Corporate Personhood is an inherently absurd, ridiculous idea.
The idea that a legal fiction should have the same rights as a human being is insane.
Who gets rights next? Mickey Mouse? Bart Simpson? Family Guy?
The egghead that came up with this idea must have really smoked a lot of wacky weed that night!
The only way that this could have gotten into law was to pay someone off, and that's what happened.
People are more often persuaded by appealing to their guts and hearts, not so often persuaded by appealing to their minds.
I live with Republicans. They turn off when then hear about court cases and bad corporations. They listen when you make statements like the ones above.
The anti corporate personhood movement has to frame it's arguments in basic terms that even the truck driving, country music set resonates with.
George Lakoff, at the Rockridge Institute, has done incredible work on this subject. Anyone running a political campaign, which this is, needs to read his work. There is a link below.
WONK WON'T WORK. YOU HAVE TO GO FOR THE GUT!
The best way to end corporate personhood is to ridicule it to death.
---
Along with this, I strongly suggest adopting PETA's tactics of naked protests, especially naked celebrities. PETA has demonstrated an amazing ability to educate people, change behaviours, and get laws passed, all because they decided to accept people as they were, and deal with them on those terms, which means PETA staged one stunt after another, got tremendous media attention, and took advantage of the fact that people idolize stars and pay attention to what they say.
One naked movie star demonstrating against corporate personhood would get more media attention than a wonky petition with 100,000 signatures, or imagine 1000 naked women in front of the white house, including a scattering of celebrities of all sorts, shouting "Abolish Corporate Personhood Now".
This movement can be dignified, respectable, stuffy, wonky, intellectual, and lose, or it can be
Wild, loud, in your face, and win
http://www.google.com/search?q=george+lakoff+rockridge+institue&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=com.yahoo:en-US:official&client=firefox
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Strategies For Abolishing Corporate Personhood
Corporate Personhood is an odious stench in the nostrils of society.
----
I'm probably not saying anything that hasn't been said before or better, but here goes;
----
There are three mass movements in the recent past i think we can learn from;
1 The civil rights movement. Main lesson, the great moral power of nonviolence
2 The anti-Vietnam war movement. Main lesson, the huge power of students
3 The Christian Coalition's rise to power-main lesson, the power of the grassroots
---
Let's start with
THE POWER OF THE GRASSROOTS
which was also a key factor in the anti-vietnam war movement. Right now, the Corporate media are the propaganda mouthpiece of Big Business, LLC. Not to expect too much access or mention there, but maybe. What that means is face to face, person to person. The media may not report it, but it will still be there changing the world.
One important exception; advertising for a commercial product. If someone were to write a book with the title "How Corporate Personhood is Destroying America and Hurting Your Family", or something similar, that book could be advertised everywhere, since it would be a commercial message, not a political one, and of course that would cost money.
TEACHINS and teaching
Back to the grassroots. The immediate challenge is that most people have never heard of CP, let alone know how it is devastating their lives. In the 60s, there were teach-ins all over the place. That needs to happen now, in a grassroots way, tables in front of Post Offices and stores, flyers on bulletin boards.
Some tactics:
1 the christian coalition got power by running candidates for every small political office in america, school boards, etc. I think that Abolish candidates need to do the same. the point is not to win, but to have the legal right to present one's views as part of the electoral process.
2 I think Abolish people should register as Republicans and run in Republican primaries all over the country. Believe it or not, i think that the average Republican can clearly get the absurdity of the idea that a legal fiction should have the same rights as a flesh and blood human being. It is almost a Republican issue.
3 to this end, i think that the way the case is made needs to be in plain English, not wonkspeak
1 an appeal to the idea above,
2 a ridiculing of the absurdity of how things are and
3 A detailing of unsafe products and how you and your family are suffering harm from the present system.
4 Simple ad slogans; things go better with Coke, If a corporation commits a crime, who do you put in jail? Some simple message should be everywhere people look, bumperstickers, bulletin boards, shirts, local classified ads
There are three basic points to make
1 What CP is
2 How it hurts people
3 the dubious and corrupt way it started in the headnotes
I think the most Christian, truck driving, conservative cowboy will get it, if put in terms he is used to.
see Moral Politics, by George Lakoff, on the importance of framing.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDENTS
So much political change in the world is the result of young people. Generally, when people get to their late 20s-early 30s, have a job, credit card debt, maybe married, maybe kids, well, people like that do not usually change the world. Students and young people, idealistic, energetic, social, not so much to lose, they change things. I think that for the Abolish movement to be successful, it must start with students. I was 13 in 1969, and i remember the Vietnam War Moratorium, basically a one day teach in across the country. Students may not have stopped the war, but they sure slowed it down; without the anti war movement, Vietnam might have lasted another 5 years. That means something.
