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posted by n1 on Monday May 18 2015, @06:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the national-sovereignty-in-peril dept.

Common Dreams reports:

Now that official debate has begun, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants to pass Fast Track bill before Memorial Day.

[...] The U.S. Senate on [May 14] approved a motion to begin debate on the Fast Track authority President Barack Obama needs to advance controversial trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The measure passed 65-33.

Senate Democrats blocked the first attempt to proceed on the trade legislation on Tuesday, but backtracked in the wake of further negotiations--and intense pressure from the White House.

Boing Boing warns URGENT: Senate backtracks on TPP fasttrack--call Congress to oppose the Trans Pacific Partnership

TPP is a treaty negotiated under extraordinary secrecy--Members of Congress were threatened with jail for discussing its contents--and virtually everything we know about it comes from leaks. One thing we do know is that it contains a provision to let multinational corporations sue governments for passing environmental and labor laws that undermine their profits (similar provisions in other treaties have been used by tobacco companies to sue the Australian government over a law mandating plain packaging for cigarettes). We also know that TPP hardens the worst elements of US copyright, trumping Congress's right to review the term of copyright and the scope of the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA (these are the rules that allowed John Deere to claim that farmers don't own their tractors, because of the copyrights in the software in their engines).

The Electronic Frontier Foundation needs your help to contact your Congresscritter to block this. TPP is a fragile monster, and it can really only pass if the Congress abdicates its legislative authority and lets the President make up laws and legal obligations without Congressional input. The Republican Congress--and many Democrats--is vulnerable to messages from voters opposing the extension of these powers to the President.

Related: Fast-Track Trade Measure Fails Key Test Vote In Senate

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by dmbasso on Monday May 18 2015, @07:22AM

    by dmbasso (3237) on Monday May 18 2015, @07:22AM (#184386)

    The voters are the problem.

    No, the voters are irrelevant. When all the options they have have been selected by the oligarchs long before the election, voting or not voting has the exact same outcome. It doesn't matter if the voters are idiot or not.

    --
    `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +2  
       Insightful=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   3  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @07:32AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @07:32AM (#184389)

    You know there are other candidates outside the two party system, right? If enough voters actually voted for them, they would actually win. But that won't ever happen because independent candidates aren't popular winners, so the idiot voters won't ever vote for them. The voters are the problem.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by dmbasso on Monday May 18 2015, @07:59AM

      by dmbasso (3237) on Monday May 18 2015, @07:59AM (#184396)

      You know there are other candidates outside the two party system, right? If enough voters actually voted for them, they would actually win.

      Except they don't have any visibility, because their campaigns are not overflown with corporate money. As the probability of any of them winning is low, the most rational decision is to vote for the least worse of the top contenders.

      It is a perception trick, psychology manipulation... not unlike a magician making you believe in a illusion. You are saying people are idiots for believing in the magician's illusion. I'm saying ban the fucking magician.

      --
      `echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @08:47AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @08:47AM (#184406)

        During his election where did Obama advertise that he was going to support these sorts of treaties? The answer? He didn't. Voters vote for him based on one thing and, once elected, he does something else. This is not something easily remedied by simply voting for someone else. Every candidate will proclaim what the public wants to hear during elections. Once elected they all change their minds and do something they didn't tell us they were going to do while running. The fact that this isn't what politicians advertise during elections is evidence that this is not what the American people want and that the politicians running for office/in office know this.

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @08:53AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 18 2015, @08:53AM (#184409)

        Except they don't have any visibility, because their campaigns are not overflown with corporate money

        Ultimately it's still the voters responsibility.

        As the probability of any of them winning is low, the most rational decision is to vote for the least worse of the top contenders.

        Really? That "rational decision" is only rational for the case where there's going to be only one election. Don't play that stupid game theory stuff - the politicians play it better. How's that been working out for you all so far?

        The most rational decision in the event you're stuck in a Two Crap Party scenario is to start voting for the candidate that's closest to representing your interest. That candidate might never actually win. But be aware the Two Parties keep an eye for what the voters want and they often actually do try to give the people what they want most. So if more and more people want gay marriage or marijuana or "open carry" that's what they get. And that's what has been happening. The Two Parties have changed with the times - depending on what the voters want.

        Thing is, what the voters want most and what the Corporations want most are often not that conflicting. Most Corporations don't actually care about gay marriage or abortion. And most voters don't care about TPP. If you don't believe me just go speak about gay marriage or abortion and you'd get strong emotions from very many "normal" voters, try again with TPP - and they'll go "Huh what?".

        So the people get gay marriage and the Corporations get TPP. Win-win ;).

        Now if the voters really don't want TPP it's time for them to make more noise about it.

      • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Monday May 18 2015, @02:30PM

        by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Monday May 18 2015, @02:30PM (#184553)

        As the probability of any of them winning is low, the most rational decision is to vote for the least worse of the top contenders.

        The most rational decision is to vote for evil scumbags forever, thereby ensuring that nothing ever changes? No. That's just irrational and unprincipled, like a grand majority of voters. You have to look beyond the next election and keep voting based on your principles, and disregard the the self-fulfilling prophecies. You don't win by voting for evil; that is for sure.