Money Is Not Speech (Except When It Is)

After a month of posts covering issues surrounding the current proxy war in Ukraine, it's time to take a little break and think about what's really behind all the unpleasantness in the world. 

"What is that?" you wonder. I'm glad you asked.

It's money.

"That's a bit simplistic," you may retort. Well, sometimes keeping it simple gets right to the heart of the matter. Without billionaires desiring even more profits from fossil fuels such as natural gas, and from military armaments/equipment/training, we wouldn't have this current mess in eastern Europe. Without money being promised to politicians to do the bidding of these billionaires, we wouldn't have this current nightmare of being less than two minutes from midnight on the Nuclear War Countdown Clock.

"Money makes the world go round," the old saying goes. And it could very well end all life on this planet if we allow it to continue enthralling billionaires and Neo-Nazis alike. 

"Money is not speech!" is a slogan shouted by Move to Amend supporters. By amending the US Constitution to counteract the damage done by the Citizens' United  Supreme Court ruling since 2010 (when the justices declared that corporations could spend as much as they like to buy off politicians since it was "free speech"), it is hoped actual free speech and less wars and less profiteering off the poverty, health care, and student loan debts of the American public would occur.

This past week supporters of the Move to Amend met together in the Toledo, Ohio, City Council chambers to celebrate Democracy Day 2022. The pandemic had put it on hold for two years, so it was great to see old friends and face down the city officials in person as we once again presented our requests for building a world not based on money but free speech for human beings, not corporations.

Here's what I had to say:

Single Payer Action Network tabling at Democracy Day.

Health Care Is A Human Right--Democracy Day 2022

by C. A. Matthews

Toledo City Council has bravely enacted Democracy Day and each year stands with Move to Amend members in boldly declaring, "Money is not speech!" and "Corporations are not people!" 

But is this a complete and adequate response? If a corporation is not a person, then who qualifies as a person?  Is a flesh and blood human being considered a "person" in a legal sense? If money is not considered "free speech" then why do wealthy individuals and corporations have more influence and wield more power over politicians and governmental policy than mere individual human beings?

To give a little background on this topic, corporations are not mentioned in the US Constitution. Not once. They are so-called "legal fictions" or creations of government, intended to provide useful goods and services. No voter, citizen, social movement or elected official has ever granted corporations constitutional rights – those were intended exclusively for human beings. Corporate entities have gained constitutional rights and "personhood" solely through the rulings of activist Supreme Court Justices. The 14th Amendment in particular has been reinterpreted to mean that corporations have the rights to free speech and personhood. It was argued that formerly enslaved persons--who were once thought of as merely "property" and not as human beings created in the Image of God--were to be granted rights under this amendment. They were given the right to be considered "people," in other words. And if "property" or former slaves could be considered as persons with the right of free speech, then why not corporations as well?

Nowadays, it can be argued that once again our Constitution is under attack and that those who once were considered "persons" by the fact that are flesh and blood human beings have lost the right to claim that status. Consider this all-too-common scenario: A person has an accident--he's hit by a car crossing the street let's say--and is rushed to a local hospital for treatment. Once there, it is discovered that this person doesn't have private health insurance, doesn't qualify for any kind of government health care, and has little or no money in the bank to cover necessary treatment. Unless someone or some organization comes to this person's rescue and pays all his medical bills, this person doesn't legally have the right to expect health care. There is no law saying that health care must be provided to him no matter how much he pleads to be treated for his injuries. His speech is "free" but it is not heard in this instance as he is sent home without treatment.

So the question again is raised, "Is a flesh and blood human being legally a person with all the rights of personhood?" Under our current health care system in the United States and in this scenario, it can be argued that this injured individual is not legally a person. Just as a slave master of the pre-Civil War period wasn't legally obligated to treat an injured slave--who was considered his property--our health care system has no obligations to help every individual who asks for medical assistance.

What good is to simply say, "Money is not speech!" and "Corporations aren't people!" if actual human beings have no free speech and aren't legally persons?

Speaking to a handful of city council members (and the mayor).

If Toledo City Council really wants to make a bold statement, then it must add to that mantra, "Human beings are persons, and as persons, they have the human right to health care!"

It is a simple statement, but it packs quite a punch. According to the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- Article 25, Section 1:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services...

