The Real IRS Scandal
Only about 12 percent of S&P 500 companies voluntarily disclose at least some of the so-called "dark money" contributions they make to 501c(4)s. There's no excuse for congressional Republicans or Democrats failing to plug this loophole by requiring full disclosure by all corporations and individuals of all their political spending.
Robert Reich

What's Going On?

Our Duluth Area Move To Amend has made a survey that we are providing to area groups, and individuals, in our effort to help everyone focus their attention on the problem of Citizens United. Please contact me if you would like to have one of those surveys for your group. We are trying our best to work together with as many issue focused groups as possible. The 2010 Supreme Court decision entitled "Citizens United" reinforced attempts by some Mega-corporations to take over our economy, and our democracy. Those corporations are focused on the single purpose of "profits", to the detriment of "people". Below is a list of interest areas that are being dramatically affected by corporations being able to use their money as people use their "Freedom of Speech' and by corporations being legally defined as a person. These interest areas include:
Corporate Personhood
Student Debt
Health Care Acess
Democracy
Wal-mart
Corporate Media
ALEC
TPP
The Military/Industrial Complex
People wanting background checks for individual wanting to purchase their guns online and at gun shows.
Tar Sands
Monsanto
Fracking
Austerity
Public Banks
Goldman Sachs
Popular Resistence

Let me know if you would like me to go into more detail about any one of the topics above or on any other topic that is not listed. Also, let me know if you would like to know where, besides Move To Amend, you could go to get more information on any of these concerns.https://movetoamend.org/

THE DEMOCRACY CONVENTION - FINAL REPORT

Madison, Wisconsin

This will be my last report from our Madison, Wisconsin Democracy Convention.
Overall, it was a very invigorating experience. It was great to connect some Facebook friends to people I have come to know. Most every workshop was targeted and the people presenting knew what they were aiming for. It was good to know that we have dozens of alliances, dozens of collaborative efforts taking place. I do have one suggestion for everyone attending. I think we should quite being so damned realistic! I think this is a true for me, for other participants, but in particular, yes even you David Cobb, of those in leadership positions. We don't need you to be realistic. It wouldn't have helped for NASA and President John F. Kennedy, when they contemplated going to the moon. It wouldn't have helped for our soldiers as then attacked the beaches of Normady, nor for David against Goliath, and it wouldn't have helped for Herb Brooks, and our 1980 Winter Olympic hockey team of amateurs, against the professional Russian hockey players, and it won't help for Move To Amend against the Mega-corporations of the world. We need you to be, we expect you to be, unrealistic!
As Alice Hoffman said: "Once you know something, you can not unknow it. It's a burden that can not be given away." People who know something, and fail to act, are just as much an activist as those who carry signs and openly protest….perhaps even more effectively! We are at the point where we are in our country because we, others, have been too realistic, too willing to sit on the sidelines. If we get too realistic, we run the chance of being marginalized by the very mega-corporations we are trying to influence. We run the risk of being seen as some radical group, just as Mega-corporations were willing to marginalize the Take Down Wall Street group in many cases.
We still have our voices. We still have the ballot boxes. We have to, selectively, throw out those who are not willing to cooperate. Move To Amend is for the sake of clean air, clean water, good, uncontaminated, whole food, and accessible health care and a more peaceable world. It sounds like a conservative, simple, demand. Move To Amend is for the sake of our children and grand children. We the people, not "We the Mega-corporations", can make it happen.

THE DEMOCRACY CONVENTION - DAY 5

The following is a synopsis of the "Using WILPF Corporate Personhood Timeline and Study Guide as an Education Tool".  Marybeth Gardham led the discussion on building connections to various faith communities and using WILPF national coalitions to form a powerful collaboration that will accelerate progress towards a meaningful, and effective amendment.  The best way to check out what WILPF is all about is by going to their website at: 

http://www.wilpfinternational.org/

They encourage you to:  "Don't be a bystander!"

They epitomized Alice Hoffman's quote: "Once you know something, you can not unknow it.  It is a burden that can never be given away."

People who know something, but fail to act, are just as much of an activist as those who are carrying protest signs……those who fail to act are, perhaps, even more effective, in their inaction, than those of us who consider ourselves activists.  Their inactivity, the inactivity of those who know better, has led us to where we are today.

