My Presentation before the Mt. Shasta City Council on Monday, October 8, 2012 supporting "the Move to Amend"

I’m Dr. Stephen Concklin.  I live at 308 NC Street here in Mt. Shasta.  I’m a retired educator.  I am also a member of the Siskiyou Progressive Alliance.

I support the Move to Amend: The National Campaign to End Corporate Personhood and Demand Real Democracy!  And I am urging that you, the city council, adopt our resolution supporting the “Move to Amend.”

In dissenting with the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court, Justice Stevens wrote, ". . . corporations have no consciences, no beliefs, no feelings, no thoughts, no desires. Corporations help structure and facilitate the activities of human beings, to be sure, and their 'personhood' often serves as a useful legal fiction. But they are not themselves members of “We the People” by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."  I might add, as well, that they have no national loyalties.  There are no corporate borders.  It was recently reported that   corporation based in a foreign nations has contributed to at least one presidential candidate in our upcoming national election.

What could be just one of the consequences of the status quo for us here in Mt. Shasta?

The Daily Beast and Newsweek Magazine only today published an article entitled, The New Oil: Should private companies control our most precious natural resource?  We are talking about water.  At one time it was unthinkable that water would fall from the public domain.  Now, as privatization continues to eat up the commons, the threat to our water supply has become more than something to consider.  We already have a privately owned water bottling plant on our city outskirts.  The question I have is this.  How long will it be before our city water resource is commandeered by corporate interests?  Since Citizens United, corporations are able to use their unlimited monetized free speech to out speak the voices of any city, state or Federal agency.  Imagine the law suits which we, as citizens of Mt. Shasta, could find ourselves facing.  Finally, it must be pointed out that corporations have unlimited access to media.  We would just have ourselves.

I am urging you to support our Move to Amend resolution.

Thank you.