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Hi Folks,<BR>
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Do you agree that big money and powerful corporations have control of our democracy, that we actually have an oligarchy as Jimmy Carter recently named it? If so, then the Green Party of Santa Clara County can help turn things around. Attached and below is a resolution that calls for a "We The People" Constitutional Amendment. In essence, it says money is not speech and corporations are not people. <BR>
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Although I would like to attend your next meeting on Nov. 19, I have a previous commitment. So, please review the wording of the resolution and make any suggested changes to this discussion group. Hopefully, the wording can be finalized before the next meeting so that passage is assured. <BR>
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<B>RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING AS A POSITION OF THE GREEN PARTY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY THAT 1) ONLY HUMAN BEINGS HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, 2) MONEY IS NOT SPEECH, AND 3) WE CALL FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO ESTABLISH THAT POSITION. </B><BR>
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WHEREAS, the people's right to free speech and fair elections are essential to democracy and effective self-governance; however, U.S. Supreme Court decisions have granted multi-billion dollar corporations and other artificial entities the same rights as natural persons to unrestricted spending on political speech, thus severely restricting the ability of federal, state and local governments to enact reasonable campaign finance reforms and regulations regarding corporate political activity; and<BR>
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WHEREAS, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights are intended to protect the rights of human beings – not artificial entities such as corporations which have special advantages not enjoyed by human beings plus the many traditional and necessary rights and powers provided for by state law, and usually put profits for shareholders ahead of concerns for the greater good of society – but the U.S. Supreme Court decisions extending constitutional rights to corporations have resulted in increasing domination by these powerful entities and a corresponding loss of rights for people; and<BR>
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WHEREAS, sixteen states and more than 550 local governments throughout our country have passed resolutions or ballot initiatives calling for a constitutional amendment establishing that corporations should not have constitutional rights and money does not equal speech, and the people of the United States have previously used the constitutional amendment process to correct decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court that are widely deemed to be egregious, wrongly decided or significantly out-of-step with the prevailing values of the populace;<BR>
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that it is the position of the GREEN PARTY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY that A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IS NEEDED TO ESTABLISH THAT
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<LI TYPE=1 VALUE=1>The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons only, and that artificial entities, such as corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities, established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under this Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People, through Federal, State, or local law.
<LI TYPE=1 VALUE=2>Federal, State and local government shall have the right to regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, for the purpose of influencing in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure, and shall require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed.<BR>
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the GREEN PARTY OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY calls on other organizations and associations to join with us in this action by passing a similar Resolution.<BR>
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<FONT COLOR="#000000">Rob Means, Education Work Group, Chairman</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Santa Clara County MoveToAmend, <A HREF="http://scc-mta.org/">http://scc-mta.org/</A></FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">1421 Yellowstone Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035-6913</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">408-262-0420h, 408-262-8975w, <A HREF="Rob@MeansForDemocracy.org">Rob@MeansForDemocracy.org</A></FONT><BR>
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