BIG TENT AND ALLIES
Corporate personhood is an issue that, when people understand it, cuts across every divide. We need to have a big tent. I think that this is a natural issue for many conservative people, some of whom leftists generally denigrate. However, if an anti abortion, anti gay, anti immigrant person is anti corporate personhood, i say amen brother, welcome to the fold, because my enemy's enemy is my friend.
As for natural allies-there are tons of environmental and political organizations that deal firsthand witht he toxic effects of corporate personhood every day.
In summary, the total absurdity of Corporate Personhood is so obvious that everyone in America and the world can get it, if the harm resultant is pointed out to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcx9BJRadfw
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=351072399160
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=440806875385
----
I'm probably not saying anything that hasn't been said before or better, but here goes;
----
There are three mass movements in the recent past i think we can learn from;
1 The civil rights movement. Main lesson, the great moral power of nonviolence
2 The anti-Vietnam war movement. Main lesson, the huge power of students
3 The Christian Coalition's rise to power-main lesson, the power of the grassroots
---
Let's start with
THE POWER OF THE GRASSROOTS
which was also a key factor in the anti-vietnam war movement. Right now, the Corporate media are the propaganda mouthpiece of Big Business, LLC. Not to expect too much access or mention there, but maybe. What that means is face to face, person to person. The media may not report it, but it will still be there changing the world.
One important exception; advertising for a commercial product. If someone were to write a book with the title "How Corporate Personhood is Destroying America and Hurting Your Family", or something similar, that book could be advertised everywhere, since it would be a commercial message, not a political one, and of course that would cost money.
TEACHINS and teaching
Back to the grassroots. The immediate challenge is that most people have never heard of CP, let alone know how it is devastating their lives. In the 60s, there were teach-ins all over the place. That needs to happen now, in a grassroots way, tables in front of Post Offices and stores, flyers on bulletin boards.
Some tactics:
1 the christian coalition got power by running candidates for every small political office in america, school boards, etc. I think that Abolish candidates need to do the same. the point is not to win, but to have the legal right to present one's views as part of the electoral process.
2 I think Abolish people should register as Republicans and run in Republican primaries all over the country. Believe it or not, i think that the average Republican can clearly get the absurdity of the idea that a legal fiction should have the same rights as a flesh and blood human being. It is almost a Republican issue.
3 to this end, i think that the way the case is made needs to be in plain English, not wonkspeak
1 an appeal to the idea above,
2 a ridiculing of the absurdity of how things are and
3 A detailing of unsafe products and how you and your family are suffering harm from the present system.
4 Simple ad slogans; things go better with Coke, If a corporation commits a crime, who do you put in jail? Some simple message should be everywhere people look, bumperstickers, bulletin boards, shirts, local classified ads
There are three basic points to make
1 What CP is
2 How it hurts people
3 the dubious and corrupt way it started in the headnotes
I think the most Christian, truck driving, conservative cowboy will get it, if put in terms he is used to.
see Moral Politics, by George Lakoff, on the importance of framing.
THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDENTS
So much political change in the world is the result of young people. Generally, when people get to their late 20s-early 30s, have a job, credit card debt, maybe married, maybe kids, well, people like that do not usually change the world. Students and young people, idealistic, energetic, social, not so much to lose, they change things. I think that for the Abolish movement to be successful, it must start with students. I was 13 in 1969, and i remember the Vietnam War Moratorium, basically a one day teach in across the country. Students may not have stopped the war, but they sure slowed it down; without the anti war movement, Vietnam might have lasted another 5 years. That means something.
BIG TENT AND ALLIES
Corporate personhood is an issue that, when people understand it, cuts across every divide. We need to have a big tent. I think that this is a natural issue for many conservative people, some of whom leftists generally denigrate. However, if an anti abortion, anti gay, anti immigrant person is anti corporate personhood, i say amen brother, welcome to the fold, because my enemy's enemy is my friend.
As for natural allies-there are tons of environmental and political organizations that deal firsthand witht he toxic effects of corporate personhood every day.
