wiki.occupyboston.org - User contributions [en]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-12-10T23:21:25Z

Sandersh6000:

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==
<p>Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com
</p><p>You can sign up to receive emails at <You can sign up to receive emails at [https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited]
</p><p><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/campaignfinancereformus/calendar-of-events?pli=1">Calendar of Events</a>
</p><p> 
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.
</p>
<h2> Meetings:<br /> </h2>
<p>Next Meeting will be: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm BIddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., near Dewey Sq. If you're interested, comment here or sign up and inquire on the listserve link shown above.
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting">Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29">Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Minutes from Nov. 1">Minutes from Nov. 1</a>
</p><p> 
</p>
<h2> Saturday Dec. 10 3:00 pm lecture has been moved to 5:00 pm on the common </h2> </p>

<h2> Lecture & Open Discussion Series </h2>
Saturday Dec. 10 3:00PM <br>
Donna Palermino: "Pay to Play: A History of Citizens United and How to Get Corporate Money out of Politics" <br>
Donna is a Civil Liberties and Free Speech Professor at Boston University and Suffolk University. This will be a lecture on the history of Supreme Court ruling and how this decision has impacted elections.

Sunday Dec. 11 3:30PM <br>
Jules Levine: "Public Financing of Election Campaigns -- A Way Station; Fair, Just and Good Government--Our Destination" <br>
Jules is a practicing Law Professor at Boston University. He was actively involved in the MA Public Financing System brought to the State House in the 90's, and continues to promote the public financing of elections in Massachusetts. This lecture will provide a brief history of the reforms in MA, and also touch on the benefits and cost-savings this system would provide.

<h2> Next Steps Agreed on: </h2>
<p>Work with Jenn on a <a _fcknotitle="true" href="WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly">WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly</a> street theatre event in Boston for Friday, January 20 to publicize the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This demonstration will be the Boston activity for the one-day demonstration at federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nationwide event is organized by Move To Amend (see link at bottom of page under "Other Groups." The CUEPB Working Group supports the Boston effort and will prepare a proposal to GA endorsing this event once more details are determined.
</p><p>Analyze and discuss pending legislation on the wiki in order to decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. Edit the <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> page to add links, summarize what's in a link and/or discuss your opinions about proposed bills. We will also draw on knowledge from other citizen action groups to get up to speed quickly on the campaign reform options.
</p><p>Build collaboration with other local groups, listed below on this page, who are working to change campaign funding.
</p><p>Continue to gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.
</p><p><br />
</p>
<h3> Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: </h3>
<p>Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Public Citizen's</a> action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
</p>
<h2> Sub-topics:  </h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood">End Corporate Personhood</a>
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h3> Business Card Ideas </h3>
<p><b>Front</b>: <br />
[slogan] <br />
learn more at <br />
www.campaignfinancereform.us <br />
[contact info] <br />
</p><p><b>Back</b>: informative text explaining the movement. <br />
</p><p><b>Version 1: <br /></b>
Many legislators spend over half their time raising money for their next campaign. With the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, corporations can now spend unlimited and unregulated amounts of money on elections. The tremendous amount of time and money that goes into fundraising warps our government's ability to listen to the people. Join us in creating constitutional amendments and new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><b>Version 2: </b> (votes for: Andy, Susi, Nina)<br />
Corporate money floods the election process without limits or meaningful regulations. Many lawmakers spend over half their time fundraising for the next election and listen more to money than to us.
</p><p>Join us in creating new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><br />
<b>Slogan ideas</b> <br />
</p>
<ul><li> Reclaiming our democracy (votes for: Andy, Susi)
</li><li> Taking back congress from the 1%
</li><li> End corporate personhood
</li><li> End institutionalized bribery
</li></ul>
<p><b>Contact info:</b> what should we put here? I have fixcitizensunited@gmail.com, but at least for the moment, I'm the only one that reads it. That may not be ideal.
</p>
<h2> Background Information: </h2>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion">Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion</a></h4>
<p>The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.
</p><p>Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of <i>Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.</i>
</p><p>In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i>) that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.
</p><p>The <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i> decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.
</p>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> (passed and pending)</h4>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Politicians and Candidates">Politicians and Candidates</a></h4>
<p><a href="http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx">Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)</a>
</p><p><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html">Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption </a>(in Politico.com)
</p>
<h2> Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) </h2>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York">Calendar of Boston-Events </a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307">Common Cause</a> Common Cause is working diligently to expose the role of special interests, and promote reforms that put democracy back in the hands of "we the people."
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.coffeepartyusa.com">Coffee Party USA</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty">Boston Coffee Party</a> "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact <a href="mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com">coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.democracyfund.org/">Democracy Fund</a> "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact <a href="mailto:info@democracyfund.org">info@democracyfund.org</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> related to Public Citizen. The propose a constitutional amendment to ban money to corporate electioneering. In addition, they are pursuing several reforms. Public financing of elections, a shareholder protection act and a constitutional amendment go together as a package response to rein in the excessive influence that unrestricted, massive corporate expenditures can exert over our democracy. A constitutional amendment offers the long-term solution to address the other damaging effects on our society of treating corporations as if they’re entitled to the same rights to express themselves as real people.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://freespeechforpeople.org/">Free Speech for People</a> Proposes the following amendment:
</p>
<ul><li> Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
</li><li> Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
</li><li> Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people's rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable."
</li></ul>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.getmoneyout.com/">Get Money Out</a> Supports a constitutional amendment: "No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office"
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://movetoamend.org">Move to Amend</a>  We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
</p>
<ul><li>Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
</li><li>Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
</li><li>Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.
</li></ul>
<p>The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/GovernmentByThePeople">People for the American Way</a> "The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC threatens to tear apart the fabric of our democracy and grant powerful corporations unfettered influence in our political process. It's a drastic departure from previous law and our core values as a nation and it must be met with an appropriate response."
</p>
<hr />
<p>Public Citizen (sponsors <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> above)
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
</p>
<hr />
<h3> Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders</h3>
<ul><li> <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography">Lawrence Lessig</a> - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of <a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433">Republic Lost</a>. Contact: Admin <a href="mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org">Szelena Gray</a>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h2> Occupy the Courts (January 20-21, 2012) </h2>
<p>Currently, this event is in the planning stage. Some ideas include:
</p>
<h3> Event Ideas </h3>
<p>FIRST PLANNING MEETING: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm, Biddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., Boston - near Dewey Sq.
</p>
<ul><li> RALLY - This would require a main stage and a program that would include a mix of relevant speakers, musicians, comedians and entertainment. There will be space for groups like Rootstrikers.org, Move to Amend, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and even the opposition to come and lobby the PEOPLE. There will also be non-partisan educational exhibits and activities geared toward children and adults. Each elected official will also be given a "tent" space, so that they can meet and greet their constituents and participate in the occupation as well. The purpose of the rally is to create an interactive and educational event where people can have an opportunity to learn how money in politics negatively affects our lives and how WE CAN FIX IT!
</li></ul>
<ul><li> SUMMIT - the summit would be a bicameral convention with one house working toward local reforms and the other working toward federal reforms. There is consensus among a large number of people that an amendment would be beneficial to reform. There are six amendments and counting sitting in Congress now and several other groups proposing their own. Let's put all of those ideas together, and see if we can make them one.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> STREET THEATER MONOPOLY SKIT - A creative, engaging street theater skit based on the Monopoly game designed to emphasize the correlation between corporate funding, campaign finance and financial ties to lobbying, making the case that our politicians, the supreme court, and essentially the entire American Gov't can be "bought and sold". Seeking creatives to work on this initiative. Needed: Writers to help develop the concept into an even more hilarious poignant skit, actors and actresses including ideally a professional auctioneer, artists to assist with costuming and props, photographers and filmmakers to document the action, any and all interested folks who want to get their creative juices flowing and are willing to play a role even as simple as carrying a sign as a backdrop. :) A grant application is in the works for funding to make this piece a truly awesome experience that you won't want to miss! The skit will be done in conjunction with the other actions that weekend. Please contact Jenn via jennjoy75 at gmail dot com with your availability for the meeting and/or for more information.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> OTHER IDEAS?
</li></ul>
<h3> Questions </h3>
<ul><li> What is the main purpose? 1) To engage the public to draw attention to the issue? 2) To unite the different campaign finance reform groups around Boston? Other?
</li><li> Which events should occur on which days? In particular, would the rally be better on Friday or Saturday?
</li></ul>

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-12-10T23:20:25Z

Sandersh6000:

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==
<p>Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com
</p><p>You can sign up to receive emails at <a href="https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited">https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited</a>
 
</p><p><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/campaignfinancereformus/calendar-of-events?pli=1">Calendar of Events</a>
</p><p> 
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.
</p>
<h2> Meetings:<br /> </h2>
<p>Next Meeting will be: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm BIddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., near Dewey Sq. If you're interested, comment here or sign up and inquire on the listserve link shown above.
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting">Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29">Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Minutes from Nov. 1">Minutes from Nov. 1</a>
</p><p> 
</p>
<h2> Saturday Dec. 10 3:00 pm lecture has been moved to 5:00 pm on the common </h2> </p>

<h2> Lecture & Open Discussion Series </h2>
Saturday Dec. 10 3:00PM <br>
Donna Palermino: "Pay to Play: A History of Citizens United and How to Get Corporate Money out of Politics" <br>
Donna is a Civil Liberties and Free Speech Professor at Boston University and Suffolk University. This will be a lecture on the history of Supreme Court ruling and how this decision has impacted elections.

Sunday Dec. 11 3:30PM <br>
Jules Levine: "Public Financing of Election Campaigns -- A Way Station; Fair, Just and Good Government--Our Destination" <br>
Jules is a practicing Law Professor at Boston University. He was actively involved in the MA Public Financing System brought to the State House in the 90's, and continues to promote the public financing of elections in Massachusetts. This lecture will provide a brief history of the reforms in MA, and also touch on the benefits and cost-savings this system would provide.

