We just have to say it – we in the Bureaucrat Beat Newsroom have grown truly ill, green around the gills, when we hear politicians talk on the Sunday morning shows. We’ve had more than we can take of Republicans and Democrats. We’re not alone either. New surveys show that more than half of Americans have had it with both political parties. The Dems, who gained power, talked it all away. The Repubs, who offer no plans to help the people, live to knock the Dems. Enough, already!! That’s why we registered as Independents. Both parties suffer from pay-offism – All those millions of dollars they take from big corporations to fund their campaigns so they can get re-elected and do it all over again. “Hypocrites” does not begin to describe how they blather on about the needs of the public while they greedily stuff what amounts to bribes from the ultra-rich in their back pockets .

Speaking of all that, the Supreme Court handed the already ridiculously power-mongering corporations some more power. The vote to give corporations uncontrolled ability to spend money on political advertising, contributions, etc. The Supremes, five of them anyway, deemed corporations to have the same rights as human beings – the right of free speech. Come on. Individuals who are part of corporations have freedoms, not their businesses.

The Founding Fathers despised corporations – the ones the Queen built to tax the living daylights out of the colonies. Let’s look at the real deal about corporations. Let’s see now. Health Insurance corporations charge us whatever they want, if they feel like giving us coverage at all. Oil Corporations charge us whatever they want for gasoline. Agribusiness (corporations) charge whatever they want for food, and they get government subsidies. Grocery corporations charge whatever they want. Utility corporations fleece our pockets. Worst of all are big bank corporations that charge whatever fees they want and make investments that cause our economy to fall. They are the ones, along with their cozy-up government buddies, who hurt us.

President Grover Cleveland said in 1888, “Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and servants of the people are fast becoming the people’s masters.” Maybe the states, who issue corporate charters, should start to make the corporations prove how they serve the public good or revoke the charters!!! Rant over.

On to a bit of local news. Mammoth Mountain CEO Rusty Gregory just returned from Southern California where the California Travel and Tourism Industry met to honor Governor Schwarzenegger for his support of tourism, a major revenue generator for the State and the heart of our economy. Gregory is Vice Chairman of that group in charge of operations. He has an eye on the State’s Snow Campaign. That’s a good thing. The Gov was called to Washington, D.C. but appeared via satellite at that event of 600 at Kodak Theater.

 

Meanwhile, in Inyo County, Supervisor Susan Cash, who recently nailed DWP’s Dave Freeman for what he hasn’t done to help Inyo, said she the DWP comeback to requests for Inyo is, how can they justify special treatment of Inyo to their LA constituents? Cash said she has a problem with that, too.

Thing is – we’re so out of balance with most societies, we in the Bureaucrat Beat Newsroom have no problem with demands for better treatment here. LA has enough land for growth. LA people have representation over the people who make decisions about their lives. We can’t vote for the LA City Council which appoints DWP officials who control our land and water. LA people have plenty of service providers – medical, insurance, cars, media, groceries, stores, etc. LA has to give us a whole bunch more of everything before the scales of justice even start to come even for the Owens Valley.

With that, this is Benett Kesslser, signing off for Bureaucrat Beat where we await your word on our lives in the Eastern Sierra and beyond.