it's nice to see this issue brought up to a large, mainstream audience but the crux of the issue wasn't discussed.

the thirteenth amendment did not abolish slavery, it abolished slavery except as punishment for crimes. what that actually did was nationalize slavery to a state institution, enforced by prison systems. the jim crow era followed, where blacks were arrested for trivialities. in line with the neo-liberal agenda, this is being spun back off onto the market - not because it saves taxpayer money (this is also propaganda) but because it privatizes profit for investors. the privatization of the prison system is the recreation of the plantation system.

the idea that prisoners have all day to think things up is very wrong. rather, prisoners spend most of their time on assembly lines. want an astonishing fact? the united states prison system has a monopoly on paint products in the united states.

as the prison population enlarges, it broadens the potential for use. some prisoners in california already work as farm labourers. the trend is moving towards an increase in this kind of slave labour. and, the possibilities are really limited only by visibility. it's not likely to be long before a company like nike decides it can save costs by using slave labour at home.

the strength of the prison-industrial complex has strengthened and fallen depending on diverse conditions, but it has continued to thrive for the reason that it hasn't been dismantled. it's logic demands that it takes over as much industry as it possibly can. that means these companies have a strong profit motive to enslave as many people as they can, based on whatever justification they can get away with.

the only remedy is a constitutional amendment to ban prison labour altogether. until that happens, we will fight and win and lose in bursts and spurts, and they will continue to expand while we're not paying attention - until that breaking point is reached where they can no longer be stopped.

it's imperative for the continued existence of a free society. there should be a mass movement pushing for this. the abolition of prison labour would pull the rug out from under a swath of social problems.

yet, i've heard almost nobody even consider it.

constitutional bans on prison labour

To: chomsky@mit.edu

hi noam chomsky,

in some sense i feel it would be silly to lay out the argument, but i feel that this is a solution to several of the problems you've drawn attention to over the years. it seems obvious to me that there should be wide, grassroots movements pushing for this...but it's in truth just not something i hear *anybody* saying. so, it would really be nice to hear somebody with a microphone saying it. it's certainly not a radical position, on a global level. so, i'm left to conclude that it's just that so few people seem to understand just how much prison labour is at the core of so many serious social issues. a little light shed on this could maybe light a long overdue, and very necessary, spark.

j

"pew is the most respected polling firm"

i hear this all the time, but every time i've looked at their questions, it's just a lot of propaganda. i've consequently concluded that the idea that pew is reliable is itself propaganda, and that it's a part of the cia-ngo complex. i'd really like to see this line retired. it's nonsense.

it's about as accurate as "cnn is the most respected name in news".

i'm always astounded by right-wing idiots that don't realize that this is a sarcastic diatribe. it's just remarkable.

you see it every year up here in canada on canada day, where neil is somewhat of a future saint in certain broad circles. stumbling, drunk, through the streets, clad in nationalist paraphernalia - flags on sticks, on shirts...

none of them seem to know any of the lyrics, though. well, beside the chorus.

wait. this is a significant cut. no wonder. you know. i'm not old enough to remember hearing this on the radio. was it always cut like this? does that explain it? have most people not even heard the full song?

the bridge is really key.

blake
+ deathtokoalas It may be sarcasm and parody of blind nationalism but who really cares. Every one has there own interpretation of what a song means. Me myself as a conservative like to view it at face value only noticing the good parts about America. If you wanna get deep into music go right ahead but like I said every song has a different meaning to every person.


deathtokoalas
+blake it's more than sarcasm. how do you interpret a line like:

"that's one more kid that will never go to school, never get to fall in love, never get to be cool"

in any remotely positive way? you can't. you've just never paid attention.


it's not like it's a shift in politics, or that neil young was unknown, either. he'd been successfully singing songs like this for 20 years at the point of this release.

but, i've met people that think "southern man" is pro-confederate, too.

trev
+deathtokoalas Just the same with Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen. It seems America doesn't do irony.

fwiw, bernie sanders is the only sane candidate. but years of hoping kucinich is going to break through have left me pretty cynical about his chances.

this one's for rick perry...

this seems good for rand paul.

what the pauls say sounds good - if you don't know anything about economics. the only outcome of their policies is precisely what they claim their policies are out to reverse.

the only thing that's clear to me is that bush is the shoe-in republican candidate. seriously. he's actually the only serious candidate.

this is the ideal tune for hillary.

i do like hillary, broadly. i supported her over obama pretty much to the end - largely on health care. but, she has this self-righteous streak in her that is very concerning to me.

the establishment will not let her win. ever. she's "too liberal". the bank has not announced it's candidate yet, but whomever it is will beat her.

so, trump wants to use "keep on rockin' in the free world". it's actually totally fitting in an ironic way. and i think we can have some fun with this.

the donald is a man of the people. really.