DECEMBER 2014 EVENT RECAP

 from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

WOW, Great event with a really good turnout. We had a commissioner, political candidates, activists, and many others from the community listening, asking questions, and participating in the discussion of money/corporate influence in our country and the need of a constitutional amendment to bring back our democracy. David Cobb gave a great presentation and walked through our constitutional history to show/educate us on where we are and how we got here. He laid out the plan on where we need to go to legalize democracy and bring back the; of, by and for the people government. I believe everyone learned something and was impressed and motivated by the presentation and discussion. A big thank you to all the generous people that donated to David Cobb and Move To Amend Organization Friday Evening. We collected $357.00 that night, all going to MTA. David stayed afterward and took pictures and talked with everyone on a personal level. He is the best and most dedicated speaker/activist that I know, working to make our country a better place for us and our children. If you weren’t there, you missed a very moving and educational event. This issue crosses all party lines and is understood and supported by the majority of American people. This is the issue that candidates need to get behind and run on in 2016                                                                                            

We also had our monthly rally at the library for social justice on Saturday. A good turn out with some of our local community joining us. We made some new friends and partners for our causes. It was also very eye opening to see some people’s reactions. We have a very deep and concerning problem here in Fort Pierce that we ALL need to work on as a community.  

Our Wednesday morning Progressive breakfast at the Golden Bear Pancake House will be moved to Tuesday morning for the next two weeks for the holidays and then back to Wednesday after the New Year. Check website for the address and more information. Come join us. Some say this is our best meeting.        

We will be having a float in this years MLK Parade. A planning and decoration meeting will be held 10:00am, 27 December 2014 at Richard's house, come join us if you are interested in helping and/or participating. Please call Richard 404-309-5165 or Sharon 772-528-4076 for more information, or check the website.

Well, this is my last month as your president, with a new board taking over in January with Sharon Lux leading us as our new president in 2015. First, I want to thank everyone that has contributed to our success the past two and a half years. Erika, Kathy, Roger, Vicki, Richard, Gunnar, Sharon, Susan, Bill, Diane, Ellen, and all our loyal members, protesters, occupiers, and everyone else that came to an event, rally, picnic and activity in support of TCPA. Without each and every one of you TCPA would not have survived. Thank you all so very much, I appreciate every one of you. Now it is time to welcome Sharon, whom I believe will be just what TCPA needs to move forward with her positive attitude and smiling, happy face. She is good, but will not be able to do it alone. She will need EVERYONE’s support and help. So let’s all of us get behind her to move TCPA to the next level.

We also would like your feedback on our events and organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also keep reading our blog.

Thanks for everyone's support,

Take care,

John

DAVID COBB: MOVE TO AMEND

from Gregory Wilson

David Cobb -- a leader of the movement to restore our Constitution and bring power back to the people is coming to Florida!

Since 1868 the corporations of America have been using "personhood" to protect them from the laws of the land which were formed by and for the people of this land. In fact the first Supreme Court, after the passing of the 14th amendment, ruled that corporations were not persons under the law. “Paul v. Virginia [1868] Corporate lawyers argued that under the privileges and immunities clause, corporations are citizens. Supreme Court ruled that corporations are not citizens under Article IV, Section 2. “The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.”” This decision was made by the same court that was present when the 14th and 15th amendments were passed. However over the next years, of the 14th Amendment cases brought before the Supreme Court between 1890 and 1910, 19 dealt with African Americans, 288 dealt with corporations.”

Finally due to shifting Supreme Court Judges, the nature, core structure of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were altered to favor Corporations over living breathing human beings, the citizens of this country. Indeed the supreme Court put the boxes of tea back on the ships in the harbor.

After the Supreme Court decision "Citizens United," David Cobb  responded by spearheading the effort to: Move To Amend -- A process of changing the Constitution to read, “Corporations are not people and money is not speech” thus bringing us closer in line with the original intent of the founders of this nation.

