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Constitutional amendment introduced in Congress ensuring rights for people, not corporations: Reps. Nolan & Pocan respond to hundreds of local resolutions calling for We the People Amendment

(Washington D.C.) - The movement for constitutional reforms that would end what organizers call “corporate rule” has arrived in the chambers of Congress. This morning, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined Move to Amend by announcing their sponsorship of the We the People Amendment, which clearly and unequivocally states that:
1. Rights recognized under the Constitution belong to human beings only, and not to government-created artificial legal entities such as corporations and limited liability companies; and

2. Political campaign spending is not a form of speech protected under the First Amendment.

In making the announcement, lead sponsor Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-Minnesota), said: It’s time to take the shaping and molding of public policy out of corporate boardrooms, away from the corporate lobbyists, and put it back in city halls back with county boards and state legislatures and back in the Congress where it belongs.

Super Max prisoner represents himself in court while on hunger strike and wins

Friday, February 8th, Mahoning County, OH-The jury largely sided with hunger striking super max prisoner Cornelius Harris in his criminal trial this week. Harris was facing nine felony charges stemming from fights with guards at The Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP). Harris has long maintained that these fights were actually initiated by guards who have targeted him for harassment and abuse. Earlier this week, a jury found largely in Mr Harris' favor.

Mr Harris initiated his hunger strike on January fourth, and went to trial later in the month. He represented himself, and part way through the trial he was transferred to Franklin Medical Center (FMC) because of his deteriorating health due to the hunger strike. Mr Harris says he has lost about fifty pounds, and is experiencing sharp pains in his legs. Doctors report that he is close to suffering serious medical problems like organ failure because he has refused food for so long.

U.S. to become a second-rate power!

Cue sound of emergency alarms. Insert graphics for panic, terror, devastation and collapse here ______.)
Yes, believe it, friends. That is exactly what Outgoing Secretary of War Panetta said in a Feb. 1 exit interview with USA Today, when asked what effects looming cuts will have on the War Department if Congress fails to reach a budget deal by March 1.

Red-blooded Senate and House members eager to protect the military from even a rumor of a budget cut will certainly welcome Panetta’s words. Whether it will result in the U.S. becoming a “second-rate power” is a little less certain, considering we now spend as much for war as the rest of the world put together, with perhaps the exception of Upper Volta and the Cayman Islands.

To put the Secretary’s America-as-second-rate-power fears in perspective, the dreaded “sequestering” of the budget means the Pentagon will have to cut 8 to 9 percent out of this year’s $535 billion dollar budget.

Social Security, Medicare -- Lifelines for steel retirees?

This past week I was in my hometown, Lorain, and had the opportunity to visit with some old friends who are now retired, receiving Social Security/Medicare. It was certainly interesting to hear what those actually taking part in these fine programs have to say, especially in light of the push by literally all of the corporate shrills to cut Social Security/Medicare, it order to “save the economy.” These Wall Street economists have beaten this drum almost to death, telling us that “austerity is only way out, we must cut social spending or disaster awaits!” Far be it for us mere working folk to point out that Britain & every European nation that adopted this formula, cutting pensions and social programs, have sled backwards into another recession. Reality rarely has any influence on these “great men” anyway; they know so much more us!

One “solution” that these great men have proposed is to cut the CPI (“chained CPI”), the cost-of-living increases received by Social Security recipients.

Fleets of drones descend on Africa

“Drone warfare has become central to the modern U.S. version of gunboat diplomacy.”
With the U.S. and European military offensive in Africa in full swing, the drone wars are set to enter a new phase. Therefore, it is appropriate that U.S. anti-war activists will descend on the White House, on April 13 [10], to demand “Drones Out of Africa and Everywhere!” The activists, including former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and the ANSWER Coalition, say the real target is Africa’s vast natural resources. Drone warfare, say the organizers, has become central to the modern U.S. version of gunboat diplomacy, to “force exploitative terms of trade and political accommodations.”