<h2> Next Steps Agreed on: </h2>
<p>Work with Jenn on a <a _fcknotitle="true" href="WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly">WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly</a> street theatre event in Boston for Friday, January 20 to publicize the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This demonstration will be the Boston activity for the one-day demonstration at federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nationwide event is organized by Move To Amend (see link at bottom of page under "Other Groups." The CUEPB Working Group supports the Boston effort and will prepare a proposal to GA endorsing this event once more details are determined.
</p><p>Analyze and discuss pending legislation on the wiki in order to decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. Edit the <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> page to add links, summarize what's in a link and/or discuss your opinions about proposed bills. We will also draw on knowledge from other citizen action groups to get up to speed quickly on the campaign reform options.
</p><p>Build collaboration with other local groups, listed below on this page, who are working to change campaign funding.
</p><p>Continue to gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.
</p><p><br />
</p>
<h3> Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: </h3>
<p>Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Public Citizen's</a> action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
</p>
<h2> Sub-topics:  </h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood">End Corporate Personhood</a>
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h3> Business Card Ideas </h3>
<p><b>Front</b>: <br />
[slogan] <br />
learn more at <br />
www.campaignfinancereform.us <br />
[contact info] <br />
</p><p><b>Back</b>: informative text explaining the movement. <br />
</p><p><b>Version 1: <br /></b>
Many legislators spend over half their time raising money for their next campaign. With the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, corporations can now spend unlimited and unregulated amounts of money on elections. The tremendous amount of time and money that goes into fundraising warps our government's ability to listen to the people. Join us in creating constitutional amendments and new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><b>Version 2: </b> (votes for: Andy, Susi, Nina)<br />
Corporate money floods the election process without limits or meaningful regulations. Many lawmakers spend over half their time fundraising for the next election and listen more to money than to us.
</p><p>Join us in creating new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><br />
<b>Slogan ideas</b> <br />
</p>
<ul><li> Reclaiming our democracy (votes for: Andy, Susi)
</li><li> Taking back congress from the 1%
</li><li> End corporate personhood
</li><li> End institutionalized bribery
</li></ul>
<p><b>Contact info:</b> what should we put here? I have fixcitizensunited@gmail.com, but at least for the moment, I'm the only one that reads it. That may not be ideal.
</p>
<h2> Background Information: </h2>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion">Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion</a></h4>
<p>The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.
</p><p>Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of <i>Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.</i>
</p><p>In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i>) that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.
</p><p>The <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i> decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.
</p>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> (passed and pending)</h4>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Politicians and Candidates">Politicians and Candidates</a></h4>
<p><a href="http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx">Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)</a>
</p><p><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html">Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption </a>(in Politico.com)
</p>
<h2> Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) </h2>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York">Calendar of Boston-Events </a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307">Common Cause</a> Common Cause is working diligently to expose the role of special interests, and promote reforms that put democracy back in the hands of "we the people."
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.coffeepartyusa.com">Coffee Party USA</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty">Boston Coffee Party</a> "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact <a href="mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com">coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.democracyfund.org/">Democracy Fund</a> "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact <a href="mailto:info@democracyfund.org">info@democracyfund.org</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> related to Public Citizen. The propose a constitutional amendment to ban money to corporate electioneering. In addition, they are pursuing several reforms. Public financing of elections, a shareholder protection act and a constitutional amendment go together as a package response to rein in the excessive influence that unrestricted, massive corporate expenditures can exert over our democracy. A constitutional amendment offers the long-term solution to address the other damaging effects on our society of treating corporations as if they’re entitled to the same rights to express themselves as real people.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://freespeechforpeople.org/">Free Speech for People</a> Proposes the following amendment:
</p>
<ul><li> Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
</li><li> Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
</li><li> Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people's rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable."
</li></ul>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.getmoneyout.com/">Get Money Out</a> Supports a constitutional amendment: "No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office"
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://movetoamend.org">Move to Amend</a>  We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
</p>
<ul><li>Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
</li><li>Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
</li><li>Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.
</li></ul>
<p>The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/GovernmentByThePeople">People for the American Way</a> "The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC threatens to tear apart the fabric of our democracy and grant powerful corporations unfettered influence in our political process. It's a drastic departure from previous law and our core values as a nation and it must be met with an appropriate response."
</p>
<hr />
<p>Public Citizen (sponsors <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> above)
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
</p>
<hr />
<h3> Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders</h3>
<ul><li> <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography">Lawrence Lessig</a> - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of <a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433">Republic Lost</a>. Contact: Admin <a href="mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org">Szelena Gray</a>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h2> Occupy the Courts (January 20-21, 2012) </h2>
<p>Currently, this event is in the planning stage. Some ideas include:
</p>
<h3> Event Ideas </h3>
<p>FIRST PLANNING MEETING: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm, Biddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., Boston - near Dewey Sq.
</p>
<ul><li> RALLY - This would require a main stage and a program that would include a mix of relevant speakers, musicians, comedians and entertainment. There will be space for groups like Rootstrikers.org, Move to Amend, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and even the opposition to come and lobby the PEOPLE. There will also be non-partisan educational exhibits and activities geared toward children and adults. Each elected official will also be given a "tent" space, so that they can meet and greet their constituents and participate in the occupation as well. The purpose of the rally is to create an interactive and educational event where people can have an opportunity to learn how money in politics negatively affects our lives and how WE CAN FIX IT!
</li></ul>
<ul><li> SUMMIT - the summit would be a bicameral convention with one house working toward local reforms and the other working toward federal reforms. There is consensus among a large number of people that an amendment would be beneficial to reform. There are six amendments and counting sitting in Congress now and several other groups proposing their own. Let's put all of those ideas together, and see if we can make them one.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> STREET THEATER MONOPOLY SKIT - A creative, engaging street theater skit based on the Monopoly game designed to emphasize the correlation between corporate funding, campaign finance and financial ties to lobbying, making the case that our politicians, the supreme court, and essentially the entire American Gov't can be "bought and sold". Seeking creatives to work on this initiative. Needed: Writers to help develop the concept into an even more hilarious poignant skit, actors and actresses including ideally a professional auctioneer, artists to assist with costuming and props, photographers and filmmakers to document the action, any and all interested folks who want to get their creative juices flowing and are willing to play a role even as simple as carrying a sign as a backdrop. :) A grant application is in the works for funding to make this piece a truly awesome experience that you won't want to miss! The skit will be done in conjunction with the other actions that weekend. Please contact Jenn via jennjoy75 at gmail dot com with your availability for the meeting and/or for more information.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> OTHER IDEAS?
</li></ul>
<h3> Questions </h3>
<ul><li> What is the main purpose? 1) To engage the public to draw attention to the issue? 2) To unite the different campaign finance reform groups around Boston? Other?
</li><li> Which events should occur on which days? In particular, would the rally be better on Friday or Saturday?
</li></ul>

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-12-10T23:19:53Z

Sandersh6000:

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==
<p>Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com
</p><p>You can sign up to receive emails at [https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited]
</p><p><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/campaignfinancereformus/calendar-of-events?pli=1">Calendar of Events</a>
</p><p> 
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.
</p>
<h2> Meetings:<br /> </h2>
<p>Next Meeting will be: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm BIddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., near Dewey Sq. If you're interested, comment here or sign up and inquire on the listserve link shown above.
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting">Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29">Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Minutes from Nov. 1">Minutes from Nov. 1</a>
</p><p> 
</p>
<h2> Saturday Dec. 10 3:00 pm lecture has been moved to 5:00 pm on the common </h2> </p>

<h2> Lecture & Open Discussion Series </h2>
Saturday Dec. 10 3:00PM <br>
Donna Palermino: "Pay to Play: A History of Citizens United and How to Get Corporate Money out of Politics" <br>
Donna is a Civil Liberties and Free Speech Professor at Boston University and Suffolk University. This will be a lecture on the history of Supreme Court ruling and how this decision has impacted elections.

Sunday Dec. 11 3:30PM <br>
Jules Levine: "Public Financing of Election Campaigns -- A Way Station; Fair, Just and Good Government--Our Destination" <br>
Jules is a practicing Law Professor at Boston University. He was actively involved in the MA Public Financing System brought to the State House in the 90's, and continues to promote the public financing of elections in Massachusetts. This lecture will provide a brief history of the reforms in MA, and also touch on the benefits and cost-savings this system would provide.

<h2> Next Steps Agreed on: </h2>
<p>Work with Jenn on a <a _fcknotitle="true" href="WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly">WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly</a> street theatre event in Boston for Friday, January 20 to publicize the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This demonstration will be the Boston activity for the one-day demonstration at federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nationwide event is organized by Move To Amend (see link at bottom of page under "Other Groups." The CUEPB Working Group supports the Boston effort and will prepare a proposal to GA endorsing this event once more details are determined.
</p><p>Analyze and discuss pending legislation on the wiki in order to decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. Edit the <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> page to add links, summarize what's in a link and/or discuss your opinions about proposed bills. We will also draw on knowledge from other citizen action groups to get up to speed quickly on the campaign reform options.
</p><p>Build collaboration with other local groups, listed below on this page, who are working to change campaign funding.
</p><p>Continue to gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.
</p><p><br />
</p>
<h3> Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: </h3>
<p>Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Public Citizen's</a> action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
</p>
<h2> Sub-topics:  </h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood">End Corporate Personhood</a>
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h3> Business Card Ideas </h3>
<p><b>Front</b>: <br />
[slogan] <br />
learn more at <br />
www.campaignfinancereform.us <br />
[contact info] <br />
</p><p><b>Back</b>: informative text explaining the movement. <br />
</p><p><b>Version 1: <br /></b>
Many legislators spend over half their time raising money for their next campaign. With the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, corporations can now spend unlimited and unregulated amounts of money on elections. The tremendous amount of time and money that goes into fundraising warps our government's ability to listen to the people. Join us in creating constitutional amendments and new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><b>Version 2: </b> (votes for: Andy, Susi, Nina)<br />
Corporate money floods the election process without limits or meaningful regulations. Many lawmakers spend over half their time fundraising for the next election and listen more to money than to us.
</p><p>Join us in creating new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><br />
<b>Slogan ideas</b> <br />
</p>
<ul><li> Reclaiming our democracy (votes for: Andy, Susi)
</li><li> Taking back congress from the 1%
</li><li> End corporate personhood
</li><li> End institutionalized bribery
</li></ul>
<p><b>Contact info:</b> what should we put here? I have fixcitizensunited@gmail.com, but at least for the moment, I'm the only one that reads it. That may not be ideal.
</p>
<h2> Background Information: </h2>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion">Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion</a></h4>
<p>The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.
</p><p>Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of <i>Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.</i>
</p><p>In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i>) that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.
</p><p>The <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i> decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.
</p>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> (passed and pending)</h4>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Politicians and Candidates">Politicians and Candidates</a></h4>
<p><a href="http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx">Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)</a>
</p><p><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html">Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption </a>(in Politico.com)
</p>
<h2> Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) </h2>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York">Calendar of Boston-Events </a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307">Common Cause</a> Common Cause is working diligently to expose the role of special interests, and promote reforms that put democracy back in the hands of "we the people."
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.coffeepartyusa.com">Coffee Party USA</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty">Boston Coffee Party</a> "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact <a href="mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com">coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.democracyfund.org/">Democracy Fund</a> "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact <a href="mailto:info@democracyfund.org">info@democracyfund.org</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> related to Public Citizen. The propose a constitutional amendment to ban money to corporate electioneering. In addition, they are pursuing several reforms. Public financing of elections, a shareholder protection act and a constitutional amendment go together as a package response to rein in the excessive influence that unrestricted, massive corporate expenditures can exert over our democracy. A constitutional amendment offers the long-term solution to address the other damaging effects on our society of treating corporations as if they’re entitled to the same rights to express themselves as real people.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://freespeechforpeople.org/">Free Speech for People</a> Proposes the following amendment:
</p>
<ul><li> Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
</li><li> Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
</li><li> Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people's rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable."
</li></ul>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.getmoneyout.com/">Get Money Out</a> Supports a constitutional amendment: "No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office"
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://movetoamend.org">Move to Amend</a>  We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
</p>
<ul><li>Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
</li><li>Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
</li><li>Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.
</li></ul>
<p>The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/GovernmentByThePeople">People for the American Way</a> "The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC threatens to tear apart the fabric of our democracy and grant powerful corporations unfettered influence in our political process. It's a drastic departure from previous law and our core values as a nation and it must be met with an appropriate response."
</p>
<hr />
<p>Public Citizen (sponsors <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> above)
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
</p>
<hr />
<h3> Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders</h3>
<ul><li> <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography">Lawrence Lessig</a> - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of <a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433">Republic Lost</a>. Contact: Admin <a href="mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org">Szelena Gray</a>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h2> Occupy the Courts (January 20-21, 2012) </h2>
<p>Currently, this event is in the planning stage. Some ideas include:
</p>
<h3> Event Ideas </h3>
<p>FIRST PLANNING MEETING: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm, Biddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., Boston - near Dewey Sq.
</p>
<ul><li> RALLY - This would require a main stage and a program that would include a mix of relevant speakers, musicians, comedians and entertainment. There will be space for groups like Rootstrikers.org, Move to Amend, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and even the opposition to come and lobby the PEOPLE. There will also be non-partisan educational exhibits and activities geared toward children and adults. Each elected official will also be given a "tent" space, so that they can meet and greet their constituents and participate in the occupation as well. The purpose of the rally is to create an interactive and educational event where people can have an opportunity to learn how money in politics negatively affects our lives and how WE CAN FIX IT!
</li></ul>
<ul><li> SUMMIT - the summit would be a bicameral convention with one house working toward local reforms and the other working toward federal reforms. There is consensus among a large number of people that an amendment would be beneficial to reform. There are six amendments and counting sitting in Congress now and several other groups proposing their own. Let's put all of those ideas together, and see if we can make them one.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> STREET THEATER MONOPOLY SKIT - A creative, engaging street theater skit based on the Monopoly game designed to emphasize the correlation between corporate funding, campaign finance and financial ties to lobbying, making the case that our politicians, the supreme court, and essentially the entire American Gov't can be "bought and sold". Seeking creatives to work on this initiative. Needed: Writers to help develop the concept into an even more hilarious poignant skit, actors and actresses including ideally a professional auctioneer, artists to assist with costuming and props, photographers and filmmakers to document the action, any and all interested folks who want to get their creative juices flowing and are willing to play a role even as simple as carrying a sign as a backdrop. :) A grant application is in the works for funding to make this piece a truly awesome experience that you won't want to miss! The skit will be done in conjunction with the other actions that weekend. Please contact Jenn via jennjoy75 at gmail dot com with your availability for the meeting and/or for more information.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> OTHER IDEAS?
</li></ul>
<h3> Questions </h3>
<ul><li> What is the main purpose? 1) To engage the public to draw attention to the issue? 2) To unite the different campaign finance reform groups around Boston? Other?
</li><li> Which events should occur on which days? In particular, would the rally be better on Friday or Saturday?
</li></ul>

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-12-10T23:18:47Z

Sandersh6000:

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==

Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com
</p><p>You can sign up to receive emails at <a href="https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited">https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited</a>
 
</p><p><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/campaignfinancereformus/calendar-of-events?pli=1">Calendar of Events</a>
</p><p> 
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.
</p>
<h2> Meetings:<br /> </h2>
<p>Next Meeting will be: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm BIddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., near Dewey Sq. If you're interested, comment here or sign up and inquire on the listserve link shown above.
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting">Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting">Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29">Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29</a>
</p><p><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Minutes from Nov. 1">Minutes from Nov. 1</a>
</p><p> 
</p>
<h2> Saturday Dec. 10 3:00 pm lecture has been moved to 5:00 pm on the common </h2> </p>

<h2> Lecture & Open Discussion Series </h2>
Saturday Dec. 10 3:00PM <br>
Donna Palermino: "Pay to Play: A History of Citizens United and How to Get Corporate Money out of Politics" <br>
Donna is a Civil Liberties and Free Speech Professor at Boston University and Suffolk University. This will be a lecture on the history of Supreme Court ruling and how this decision has impacted elections.