Fellow WILPF member, activist, and WILPF founder, Jan Edwards, wrote the following words to be sung to the Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land".  It works well to play Woody Guthrie in the background while you sing out:

The Personhood Song 

by Jan Edwards 

(Sung to the tune of “This Land is Your Land”) 

Chorus: 

I am a person, you are a person, 

With flesh and blood and with mind and conscience. 

The corporation is not a person. 

That word belongs to you and me. 

They rape and plunder the world’s resources, 

Destroying forests and killing wildlife. 

The corporation must turn a profit, 

Trampling over you and me. 

They dump big money into elections, 

Buying our Congress and legislatures. 

The corporation a legal fiction, 

Now has more rights than you and me. 

The Robber Barons bought off the judges 

To give them rights in the Constitution. 

Who said the courts had the right to do that? 

That job belongs to you and me. 

The First Amendment protects our freedom 

Of free expression and of religion. 

The corporations have gone and stole it. 

Those rights belong to you and me. 

The Fourth Amendment requires warrants 

For search and seizure; but corporations 

Evade the health codes and regulations 

And environmental laws. 

Whenever Wal-Mart destroys a Main Street 

And all the people rise up in protest, 

The corporate cries of “Discrimination!” 

Override democracy. 

If “We the People” are truly sovereign 

And rule the country through our elections, 

Then we must take back from corporations 

Rights that were meant for you and me.

I am a person, you are a person, 

With flesh and blood and with mind and conscience. 

The corporation is not a person. 

That word belongs to you and me.

That word belongs to you and me. 

This workshop/seminar ended with the singing of the above song.

DAY 2 - Friday Afternoon

Which side are you on?  How can we be successful at helping people realize that they are taking a position, taking a stand, being an activist, whether they become very active or if they chose to do nothing at all. Once we know something, we cannot unknow it.  We all have a responsibility once we become aware of a problem, an issue.  We are only innocent, if ignorant.  Here is a list that I made based on the response of  experts in education, politics, finance, the military,  and industry to the question:  “How can we be successful at helping people decide which side they are on?”

1.      We must look back.  We must build our vision, based on what we have learned and where we have been, to learn where we want to go.  Education is the key to learning where we stand.

2.      We should help people understand that they cannot believe the rhetoric from Mega-corporations, that Mega-corporations are, too often, only motivated by why gives them the most profits.

3.      We must help individuals connect the dots.  Our society must have a plan so that our citizens have a plan for our people, our environment, our peace, and our planet.

4.      We must help people understand that, often times, good things for people can also save money.  Healthy people, focusing on wellness, using emergency rooms appropriately, can save billions of dollars.

5.      We the people must act but, if we do not act, we must understand that we are acting just the same.  We are all taking sides on the important issues.

6.      We must help keep the voting process honest and open so that people feel the power they have at the ballot box.

7.      We must unite, align, with like-minded individuals and groups.  Education is our key.  People must understand that they have the power to change things that they don’t like.  Solidarity can move mountains.

8.      We must help our young people feel supported.  Older people must help younger people understand that it was not the people who broke the current situation.  Mega-corporations have been successfully changing our election process, our legal system, and our laws to benefit themselves to the detriment of the people.

9.      We must understand that our government no longer has the people’s best interest at heart.  It has been contaminated, and over taken, by the Mega-corporate element of the world.

10.   We have to understand that we don’t have a money problem, we have a priority problem.

11.   We must use local government to stand up to bigger, Mega-corporations, and bigger government.

THE DEMOCRACY CONVENTION - DAY 4

The following was a highlight from onE of yesterday's workshops/symposiums, entitled "Engaging State Legislatures in Move To Amend", delivered by Lee Ketelson, Kaja Rebane, and Mark Halvorson. They did a wonderful job of helping attendees understand how to best tackle working with your state legislators. It includes tips from former Representative Bill Hilty. Here is a top ten list of what to, from that seminar (This list is, stricktly, my interpretation of what transpired) :

THE TOP TEN THINGS MOVE TO AMEND MEMBERS SHOULD DO TO BEST ENGAGE THEIR STATE LEGISLATURE!

