Since the 1800s there has been a trend in Supreme Court decisions that has effectively ended government of, by and for the people. The court’s decisions have reduced the power of the people and increased the power of corporations.

Some believe it all began with the court’s 1886 decision in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. Corporation personhood was established based on a court reporter error.

Now Justice Anthony Kennedy most assuredly will be replaced by another conservative-leaning member. With five justices favoring corporatism, corporations will continue to gain more constitutional rights written for natural persons by our nation’s founders, if there are any left that haven’t already been hijacked.

For example, corporations now can at least claim constitutional protections intended for natural persons provided in amendments 1, 4, 5 and especially 14.

Corporation power is so overwhelming that when Oprah Winfrey, a millionaire many times over, tried to voice her opinion about the health impact of eating meat she was gagged by a “strategic lawsuit against public participation.” Corporation money power in lawsuits can limit the truth spoken by natural persons with their constitutional right of free speech.

The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission has enabled corporations to gain full control of elections in our country with their money power. Corporations can now spend millions publishing lies about candidates and brainwashing voters with false information.

Multinational corporations with operations in Russia or China can control the outcome of our elections by spending millions on advertising and also by directly interfering in our elections.

So what can we natural persons do to restore our democracy? We can uncover and publically expose corporation propaganda lies and we can work to increase natural person voter confidence in and participation in elections.

Jim Chiddix

Waterville

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