Thursday, April 28, 2011

VIDEOS OF CORPORATE POWER: THE LEGACY OF SANTA CLARA

April 20, 2011 – Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University, Columbus

Corporate Power - Racial Equality - The Supreme Court
This video features some moments from an event called, "Corporate Power -The Legacy of Santa Clara" that took place on 4/20/2011 at The Ohio State University, Moritz Law School, Saxbe Auditorium. The event was sponsored by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity.
http://www.youtube.com/user/laurenmichellekinsey#p/a/u/2/03yZHZAd_XQ

Corporate Power v. Citizen Representation In Government
Jennifer Brunner, attorney at Brunner Quinn and former Ohio Secretary of State, addressing some of the effects of corporate power on the election process and what we can do about it.
http://www.youtube.com/user/laurenmichellekinsey#p/a/u/1/2OXcmazzUuM

Corporate Power and Unfair Taxation
"The logical consequence leads us to Senate Bill 5, where the budget is ostensibly to be balanced by curtailing human rights of workers, by making them cheaper. This downward pressure and the narrative that supports it comes from a powerful community, it's backed by the Chambers of Commerce, it's backed by the corporate 'persons' that have gained in ascendancy..."
http://www.youtube.com/user/laurenmichellekinsey#p/a/u/0/S6KLYBbEnA4

Monday, April 25, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR April 25-May 1

APRIL 27

2009 – COMMENT BY DICK DURBIN, US SENATOR, ILLINOIS
“And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.”

APRIL 29

1913 – PRINTING IN CONGRESSIONAL RECORD OF 1891 MEMO FROM AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION
"On Sept, 1, 1894, we will not renew our loans under any consideration. On Sept. 1st we will demand our money. We will foreclose and become mortgagees in possession. We can take two-thirds of the farms west of the Mississippi, and thousands of them east of the Mississippi as well, at our own price… We may as well own three-fourths of the farms of the West and the money of the country. Then the farmers will become tenants as in England …"

1947 – DEATH OF IRVING FISHER, PROFESSOR AND ECONOMIST
"Thus our national circulating medium is now at the mercy of loan transactions of banks, which lend, not money, but promises to supply money they do not possess. "

MAY 1

1871 -- KNOX V LEE US SUPREME COURT DECISION
The Supreme Court reversed Hepburn v. Griswold (1870) -- declaring that making paper money legal tender through the Legal Tender Act did not conflict with the US Constitution (Article 1)

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Monday, April 18, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR April 18 - 24

APRIL 20

1868 – BIRTH OF JOHN HYLAN, MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY, 1918-1925
'The real menace of our republic is this invisible government which like a giant octopus sprawls its slimy length over city, state and nation. Like the octopus of real life, it operates under cover of a self created screen....At the head of this octopus are the Rockefeller Standard Oil interests and a small group of powerful banking houses generally referred to as international bankers. The little coterie of powerful international bankers virtually run the United States government for their own selfish purposes. They practically control both political parties."

APRIL 22

EARTH DAY – CREE INDIAN PROVERB
"Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money."

Seems an appropriate quote on this day.

APRIL 23

384 BC – BIRTH OF ARISTOTLE (THE DATE IS UNCLEAR. HE MAY HAVE BEEN BORN ON APRIL 16)
"The most hated sort of wealth getting is usury which makes again out of money itself and not from the natural object of it. For money was intended to be used in exchange, but not to increase at interest. And this term interest, which means the birth of money from money, is applied to the breeding of money...of all modes of getting wealth this is the most unnatural."

"Money exists not by nature but by law."


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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Corporate Power: The Legacy of Santa Clara

Wednesday, April 20 at Noon
Saxbe Auditorium
Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University
55 West 12th Avenue

SPEAKERS

Santa Clara and the 14th Amendment: john a. powell, Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at the Moritz College of Law, and executive director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

Corporate power and elections: Jennifer Brunner, attorney at Brunner Quinn and former Ohio Secretary of State

Corporate power and taxation: Wendy Patton, Senior Associate, Policy Matters Ohio

Corporate power and privatization: Stephen Menendian, Attorney/Senior Legal Research Associate, Kirwan Institute

Moderator: Greg Coleridge, Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee

THE EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Sponsored by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at the Ohio State University

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The Citizens United vs FEC Supreme Court decision in 2010 was NOT the first time the high court ruled that corporations possessed the same constitutional rights (called “corporate personhood”) as human persons . The court has made numerous decisions over the decades establishing and expanding corporate personhood. It began 125 years ago on May 10, 1886 in the Santa Clara vs Southern Pacific RR decision when corporations were granted 14th Amendment equal protection rights. The 14th Amendment was intended to provide equal protection and due process rights solely to freed slaves.

Attend this important forum to learn about what happened, how it happened, the impact of the Santa Clara ruling, and current initiatives in response to expanding corporate constitutional rights.

THIS EVENT IS ONE OF SEVERAL ACROSS THE COUNTRY OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS TO MARK THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SANTA CLARA DECISION.

