"WE Have to Bring Corporate America to its Knees"

[chlamor]

Pay attention here people. Read this article. Let's stop the bloodletting. This is not play time.

<snip>
As Harry Belafonte said, "We have got to bring corporate America to its knees". I'll take that thought one step farther, we have to bring down all the world's corporations who buy off neocon governments in service to their insatiable greed, particularly the warmongers; the makers of weapons. We can do this. It is well within our abilities to accomplish this but the people of the world must understand who the real enemy is and work together to defeat it.

The Iraqi people's anti-occupation army has mounted blistering attacks upon American occupation forces, exercising their right to defend themselves from murderers and theives. The Vietnamese people were able to repel such an attack decades ago, so there is hope for Iraq. But at what price to the Iraqi people? I am not suggesting the Iraqis should not defend themselves, I am suggesting the Iraqis should not HAVE to defend themselves. They should never have been attacked in the first place. If you look at the history of some of my American Indian ancestors, you will realize the historical significance of the attack upon Iraq. It is always the same and it has been going on forever. Historically, people and countries all over the world experience the same atrocities.

Ultimately, for good or ill, we cannot defeat this, our greatest enemy, the destroyer of the world, with violence. We have tried and we have failed. We win the battles, they win the war. Corporations and their worldwide "governments" are stronger and more destructive then ever. They have bigger guns and more of them. If we are to survive, we must change our response. We have to bleed them to death; which is slower but just as fatal; and it is the only way.

I know you don't want to hear this, but Ghandi showed us how. Martin Luther King showed us how. That is why they were murdered; assassinated because they were showing the people the way to win this deadly game. If another great leader should come forward to show us the way, they too will be murdered. We, the people of the world are going to have to do this essentially without leaders. We must talk to each other, spread the word amongst ourselves and over the net. We must learn and teach each other the truth and take the actions necessary to reclaim our heritage, our cultures, countries and our very lives and the lives of our children and theirs.

http://www.uruknet.info/?p=11471&hd=0&size=1&l=x

[knowbody0]

1. the Candi way. the MLK way

with our economy in the pits, the corporate cheese are stuffing their pants with $ from out sourcing, eliminating medical and dental, reducing wages, stomping out unions...and they get the tax breaks. it is insanely profane.
we the people of the world is indeed the way in which we must collectively bargain. for the greater good.

[H2O Man]

27. I agree.

Gandhi and King offered the best avenue to social justice. And there has never in the history of humanity been a better time to follow their directions.

[Gold Metal Flake]

2. Now why should we do that?

I mean, don't we need more stuff?

Wanna fight Bushco? Don't buy new stuff.

Well, except food. Used food is no bargain, take it from me.

You know, it would be easier if the population at large lived in closer community cells. That way, they can depend on each other, practice barter, and so reduce their independance on corporate food, clothing and whatever suppliers.

Anyway, cut buying from large corporate sources wherever possible.

I have never owned a new car in my life, and probably never will.

How about suggestions on cutting, say, five dollars a day from funds transfer from the people to the corporate devils.

[Miss Chybil]

15. I've started making our bread. It's a small thing, but at $3.00 a loaf,

it makes a difference. I've started a small garden and if I lived where I could have a chicken and a cow, I'd do that. I try to buy from small businesses, but there really aren't many left. I stay away from chain restaurants and I've cut back on my driving.

I found a website the other day that might have something going. However, I haven't looked into it too much. http://www.buyblue.org I'll look at it more seriously after finals.

I really don't know what else to do. I watched The Corporation the other day and got pretty bummed. So, say we could do something to corporations what would that accomplish? I mean what is the goal? I just don't see them going away and I like a lot of the products and services they offer. What is success when it comes to dealing with these Goliaths? Are there certain corporations to target? What do we want from them? Does our success put people out of work?