Becoming a thriving vegan advocate

I've been a thriving vegan advocate for nearing 13 years. I became vegan because I am an animal lover. I was born and raised to respect animals and had believed I was an animal lover my entire life; although regrettably, I did not become vegan until I was in my late 20's. A series of events awakened my consciousness; Moby's "Everything Is Wrong" CD included the first essay I had ever read on the concept of Animal Rights. I was also taking college courses; “Humans and the Environment” and “Human Nutrition.” However, the most shocking and compelling contribution to my awakening came as surprise solicitation call from Publisher’s Clearing House when caller enthused “You’ve WON!”

Why Obama will not stop the increase in catastrophic climate change

President Obama has not lived up to his promises about curtailing global warming, the engine at the center of disruptive climate change. He and his administration acknowledge the problem exists, though they don’t stress the scientific evidence on trends that show that temperatures and greenhouse concentrations in the atmosphere in the U.S. and across the world are rising at an accelerating rate. At the same time, there were some notable but not-trend-breaking achievements during Obama’s first four years like new fuel efficiency standards for cars and small trucks, $36 billion allocated for renewable energy, the weatherization of one million homes owned by low-income homeowners, and the doubling of renewable energy from wind and solar partly supported by Department of Energy investments. Unfortunately, there are reasons to expect that the President will not do nearly enough in the next four years of his presidency to prevent further catastrophic climate changes or to prepare the society and world to cope with it all. This is certainly not his fault alone. There are significant constraints that limit what he can do.

The largest climate rally in U.S. history

See below for Ohio buses: On Sunday, February 17, thousands of Americans will head to Washington, D.C. to make Forward on Climate the largest climate rally in history. Join this historic event to make your voice heard and help the president start his second term with strong climate action.

When:February 17, 2013, Noon - 4:00 p.m. (please arrive by 11:30 a.m.)
Where: The National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Gather at the northeast corner of the Washington Monument. Closest Metro subway stations: Federal Triangle and Smithsonian)

Columbus, Cincinnati and Cleveland
Forward on Climate Ohio

Toledo via Detriot bus, contact Jarret for details,
Email
Forward on Climate Detroit

Oberlin, contact, Zia at Email

Come home, Mr. President

Chicago is in a state of emergency. Lives are being lost. Fear is growing. Local officials, ministers and community activists are working diligently but cannot break the cycle. We’re seeing more than one funeral a day. Our children are traumatized. Many are afraid to go to school.

In this crisis, we need the president’s leadership. President Obama can provide the knowledge, vision and inspiration to bring us together to address the crisis. He can speak to the children to calm their fears.

Mr. President, as you know, last week, 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, an honor student who performed in your inaugural ceremonies as a majorette, was murdered, slain when a gunman shot randomly into a group of kids gathered in a neighborhood park less than one mile from your home.

When Bill Moss banged his shoe

How ironic is it that on the ten-year anniversary (Tuesday Feb 4th, 2003) of when Bill Moss banged his shoe at a Columbus School Board meeting to bring attention to the rampant deception and corruption taking place within the district, a Columbus City Schools official responsible for the recent data rigging scandal announces his resignation.

But to those of us who listened intently to what Moss, Bob Fitrakis, Jerry Doyle, Ivy Featherstone, Jim Whitaker and Bernadine Kennedy Kent were telling us, this is nothing new. Unlike the mainstream who sought to villify and castigate them for speaking up and out, we didn't.

Part of the reason Moss banged his shoe was because no one seemed to care about the corruption. And no one seemed to listen when he would explain in depth with documented facts and personal insight what was happening and what was on the horizon (see The FREE PRESS article from 3/'03 "Why Moss Banged His Shoe." by Bob Fitrakis). Recall that this was just a few months after the citizens of Columbus approved a bond/tax levy to improve and/or build new schools despite Moss' warning of what would come of it if we allowed it to pass.

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