Motivational talk from Boot Camp

What has happened to our elected officials' obligation to protect the Common Good for the benefit of all the People?  As an American, I love my liberty and want to protect my right to the pursuit of happiness.  NOW is the time to ACT!  Let us join together in a mighty coalition to restore justice and democracy back to America.  Join me in this effort right now.  If we don't act now, we may never get another chance. 

It has been 150 years since the corporate Robber Barons got the Supreme Court to grant personhood to corporations in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad.  The process of corporations co-opting electoral influence culminated in the latest blow to Democracy when 5 Supreme Court justices voted in Citizens United v. FEC to open the floodgates of corporate influence.  It is now the civil right of corporations and trade unions to buy elections.  What happened to the social contract our elected officials have with the human citizens of the United States? 


On September 28, 2010, an appeals Court Exempted Corporations from Alien Tort Law

A federal appeals court has ruled US corporations can no longer be sued for human rights violations abroad under the longstanding Alien Tort Statute. Earlier this month, the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Alien tort claims can only be brought against individuals, not corporations. The ruling dismissed a lawsuit accusing the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell of complicity in the murder and torture of Nigerian activists including Ken Saro-Wiwa. In a separate opinion, Second Circuit Judge Pierre Leval criticized the ruling, writing, "The majority opinion deals a substantial blow to international law and its undertaking to protect fundamental human rights… So long as they incorporate, businesses will now be free to trade in or exploit slaves, employ mercenary armies to do dirty work for despots, perform genocides or operate torture prisons for a despot’s political opponents, or engage in piracy—all without civil liability to victims."  from DemocracyNow! 9/29/10

So now it is clear, a corporation is a person with civil rights to donate unlimited amounts of campaign financing to a political candidate, as well as the right to free speech, but can't be sued for human rights violations.  Are corporations persons or not?  Shades of Skynet....