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Forum Post: A Current Example of Colusion - Today's News

Posted 12 years ago on Jan. 8, 2012, 4:26 p.m. EST by aaabump (36)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

This is an example of (legal) corporate and government corruption and collusion. It’s about water and the 1% controlling it with the help of Diane Feinstein. Nobody is protesting it. It doesn’t seem to bother the 99%

This is just one current event that was reported. Just read it to get a litte insight as how business is really done!

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/08/4168916/water-barons-will-corner-market.html

There is more money in selling water in California than there is in farming.

A one-sentence provision inserted in the 2012 budget bill by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein will allow a handful of powerful San Joaquin Valley water oligarchs to sell federally subsidized agricultural water in a private market for as much as 150 times more than what they pay for it.

26 Comments

26 Comments


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[-] 9 points by infonomics (393) 12 years ago

Your keen eye to this detail engenders a question fundamental to the OWS movement. If one person can locate such a possible abuse, do you see any reason that others, if directed to do so, could not do the same? Suppose we had an online direct democracy with everyone urged to scour a particular bill for potential abuses, do you not see that the probability increases with increased participation? Sure, some, if not many, will ignore the duty, but if only 1% performed, would we not still benefit more from the scrutiny of citizens more independent than non-independent(*) Congressman?

(*) I think we can agree that our Congressman/women are not independent to the measure we wish.

[-] 3 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

Diane Feinstein is just doing business using the accepted process. It is much like insider trading that is legal for her and all the other thieves and corrupt assholes

Don't wait for one of them to throw the first stone!

[-] 4 points by wordworlock (18) 12 years ago

I think this is a prime example of how the 1% control everything. Thanks for posting this. I won't say that I am surprise though. This “new” news is just the “old” news on a different day.

Maybe we can change things this spring!

[-] 2 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

I am amazed that nobody seems to ever get upset. Maybe we are all just distracted.

[-] 2 points by Builder (4202) 12 years ago

It might be the fact that for over a decade, getting screwed by politicians has become the norm, or de rigeur. Nothing new here, in other words.

[-] 1 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

I know what you are saying. The only problem is that it's getting harder and harder to bend over when the instument keeps getting fatter and longer

[-] 1 points by Builder (4202) 12 years ago

Revolution can't be too far away then.

The main problem seems to be that the whole process has apparently been legalised through incremental congressional and constitutional changes to legislature. I read that the NDAA was snuck through on new year's eve??? Who works on new years's eve?? The POTUS???

Are things getting that corrupted? Once you own the media, surely you don't have to work on that day to push through such a control-phreak document?

[-] 2 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

If you read history back to 1920 you will see that it really isn’t anything new. The same shit really has gone on since 1776 and before. The one thing that I think is new is the “total lack of patriotism on the part of corporations and their government enablers. They pretend to care, but there are shameful. We are on the brink of being just another labor force for the global economy. If something don’t change America be just another country that is used to generate profit for the super-rich, thanks to the greed of our government officials.

We are in a state of decline because our manufacturing base has been sold out. We have no industry to replace it. Our government continues to give tax breaks to company who outsource (incentive)

We are told gas is going to go up to around $5.00 a gallon. The oil companies we subsidize and are making obscene profits are exporting American oil.

We need a revolution, but not necessarily a violent one. We need a revolution in our attitudes where we expose every rotten deal and rotten politician. We protect the internet. That’s our last chance of getting the truth out

[-] 1 points by jomojo (562) 12 years ago

What are holidays for? Sports?

[-] 3 points by JPB950 (2254) 12 years ago

She's up for reelection in 2012, start working now to get someone more principled to run in a primary against her.

[-] 2 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

That's a lot easier said than done.

Her 1% peers are not going to let that happen. They will help usher in a “new one same as the old one”

I am a realist; I have no fantasies of a people’s candidate happening anytime soon. I do hope that OWS will somehow continue to inspire people to expose our corrupt system and maybe open the door for some fresh blood to get into politics.

We can always dream, they don't own or control that yet.

