From Wisconsin to Washington D.C. the Zombie Apocalypse has begun. They walk among us leaving destruction in their wake. They've stolen the minds of millions - but they want more than brains. They want to devour our schools, our communities, our environment, our health, our retirement. They own our government and have taken control of the airwaves.
They don't eat. They don't breathe. They never sleep. They have no conscience, no soul, no morality. They never go to jail for their crimes - but they have all the rights of flesh and blood citizens, and they never stop pursuing their agenda.
They are....Corporations!
Is there no safe haven from these monsters among us, the Frankenstein creations of a market-driven economy metastasized into malignancy? Is there nothing we can do? Annie Leonard has teamed up with Public Citizen to create a new video detailing how the Supreme Court with the Citizens United decision unleashed the Corporate Zombie Apocalypse- and what we need to do to stop it in its tracks. (more, with video below)
Who is Annie Leonard?
If you've never heard of Annie Leonard, chances are you've never seen the 21 minute film she put together called "The Story of Stuff" It's a gem of a video that uses simple animation to explain how our consumption-driven economy works while going beyond the feel-good 'Free Market' triumphalism to show the real costs that are piling up. For all the hysteria about government deficits, the REAL deficits are the ones you'll seldom see mentioned on the news or confessed by politicians. You will NEVER hear about it from FOX, the American Enterprise Institute, or the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Follow the link and in 21 minutes you'll see what they don't dare teach our children in schools. (And yet there are groups making schools teach Atlas Shrugged as a text...)
Just to give you an idea of how much the right hates the message Leonard is trying to get out, here's a quote about The Story of Stuff:
"This is community college Marxism in a pony tail," said Chris Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
With an endorsement like that, you know Leonard has hit a nerve.
The Story of Stuff Project has some other videos worth looking at - find them here.
Who is Public Citizen?
Here's a short section from their website explaining what they do and who they are:
Corporations have their lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
The people need advocates too.
Public Citizen serves as the people’s voice in the nation’s capital. Since our founding in 1971, we have delved into an array of areas, but our work on each issue shares an overarching goal: To ensure that all citizens are represented in the halls of power.
For nearly four decades, we have proudly championed citizen interests before Congress, the executive branch agencies and the courts. We have successfully challenged the abusive practices of the pharmaceutical, nuclear and automobile industries, and so many others. We are leading the charge against undemocratic trade agreements that advance the interests of mega-corporations at the expense of citizens worldwide.
We have five policy groups: our Congress Watch division, the Energy Program, Global Trade Watch, the Health Research Group and our Litigation Group.Learn more about them here.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit organization that does not participate in partisan political activities or endorse any candidates for elected office. We accept no government or corporate money – we rely solely on foundation grants, publication sales and support from our 80,000 members. Please support our valuable work.
Sounds like a real bunch of screaming Marxist-Socialist-Communist-Anarchist hippies, no? Compare their goals with this quote from an allegedly Democratic politician.
We need to make America the best place on Earth to do business.
And this is a job for all of us. As a government, we will help lay the foundation for you to grow and innovate and succeed. We will upgrade our transportation and communication networks so you can move goods and information more quickly and more cheaply. We’ll invest in education so that you can hire the most skilled, talented workers in the world. And we’ll work to knock down barriers that make it harder for you to compete, from the tax code to the regulatory system.
But I want to be clear: Even as we make America the best place on Earth to do business, businesses also have a responsibility to America.
As the video below makes clear, the throwaway line at the end of that blockquote is wishful thinking and nothing more. Corporations have only one responsibility - and it is NOT to America. Watch the video to see what it is.
Unleashing The Zombie Apocalypse - the Video!
Here it is: Citizens United versus the FEC - the video explaining just what havoc has been unleashed on our country by a Supreme Court packed with a corporate-friendly majority. If you want to see the whole thing in full screen, click on the expand box in the lower right corner. (You can go to the link to see it at Youtube.) If you want to support Public Citizen and Annie Leonard and spread the word, go here. The video is just under 9 minutes in length. This is one to share as wide and as fast as possible.
As has been made clear in Wisconsin, as is being made clear in Washington, DC - this is the Mother of All Battles for the heart and soul of democracy in America. We are the ones who will have to fight it - our political parties have been hopelessly compromised.
Minor Update - added "Corporate" to the title.