Senator Introduces 'Accountable Capitalism Act'

By John Semmens — Semi-News — A Satirical Look at Recent NewsSen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is sponsoring legislation that would negate the control of corporate shareholders and transfer authority to government. Her bill—the “Accountable Capitalism Act”--is, in her words, “intended to replace greedy profiteering with the more socially beneficial guidance of government oversight.”The prime motive for the bill was her discovery that employees share of the income generated by businesses has fallen from 85% 20 years ago to “only” 75% today. “As Karl Marx conclusively proved more than 150 years ago, all the value created by businesses comes from labor,” Warren contended. “It is shameful that any of this value is expropriated by the capitalistic overlords. My bill would correct this travesty and bring about an era of social justice the likes of which the world has never seen.”Critics have pointed out that her legislation would institute an economic structure eerily similar to that of the National Socialist German Workers' Party in the 1930s. Undeterred, Warren argued that “while we can all abhor the vile racist goals of the Nazis we shouldn't let that blind us to the economic virtues of their system. The economy boomed and gave a grossly outnumbered Germany the strength to take on nearly every government in Europe and nearly win. By shifting the governance of business from a narrow focus on earning profits by selfishly serving private individuals and imposing a requirement that they serve the national interest my bill will make America stronger and move us closer to attaining the utopia envisioned by Marx in his Communist Manifesto.”Chris Cuomo: “Antifa Violence” JustifiedCNN's Chris Cuomo defended Antifa's assaults on political opponents, calling it “a justifiable tactic to combat bigotry. The attempt to equate this with Nazi Brownshirts beating up Jews and political opponents is unfair. The Nazis were bigots. Their victims were innocent. Antifa's victims are the right wing bigots who support the 'bigot-in-chief' who occupies the White House. Cracking their skulls is a socially beneficial use of violence for a good cause.”In related news, CNN filed a motion to unseal the names and addresses of the jurors in the Manafort trial. The motion asserted that “the public has a right to know who these people are and the jurors need to know that they will be held accountable for their decision. If the appropriate verdict isn't rendered at the trial a righteously offended public has to have a reasonable avenue for expressing their outrage. The fact that the jurors will be at home over the weekend before returning on Monday for further deliberations makes it all the more urgent that the opportunity for interface between jurors and citizens interested in the ultimate verdict be afforded in a timely fashion.”Andrew Cuomo: “America Was Never that Great”In what many suspect is an opening salvo in a potential 2020 run for president, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) sought to establish a sharp contrast between himself and President Trump by telling an audience of Democratic partisans that “America was never that great.” This strong rebuttal to Trump's pledge to “make America great again” elicited a mixed reaction. Some applauded his honesty. Others chided it.Cuomo defended his contention by citing slavery, discrimination, and sexism. “America won't be great until everyone is equal,” Cuomo insisted. “The descendants of those who benefited from slavery, discrimination, and sexism must first experience the sting of being on the receiving end of those damaging policies and attitudes. Those who are white need to be forced to toil for the benefit of minorities. Those who are white must be sent to the back of the bus. Those who are male must endure the same pain that women have endured since the beginning of time. Then America will be on the true path of greatness.”Cuomo spokeswoman Dani Lever endeavored to clarify his remarks by saying that “an acknowledgment of mistakes must precede improvement. While Trump and his apologists assert that equality of opportunity is what makes America great this is little comfort to those unable or unwilling to make the effort to improve their lot in life. Not everyone is born with the talent or ambition to achieve the American dream on his or her own. The Governor believes it is the duty of government to level out this imbalance if we are to ensure that everyone can enjoy the good life regardless of whether they can 'earn it' for themselves. That has been the long-standing difference between Democrats and Republicans.”Sexual Abuse a Religious Freedom IssueThe accusations that Democratic National Committee vice chairman Keith Ellison sexually abused two women may become the latest case of social mores butting up against religious freedom. DNC chairman Tom Perez reminded critics of Ellison's behavior that “imposition of Christian standards of behavior on a Muslim man violate the First Amendment protection against government infringement on the free exercise of religion.”“Under Islam, a man has total dominance over a woman,” Perez observed. “First, under sharia law, a woman is effectively only half as human as a man. Using this math, each of the accusers' testimony is out weighed by a ratio of 1.0:0.5. That's a two-thirds super-majority. Second, the right of a man to discipline a woman using moderate beatings is expressly authorized. Those demanding that Keith step down from his position in government and bow out of the race for Minnesota Attorney General would be applying an unconstitutional religious test for holding public office.”Deep State Denizens Object to Losing ClearancesThis week's revocation of the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan elicited howls of protest from deep state apparatchiks. Brennan himself characterized the action as “treasonous. My ability to continue protecting this nation by leaking selected classified information to the media in our continuing effort to blunt the influence of President Trump is eviscerated by this cruel and callous act.”Former FBI Director James Comey called it “an illegitimate use of executive authority. Nominally, a president has the power to award or remove anyone's access to classified material. But Trump's selective use of this authority against those of us who are trying to end his tyranny should frighten every right-thinking American.”House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) maintained that “this action is a pathetic attempt to silence critics. The credibility of Director Brennan is tied to the perception that he is