In summary, the total absurdity of Corporate Personhood is so obvious that everyone in America and the world can get it, if the harm resultant is pointed out to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcx9BJRadfw
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=351072399160
http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=440806875385
Thursday, January 21, 2010
CORPORATE PERSONHOOD
If a corporation commits a crime, who do you lock up?
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/13-corporate-personhood-challenged/
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/03/feature1a.html
http://www.jashford.com/Pages/worldcorps.html
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/13-corporate-personhood-challenged/
http://www.uuworld.org/2003/03/feature1a.html
http://www.jashford.com/Pages/worldcorps.html
DRUG LAWS and ELECTIONS-How the right wing used drug laws to disenfranchise the left and take control of the country
Pot laws were originally put in place at a time when only black people smoked. The laws were basically a part of Jim Crow, a way to keep blacks in their place.
By the time of the Vietnam War, drugs were a part of the lifestyle of many of the left wing Vietnam protesters. The government couldn't make opposition to the war illegal, but by going after drug use it was able to shut up a lot of people, either by directly busting them, or scaring them into silence.
Later on, Ronald Reagan successfully used the theme of "just say no to drugs" to effectively deprive many, many people of their right to vote (by putting them in prison), and of course many, many others were scared into not participating in the political process, and of course almost all of these were Democrats and progressives.
It was a very skillful way to stage a coup d'etat, a right wing takeover of the country, and of course once they got into power, they passed more and more draconian measures, such as the California 3 strikes law.
Just think of the difference all these votes would have made in elections, both national and local. No Reagan, no Bush I, no Bush II, no Democratic party going so far over to the Right that they are basically the left wing of the Republican party.
To my mind, this was the modern day equivalent of Hitler's Big Lie, in which all evils were blamed on the jews.
America has more people per capita than any other Western industrialized nation, most of them for drug "offenses". Black people especially find themselves in prison in almost unbelievable numbers, 1 in 3 black men in their 20s, i believe is the figure.
My own opinion is that in most cases drug use is, at best, a waste of time. In no way do i want to see serious drugs too freely available. LEGALIZE and CONTROL. Control by treating drugs the same way we control the right to drive a motor vehicle, by having to study the effects, go to a training for hard drugs where one will have to listen to ex junkies tell their stories, but finally, if you want to do it, it's your right.
This will also serve to destroy the drug cartels, which were created by anti-drug laws, the same way the Mafia was created by prohibition, because production and distribution will be done by Pfizer and other "legitimate" companies, thus cutting off funding from the gangs.
Dr. Andrew Weil's first book, The Natural Mind, is the most sensible thing i've ever seen on the subject of drugs. Take the time to follow the link, maybe do a google search of your own.
http://www.psychedelic-library.org/weil1.htm
WHAT RIGHT DO THESE RIGHT WINGERS HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE?
By the time of the Vietnam War, drugs were a part of the lifestyle of many of the left wing Vietnam protesters. The government couldn't make opposition to the war illegal, but by going after drug use it was able to shut up a lot of people, either by directly busting them, or scaring them into silence.
Later on, Ronald Reagan successfully used the theme of "just say no to drugs" to effectively deprive many, many people of their right to vote (by putting them in prison), and of course many, many others were scared into not participating in the political process, and of course almost all of these were Democrats and progressives.
It was a very skillful way to stage a coup d'etat, a right wing takeover of the country, and of course once they got into power, they passed more and more draconian measures, such as the California 3 strikes law.
Just think of the difference all these votes would have made in elections, both national and local. No Reagan, no Bush I, no Bush II, no Democratic party going so far over to the Right that they are basically the left wing of the Republican party.
To my mind, this was the modern day equivalent of Hitler's Big Lie, in which all evils were blamed on the jews.
America has more people per capita than any other Western industrialized nation, most of them for drug "offenses". Black people especially find themselves in prison in almost unbelievable numbers, 1 in 3 black men in their 20s, i believe is the figure.
My own opinion is that in most cases drug use is, at best, a waste of time. In no way do i want to see serious drugs too freely available. LEGALIZE and CONTROL. Control by treating drugs the same way we control the right to drive a motor vehicle, by having to study the effects, go to a training for hard drugs where one will have to listen to ex junkies tell their stories, but finally, if you want to do it, it's your right.
This will also serve to destroy the drug cartels, which were created by anti-drug laws, the same way the Mafia was created by prohibition, because production and distribution will be done by Pfizer and other "legitimate" companies, thus cutting off funding from the gangs.