Sunday Dec. 11 3:30PM <br>
Jules Levine: "Public Financing of Election Campaigns -- A Way Station; Fair, Just and Good Government--Our Destination" <br>
Jules is a practicing Law Professor at Boston University. He was actively involved in the MA Public Financing System brought to the State House in the 90's, and continues to promote the public financing of elections in Massachusetts. This lecture will provide a brief history of the reforms in MA, and also touch on the benefits and cost-savings this system would provide.

<h2> Next Steps Agreed on: </h2>
<p>Work with Jenn on a <a _fcknotitle="true" href="WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly">WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly</a> street theatre event in Boston for Friday, January 20 to publicize the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This demonstration will be the Boston activity for the one-day demonstration at federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nationwide event is organized by Move To Amend (see link at bottom of page under "Other Groups." The CUEPB Working Group supports the Boston effort and will prepare a proposal to GA endorsing this event once more details are determined.
</p><p>Analyze and discuss pending legislation on the wiki in order to decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. Edit the <a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> page to add links, summarize what's in a link and/or discuss your opinions about proposed bills. We will also draw on knowledge from other citizen action groups to get up to speed quickly on the campaign reform options.
</p><p>Build collaboration with other local groups, listed below on this page, who are working to change campaign funding.
</p><p>Continue to gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.
</p><p><br />
</p>
<h3> Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: </h3>
<p>Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Public Citizen's</a> action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
</p>
<h2> Sub-topics:  </h2>
<ul><li><a href="http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood">End Corporate Personhood</a>
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h3> Business Card Ideas </h3>
<p><b>Front</b>: <br />
[slogan] <br />
learn more at <br />
www.campaignfinancereform.us <br />
[contact info] <br />
</p><p><b>Back</b>: informative text explaining the movement. <br />
</p><p><b>Version 1: <br /></b>
Many legislators spend over half their time raising money for their next campaign. With the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, corporations can now spend unlimited and unregulated amounts of money on elections. The tremendous amount of time and money that goes into fundraising warps our government's ability to listen to the people. Join us in creating constitutional amendments and new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><b>Version 2: </b> (votes for: Andy, Susi, Nina)<br />
Corporate money floods the election process without limits or meaningful regulations. Many lawmakers spend over half their time fundraising for the next election and listen more to money than to us.
</p><p>Join us in creating new laws to take the money out of politics!
</p><p><br />
<b>Slogan ideas</b> <br />
</p>
<ul><li> Reclaiming our democracy (votes for: Andy, Susi)
</li><li> Taking back congress from the 1%
</li><li> End corporate personhood
</li><li> End institutionalized bribery
</li></ul>
<p><b>Contact info:</b> what should we put here? I have fixcitizensunited@gmail.com, but at least for the moment, I'm the only one that reads it. That may not be ideal.
</p>
<h2> Background Information: </h2>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion">Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion</a></h4>
<p>The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.
</p><p>Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of <i>Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.</i>
</p><p>In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i>) that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.
</p><p>The <i>Citizens United v. FEC</i> decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.
</p>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Campaign Finance Legislation">Campaign Finance Legislation</a> (passed and pending)</h4>
<h4><a _fcknotitle="true" href="Politicians and Candidates">Politicians and Candidates</a></h4>
<p><a href="http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx">Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)</a>
</p><p><a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html">Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption </a>(in Politico.com)
</p>
<h2> Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) </h2>
<p><a href="https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York">Calendar of Boston-Events </a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307">Common Cause</a> Common Cause is working diligently to expose the role of special interests, and promote reforms that put democracy back in the hands of "we the people."
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.coffeepartyusa.com">Coffee Party USA</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty">Boston Coffee Party</a> "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact <a href="mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com">coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.democracyfund.org/">Democracy Fund</a> "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact <a href="mailto:info@democracyfund.org">info@democracyfund.org</a>
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> related to Public Citizen. The propose a constitutional amendment to ban money to corporate electioneering. In addition, they are pursuing several reforms. Public financing of elections, a shareholder protection act and a constitutional amendment go together as a package response to rein in the excessive influence that unrestricted, massive corporate expenditures can exert over our democracy. A constitutional amendment offers the long-term solution to address the other damaging effects on our society of treating corporations as if they’re entitled to the same rights to express themselves as real people.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://freespeechforpeople.org/">Free Speech for People</a> Proposes the following amendment:
</p>
<ul><li> Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
</li><li> Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
</li><li> Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people's rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable."
</li></ul>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.getmoneyout.com/">Get Money Out</a> Supports a constitutional amendment: "No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office"
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://movetoamend.org">Move to Amend</a>  We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
</p>
<ul><li>Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
</li><li>Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
</li><li>Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.
</li></ul>
<p>The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/GovernmentByThePeople">People for the American Way</a> "The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC threatens to tear apart the fabric of our democracy and grant powerful corporations unfettered influence in our political process. It's a drastic departure from previous law and our core values as a nation and it must be met with an appropriate response."
</p>
<hr />
<p>Public Citizen (sponsors <a href="http://democracyisforpeople.org/">Democracy is for People</a> above)
</p>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
</p>
<hr />
<h3> Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders</h3>
<ul><li> <a href="http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography">Lawrence Lessig</a> - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of <a href="http://www.rootstrikers.org/">Rootstrikers</a>, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433">Republic Lost</a>. Contact: Admin <a href="mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org">Szelena Gray</a>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist
</li></ul>
<p>  
</p>
<h2> Occupy the Courts (January 20-21, 2012) </h2>
<p>Currently, this event is in the planning stage. Some ideas include:
</p>
<h3> Event Ideas </h3>
<p>FIRST PLANNING MEETING: Wednesday, December 7th, 7pm, Biddy Early's Pub, 141 Pearl St., Boston - near Dewey Sq.
</p>
<ul><li> RALLY - This would require a main stage and a program that would include a mix of relevant speakers, musicians, comedians and entertainment. There will be space for groups like Rootstrikers.org, Move to Amend, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and even the opposition to come and lobby the PEOPLE. There will also be non-partisan educational exhibits and activities geared toward children and adults. Each elected official will also be given a "tent" space, so that they can meet and greet their constituents and participate in the occupation as well. The purpose of the rally is to create an interactive and educational event where people can have an opportunity to learn how money in politics negatively affects our lives and how WE CAN FIX IT!
</li></ul>
<ul><li> SUMMIT - the summit would be a bicameral convention with one house working toward local reforms and the other working toward federal reforms. There is consensus among a large number of people that an amendment would be beneficial to reform. There are six amendments and counting sitting in Congress now and several other groups proposing their own. Let's put all of those ideas together, and see if we can make them one.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> STREET THEATER MONOPOLY SKIT - A creative, engaging street theater skit based on the Monopoly game designed to emphasize the correlation between corporate funding, campaign finance and financial ties to lobbying, making the case that our politicians, the supreme court, and essentially the entire American Gov't can be "bought and sold". Seeking creatives to work on this initiative. Needed: Writers to help develop the concept into an even more hilarious poignant skit, actors and actresses including ideally a professional auctioneer, artists to assist with costuming and props, photographers and filmmakers to document the action, any and all interested folks who want to get their creative juices flowing and are willing to play a role even as simple as carrying a sign as a backdrop. :) A grant application is in the works for funding to make this piece a truly awesome experience that you won't want to miss! The skit will be done in conjunction with the other actions that weekend. Please contact Jenn via jennjoy75 at gmail dot com with your availability for the meeting and/or for more information.
</li></ul>
<ul><li> OTHER IDEAS?
</li></ul>
<h3> Questions </h3>
<ul><li> What is the main purpose? 1) To engage the public to draw attention to the issue? 2) To unite the different campaign finance reform groups around Boston? Other?
</li><li> Which events should occur on which days? In particular, would the rally be better on Friday or Saturday?
</li></ul>

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-12-10T23:18:11Z

Sandersh6000:

Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting

2011-12-02T17:32:16Z

Sandersh6000:

Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery]

We are going to table discussion of our proposal to support the constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united until after we go to the Move to Amend meeting.

All should attend the Move to Amend meeting tonight (Thursday) at 7pm at the Arlington St. Church (351 Boylston St.)

Improvements to the wiki discussed and are already done! Thank you Laura!

Honi will contact Julius Levine (BU law professor; talked at OB on Sunday about campaign finance reform). as an expert, he could be a huge asset, and he seems incredibly committed to the cause. (also I met his son on the T on the way home from the meeting! what a coincidence) next meeting at his office?

legislation to ban beneficiaries of government spending from lobbying or donating to candidates?

Discussed the 99% Declaration (https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/). The idea is to have a national GA on July 4 next year to focus on how to restructure our government so that it be responsive to the people. We consented to donate our $100 weekly allocation as a working group to it.

Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting

2011-12-02T17:31:16Z

Sandersh6000: Created page with " We are going to table discussion of our proposal to support the constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united until after we go to the Move to Amend meeting. All should ..."

We are going to table discussion of our proposal to support the constitutional amendment to overturn citizens united until after we go to the Move to Amend meeting.

All should attend the Move to Amend meeting tonight (Thursday) at 7pm at the Arlington St. Church (351 Boylston St.)

Improvements to the wiki discussed and are already done! Thank you Laura!

Honi will contact Julius Levine (BU law professor; talked at OB on Sunday about campaign finance reform). as an expert, he could be a huge asset, and he seems incredibly committed to the cause. (also I met his son on the T on the way home from the meeting! what a coincidence) next meeting at his office?

legislation to ban beneficiaries of government spending from lobbying or donating to candidates?

Discussed the 99% Declaration (https://sites.google.com/site/the99percentdeclaration/). The idea is to have a national GA on July 4 next year to focus on how to restructure our government so that it be responsive to the people. We consented to donate our $100 weekly allocation as a working group to it.

Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting

2011-12-02T17:29:24Z

Sandersh6000: /* Mobilization */

Go to [[WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery]]

Meeting of the Boston Amendment Action Committee.

====Education====
Helene reported for the Education Committee and had prepared a 4 page education sheet that the group reviewed. Comments related to having a short brochure with only 3-4 items listed for each topic and then a longer form that would give more information. A resource list and websites would be included. The information was
presented with 1) Background on the Citizens United Decision on Jan
21, 2010, 2) Why we oppose it, 3) Possible solutions (An amendment,
new legislative bills possible and those pending) and 4) Actions we
could take. The Committee will take the suggestions and revise their
work for the next meeting.

====Bills Being Submitted====
See http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Campaign_Finance_Legislation
This was essentially covered by the Education Committee with the listing of the current bills, both state
and federal. ( The three Mass bills were 304,305,308 and S772- asking
that Congress propose a constitutional amendment. Bills regarding
campaign finance would come from the Federal Election Commission but
none have been proposed.)

====Demonstrations for January 20th and 21st====
Jenn Joy presented the
work of this committee.
MoveTo Amend asks that we commit our group to supporting the
national group to “occupy the Federal Court on Friday, January 20th.
We agreed to do this. This would probably be preceded by a march
from the Boston Commons to the Federal Court Building on the
waterfront. During this event a skit would be performed using ideas
from the game Monopoly and we would “auction off” some of our national
resources and coming elections. People dressed as bankers and
corporations would purchase them. A “barker” would be identified to
carry out this performance. Six to 8 people with boxes that
identified specific corporations would parade with the group and take
part. Sayings would be written on the back of the boxes. Other
posters would be developed. The walking route to the Federal Court
building would be determined by Occupy Boston and we will work with
them to coordinate this project. Jenn Joy will be submitting a grant
proposal to cover some of the expected expenses. Up to $5,000 will be
given. A meeting is scheduled next week to follow-up on this work.
An additional demonstration, march, activity will also be scheduled
for Saturday in the Boston area. This will be coordinated with Occupy
Boston.

