The Author of America Abandoned — ‘The United States is now an Oligarchy’

SAN JOSE, Calif. /PRNewswire/ — In her eye-opening new book America Abandoned: The Secret Velvet Coup That Cost Us Our Democracy, author and political activist Jill Cody minces no words about where the U.S. stands in 2016. “Our country, the alleged United States of America, is technically no longer a democracy. It has been abandoned to an oligarchy, defined as ‘a government run by the few’ and ‘a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes.'”

Cody, whose book was just published this month, explains how multibillionaires managed to take control of Congress, the Supreme Court and, thus the country in a Velvet Coup that few saw coming. She traces its origins to a 1971 memo written by Louis Powell called the Powell Memorandum. The confidential memo for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce laid out a road map to further the interests of the Chamber’s version of free enterprise capitalism—a road map that was promoted by a parade of highly paid corporate lobbyists and Powell’s eventual appointment to the Supreme Court.

As the presidential election looms, carrying with it the possibility of a billionaire making it to the White House, Cody can talk about:

• 7 ways the Velvet Coup caused the abandonment of ordinary Americans.
• Why government should not be run like a business and who benefits if it is.
• What Living in the Black or Living in the Red means, and how our individual and organizational choices could either rescue or ruin America.
• How we can boldly recapture our middle class and democracy with personal activism and heightened voter participation.

PRAISE FOR AMERICA ABANDONED

“From right wing conservatives to Wall Street fat cats, progressive writer Jill Cody delivers a no-holds-barred look at a country that’s becoming politically, morally and financially bankrupt.” — Thom Hartmann, nationally syndicated talk show host and bestselling author

ABOUT JILL CODY

America Abandoned is Jill Cody’s first book. Her life-long passion for knowledge and desire to inspire change in politics, the environment, higher education and organizational development led her to pursue a 31-year career in public service. She was personally trained and authorized by Vice President Al Gore to share his presentation on An Inconvenient Truth. She has assisted in coordinating national and international strategic planning meetings on Information Literacy in Washington D.C., Prague and Egypt. Cody earned a master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University and devoted her career to public service.

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