Last week I traveled to my "court" of last resort to demand President Biden pardon me after I was detained for almost three years by Chevron in the nation's first corporate prosecution.Donziger On Justice is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
My best wishes for your work, Steven. The big problem we face is we do not live in a democracy. We live in a corporate state where -- as the Princeton Study proved -- any pretense of democracy died out long ago. The evidence is all around us in the homeless encampments, economic ruin of families due to medical debt and the general cruel callousness to everyone. While more and more American families fall into poverty and our young have virtually no chance at the "American dream" we somehow managed to send billions to the War Industry. I prefer to refer to the corporate governmental system of abuse we suffer under as "American DeMOCKracy".
It was great that three members of Congress stood with you, but it was only three out of 535 members. That tells you all one needs to know: Congress is perfectly comfortable with the corporate takeover of the American "JUST-Us" system. They are a cog in the machine, not a solution. They are on the payroll.
The one good bit of news is more and more people are growing estranged by the traitorous government we suffer under; they see or at least sense the con. More people see cases like yours and see their communities collapsing and are beginning (slowly) to awaken to the fact they have been screwed over and something far, far more effective needs to be done than walking to the polling centers every two years and piddling in the polling booth. Something FAR more effective is needed. It is building, but the question is will it happen before the totalitarian Crackdown happens and we are all in corporate courtrooms.
Just saw that Gilens also has a book "Affluence and Influence" available as an audiobook. It opens with the Brandeis quote "We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." and promises to study the precise mechanisms by which concentrated wealth endangers democracy.
I am wondering whether part of the problem is that we do not have a quantifiable theory of power. For example, we think about tax as a means to fund the government. But we do not think about tax as means to redistribute power. A big-is-bad tax redistributed to citizens as a dividend (universal basic income) could go a long way to strengthen democracy.
As supreme court justice Brandeis said "We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis
Dear Steven, I wish you the best and will email the White House. I see the Richmond Chevron refinery out my window and it is documented that Chevron, the global evil-doer, is sickening Richmond’s children. Every year we protest on Global anti-Chevron Day. In 2024 we are in an era like the 70s, when Howarrd Zinn wrote: “I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simply to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. “ I hope Biden will do some things right in his last days in office, including giving you a pardon, or, what you deserve: a medal of honor. Alice
The very best of luck to you. Your prosecution is shameful, as we’re the actions of Chevron. However, I don’t hold out much hope for Genocide Joe Biden acting fairly or with any conscience in your case, I’m sad to say. I truly and sincerely hope that I’m wrong, but seeing how he has behaved over the whole issue of Palestine disgusts me. But again, good luck.
Good luck on the getting the pardon. You certainly deserve it. I don't have much trust that Biden will do the right thing, however, not even for good publicity in an election year. If he worried about his image, why would he be still funding the genocide in Gaza and covering up for the genocidal Israelis?
My best wishes for your work, Steven. The big problem we face is we do not live in a democracy. We live in a corporate state where -- as the Princeton Study proved -- any pretense of democracy died out long ago. The evidence is all around us in the homeless encampments, economic ruin of families due to medical debt and the general cruel callousness to everyone. While more and more American families fall into poverty and our young have virtually no chance at the "American dream" we somehow managed to send billions to the War Industry. I prefer to refer to the corporate governmental system of abuse we suffer under as "American DeMOCKracy".
It was great that three members of Congress stood with you, but it was only three out of 535 members. That tells you all one needs to know: Congress is perfectly comfortable with the corporate takeover of the American "JUST-Us" system. They are a cog in the machine, not a solution. They are on the payroll.
The one good bit of news is more and more people are growing estranged by the traitorous government we suffer under; they see or at least sense the con. More people see cases like yours and see their communities collapsing and are beginning (slowly) to awaken to the fact they have been screwed over and something far, far more effective needs to be done than walking to the polling centers every two years and piddling in the polling booth. Something FAR more effective is needed. It is building, but the question is will it happen before the totalitarian Crackdown happens and we are all in corporate courtrooms.
For those unfamiliar with the Princeton Study: "Princeton study: U.S. no longer an actual democracy" https://systemchangenotclimatechange.org/article/princeton-study-us-no-longer-actual-democracy/#:~:text=A%20new%20study%20from%20Princeton%20spells%20bad%20news,an%20oligarchy%2C%20where%20wealthy%20elites%20wield%20most%20power.
Feel free to use any of my political artwork, if you wish: https://mark192.substack.com/
see also https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B for the original article "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens" by Gilens and Page
Thanks.
Thanks for posting the link to the Princeton Study.
Just saw that Gilens also has a book "Affluence and Influence" available as an audiobook. It opens with the Brandeis quote "We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." and promises to study the precise mechanisms by which concentrated wealth endangers democracy.
I am wondering whether part of the problem is that we do not have a quantifiable theory of power. For example, we think about tax as a means to fund the government. But we do not think about tax as means to redistribute power. A big-is-bad tax redistributed to citizens as a dividend (universal basic income) could go a long way to strengthen democracy.
As supreme court justice Brandeis said "We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis
Dear Steven, I wish you the best and will email the White House. I see the Richmond Chevron refinery out my window and it is documented that Chevron, the global evil-doer, is sickening Richmond’s children. Every year we protest on Global anti-Chevron Day. In 2024 we are in an era like the 70s, when Howarrd Zinn wrote: “I start from the supposition that the world is topsy-turvy, that things are all wrong, that the wrong people are in jail and the wrong people are out of jail, that the wrong people are in power and the wrong people are out of power, that the wealth is distributed in this country and the world in such a way as not simply to require small reform but to require a drastic reallocation of wealth. “ I hope Biden will do some things right in his last days in office, including giving you a pardon, or, what you deserve: a medal of honor. Alice
The very best of luck to you. Your prosecution is shameful, as we’re the actions of Chevron. However, I don’t hold out much hope for Genocide Joe Biden acting fairly or with any conscience in your case, I’m sad to say. I truly and sincerely hope that I’m wrong, but seeing how he has behaved over the whole issue of Palestine disgusts me. But again, good luck.
Good luck on the getting the pardon. You certainly deserve it. I don't have much trust that Biden will do the right thing, however, not even for good publicity in an election year. If he worried about his image, why would he be still funding the genocide in Gaza and covering up for the genocidal Israelis?