I'm trying to learn to live in a way that does the least harm to the earth and the beings I share the earth with. It's hard, but I do know I don't NEED all of the things I've been trained to believe I need. I'm not an outsider, though, either. I want to live and function within the society of which I'm a part. I wish there was just some sort of blueprint. Some sort of thing that says, "This is the best way to spend your time here, doing the least amount of damage possible. These are the good guys and these are the bad guys. Buy these things and not those things." Of course, I wouldn't agree with everything on the list, but it would be a starting point.

[Occulus]

26. Ending corporate personhood is what we must do.

Corporations are treated as persons under the law. This doctrine is largely based on headnotes from a SCOTUS decision from around the turn of the last century (said headnotes, by the way, are not supposed to carry force of law or establish any legal precedent). Basically, it amounted to a declaration of the King.

The corporate argument went that since the slaves, once considered property, were now elevated to the status of a 'whole person', corporations must also be treated as such. They were tired of the status of 'artificial person' and wanted more- namely, the same rights you and I enjoy.

The pivotal case was a tax case involving fees and taxes of a track owned by Southern Pacific Railway Co. in Santa Clara County, CA. The SCOTUS of the day apparently said something to the effect that it would hear no arguments regarding the status of corporations as persons; it was their opinion that that is what they were.

Persons.

(As an aside, an examination of the connections between the SCOTUS of that time and the railway industry yields some, shall we say, interesting information. It's also my understanding that the clerk who wrote those fateful headnotes was himself a former railway official, but I could be wrong about that little detail.)

It is telling that, in the preceding decades, corporations had been trying very hard to get that status- mostly so they could escape public control. Where we are now is the end result: the American corporation spans the globe and has the legal power to in effect act with impunity. They exercise their unimaginably massive pools of money against common people all over the world by simply outspending any legal challenges. They run roughshod over local communities, and they can, because natural persons can live anywhere, so why can't they? Restricting this "right" would, so they claim, be an unconstitutional infringement upon their "right" to freely travel.

At the same time they do these things, they employ us to do their work for them, thereby guaranteeing that we will not even try to stop them. They'll close down that location (which they can afford to do, since they "live" in many states) and open one in a place more favorable (read: cowed and afraid of job losses) to their bottom line.

They make their good overseas for pennies and then ship them here to be sold for tens of dollars. That's a hell of a profit margin. Good for them, but they have no souls or consciences and thus cannot care about the welfare of their workers. They bitterly resent public action to force them to do so, and fight tooth and nail each and every public law on the ballot that would impede their collection and centralization of wealth at any and all costs.

Look at EnronTycoKmartArthurAndersenWorldcom. Look at what WalMart is doing to our communities.

End corporate personhood. Force corporations to pay a living wage, or get their charters revoked.

They are not persons. They deserve no rights. Only priveleges.

Which we can revoke on a whim.

Period.

[Imperialism Inc.]

32. An interesting side-note.

Adam Smith's worst nightmare was exactly that. That corporations (joint stock companies) would gain the rights of people. In fact, this right-wing icon would most likely be horrified at most of our economic system, including powerful centralized banks and weak protections for labor.

[Miss Chybil]

36. Ok. I understand the goal, but how are we going to do that. It's like

going against "The Matrix." Isn't it too late? They own everything, including our government.

[Just Me]

39. It's NEVER too late, ever.

"They" only "own" everything due to cooperation of people to play their game.

We just,...quit their game,...and play our own.

Our game supports new and small businesses, cuts back on unnecessary/excessive consumption, takes a stand for civil and human and workers' rights, opposes "profiteering off people".

OUR GAME advances the best interests of ALL OF US. We just decide,...to play OUR GAME.

[Protagoras]

24. Agree you have to start somewhere...

But sometimes, in order to start something you have to have a different amount of juice. I'm afraid we're trying to start a deisel engine with a AAA Battery here. It just isn't enough. Sure, it lets us feel a sense of moral superiority...but it simply isn't enough.

We need high profile, chrismatically lead, well articulated, leadership. We need access to large masses of people. We need an active plan that can catch the public imagination.

