"Where are our leading lights?" ~ Jersey Girl

[canpakes]

Pretending that major corporate structure and power, is not what runs our country, in terms of economic structure and strength is just naïve.

Agreed.

[Jersey Girl]

Exactly so!!

Bernie Sanders WALKS OUT of interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gSI9rXiN7c

[Jersey Girl]

Why would they hold rallies to stir up people to fight against the very oligarchs who fund their re-election campaigns?

I don't understand what you're asking. What oligarchs funded whose re-election campaigns? Oligarchs? Are you saying that oligarchs funded Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaigns? Did you mean to say billionaires? Are all billionaires also oligarchs?

Clarify please.

[Jersey Girl]

I've asked repeatedly over the years, through various periods of upheavel in the U.S., "Where are our leading lights?" The people who inspire, the people who understand the needs of the citizens of this country, the people who are willing to show up, stand up and speak up.

And I finally found some...

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders holding 'Fighting Oligarchy' rallies in Denver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C232Zq_MUFA

It recently started with Sanders who knows how to conduct a rally because he's been doing it for probably 60 years, next was Tim Walz, and now Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined the movement.

They are tuned in. They have their fingers on our collective pulse. They're knocking it out of the park and finally...we have a movement underway.

According to https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/ ... n-updated/ Forbes article dated October 30th, 2024, 83 billionaires supported Harris, whereas only 52 supported Trump. Additionally, Harris raised approximately 997 million, while Trump raised about 388 million, yet she ultimately lost.

If we accept the message on the front of the podium "FIGHT OLIGARCHY " as genuine and trust that the Democrats aim to combat the oligarchy, the question arises, will they refuse all campaign contributions from malevolent billionaires in 2028?

This presents a significant challenge for Cortez and Sanders. Their movement claiming that "billionaires are evil" could resonate more with the public if the figures I presented earlier were flipped. However, as it currently stands, most billionaires have actually backed the Democrats.

Once Cortez and Sanders step off the stage and face questions from the press, how will they justify labeling billionaires as greedy and evil while their own party receives the most funding from them?

Do they deny billionaires dollars in 2028?

Hound. Here is how it is. You don't understand what they're opposing. They aren't saying that billionaires are evil. They're opposing oligarchy.

Hound...I mean no particular disrespect to you but I don't have time or the desire to go through your posts and address every point at which you are in error. Perhaps some other time.

In plain language...I won't reply to your posts but feel free to post them.

[Jersey Girl]

Folks on the thread. This isn't about who is taking money from billionaires, who is not, or who will in the future. This thread is about rallies the purpose of which is to rally folks to fight against oligarchy.

[Jersey Girl]

.
Oligarchy and billionaires are not synonymous terms.

‘Fighting Oligarchy’ doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with needing to dislike billionaires, as Hound implies. That seems like a conflation for purposes of setting up a straw man to attempt neutralization of efforts to address issues raised by oligarchy.

Per Wiki:

Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet the following criteria:
- They are the largest private owners in the country.
- They possess sufficient political power to influence their own interests.
- The owners control multiple businesses, coordinating activities across sectors.

If one wishes to divert to the subject of billionaires specifically, then one is closer to discussing plutocracy. Bernie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have a ‘Fighting Plutocracy’ rally.

Counting billionaires who support either candidate is also not entirely helpful, especially when the difference in the count is a few dozen, and we don’t know what, exactly, ‘support’ equates to. A billionaire with $1 billion in wealth doesn’t represent the same potential as one with 330 times that wealth, who - as example - provided a quarter-billion dollars to a single candidate, then is awarded his own government organization to eliminate other government entities as he alone sees fit.

As for plutocracy, the complete post-election accounting on both candidates of the 2024 presidential election still finds Trump having more higher-value single-contributor donations than Harris, while Harris accumulated more small-dollar donations than Trump.

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... =N00023864

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... 6915&src=t

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... =N00023864

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... =N00036915

THANK YOU!!!!

[Dr. Shades]

Why would they hold rallies to stir up people to fight against the very oligarchs who fund their re-election campaigns?

I don't understand what you're asking. What oligarchs funded whose re-election campaigns? Oligarchs? Are you saying that oligarchs funded Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaigns? Did you mean to say billionaires? Are all billionaires also oligarchs?

Clarify please.

Which specific oligarchs did the two mention by name who must be opposed?

[Jersey Girl]

I don't understand what you're asking. What oligarchs funded whose re-election campaigns? Oligarchs? Are you saying that oligarchs funded Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaigns? Did you mean to say billionaires? Are all billionaires also oligarchs?

Clarify please.

Which specific oligarchs did the two mention by name who must be opposed?

You've totally lost me now. Regrouping....brain resetting. Maybe.

I think you're asking me if Sanders/Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez named specific oligarchs during their rallies?

I don't recall them naming names but referring to oligarchy itself. It's well known that they were talking about folks like Musk, Bezos, etc. Basically the billionaires who contributed heavily to the Trump campaign and who were on display at the inauguration. Those who want to control the levers of gov't in their own greedy favor in order to further enrich themselves.

It's late. Don't make me try to think and post at the same time.

ETA: Zuckerberg. I'll find a list to put here.

[Jersey Girl]

Just grabbed this right quick from a search. This is Forbes

The world’s three wealthiest people attended multiple inauguration morning events: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (worth $239.4 billion according to Forbes’ estimates), Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($211.8 billion) and Elon Musk ($433.9 billion), the Tesla CEO, world’s richest person and presidential confidant who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November's election.

