Declaration of Independence
Our politicians are bought. Everyone knows it. Conservatives know it just as much as liberals do. And libertarians have probably known it all along. The Democrats are bought and the Republicans even more so. They don't represent us. They represent their donors. We have taxation without representation. Our democracy is in serious trouble.
We must regain our ability to make a difference, to have our votes count. Right now, corporate interests and special interests dominate our politics because they can spend unlimited money. Unfortunately, in this current system money speaks louder than words. The pen might be mightier than the sword, but the checkbook is far mightier than the pen. In the congressional races in 2008, the candidate who had more money won more than 93% of the time. Our representatives don't serve us; they serve the people who pay them -- their corporate funders.
So, how can we change that? Well, we can build an army of American citizens willing to fight back against the corporate machines. We can also fight money with money. But we have to concentrate all of our resources into one single attack -- making sure we take corporate money out of politics. Now, you can never stop rich people from spending their own money on their political ideology. But that has happened throughout our history and we have survived that. What has changed in the last 30 years is the power of corporate money, which is nearly unlimited.
Starting in 1978, the Supreme Court opened the spigot to corporate spending in politics. Since then, the average American has seen their wages stagnate and their share of taxes rise significantly, while corporations have seen their tax burden shrink and the top 1% has literally tripled their income. There has been a massive redistribution of wealth in this country. And it's going straight to the top.
There is one answer though. It is the one thing that is above Congress and the Supreme Court -- a constitutional amendment. We must pass an amendment saying that corporations are not people and they do not have the right to spend money to buy our politicians. Corporations have no soul. They are profit-making robots. They are not endowed by their creator with inalienable rights. They are legally created fictions that are charged with maximizing profit without any concern for morality. They can and they must be stopped before they destroy our democracy.
We are not against the existence of corporations, we are only against their ability to buy and control our government. Robots can be useful, but that doesn't mean we should let them run our democracy. We must not allow multinational corporations to infringe upon American sovereignty. This is supposed to be a democracy run by citizens, not by international, unaccountable business and financial interests.
The objective of Wolf Pac will be to raise money and raise an army for the sole purpose of passing this amendment. We need a constitutional revolution. Please join us and help retake our democracy.
28th Amendment
Corporations are not people. They have none of the constitutional rights of human beings. Corporations are not allowed to give money to any politician, directly or indirectly. No politician can raise over $100 from any person or entity. All elections must be publicly financed.
Now, in order to make this amendment a reality, we must take a series of concrete steps. The objective of Wolf Pac is not theory, it is results. We will pass the amendment and we will regain our democracy. Here is how we're going to do it.
We must gather up an a fighting force. We need programmers and organizers and lawyers and leaders. We need this movement to be in all 50 states. So, first we are doing a call for generals in this army. Please write into us and tell us what your expertise is and how you can help. If you can volunteer, great; if you can contribute, great. But we need you no matter what. There is no secret money behind this. There is no profit in it other than for our democracy. That's why this movement must be people powered.
Unfortunately it appears that our Congress is completely infected with the virus. So proposing an amendment through Congress seems hopeless. But luckily there is another way. We can do this purely at the state level. The states can call for a constitutional convention and they can ratify an amendment that comes out of one. And there is nothing our corrupt federal government can do about it.
We are hoping that the first wave of volunteers help us organize at the state level. Let's go occupy the states! Can you imagine all 50 state houses occupied until the people get what they want -- their democracy back! It can happen. You can make it happen. Joint the fight. Now, it's our time. Get up, it's time to get them back.
Follow Cenk Uygur on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheYoungTurks
http://www.telusplanet.net/public/stonedan/QUESTIONS.TXT
4 of the 11 candidates have answered them so far.
The latest answers came on hand written paper. 16 Pages in all. I just videoed them as 4 seperate groupls of 4 pages. The Upload time was 4 hours. I probably could have typed them in quicker. But this was the easiest way.
The Chamber of Commerce format for the Wednesday 26Oct2011 forum is 3 (known) questions answered by the 11 candidates. Then the accredited media. Then maybe the People?? I'm not sure.
We will try and force the issue and have the candidates draw their questions from the HAT of 160
Oh and Corps must die after a life span of 50 years. Just like if you never re-started Monopoly games each day. Newcommers wouldn't have a chance. Otherwise We will forever be enslaved by the Mega Corporations.
1. A constitutional convention can amend ANY part, or rewrite the whole document.
2. Who'd likely be the bright lights of such a convention? -- Gingrich, Rove, Justice Thomas?
3. With luck and effort we might get Obama and Sen. Kerry representing us?
4. Under a rewritten constitution, our lately evolved corporate persons could end up having voting rights proportional to their numbers of employees, or their wealth.
5. They could outlaw ANY abortion, eliminate the interstate commerce clause, dismantle all regulatory agencies, outlaw, child labor laws, minimum wage, national parks, public highways, privatize or outlaw social security, or better still, under the new individual mandate, have your chosen or designated insurer also represent you in Congress, and locally.
5. Endless public opinion polls suggest the "the people" want this or that but somehow their wishes aren't being represented.
The problem is that by the same dynamic, whatever flaw now undermines better representation, it would overwhelmingly come to bear -- the same corrupt media, and influence peddling by the billions, all to influence delegates. .
In the end there is no panacea -- a million sloggers must go door to door, urging complacent people to be more involved.
It is easier and safer to persuade them to vote for better people to represent them. If we can't do that, don't even think about messing with the Constitution.
I support the spirit of your amendment but the wording of it needs work The 3rd and 4th sentences contradict each other: How can elections be entirely publicly financed but also politicians can receive up to $100 per person or entity?
"No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U. S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office."
Yeah - here's the problem with that. Despite the nostrums that most jobs in America are in small business - all the GOOD ones are in the corporate sector.
The kind of change you are asking for will require armed insurrection, and that's not likely to happen.
In order to follow Cenks noble suggestion it would require a herculean effort requiring passage by no less than 2/3 of Congress, the President and be ratified by 2/3 of 35 states. That just isn't going to happen. Better to rally the troops and make another democratic voting surge to take back the House and give the President nearly 70 democratic Senators (same as FDR).
No, not quite.
Vote for the Kucinch Grayson CPC progressive folks in the primaries and the dems in the general.
I don't see why you think the states are less corrupt than the national.
To all the nay-sayers of the OWS movement, you should come to the realization that money has replaced morality in America. Those who have the most money, are the most moral; those with no money are immoral. It explains everything from having people die on the street due to insufficient medical attention, to bankers and CEOs getting away with money laundering and murder.
If you have the capacity to feed the hungry, is it not moral to give them food? If you have the capacity to save a dying man, is it not moral to save him? Why is the first question to be asked "Can they afford it?" Why did that replace your sense of morality?
Money has taken away so much from Americans: Democracy, Dignity, Speech, and Morals.