Democratic Sovereignty, Human Rights, and Property Rights

[lostnfound]

One wonders at times why the "left" is so unfocused. The right has a "clear vision" we are told, while the left "doesn't know what it wants; only what it doesn't want".

Someone on this board said recently that they considered a Democrat to be a person who believes that government has a role to play in improving the lives of ordinary people.

Republicans clearly seem to believe that government only has a role to play in improving the lives of wealthy people...helping them acquire more, helping to protect what they have. They say they are in favor of stability, but they work hard to destabilize when it suits them..like in Venezuela.

The history of the http://www.unitedfruit.org/chronology.html">banana republics and the role of the http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/The_New_People/July-August2002/war%20on%20the%20poor%20in%20Haiti.htm">International Republican Institute in destabilizing Haiti and the http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1231-14.htm">bribery of Nigerians by Cheney/Halliburton show that "democratic sovereignty" means exactly zero in comparison to property acquisition and retention, in the eyes of the rulers.

If you don't get what you want in some little spot of land in an undeveloped country, roll a dice and pick one:
1. http://www.corpwatch.org/news/PND.jsp?articleid=1773">bribe
2. if unbribable, apply economic pressure http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/SAP.asp">via the IMF
3. if economic pressure not enough, threaten with force
4. if resistant to threats, destabilize by http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2004/02/08/venezuelas_chavez_says_foes_receive_us_funding/">funding opposition
5. if population revolts, nurture a http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/US_ThirdWorld/dictators.html">brutal but bribable dictator
6. if dictator revolts, bomb

Of course, there's other options -- http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB4/">assassinations, Agent Orange for the commies & http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair1224.html">Agent Green for the druggies -- but I've just got a 6-sided dice..

What is most important to THEM is ensuring that policies perpetually favor wealth.

What's most important to US? Ensuring that policies favor democracy? Our position is not anti-wealth, it's pro-democracy -- but they've co-opted that term to mean "aggressively capitalist". Our position is pro-human-life...but they co-opted that term, too.

Pro-democracy. We need to take that term back, along with our flag.

Where is the counterforce to the International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy?

Is there a "Democrats for Sensible Foreign Policy" out there somewhere?

[4morewars]

1. maybe we should start one !!!

why not ???? we will be waiting a LONG time for "them" to do it.

[La_Serpiente]

2. ...

maybe not a Democratic organization, but there is a cross-ideological group of foreign policy experts called the "Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy"

They were specifically created to counter the influence of PNAC.

Although there are some questionable members, more or less, they are anti-empire.

http://www.realisticforeignpolicy.org/

There are Conservatives, Moderates, and Liberals in it.