Comments on: SCOTUS: Citizens United Brings Out The Core Belief Splits From The Bench

By: michtom

michtom — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:42:05 +0000

The essence if imperial power: Do as I say, not as I do.

By: racetoinfinity

racetoinfinity — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:18:57 +0000

I’m in favor of NOT extending more rights to corporations (which are NOT persons, despite the odious 19th century ruling by a U.S. court). The public’s perception that Congress is bought is correct - we need public financing of campaigns; then, every interest group and people would have fairly equal access to getting their messages across.

It will be interesting to see how Glenn Greenwald comes out about all of this. He is a great supporter of the ACLU, which I am, too, except in certain cases like this one. On the other hand, he is fully aware of the corrupting infelunce of big corporate money in our Congress.

By: Teddy Partridge

Teddy Partridge — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:57:22 +0000

Christy, why no quotes from the esteemed Justice Thomas?? *g*

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:45:07 +0000

We need to rethink the warp and weft of that veil when it enables widespread harm.

By: ekunin

ekunin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:04:44 +0000

If you click on my name that takes you to my web site. If that doesn’t work go to http://www.egalite.com

Depending on how much you want, my as yet unpublished book (I self published 25 copies in 1995 and still have some left) is on the site. Be glad to discuss these issues with you. my email is ekunin@att.net

By: DWBartoo

DWBartoo — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:45:31 +0000

Well spoken truth.

Please expound further on your theory, “collective image psychology”, as I’m certain it will find much resonance.

I agree this larger conversation NEEDS to go forward.

I also agree that there appears but little interest in that conversation.

Yet, once begun, such conversation may well develop a “life” of its own.

The time is ripe, ekunin and you are a keen observer of the human “condition”.

I look forward, with considerable delight and anticipation, to your thoughts.

By: jonerik

jonerik — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:37:10 +0000

I once read a law review from the 1930’s or 1940’s which plausibly argued the “conspiracy theory of the 14th amendment” namely that the drafters of the amendment had deliberately chosen the term “person” in the due process clause, as opposed with “citizen” in the Privileges and Immunities Clause because they wanted to extend the due process and equal protection clauses to corporations in the new Union after the Civil War. I don’t buy this because I have read other sources who said a number of drafters were surprised when their use of the term “person” was twisted to mean something other than a human being.

The Supreme Court has never seriously confronted overruling the case of
Santa Clara Co. v. South. Pacific R. Co., 118 U.S. 394, 396 (1886) but several justices have forcefully advocated doing so, like Black and Douglas in their dissent in Wheeling Steel Co. v. Glander, 337 U.S. 562 (1949). It’s probably dreaming to think that could happen but overruling the doctrine that “corporations” are “persons” under the US Constitution would open a new era of justice.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/.....;invol=562

By: Hugh

Hugh — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:29:36 +0000

Beautiful ideas, wonderfully expressed.

By: ekunin

ekunin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:12:59 +0000

Each of us has a theory. I call mine “collective image psychology”, the collective image being our concept of “human nature”. We, generally don’t think much of ourselves. The negative appraisal inspires some to try to distinguish themselves by accumulating money and the things money buys. The rest of us think those with money are “better” and because they are “better” (read “smarter”) we follow their lead gladly. It boils down to my claim that we have literally been driven crazy by inferiority. Nothing anyone does in this life supports a finding of greater or lesser. We all die. There is no hierarchy in the cemetery.

As for participatory democracy, we are not ready at this point in time, but we can create sites on a town by town basis. I suggested putting town’s check books on line as a way to get townspeople to visit the site. Perhaps someone can think of something else that might interest people on a local level. This requires creating the site, servers to carry the site and an advertising budget to let people know the site exists. It’s a large undertaking but we have no alternative other than more of politics as usual.

By: ekunin

ekunin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:55:34 +0000

That’s true to an extent. Circumstances alter cases. Take the case of Halliburton or one of its subsidiaries. They installed faulty electrical systems in bases in Iraq. Supposedly more than 20 servicemen were electrocuted. It should be possible to assign responsibility. Those responsible should be punished. Doesn’t seem like that’s happening. That’s another story.

A legal doctrine “pierces the corporate veil” when the corporate form is used fraudulently. We should think in terms of piercing the corporate veil for other wrongs. I grant it is difficult to assign blame when great effort has been expended to conceal the miscreants. However we work that out, we can’t begin until we see a corporation as the people who operate it.