MOVE TO AMEND: INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY

FROM John Debus, From Move to Amend
If you are a bright and energetic person seeking to develop your organizing skills, we invite you to apply for an internship with the Move To Amend Coalition. Each year, Move To Amend offers folks the opportunity to work on our team. The deadline for applications for the Fall 2013 term (which runs from July 15 through December 13) is Friday, April 26, 2013. For information about the internship, go to https://movetoamend.org/internships 

Besides being part of one of the fastest-growing organizations in the country working on the most important issues of our time — corporate personhood and money as free speech — interns will learn important organizing skills in a team atmosphere. Compensation includes room and board in Humboldt County, California or a stipend for internship expenses if you choose the telecommute option. Click here to learn more about the requirements and responsibilities and download the application. If you know someone who might be interested in being an intern, please forward this message along. We recognize the importance of exposing folks to rewarding work doing grassroots organizing, and we hope you do too. If you can't apply to become an intern, please make a donation to help support the program — you'll be supporting Move to Amend and investing in the growing the movement's capacity for the long term. There’s no time to lose; apply today!

DAVID COBB IN FORT PIERCE

We had an enlightening evening with David Cobb of Move to Amend on Thursday, who reviewed American history and the meaning of the constitution, and why, legally, corporations can’t be people. Back in 1789, for a corporation to get a charter, the process was similar to getting a law passed today, and had to be approved by the governor. Legally, the corporation existed to serve the people and was a means to put private money to public good. The typical length of a charter ran from two to no more than twenty years. Today, not one Fortune 500 company would qualify as a corporation under the original definition. Now, legally considered a person, the government serves corporations, rather than the people with whom power constitutionally resides. In essence, corporations have stolen the power of the people and the result is the inequality, poverty and lack of support for the many, in favor of protecting the profits of the few. For more information go to MoveToAmend.org. Journalist Anthony Westbury has also written an excellent article about the effort to amend the constitution to correct the fallacy that corporations are people and that money is free speech.

UPCOMING MEETING REMINDER: MOVE TO AMEND

Wanted to remind everyone that our Event is this Thursday 21 February 2013 at 6:00 pm.

This should be our best Event, with David Cobb speaking, and I am hoping to have a special surprise guest to introduce to everyone, "our future Congresswomen". Yes, we did take West down, now we must focus at our northern area and take Posey down. I really believe we have the person to do it, so come out and meet her.

         I'm expecting a large turn out, and we only have about 30 chairs. I plan on bring a few

extra chairs so we should have enough, however if you have a fold-up chair that you can

easily put in your car to bring, it may come in handy. Water, green tea, and popcorn will be on hand, or you can bring your own snack and drink. So come on out and enjoy a evening with like-minded people and learn what the "Move to Amend" is all about and how important it is for our democracy.

For directions or more information, visit our website at: www.tcprogressivealliance.com

Hope to see Everyone there,

John

TCPA FEBRUARY 2013 NEWS

from John Debus

photo credit

Hi Everyone,

We had a great Event last Tuesday, it was our largest turn out so far -- 26 people. We started out a little slow, I forgot to bring the computer to show the movie, but luckily Erika was running late, and she picked it up and saved the the day. The movie, Israel Lobby, was very educational. Although parts were in Dutch and replete with sub-titles, I think we all got the message about the power of the lobby influence and its control of policy in government. I believe the Israel lobby is a lot like the NRA, which doesn’t represent the views of the majority of gun owners, but that of the gun manufacturers. While I'm sure everyone has their views on the movie, the point was about the power of all the lobbies: Israel, NRA, Big Oil, Pharmaceutical, etc., on our government. Erika

We had our elections and the results are:

President; John Debus

Vice President; Roger Lavigne

Treasure; Erika Alvarez

Secretary: Vicki Racine

Communication Person: Kathy Overholt

Next event will be 6:00pm, Thursday, February 21, 2013 at the Clubhouse in The Lakes at the Savannahs, 1800 S. Dovetail Dr. Ft. Pierce, Fl. 34982. Directions are on our web-site, or you can call me any time (772-349-5328).