By stating that corporations are not people, but that human beings are most certainly people, City Council would be stating for the record that Toledo is a place where all its residents will enjoy the human right of "a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of themselves and their families" which would include access to food, housing, medical care and necessary social services as stated in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I believe by making this simple statement and reaffirming it yearly on Democracy Day, Toledo City Council will create a caring and compassionate community that will become noteworthy worldwide, creating an image that corporations will find attractive, encouraging them to locate their businesses within our city limits to everyone's benefit. After all, a population that is housed, fed, and has the certainty of access to health care, whatever their socio-economic status may be, makes for a strong and healthy workforce and a happy living and working space. More businesses and more employed Toledoans also means more property and sale taxes. It is the ultimate win-win scenario where human beings are free to speak and to grow and prosper in the assurance that their city government protects their human rights and wishes only the best for all persons--human beings and corporate alike--who dwell in Toledo.

 Please support Medicare For All and together with all of us as persons--as human beings--proudly state, "Health care is a human right!"  

Article links about what money does to our free speech, how it endangers our world, or how health care is a human right:

UN General Assembly to Recognize the Right to a Healthy Environment https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/aba-encourages-un-general-assembly-to-recognize-right-to-healthy-environment

Poorest US Counties Suffered Twice the COVID Deaths of the Richest https://truthout.org/articles/poorest-us-counties-suffered-twice-the-covid-deaths-of-the-richest/

Facing An Attack From a For-Profit Health Super PAC  https://jacobinmag.com/2022/03/pa-democratic-senate-primary-fetterman-lamb-pac 

Medicare For All Is Not Enough  https://popularresistance.org/medicare-for-all-is-not-enough/

IMF Admits US Dollar Hegemony Declining Due to Rise of Yuan and Russian Sanctions https://popularresistance.org/imf-admits-us-dollar-hegemony-declining-due-to-rise-of-chinese-yuan-sanctions-on-russia/

This War Is Really About Central Banks and the Petrodollar (video) https://www.rokfin.com/post/80658

Meet the New Resource Based Global Reserve Currency https://popularresistance.org/meet-the-new-resource-based-global-reserve-currency/

Russia Invades Ukraine: A Timeline of Broken Promises https://www.breakthroughnews.org/post/russia-invades-ukraine-a-timeline-of-broken-promises 

US Imperialism's Proxy War With Russia in Ukraine https://popularresistance.org/us-imperialisms-proxy-war-with-russia-in-ukraine/

If you need a dose of revolutionary optimism, check this video out: https://youtu.be/XO_FXkxJVj4 

 Seen on Twitter:

Food is profit-driven.
Housing is profit-driven.
Healthcare is profit-driven.
Water is even profit driven.

When people's basic needs are profit-driven, the most vulnerable among us die UNNECESSARILY.

Capitalism is a disease.

— Lumpy Louise 🍎🥄 The US are the Baddies (@LumpyLouish) April 4, 2022

They didn't give you universal basic income during a pandemic. You actually think they care about fair wages? #Midterms2022

— 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑎𝑛⋆ (@undrcvrbrothr) April 4, 2022

***

BREAKING: The Center for Disease Control just announced it will end the racist Trump-era Title 42 policy –which weaponized the pandemic to expel millions of people seeking safety— by May 23. 

For months we’ve been pressuring the CDC to end the draconian Title 42 policy. Today’s decision is a huge testament to our activism, calls, and emails, but it also calls us into action – because, of course, it’s not that simple. 

Until Title 42 ends on May 23rd, the Department of Homeland Security will continue expedited removals, a devastating mass deportation system that sends people back into danger without due process. If we can open our borders to Ukrainian families escaping the horrors of war, we can do so for the Black and brown children, families, and adults who have been fleeing similar violence and waiting at the border for months, or years, because of this policy.

Every day that DHS Secretary Mayorkas allows these expulsions, we put children and families seeking safety at risk of kidnapping, rape, and murder. Will you join us in demanding Secretary Mayorkas end all expulsions now and welcome families with dignity?

take action

In only two years, U.S. immigration officials have carried out over 1.7 million expulsions using Title 42 as an excuse, primarily against Black and brown asylum seekers at the border. Yet, when Ukrainians and Russians show up at the border, we have found a way to let them through, as all people should be.

We have the capability to grant exceptions and let people fleeing violence through. We just refuse to use it for “certain” people. Title 42 has uplifted the inherent racism of our immigration system — another six weeks of expelling Black and brown families without a chance to go through a legal process is another six weeks of racism, unnecessary pain, and hardship.

