Common Good

Repeal the farce of "Corporate Personhood"

Jim Hightower — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Powers That Be constantly try to pull the wool over people's eyes, but sometimes the wool blinders are so itchy that people rip them off and clearly see the scam.

One of the itchiest ever is the Kafkaesque fiction, put forth by America's right-wing power establishment, that corporations are "persons' with the Constitutional right to control our elections with their bottomless troves of corporate cash. This is an absurd perversion of nature itself. A person, after all, has a navel. Where's the corporate navel – or its heart, brain, or soul?

Also, if a corporation is a person, shouldn't it be subject to front-line military duty, to jail for its criminal violations, and even to the death penalty? As a reader pointed out to me in a recent email, many states do not allow persons under 18 years of age to marry (or, in corporate terminology, to merge). Plus, such young persons are subject to curfews and cannot legally be served alcohol. If you see a young corporation violating any of these teen laws – call the cops on them!

When a corporate and governmental cabal makes such a power play that the very idea of it becomes a national joke, both the idea and the cabal are in trouble. That's the case with the comical claim of "personhood" for corporations. All across the country, beneath the radar of American's clueless elites, a savvy and scrappy grassroots coalition is mobilizing to overturn the anti-democratic effort by the Supreme Court, corporate front groups, and political sell-outs to enthrone corporate money over the people. On January 20th and 21st there will be two national days of action to rally public support for a Constitutional amendment to reject the farce of corporate personhood.

To join the rebellion, connect with www.United4ThePeople.org.

Join the action against corporate rule

Jim Hightower — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

What a great group of groups! They've got names like "Winning Our Future," "Make Us Great Again," and "Red, White and Blue."

What's not so great is that these are special-interest superPACs that are sacking up millions of dollars in a gross effort to buy the presidential election for their favored candidate. "Winning Our Future," for example is backing Newt Gingrich's run. It had a big winning hand recently when a billionaire casino baron put down a $5 million bet on Newt. Forget one-man, one vote – he's in with five million big ones!

Is there anything that We The People can do about this massive money corruption? Happily, yes! Step one is to repeal a perverse Supreme Court ruling that corporations are "persons" entitled to spend unlimited sums to purchase candidates who'll serve them.

The second anniversary of that ridiculous decree comes up this month, and several truly-great grassroots groups are holding two days of action on January 20 and 21 to assert people power over money power. Friday the 20th will be "Occupy the Courts" day, with festive and feisty mass protests at dozens of federal courthouses throughout the land. You can find information and a location of an event near you at www.MoveToAmend.org.

Then, on Saturday, the United For The People coalition is coordinating fun and effective actions in dozens of cities to confront various "corporate persons" and rally support for a people's veto of the Supreme Court's democracy-busting edict. There'll be citizens posses, corporate crime scenes, local exposes of corporations posing as "people," music, street theater, etc.

You can join the national action, locally. For ideas, tips, and action kits to help you "do democracy" in your community this coming Friday and Saturday, go to www.United4ThePeople.org.

How to stimulate consumer spending

Jim Hightower — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Bars can get in legal trouble when they over-serve patrons who then get a DUI citation. But what about retail outfits that contribute to SUI – Shopping Under the Influence?

Luxury stores, art galleries, and such have long used booze to stimulate sales. They pour free wine and other libations for their high-end customers, hoping that a lubricated shopper will be less guarded and more willing to reach for that platinum card.

But the New York Times reports that the tactic of getting shoppers buzzed has now gone mass market, especially among on-line retailers. As one of them gleefully put it: "Post-bar, inhibitions can be impacted, and that can cause shopping and, hopefully, healthy impulse buying!" Great – our society has advanced from alcohol-induced sex to alcohol-induced consumerism.

In either case, the morning after can be a downer. Take the guy who quaffed a tub of beer one night. He stumbled home in a stupor and, stupidly, went online. When he awoke, he learned that he'd bought a $10,000 motorcycle tour of New Zealand.

Internet retailers say there's been a boom in night traffic. Asked if boozy buying splurges might be sparking the increase, an eBay executive exclaimed, "Absolutely!" Noting that eBay's busiest sales period in every time zone is 6:30 pm to 10:30, he happily summed up the reason for this: "When [people] get home from work in the evening, it's decompression time. The consumer's in a good mood."

Barack Obama should jump on this. We're told that to get America's economy moving again, consumers need to buy more stuff. Forget trying to pass a stimulus package or a jobs program. To stimulate, inebriate! Just send everyone a credit card, a book of drink coupons, and a list of late-night on-line marketers. Then stand back and wait for the buzz to create a boom.

