This is a red flag that, in order to cleanse "Citizens United" and other such blasphemies -- we need a firm declaration (perhaps an Amendment is needed) that corporations are NOT people. In addition, when a corporation is found guilty of misdeed, some PERSON(s) must also be liable for the decisions.
Lest we forget, corporations were created by a group of people who already have personal rights guaranteed to them under our constitution. And, the single most important purpose of establishing a corporation is to protect profits for both the principles and shareholders by shielding the corporation and protecting it from liability, as a separate made entity with certain stated rights.
On the other side of the coin, the PUBLIC protection is what the courts say a corporation can’t get away with, as an entity. And, what they can’t get away with is based on the Court decisions that separate corporations FROM being a natural person. These are the Court decisions that declare they are not protected as a natural person is protected with unalienable rights under our constitution (something that cannot be surrendered, sold, or transferred to someone else), which, by the way, a corporation can be.
A corporation will never be a person, and should not be protected as a real person. It is an entity made up from a set of criteria for a business that was made expressly to generate profits for principles and shareholders.
I certainly am not an expert in corporate law. However, there must be some type of change. Right now, you and I could form a company, have the company hire someone to illegally burgle some place and, as part of the activity, kill someone. The person doing the killing would possibly face charges but we, as the people who made the decision to do the activity, should be morally and legally responsible.
This is not far-fetched. Large corporations hire people to clear rainforests and they kill native people in the process — the company MAY get a small fine but the people making the decisions get off clear (maybe are required to use their golden parachute).
Yes, corporations have the same legal RIGHTS as citizens, which they fight to protect vehemently. But they don't have the same ACCOUNTABILITY, which they fight just as vehemently against. Together, that gives them more rights than citizens.
There is a ladder and timeline from Marbury v Madison to Citizens United
Santa Clara v Southern Pacific RR Co 1868
Buckley v Vallejo 1976
1st national Bank of Boston v Belloti 1978
Citizens United v FEC 2010
During all this time, am I to believe that there was no Supreme Court, who could have overruled, Santa Clara v S.P.RR
The Earl Warren Court (1953–1969) is universally recognized as the most liberal Supreme Court in U.S. history. The subsequent Warren E. Burger Court (1969–1986) is also considered the last predominantly liberal Court, though it served as a transitional phase toward more conservative rulings
If a case is not brought before the court it cannot issue a ruling, apparently there were no liberal advocates to bring a case and challenge SC V SPRR.
And the court since Nixon has been Center right to, today's extreme right.
This is a fabulous recap of the history of corporate malevolence that brought us to the sorry state we are in today and makes some of what must be done when American voters speak out again. Thank you.
We need to demand the Supreme Court (of course, they won't comply) enlighten us by providing the resultant vote that is supposed to have rendered corporations into natural people, according to the 14th Amendment.
If Dem legislators would harp on this, maybe they could put some pressure on Trump's Supremely Injudicious Court; if only Thom's thorough, concise and revealing expose' of the origins of Citizens' United were publicized and read by more citizens (which is the hardest requirement,) we might get some action on this front.
Nazi Republicans Spitting On The Constitution: White Power Politics
July 4th on the 250th anniversary marked the continued racist division. This time however instead of a physical Civil War, it’s a battle in the collective mind of the nation about who belongs and who doesn’t. Now it’s the CNPP(Christian Nationalist Ped Party) who says that not all men are created equal and that the country needs to go back to pre Civil war years where slavery was ok.
Our country is based on the rule of law. WE the People demand that our government uphold the rule of law and the foundational principle that all men are created equal. Executive orders to get rid of DEI and to abolish integration by government contractors done in the first weeks of the Nazi Republican occupation tell the story of a developing Confederacy and the eugenics philosophy that there are humans that are superior and deserve power.
Nazi Republican Congressional legislators turn a blind eye to this racist lawless conduct by a traitorous hateful racist misogynistic president supported by the partisan black robbed hacks that are called jurists on the Supreme Court. Regardless no one should give these Nazi Republicans any leeway because they are ALL complicit in the lawlessness and racist behavior. They took oaths to the Constitution but they’re spitting on that oath.
WE the People’s DNA demand WE fight tyrants. The Declaration of Independence was actually an indictment of a tyrant, at the time King George III. Now the tyrants of today, like those in WWII, are the Nazi Republicans. WE lose every fight WE don’t fight. So get angry and get ready to fight for all men are equal.
Two thumbs up. This is all history that the vast majority of Americans don't know. If you ask most Americans when corporations got the same rights as people, most would say Citizens United.
Dear Thom, Another brilliant recap of how we got to where we are now!
Eduction (informal or formal) with a wide-open scope (historical, multi-ethnic, global, and future implications that always return to the fundamental, enlightened principles underlying our unique American democracy) is absolutely necessary if we are to recover from these dark times.
The lesson here, I believe, is that there will always be a shyster and clever crook who, if given any opportunity at all, will design a strategy and a plan to get around the law and achieve a malicious or sinister objective for personal benefit of one sort or another. It is impossible to always anticipate how they will operate or what their objective will be, but this is not a domain where trust is adequate.
This is a red flag that, in order to cleanse "Citizens United" and other such blasphemies -- we need a firm declaration (perhaps an Amendment is needed) that corporations are NOT people. In addition, when a corporation is found guilty of misdeed, some PERSON(s) must also be liable for the decisions.
