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Corporations and Democracy

There is looming up a new and dark power... the enterprises of the country are aggregating vast corporate combinations of unexampled capital, boldly marching, not for economical conquests only, but for political power.... The question will arise and arise in your day, though perhaps not fully in mine, which shall rule, wealth or man; which shall lead, money or intellect; who shall fill public stations, educated and patriotic freemen, or the feudal serfs of corporate capital?
~ Edward G. Ryan, Chief Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1873 The corporation is the dominant economic institution of our time. Please read our resources regarding corporate chartering, corporate constitutional rights, and democratizing the corporation.

John Bonifaz and Laura Flanders on the Corporate Supreme Court

April 15, 2010
John Bonifaz and Laura Flanders

GRIT tv host Laura Flanders takes up the topic of the Supreme Court, corporate power, and the Citizens United ruling. Guest John Bonifaz, the director of Free Speech for People discusses the results we're already seeing from that ruling, how it impacts corporations, unions, and real flesh-and-blood people, (including how it has already impacted our thinking) and what needs to be done. Bonifaz explains how we can amend the Constitution to reclaim our first amendment, and the kind of popular movement that will be required to do it. He describes what people are doing at the local level in their free time to advance this agenda. (Discussion begins at 10:22)

Additional Information: 

Originally posted here by David Swanson of After Downing Street.

Spring 2010 issue of Justice Rising: Grassroots Solutions to Corporate Domination

April 13, 2010

The Spring 2010 issue of Justice Rising (.pdf), the quarterly newsletter of Alliance for Democracy, is entitled: Courts and Corporations vs. Our Common Good, and takes on the Supreme Court's recent Citizens United decision and the growing popular movement to guarantee free-speech rights for people and not for corporations.
Justice Rising offers a thematic guide for everyone dedicated to ending corporate rule and establishing true democracy, and can be dowloaded as a full newsletter or as individual articles.

Individual pages from this issue:

01 Courts & Corporations v. Our Common Good by Jim Tarbell

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Alliance for Democracy

NICHOLS & MCCHESNEY: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again

February 5, 2010
John Nichols & Robert W. McChesney

The founders of the American experiment were even by their own measures imperfect democrats. But they understood something about sustaining democracy that their successors seem to have forgotten. Everyone agrees that a free society requires a free press. But a free press without the resources to compensate those who gather and analyze information, and to distribute that information widely and in an easily accessible form, is like a seed without water or sunlight.

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The article is excerpted from John Nichols and Robert McChesney's new book The Death and Life of American Journalism and appeared in the January 25, 2010 edition of The Nation. Nichols is president of the Liberty Tree Foundation; McChesney is a member of its board of advisors.

MANSKI: The Essence of the Corporation

January 11, 2010
Ben Manski
Liberty Tree Journal
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Ben Manski is an attorney with Manski Law & Communications, LLC, and the editor of the Liberty Tree Journal. He is also a member of the Speak Out! speakers bureau: http://www.speakoutnow.org/

LETNAR CERNIC: Corporate abuses require stronger international, national legal regimes

May 14, 2009
Jernej Letnar Černič

The US government published in February 2009 its decision that it will not renew its contract with the private security corporation formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide. Such a decision comes as no surprise given the allegations of killing 17 civilians by Blackwater guards, coupled with the Iraqi government's refusal to extend Blackwater's operating license. This case, however, opens again a number of conundrums relating to legal accountability for corporations and its employees for human rights violations. In short, how do we provide effective legal remedies to victims for human rights violations by or involving corporations? This comment therefore briefly explores the weaknesses of the current framework for corporate accountability for human rights.

Additional Information: 

Jernej Letnar Černič, JURIST HOTLINE
Researcher, Institute for European, Constitutional,
International Law and Law of Economics

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/hotline/2009/05/corporate-human-rights-abuses-require.php

COLERIDGE: Keeping Public Assets Public

March 13, 2009
Greg Coleridge
Reprinted from By What Authority?

The dominant culture does not look kindly on most "public" systems. From housing to hospitals, schools to sewers, parks to prisons, or water to welfare, publicly owned or run systems are frequently portrayed as inefficient, ineffective, expensive, and/or dangerous. "Public" is dark, drab, cold, and old.

The word "private," by contrast, brings forth images of modern, clean, efficient, cheap, and safe. The corporate media, think tanks, and many elected officials perpetually tout the supposed benefits of "private" societal institutions.

But what is "public" and "private" when applied to government and economy? Are existing municipally operated systems best kept under public control or should they be "privatized"?

Additional Information: 

This article was written by Greg Coleridge of the Program on Corporations Law and Democracy for their newsletter, By What Authority?
See it in its original here: http://www.poclad.org/?pg=By_What_Authority&show=b090301.txt

David Cobb: 'The New Voting Rights Movement' and 'Fighting The Corporate Takeover'

January 3, 2005
David Cobb

The Brad Blog at www.bradblog.com

INTRODUCTION {by Winter Patriot}: We are thrilled to announce that David Cobb will be with us for some live blogging on Saturday morning [late Saturday morning in the East, early Saturday morning in the West]. As most of you probably know, Mr. Cobb represented the Green Party in the 2004 Presidential 'Election'. He has indicated that he wishes to blog about two subjects, and he has sent us some very interesting links and text. So there's plenty to absorb before Mr. Cobb takes the hot seat as the first live blogger of the weekend.

Mr. Cobb's first subject:

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To read the archive of the full blog post, visit http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001550.htm

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