Where Are The People Who Want Their Country Back?

[adhay]

This was inspired by PrettyVacant’s pit thread “Where the fuck are the people?”. I put it IMHO because I’m too fucking biased on the subject to put it in GD and too resigned to its inevitability to Pit it.

From The Arizona Republic, 9/16/09.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday signed a portion of the state budget that includes a controversial provision that calls for the state to sell selected public properties as it tries to generate some fast cash.

House Bill 2010, stipulates that the state attempt to raise as much as $735 million by selling and then leasing back facilities the state now owns. Candidates for the financing mechanism include the House and Senate buildings at the Capitol, the State Hospital and state fairgrounds. Government functions on-site would be unaffected.

Under the provision, the state will attempt to sell the government properties and lease them back for periods of up to 20 years. Deals that would generate the targeted $735 million in revenue would mean state lease payments totaling $60 million to $70 million a year, according to budget analysts.

Additionally, approval of Thursday’s budget bill means the state will attempt to sell the rights to operate some of its prisons. Private, for-profit prison operators will bid for the right to manage selected facilities, but the state would maintain ownership. State officials expect to raise as much as $100 million through the prison-concessions arrangement.

State Rep. Lynne Pancrazi worries that private companies will be less able to maintain prison security to state standards and said that the deal could result in the layoff of corrections officers.

Jon Stewart/Jason Jones did an incredible bit on this last night. The link is to the whole show. Arizona is the second segment. Matt Damon is worth a look.

If its not too much trouble, I’d like my country back. But common sense says fat chance. The corporate takeover of the world is well on its way. When corporations control enough votes to block health care reform and Wall Street gets rewarded for criminal behavior and private armies wage war in our name,all without a shout, the game is up.

[lalenin]

Hell, I want my country back.

Except for two things:

1. My country has been how it is for longer than I’ve been alive, consequently I don’t so much want it back, as I want it to be better. And by better I mean freer, allowing space for political dissent, for economic alternatives, for free speech, and so on.

2. My country is not the US, it is Cuba.

As far as I am concerned both the US and Canada are fantastic!