1. Carefully choose who your chief author is.

2. Develop a solid relationship with the majority, minority leadership, and all committee chairs.

3. Know your opposition so you are prepared to address the points that may, or may not arise.

4. Know what your bottom line is. Especially those who are not supportive of your position will surely, explore that line.

5. Know your organizational strengths, and weaknesses, as that will help you develop your bottom line and help you know what you can, or cannot, threaten/cajole to those legislators you are working with.

6. Be strategic about picking your partnerships as not to step on the toes of fellow oranizors and fellow members.

7. Don’t take our supporters for granted. "Thank you's", and repeated "thank you's", of your legislators, and fellow members will pay dividends in the end.

8. List your access to your legislators so that it can be shared with fellow members.

9. Know that legislators almost always make up their minds before the committee hearings and committee votes. Spending time, effort, and money, aligning people to address committee meetings may be better spent before those hearings and meetings.

10. In person contact is best. Remember that the time and effort you take in addressing our legislator, the more impact you will have. Robin and Laird Monahan (Robin Monahan attend this session) gained tremendous capital due to the time and effort the put into their efforts. Personal letters are better than emails but every contact can be the contact that made the difference.

The spirit of Bill Hilty was called upon several times during this session. Bill's favorite quote was read, and discussed: "Once you know something, you can not unknow it. It is a burden that can never be given away." That is a quote from Alice Hoffman that emphasizes that people who know something, and fail to act, sit on their hands, are just as much of an activist, through their inactivity, as those who carry signs in protest…perhaps they are even more effective!

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?     CITIZENS UNITED    WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

This is the best introduction of what the Citizens United discussion is all about. Move To Amend is a multi-partisan response to Citizens United. Republican John McCain believes that " Citizens United is the worst decision by our Supreme Court, ever." President Obama believes that "Citizens United is the worst Supreme Court decision in decades.

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-citizens-united-v-fec/zens-united-v-fec/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/07/1229087/-15-things-everyone-would-know-if-there-were-a-liberal-media?detail=email#

WED AUG 07, 2013 AT 05:02 AM PDT

15 things everyone would know if there were a liberal media

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Prince Riebus (and apparently many others) still thinks there's a liberal media.

While I share Prince's frustration with the media, as a liberal, I'd like to go on record and state that the media isn't focusing on issues I care about. They seem to be far more focused on entertainment and making money.

Don't believe me?

If you know anyone who still believes in a "liberal media," here's 15 things everyone would know if there really were a "liberal media" (inspired by Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post):

1. Where the jobs went.

Outsourcing (or offshoring) is a bigger contributor to unemployment in the U.S. than laziness.

Since 2000, U.S. multinationals have cut 2.9 million jobs here while increasing employment overseas by 2.4 million. This is likely just the tip of the iceberg as multinational corporations account for only about 20% of the labor force.

When was the last time you saw a front-page headline about outsourcing?

Source: Wall Street Journal via Think Progress.

2.  Upward wealth redistribution and/or inequality.

In 2010, 20% of the people held approximately 88% of the net worth in the U.S. The top 1% alone held 35% of all net worth.

The bottom 80% of people held only 12% of net worth in 2010. In 1983, the bottom 80% held 18% of net worth.

These statistics are not Democrat or Republican. They are widely available to reporters. Why aren't they discussed in the "liberal" media?

Source: Occupy Posters

3. ALEC.

If there was a corporate organization that drafted laws and then passed them on to legislators to implement, wouldn't you think the "liberal" media would report on them?

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is such an organization. Need legislation drafted? No need to go through a lobbyist to reach state legislatures anymore. Just contact ALEC. Among other things, ALEC is responsible for:

• Stand Your Ground laws
• Voter ID laws
• Right to Work laws
• Privatizing schools
• Health savings account bills which benefit health care companies
• Tobacco industry legislation

Many legislators don’t even change the proposals handed to them by this group of corporations. They simply take the corporate bills and bring them to the legislative floor.

This is the primary reason for so much similar bad legislation in different states.  

Hello ... "liberal media" ... over here!!!

They're meeting in Chicago this weekend. Maybe the "liberal media" will send some reporters.

4. The number of people in prison.  

Which country in the world has the most people in prison?