Today’s news shows us that our pressure is working, and we have to keep it up. We can’t allow DHS immigration officials to cherry-pick who gets to access asylum in this country based on race.

Every day that the administration continues to allow Title 42 expulsions to continue is hypocrisy. Let’s make it clear that we won’t back down until we get a clear commitment from DHS to end all expulsions immediately.

Take action now to tell Secretary Mayorkas to end all expulsions and welcome children and families with dignity: 

take action

From Ukrainians to Afghans to Haitians to Venezuelans, people are forced to flee their countries because they have no other choice. Everyone seeking protection deserves a warm welcome here.

We can, and will, rise to the task of fixing our broken asylum system.

Thank you for taking action,
Erin Mazursky, Interim Managing Director

 ***

From Public Citizen:

Asthma.
COVID-19.
Diabetes.
Hepatitis C.
HIV.
Prostate cancer.

Millions of Americans who suffer from these conditions (and others) can’t afford the medicine they need.

Why?

Because of sheer greed on the part of pharmaceutical companies.

• For the 20 top-selling drugs, Big Pharma made more in the U.S. than in every other country on Earth combined.

• That’s particularly outrageous given how much research and development is paid for by the American people. (The taxpayer-funded National Institutes of Health alone spends $40 billion a year on R&D.)

• In essence, we are paying through the nose not once but twice!

But We the People can fight Big Pharma’s immoral price gouging.

The federal government can overcome patent monopolies by authorizing generic competition — either for products it will pay for (like medicines purchased through Medicare) or for publicly-funded medications.

Generic competition is a game-changer: The FDA has found that the introduction of generics can lead to price reductions of 95%.

And, crucially, the federal government *already* has the power to do this — which would be transformative in making essential medicines affordable for millions of Americans.

To proceed, we don’t need Congress to do anything. The Biden administration can act on its own.

Tell the Biden Administration:

Use your existing authority to introduce generic competition for medicines. By doing so, you can lower drug prices, improve the lives of millions of Americans, make progress on confronting the epidemics of our time, and improve health equity.

Add your name now.

Thank you for taking action.

For progress,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen 

*** 

In a near-future dystopian world, hope blossoms where mutual aid and democracy begins...

Zonta’s world is turned upside down when Jake arrives at the commune to investigate the disappearance of agents of the Authority. Can she persuade him to switch sides before the Protectors (antifascist fighters) take action?

Available now: https://www.extasybooks.com/Where-the-Bodies-Lie

A great tale of how love, cooperation, and socialism will ultimately save us all. -- Redd Phlagg

(Read and review Where The Bodies Lie and you'll get a mention on the blog.)

Teachers Are Not Babysitters, Nurses Are Not Disposable

Teachers Are Not Babysitters, Nurses Are Not Disposable

 by C.A. Matthews

After spending years in college studying for a profession you feel "called" to do, you'd hope you'd garner more respect, more compassion from your bosses than a curt declaration of, "We don't care if your health is at risk. Get back to work. Now. Or else."

But that's exactly what's happening in Year Three of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Two examples recently in the headlines: public school teachers and hospital nurses. These professions primarily have been held by females, many of them women of color and single mothers. Their bosses--school superintendents and hospital administrators--are roles primarily held by males, and white males at that.

Another worrisome connection between these two particular professions is that both have come under the scrutiny and control of private corporations in recent times, albeit in somewhat different manners. 

Nurses nowadays mostly work for private, for-profit hospitals and clinics. They are discouraged from organizing or joining a union. The first emphasis of their job performance is on generating profits for their stockholders, not necessarily on providing the best patient care possible. The faster patients come and go into a hospital, for instance, the quicker their private insurances can be billed, and the more money is made for the hospital/health insurance networks CEOs.

Public school teachers have been backed into a corner when it comes to contract negotiations by the threat of school districts allowing private "charter schools" to open up in their towns. Charter schools tend to hire less educated, less qualified teachers for less pay, and they're not open to unions. They follow cookie-cutter educational plans that "guarantee success" according to the CEOs of these educational corporations.

It's a well known fact that public school districts regularly receive kickbacks from these charter school corporations But rarely is this kickback money utilized to improve the public schools' facilities or equipment or increase compensation for the teaching staff. Inner city public schools in particular have received less and less funding as more and more charter schools have sprung up. 

Sadder yet, many public schools are seen as simply "daycare services" by many private businesses. They exist simply so parents of grade school-aged children can work outside of the home. The quality of education isn't as important as keeping the kids out of their parents' hair so they can continue working many hours in low-paying jobs.