Lest we forget, corporations were created by a group of people who already have personal rights guaranteed to them under our constitution. And, the single most important purpose of establishing a corporation is to protect profits for both the principles and shareholders by shielding the corporation and protecting it from liability, as a separate made entity with certain stated rights.
On the other side of the coin, the PUBLIC protection is what the courts say a corporation can’t get away with, as an entity. And, what they can’t get away with is based on the Court decisions that separate corporations FROM being a natural person. These are the Court decisions that declare they are not protected as a natural person is protected with unalienable rights under our constitution (something that cannot be surrendered, sold, or transferred to someone else), which, by the way, a corporation can be.
A corporation will never be a person, and should not be protected as a real person. It is an entity made up from a set of criteria for a business that was made expressly to generate profits for principles and shareholders.
I certainly am not an expert in corporate law. However, there must be some type of change. Right now, you and I could form a company, have the company hire someone to illegally burgle some place and, as part of the activity, kill someone. The person doing the killing would possibly face charges but we, as the people who made the decision to do the activity, should be morally and legally responsible.
This is not far-fetched. Large corporations hire people to clear rainforests and they kill native people in the process — the company MAY get a small fine but the people making the decisions get off clear (maybe are required to use their golden parachute).
Yes, corporations have the same legal RIGHTS as citizens, which they fight to protect vehemently. But they don't have the same ACCOUNTABILITY, which they fight just as vehemently against. Together, that gives them more rights than citizens.
There is a ladder and timeline from Marbury v Madison to Citizens United
Santa Clara v Southern Pacific RR Co 1868
Buckley v Vallejo 1976
1st national Bank of Boston v Belloti 1978
Citizens United v FEC 2010
During all this time, am I to believe that there was no Supreme Court, who could have overruled, Santa Clara v S.P.RR
The Earl Warren Court (1953–1969) is universally recognized as the most liberal Supreme Court in U.S. history. The subsequent Warren E. Burger Court (1969–1986) is also considered the last predominantly liberal Court, though it served as a transitional phase toward more conservative rulings
If a case is not brought before the court it cannot issue a ruling, apparently there were no liberal advocates to bring a case and challenge SC V SPRR.
And the court since Nixon has been Center right to, today's extreme right.
Money talks.
Money rules.
Thanks for this often thrilling review of Constitutional history leading to Citizens United & our current plight.
This is a fabulous recap of the history of corporate malevolence that brought us to the sorry state we are in today and makes some of what must be done when American voters speak out again. Thank you.
We need to demand the Supreme Court (of course, they won't comply) enlighten us by providing the resultant vote that is supposed to have rendered corporations into natural people, according to the 14th Amendment.
If Dem legislators would harp on this, maybe they could put some pressure on Trump's Supremely Injudicious Court; if only Thom's thorough, concise and revealing expose' of the origins of Citizens' United were publicized and read by more citizens (which is the hardest requirement,) we might get some action on this front.
Nazi Republicans Spitting On The Constitution: White Power Politics
July 4th on the 250th anniversary marked the continued racist division. This time however instead of a physical Civil War, it’s a battle in the collective mind of the nation about who belongs and who doesn’t. Now it’s the CNPP(Christian Nationalist Ped Party) who says that not all men are created equal and that the country needs to go back to pre Civil war years where slavery was ok.
Our country is based on the rule of law. WE the People demand that our government uphold the rule of law and the foundational principle that all men are created equal. Executive orders to get rid of DEI and to abolish integration by government contractors done in the first weeks of the Nazi Republican occupation tell the story of a developing Confederacy and the eugenics philosophy that there are humans that are superior and deserve power.
Nazi Republican Congressional legislators turn a blind eye to this racist lawless conduct by a traitorous hateful racist misogynistic president supported by the partisan black robbed hacks that are called jurists on the Supreme Court. Regardless no one should give these Nazi Republicans any leeway because they are ALL complicit in the lawlessness and racist behavior. They took oaths to the Constitution but they’re spitting on that oath.
WE the People’s DNA demand WE fight tyrants. The Declaration of Independence was actually an indictment of a tyrant, at the time King George III. Now the tyrants of today, like those in WWII, are the Nazi Republicans. WE lose every fight WE don’t fight. So get angry and get ready to fight for all men are equal.
Two thumbs up. This is all history that the vast majority of Americans don't know. If you ask most Americans when corporations got the same rights as people, most would say Citizens United.
Dear Thom, Another brilliant recap of how we got to where we are now!
Eduction (informal or formal) with a wide-open scope (historical, multi-ethnic, global, and future implications that always return to the fundamental, enlightened principles underlying our unique American democracy) is absolutely necessary if we are to recover from these dark times.
The lesson here, I believe, is that there will always be a shyster and clever crook who, if given any opportunity at all, will design a strategy and a plan to get around the law and achieve a malicious or sinister objective for personal benefit of one sort or another. It is impossible to always anticipate how they will operate or what their objective will be, but this is not a domain where trust is adequate.
The, Oligarchs win again! Thanks Thom. Change is on the way, right?
Very interesting discussion. Who is bringing the case forward to s-challanvg yjos?