====Wording of the proposed Amendment====
There was a great deal of discussion on this topic but no final decision. We will check with
the MovetoAmend group to read their wording and stay in touch with
other proposals to determine what wording is best. This is currently
unclear. We expect that the national organization have lawyers
working on this. The bills being introduced into Congress will be
collected and reviewed at a later date, but this is not the priority
for the activities in January.

====Mobilization====
A new committee to help Mobilize people for the January
demonstration was set up. The following ideas were suggested and
people were identified to contact each of the groups.
. Cambridge group that had a host party (Fred)
. Students (Honi)
. Ethical Society of Boston (Margo)
. Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard (Margo)
. Occupy Direct Action
. Churches, Boston Interfaith
. Green Rainbow Party (Francoise)
. Watertown Citizens (Fred)
. Coffee Party-(Helene)
. Mass Vote (Helene)
. Contact Politicians: Elizabeth Warren (Margo), Markey, Mc Govern, Capuano , etc.

Plan: Get out the message before Xmas and follow up again 2nd week in
January.

====Next Meeting====
December 15 for Move to Amend conference call. May or may not be in concert with the local Move to Amend chapter's meeting.

Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting

2011-12-02T17:28:57Z

Sandersh6000:

Go to [[WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery]]

Meeting of the Boston Amendment Action Committee.

====Education====
Helene reported for the Education Committee and had prepared a 4 page education sheet that the group reviewed. Comments related to having a short brochure with only 3-4 items listed for each topic and then a longer form that would give more information. A resource list and websites would be included. The information was
presented with 1) Background on the Citizens United Decision on Jan
21, 2010, 2) Why we oppose it, 3) Possible solutions (An amendment,
new legislative bills possible and those pending) and 4) Actions we
could take. The Committee will take the suggestions and revise their
work for the next meeting.

====Bills Being Submitted====
See http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Campaign_Finance_Legislation
This was essentially covered by the Education Committee with the listing of the current bills, both state
and federal. ( The three Mass bills were 304,305,308 and S772- asking
that Congress propose a constitutional amendment. Bills regarding
campaign finance would come from the Federal Election Commission but
none have been proposed.)

====Demonstrations for January 20th and 21st====
Jenn Joy presented the
work of this committee.
MoveTo Amend asks that we commit our group to supporting the
national group to “occupy the Federal Court on Friday, January 20th.
We agreed to do this. This would probably be preceded by a march
from the Boston Commons to the Federal Court Building on the
waterfront. During this event a skit would be performed using ideas
from the game Monopoly and we would “auction off” some of our national
resources and coming elections. People dressed as bankers and
corporations would purchase them. A “barker” would be identified to
carry out this performance. Six to 8 people with boxes that
identified specific corporations would parade with the group and take
part. Sayings would be written on the back of the boxes. Other
posters would be developed. The walking route to the Federal Court
building would be determined by Occupy Boston and we will work with
them to coordinate this project. Jenn Joy will be submitting a grant
proposal to cover some of the expected expenses. Up to $5,000 will be
given. A meeting is scheduled next week to follow-up on this work.
An additional demonstration, march, activity will also be scheduled
for Saturday in the Boston area. This will be coordinated with Occupy
Boston.

====Wording of the proposed Amendment====
There was a great deal of discussion on this topic but no final decision. We will check with
the MovetoAmend group to read their wording and stay in touch with
other proposals to determine what wording is best. This is currently
unclear. We expect that the national organization have lawyers
working on this. The bills being introduced into Congress will be
collected and reviewed at a later date, but this is not the priority
for the activities in January.

====Mobilization====
A new committee to help Mobilize people for the January
demonstration was set up. The following ideas were suggested and
people were identified to contact each of the groups.
. Cambridge group that had a host party (Fred)
. Students (Honi)
. Ethical Society of Boston (Margo)
. Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard (Margo)
. Occupy Direct Action
. Churches, Boston Interfaith
. Green Rainbow Party (Francoise)
. Watertown Citizens (Fred)
. Coffee Party-(Helene)
. Mass Vote (Helene)
. Contact Politicians: Elizabeth Warren (Margo)
Markey
Mc Govern
Capuano , etc.

Plan: Get out the message before Xmas and follow up again 2nd week in
January.

====Next Meeting====
December 15 for Move to Amend conference call. May or may not be in concert with the local Move to Amend chapter's meeting.

Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting

2011-12-02T17:28:18Z

Sandersh6000: /* Demonstrations for January 20th and 21st */

Go to [[WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery]]

Meeting of the Boston Amendment Action Committee.

====Education====
Helene reported for the Education Committee and had prepared a 4 page education sheet that the group reviewed. Comments related to having a short brochure with only 3-4 items listed for each topic and then a longer form that would give more information. A resource list and websites would be included. The information was
presented with 1) Background on the Citizens United Decision on Jan
21, 2010, 2) Why we oppose it, 3) Possible solutions (An amendment,
new legislative bills possible and those pending) and 4) Actions we
could take. The Committee will take the suggestions and revise their
work for the next meeting.

====Bills Being Submitted====
See http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Campaign_Finance_Legislation
This was essentially covered by the Education Committee with the listing of the current bills, both state
and federal. ( The three Mass bills were 304,305,308 and S772- asking
that Congress propose a constitutional amendment. Bills regarding
campaign finance would come from the Federal Election Commission but
none have been proposed.)

====Demonstrations for January 20th and 21st====
Jenn Joy presented the
work of this committee.
MoveTo Amend asks that we commit our group to supporting the
national group to “occupy the Federal Court on Friday, January 20th.
We agreed to do this. This would probably be preceded by a march
from the Boston Commons to the Federal Court Building on the
waterfront. During this event a skit would be performed using ideas
from the game Monopoly and we would “auction off” some of our national
resources and coming elections. People dressed as bankers and
corporations would purchase them. A “barker” would be identified to
carry out this performance. Six to 8 people with boxes that
identified specific corporations would parade with the group and take
part. Sayings would be written on the back of the boxes. Other
posters would be developed. The walking route to the Federal Court
building would be determined by Occupy Boston and we will work with
them to coordinate this project. Jenn Joy will be submitting a grant
proposal to cover some of the expected expenses. Up to $5,000 will be
given. A meeting is scheduled next week to follow-up on this work.
An additional demonstration, march, activity will also be scheduled
for Saturday in the Boston area. This will be coordinated with Occupy
Boston.

====Wording of the proposed Amendment====
There was a great deal of discussion on this topic but no final decision. We will check with
the MovetoAmend group to read their wording and stay in touch with
other proposals to determine what wording is best. This is currently
unclear. We expect that the national organization have lawyers
working on this. The bills being introduced into Congress will be
collected and reviewed at a later date, but this is not the priority
for the activities in January.

====Mobilization====
A new committee to help Mobilize people for the January
demonstration was set up. The following ideas were suggested and
people were identified to contact each of the groups.
. Cambridge group that had a host party (Fred)
. Students (Honi)
. Ethical Society of Boston (Margo)
. Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard (Margo)
. Occupy Direct Action
. Churches, Boston Interfaith
. Green Rainbow Party (Francoise)
. Watertown Citizens (Fred)
. Coffee Party-(Helene)
. Mass Vote (Helene)
. Contact Politicians: Elizabeth Warren (Margo)
Markey
Mc Govern
Capuano , etc.

Plan: Get out the message before Xmas and follow up again 2nd week in
January.

=====Next Meeting=====
December 15 for Move to Amend conference call. May or may not be in concert with the local Move to Amend chapter's meeting.

Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting

2011-12-02T17:27:50Z

Sandersh6000: Created page with "Go to WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery Meeting of the Boston Amendment Action Committee. ====Education==== Helene reported for the Education Committ..."

Go to [[WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery]]

Meeting of the Boston Amendment Action Committee.

====Education====
Helene reported for the Education Committee and had prepared a 4 page education sheet that the group reviewed. Comments related to having a short brochure with only 3-4 items listed for each topic and then a longer form that would give more information. A resource list and websites would be included. The information was
presented with 1) Background on the Citizens United Decision on Jan
21, 2010, 2) Why we oppose it, 3) Possible solutions (An amendment,
new legislative bills possible and those pending) and 4) Actions we
could take. The Committee will take the suggestions and revise their
work for the next meeting.

====Bills Being Submitted====
See http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Campaign_Finance_Legislation
This was essentially covered by the Education Committee with the listing of the current bills, both state
and federal. ( The three Mass bills were 304,305,308 and S772- asking
that Congress propose a constitutional amendment. Bills regarding
campaign finance would come from the Federal Election Commission but
none have been proposed.)

====Demonstrations for January 20th and 21st====
Jenn Joy presented the
work of this committee.
MoveTo Amend asks that we commit our group to supporting the
national group to “occupy the Federal Court on Friday, January 20th.
We agreed to do this. This would probably be preceded by a march
from the Boston Commons to the Federal Court Building on the
waterfront. During this event a skit would be performed using ideas
from the game Monopoly and we would “auction off” some of our national
resources and coming elections. People dressed as bankers and
corporations would purchase them. A “barker” would be identified to
carry out this performance. Six to 8 people with boxes that
identified specific corporations would parade with the group and take
part. Sayings would be written on the back of the boxes. Other
posters would be developed. The walking route to the Federal Court
building would be determined by Occupy Boston and we will work with
them to coordinate this project. Jenn Joy will be submitting a grant
proposal to cover some of the expected expenses. Up to $5,000 will be
given. A meeting is scheduled next week to follow-up on this work.
An additional demonstration, march, activity will also be scheduled
for Saturday in the Boston area. This will be coordinated with Occupy
Boston.

====Wording of the proposed Amendment====
There was a great deal of discussion on this topic but no final decision. We will check with
the MovetoAmend group to read their wording and stay in touch with
other proposals to determine what wording is best. This is currently
unclear. We expect that the national organization have lawyers
working on this. The bills being introduced into Congress will be
collected and reviewed at a later date, but this is not the priority
for the activities in January.

====Mobilization====
A new committee to help Mobilize people for the January
demonstration was set up. The following ideas were suggested and
people were identified to contact each of the groups.
. Cambridge group that had a host party (Fred)
. Students (Honi)
. Ethical Society of Boston (Margo)
. Humanist Chaplaincy of Harvard (Margo)
. Occupy Direct Action
. Churches, Boston Interfaith
. Green Rainbow Party (Francoise)
. Watertown Citizens (Fred)
. Coffee Party-(Helene)
. Mass Vote (Helene)
. Contact Politicians: Elizabeth Warren (Margo)
Markey
Mc Govern
Capuano , etc.

Plan: Get out the message before Xmas and follow up again 2nd week in
January.

=====Next Meeting=====
December 15 for Move to Amend conference call. May or may not be in concert with the local Move to Amend chapter's meeting.

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-12-02T17:08:37Z

Sandersh6000: /* Meetings: */

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==

Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

You can sign up to receive emails at [https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited]
 

[https://sites.google.com/site/campaignfinancereformus/calendar-of-events?pli=1 Calendar of Events]

 
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

== Meetings:<br/> ==

Next Meeting will be:  TBD. Some of us will attend a "House Party" next Wednesday, Nov. 30, in Brookline, to focus on the January 20 theatre event and make connections with other groups. If you're interested, comment here or sign up and inquire on the listserve link shown above.

[[Notes from Nov. 30 BAAC Meeting]]

[[Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting]]

[[Notes from Nov. 16 CUEPB Meeting]]

[[Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29]]

[[Minutes from Nov. 1]]

 

== Next Steps Agreed on: ==

Work with Jenn on a [[WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly]] street theatre event in Boston for Friday, January 20 to publicize the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This demonstration will be the Boston activity for the one-day demonstration at federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nationwide event is organized by Move To Amend (see link at bottom of page under "Other Groups." The CUEPB Working Group supports the Boston effort and will prepare a proposal to GA endorsing this event once more details are determined.

Analyze and discuss pending legislation on the wiki in order to decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. Edit the [[Campaign Finance Legislation]] page to add links, summarize what's in a link and/or discuss your opinions about proposed bills. We will also draw on knowledge from other citizen action groups to get up to speed quickly on the campaign reform options.

Build collaboration with other local groups, listed below on this page, who are working to change campaign funding.

Continue to gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.