Could the influence of private corporations explain the ill treatment teachers and nurses have received recently from politicians? Politicians in the US are an example of yet another profession that has been heavily influenced by private corporations, particularly since the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling. 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has threatened public school teachers who have gone on strike because it simply isn't safe to teach in person during  this recent surge of omicron variant COVID-19. She refuses to allow them to have online learning classes, and instead is trying to force both students and teachers back into non-well-ventilated school buildings. Why is the health and safety of children and teachers not seen as important as the profits of the corporations who want their parent-employees back slaving away in warehouses, factories, retail stores, hospitals, and restaurants?

Many nurses have been working with less-than-adequate PPE and N95 masks for almost two years now. Many have become ill and some have died because of this lack of safety equipment. They have been forced to work overtime and endure long shifts, which further drains their health and puts them at risk of catching COVID. Nurses have walked out and threatened strikes nationwide because of these hazardous work conditions, although the mainstream media has conveniently not followed many of these stories. Why haven't the nurses' demands been met by management?  After all, we are in the midst of a health crisis--shouldn't all health workers' safety be paramount to profits?

And there's that word again: profits. Teachers aren't seen as educators who wish to instill the love of knowledge in their students and help children grow in wisdom. Nurses aren't seen as caregivers who wish to ease pain, cure illness, and take the best care of their patients as humanly possible. No, these professions have been downgraded to their barest of functions in order to make the most profits for their related private corporations. 

Public school teachers exist to babysit the kids of the poor working classes, so that these distracted parents don't realize how much better pay they deserve for working dead end jobs where massive profits go straight into the pockets of CEOs to buy yet more yachts.

Nurses exist to push profit-generators--that is, patients--through the medical-industrial complex quickly, so that maximum amounts of money may be extracted with the least amount of time and material spent on said profit-generators.

And if these teachers and nurses should get sick on the job during this pandemic? Well, they are tossed to the side and simply replaced, right? Workers are a dime a dozen in the eyes of elitists--especially female workers, POC workers…

Is it any wonder why the aroma of a general strike is in the air?

In the following video, Lee explains the history of why capitalists feel that generating profits are much more important than workers' lives. https://youtu.be/GrMp_cOyf0E  

Related Articles:   

This is NOT a Pandemic of the Unvaccinated  https://peterdaou.substack.com/p/this-is-not-a-pandemic-of-the-unvaccinated  

Affordable Child Care is the Boost Our Economy Needs https://scheerpost.com/2022/01/07/affordable-child-care-is-the-boost-our-economy-needs/  

Chicago Teachers Voted to Teach Remotely Amid Omicron Wave https://popularresistance.org/chicago-teachers-voted-to-teach-remotely-amid-omicron-wave/ 

Schools Need More Resources Before They Can Open Safely Chicago Teacher Says  https://truthout.org/articles/schools-need-more-resources-before-they-can-open-safely-chicago-teacher-says/ 

Instead of More Support, Schools Have Upped Demands on Teachers During  Pandemic  https://scheerpost.com/2022/01/09/instead-of-more-support-schools-have-upped-demands-on-teachers-during-pandemic/   

Teachers Fighting For School Safety Are Not The Enemy https://therealnews.com/teachers-fighting-for-school-safety-are-not-the-enemy

US Workers Are Still Quitting Their Jobs In Record Numbers https://jacobinmag.com/2022/01/labor-jolts-quits-employment-wages-unions  

Take This Job and Shove It (music video): https://youtu.be/gj2iGAifSNI  

Nurses on COVID Frontline Speak Out (video) https://youtu.be/40WAimj8Aac

Omicron Spike Is Training Straining Hospitals As Health Care Workers Leave the Profession  https://truthout.org/video/omicron-spike-is-straining-hospitals-as-health-care-workers-leave-the-profession 

Seen on Twitter:    

The most effective thing we can do right now is support teachers & other workers who strike to oppose unsafe conditions. The most powerful thing we can do is disrupt the economy until the government enacts actual public health policy. — Bree Newsome Bass (@BreeNewsome) January 6, 2022 

Going to work should not mean putting your life and the lives of your loved ones in danger.

