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Things To Worry About:
Corporations vs. America
![The Open Database of The Corporate World [est. 2010] based in U.K.](images/opencorporates_392x53.jpg)
Birth of The Corporation
The central case, Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company, was argued on 26-29 January 1886; the decision was filed 10 May 1886. (A partial basis for that decision was purjured testimony by railroad hireling Roscoe Conklin during the San Mateo County v. Southern Pacific Railroad case of 1882.) A later significant case, Lochner v. New York, was argued on 23-24 February 1905; the decision was filed 17 April 1905. 'Corporations As Persons' summary at Reclaim Democracy San Mateo County vs. S.P.R.R. 1882 Case {116 U.S. 138}
Santa Clara vs. S.P.R.R. 1886 Case {118 U.S. 394}
Joseph Lochner v. State of New York 1905 Case {198 U.S. 45}
On 26 January 1907, after persistent pressure from Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, Congress passed the Tillman Act, which prohibited all monetary contributions by corporations to national political campaigns. The 'Powell Memorandum' was released in August, 1971. Lewis F. Powell, Jr. [1907-98], soon to be nominated as Supreme Court Justice, advocated 'constant surveillance' of textbook and television content, as well as a purge of left-wing elements that opposed corporate dominance. (He was then a lawyer for the tobacco industry.)
The official title of that document was "Confidential Memorandum: Attack of American Free Enterprise System"
On 30 January 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the landmark On 21 January 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court struck another blow for fascism and against freedom and liberty in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. case reversing a full century of election campaign finance restrictions on the ability of corporations to purchase any elected office that they want. That decision is first of all in violation of the U.S. Constitution, and secondly, the written decision is really bad law – if submitted as a paper in law school, the grade would be D-minus. The precedents cited in this decision were virtually all from dissents – any case based on a dissent is worthless, and this decision cited at least 25 such, so that the resulting decision is faulty and has no merit. But the corporate fascists will avoid the fine points and proceed on the new (illegitimate} 'Reverse Citizens United' Constitutional Amendment On 20 June 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court struck another blow for fascism and
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The Enron Scandal
Timeline of the Enron Scandal at Wikipedia
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"Anatomy of Greed: The Unshredded Truth From An Enron Insider" [2002] by Brian Cruver Arrow Books 7¾x5 pb [5/2003] out of print/used Carroll & Graf 8½x5½ pb [8/2003] for $11.20 Carroll & Graf 9¼x6½ hardcover [7/2002] for $16.50 |
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"The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron" [C.B.S.-TV documentary Jan 2003] An ambitious 29-year-old gets a job at rising energy company Enron, assimilates into the get-rich-quick corporate culture. When the company collapses in bankruptcy in December 2001, he finds that he and millions of others lose everything – while the execs pocket billions of dollars. Co-produced by Robert Greenwald; directed by Penelope Spheeris; teleplay by Stephen Mazur, based on the book "Anatomy of Greed" by Brian Cruver; starring Christian Kane, Brian Dennehey, Mike Farrell, Shannon Elizabeth & Jon Ted Wynne video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb |
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"The Smartest Guys In The Room: The Amazing Rise & Scandalous Fall of Enron" [2003] by Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind Portfolio 8½x5½ pb [9/2004] for $10.88 Portfolio 9½x6½ hardcover [9/2003] for $17.79 |
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"Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" [docu feature April 2005]
Co-written & directed by Alex Gibney; based on the book Magnolia color DVD [1/2006] for $13.76 full credits from IMDb; official movie website [requires Flash] |
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"Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story" [N.Y. Times bestseller 2005] by Kurt Eichenwald "Behind thick corporate walls, in the shadows of Wall Street, along the corridors of political power, a scandal is brewing ..." Broadway Books 9x6 pb [12/2005] for $12.21 Broadway Books 9½x6½ hardcover [3/2005] out of print/hundreds used |
 | "Innovation Corrupted: The Origins and Legacy of Enron's Collapse" [2008] by {Harvard Business School professor emeritus} Malcolm S. Salter Harvard Univ Press 9½x6½ hardcover [6/2008] for $38.50 |
http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Greed-Telling-Unshredded-Inside/dp/B000HWYP6G/
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Failure-Inside-Story-Collapse/dp/076791368X/
http://www.amazon.com/What-Went-Wrong-Enron-Bankruptcy/dp/0471265748/
http://www.amazon.com/Enron-Rise-Fall-Loren-Fox/dp/0471478881/
http://www.amazon.com/Pipe-Dreams-Greed-Death-Enron/dp/1586482017/
http://www.amazon.com/Behaving-Badly-Ethical-Lessons-Enron/dp/1598581600/
"Enron" musical feature film [2012?] 