=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Public Citizen's] action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

== Sub-topics:  ==

*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood End Corporate Personhood]

  

=== Business Card Ideas ===

'''Front''': <br>
[slogan] <br>
learn more at <br>
www.campaignfinancereform.us <br>
[contact info] <br>

'''Back''': informative text explaining the movement. <br>

'''Version 1: <br>'''
Many legislators spend over half their time raising money for their next campaign. With the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, corporations can now spend unlimited and unregulated amounts of money on elections. The tremendous amount of time and money that goes into fundraising warps our government's ability to listen to the people. Join us in creating constitutional amendments and new laws to take the money out of politics!

'''Version 2: ''' (votes for: Andy, Susi, Nina)<br>
Corporate money floods the election process without limits or meaningful regulations. Many lawmakers spend over half their time fundraising for the next election and listen more to money than to us.

Join us in creating new laws to take the money out of politics!

'''Slogan ideas''' <br>
* Reclaiming our democracy (votes for: Andy, Susi)
* Taking back congress from the 1%
* End corporate personhood
* End institutionalized bribery

'''Contact info:''' what should we put here? I have fixcitizensunited@gmail.com, but at least for the moment, I'm the only one that reads it. That may not be ideal.

== Background Information: ==

====[[Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion]]====
The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.

Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of ''Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.''

In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in ''Citizens United v. FEC'') that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.

The ''Citizens United v. FEC'' decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.

====[[Campaign Finance Legislation]] (passed and pending)====

====[[Politicians and Candidates]]====

[http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)]

[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption ](in Politico.com)

== Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) ==
[https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York Calendar of Boston-Events ]
----
[http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307 Common Cause] Common Cause is working diligently to expose the role of special interests, and promote reforms that put democracy back in the hands of "we the people."
----
[http://www.coffeepartyusa.com Coffee Party USA] and [http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty Boston Coffee Party] "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact [mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com]
----
[http://www.democracyfund.org/ Democracy Fund] "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact [mailto:info@democracyfund.org info@democracyfund.org]
----
[http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for People] related to Public Citizen. The propose a constitutional amendment to ban money to corporate electioneering. In addition, they are pursuing several reforms. Public financing of elections, a shareholder protection act and a constitutional amendment go together as a package response to rein in the excessive influence that unrestricted, massive corporate expenditures can exert over our democracy. A constitutional amendment offers the long-term solution to address the other damaging effects on our society of treating corporations as if they’re entitled to the same rights to express themselves as real people.
----
[http://freespeechforpeople.org/ Free Speech for People] Proposes the following amendment:
* Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
* Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
* Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people's rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable."
----
[http://www.getmoneyout.com/ Get Money Out] Supports a constitutional amendment: "No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office"
----
[http://movetoamend.org Move to Amend]  We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
*Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
*Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
*Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.
The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
----
[http://www.pfaw.org/GovernmentByThePeople People for the American Way] "The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC threatens to tear apart the fabric of our democracy and grant powerful corporations unfettered influence in our political process. It's a drastic departure from previous law and our core values as a nation and it must be met with an appropriate response."
----
Public Citizen (sponsors [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for People] above)
----
[http://www.rootstrikers.org/ Rootstrikers]
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
----
=== Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders===
* [http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography Lawrence Lessig] - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of [http://www.rootstrikers.org/ Rootstrikers], author of [http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433 Republic Lost]. Contact: Admin [mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org Szelena Gray]

*Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist

  

== Occupy the Courts (January 20-21, 2012) ==
Currently, this event is in the planning stage. Some ideas include:

=== Event Ideas ===
* RALLY - This would require a main stage and a program that would include a mix of relevant speakers, musicians, comedians and entertainment. There will be space for groups like Rootstrikers.org, Move to Amend, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and even the opposition to come and lobby the PEOPLE. There will also be non-partisan educational exhibits and activities geared toward children and adults. Each elected official will also be given a "tent" space, so that they can meet and greet their constituents and participate in the occupation as well. The purpose of the rally is to create an interactive and educational event where people can have an opportunity to learn how money in politics negatively affects our lives and how WE CAN FIX IT!

* SUMMIT - the summit would be a bicameral convention with one house working toward local reforms and the other working toward federal reforms. There is consensus among a large number of people that an amendment would be beneficial to reform. There are six amendments and counting sitting in Congress now and several other groups proposing their own. Let's put all of those ideas together, and see if we can make them one.

* OTHER IDEAS?

=== Questions ===
* What is the main purpose? 1) To engage the public to draw attention to the issue? 2) To unite the different campaign finance reform groups around Boston? Other?
* Which events should occur on which days? In particular, would the rally be better on Friday or Saturday?

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-28T14:42:52Z

Sandersh6000: /* Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" */

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==

Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

You can sign up to receive emails at [https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited]
 

[https://sites.google.com/site/campaignfinancereformus/calendar-of-events?pli=1 Calendar of Events]

 
Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

== Meetings:<br/> ==

Next Meeting will be:  TBD. Some of us will attend a "House Party" next Wednesday, Nov. 30, in Brookline, to focus on the January 20 theatre event and make connections with other groups. If you're interested, comment here or sign up and inquire on the listserve link shown above.

[[Notes from Nov. 22 CUEPB Meeting]]

[[Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29]]

[[Minutes from Nov. 1]]

 

== Next Steps Agreed on: ==

Work with Jenn on a [[WG/Strategies/CUEPB/1% Monopoly]] street theatre event in Boston for Friday, January 20 to publicize the anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This demonstration will be the Boston activity for the one-day demonstration at federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nationwide event is organized by Move To Amend (see link at bottom of page under "Other Groups." The CUEPB Working Group supports the Boston effort and will prepare a proposal to GA endorsing this event once more details are determined.

Analyze and discuss pending legislation on the wiki in order to decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. Edit the [[Campaign Finance Legislation]] page to add links, summarize what's in a link and/or discuss your opinions about proposed bills. We will also draw on knowledge from other citizen action groups to get up to speed quickly on the campaign reform options.

Build collaboration with other local groups, listed below on this page, who are working to change campaign funding.

Continue to gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.

=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Public Citizen's] action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.

== Sub-topics:  ==

*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood End Corporate Personhood]

  

=== Business Card Ideas ===

'''Front''': <br>
[slogan] <br>
learn more at <br>
www.campaignfinancereform.us <br>
[contact info] <br>

'''Back''': informative text explaining the movement. One idea: <br>
Many legislators spend over half their time raising money for their next campaign. With the recent Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, corporations can now spend unlimited and unregulated amounts of money on elections. The tremendous amount of time and money that goes into fundraising warps our government's ability to listen to the people. Join us in creating constitutional amendments and new laws to take the money out of politics!

'''Slogan ideas''' <br>
* Reclaiming our democracy
* Taking back congress from the 1%
* End corporate personhood
* End institutionalized bribery

'''Contact info:''' what should we put here? I have fixcitizensunited@gmail.com, but at least for the moment, I'm the only one that reads it. I don't have a good idea.

== Background Information: ==

====[[Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Opinion]]====
The minority dissenting opinion quoted at this link gives arguments against the Supreme Court's majority opinion. After a summary, the opinion continues (not quoted here,) describing in detail the laws and rulings related to corporate personhood.

Under U.S. law, a corporation is a "corporate veil," protecting individuals inside a company from being prosecuted for the actions of the business. In 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court decided that corporations are entitled to many rights accorded to citizens, in its decision of ''Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Rail Road Co.''

In 1907 Congress passed the Tillman Act, prohibiting corporations from donating money directly to national political campaigns. This still holds, but in January 2010 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (in ''Citizens United v. FEC'') that corporations can spend unlimited amounts on political advertisements as long as they don't directly coordinate that spending with an actual candidate.

The ''Citizens United v. FEC'' decision invalidated protections that had existed in Massachusetts General Law, according to a March, 2010 ruling of the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Many bills are now being introduced in Massachusetts and at the federal level to counteract the wide effects of last year's Supreme Court decision by restricting corporate money from influencing politics.

====[[Campaign Finance Legislation]] (passed and pending)====

====[[Politicians and Candidates]]====

[http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)]

[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption ](in Politico.com)

== Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) ==
[https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York Calendar of Boston-Events ]
----
[http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4764307 Common Cause] Common Cause is working diligently to expose the role of special interests, and promote reforms that put democracy back in the hands of "we the people."
----
[http://www.coffeepartyusa.com Coffee Party USA] and [http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty Boston Coffee Party] "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact [mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com]
----
[http://www.democracyfund.org/ Democracy Fund] "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact [mailto:info@democracyfund.org info@democracyfund.org]
----
[http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for People] related to Public Citizen. The propose a constitutional amendment to ban money to corporate electioneering. In addition, they are pursuing several reforms. Public financing of elections, a shareholder protection act and a constitutional amendment go together as a package response to rein in the excessive influence that unrestricted, massive corporate expenditures can exert over our democracy. A constitutional amendment offers the long-term solution to address the other damaging effects on our society of treating corporations as if they’re entitled to the same rights to express themselves as real people.
----
[http://freespeechforpeople.org/ Free Speech for People] Proposes the following amendment:
* Section 1. We the people who ordain and establish this Constitution intend the rights protected by this Constitution to be the rights of natural persons.
* Section 2. People, person, or persons as used in this Constitution does not include corporations, limited liability companies or other corporate entities established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state, and such corporate entities are subject to such regulation as the people, through their elected state and federal representatives, deem reasonable and are otherwise consistent with the powers of Congress and the States under this Constitution.
* Section 3. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the people's rights of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free exercise of religion, and such other rights of the people, which rights are inalienable."
----
[http://www.getmoneyout.com/ Get Money Out] Supports a constitutional amendment: "No person, corporation or business entity of any type, domestic or foreign, shall be allowed to contribute money, directly or indirectly, to any candidate for Federal office or to contribute money on behalf of or opposed to any type of campaign for Federal office. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, campaign contributions to candidates for Federal office shall not constitute speech of any kind as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution or any amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Congress shall set forth a federal holiday for the purposes of voting for candidates for Federal office"
----
[http://movetoamend.org Move to Amend]  We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:
*Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
*Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
*Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.
The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. We Move to Amend.
----
[http://www.pfaw.org/GovernmentByThePeople People for the American Way] "The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC threatens to tear apart the fabric of our democracy and grant powerful corporations unfettered influence in our political process. It's a drastic departure from previous law and our core values as a nation and it must be met with an appropriate response."
----
Public Citizen (sponsors [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for People] above)
----
[http://www.rootstrikers.org/ Rootstrikers]
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
----
=== Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders===
* [http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography Lawrence Lessig] - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of [http://www.rootstrikers.org/ Rootstrikers], author of [http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433 Republic Lost]. Contact: Admin [mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org Szelena Gray]

*Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist

  

== Occupy the Courts (January 20-21, 2012) ==
Currently, this event is in the planning stage. Some ideas include:

=== Event Ideas ===
* RALLY - This would require a main stage and a program that would include a mix of relevant speakers, musicians, comedians and entertainment. There will be space for groups like Rootstrikers.org, Move to Amend, Common Cause, League of Women Voters and even the opposition to come and lobby the PEOPLE. There will also be non-partisan educational exhibits and activities geared toward children and adults. Each elected official will also be given a "tent" space, so that they can meet and greet their constituents and participate in the occupation as well. The purpose of the rally is to create an interactive and educational event where people can have an opportunity to learn how money in politics negatively affects our lives and how WE CAN FIX IT!

* SUMMIT - the summit would be a bicameral convention with one house working toward local reforms and the other working toward federal reforms. There is consensus among a large number of people that an amendment would be beneficial to reform. There are six amendments and counting sitting in Congress now and several other groups proposing their own. Let's put all of those ideas together, and see if we can make them one.

* OTHER IDEAS?

=== Questions ===
* What is the main purpose? 1) To engage the public to draw attention to the issue? 2) To unite the different campaign finance reform groups around Boston? Other?
* Which events should occur on which days? In particular, would the rally be better on Friday or Saturday?

