It seems that the Supreme Court acts as though they feel they were appointed by God. There are many who believe that court of Justice Roberts has sold out Democracy The court can only follow laws, not create or change them. So why don't those who make laws do just that...figure out a way to make a law that would overturn that ruling? At the moment it seems to be because the majority in both houses doesn't seem to have the wisdom, creativity, love of country and fairness to the people to do that.
Joshua Holland wrote: "The floodgates are open, and American democracy is at risk. But the decision didn’t emerge out of thin air. Rather, it was the culmination of the development, over more than a century, of a bizarre theory of jurisprudence that holds that corporations enjoy the same Constitutional rights as human beings"
"For years, it was believed the concept was enshrined in the law by the Supreme Court in 1886, but in his groundbreaking book, Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became People -- And How You Can Fight Back, historian and radio host Thom Hartmann revealed that the principle was in fact the result of what may be the greatest corporate fraud ever perpetrated on the American people.". Asynopsis of the book follows: "
Was the Boston Tea Party the first WTO-style protest against transnational corporations? Did Supreme Court sell out America's citizens in the nineteenth century, with consequences lasting to this day? Is there a way for American citizens to recover democracy of, by, and for the people?
Thom Hartmann takes on these most difficult questions and tells a startling story that will forever change your understanding of American history. Amongst a deep historical context, Hartmann describes the history of the Fourteenth Amendment--created at the end of the Civil War to grant basic rights to freed slaves--and how it has been used by lawyers representing corporate interests to extend additional rights to businesses far more frequently than to freed slaves. Prior to 1886, corporations were referred to in U.S. law as "artificial persons." But in 1886, after a series of cases brought by lawyers representing the expanding railroad interests, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were "persons" and entitled to the same rights granted to people under the Bill of Rights. Since this ruling, America has lost the legal structures that allowed for people to control corporate behavior.
It's time for "we, the people" to take back our lives. In this revised and expanded second edition, Hartmann incorporates specific examples from today's headlines, and proposes specific legal remedies that could truly save the world from political, economic, and ecological disaster."
Does the term corporate fraud sound at all familiar?
Our elected politicians have it within their power to correct the ridiculous ruling that equates people and corporations as well as the making of donations 'free speech'. Perhaps some of the groups that are constantly asking for donations to exist might take up the banner to get some change in the House and Senate and stop the obstructionist Republican party from pushing the country into further decay and oblivion.
1 comment:
Denying constitutional protections to anyone, even corporations, would leave us all less protected. To see why, imagine that you depend upon a corporation for income. Imagine further that the government suspects that your company is guilty of a crime, but that you know that they are innocent. Now envision how you could defend your source of income if your company had no constitutional rights. Without fourth amendment protection, the state could search or even seize company property without a warrant. Without fifth amendment protection, corporate officers could be held for questioning without a grand jury indictment. And without first amendment protection, the state could even prevent the company from speaking publicly in its defense.
Yes, a corporation is not a human being, but at its heart it is a group of real human beings working together for a common goal. When these humans come together, they do not lose their rights. If we exempt corporations from constitutional protection, the state can use that exemption to deny citizens their rights. They could say "Oh, we're not denying you due process, we're denying your company due process. Of course, you're the one going to jail..."
That is why the constitution should apply to all of us. I also disagree with the contention some conservatives make that the constitution should not apply to foreigners.
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