Therefore I must get some wine...

Therefore I must get some wine... “The abuse of buying and selling votes crept in and money began to play an important part in determining elections. Later on, this process of corruption spread in the law courts and to the army, and finally,...” This is part of a quote I found in a Bill Moyers piece I just read. I left off the rest of it because it might date the quote a little. It is a quote from Plutarch, a man who lived in Rome just after the supposed time of Jesus. The point is to show that this so-called ‘class warfare’ we are in the midst of now, especially in America, is nothing new. It has been here for at least about two thousand years and likely much longer. The rest of the quote is... “...when even the sword became enslaved by the power of gold, the republic was subjected to the rule of emperors.” It is has been called a political lobbying group) Citizens United . This ruling established, in simple terms, that “corporations are people" for the political purpose of shoveling huge amounts of money into political campaigns...part of what Plutarch called “the abuse of buying and selling votes”. It probably is not too surprising to the more politically astute that such has been going on in our country for quite some time, but it was usually referred to, if referred to at all, as shady dealings in smoke filled rooms. The court ruling essentially eliminated any need for secrecy as far as the buying and selling of votes was concerned. It is now perfectly legal, because the highest court in the land said so, to buy and sell all the votes you want. Therefore it should hardly be surprising that many of the billionaires and huge corporations quite literally run the country. They can dictate what the vote shall be on most legal matters of concern to them, and there are even documented instance of corporations literally writing the bills to be ‘voted on’ by Congress. One of the major differences between the times and places in the past where the rich have ruled the peasants with an iron fist is technology. The ability to literally transfer any amount of money to any all places on the globe within seconds is a fact...that will not go away short of a major catastrophe. Global corporations are gradually (and at an increasing rate) merging with governments so that soon it will be silly to refer to those as two different things. There will absolutely be, at some point, a global government/corporation. It is as inevitable as sunrise...in my humble opinion. There is good news and bad news. This too shall pass...nothing, not even the universe, lasts forever. Perhaps more importantly, certainly more immediate, is that YOU too shall pass. So....which is the good and which is the bad? TRB 3 Here’s what is so bad about everything that happens on this earth. Death catches up with all of us. Also, the hearts of people are full of evil. They live in foolish pleasure. After that, they join those who have already died. 4 Anyone who is living still has hope. Even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! 5 People who are still alive know they’ll die. But those who have died don’t know anything. They don’t receive any more rewards. And they are soon forgotten. 6 Their love, hate and jealousy disappear. They will never share again in anything that happens on earth. 7 Go and enjoy your food. Be joyful as you drink your wine. Ecclesiates 9:3-7, (New International Readers Version)