Dr. Andrew Weil's first book, The Natural Mind, is the most sensible thing i've ever seen on the subject of drugs. Take the time to follow the link, maybe do a google search of your own.
http://www.psychedelic-library.org/weil1.htm
WHAT RIGHT DO THESE RIGHT WINGERS HAVE TO TELL PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE?
Some transportation thoughts
The transportation toolkit
In the trades, one learns to use the right tool for the right job.Nobody who does any kind of work would have only one tool, especially if that one tool was a sledgehammer! Can you imagine trying to put a nail in the wall using a sledgehammer, or trying to put in a screw with a sledgehammer, yet that is what many Americans do with a "one size fits all" approach to transportation, in which all they own is an SUV, Van or truck, when most of their usuage could easily be done in a small car, or even a bicycle, and occasionally rent a larger vehicle for a camping trip or moving furniture. Since most of these large vehicles average 15mpg, and gas is getting expensive, many people will be using this approach.
Three Modes of Transportation, but only two places available
1) Fast- motor vehicles
2) Slow-Pedestrians
3) Medium-Bicycles, skateboards, segways, roller blades, etc.
These don't belong in traffic with cars; there are already far too many stories of bicyclists being hit. On the other hand, they don't belong on sidewalks. Many more people would ride a bicycle to work or for errrands, IF IT WAS SAFE. A painted white line on a street means nothing. But where would this extra lane come from. Would more trees and gardens get cut down and paved over? Many car drivers have a sense of entitlement and would vigorously resist giving up one car lane to be turned into an elevated bicycle lane, in the way sidewalks are elevated. However, rising gas prices are about to negate those objections and turn them into a demand for safe bicycle lanes.
In the trades, one learns to use the right tool for the right job.Nobody who does any kind of work would have only one tool, especially if that one tool was a sledgehammer! Can you imagine trying to put a nail in the wall using a sledgehammer, or trying to put in a screw with a sledgehammer, yet that is what many Americans do with a "one size fits all" approach to transportation, in which all they own is an SUV, Van or truck, when most of their usuage could easily be done in a small car, or even a bicycle, and occasionally rent a larger vehicle for a camping trip or moving furniture. Since most of these large vehicles average 15mpg, and gas is getting expensive, many people will be using this approach.
Three Modes of Transportation, but only two places available
1) Fast- motor vehicles
2) Slow-Pedestrians
3) Medium-Bicycles, skateboards, segways, roller blades, etc.
These don't belong in traffic with cars; there are already far too many stories of bicyclists being hit. On the other hand, they don't belong on sidewalks. Many more people would ride a bicycle to work or for errrands, IF IT WAS SAFE. A painted white line on a street means nothing. But where would this extra lane come from. Would more trees and gardens get cut down and paved over? Many car drivers have a sense of entitlement and would vigorously resist giving up one car lane to be turned into an elevated bicycle lane, in the way sidewalks are elevated. However, rising gas prices are about to negate those objections and turn them into a demand for safe bicycle lanes.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Poems
Satori in Oakland
Hey, Kerouac had to go to Paris
I get to do it right here in Oaktown
Land of the free, home of the brave
and hey, is this real satori, or
am i just bullshitting myself
maybe trying to bullshit you
pumping myself up with my own self importance
the way poets do
when they're wearing plaid sweatpants and a grey T shirt
and hey, does it matter about
my satori
when what matters is
your satori
___________________
What went wrong?
What went wrong?
Was it a word, a look, a hurt feeling
a small wound that festered, growing
more toxic with the passage of the years
perhaps a succession of such small wounds
Was it a great gaping wound
some large injury
done to him at some time in his life, who knows when
a wound which no one knew about, and so
when the worst happened
everyone was shocked
was it what was done to him
the largeness or smallness of it, or
was it the bitterness with which
he regarded it, obsessed over it
almost cherished it with his thoughts and attention
turning it over and over in his mind
like some dark poisonous spider
could it have been prevented, stopped
ameliorated by some intervention, whose intervention?
Did he ask for help, cry for help, turn away help, say
no, nothing's wrong with me, I'm OK
leave me alone
Who knew, and who should have known
could have known
did know?
The end result, shock waves
rippling through
family, friends, acquaintances
even people to whom he was just an article in the paper
a story they heard
one more human tragedy
one more confirmation to them of what they already knew
or thought they knew
an excuse to vent fears, anger, frustration
because if it could happen to him
maybe it could happen to them
or someone close to them
so if they can make some sense of it
even to say "he deserved what he got"
maybe they can feel a tad bit safer
in a world where it seems like
anything can happen
at any time
So what went wrong?
