Duck! and Gather

I started this blog back in 2003 with what became my first essay: The Fourth Turning Predicts People vs. Corporations. From those humble beginnings, this blog and site have ranged far and wide.

Now here comes Ralph Nader inserting himself into the presidential race. What’s his platform? Check out Nader’s site. His platform is right there up front: “Which side are you on?” On the left (black) side of the page: Corporations. On the right (white) side: People.

Like John Edwards before him, Nader is raising the People vs. Corporations issue squarely in front of the nation. But unlike Edwards, who needed to win primaries to keep these ideas in the news, Nader can keep doing so so long as the press and/or the candidates don’t completely ignore him.

I think, at a personal level, Nader is an asshole — a self-styled “messiah” figure like Obama. Likes himself just a bit too much.

But I’m glad he’s in the race. I hope he puts some pressure on Obama to come out and say more unequivocally where he stands. As Nader points out, Obama’s voting record has been rather big-Corporation-friendly.

Over a year ago, I posted a blog called Barack Obama as Anti-Corporate?. The question mark at the end of the title means I wasn’t quite sure, but it seemed that way.

Well, here’s hoping that Nader’s presence in the campaign brings that question into the open, and settles it once and for all.