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-22T18:30:18Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

<span style="font-size: smaller">''Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery <font color="#0b0080">Citizens United to End Political Bribery</font>] ... Go to [[Politicians and Candidates]]''</span>

==== ''<span style="font-size: larger"></span>'' ====

= Massachusetts =

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01985 H01985]

Disclosure. This bill requires corporations to notify their shareholders when making independent expenditures. The top five individuals or entities that donated must say their names and addresses during the advertisement. Bans foreign entities from making expenditures.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00304 S0304]

Senate Bill 304 will address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of '''disclosure''' and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 S00305]

Senate Bill 305 would require corporations spending general treasury funds on political advertisements to '''notify shareholders '''of those expenditures in quarterly reports. Additionally, this bill would require corporate managers to get approval from their board of directors prior to spending general treasury funds on political ads. This bill was heard by the [http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J15 Joint Committee on Election Laws] on October 19, after being referred to the committee in January, 2011. The next step for this bill is for the committee chairman [http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran] (representing Brookline & Brighton) to call a vote to release it to the House floor. The Senate would also have to act in this process.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00308 S00308]

Senate Bill 308 would establish an optional '''public matching campaign finance '''system for state legislature candidates, reducing the burden of time they must spend fund-raising, and helping ensure that elected officials are politically indebted to the people rather than to big-dollar donors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00317 S00317]

This bill prohibits public employees from soliciting or receiving gifts while in service.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00322 S0322]

This bill requires disclosure from candidates on expenditures related to issue-specific electioneering communications.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S01577 S01577]

Senate Bill 1577 would reduce the influence of special interest money through campaign finance restrictions which eliminate '''"pay to play"''' opportunities for two key groups with business before the state: lobbyists and state contractors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01974 H01974]

This bill sets limits on individual contributions made to candidates and political parties, but not ballot questions.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00772 S00772]

Senate Bill 772, introduced by [http://www.senatoreldridge.com/the-dridge-report/2430/we-the-people-responding-to-the-citizens-united-decision Sen. Jamie Eldridge ](Shirley, Ayer) would call for the US Congress to initiate a Constitutional Amendment "to restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people."  This is intended to counteract the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. 

 

== Other Reforms to Think About<br/> ==

<u> Insider Trading</u> Prevent elected officials and public employees from using their position to trade on insider information. "Throw Them All Out" is a new book illustrating this problem. Congress should have to follow the same rules as Martha Stewart and everyone else.

<u> Anti Lobbying Laws</u> Occupy LA influencedthe passing of a bill which prohibits lobbyists from doing business on public property.

<u> No Bail Out Money</u> Suggested by Matt Tahibi of Rolling Stone: if your corporation received a bail put or any kind of government assistance you are not allowed to turn around and use that money to lobby Congress.

<u> No Special Benefits</u> Congress should not receive any benefits that aren't available to the general public. If we don't have a public health care option, neither should they

<u> Post Service Employment</u> Prohibit elected officials and public servants from taking jobs in industries they are supposed to be regulating for four years after their last day in office.

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

==== [http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/ Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance] ====

Massachusetts has a public financing system that I do not entirely understand.

[http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/chap55.htm Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law]

A pdf of contribution limits: [[File:Contribution table.pdf|RTENOTITLE]]

Scn 55:6A limits Political Action Committee contributions to candidates as follows:

*governor $150,000;
*lieutenant governor $31,250;
*attorney general $62,500;
*state secretary, treasurer or auditor $37,500;
*state senator & various others $18,750;
*state representative $7,500.

Scn 55:7 puts similar restrictions on loans that a candidate may make to his/her candidate committee.  It also limits donations by individuals to $500/year to each candidate (or $25/year for a donor less than 18 years old,) adding up to less than $12,500 in one year to all candidates.  There is no limit on an individual's contribution to ballot question committees.

Scn 55:8 prohibits campaign or political contributions by businesses or majority stockholders in listed industries that might benefit from state actions.  Media offering free time to one candidate must make equivalent time available to competing candidates.

Scn 55:18G requires radio, TV or internet campaign advertising to disclose who paid for the announcement.  Violation is punishable for $10,000 fine and/or a year in prison.

Scn 55:22 requires reporting of all contributions to affect the vote on "any question submitted to the voters," except by qualified political committees. 

=   =

= Federal<br/> =

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112sjres29is/pdf/BILLS-112sjres29is.pdf Overturn Citizens United Constitutional Amendment]

[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hjres90ih/html/BILLS-112hjres90ih.htm Revoke Corporate Personhood Constitutional Amendment]

[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hjres88ih/pdf/BILLS-112hjres88ih.pdf Another Revoke Corporate Personhood Constitutional Amendment]

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-22T18:29:24Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

<span style="font-size: smaller">''Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery <font color="#0b0080">Citizens United to End Political Bribery</font>] ... Go to [[Politicians and Candidates]]''</span>

==== ''<span style="font-size: larger"></span>'' ====

= Massachusetts =

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01985 H01985]

Disclosure. This bill requires corporations to notify their shareholders when making independent expenditures. The top five individuals or entities that donated must say their names and addresses during the advertisement. Bans foreign entities from making expenditures.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00304 S0304]

Senate Bill 304 will address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of '''disclosure''' and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 S00305]

Senate Bill 305 would require corporations spending general treasury funds on political advertisements to '''notify shareholders '''of those expenditures in quarterly reports. Additionally, this bill would require corporate managers to get approval from their board of directors prior to spending general treasury funds on political ads. This bill was heard by the [http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J15 Joint Committee on Election Laws] on October 19, after being referred to the committee in January, 2011. The next step for this bill is for the committee chairman [http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran] (representing Brookline & Brighton) to call a vote to release it to the House floor. The Senate would also have to act in this process.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00308 S00308]

Senate Bill 308 would establish an optional '''public matching campaign finance '''system for state legislature candidates, reducing the burden of time they must spend fund-raising, and helping ensure that elected officials are politically indebted to the people rather than to big-dollar donors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00317 S00317]

This bill prohibits public employees from soliciting or receiving gifts while in service.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00322 S0322]

This bill requires disclosure from candidates on expenditures related to issue-specific electioneering communications.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S01577 S01577]

Senate Bill 1577 would reduce the influence of special interest money through campaign finance restrictions which eliminate '''"pay to play"''' opportunities for two key groups with business before the state: lobbyists and state contractors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01974 H01974]

This bill sets limits on individual contributions made to candidates and political parties, but not ballot questions.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00772 S00772]

Senate Bill 772, introduced by [http://www.senatoreldridge.com/the-dridge-report/2430/we-the-people-responding-to-the-citizens-united-decision Sen. Jamie Eldridge ](Shirley, Ayer) would call for the US Congress to initiate a Constitutional Amendment "to restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people."  This is intended to counteract the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. 

 

== Other Reforms to Think About<br/> ==

<u> Insider Trading</u> Prevent elected officials and public employees from using their position to trade on insider information. "Throw Them All Out" is a new book illustrating this problem. Congress should have to follow the same rules as Martha Stewart and everyone else.

<u> Anti Lobbying Laws</u> Occupy LA influencedthe passing of a bill which prohibits lobbyists from doing business on public property.

<u> No Bail Out Money</u> Suggested by Matt Tahibi of Rolling Stone: if your corporation received a bail put or any kind of government assistance you are not allowed to turn around and use that money to lobby Congress.

<u> No Special Benefits</u> Congress should not receive any benefits that aren't available to the general public. If we don't have a public health care option, neither should they

<u> Post Service Employment</u> Prohibit elected officials and public servants from taking jobs in industries they are supposed to be regulating for four years after their last day in office.

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

==== [http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/ Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance] ====

Massachusetts has a public financing system that I do not entirely understand.

[http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/chap55.htm Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law]

A pdf of contribution limits: [[File:Contribution table.pdf|RTENOTITLE]]

Scn 55:6A limits Political Action Committee contributions to candidates as follows:

*governor $150,000;
*lieutenant governor $31,250;
*attorney general $62,500;
*state secretary, treasurer or auditor $37,500;
*state senator & various others $18,750;
*state representative $7,500.

Scn 55:7 puts similar restrictions on loans that a candidate may make to his/her candidate committee.  It also limits donations by individuals to $500/year to each candidate (or $25/year for a donor less than 18 years old,) adding up to less than $12,500 in one year to all candidates.  There is no limit on an individual's contribution to ballot question committees.

Scn 55:8 prohibits campaign or political contributions by businesses or majority stockholders in listed industries that might benefit from state actions.  Media offering free time to one candidate must make equivalent time available to competing candidates.

Scn 55:18G requires radio, TV or internet campaign advertising to disclose who paid for the announcement.  Violation is punishable for $10,000 fine and/or a year in prison.

Scn 55:22 requires reporting of all contributions to affect the vote on "any question submitted to the voters," except by qualified political committees. 

=   =

= Federal<br/> =

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/71154073/A-Constitutional-Amendment-to-Reform-Campaign-Finance Overturn Citizens United Constitutional Amendment]

[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hjres90ih/html/BILLS-112hjres90ih.htm Revoke Corporate Personhood Constitutional Amendment]

[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hjres88ih/pdf/BILLS-112hjres88ih.pdf Another Revoke Corporate Personhood Constitutional Amendment]

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-20T00:35:11Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

<span style="font-size: smaller">''Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery <font color="#0b0080">Citizens United to End Political Bribery</font>] ... Go to [[Politicians and Candidates]]''</span>

==== ''<span style="font-size: larger"></span>'' ====

= Massachusetts =

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01985 H01985]

Disclosure. This bill requires corporations to notify their shareholders when making independent expenditures. The top five individuals or entities that donated must say their names and addresses during the advertisement. Bans foreign entities from making expenditures.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00304 S0304]

Senate Bill 304 will address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of '''disclosure''' and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 S00305]

Senate Bill 305 would require corporations spending general treasury funds on political advertisements to '''notify shareholders '''of those expenditures in quarterly reports. Additionally, this bill would require corporate managers to get approval from their board of directors prior to spending general treasury funds on political ads. This bill was heard by the [http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J15 Joint Committee on Election Laws] on October 19, after being referred to the committee in January, 2011. The next step for this bill is for the committee chairman [http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran] (representing Brookline & Brighton) to call a vote to release it to the House floor. The Senate would also have to act in this process.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00308 S00308]

Senate Bill 308 would establish an optional '''public matching campaign finance '''system for state legislature candidates, reducing the burden of time they must spend fund-raising, and helping ensure that elected officials are politically indebted to the people rather than to big-dollar donors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00317 S00317]

This bill prohibits public employees from soliciting or receiving gifts while in service.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00322 S0322]

This bill requires disclosure from candidates on expenditures related to issue-specific electioneering communications.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S01577 S01577]

Senate Bill 1577 would reduce the influence of special interest money through campaign finance restrictions which eliminate '''"pay to play"''' opportunities for two key groups with business before the state: lobbyists and state contractors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01974 H01974]

This bill sets limits on individual contributions made to candidates and political parties, but not ballot questions.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00772 S00772]

Senate Bill 772, introduced by [http://www.senatoreldridge.com/the-dridge-report/2430/we-the-people-responding-to-the-citizens-united-decision Sen. Jamie Eldridge ](Shirley, Ayer) would call for the US Congress to initiate a Constitutional Amendment "to restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people."  This is intended to counteract the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. 

 

== Other Reforms to Think About<br/> ==

<u> Insider Trading</u> Prevent elected officials and public employees from using their position to trade on insider information. "Throw Them All Out" is a new book illustrating this problem. Congress should have to follow the same rules as Martha Stewart and everyone else.

<u> Anti Lobbying Laws</u> Occupy LA influencedthe passing of a bill which prohibits lobbyists from doing business on public property.

<u> No Bail Out Money</u> Suggested by Matt Tahibi of Rolling Stone: if your corporation received a bail put or any kind of government assistance you are not allowed to turn around and use that money to lobby Congress.

<u> No Special Benefits</u> Congress should not receive any benefits that aren't available to the general public. If we don't have a public health care option, neither should they

<u> Post Service Employment</u> Prohibit elected officials and public servants from taking jobs in industries they are supposed to be regulating for four years after their last day in office.

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

==== [http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/ Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance] ====

Massachusetts has a public financing system that I do not entirely understand.

[http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/chap55.htm Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law]

A pdf of contribution limits: [[File:Contribution table.pdf|RTENOTITLE]]

Scn 55:6A limits Political Action Committee contributions to candidates as follows:

*governor $150,000;
*lieutenant governor $31,250;
*attorney general $62,500;
*state secretary, treasurer or auditor $37,500;
*state senator & various others $18,750;
*state representative $7,500.

Scn 55:7 puts similar restrictions on loans that a candidate may make to his/her candidate committee.  It also limits donations by individuals to $500/year to each candidate (or $25/year for a donor less than 18 years old,) adding up to less than $12,500 in one year to all candidates.  There is no limit on an individual's contribution to ballot question committees.

Scn 55:8 prohibits campaign or political contributions by businesses or majority stockholders in listed industries that might benefit from state actions.  Media offering free time to one candidate must make equivalent time available to competing candidates.

Scn 55:18G requires radio, TV or internet campaign advertising to disclose who paid for the announcement.  Violation is punishable for $10,000 fine and/or a year in prison.