a patriot working for what's best for the country. Canceling his clearance taints that perception and undermines his credibility with the general public. The reminder that he was once a member of the Communist Party further taints that credibility and is as underhanded a political move as I have ever seen.”Washington Post editor/columnist Eugene Robinson insisted that “canceling Brennan's access to classified information is just a blatant abuse of power. I mean, I don’t know what else you can call it. And really should be one of the eventual articles of impeachment.” Robinson rebuffed contentions that former government officials no longer have a valid need to see classified files by pointing out that “Brennan is now employed as a commentator for MSNBC. His value in that capacity is enormously enhanced by continued access to secret government files. Removing that access will limit his value and endanger his job.”For his part, Brennan vowed to press on saying that “while my official access may have been canceled I still have many friends and contacts in the government who do have access that I can count on to include me in the continuing fight to unseat the usurper. If I could successfully leak classified info to the media when I was in the CIA those still in the CIA can leak it to me now that I am in the media.”San Francisco Launches “Poop Patrol”In another triumph of progress politics, the City of San Francisco has announced the formation of an official “Poop Patrol” to scour the streets and remove the mounting piles of human excrement deposited by the homeless inhabitants of the community. The Patrol will start with a staff of six—one supervisor and five workers.Public works department spokeswoman Rachel Gordon said “we're not denying the right of the homeless to carry out necessary bodily functions as they see fit. After all, the streets and sidewalks are public spaces open to all. We want the homeless to understand that this is not meant to criticize their life style, but to help mitigate the negative health consequences of letting the stuff pile up to intolerable levels.”The new Patrol will supplement the existing “Pit Stop” and 311 “Poop Hot Line” programs, which failed to stem the rising tide of human waste infesting the City's public spaces. “The Pit Stop program provides public toilets in the downtown area, however, we realize that not everyone has the energy or motivation to make their way to these facilities,” Gordon observed. “Likewise, relying on citizens to call in sightings has a negative impact of perceptions of how clean and safe the community is. It's one thing to ask citizens to phone in crimes-in-progress like they do in Chicago. The caller could save someone's life or help catch a murderer. It's embarrassing to ask citizens to report defecations-in-progress. The caller may feel like a prude or peeping Tom.”McConnell Concocts a “Chameleon” Election StrategyConcerned by predictions that a Democratic “blue wave” could lead to a loss of Republican majorities in the House and Senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) has devised what he boasted is “a foolproof plan to avert disaster.”The gist of this plan is to blur the differences between the two Parties by scheduling a number of votes on bipartisan bills that garner support from both sides of the aisle. The bills the Majority Leader has in mind include votes on the Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services spending bill, opioids legislation and the Water Resources Development Act. “I call it the 'chameleon' ploy,” McConnell said. “If Republicans and Democrats are voting on the same side of this issues voters won't have a good reason to vote against us and the blue wave will be dissipated.”“We're in a tough spot,” McConnell argued. “The tax cuts we passed have energized the media against our Party. They can be counted on to remind voters that we implemented legislation that effectively pushed more people into the workforce—people that were previously perfectly comfortable subsisting on welfare. The deregulation implemented under President Trump's direction has enabled an economic expansion that has created new jobs that undermined the rationale for idleness. Democrats will lambaste us for this in their campaign ads. The 'chameleon' strategy will moderate voters anger over what Republicans have done to disrupt their lives.”McConnell rebuffed President Trump's request to schedule a vote on making the individual component of the tax cut bill permanent on the dual grounds that “this would simply remind voters who may have already forgotten who pushed the tax cut through and would anger the Democrats who will likely be the majority after the election no matter what we do to try to avert that.”Chelsea Clinton Touts Economic Benefits of AbortionIn a bid to energize Democratic voters for the upcoming congressional elections, former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton touted the economic benefits of abortion.“Since 1973's Roe v. Wade decision, the legal termination of more than 50 million useless eaters has saved the US economy more than $3.5 trillion,” she told the pro-abortion crowd. “By relieving 50 million women from the drudgery of child rearing the ruling enabled them to employ their talents more productively by taking jobs and earning a higher income.”“All these benefits are in danger if Democrats can't take control of Congress to block pro-life legislation and pro-life judicial appointments,” Clinton pointed out. “Republicans are determined to put the interests of unwanted children ahead of the economic prosperity of women. Whether it be a Kavanaugh ascending to the Supreme Court or a legislature enacting civil rights for the unborn, the threat is real. That's why it is absolutely crucial that we get out and vote this November.”In related news, Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) is sponsoring a Constitutional Amendment that would lower the voting age to 16. “Any woman old enough to possibly need an abortion ought to have a say in electing those who have the power to ensure that this right remains inviolable,” Meng asserted. “The same goes for any young man who might need an escape clause from the obligation of providing support for a child he fathers but does not want.”A Satirical Look at Recent NewsJohn Semmens is a retired economist who has written a weekly political satire for The Arizona Conservative since 2005. He says working on his satires is one of the ways he tries to honor the liberties our Founding Fathers tried to protect.Please do us a favor. If you use material created by The Arizona Conservative, give us credit and DO NOT change the context. Thank you.