A VIEW from LICK SKILLET by Gerald Largen: Maybe we should ‘occupy’ justices’ lawns!

Gentle Reader, have you been puzzled, as we have, at some of the remarks the presidential candidates, their adherents, and cohorts on the other side have uttered?

For instance they seem always to try to work in how they are “hell for leather” to regain our “LOST FREEDOMS.”

Maybe they have each defined just exactly what these Lost Freedoms are, but, if so, we missed it.

One would think that if they were so deeply concerned over these “Lost Freedoms” they would have a comprehensive list committed to memory, and maybe they have but are concerned that if they try to reel them off, they will suffer what Rick Perry characterized as his “Oops” moment.

Rack our brain as we will, we cannot fathom just what they are complaining about.

There are freedoms FROM, and there are freedoms TO. Which classification have these poor be-nighted souls carelessly lost for themselves? We have certainly lost the freedom FROM ignorant Supreme Court Justices who don’t know the first thing about corporations, i.e. that they are mere legislative creations of one or more of the fifty state legislatures, and are by no stretch of the imagination “persons.”.

But since the stupid judges who wallow in the ignorance of this fundamental truth are Republicans, nominated by a Republican President, and supported by Republican Senators, it seems unlikely that they want to assist us to reclaim the freedom to be rid of them, doesn’t it?

And we have certainly lost the freedom TO live free of the incursions of the so-called Patriot Act, but, once again, since this pernicious legislation was devised by a Republican President, and supported by Republican Senators and Representatives we doubt that this is one of the freedoms of which they speak, don’t you?

One of them has pined lovingly for the return of Child Labour. Maybe this is one of the freedoms they feel they have lost.

And many of them pine for the Lost Freedom of the police to intrude into the bedrooms of America to pry into the sexual mores of everybody else.

Have you noticed, dear friends, how these guardians of public morals and “family values” are the most prolific practitioners of sexual deviancy and violations of the marriage vows — think of the various Republican members of Congress who have transgressed and had to resign, and the number who have transgressed and still sit up there making laws for the rest of us to obey.

Any catalogue of peccadilloes would almost certainly be headed by that most expert adulterer, Newton McPherson Gingrich —  Mr. Speaker, or is it Mr. Sneaker?

Of course, there are other opportunities to interject the concept of free and freedom that occur to these folks: For instance this past weekend South Carolina’s Tea Party Governor, Nikki Haley, speaking of her candidate, Mitt, and his outfit, Bain Capital, told us that, “We Republicans believe in the Free Market.”

Well, kind reader, we always thought that we believed in the Free Market, but if the shenanigans of Romney and Bain Capital represents what the Free Market means, then take our name off the list.

Gordon Gekko in the old movie of Wall Street must have become Mitt’s role model, for, if anyone ever stood for the proposition that “Greed is Good,” it’s the Bain Capital group led by Mitt Romney.
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Frequently, we find the old saying about Life imitating Art is so true. Most recently this came to mind when thinking of Bobby Burns poem wherein he observes that “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley!”

The men in this case are the Supreme Court Justices who concurred in the Citizens United opinion about vast sums of money from corporations and other malefactors of great wealth being introduced into the political process.

This opinion was, most certainly, viewed by them as another step in their scheme for Republican domination initiated in the infamous Bush v. Gore opinion.

But in going a-gley, the first casualties of this pro-Republican derision are Republican candidates for president, beginning with the fiscal flood of anti-Gingrich commercials, and continuing with the anti- Romney ones.
Even though we are thoroughly enjoying every cut and slash and consider them all well deserved, yet the principle of buying elections is odious and abhorrent to democracy, and all public-spirited citizens should be united to get Citizens United reversed.
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Until these outrageous judges resign, are impeached and removed, or die, we cannot stop the efforts to buy our government by the corporations and malefactors of great wealth, but the First Amendment should not prevent provisions to lessen the impact of these efforts to suborn the government by use of money.

These steps would not stop it but should slow it down:

Even though lobbying is constitutionally protected, its evils could be curtailed by requiring each Member to keep and publicize a complete record of every communication, written, electronic, oral, or otherwise that they receive each and every day, and a complete register of every one to whom they speak, or who speaks to, sees, or visits with them — as well as when, how long, why, and what was agreed to, or denied.

All Members should keep and file with the above a full and complete record of all receipts of money, goods, favours, or things of value; and their financial statements should no longer be by wide-ranging estimates, but accurate figures, subject of periodic updates.

And all their tax returns and supporting records should be made public. All this information should be filed on the Internet and with an office to be kept available for scrutiny by the public for as long as the Member shall live and a period of years, possibly 20, after the Member’s death.
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Among our guaranteed First Amendment rights is the right “peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

It is universally agreed that the Supreme Court is one of the three co-equal branches of the government, and thus subject to being petitioned by the citizenry as to our grievances. Among these grievances is their addle-pated interference with our right to prevent buying elections, and implementing such insane notions as “corporations are people.”

Petitioning by a few “Occupy” gatherings on the lawns of Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Thomas might just do the trick.
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Last week we wrote about how the “Republican legislators don’t care what we want” as to the redistricting situation.

Well, in the last few days it has come to light that their plans didn’t even take into account their own Republican strongholds in divvying up the seats, doing unto Republican Sevierville what they did to Democratic Rockwood — split it right down the middle, with half in one district and the other half in another.

That’s loyalty for you.