A people's victory in Montana

Jim Hightower — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Let's hear it for American Tradition Partnership! It's an organization that stands up for the politically dispossessed in our land. It goes to the highest courts to assert the fundamental rights of a minority that's been denied its full voice in America's political and governmental power circles. Yes, American Tradition Partnership is a tenacious advocate for (cue the patriotic music): corporations.

Huh? Despite its grandiose name, American Tradition Partnership is a front group that funnels money from corporations into various political ads attacking candidates whom the corporations don't like – without identifying the corporate backers. Hoping to expand its laundry services for these secret donors, ATP filed suit in Montana to overtrun the state's century-old ban on spending corporate funds in state and local elections. The front group argued that the ban restricts corporate influence over government policies.

Wow. That's so twisted and anti-democratic that it'd make an American eagle scream in pain. But for arrogant corporate elites and their political lackeys, too much is never enough.

The good news is that corporate lackeys don't yet control Montana's Supreme Court. On December 30th, The Court's majority sided with democracy, common sense, and state Attorney General Steve Bullock, who argued for the people of Montana that corporations already have beaucoup ways to assert their oversized political power, without needing to funnel secret money into our elections.

Of course, the front group will now scamper to the corporate-friendly U.S. Supreme Court, pleading with it to stomp on this victory for democracy by overruling the state court. To keep posted on the case and to fight for people power over corporate rule, go to www.FreeSpeechForPeople.org.

Organize for 2012

Jim Hightower — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

At last, a New Year cometh! I say "at last" because, politically, 2011 was a rough ride.

Let me just mention a few of the bigger bumps: non-stop Congressional gridlock, Donnie Trump, the working class depression, Obama's serial surrenders to raw Republican partisanship, Newt Gingrich, the re-emergence of Wall Street's Gordon Gekko arrogance, right-wing governors gone wild, Rick "Oops" Perry, more tax breaks for corporations, Newt Gingrich (again) – and, at year's end, both Sarah Palin and The Donald suggested that they might run for president (which could set up a titanic clash of big hairdos).

Yet, we should not despair about the many political downsides of the old year, for they have prompted a series of very promising uprisings at America's grassroots. Progressives in states like Wisconsin, Ohio, Montana, Colorado, and Mississippi (yes, Mississippi!) scored big gains, and the Occupy Wall Street eruption all across the country has lifted spirits, revitalized grassroots organizing, and put some real "move" in the movement as we head into 2012.

In January, for example, a strong and savvy coalition will mobilize a nationwide campaign for repealing "corporate personhood" and the Supreme Court's infamous Citizens United edict. Also, the rise of the non-corporate economy is booming, with millions of Americans turning to co-ops, credit unions, farmers markets, fair trade shops, and other local enterprises that ordinary people control, not absentee profiteers. Plus, strong, genuinely-populist candidates for the U.S. Senate and House are running next year, including Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, Norman Solomon in California, Ilya Sheyman in Illinois, and Eric Griego in New Mexico.

We have important work to do, so don't moan about 2011 – organize for 2012.

Repeal the farce of "Corporate Personhood"

Jim Hightower — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Powers That Be constantly try to pull the wool over people's eyes, but sometimes the wool blinders are so itchy that people rip them off and clearly see the scam.

To join the rebellion, connect with www.United4ThePeople.org.

Declare independence from corporate power!

Jim Hightower — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

A year from now, Americans will be caught in an unprecedented blizzard of campaign ads.

Most of this ad blizzard will not come from the candidates, but from ads secretly-funded by huge corporations. This is because a five-man cabal on the Supreme Court issued an edict that perverts nature itself. In a case titled Citizens United, the five decreed that – shazam! – lifeless corporate elites are henceforth "persons" with more electioneering rights than us real life persons. In a black-robed coup against our democracy, the Supremes ruled that a corporation's money is "speech" and that CEOs may dump unlimited sums of it into their own ad campaigns to elect or defeat any candidates they choose.

Of course, it's a grotesque, Kafkaesque lie to say that Wal-Mart, Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil, and the rest are people with political rights equal to – much less superior to – human beings. As a friend of mine puts it: "A corporation is not a person until Texas executes one!"

The good news is that real citizens of our country are united against Citizens United. In a January Hart Research poll, 87 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of Independents, and even 68 percent of Republicans favor passing a Constitutional amendment to overule the Court's bizarre decision and make clear that only people are people.

Sadly (though not surprisingly) our national elected officials – including Republicans, Democrats and tea partiers – are too hooked on corporate money to stand up for us... for America's democracy. So, do we just have to surrender to the corporados? Of course not – we're Americans!