Monday, April 11, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR April 11 - 17

APRIL 13

1743 – BIRTH OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
“And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”

“Bank-paper must be suppressed, and the circulating medium must be restored to the nation to whom it belongs.”

APRIL 15

1865 – ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
“The Government should create issues, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satify the spending power of the Government and the buying power of the consumers. By the adoption of these principles, the taxpayers will be saved immense sums of interest. The privilege of creating and issuing money is not only the supreme prerogative of the government, but it is the Government's greatest creative opportunity.”

APRIL 17

1790 – DEATH OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
"Experience, more prevalent than all the logic in the world, has fully convinced us all, that paper money has been, and is now of the greatest advantage to the country"


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT — FOR THOSE WHO LIVE IN NORTHEAST OHIO

APRIL 11 (TODAY): Workshop on Public Forum on Democratizing our Money System featuring Stephen Zarlenga, Director, American Monetary Institute, 7 PM, Peace House, 10916 Magnolia Ave., University Circle, Cleveland.

Zarlenga and the American Monetary Institute have worked with Rep. Kucinich on introuducing the National Emergency Employment Defense Act. Details of the April 11 program at http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/ZarlengaFlyer.pdf



Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Unconstitutional jobs law

Letter to the Editor
Published, April 5, 2011
Akron Beacon Journal

The problems with the JobsOhio bill as passed by the Ohio legislature and signed by Gov. Kasich go beyond accountability. More important are issues of democratic authority and constitutionality, as I testified in Columbus.

Permitting state funds to be invested in a private corporation appears to be a direct violation of Article 8, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution, which states, ''The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever.''

The prohibition of using public tax dollars for investments in private companies goes back to the 1837 Ohio Loan Law, nicknamed the Plunder Law, when the state was soaked for $20 million in lousy investments in canal and railroad corporations.

Public pressure resulted in the repeal of the ''plunder law.'' But that wasn't enough. What could be repealed today could be re-enacted tomorrow.

Thus, the democratic, grass-roots pressure to constitutionalize this prohibition — to place it beyond the reach of corporations and compliant public officials — by embedding the prohibition in the 1851 revised state constitution, still in effect.

The legislature and governor may have approved what they constitutionally did not have the authority to grant. I hope there will be a constitutional challenge to what could become Plunder Law II.

Greg Coleridge
Director
Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee
Cuyahoga Falls

Save Our Communities

Save Our Communities: Books Not Bombs, Jobs Not Jails, Families Not Foreclosures
April 15 and 16, Cleveland, Ohio

10 Reasons to Participate in the April 15 and 16 Parade, Evening of Music and Culture, and Community Education/Action Forum:

1. “Flash Mob” Paraders and Possibilitarian Puppet Theater
Join the fun and in-your-face frolicking on Friday, April 15 (Tax Day) of “mobsters” and puppeteers decked out with umbrellas and who knows what else roaming Public Square unleashing their message of bringing war tax dollars home and related themes on unsuspecting Cleveland commuters. No “parading mobster” experience required to participate. If interested, show up to Old Stone Church at 4 PM.

2. Evening of Music and Culture -- Bring Our War Dollars Home!
6PM – 9PM. Old Stone Church, Public Square. Performers include: Ian Heisey, Kate Sopko, Robin Pease-Kerr, Shakka Hasberry, Sue Jeffers, Triage band, Zach. Free! Food. What’s not to like?!

3. Friday Night Mayhem
Between acts at Old Stone Church, get ready for games, quizzes and other educational oddities that show where our tax dollars are spent, should be spent, and could be saved. Learn what you can do to cut military spending and invest in human and environmental 
needs.

4. April 16 Community Education/Action Forum Registration is Now Just 10 Bucks!
Come to Trinity Cathedral for a day of education, action and food (lunch and snacks included). At this price, it’s way more expensive (and boring) to stay home.

5. Bill Fletcher
Fletcher is the April 16 Community Forum keynote speaker. Fletcher is a longtime labor, racial justice and international activist. He’s the executive editor of The Black Commentator web magazine and founder of the Center for Labor Renewal, the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum , a national non-profit organization that organizes, educates and advocates for justice for the peoples of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. He is also a founder of the Black Radical Congress and a senior scholar for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. Fletcher is the co-author of Solidarity Divided, The Crisis in Organized Labor and A New Path Toward Social Justice. He was formerly the vice president for international trade union development at the AFL-CIO’s George Meany Center. He also served as education director and assistant to the president of the AFL-CIO.

6. Workshops. Workshops. Workshops.
The Community Forum will have 3 sessions devoted to education and action workshops. Topics include foreign policy, military spending, poverty reduction, foreclosures, criminal justice, monetary reform, peace in the Middle East, nonviolence, street actions, campaign organizing, and more.

7. Meet New People
There will be ample opportunities to meet new people both Friday and Saturday from different places with different interests and experiences.

8. Taking Action
Save Our Communities isn’t about shooting the breeze. It’s about taking action for change – building social movements and putting pressure on our elected representatives at the federal and state level. There will be multiple offerings for every person to act in whatever way(s) they feel comfortable.