You might think it would be China (with 1+ billion people and a restrictive government) or former Soviets still imprisoned in Russia.

Wrong. The United States has the most people in prison by far of any country in the world. With 5% of the world’s population, we have 25% of the world’s prisoners – 2.3 million criminals. China with a population 4 times our size is second with 1.6 million people in prison.

In 1972, 350,000 Americans were in imprisoned. In 2010, this number had grown to 2.3 million. Yet from 1988 – 2008, crime rates have declined by 25%.

Isn't anyone in the liberal media interested in why so many people are in prison when crime has dropped? WTF "liberal media"?

Source: Wikipedia/Justice Policy Institute Report.

5. The number of black people in prison.

In 2009, non-Hispanic blacks, while only 13.6% of the population, accounted for 39.4% of the total prison and jail population.

In 2011, according to FBI statistics, whites accounted for 69.2% of arrests.

Numbers like these suggest a racial bias in our justice system.

To me, this is a much bigger story than any single incident like Travyon Martin. Or, at the very least, why didn't the "liberal media" ever mention this while covering the Martin story?

6. U.S. health care costs are the highest in the world.

The expenditure per person in the U.S. is $8,233. Norway is second with $5,388.
Total amount of GDP spent on health care is also the highest of any country in the world at 17.6 percent. The next closest country is the Netherlands at 12%.

As a liberal, I’d like to ask why the market isn’t bringing down costs. I’d think a "liberal" media might too.

7. Glass-Steagall.

Glass-Steagall separated risky financial investments from government backed deposits for 66 years.

The idea is simple. Banks were prohibited from using your federally insured savings to make risky investments.

Why is this a good idea?

Risky investments should be risky. If banks can use federally insured funds, there is no risk to them. If they win, they win. If they lose, we cover the cost.

Elizabeth Warren does a great job explaining this to the "liberal news" desk at CNBC:

8. Gerrymandering.

When was the last time you saw a front page headline about gerrymandering?

Before the 2010 election, conservatives launched a plan to win control of state legislatures before the census. The idea was to be in power when national congressional districts were redrawn in order to fix them so Republicans would win a majority of districts.

The Redistricting Majority Project was hugely successful. In 2012, Barack Obama was elected President by nearly 3.5 million votes. In Congressional races, Democrats drew nearly 1.4 million more votes than Republicans yet  Republicans won control of the House 234 seats to 201 seats.

How is this possible?

By pumping $30 million into state races to win the legislatures, Republicans redrew state maps in states such as Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Florida and Ohio to place all of the Democrats into just a few districts.
In this manner, Democrats win heavily in a couple districts and lose the rest.

In North Carolina, the statewide vote was 51 percent Democrat and 49 percent Republican yet 9 Republicans won and only 4 Democrats.

Where is your coverage of this vote stealing, "liberal media"? You're willing to cover voter ID laws, why can't you cover real vote stealing?

Source: Mother Jones.

9. The number of bills blocked by Republicans in Congress.

The filibuster has been used a record number of time since Obama was elected President. From 2008-2012, 375 bills weren’t even allowed to come to a vote in the Senate because Republicans threatened the filibuster.

In 2013, during the first 6 months, Congress has only passed 15 bills that were signed into law. This is 8 fewer than in the first 6 months of 2012 and 19 fewer than 2011.

Also, until the Senate recently threatened to reform the filibuster, the GOP had succeeded in holding up 79 of President Obama’s picks to the U.S. Circuit Court and Courts of Appeal. They’re blocking these appointments regardless of qualification.

Where's the coverage? Where are the reporters asking why nothing is getting done?

* crickets *

10. The Citizens' United Supreme Court decision

In a 2011 Hart poll, only 22% of those polled had actually heard of the Citizens’ Uniteddecision before taking the survey.

If 77% believe that corporations have more control over our political process than people, why isn't the liberal media talking more about the Citizens’ United decision?

11. Nixon’s Southern Strategy.

The Southern Strategy is a strategy for gaining political power by exploiting the greatest number of ethnic prejudices. Kevin Philips, Republican and Nixon campaign strategist, speaking about this strategy in a 1970 interview with the New York Times:

From now on, the Republicans are never going to get more than 10 to 20 percent of the Negro vote and they don't need any more than that...but Republicans would be shortsighted if they weakened enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats.