How to make some sense of it?
I don't know
Hey, Kerouac had to go to Paris
I get to do it right here in Oaktown
Land of the free, home of the brave
and hey, is this real satori, or
am i just bullshitting myself
maybe trying to bullshit you
pumping myself up with my own self importance
the way poets do
when they're wearing plaid sweatpants and a grey T shirt
and hey, does it matter about
my satori
when what matters is
your satori
___________________
What went wrong?
What went wrong?
Was it a word, a look, a hurt feeling
a small wound that festered, growing
more toxic with the passage of the years
perhaps a succession of such small wounds
Was it a great gaping wound
some large injury
done to him at some time in his life, who knows when
a wound which no one knew about, and so
when the worst happened
everyone was shocked
was it what was done to him
the largeness or smallness of it, or
was it the bitterness with which
he regarded it, obsessed over it
almost cherished it with his thoughts and attention
turning it over and over in his mind
like some dark poisonous spider
could it have been prevented, stopped
ameliorated by some intervention, whose intervention?
Did he ask for help, cry for help, turn away help, say
no, nothing's wrong with me, I'm OK
leave me alone
Who knew, and who should have known
could have known
did know?
The end result, shock waves
rippling through
family, friends, acquaintances
even people to whom he was just an article in the paper
a story they heard
one more human tragedy
one more confirmation to them of what they already knew
or thought they knew
an excuse to vent fears, anger, frustration
because if it could happen to him
maybe it could happen to them
or someone close to them
so if they can make some sense of it
even to say "he deserved what he got"
maybe they can feel a tad bit safer
in a world where it seems like
anything can happen
at any time
So what went wrong?
How to make some sense of it?
I don't know
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Health care
Human beings are not machines. Emotions are the key to health.
Any health care system that relies on western allopathic medicine-brutal, expensive, ineffective-is doomed to failure.
The AMA drove "alternative" healing out because it was cheap, gentle and effective.
Any health care system that relies on western allopathic medicine-brutal, expensive, ineffective-is doomed to failure.
The AMA drove "alternative" healing out because it was cheap, gentle and effective.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Health Care Video
take the time to watch just the first five minutes of this video
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5528328984547372206
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5528328984547372206
Dear President Obama
Dear President Obama,
You have a responsibility to investigate the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the Bush-Cheney administration.
Using terrorism as an excuse, they did their best to pervert America from a democracy to a dictatorship. Most Americans still do not know that, and therein lies the danger, because the next administration to try it might succeed, unless people realize the danger.
Now they attack Pelosi. It is as if a gang of murderers wanted to blame a witness, and all the wimpocrats do is issue feeble denials, rather than attack, attack, attack. If the situation were reversed, we all know how the Republicans would act.
--
be well,
jay
You have a responsibility to investigate the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by the Bush-Cheney administration.
Using terrorism as an excuse, they did their best to pervert America from a democracy to a dictatorship. Most Americans still do not know that, and therein lies the danger, because the next administration to try it might succeed, unless people realize the danger.
Now they attack Pelosi. It is as if a gang of murderers wanted to blame a witness, and all the wimpocrats do is issue feeble denials, rather than attack, attack, attack. If the situation were reversed, we all know how the Republicans would act.
--
be well,
jay
Two halves=one whole
The left does a very accurate job of describing how the political and economic structures of this country and many others are set up to make the rich richer and the poor poorer, how people are victims of oppression. It ignores personal responsibility. Many people are just as much victims of themselves, of their own arrogance and ignorance, and too often make the worst of a bad situation.
The Right, on the other hand, totally preaches personal responsibility, yet seems totally oblivious to the fact that if employers are paying low and landlords are charging high, people are screwed, and that this is no accident, instead it is the deliberate result of what amounts to a conspiracy.
The left says we all need to take care of each other, but ignores that we need to do a good job of taking care of ourselves. The Right says people deserve what they get, and every man is responsible for himself.
Personal responsibility-social responsibility. Two halves=one whole.
The Right, on the other hand, totally preaches personal responsibility, yet seems totally oblivious to the fact that if employers are paying low and landlords are charging high, people are screwed, and that this is no accident, instead it is the deliberate result of what amounts to a conspiracy.
The left says we all need to take care of each other, but ignores that we need to do a good job of taking care of ourselves. The Right says people deserve what they get, and every man is responsible for himself.
Personal responsibility-social responsibility. Two halves=one whole.
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