Following the Civil War, corporations rapidly completed the transformation from tools to serve the public to tools for consolidating wealth and power for their owners. The culmination of this power grab may have come in 1886, when a U.S. Supreme Court reporter created “corporate personhood.” Nike and the ACLU of Northern California argued that because the company’s PR was partially political debate and not purely commercial, it had the “right” to tell its story with full 1st Amendment protection and bore no legal duty to be truthful.
[Read more]Enough Is Enough: They lie they cheat they steal and they’ve been getting away with it for too long
The U.S. regulatory and judiciary systems, do little if anything to deter the most damaging Wall Street crimes. Interviews with some six dozen current and former federal prosecutors, regulatory officials, defense lawyers, criminologists, and high-ranking corporate executives paint a disturbing picture.
[Read more]Branded: Corporations and our Schools
Competition in the corporate marketing arena is fierce and as companies vie for brand recognition, brand loyalties, and market share, schools have emerged as lucrative marketing venues. Ongoing funding challenges faced by public schools have enabled marketers to jump in with “donations”-free or low-cost supplemental materials, equipment, and cash.
[Read more]Montanans Organize to Stop Coal Trains, Exports
Plans by coal corporations could create five-fold increase in train traffic, extensive traffic delays and large increases in noise and air pollution.
[Read more]The Great American Sell-Out
The management of one of our national treasures — the Smithsonian Museum — threatens to plumb new depths in pimping the public domain to corporate interests. A preliminary deal awaiting consideration by the Smithsonian board of regents would sell General Motors Inc. naming rights for the institute’s new hall of transportation for $10 million.
[Read more]Capsule Book Review: When Corporations Rule the World
The first (1995) edition of When Corporations Rule the World awakened many Americans to the destructive systemic impacts of the global economic system and the depths of the structural problems. Coming from a self-described conservative with an extensive background in international development and economics, WCRW offered a thorough and extensively documented analysis capable of swaying even hard-core laissez-faire advocates.
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