This strategy has been used since President Johnson and Democrats in Congress passed the Civil Rights Act to build the Republican party.

Examples of this strategy were evident as recently as 2008 and 2012 as Republicans took up their assault on Medicaid, Social Security, labor unions, and Obamacare – programs which, though they benefit more white seniors, retirees, women, and children, have been sold to many Americans as handouts to lazy, undeserving blacks and minorities.

Yet you never hear the "liberal media" (at least since the 1970 NY Times) talking about the use of this strategy. At least not like this:

"P (President) emphasized that you have to face the fact that the whole problem is really the blacks. The key is to devise a system that recognizes this while not appearing to." -H.R. Haldeman's diary, President Richard Nixon’s White House Chief of Staff

12. Tax cuts primarily benefit the wealthy.

A progressive tax program is designed to tax people very little as they are starting out and progressively increase their rates as they do better.

Republican plans seem designed to do exactly the opposite: shift the tax burden off of the wealthy and onto working people.

Take the repeal of the estate tax. In Ohio this was recently repealed by Republicans. The benefit is only realized by people with estates larger than $338,000 (as the first $338k was exempt) and realized most by people with even wealthier estates.

This also explains why Republicans want to shift the system from income taxes to consumption taxes. Consumption taxes are paid most by those at the bottom as basic consumption remains the same regardless of income.

It also explains why capital gain taxes are so low. Income through capital gains is only taxed at 20% (increased from 15% in 2012) instead of at the rate of other income (closer to 35%).

It also explains why Republicans were so willing to let the payroll tax cut expire. The payroll tax cut benefited people who were getting paid, not those issuing the paychecks. How much fight did you see to save this tax cut?

While tax cuts are sold to us as benefiting everyone, they really benefit a select few at the very top.

If everyone knew who tax cuts really benefit, would so many people vote for them?

13. What's happening to the bees?

40-50% of commercial U.S. bee hives were lost this year to colony collapse disorder.

This seems like an odd one to include, why is this important?

The Agriculture Department says a quarter of the American diet depends on pollination by honeybees.

Dating from 2006, colony collapse disorder is a relatively new problem. More "liberal media" coverage might push the urgency of the issue.

Instead here's a typical media story about bees: Thousands of Bees Attack Texas Couple, Kill Horses.

14. The impact of temporary workers on our economy.

The number of temporary workers has grown by more than 50 percent since the recession ended to nearly 2.7 million.

If freelancers, contract workers, and consultants are included, the number is nearly 17 million workers not directly employed by the companies who hire them. This equals 12 percent of the workforce.

What's the impact of a "just in time" workforce on workers and our economy? How about that for a story "liberal media"?

15. Media consolidation

Six corporations - Time Warner, Disney, News Corporation, Viacom, Comcast, and CBS -control roughly 90% of the media in the U.S.

These companies are in business to make a profit.

This is why you'll find plenty of advertisements in the media. Entertainment? Check. Sports? Definitely. Weather? Yep.

You'll also find plenty of "if it bleeds, it leads" stories designed to hook you in. Vendors, witnesses recall Venice hit-and-run horror. Fort Hood trial turns bizarre as shooter grills witnesses.

There's also plenty of political bickering: Democrats said this, Republicans said that. We let you decide (but we never weigh in with any facts or fact-checking).

What won't you hear? You won't hear the "liberal media" discuss the corporate media.

What to make of this

If the media were "liberal," it would serve the public interest and shine a light on issues like the ones above.

More people would also have a better understanding of global warming, peak oil, population growth, political lobbying, government's role in a functioning economy, how much we spend on the military, and countless other issues.

What you’re more likely to see in the media, however, are stories designed to get you to buy their paper, or watch their show, or listen to their radio station. If it bleeds, it leads. This is why the media is concerned with scandal, celebrities, gossip, and fear.

If anything, our news consists of paid advertisements and outlets too scared of offending anyone to publish much of substance. Investigative journalism is also expensive; entertainment is cheap.

The way this corporate media behaves may not be surprising. I apologize if you feel any of this is beating you over the head.

