There are so many reasons why the primary goal of 2010 for all who "want to take their country back", with the exception of racists, is to obliterate the myth of corporate personhood. This goal should be the top priority in 2010 for liberals and conservatives alike. This goal should be the top priority for those who want to elect the best candidate to any office, but realize that candidate can't even run for office because that candidate doesn't have and can't raise the money to buy the office.
The Real Beginning of Fascism?
If the word fascism would have been used at the time of the American Revolution, it could very well have been used in reference to the actions of King George III as he was utilizing corporations such as the East India Company to literally fight his fights for him.
In fact, after its chartering by Queen Elizabeth of England in 1600, The East India Company became the "owner and ruler" of The Commonwealth of Virginia. Thus, as one of the definitions of fascism used in today's world is the partnership between the government and the corporate world in ruling a state or nation, Virginia's rule by the East India Company obviously qualifies as fascist rule. Before the end of The American Revolution, Maryland and North and South Carolina had been taken over and governed by corporations.
The American Revolution, although initiated by an elite group of White men, was fought by so called "commoners" against the Crown of England. It's no wonder, however, that neither the elite who instigated the revolution nor the commoners who fought it detested the idea of unregulated multinational corporations. They'd seen first hand the damage and oppression that kind of power in the hands of the "private sector", backed, of course, by the government, can wield.
Regulation Was Supported by Early Americans
Following the Revolution, Americans were diligent when allowing the existence of corporations in The United States. Corporations had to be chartered by the elected representatives of the local communities in which they planned to set up shop. The charters were strict and saw to it that no harm would come to those localities. The legislatures who chartered the corporations had the right to revoke the charters and shut down a corporation if it violated any part of the charter.
The Myth of Corporate Personhood
Myth has it that, in the 1886 Supreme Court Case of Santa Clara County v The Southern Pacific Railroad, corporations were granted the same protections based upon The Bill of Rights that natural human beings possess. Subsequent court cases have based decisions favorable to corporations upon this myth.
The truth is that the clerk of the court, J. C. Bancroft Davis, a former railroad board president, wrote "Corporations are persons" in the headnotes of the case.
Ironically, the case had nothing at all to do with whether or not corporations were persons. Furthermore, headnotes do not carry the weight of the law and are not part of the decision.
Yet, as mentioned, court cases that followed Santa Clara County v. The Southern Pacific Railroad have been decided upon as if the 1886 case legally gave personhood to corporations.
There are many court cases which have protected corporations as though they were natural human beings. The following are three examples.
The first example is First National Bank of Boston v Bellotti, 1978. In this case, the court found that political donations by corporations are protected by the first amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees "people" free speech. It claimed, in essence, that money is speech. Obviously, some "people" are able to speak louder than others.
Two court cases protected corporations based upon their "rights" as stated in the fourth amendment to the Constitution.
In 1906, the court case Hale v Henkel decided in favor of corporations not having to present documentation showing whether they are or are not violating US Antitrust Laws.
