be done to put Americans to work on projects that would greatly contribute to everyone's lives for years to come. He provides many of the current details about the class war. Although few people heard it, those who did were greatly impressed. I highly recommend it. Over the holidays you may have time to play this while doing other routine things around your home.