HIGHTOWER: Corporate Pledge of Allegiance

Thomas Jefferson warned us 200 years ago that "Merchants give allegiance to no flag save their own."He was not talking about little Main Street merchants, but about the sea-going Merchant Trading Companies of his time. Today, these companies call themselves "Multinationals" or "Global Corporations" -- and it would blow Thom's powdered wig sky-high to see exactly how little allegiance these modern-day merchants have to the flag of their homeland. Indeed, the glibly-global attitude of today's multinationals was summed-up not long ago by one corporate chieftain who said: "National Cash Register is not a U.S. corporation. It is a world corporation that happens to be headquartered in the U.S."Even though these ingrates get enormous subsidies from us taxpayers and make billions in profits from us consumers, they now rudely thumb their noses at our nation, running-off to China, Mexico and other cheap-labor hell-holes with our factories and jobs. Their businesses have become part of a "New World Order," transcending such antiquated notions as national loyalty.How far have they gone in separating themselves from us and Old Glory? Listen to this: On May 24th at the annual stockholders meeting of General Motors Corporation in Detroit, a lone stockholder in the audience respectfully addressed a question to GM top executive, John Smith, who was on the stage with all of GM's powerful board members. This small shareholder asked if Mr. Smith and the board members would be willing to rise and pledge allegiance to the flag?Mr. Smith refused not once, but twice, ruling the questioner out of order.I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all