Sergey Brin ($154 billion), the co-founder of Alphabet and seventh-richest man in the world, joined Musk, Bezos and others in being seated behind Trump during the swearing-in.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ($1.1 billion) and Apple CEO Tim Cook ($2.2 billion), who donated money to the inauguration, were in the Capitol Rotunda Monday morning, as was billionaire backer Miriam Adelson ($31.9 billion) and former Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch ($22.2 billion).

Bernard Arnault ($179.6 billion), the head of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton luxury empire and the richest person in France, was at the inauguration with his son, Alexandre.

Mukesh Ambani ($98.1 billion), the richest man in India, reportedly attended inauguration events, and Trump’s friend Phil Ruffin, a Las Vegas casino executive worth $4.7 billion, was also spotted at the Capitol, according to The New York Times.

Several billionaires and their spouses have been offered top roles in the Trump administration, including Howard Lutnick ($1.5 billion) and Vivek Ramaswamy ($1 billion), both of whom were seen at the inauguration.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong ($12.8 billion) was invited to inauguration-related events, according to Bloomberg, but hadn’t yet been seen as of the swearing in.

Other billionaires who have been offered jobs in the administration, but their attendance wasn’t confirmed, include Stephen Feinberg ($5 billion), Warren Stephens ($3.4 billion), Jared Isaacman ($1.9 billion), Steve Witkoff ($1 billion), Linda McMahon (husband Vince McMahon is worth $3 billion) and Kelly Loeffler (husband Jeff Sprecher is worth $1.1 billion).

Zuckerberg co-hosted a pre-Inaugural Ball reception for Trump alongside Adelson, Tilman Fertitta ($10.2 billion) and Todd Ricketts, whose father J. Joe Ricketts and family are worth an estimated $4.2 billion.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroelof ... -to-bezos/

[Hound of Heaven]

.
Oligarchy and billionaires are not synonymous terms.

‘Fighting Oligarchy’ doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with needing to dislike billionaires, as Hound implies. That seems like a conflation for purposes of setting up a straw man to attempt neutralization of efforts to address issues raised by oligarchy.

Per Wiki:

Business groups may be considered oligarchies if they meet the following criteria:
- They are the largest private owners in the country.
- They possess sufficient political power to influence their own interests.
- The owners control multiple businesses, coordinating activities across sectors.

If one wishes to divert to the subject of billionaires specifically, then one is closer to discussing plutocracy. Bernie and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have a ‘Fighting Plutocracy’ rally.

Counting billionaires who support either candidate is also not entirely helpful, especially when the difference in the count is a few dozen, and we don’t know what, exactly, ‘support’ equates to. A billionaire with $1 billion in wealth doesn’t represent the same potential as one with 330 times that wealth, who - as example - provided a quarter-billion dollars to a single candidate, then is awarded his own government organization to eliminate other government entities as he alone sees fit.

As for plutocracy, the complete post-election accounting on both candidates of the 2024 presidential election still finds Trump having more higher-value single-contributor donations than Harris, while Harris accumulated more small-dollar donations than Trump.

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... =N00023864

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... 6915&src=t

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... =N00023864

https://www.opensecrets.org/2024-presid ... =N00036915

Oh Canpakes, your post appears highly polished, and anyone reading it without viewing the video link in the opening post would likely conclude that you are well-informed on the topic.

Unfortunately, you've succumbed to the influence of a progressive ideology that clouds judgment. A simple viewing of the video will clarify that what you're presenting in your post lacks substance.

For those who haven't seen the video, allow me to clarify it from the viewpoint of someone who remains unaffected by the woke virus. To begin with, it's essential to grasp the main point of the video mentioned in the opening post, it features two self-identified socialists standing behind a podium with a sign that reads "Fight Oligarchy."

Upon revisiting the speech, I focused intently on the points made by Cortez and Sanders. It is clear that both are convinced of the existence of an oligarchy comprised of billionaires in top positions, whose primary objective is to siphon wealth from the middle class and the poor to enrich themselves. Cortez references billionaires eight times in her speech, while Sanders brings them up six times, consistently linking them to the Oligarchy that seeks to take wealth from the working class.

This movement that Jersey Girl is so enthusiastic about is essentially the same old class warfare argument that socialists have been instilling in the middle class for many years. In the end, this so called movement is likely to falter, as the American public is unlikely to be swayed by two socialists attempting to blame all their everyday issues on Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.

Indeed, a two socialist openly declaring from the podium that their primary objective is to create class divisions in order to combat those they consider evil is quite a revelation. It's a striking example of a socialist embracing their ideology.

For all the exmormons, what I find most unsettling is when she states that the purpose of everyone being there is to make a SACRED PROMISE to one another! Apologies, Cortez, but as someone who has left the Mormon faith, I am finished with making sacred commitments! I have moved on from my upbringing and have no interest in joining your political cult. If you expect me to pledge my allegiance to your socialist agenda through a sacred promise, then your movement, by its very nature, resembles a political cult!

Great effort by Canpakes and Jersey Girl in attempting to persuade everyone that this so called Oligarchy isn't centered around billionaires, but the sign on the podium and the message from the two socialists suggest otherwise. They are directly linking billionaires to the so called Oligarchy that they are attempting to instill fear about, suggesting it is controlling our country.

Those two socialists who expect me to make a sacred promise like I did in the Mormon church can take their sacred promise and shove it!