Inverted Totalitarianism

How the Bush regime is effecting the transformation to a fascist-like state.

“Representative institutions no longer represent voters. Instead, they have been short-circuited, steadily corrupted by an institutionalized system of bribery that renders them responsive to powerful interest groups whose constituencies are the major corporations and wealthiest Americans. The courts, in turn, when they are not increasingly handmaidens of corporate power, are consistently deferential to the claims of national security. Elections have become heavily subsidized non-events that typically attract at best merely half of an electorate whose information about foreign and domestic politics is filtered through corporate-dominated media. Citizens are manipulated into a nervous state by the media’s reports of rampant crime and terrorist networks, by thinly veiled threats of the Attorney General and by their own fears about unemployment. What is crucially important here is not only the expansion of governmental power but the inevitable discrediting of constitutional limitations and institutional processes that discourages the citizenry and leaves them politically apathetic.”

     This paragraph is stating that  voters are dishonored by those wealthier American /big corporations so voters are no longer represent by political institution and how election is subjugated by media and when it has to be with domestic foreign politic and how people are manipulated by the media talking more about terrorism and Rampart. Crime and with the fears of unemployment and terror is more than government but constructional restrictions and institutional processes which disappoints these people and citizen lose the idea of political interest. 

      It’s obvious that behind everything there is something that manipulates the citizen the most vulnerable, for instance the poor, illegal, race and even religion (social services, welfare) and those manipulative groups treat those as poppet where they can do whatever they want and put them in the situation that they want to because they have the power to manipulate media and give a false perception about the reality. People believe what they want to believe, for instance the whole thing about immigration/reform that  President Obama obtain votes in his election announce about the reform given help to those working  class people, undocumented (Obama Immigration Reform 2014 speech, announcing executive action) but one thing to not forget is that there is a Congress. Whoever is the president doesn’t mean he can pass laws.  “Congress passes immigration law, but the administered bureaucracies write the rules (“regulation”) for how to implement the law” but bureaucratic regulation may create conditions for those illegal immigrants that go against the belief of congressional representative (Rodrigues).

A Theory of Groups and Organizations

“The idea that organizations or associations exist to further the interests of their members is hardly novel, nor peculiar to economics; it goes back at least to Aristotle, who wrote, "Men journey together with a view to particular advantage, and by way of providing some particular thing needed for the purposes of life, and similarly the political association seems to have come together originally, and to continue in existence, for the sake of the general advantages it brings." S More recently Professor Leon Festinger, a social psychologist, pointed out that "the attraction of group membership is not so much in sheer belonging, but rather in attaining something by means of this membership." f The late Harold Laski, a political scientist, took it for granted that "associations exist to fulfill purposes which a group of men have in common." 

  A philosopher and scientist Aristotle, professor (social psychologist) Leon Festinger and a political scientist Harold Laski explain the meaning of how organizations associations is present and how the affiliate or shareholder has their own interest in a unique nor unusual to economy  by using a theory each one describe the idea; Harold Laski assume that association exist in a way to accomplish purpose where  a vast of men have in common, on the other hand Aristotle theorize that all man journey get together for a unique benefit that way provide their need in each men life, so political association attain together where will continuing and all is for the advantage obtainer. Professor Leon theory states that the attraction of group when belong to such organization is an attaining thing by means of the shareholder instead of absolute belonging. 

 I choose this paragraph because it’s interesting on how others see association of organization on a different angle and even if they contain dissimilar point of view or theories that are how in reality groups or organization are organized . Each organization look for their unique benefit with the idea of getting more or play a role to the use of different purpose. For instance about prisons used to be federal, nowadays there a lot private where many take advantage of the need as well as many organization that may work with intention of helping others but behind the scene there is other purpose. It’s important to know how organizations work in private, on private or public sector, what does those organizations or group really do.

Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka (1)

               The decision was made base on the legal structure on which separation rested, the ideas of “separation but equal” which started to break. As a result residents of color (living in Topeka, Kansas) starting filing law suit for the segregation of not allowing children of color attend a white school, (not treating the children with equality). So, the question brought to court involved the Equal Protection law of the 14^th Amendment that questions “Does Segregation of Children in Public Schools Solely”? To get a final decision it took time and trials. Finally, the law took effect and the 14^th amendment was placed into practice.

             I choose this case because it focused on the Civil Right and 14^th amendment. Also, showed just how African Americans were segregation back then but, to this day there is more to say about that. For instance, since the post 1965 many Latinos migrated to the United States, many as refugees and/or unaccompanied minors. In which nowadays face barriers in school because of their culture, religion, and language. I believe that anyone has the right for a good education and schools system should not have separations because of cultures, colors, ethnicity or classism. Even more so, this case wasn’t fighting for adult right/equality rather for, children. How do you keep children from being “free?” I believe that segregation could bring a lot of psychological problems for example inferiority, they may see school differently, identify and aspiration could be a matter. 

America’s Most Gerrymandered Congressional Districts

“The compactness of a district -- a measure of how irregular its shape is, as determined by the ratio of the area of the district to the area of a circle with the same perimeter -- can serve as a useful proxy for how gerrymandered the district is. Districts that follow a generally regular shape tend to be compact, while those that have a lot of squiggles and offshoots and tentacle-looking protuberances tend to score poorly on this measure”.

This passage explains mainly how the states manipulate certain districts to their advantage. This gives the state office the power as to which voters they will be responsible for on the day of election. It isn’t geographic per say that shapes these districts but rather the Supreme Court that requires the state legislative to redraw the district lines every 10 years. This happens as voters move into different districts (without knowing), the population in each of these districts becomes uneven therefore state legislative try to ensure that the population is somewhat equal. But in the process of this, officeholders spread their opposing parties voter into different districts in which makes it difficult for the opposing party to gather a majority. And on the contrary, some officeholder will force all of the opposing parties’ voters into one district making it impossible to compete in any of the other districts.

I believe gerrymandering should be illegal because most parties use it to their advantages and manipulate it for power within their own lives and not to benefit us, the people. Politic figures are set to be leaders for the people but the only thing the United States has within its office, honestly is corruption. The only solution to this is to have people who aren’t part of the legislative to redrawn the districts, but we all know that isn’t going to happen. People speech of the United States being a “free” country, but are we truly free? This country manipulates people in the direction that benefits them and that goes with everything, not just for elections.