9. These events are the places to be at on Tax Day weekend!
Send a message that it’s time to have sane and humane federal and state budget priorities that help people, communities and the environment.

10. To gain more tools to be more effective leaders.
The truth is the politicians and corporate CEOs aren’t going to lead the way for changing our budget priorities. When have they ever? It has to be us. That means coming together and developing our visions and plans for the change we want to see.

ATTEND FRIDAY NIGHT PARADE AND MUSICIAL/CULTURAL EVENTS

REGISTER FOR SATURDAY COMMUNITY FORUM. Register at http://peaceactioncleveland.org/registration

COMPLETE APRIL 15-16 INFORMATION: http://peaceactioncleveland.org/april15

QUESTIONS: email saveourcommunitiesforum@gmail.com

See you on April 15 and 16!

Monday, April 4, 2011

MONETARY HISTORY CALENDAR April 4 - 10

APRIL 4

1883 – DEATH OF PETER COOPER, US INDUSTRIALIST, PHILANTHROPIST (FOUNDED COOPER UNION) AND GREENBACK CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
The substitution of greenbacks for National bank notes will make a uniform currency of money A greenback legal tender is to the full as much real money as a gold legal tender the only difference being that as many nations make gold a legal tender there is more demand for it than for paper legal tenders which have the sovereign stamp of only one Government. The substitution of greenbacks for National bank notes would have the bounty now paid to banks which being invested as a sinking fund would in less than thirty years pay off the whole debt of the country.

APRIL 5

1764 – BRITISH PARLIAMENT PASSES CURRENCY ACT PROHIBITING COLONIES FROM PRINTING THEIR OWN MONEY
As early as 1723, the colony of Pennsylvania showed that it was possible for money to be issued by the government in the place of taxes without causing inflation. Money was printed and circulated there and elsewhere. No taxes needed to be collected in PA from 1723 to the 1750’s as a result. The Bank of England pressured the British Parliament to pass the Currency Act. Benjamin Franklin believed that passage of the Act caused poverty and triggered the Revolutionary War.

APRIL 10

1816 – CHARTER APPROVED FOR INCORPORATING THE SECOND NATIONAL BANK OF THE UNITED STATES
As with the earlier Bank of the United States, the Second National Bank of the United States was private with many of the largest investors foreigners and those representing great wealth. Congress chartered (licensed) the bank for 20 years. It’s worth remembering that corporate charters are democratic tools once used by sovereign people (that would be We the People) to control and define corporate actions. As a result of bank practices geared to serving the interests of banks/bankers, (including limiting the issuance of money into the economy – which triggered economic stagnation) President Jackson pledged that the bank would not be issued a new charter. Without a charter – which provides those forming corporations certain legal protections (then and now) – corporations cannot exist.


SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT — FOR THOSE WHO LIVE IN NORTHEAST OHIO

APRIL 11 (Monday): Workshop on Public Forum on Democratizing our Money System featuring Stephen Zarlenga, Director, American Monetary Institute, 7 PM, Peace House, 10916 Magnolia Ave., University Circle, Cleveland. Zarlenga will discuss how the public can regain control of our money system.

Our money system is run by financial institutions, not We the People. The vast majority of money in our society is created as debt (via loans) by banks and other financial institutions that must be repaid with interest when it could be created debt- and interest-free by the government as stipulated in the Constitution. A federal bill introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich would “democratize” our money system and in the process reduce US debt and create jobs (re)building our nation’s infrastructure. Interest- and debt-free money called “Greenbacks” was created during the Lincoln administration in the 1860’s. It’s time to create a democratic money system again.

Zarlenga will discuss the status of the Kucinich bill in the new Congress and what we can do to help raise awareness about it.

FREE and Open to the Public

Event flyer at http://www.afsc.net/PDFFiles/ZarlengaFlyer.pdf

Text of Kucinich bill in last Congress: http://www.monetary.org/hr6550bill.pdf

SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE AND CLEVELAND COMMITTEE ON CORPORATONS, LAW & DEMOCRACY

More information, 330-928-2301, gcoleridge@afsc.org

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Why this calendar? Many people have questions about the root causes of our economic problems. Some questions involve money, banks and debt. How is money created? Why do banks control its quantity? How has the money system been used to liberate (not often) and oppress (most often) us? And how can the money system be “democratized” to rebuild our economy and society, create jobs and reduce debt?
Our goal is to inform, intrigue and inspire through bite size weekly postings listing important events and quotes from prominent individuals (both past and present) on money, banking and how the money system can help people and the planet. We hope the sharing of bits of buried history will illuminate monetary and banking issues and empower you with others to create real economic and political justice.
This calendar is a project of the Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. Adele Looney, Phyllis Titus, Donna Schall, Leah Davis, Alice Francini and Greg Coleridge helped in its development.
Please forward this to others and encourage them to subscribe. To subscribe/unsubscribe or to comment on any entry, contact monetarycalendar@yahoo.com For more information, visit http://www.afsc.net/economiccrisis.html