Category Archives: Free Speech

Koch brothers, with Citizens United behind them, announce their intention to buy election

By Mark | June 1, 2012

According to a new report in Politico, the Koch brothers, through their various front organizations, are set to funnel $400 million of their personal wealth into this year’s presidential campaign. It’s an absolutely staggering amount. To put it in context, these two men will be investing more than John McCain raised during the course of [...]

Also posted in Corporate Crime, Other, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged 2008, Ben Cohen, Bernie Sanders, Brawny paper towels, buying elections, campaign finance reform, Citizens United, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, corporate takeover of politics, corporations are not people, corporatocracy, disclose act, election reform, get the money out of Washington, John McCain, Koch brothers, Koch Industries, money as free speech, money in politics, Move to Amend, Quilted Northern, RootStrike, Saving American Democracy Amendment, Supreme Court, toilet paper | 22 Comments

Net Neutrality and the DISCLOSE Act

By Mark | September 22, 2010

Tonight, I will be signing a petition and calling the offices of my Senators in order to weigh in on two very important initiatives, and I would like to ask that you do the same. The first is called the DISCLOSE Act, and it’s being championed by Senators Patrick Leahy and Chuck Schumer. The bill, [...]

Also posted in Corporate Crime, Politics | Tagged call to action, Chuck Schumer, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, corporate money, disclose act, FCC, Federal Communications Commission, get the money out of Washington, Google, ISPs, Julius Genachowski, net neutrality, Patrick Leahy, Supreme Court, Verizon | 6 Comments

Are corporations people? And is it their birthright to buy elections?

By Mark | February 10, 2010

Continuing our conversation from a few days ago on corporate personhood, I thought that I’d pass along this new video from Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig’s organization Fix Congress First. The piece is entitled, “Are corporations people?” And, speaking of the stranglehold that corporations have on the American electorate, did you happen to see that [...]

Also posted in Civil Liberties, Corporate Crime, Economics, Politics | Tagged Add new tag, are corporations people, Bank of America, Citigroup, corporate personhood, corporate speech, Fair Elections Now Act, Fix Congress First, get the money out of Washington, Lawrence Lessig, lemon socialism, Obama, Paul Krugman, public funding of elections, Wall Street bailouts, Wall Street bonuses, Wall Street deregulation | 10 Comments

Free speech is for humans, and business should mind its own business

By Mark | January 24, 2010

In response to the big Supreme Court decision the other day, which gave corporations (U.S. and international) unprecedented power with which to influence elections via capital contributions, Florida Congressman Alan Grayson just introduced legislation to change U.S. tax law, so that all corporate contributions would be taxed at a rate of 500%. The legislation is [...]

Also posted in Corporate Crime, Observations, Politics | Tagged a black-robed political coup, big oil, Business Should Mind Its Own Business Act, corporate money, Dred Scott, Free Speech, get the money out of Washington, health insurance companies, Jim Hightower, John Roberts, Justice Stephens, McCain-Feingold, money as free speech, Obama, Pamela Harris, Supreme Court, Supreme Court Institute at Georgetown Law Center, tax law, Wall Street | 92 Comments

Corporations given the green light to buy elections

By Mark | January 21, 2010

Last night, I posted a video here by Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig about the importance of getting corporate money out of politics. At the time, I agreed with the professor that corporations had way too much influence over American politics. Since I posted it, however, things have gotten considerably worse. This morning, the U.S. Supreme [...]