Otherwise we're just dismissed as some minor demographic. Hmmm 7 billion people, and the Corporations are able to bilk 6.5 billion of them?

I agree with all your acts of personal responsiblility because I think they are right and smart practices. I just don't think they're going to be our primary mechanism for real social change.

[G_j]

3. why do you think

the Darth Vader troops appear when the people protest the FTAA/WTO/IMF/World Bank etc.?

it's the heart of the beast

[chlamor]

4. Tell me what you think

the very first thought that entered my head when the Towers went down was 'Seattlle'. I don't know why but that thought just came screaming into me. I suspect now I am in the LIHOP camp but on some days... Anyway at the time the anti-globalization rallies were shocking the world. They fizzled after 9-11 and I got to thinkin' That the Great Globalizers just couldn't let Genoa-Seattlle continue to build momentum. The thought still haunts me.

How to assasinate a worldwide movement?

[G_j]

7. I have heard that idea before

it maybe be part of a bigger picture, or a fringe benefit so to speak, that 9/11 took the air out of the Global Justice/Anti-Globalization movement.
But things were really beginning to heat up before that.
I protested at the IMF/World bank meetings in '99.
I was stunned at the amount of riot troops, military, helicopters etc.
and this was before 9/11. At that point I knew with out a doubt we were on to something.

[Amy6627]

5. Great post and I agree with you 10,000%! Corporations

are the root of all evil. When I say Corporations I mean multinational, publicly traded corps. They have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. From politics to our culture. I recommend everyone read Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann. He lays out very clearly the problems and ways to fight back. Also the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom, and Reclaim Democracy are wonderful resources for this cause, Abolish Corporate Personhood.

WIPF - http://wilpf.org/campaigns/ccp/default.htm

Reclaim Democracy - http://reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/

I totally agree that this needs to be a grassroots effort. We ALL must do what we can locally. We need to tie this issue to everything we can to spread awareness.

There is a great movie The Corporation out on DVD. They are promoting house parties with the film. I am having a house party in my town on May 21st. http://thecorporation.com/

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AuntiBush]

11. Thank you for those great links!

Especially "Reclaim Democracy." Can't discuss it out here at this time, but it's a very personal issue for me right now... corp lawyers w/strong ties to Gov't & $$$ Biz!

P.S. Going to get "The Corporation" and have a house party this spring! Double thanks for the reminder.

[mogster]

17. The Corp. is a great movie

Watched it on telly last year - a real eye opener.

[Protagoras]

30. Everyone should watch The Corporation

One of the lessons in it that really needs to be looked at more strongly is the seed revolution. It wasn't just planting seeds though that make the difference. It was Civil Disobedience that is/was required.

And perhaps even more reactionary measures when GMO's are deliberately introduced to infect the renegae seed savers in order to contaminate the natural seeds with suicide genes. It's gonna get ugly.

[leftofthedial]

8. we don't need to destroy them

we just need to regulate the hell out of them

and make them pay for the damage they have done.

Also, individuals are to blame more than the actual corporations.

[chlamor]

9. They cannot be regulated

they own the regulators. A purge and a renewal of our commonality is essential for our survival. There is nothing redeeming about a corporation-the intent was always to takeover, to keep the King alive for eternity.

Individuals need to take responsibility as well but most are spellbound by the cheap toys of Empire.

[leftofthedial]

13. coal miners didn't destroy the coal companies

they unionized.

Corporations have become a force for evil, but don't throw the baby out with the bath.

[chlamor]

18. Address the problem at the roots

Unions-which I support-are a necessary evil due to the abuses of corporate robber barons.
Eliminate the corporation and have the workers run the show. Corporations are just exploitative leeches that suck the labor out of the workers.

The corporations aren't a baby they are vampires. Throw them out and the cesspool of bathwater that they have created.

[leftofthedial]

19. and organize the economy with what?