This Buzzfeed-style list wasn't intended to introduce this idea as new (others have done a much better job), but rather to highlight the sheer absurdity of a "liberal media" for an audience who may not see it.

One way to approach the topic is to simply ask: If we have a "liberal media," where are the liberal stories?

ORIGINALLY POSTED TO AKADJIAN ON WED AUG 07, 2013 AT 05:02 AM PDT.

ALSO REPUBLISHED BY IN SUPPORT OF LABOR AND UNIONS AND DAILY KOS.

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WHAT CAN I DO?

This is from Robert Reich. I agree with Mr. Reich: "Several of you have asked me what, specifically, you can do to get America back on track. Letters and petitions are fine, and with enough people joining in they can have an impact. But citizen activism doesn't start or end there. For what it's worth, here's my five-step plan.

Step 1. Turn off the television or stop watching videos. Hopefully this will free up some time.

Step 2. Become better informed about what the regressives are doing in your community, your state, and in Washington; what the Koch brothers, ALEC, and other regressive agents are doing; what big corporations and Wall Street are blocking or lobbying for; what's happening to jobs and wages, to the environment, and what the military-industrial-congressional complex is up to. And who's running for office -- in your community, state assembly and senate district, congressional district, statehouse, president.

Step 3. Connect up with and organize others in your community, city, or region. You might find them through social media, your state chapter of Common Cause, "Organize for America," Occupy, or other progressive organizations. Then arrange for or find time and place of face-to-face meet-ups to plan strategy for fighting back on a specific issue (redistricting, reversing Citizens United, etc.), supporting a specific candidate, or blocking a specific candidate.

Step 4. Get directly involved in a campaign -- an issue campaign, or an electoral campaign. At federal level, keep 2014 especially in mind because the congressional midterms are particularly important, and now is the seed-time for primary candidates. Consider whether you'd be willing to run yourself -- for school board, city council, county supervisor, state assembly, congressional office -- or, if not, whether you can coax into running someone you think would be terrific at it, who has the right values and commitment.

Step 5: Organize and mobilize -- and don't stop. This is a long-term battle that will extend far beyond the next campaign. Fortify yourself and others against setbacks and defeats. Understand that nothing is more important that regaining our democracy." I would add that the two organizations that I think are best on top of things is 350.org and https://movetoamend.org/

RECOMMENDED:

I recommend Robert Reich's Facebook Page to everyone. He is a respected political commentator who has served in both Republican and Democratic administrations. He is an economist. He is not afraid to speak out. He identifies problems with Democratic and Republican policies. He knows what he is talking about. This was from yesterday: "Question for you. There's more anger in America today than I ever recall -- and more polarization. That includes the communist witch-hunts of the 1950s, Vietnam, Watergate, and the Reagan years. I have some ideas as to why the anger is worse and the divisions more extreme today, which I'll share with you tomorrow. What's your view?"
It will be interesting to see the results.
https://www.facebook.com/RBReich

I said that I would let you know what I learned about what the best opportunities are to reclaim our democracy.  When asked, expert educators, military personal, financial leaders, politicians, and Move To Amend leaders said that these were the best opportunities:

1.       Community Radio and local radio must be preserved and strengthened to keep our democracy local and provides the greatest opportunity to keep citizens informed.

2.      Our public schools must be strengthened and should not become the victims of the Mega-Corporate efforts to privatize, monetize, and eliminate public education.  Public schools provide one of the greatest opportunity to help inform our citizens about the basis of our U.S. Constitution, for the people and by the people.  There is tremendous opportunity as people do not want to give up their public schools.

3.      The crisis created by the Mega-Corporate take-over of our environment, our economy, our democracy, provides a great opportunity as the citizenship recognizes the crisis, and understand  that our current system is broken.

4.      Our U.S. Constitution provides a great opportunity as it requires that going to war is a decision that is to be made by congress.  Wars of aggression should only be instigated by our representatives.  We only need to follow the law that is currently in place.  When people realize that, currently, 50 cents of every federal tax dollar goes to fund war efforts, they may take back the power that the constitution already provides.

5.      There is a wonderful opportunity as people are willing to fight for democracy, to restore democracy to our form of government.  People are recognizing that Mega-Corporations have instituted a form of government that is no longer a representative democracy.  People understand that people are no longer in power and want the power back.

