Letters: What’s needed to strengthen democracy; Path to Trump reelection

What’s needed to strengthen democracy

Recent studies have concluded that we no longer have a significant say in how things get done. The wealthy and big corporations dominate, it’s a corruption of governance. This is especially true for the Republican Party having completely sold out for the big money they receive and the threat of getting primaried if they resist.

The good old days are viewed by some as before the 1970s or 1980s. Well that was when there were limitations on media bias, the fairness doctrine. That was repealed. The repeal has played a role in divided people into conflicting groups. There were top marginal tax rates of 70 to 95%. Since that repeal the super wealthy have acquired extreme wealth. With the repeal the average Joe is quickly slipping into poverty as wealthy seeking excessive wealth and power. Wealth often derived by shortchanging others.

With the rise of the federalist society, those libertarians who control the purse strings of the Republican Party sought to control the court system as well, selecting judges. We see the result of those judges on the Supreme Court, personal rights being eliminated. The Supreme Court members need to be held to standards like other judges, and should be removed for lying to congress and the American people.

Media corporations should pay a price for continual misinformation and lies. Top marginal tax rates and a tax on excessive wealth need to be applied, but much more needs to be done to strengthen democracy and wrest control from big corporations.

Path to Trump reelection

Donald John Trump has announced his candidacy for President of the United States of America in the nationwide elections scheduled for 2024. Let there be no doubt that the only way he can win is if there is widespread voting fraud.

Incomplete Corman ‘great ride’

I read Jake Corman’s piece in CDT and a follow up analysis thereof by John Casey. Jake neglect to mention his acquiescence in the NCAA’s foisting on PSU the disgraceful and untrue statement that the NCAA acted in good faith in the Sandusky matter. Judge Covey had the NCAA in her “cross hairs” and a trial date had been established. A permanent stain on PSU. In his role in the Senate he refused to join in legislation regarding the issue of gifts and other emoluments to elected officials. So, Jake’s “great ride” had a number of bumps and “rocky” moments.

In need of a ‘Better Reporting Bureau’

We have a Better Business Bureau where we can go with complaints about mistreatment in the world of commerce. I suggest we develop a Better Reporting Bureau where we can go to complain about mistreatment in the news and information industry. It might look like this:

Better Reporting Bureau

Vision

An ethical marketplace where news and information consumers and news and information providers trust each other

Mission

BRB’s mission is to be the leader in advancing news and information trust. We do this by

• Setting standards for news and information trust
• Encouraging and supporting best practices by engaging with and educating news and information consumers and news and information providers
• Celebrating news and information role models
• Calling out and addressing substandard news and information behavior
• Creating a community of trustworthy information businesses and charities

BRB sees trust as a function of two primary factors — integrity and performance. Integrity includes respect, ethics, intent, and working toward a diverse, inclusive and equitable information marketplace. Performance speaks to a news and information business’s track record of delivering results in accordance with BRB standards and/or addressing customer concerns in a timely, satisfactory manner. (Based on BBB website info)