Real People v. Corporate “People”: The Fight Is On

[Echo In Light]

Real People v. Corporate “People”: The Fight Is On
by Doug Pibel

In 2009, Riki Ott was on the road for 252 days educating people about the dangers of "corporate personhood." That's the legal doctrine that says corporations have constitutional rights, just like human beings. She mostly spoke in academic settings, and there was some interest in the idea, says Ott, but not much.

All that changed on January 21, 2010, when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. Now interest has skyrocketed, and Ott finds people eager to volunteer, to organize, to meet, to do anything to reverse the Court's decision.

Rallying Around Citizens United

Supreme Court cases are usually interesting to lawyers, scholars, and those directly affected. Occasionally, a decision makes the news for a few days before disappearing from the public eye. But sometimes there's a game changer-a decision that is so clearly wrong that it becomes a rallying point. David Cobb, former Green Party presidential candidate and longtime activist on corporate personhood, points to Dred Scott v. Sandford as one such decision. Citizens United, Cobb says, is shaping up as another.

The two cases are mirror images of error. In 1857, the Dred Scott decision said that a flesh-and-blood human being had no constitutional rights because he was black. On January 21, 2010, the Court, in a 5-4 decision, used Citizens United to declare that corporations-legal entities with no human attributes-have the same constitutional free-speech rights that humans have.

(continued)

[polichick]

1. Awesome images - GO REAL PEOPLE!!! k&r

[maryf]

2. K&Rnt

[90-percent]

3. Riki

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=472158&mesg_id=472158

Per the above video link, Riki was on Rachel last night talking about the oil spill. I knew nothing of her before Rachel and I had no idea she has been working to educate about corporate person-hood!

Thank you very much for this info.

This is one of a handful of ROOT CAUSES that are helping the corporate overlords take our government away from us, and use it against us. If we do not fix such root causes soon, we will become a nation of tired, dispirited, exploited corporate serf wage slaves.

Corporate power is a blight on our way of life and is un-American to it's core! The Will of the People is being replaced with the pernicious needs and greeds of the corporations, which I'm convinced that all corporate titans are sociopaths at the core of their beings. They have to be, to rise to the top levels of corporate power! Kind of like the Peter Principle on 98% nitro.

-90% Jimmy

[Mari333]

4. knr

[annabanana]

5. Oh friggen' kick kickety kick kick. .We have to loosen the corporate

grip on our country if we are to survive.

[Echo In Light]

6. Amen

[Doctor_J]

7. Any suggestions?

Hartmann says this every day, and has for 7 years, and yet it gets worse every day. Please put forth something besides platitudes.

:shrug:

[annabanana]

8. Much of this COULD be countered with legislation, if there were legislators

with intestinal fortitude.

For starters, any and ALL political spending by corporations shouldn't be allowed to hide behind frindly-phony "institutes" and "councils" names. All ads produces MUST feature the company logo and statements like, "We are Coca Cola and we approve this message"

[Echo In Light]

10. A national platform to organize mass resistance to our govt being owned by corporations...

... would make for a decent starting point

[Doctor_J]

14. Any suggestions?

While your sentiments are noble, your post offers only more platitude. what do you mean by "mass resistance"?

[Echo In Light]

18. I suspect that no matter the suggestion, you'd dismiss it as a "platitude."

[G_j]

9. K&R!

[tilsammans]

11. Keepin' it kicked!

:kick:

Corporate personhood has got to go!

[raouldukelives]

12. K&R!

[femrap]

13. We demand

Real People Rule!

That flag really sums it up.

[ThomWV]

15. Noticeably missing from the Flag's canton is the logo of FOX Broadcasting

[laughingliberal]

16. We now need a ruling stating people are entitled to the same rights as corporations. nt

[Echo In Light]

17. Bump

[Echo In Light]

19. Bump

[Echo In Light]

20. Bump

[Echo In Light]

21. Keeping it kicked