Institutionalizing Corporate Oligarchy

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The Supreme Court decision in the case of in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission yesterday, by a vote of 5-4, absolutely sickens me.

The New York Times editorial this morning is a pretty good summary. In case you don’t have a minute or two now to read the whole thing now, here are the key grafs:

With a single, disastrous 5-to-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has thrust politics back to the robber-baron era of the 19th century. Disingenuously waving the flag of the First Amendment, the court’s conservative majority has paved the way for corporations to use their vast treasuries to overwhelm elections and intimidate elected officials into doing their bidding.
Congress must act immediately to limit the damage of this radical decision, which strikes at the heart of democracy.

As a result of Thursday’s ruling, corporations have been unleashed from the longstanding ban against their spending directly on political campaigns and will be free to spend as much money as they want to elect and defeat candidates. If a member of Congress tries to stand up to a wealthy special interest, its lobbyists can credibly threaten: We’ll spend whatever it takes to defeat you.

…

Congress and members of the public who care about fair elections and clean government need to mobilize right away, a cause President Obama has said he would join. Congress should repair the presidential public finance system and create another one for Congressional elections to help ordinary Americans contribute to campaigns. It should also enact a law requiring publicly traded corporations to get the approval of their shareholders before spending on political campaigns.

These would be important steps, but they would not be enough. The real solution lies in getting the court’s ruling overturned. The four dissenters made an eloquent case for why the decision was wrong on the law and dangerous. With one more vote, they could rescue democracy.

Hey, Justices Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and Kennedy, we’ve already got a corporate oligarchy here in the U.S., in case you hadn’t noticed. That you approve is no surprise. That you would make this long leap toward institutionalizing it is heinous.

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Dilemma at Famous David’s

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12 days later, Mrs. QC is still laughing about this … my Larry David moment at Famous Dave’s restaurant.

I had just ordered a combination platter featuring brisket and BBQ chicken. Our waiter asks me if I wanted white meat or dark meat chicken. I have a slight preference for white meat. But the waiter is black and, inexplicably, I find myself thinking, “Will I offend him if I order white meat?”

If you know me personally, you probably know how this turned out: “Uhhhh. I think I’ll go with the dark.“

Not a proud moment.

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Zombie in the Shower

I overslept this morning and needed to hustle through my grooming routine so I could get son #2 to his school bus stop. I told Mrs. QC I thought I could be ready on time because I would be taking a dry head shower. That’s QC family lingo for omitting a shampoo. Including a shampoo is, naturally, a wet head shower.

As I hopped in the shower, carefully keeping my hair out of the path of the spraying water, I recalled the inspiration for these terms: It was a ’70s TV commercial for The Dry Look men’s hair spray. I made a mental note to look for the commercial online. I found it — of course. The Wethead is Dead!

Although I haven’t seen The Dry Look in years — or heard anyone mention it for that matter — Gillette still makes it! Who would have thought! You can get it in both classic aerosol and environmentally friendly pump forms. The aerosol is available in Regular Hold and Extra Hold strengths; the pump is available in Extra Hold and Maximum Hold strengths.

Gotta like the usage directions for The Dry Look, which are helpfully posted on the Amazon.com catalog pages for the product (to which I’ve linked above):

Comb hair into place. Hold container 6″ to 8″ from hair and spray. Works best on clean, dry hair.

Works best on clean, dry hair, eh? You don’t say …

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Sadly, Westbrook is Done

Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is done.

It pains me to say that as he has been such a great player for the Eagles over the last several years. This video shows one of his best (h/t Phinally Philly).

He’s a smart player too. I’d forgotten about how he passed up a touchdown with two minutes left in a 2007 game to ensure the Dallas Cowboys, down 10-6 without any timeouts remaining, would not get the ball back.

But Westbrook has lost his burst.

This was apparent to me the last few games of the 2008 season. Remember the expression “three yards and a cloud of dust”? With Westbrook anymore it’s a yard-and-a-half and a mob of tacklers.