Scn 55:22 requires reporting of all contributions to affect the vote on "any question submitted to the voters," except by qualified political committees. 

=   =

= Federal<br/> =

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/71154073/A-Constitutional-Amendment-to-Reform-Campaign-Finance Overturn Citizens United Constitutional Amendment]

[http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112hjres90ih/html/BILLS-112hjres90ih.htm Revoke Corporate Personhood Constitutional Amendment]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-18T14:52:09Z

Sandersh6000: /* Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

== Meetings:<br/> ==

Next Meeting will be:  TBD; Communicate through wiki and email for now. Email sandersh6000@gmail.com to join email list. Some of us will attend Move to Amend's meeting this Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 Thursday in the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.)

[[Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29]]

[[Minutes from Nov. 1]]

 

== Next Steps Agreed on: ==

Gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group. The Nov. 12 Open Discussion group recommends that we collaborate with existing activities on campaign funding by Move to Amend and the Coffee Party.

Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below (eg. [[Campaign Finance Legislation]]) to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.

=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Decide what proposed state and/or federal legislation we support. This is also a topic at Move To Amend, so we can work together on this research.

Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing Move to Amend's [http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts Occupy the Courts] on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 20, 2012). Occupy the Courts will be a one-day event/occupation of federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012. Volunteers across the U.S. will lead the charge on the judiciary that created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights and again call for local and state resolutions demanding a constitutional remedy. Activity in Boston is being discussed now. Ideas are welcome in a discussion thread to be created soon.

Prepare a proposal to GA endorsing Public Citizen's [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for the People] action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Better yet, you can meet an elected official there who had or will announce the introduction of a resolution to call for a constitutional remedy to this travesty.

== Sub-topics:  ==

*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood End Corporate Personhood]

  

== Background Information: ==

[[Campaign Finance Legislation]] (passed and pending)

[[Politicians and Candidates]]

[http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)]

[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption ](in Politico.com)

== Groups Outside Occupy Boston (In alphabetical order) ==
----
[https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=pjgaqjhni0freohoui3tbiqj5k%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York Calendar of Boston-Events ]
----
[http://www.coffeepartyusa.com http://www.coffeepartyusa.com] and [http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty] "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact [mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com]
----
[http://www.democracyfund.org/ http://www.democracyfund.org/] "Democracy Fund is a new operating foundation created to dramatically increase the funding, strategic focus, effectiveness and coordination of existing and emerging efforts to curb the undue influence of corporate lobbyists over the U.S. political process. " Contact [mailto:info@democracyfund.org info@democracyfund.org]
----
[http://movetoamend.org http://movetoamend.org]  "'''We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:'''

*Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
*Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
*Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.

The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. '''[http://movetoamend.org/motion-amend We Move to Amend.]"'''
----
[http://www.rootstrikers.org/ http://www.rootstrikers.org/]
"Our republic is dangerously out of balance. Well-financed special interests routinely bend the levers of power to benefit the few at the expense of our general welfare. Political bribery has been legalized by the courts, and both major parties have been co-opted and corrupted by the system... Rootstrikers is aimed at restoring power over American politics and government to 100% of the people. We hope patriots of all political persuasions will join us to help build an unstoppable grassroots movement that demands and delivers lasting reforms."
----
Key Local Experts and Opinion Leaders
* [http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/directory/index.html?id=888&show=bibliography Lawrence Lessig] - Harvard Law Professor, Founder of [http://www.rootstrikers.org/ Rootstrikers], author of [http://www.amazon.com/Republic-Lost-Money-Corrupts-Congress/dp/0446576433 Republic Lost]. Contact: Admin [mailto:szelena@rootstrikers.org Szelena Gray]

*Julius Levine - BU Law Professor Emeritus, long time Brookline political activist

  

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==

Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

You can sign up to receive emails at [[https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited]]
 

 

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-16T00:18:27Z

Sandersh6000: /* Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

== Meetings:<br/> ==

Next Meeting will be:  TBD; Communicate through wiki and email for now. Email sandersh6000@gmail.com to join email list. Some of us will attend Move to Amend's meeting this Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 Thursday in the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.)

[[Notes from Nov. 12 Open Discussion: SJR29]]

[[Minutes from Nov. 1]]

 

== Next Steps Agreed on: ==

Gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group. The Nov. 12 Open Discussion group recommends that we collaborate with existing activities on campaign funding by Move to Amend and the Coffee Party.

Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below (eg. [[Campaign Finance Legislation]]) to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.

=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Decide if we support proposed state legislation [http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 <font color="#3366bb">Bill S.305</font>] “Massachusetts Corporate Accountability Act of 2011."  If so, the next step might be to have Brookline/Brighton residents find out[http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran's ]plans for calling a committee vote on the bill.

Attend Move to Amend meeting against Citizens United, to be held at 7:00 Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.) 

Attend (or watch livestream) [http://www.northeastern.edu/teachin/ Northeastern's Teach In] on Sunday, Nov. 13 about the state of the economy.

Get involved in Move to Amend's [http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts Occupy the Courts] on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 20, 2012). Occupy the Courts will be a one-day event/occupation of federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012. Volunteers across the U.S. will lead the charge on the judiciary that created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights and again call for local and state resolutions demanding a constitutional remedy.

Get involved in Public Citizen's [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for the People] action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012). Occupy the Corporations will be an action on Saturday, January 21, when people either occupy or hold an event outside of a corporate target – primarily at Bank of America or British Petroleum locations. Activists there will make a citizen arrest of the corporation (e.g., a sign or other non-human stand-in) for infringing upon our democracy. Those who wish to can then march to their city or town hall and ask their elected officials to support them in calling for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Better yet, you can meet an elected official there who had or will announce the introduction of a resolution to call for a constitutional remedy to this travesty.

== Sub-topics:  ==

*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood End Corporate Personhood]

  

== Background Information: ==

[[Campaign Finance Legislation]] (passed and pending)

[[Politicians and Candidates]]

[http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)]

[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption ](in Politico.com)

== Groups Outside Occupy Boston ==

[http://movetoamend.org http://movetoamend.org]  "'''We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United, and move to amend our Constitution to:'''

*Firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.
*Guarantee the right to vote and to participate, and to have our vote and participation count.
*Protect local communities, their economies, and democracies against illegitimate "preemption" actions by global, national, and state governments.

The Supreme Court is misguided in principle, and wrong on the law. In a democracy, the people rule. '''[http://movetoamend.org/motion-amend We Move to Amend.]"'''

----

[http://www.coffeepartyusa.com http://www.coffeepartyusa.com] and [http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty http://www.facebook.com/bostoncoffeeparty] "The nonpartisan national Coffee Party movement is a call to action, to make government more accountable to the people.  The Greater Boston chapter focuses on state and local issues, in addition to participating in national Coffee Party campaign.  We are currently working for passage of key state legislation in two areas: money in politics, and civic education."  Contact [mailto:coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com coffeepartybostonma@gmail.com]

----

  

== Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" ==

Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

You can sign up to receive emails at [[https://lists.mayfirst.org/mailman/listinfo/citizensunited]]
 

 

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-15T18:52:00Z

Sandersh6000: /* Sub-topics:  */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-15T18:51:22Z

Sandersh6000: /* Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-15T18:50:10Z

Sandersh6000: /* Next Steps Agreed on: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-15T18:49:28Z

Sandersh6000: /* Next Steps Agreed on: */

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-15T18:48:26Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

<span style="font-size: smaller">''Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery <font color="#0b0080">Citizens United to End Political Bribery</font>] ... Go to [[Politicians and Candidates]]''</span>

==== ''<span style="font-size: larger"></span>'' ====

= Massachusetts =

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01985 H01985]

Disclosure. This bill requires corporations to notify their shareholders when making independent expenditures. The top five individuals or entities that donated must say their names and addresses during the advertisement. Bans foreign entities from making expenditures.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00304 S0304]

Senate Bill 304 will address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of '''disclosure''' and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 S00305]

Senate Bill 305 would require corporations spending general treasury funds on political advertisements to '''notify shareholders '''of those expenditures in quarterly reports. Additionally, this bill would require corporate managers to get approval from their board of directors prior to spending general treasury funds on political ads. This bill was heard by the [http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J15 Joint Committee on Election Laws] on October 19, after being referred to the committee in January, 2011. The next step for this bill is for the committee chairman [http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran] (representing Brookline & Brighton) to call a vote to release it to the House floor. The Senate would also have to act in this process.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00308 S00308]

Senate Bill 308 would establish an optional '''public matching campaign finance '''system for state legislature candidates, reducing the burden of time they must spend fundraising, and helping ensure that elected officials are politically indebted to the people rather than to big-dollar donors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00317 S00317]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00322 S0322]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S01577 S01577]

Senate Bill 1577 would reduce the influence of special interest money through campaign finance restrictions which eliminate '''"pay to play"''' opportunities for two key groups with business before the state: lobbyists and state contractors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01974 H01974]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00772 S00772]

Senate Bill 772, introduced by [http://www.senatoreldridge.com/the-dridge-report/2430/we-the-people-responding-to-the-citizens-united-decision Sen. Jamie Eldridge ](Shirley, Ayer) would call for the US Congress to initiate a Constitutional Amendment "to restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people."  This is intended to counteract the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. 

 

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

==== [http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/ Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance] ====

Massachusetts has a public financing system that I do not entirely understand.

[http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/chap55.htm Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law]

A pdf of contribution limits: [[File:Contribution table.pdf|RTENOTITLE]]

Scn 55:6A limits Political Action Committee contributions to candidates as follows:

*governor $150,000;
*lieutenant governor $31,250;
*attorney general $62,500;
*state secretary, treasurer or auditor $37,500;
*state senator & various others $18,750;
*state representative $7,500.

Scn 55:7 puts similar restrictions on loans that a candidate may make to his/her candidate committee.  It also limits donations by individuals to $500/year to each candidate (or $25/year for a donor less than 18 years old,) adding up to less than $12,500 in one year to all candidates.  There is no limit on an individual's contribution to ballot question committees.

Scn 55:8 prohibits campaign or political contributions by businesses or majority stockholders in listed industries that might benefit from state actions.  Media offering free time to one candidate must make equivalent time available to competing candidates.

Scn 55:18G requires radio, TV or internet campaign advertising to disclose who paid for the announcement.  Violation is punishable for $10,000 fine and/or a year in prison.

Scn 55:22 requires reporting of all contributions to affect the vote on "any question submitted to the voters," except by qualified political committees. 

=   =

= Federal<br/> =

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/71154073/A-Constitutional-Amendment-to-Reform-Campaign-Finance Overturn Citizens United Constitutional Amendment]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-15T18:47:54Z

Sandersh6000: /* Next Steps Agreed on: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery

2011-11-15T18:47:12Z

Sandersh6000: Redirected page to Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

#REDIRECT [[Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery_(Working_Group)]]

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-15T18:46:16Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

<span style="font-size: smaller">''Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery <font color="#0b0080">Citizens United to End Political Bribery</font>] ... Go to [[Politicians and Candidates]]''</span>

==== ''<span style="font-size: larger"></span>'' ====

= Massachusetts =

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01985 H01985]

Disclosure. This bill requires corporations to notify their shareholders when making independent expenditures. The top five individuals or entities that donated must say their names and addresses during the advertisement. Bans foreign entities from making expenditures.

[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00304 S0304]

Senate Bill 304 will address the problems created by the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC by requiring new levels of '''disclosure''' and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections in Massachusetts.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 S00305]

Senate Bill 305 would require corporations spending general treasury funds on political advertisements to '''notify shareholders '''of those expenditures in quarterly reports. Additionally, this bill would require corporate managers to get approval from their board of directors prior to spending general treasury funds on political ads. This bill was heard by the [http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J15 Joint Committee on Election Laws] on October 19, after being referred to the committee in January, 2011. The next step for this bill is for the committee chairman [http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran] (representing Brookline & Brighton) to call a vote to release it to the House floor. The Senate would also have to act in this process.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00308 S00308]

Senate Bill 308 would establish an optional '''public matching campaign finance '''system for state legislature candidates, reducing the burden of time they must spend fundraising, and helping ensure that elected officials are politically indebted to the people rather than to big-dollar donors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00317 S00317]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00322 S0322]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S01577 S01577]

Senate Bill 1577 would reduce the influence of special interest money through campaign finance restrictions which eliminate '''"pay to play"''' opportunities for two key groups with business before the state: lobbyists and state contractors.