It is time for @OSHA_DOL to issue a permanent standard and #ProtectNurses and health care workers who are on the front lines working to save the lives of others!https://t.co/6C2xlzsftt— Bonnie Castillo (@NNUBonnie) January 5, 2022

 

All teachers should just quit and let the system deal with finding babysitters elsewhere. — GodandtheBear☭ (@GodandtheBear) January 7, 2022

 

Not wanting to die at work is not “selfish.”

— Eric Stanley (@Eric_A_Stanley) January 8, 2022

Sorry to interrupt your morning but I have to tell you that 3 of my colleagues worked 16hrs last night as no nurse showed up to replace them. As you know, nurses are taught not to "abandon" patients. They had 1 code blue, no breaks, will be back for another shift tonight.

— Birgit Umaigba RN, MEd (@birgitomo) January 8, 2022

***

Last week, NNU President and RN Jean Ross told the CNN Newsroom the truth: that by weakening their Covid-19 isolation guidelines to seven days for health care workers — and even less time if there are staffing shortages — the CDC is putting thousands of lives at risk.

While the CDC now claims this change is motivated by science, nurses know it’s motivated by something else entirely: employers wanting workers back on the clock fast, regardless of whether it’s safe, to maximize their profits.

 We’ve fought since day one of this pandemic for protections for nurses and health care workers based on science and the precautionary principle, and we’re not backing down now. will you help us draw attention to this failure to protect patients, nurses, and other health care workers by joining our national day of action on January 13?

join us »

On this national day of action, nurses, other health care workers, and activists across the country will be standing up for change — and C.A., having your support at this critical moment will make a huge impact.

This move by the CDC comes as Omicron is exploding across the country, single-day records for Covid-19 cases continue to be broken, and the number of available ICU beds dwindles in hospital after hospital. What’s more, this change comes right as OSHA announced its plan to rescind hard-won emergency protections for health care workers.

Plain and simple, ​​we are dumbfounded and enraged by these actions and the very real risk they pose for nurses, other health care workers, and patients. But we refuse to go backward, and we need your help to protect nurses and patients now.

Join us in fighting for our nurses, patients, and other health care workers by signing up for our national day of action on January 13th. After signing up, we’ll make sure you have everything you need to take action.

join us »

Thanks for your support,

National Nurses United

***

Take action!

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to hear from YOU about regulating methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Every year, the oil and gas industry emits hundreds of millions of tons of methane from wells, pipelines, and storage facilities. Methane has a massive impact on global warming, around 80 times the impact of carbon dioxide in the short term. Leaking wells can also release toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and particulate matter into the air that harm people locally. That’s why it's so important that the EPA is proposing to take action to dramatically reduce methane emissions from both existing and new wells and infrastructure nationwide for the first time.   But, there will be strong opposition to the rules and efforts to water them down. The EPA needs to hear that you support the commonsense regulations proposed which are essential to protecting the planet and our own health.

Take action against methane pollution

For a greener world,

Todd Larsen Executive Co-Director for Consumer & Corporate Engagement Green America

***

In December, not long after workers in Buffalo, New York successfully organized the first Starbucks union, we reported on what happened to Brittany Harrison, a Starbucks store manager in Arizona. Starbucks fired Brittany Harrison after she exposed the company’s union-busting plans. Now Brittany’s store in Mesa, Arizona is following in Buffalo’s footsteps and unionizing in response to Starbucks' behavior. They’re facing Starbucks' extreme anti-union tactics at their own store. As these courageous Starbucks workers fight to become the next unionized Starbucks store in the U.S., the More Perfect Union media team is there to cover it and expose Starbucks management for not living up to the values they advertise. Help stand in solidarity with workers by watching and sharing our reporting now! WATCH, SUBSCRIBE & SHARE Starbucks has pulled out all the stops to try and kill workers’ attempts to form a union. Intimidation tactics such as flooding the floor with managers who, in the words of one worker, are “trying to figure out ways that they can fire us.” Managers eavesdrop on conversations. They hold special meetings, splitting workers up, and providing free pizza -- then telling them they “have to vote no” on forming a union. The biggest anti-union move of all was to fire Brittany Harrison while she’s battling cancer after more than 4 years working her way up to managing her own store, because she released a video exposing an anti-union meeting led by Starbucks HQ. Silence is not solidarity. That’s why we need your help today. Check out More Perfect Union’s exclusive report, then subscribe to our channel and help boost our reach by sharing to your social networks today. Thank you for working to build a More Perfect Union. In solidarity, -Faiz Faiz Shakir, Co-Founder More Perfect Union

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