Occupy the Courts Jan 20 - Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT Speech!
giovanni_re
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2012-01-17/article/39148?headline=Mic-Check-Occupy-the-Courts-Jan-20-beginning-8-00-AM-in-Oakland-noon-in-SF.--By-Christina-Tuccillo-and-Phoebe-Anne-Sorgen
Mic Check! Occupy the Courts Jan 20: beginning 8:00 AM in Oakland; noon
in SF.
By Christina Tuccillo and Phoebe Anne Sorgen Wednesday January 18, 2012
- 12:18:00 AM
For excellent reasons, dozens of organizations and hundreds of thousands
of people support the need for a constitutional amendment to overturn
the Citizens United v Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling
of Jan. 21, 2010 and prior anti-democratic SCOTUS rulings that a
corporation is a person and that money is speech. A Washington Post-ABC
News poll found that 80% of Americans oppose the Citizens United ruling,
and a Harris poll found that 87% think big companies have too much
influence in Washington.
The Occupy Berkeley General Assembly reached consensus twice to support
two local Jan. 20, 2012 "Occupy the Courts" actions organized by members
of Move to Amend, Occupy Oakland, and Occupy SF. These are outdoor,
permitted protests:
Starting at 8:00 AM - Oakland Federal Courthouse on Clay St., between
13th/14th Streets - http://occupyoaklandcourts.org/
Starting at Noon - San Francisco 9th District Court of Appeals, 7th
Street at Mission - http://www.occupywallstwest.org/wordpress/?cat=12
Over 100 Occupy the Courts actions will occur nationwide, including at
the Supreme Court. http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts
If we want the voice of a teacher to be able to get through the din of
attack ads financed by for-profit transnational corporations and
billionaires, we need change, or the megaphone of the 1% will continue
drowning out We the People's free speech. With the goal of creating a
truly democratic society, limiting corporate influence over elections is
necessary. With increased regulation of electoral expenditures, maybe
we'd get real debates rather than factually incorrect hit-pieces!
While local and state governments can still regulate campaign spending
minimally, because of Citizens United Congress can no longer regulate
what comes through Political Action Committees, or PACs. That's a LOT of
money. (PACs are private groups that are organized to elect political
candidates or advance the outcome of legislation. While they are not run
by specific candidates, they may still openly support candidates and be
run by former employees of those candidates.)
Money is not free speech -- it's spending. A corporation is not a person
– it’s an artificial entity set up to maximize profits.
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