Our guest speaker will be David Cobb from  Move To Amend. I guarantee he will be one of the best speaker’s you’ll ever hear. Check out the web-site MoveToAmend.org for more information.I will be inviting the Fort Pierce City Council and the mayor. Hopefully some of you will also contact them, or other local representatives. When David Cobb spoke in Stuart the vice-mayor was present who was VERY impressed with him and the issue. This is a very important issue for ALL Americans, across ALL party lines. Hope to see you all there, lets pack the house..We may run out of chairs, so if you have a fold-up chair, please bring it for someone to use if needed.

There is no requirement to join or be a member to attend. We are open to the public, come see what we are about. If you care to join and support us, membership forms are available at the Event. You can join there or send it in. Are Events are social, net-working, and educational. Come out and meet the new members (we had 5 from last Event) and visit with old friends and enjoy an evening with like-minded people.

Your President,

John Debus

Antonin Scalia Defends Poor Thinking Skills

by Greg Wilson

photo credit

1)"It isn't a living document," Scalia said. "It's dead, dead, dead, dead." Yet, he supports corporate personhood. Important dates for giving life to corporations: 1803, 1819, 1876 (for details click here). Notice all dates are after the signing of the constitution. Therefore he supports a living Constitution, which is liberal, except it is liberal for the transnational corporations. So, reviewing Scalia's record, he is liberal, and believes in a living Constitution, which means he is deceiving a particular group of people who believe in states rights. The Koch brothers do not believe in state rights and Scalia does not support the anti-Federalists perspective. 

2) Scalia said, " That interpreting laws requires adherence to the words used and to their meanings at the time they were written." Then how can he favor federal government dismissing the anti-Federalist position? You must not only consider words but also ideas. What did he say to the incoming Republican Congressional House members in 2010? Read the Federalist papers! He did not say, read the Constitution, which balanced federal power (centralized power) and state power (more local power, self determination by local communities). I think he has replaced the anti-Federalist position with the book, Business As A System of Power", written in 1943 by Robert A. Brady

3) "There's nothing in there about abortion. It's up to the citizens. ... The same with the death penalty." Then how can he over-turn congressional legislation created by the people's representatives when the people have spoken. He favors judicial review established in 1803 after the signing of the Constitution. Further evidence he practices a living Constitution.

4) "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder? Can we have it against other things?" I find him a fraud and particularly reprehensible in comparing a state of being homosexual with murder – a criminal act. "If we cannot have moral feelings against homosexuality, can we have it against murder?" This is two different categories and represents sloppy thinking. If you have ill-moral feelings toward that which exists, a tree, a river, a heterosexual, a homosexual, women, men, a mountain, a butterfly, then you need to get into therapy and free yourself from displacing feelings from unresolved childhood negative experiences. I say this out of care: if you have negative feelings for what exists, it is projection, and your attachment to that inner knot, that inner twisting of your spirit needs care to be liberated. It is time, you can be freed.

A HURRICANE CAN'T STOP US

TCPA held its third meeting last night. With the off-shore approach of Hurricane Sandy, the weather may have been gloomy, but the rain couldn’t dampen our spirits and the wind couldn’t extinguish our hope – that we can be a force for positive change.

            We talked about Alec, the American Legislative Exchange Council that is a conglomerate of large companies. These companies write sample laws they would like enacted and which legislative members submit as their own. Since July, when Alec came into public view, 29 corporations have left the conglomerate (including: Coca Cola, Pepsi, BCBS, Amazon, P&G, Dell, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation). We would like to pressure Publix to do the same.

            We watched the short movie Unequal Justice: The Relentless Rise of the One Percent Courts, which was about the push to repeal the Supreme Court’s ruling on ‘Citizen’s United’. Corporations exist for one reason and that is to make a profit. They are using this profit to buy elections. They have no mortality and no morals. Corporations are not people. Corporate money is not free speech. To learn more, visit the Move to Amend website and sign their petition.

            Hope to see you at the next meeting, which is the fourth Thursday of November.