Rebel! A new "We the People Campaign" is rallying grassroots folks to sign a "Declaration of Independence From Corporate Power." To sign the declaration and join the action, go to .WeThePeopleCampaign.org.

Gifts that really do keep giving

Jim Hightower — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

I have finally mastered the art of finding perfect gifts for people on my list – gifts that rise above crass commercialism and are genuinely appreciated by the people who receive them. I whole-heartedly recommend such gift-giving to you.

For example, I gave a goat to my mother, Lillie, for her birthday, even naming the animal after her. Although she was raised on a farm, Momma is now in her nineties and really doesn't want to tend to a goat – but she loved getting it. That's because the beloved critter wasn't delivered to her, but to an impoverished family in Nepal that desperately needs the nutritional, economic, and life-affirming benefits that can flow from something as basic as a goat.

Her gift – which indeed will keep giving – was made possible by Heifer International, a terrific charitable organization based in Little Rock that copes with global poverty one animal at a time. Heifer publishes a gift catalogue that lets you and me make a donation and choose to send anything from a flock a baby chicks (for $20) to a water buffalo (for $250). Heifer International then places the animals with families around the world who put these living donations to work, lifting them from abject poverty. Not only does Heifer connect us to specific needs, but it also has teachers and development experts on staff who work directly with the recipients to... well, to make the gifts work.

There are dozens of good groups that offer such "gifts that matter." For example, my Christmas gift to Momma came from the catalogue of The Nature Conservancy. She is now the symbolic "owner" of two acres in Appalachia that are part of the group's conservation efforts.

For her – and for me – this kind of giving is a lot more satisfying (and a lot truer to the spirit of giving) than buying another "thing" that she doesn't need. For information about these groups and more – go to www.charitynavigator.org.

America: a beacon of social justice?

Jim Hightower — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

"USA: We're Number One!"

Oh, wait – Iceland in Number One. But we did beat out Poland and Slovakia, right? Uh... no. But go on down the rankings and... there we are! Number 27, fifth from the bottom. So our new national chant is, "USA: At Least We're Not Last!"

A foundation in Germany has analyzed the social justice records of all 31 members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, ranking each nation in such categories as health care, income inequality, pre-school education, and child poverty rate. The overall performance by the U.S. – which boasts of being an egalitarian society – outranks only Greece, Chile, Mexico, and Turkey. Actually, even three of those countries performed better than ours in the education of pre-schoolers, and Greece did better than the U.S. on the prevention of poverty.

Being at the bottom of the heap in social justice confirms the reality of both economic and political inequality that the Occupy Wall Street movement is protesting. It also helps explain why Occupy's grassroots uprising in America has spread so rapidly to more than 600 communities and has generated such broad public support. After all, our nation is fabulously rich, ranking well ahead of nearly all OECD members in national wealth, so there is no excuse for us sitting at the bottom of the list in education, health care, poverty, and other measures of a democratic and egalitarian society.

Bluntly put, We the People have let today's elites abandon America's founding principles of fairness, justice, and equal opportunity for all. These privileged few have purchased our government, stolen the wealth and economic future of working families, and reduced America to a plastic imitation of the country we thought we had. The Occupy rebellion is long overdue and on target. Join it!

Give a gift that matters

Jim Hightower — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

It wasn't that long ago that the act of "gift giving" didn’t require a maddening trip to Wal-Mart or a desperate online search for this season's must-have toy. Rather, a gift implied something from within, a little piece of yourself, no matter how small, showing you care.

Could that old-fashioned concept possibly become new-fashioned? Yes. With today's working class depression severely restricting the ability of most people to splurge on "stuff," and with the public's rising unwillingness to keep shoveling their money at narcissistic corporate profiteers, a return to a more modest – but also deeper – spirit of gift-giving seems to be spreading. Realizing that buying globalized corporate crap is not really a gift, more and more people are putting their money where their values are. They're buying from local artisans, fair trade merchants, certified sweatshop-free manufacturers, recycling shops, co-ops, farmer's markets, homeless centers, church bazaars, charities, and other sources of the burgeoning non-corporate economy.

And what if you used your gifts as a way to inspire the recipients of your presents to tap into their own generosity? This is surprisingly easy to do. As proposed by a Methodist church group in Austin, Texas, just send a bit of cash to that grandson, niece, mother-in-law, or whomever – on the condition that they must donate the money to a charitable organization of their choosing. Yes, they might very well donate to some group that you don't like, but stimulating the philanthropic impulse in today's self-focused society is itself a radical act. Five dollars, fifty, a hundred, or whatever can make recipients think beyond their own possessions – and that alone is a social advancement.

We can all do our bit to spread the happy notion that the best gifts are not the ones we get, but the thoughtful ones we give.