6.      People recognize that efforts to standardize, corporatize, monetize, privatize, and kill public education is under way.  There is an amazing opportunity to organize people around their schools as people are willing to fight for their kids.

Move To Amend Conference

This is a synopsis from my first day at the Madison Democracy Convention that Move To Amend organized, along with affiliates.  Working together we can address the following “Hurts”.  I am including what I learned from experts in each of the following areas:  the environment, finance, voting , education, local government elected official, the military, and energy.  When they were asked:  What do you see as the biggest “Hurt” from your prospective?:  These were their responses:

1.       Young people do not see that their vote matters.  They are the key. Young people are the most powerful group at the ballot box but they do not feel that that is the case.

2.      There is an overwhelming feeling among public school teachers and administrators that they are losing the battle to save public education.  Educators feel beaten down by the mega-corporate message to privatize, monetize and kill the public schools of America.

3.       The economic agenda that has taken over the economy of the United States is being applied around the world.  The result is a loss of opportunity for our children, and for children around the world.

4.      The fragmentation of the movement through the denial of the public that our lives, our economy, our elections, our legal system, and our political system has been co-opted by mega-corporations.  It is hard to work in alliance when mega-corporations are spending so much time and effort to encourage groups to work individually instead of as a group.

5.      Too many people feel discouraged.  Too many people no longer feel they are living in a representative democracy and do feel that their government is working against “We the People” and in favor of “We the Corporations”.  Young people, in particular must be shown (convinced) that they matter, that their vote matters.

6.      There is too much of a disparity of wealth.  1% of the people have 50% of the wealth.  If we were dealing with food, bread for instance, 1 person gets 50 loaves of bread while 50 people share 1 loaf of bread.

7.      Global Climate change is changing our world but the mega-corporate energy companies have convinced too many that it not a problem to concern themselves with.

8.      Our government is participating in a total take over from the people to mega-corporations.  Financial mobility is nearly extinct in the United States.

9.      The United States military-Industrial complex is the biggest purveyor of hurt in the history of the world.  Our arms, our bombs, our wars hurt many directly, and hurt many more, indirectly.  We now have an economic draft that replaced the draft that was in place during the Viet Nam war.

10.   Too many of our children no longer have hope.  They see no future in a fix by their government, their politicians, nor at the ballot box, which is ever increasingly being taken over by corporate money, corporate interests.

Tomorrow, I will detail what our Move To Amend can do, with affiliates, to reclaim our democracy.

What are Republicans saying about Republicans?

Message from Republican commentator Joe Scarborough: Scarborough: End GOP's Obamacare 'Freak Show'

Talk-show host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday called out conservative members of the Republican Party who want to defund Obamacare, blaming them for continued GOP election losses.

"This freak show has to end," Scarborough said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"You are too stupid to be a member of our party. How much more blood do you want to take from the conservative movement, from the Republican Party? How much more damage do you want to cause?" Scarborough asked.

America is not pleased with any of its political leaders. The approval rating of Congress has never been lower…..ever! Although the approval rating of the current President is lower than it has been in several months, the gap between the approval rating for Congress, and that of a sitting president, has never been wider! Compared to Congress, President Obama’s approval rating is off the charts, has never been higher. The most recent number I have seen for the approval of Congress is at about 17%. President Obama’s approval ratings stay around 45%. America is waking up to the influence of mega-corporations, and the 2010 Citizens United, on our economy and on the laws that are, or are not being passed. Mega-corporations are not the same as people. Too often, the same things that are required to keep people alive (clean air, clean water, and uncontaminated food), are being destroyed by corporations who only look out for the bottom line….profits. The people can vote, but with Citizens United, mega-corporations were granted the same protections for their money as the people have with their free speech. Corporations are not people! As a person, you can choose to join:https://movetoamend.org/
Mega-corporations, that are only motivated by profits, are not welcome!

Mega-corporations, that are only motivated by profits, are not welcome!

:https://movetoamend.org/

You can join 300+ other Duluth area citizens at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/DuluthAreaMTA/

:https://www.facebook.com/groups/DuluthAreaMTA/

Check out Citizern's United at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k5kHACjrdEY http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=k5kHACjrdEY