*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H01974 H01974]
*[http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00772 S00772]

Senate Bill 772, introduced by [http://www.senatoreldridge.com/the-dridge-report/2430/we-the-people-responding-to-the-citizens-united-decision Sen. Jamie Eldridge ](Shirley, Ayer) would call for the US Congress to initiate a Constitutional Amendment "to restore the First Amendment and fair elections to the people."  This is intended to counteract the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC that allowed corporations to spend unlimited amounts on political campaigns. 

 

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

==== [http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/ Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance] ====

Massachusetts has a public financing system that I do not entirely understand.

[http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/chap55.htm Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law]

A pdf of contribution limits: [[File:Contribution table.pdf|RTENOTITLE]]

Scn 55:6A limits Political Action Committee contributions to candidates as follows:

*governor $150,000;
*lieutenant governor $31,250;
*attorney general $62,500;
*state secretary, treasurer or auditor $37,500;
*state senator & various others $18,750;
*state representative $7,500.

Scn 55:7 puts similar restrictions on loans that a candidate may make to his/her candidate committee.  It also limits donations by individuals to $500/year to each candidate (or $25/year for a donor less than 18 years old,) adding up to less than $12,500 in one year to all candidates.  There is no limit on an individual's contribution to ballot question committees.

Scn 55:8 prohibits campaign or political contributions by businesses or majority stockholders in listed industries that might benefit from state actions.  Media offering free time to one candidate must make equivalent time available to competing candidates.

Scn 55:18G requires radio, TV or internet campaign advertising to disclose who paid for the announcement.  Violation is punishable for $10,000 fine and/or a year in prison.

Scn 55:22 requires reporting of all contributions to affect the vote on "any question submitted to the voters," except by qualified political committees. 

=   =

= Federal<br/> =

== Existing Laws<br/> ==

== Proposed Laws<br/> ==

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/71154073/A-Constitutional-Amendment-to-Reform-Campaign-Finance Overturn Citizens United Constitutional Amendment]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-14T06:23:20Z

Sandersh6000: /* Contact for Working Group "Citizens United to End Political Bribery" */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-10T17:38:30Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposal */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

== Meetings:<br/> ==

'''Open Discussion 3:30 this Saturday, November 12 in front of the library, '''on proposal to support US Constitutional Amendment to reverse Citizens United decision.  This is part of the new process to make this a priority proposal to schedule on next Tuesday's General Assembly (Nov. 15.)

Next Meeting will be:  TBD

[[Minutes from Nov. 1]]

 

== Proposal ==
As money has been a corrupting force in our democracy, and disproportionately favors the desires of the few over the needs of the many, Occupy Boston supports the "Constitutional Amendment to Reform Campaign Finance" introduced in the Senate last week allowing Congress and the states to limit money in politics.

The text of the amendment is:

S. J. RES. 29

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BEGICH, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the UnitedStates relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),

That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress:

‘‘ARTICLE—

‘‘SECTION 1. Congress shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to Federal elections, including through setting limits on—

‘‘(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office; and

‘‘(2) the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.

‘‘SECTION 2. A State shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to State elections, including through setting limits on—

‘‘(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, State office; and

‘‘(2) the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.

‘‘SECTION 3. Congress shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation.’’

== Next Steps Agreed on: ==

Gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.

Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.

=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Decide if we support proposed state legislation [http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 <font color="#3366bb">Bill S.305</font>] “Massachusetts Corporate Accountability Act of 2011."  If so, the next step might be to have Brookline/Brighton residents find out[http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran's ]plans for calling a committee vote on the bill.

Attend outside (not Occupy Boston) meeting against Citizens United, to be held at 7:00 Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.) 

Attend (or watch livestream) [http://www.northeastern.edu/teachin/ Northeastern's Teach In] on Sunday, Nov. 13 about the state of the economy, especially the afternoon sessions:

*'''12:30 – 2:00''' Politics and economics: what went wrong?
*'''2:15 – 3:45''' What can be done? Reclaiming our economy and our democracy.

Get involved in Move to Amend's [http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts Occupy the Courts] on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 20, 2012).

Get involved in Public Citizen's [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for the People] action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012).

== Sub-topics:  ==

*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood SPP End Corporate Personhood]

  

== Background Information: ==

[[Campaign Finance Legislation]] (passed and pending)

[[Politicians and Candidates]]

[http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)]

[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption ](in Politico.com)

== Contact: ==
Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

 

 

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-10T17:37:40Z

Sandersh6000: /*   */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (CUEPB) is a Working Group formed to pursue goals related to getting corporate money out of politics.  We will focus on realistic actions in Massachusetts, but will also extend our efforts to nationwide politics when we can.  This wiki page and its subsidiary pages will be our place to collect information and discuss ideas before bringing proposals to Occupy Boston General Assembly.  Everything here should be considered a draft, unless conspicuously labeled otherwise.  To participate, come to one of our scheduled meetings or comment on the discussion tab for a page.  You can also edit a page, but we'd like to know who's involved, so please introduce yourself somewhere in some fashion.

== Meetings:<br/> ==

'''Open Discussion 3:30 this Saturday, November 12 in front of the library, '''on proposal to support US Constitutional Amendment to reverse Citizens United decision.  This is part of the new process to make this a priority proposal to schedule on next Tuesday's General Assembly (Nov. 15.)

Next Meeting will be:  TBD

[[Minutes from Nov. 1]]

 

== Proposal ==
As money has been a corrupting force in our democracy, and disproportionately favors the desires of the few over the needs of the many, Occupy Boston supports the "Constitutional Amendment to Reform Campaign Finance" introduced in the Senate last week allowing Congress and the states to limit money in politics.

The text of the amendment is:
S. J. RES. 29
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 1, 2011
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Mr. BENNET, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. BEGICH, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JOINT RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the UnitedStates relating to contributions and expenditures intended to affect elections.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission by the Congress:

‘‘ARTICLE—
‘‘SECTION 1. Congress shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to Federal elections, including through setting limits on—
‘‘(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, Federal office; and
‘‘(2) the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.
‘‘SECTION 2. A State shall have power to regulate the raising and spending of money and in kind equivalents with respect to State elections, including through setting limits on—
‘‘(1) the amount of contributions to candidates for nomination for election to, or for election to, State office; and
‘‘(2) the amount of expenditures that may be made by, in support of, or in opposition to such candidates.
‘‘SECTION 3. Congress shall have power to implement and enforce this article by appropriate legislation.’’

== Next Steps Agreed on: ==

Gather interested people - People are invited to participate here and/or email sandersh6000@gmail.com to identify themselves as part of this Working Group.

Collect and summarize information on the wiki - Edit the Background Information pages below to add links and/or summarize what's in a link.

=== Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: ===

Decide if we support proposed state legislation [http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/Senate/S00305 <font color="#3366bb">Bill S.305</font>] “Massachusetts Corporate Accountability Act of 2011."  If so, the next step might be to have Brookline/Brighton residents find out[http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Profile/MJM1 Michael Moran's ]plans for calling a committee vote on the bill.

Attend outside (not Occupy Boston) meeting against Citizens United, to be held at 7:00 Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Arlington St. Church (near intersection with Boylston St.) 

Attend (or watch livestream) [http://www.northeastern.edu/teachin/ Northeastern's Teach In] on Sunday, Nov. 13 about the state of the economy, especially the afternoon sessions:

*'''12:30 – 2:00''' Politics and economics: what went wrong?
*'''2:15 – 3:45''' What can be done? Reclaiming our economy and our democracy.

Get involved in Move to Amend's [http://movetoamend.org/occupythecourts Occupy the Courts] on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 20, 2012).

Get involved in Public Citizen's [http://democracyisforpeople.org/ Democracy is for the People] action on the anniversary of Citizens United (January 21, 2012).

== Sub-topics:  ==

*[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/SPP_End_Corporate_Personhood SPP End Corporate Personhood]

  

== Background Information: ==

[[Campaign Finance Legislation]] (passed and pending)

[[Politicians and Candidates]]

[http://www.cfinst.org/data.aspx Campaign Finance Institute (Nonpartisan? Resource)]

[http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67460.html Jack Abramoff: How to End Corruption ](in Politico.com)

== Contact: ==
Honi Sanders: sandersh6000 at gmail dot com

 

 

Citizens United to End Political Bribery

2011-11-10T17:34:28Z

Sandersh6000: Redirected page to WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery

#REDIRECT [[WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery]]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery

2011-11-10T14:23:46Z

Sandersh6000: Redirected page to Dev:End Political Bribery

#REDIRECT [[Dev:End_Political_Bribery]]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery

2011-11-09T21:15:52Z

Sandersh6000: Redirected page to WG/Strategies/Citizens United to End Political Bribery

#REDIRECT [[WG/Strategies/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery]]

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-09T14:35:57Z

Sandersh6000: /* Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-08T14:28:48Z

Sandersh6000: /* Next Steps Agreed on: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-08T14:28:07Z

Sandersh6000: /* Other Ideas Not Endorsed in a Meeting: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-04T17:00:25Z

Sandersh6000: /* Contact: */

Citizens United to End Political Bribery (Working Group)

2011-11-04T16:59:37Z

Sandersh6000:

WG/Working Groups

2011-11-04T16:57:30Z

Sandersh6000: /* Action and Information Working Groups */

Working Groups are the organs which make up the body of the Occupation. You will find resources, discussions, and courses of action in every field.

''Working Groups are OPEN; Please contribute!''

=== Action and Information Working Groups ===

''Performs external action''

*[[Anti-Oppression|Anti-Oppression]]
*[[Arts and Culture|Arts and Culture]]
*[[Direct Action|Direct Action]]
*[[Citizens United to End Political Bribery|Citizens United to End Political Bribery]] For ending corporate money in politics
*[[Media|Media]]
**[[Occupy Everywhere|Occupy Everywhere]]
*[[Outreach|Outreach]]
*[[WG/OBIT]] Occupy Boston IT
*[[External Technology Support]] (to work on this wiki and other sites, not necessarily at Dewey Square)
*[[Ideas]] (formerly known as Statement of Purpose) (this group is where broader, mission statement type things are discussed.
*[[Strategies, Proposals, Positions|Strategies, Proposals, Positions]] 11/4/11 This group has forked into Author's Group One, a subgroup of Ideas and....????? See the meeting minutes for more info. Stay tuned for a link to AG1.
*[[InterOccupation Communications/Connections]]
*[[Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience|Nonviolence and Civil Disobedience]]
*[[Volunteer Coordination|Volunteer Coordination]]
*[[Street Theater]]

=== Infrastructure and Onsite Support Working Groups ===

''Performs internal action''

*[[Conflict Resolution|Community Wellness]]
*[[Facilitators|Facilitators]]
*[[Faith and Spirituality|Faith and Spirituality]]
*[[Food|Food]]
*[[Finance Working Group|Financial Accountability]]
*[[Info Tent]]
*[[Legal|Legal]]
*[[Logistics|Logistics / Tactical]]
*[[Medical|Medical]]
*[[Safety|Safety]]
*[[Signs|Signs]]
*[[Tech|Tech]]
*[[Transparency|Transparency]]
*[[Winterization|Winterization]]

=== Friends of Occupy Boston ===

''Provides safe space and/or facilitates special events''

*[[Library|A-Z Library]]
*[[FSU|Free School University]]
*[[Music and Events]]
*[[Students Occupy|Students Occupy]]
*[[Occupy Boston Globe|Occupy Boston Globe]]
*Also see groups listed in [[Solidarity|Solidarity]].

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-04T16:29:46Z

Sandersh6000: /* Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance */

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-04T16:29:01Z

Sandersh6000: /* Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance */

File:Contribution table.pdf

2011-11-04T16:28:36Z

Sandersh6000:

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-04T16:26:40Z

Sandersh6000: /* Existing Laws */

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-04T16:20:34Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-04T16:19:58Z

Sandersh6000: /* Proposed Laws */

WG/Strategies/Ideas/Campaign Finance Legislation

2011-11-03T13:09:49Z

Sandersh6000: /* US Legislation Pending */

<span style="font-size: smaller">''Return to [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Citizens_United_to_End_Political_Bribery <font color="#0b0080">Citizens United to End Political Bribery</font>]''</span>

==== ''<span style="font-size: larger"></span>'' ====

= Massachusetts<br/> =

==== [http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/ Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance] ====

[http://www.mass.gov/ocpf/chap55.htm Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law]<br/>

= Federal<br/> =

=== US Legislation Pending<br/> ===

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/71154073/A-Constitutional-Amendment-to-Reform-Campaign-Finance Overturn Citizens United Constitutional Amendment]