[chlamor]

20. Elaborate

At present and historically the misnamed 'America' has never had an Economy (Household Stewardship) it has been run by Oligarchs by the mandates of financial (capital) arrangements. The corporate entity is merely the natural extension and codification of the industrial processes. It is the 'legitimizing' of slavery.

Collectives

[leftofthedial]

22. where do the collectives come from?

why wait? Why not form some key strategic collectives now, for example, a collective that could develop transportation technology to globally replace petrochemical-based automobiles? Or perhaps one to provide non-corporate high-bandwidth communications to every home in America?

I hate corporatism too. I consider myself a collectivist. But I am dubious that a scorched-earth approach to corporations would do so much harm in the short term that we wouldn't survive. I'm also dubious that collectivism can work on a large enough scale to solve problems or deliver products that are affordable or that work globally. It also would be difficult to bring collectives on-line rapidly enough to replace the corporations your approach would necessarily have to destroy quickly.

[chlamor]

23. Argentina

as case study. I hear what your saying about the dissolution of Corps too quickly and wonder if there isn't alot of fear (and fear is not always bad/weak/invalid) in all of our bones since the CORP (Father Figure) has been "taking care of us" in an abusive manner and we are nervous about establishing our own community identities. Any way they won't be eliminated overnight it is a long disentanglement that occurs through the course of everyday lives.

[MXMLLN]

34. What's the difference between a corporation and a collective ? n/t

[me b zola]

10. The 'ownership society"

The US has a long history of people rising up against their "owners". The Molly Maguires are an early labor rights/anti corporate group that secured rights for workers.

But in the meantime, we buy very little and are constantly working to become more self-sustaining. We must look to community business rather than corporate business, and we must spread the word. A part of 'dumping' corporate America means also that we must vote out people like Finestein (CA) whose allegiance is to defense contracts & big-business.


Great thread, thank you.

[G_j]

12. did anyone see "Life and Debt"?

a great film! I rented the DVD a while ago so it is available.
highly recommended: http://www.lifeanddebt.org/

[understandinglife]

14. MNA 1608: Day 2 of MissionNOTAccomplished

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3588644&mesg_id=3588644

Peace.


www.missionnotaccomplished.us -- "We The People" have begun

[OneBlueSky]

16. American presidents since Jefferson have been warning us . . .

about corporations and their accumulation of power . . . it's time we started listening . . .

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." Thomas Jefferson

"There is an evil which ought to be guarded against in the indefinite accumulation of property from the capacity of holding it in perpetuity by... corporations. The power of all corporations ought to be limited in this respect. The growing wealth acquired by them never fails to be a source of abuses. It's one of the reasons why the word "corporation" doesn't exist in the constitution - they were to be chartered only by states, so local people could keep a close eye on them." James Madison, Father of the Constitution

"In this point of the case the question is distinctly presented whether the people of the United States are to govern through representatives chosen by their unbiased suffrages or whether the money and power of a great corporation are to be secretly exerted to influence their judgment and control their decisions." Andrew Jackson

"I am more than ever convinced of the dangers to which the free and unbiased exercise of political opinion - the only sure foundation and safeguard of republican government - would be exposed by any further increase of the already overgrown influence of corporate authorities." Martin van Buren

"As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety than ever before, even in the midst of war. God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless." Abraham Lincoln

"As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters." Grover Cleveland

"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day." Theodore Roosevelt

“The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, IS Fascism.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Dwight David Eisenhower

get involved . . .

ReclaimDemocracy.org --
Reclaiming Citizen Authority Over Corporations
http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/

[Cleita]

21. So let's start with Clear Channel, the Rupert Murdoch

media empire, including Fox. Bringing down any corporation that brings us entertainment news should be first. They are the major cause of Bush still being in office. If we had an honest press, Bush would have been impeached after 9-11 for being asleep on the job. Is there any way to bring a class action suit against them for a faulty or fake product?