[-] 1 points by JPB950 (2254) 12 years ago

I know it's not easy, that's the reason revolutionary groups that only talk about change and say they need to "raise awareness" fail and become obscure pointless little groups. In the first months occupy had the reach to do it though, but they missed their chance.

[-] 1 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

It's not over yet. Don't be misled by the propagandist on this site or your own premature conclusions.

The awareness and interest is just incubating and growing. If the action doesn’t follow in the spring, I will agree with you then

[-] 1 points by JPB950 (2254) 12 years ago

I hope you're right, I see too many people that just don't care. It's going to be hard to shake the image of protesting something different every week with no over all plan.

[-] 2 points by freewriterguy (882) 12 years ago

Emron did something similar to this by imorally jacking up the cost of electricity,and even finding reasons to shut down power plants milking california out of billions of dollars in increased costs, due to forged "lack of energy needs" . when california tried to complain about this, some of the exec members in gov of the utilities oversight committee ( i cant remember the exact gov name) actually were plants by Emron. This all happened prior to Emron's gambling problem that led to their collapse.

[-] 3 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

I’m a California boy. I know the story. I lived it

There was a shortage of energy in the “fall” (never happened before) with rolling black outs. I was telling my friends, this is bullshit. There was no energy shortage during the summer (highest demand months), but now we had a shortage in the low demand months. The Democrat governor was leveraged in to signing a long term energy deal to guarantee keeping the lights on in California.

That was used by the Republicans to recall Gray Davis. Darrell Issa led the charge because he wanted the job. Well Arnold decided he wanted and got it.

Basically the Republican propaganda machine convinced the citizens that the governor’s poor management of the energy crisis was justification to recall him.

The fact is there never was an energy crisis. It was Enron’s scheme of buying energy from one state and selling back at a higher price and shutting down power plants etc. I often wonder how deliberately the scheme played a role in recalling the governor.

[-] 1 points by freewriterguy (882) 12 years ago

its almost as though the powers that be in the 90's were without conscience. there shouldnt need to be a law for every single thought or decision made on this planet, at somepoint some people should just inheritly choose good.

[-] 3 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

Greed and evil have been around as long as charity and good.

Sometimes good just has to say we are sick of your greed and things are going to change --- OWS is saying that.

[-] 1 points by jomojo (562) 12 years ago

Makes all bills suspect. Where's an Elizabeth Warren when you need them?

[-] 1 points by JPB950 (2254) 12 years ago

Warren is sitting off in a room somewhere wondering what to say or do about her second hand Wall Street contributions. If she becomes the junior senator from Massachusetts and really is as moral as you'd like her to be, it's going to take more then one senator to change things.

[-] 1 points by jomojo (562) 12 years ago

Well put. If only people voted against the candidate with the most tv ads, there would be a new government in place each election.

[-] 1 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

We really do need to form a citizen oversight group headed by somebody like Elizabeth Warren and maybe Bernie Sanders

Make the crooked bastards accountable! And let the citizens know what they are really doing to our country.

[-] 1 points by jomojo (562) 12 years ago

The citizens know, they just don't like political and judicial issues. They like crooks, if they get a favor in the deal. The only purpose in today's politicians is to sign, spend and spin. The Bureaucrats in court and office can't be eliminated. Ralph Nader was. The problem is more than ignorance and apathy. I don't know, I don't care, AND WTF does this bill hide?

[-] 1 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

What do you mean what does this bill hide?

[-] 1 points by jomojo (562) 12 years ago

I mean that a watchdog is needed to look at EVERY bill. (not meaning this water bill) I don't read them, if I did I'd be studying it for opportunist nuggets and loopholes, that would be overlooked by the public, until it's too late, as demonstrated.

[-] 1 points by aaabump (36) 12 years ago

The citizens don't know what's going on. Some reporter just wrote this story about the water deal being slid into the budget. Nobody knows about the rest of the bullshit

We shouldn't need a watchdog to watch the government, but the fact is we do.

Or we could just keep doing the same thing and hope for differnt results.

I don't know the answer, I just feel like if we don't do something different, the backbone of this country is fucked.

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