[Al-CIAda]

25. But they are ALREADY on their knees sucking PNAC/Bushco cock. -n/t

[earth mom]

28. Great thread-keep it Kicked! nt

[Amy6627]

29. We need to unite and fight CAFTA!

The corporate campaign contributors pushing for this further the decimation of our manufacturing economy have as their true and only agenda global domination at the expense of working people everywhere. Since the last election Congress has accomplished absolutely nothing but turn every day into Christmas for the corporate special interests that exploit us all, while they evade taxes by moving their operations offshore. But the power of our voices speaking out together can turn the tide on this one too.

http://www.usalone.com/cafta.htm

[inanna]

31. I nominated this for the greatest page

I'm surprised it hasn't received more votes.

*Edited to correct spelling.*

[Zorra]

33. I could not agree more! DU's Economic Activism Forum:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=255

Also, the old "Starve the Beast" thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=2600099&mesg_id=2600099

[donheld]

35. What do you know about this source?

It looks interesting


uruknet.info
ÇæÑæßäÊ.ÅäÝæ

[Zorra]

37. kick

[Just Me]

38. That is an intense read!!!!

Strangely, the story presented in the first several paragraphs almost parallels a parable present in the rejected scriptures of Thomas which stuck in me.

The proposal that "the people" (that would be all of us) CAN take back their power via well-coordinated, persistent and courageous actions,...IMHO is TRUE. We must look past the suffering that the corporate beast will wreak in desparate clawing to maintain power over us,...and focus on making real that which we value (and has been falsely marketed to us by those who care nothing for us or the values they use as manipulative carrots).

We are all a member of one race,...the human race. We all want to co-exist peacefully, with dignity and respect, and walking together toward that future that NONE of us can predict, but can shape, TODAY.

[chlamor]

40. 9 Theses Against Corporate Rule

9 Theses Against Corporate Rule

1. STOP BUYING OUR GOVERNMENT. Fire all lobbyists and stop those secret deliveries of Cuban cigars. Citizenship is the primary American institution. Corporations are not voters.

2. STOP FETISHIZING GROWTH. Expansion every quarter? And who are these all-powerful share-holders. Gamblers hiding in smoked-glass Benz SUVs? The earth's idea of growth is a sustainable economy: Use that model.

3. STOP COLONIZING OUR NEIGHBORHOODS. We know now that the seige by chain stores is another fundamentalist strategy. If the same logos circle us where-ever we go - do you think that this "anywhere-all-the-time" is the Promised Land?

4. STOP SELLING OUR THOUGHTS. You capture our unguarded remarks and ship them overnite to a fluorescing big box where they're sold as frozen mottos. Know this: We are actual citizens; we will take back our language.

5. STOP SELLING THE LIVES OF THE POOR FOR NOTHING. As you bind children to sweatshops and plantations, we'll make mischief in your stores as their proxy. Globalization is not really global after all; it is personal.

6. STOP DEMONIZING PEACE WORKERS. How long will you get away with casting people who want peace as violent? The old Orwellian switcheroo will not work when millions of us walk away from the consensual hypnosis of corporate marketing.

8. STOP PRIVATIZING PUBLIC SPACE. If you tell three happy gossipers on the corner to "move on," if you kill the indy businesses and shutter Main Street, if you bulldoze community gardens and turn Times Square into Las Vegas East - remember that we carry our commons within us and will break your surveillance lens with our shouts.

9. SAY HELLO. We are not polling trends, focus groups, or inventory units. And you, the corporation, you are not one person. When you pretend to be one citizen with Constitutional protections, you systematicly attack the freedoms of real citizens. Break your company down into its human beings. Human beings can share power and notice the impact of wars and pollution. Leave the logo behind. Find the old gift.

http://stopshoppingmonitor.journurl.com/index.cfm/mode/article/entry/888/

[DearAbby]

41. excellent thread of ideas and thoughts...Keep it kicked and on front page

for more ideas and encouragement.