Announced December 2010: The stageplay took the London stage by storm (written by Lucy Prebble &
directed by Rupert Goold), but flopped on Broadway (largely due to a hostile review in the New York Times).
George Clooney will produce •
stageplay entry at Wikipedia •
latest info at IMDb
Boycott Wal-Mart !!
Working Minds Essay #94 [May 2011] “Wal-Mart Bad, Local Businesses Good”Wal-Mart Watch website
Wake Up Wal-Mart: America's Campaign to Change Wal-Mart
Tell Wal-Mart Enough Is Enoigh
free report "Wal-Mart: Rolling Back Workers' Wages, Rights & the American Dream [2005]"
Sprawl Busters
AdBusters' Wal-Mart Takedown Action Center
"Walmartopia: The Musical" (off-Broadway NYC & touring company)
“Wal-Mart is going in and slaughtering [small towns] just as we once killed the buffalo.” "Wal-Mart comprises 8% of the U.S. Gross National Product." "I have taken this stand: I have not and will never set foot inside either Wal-Mart or Sam's Club."
— Garrison Keillor
— C.N.N. Radio (March 2006)
— G.E. Nordell
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"The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created A Brave New World of Business" [2009] by Nelson Lichtenstein Metropolitan Books hardcover [7/2009] for $16.50 |
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"To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise" [2009] by Bethany Moreton Harvard Univ Press hardcover [5/2009] for $18.45 |
 | "The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers & The Economy" [2007] by Richard Vedder & Wendell Cox A white-wash of the dire effects when Wal-Mart lays seige to markets big & small; the authors reject Wal-Mart being the bad guy and then use spurious data to prove their premise — do not buy this book! |
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"Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers & The Fight For America's Independent Businesses" [2006] by Stacy Mitchell Beacon Press 9x6¼ pb [11/2006] for $16.47 Beacon Press hardcover [11/2006] for $25.95 |
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"Wal-Mart: The Face of 21st Century Capitalism" [2006] Edited by Nelson Lichtenstein New Press 8x8 pb [1/2006] for $13.57 |
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"The Wal-Mart Effect: How The World's Most Powerful Company Really Works – and How It's Transforming The American Economy" [2006] by Charles Fishman "... his carefully balanced approach only makes the downside of Wal-Mart's market dominance more vivid." Penguin hardcover[1/2006] for $17.13 Tantor Media audio CD [2/2006] for $22.04 |
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"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" [2005] by Greg Spotts, Introduction by Robert Greenwald Disinformation 8x5 pb [11/2005] for $9.95 documentary feature film [Brave New Films Nov 2005] Co-produced & directed by Robert Greenwald Disinformation color DVD [11/2005] for $12.95 full credits from IMDb; official movie site |
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"The Case Against Wal-Mart" [2004] by Al Norman Raphel Marketing 6x9 pb [4/2004] for $19.95 Al's 'Sprawl Busters' website |
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"The United States of Wal-Mart" [2005] by John Dicker Tarcher 8¼x5½ pb [6/2005] for $9.97 |
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"How Wal*Mart is Destroying America (and The World) & What You Can Do About It" [2000] by Bill Quinn Ten Speed Press 8x5 pb [4/2005] for $8.76 |
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"Selling Women Short: The Landmark Battle For Worker's Rights At Wal-Mart" [2004] by Liza Featherstone Basic Books 8x5¼ pb [9/2005] for $10.17 bargain price hardcover for $4.99 Basic Books 8½x5½ hardcover [11/2004] for $16.50 |
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"PBS Frontline: Is Wal-Mart Good For America?" [WGBH/PBS Nov 2004]
Co-produced, co-written & directed by Rick Young; co-produced & co-written by Hedrick Smith PBS Home Video color DVD [10/2005] for $26.99 full credits at IMDb • PBS official movie pages |
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"Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes To Town" [2001] Directed by Micha X. Peled Teddy Bear Films color DVD [6/2002] for $22.99 Teddy Bear Films color VHS [6/2002] for $19.90 full credits from IMDb P.B.S.-ITVS official movie site |
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"Slam-Dunking Wal-Mart!: How You Can Stop Superstore Sprawl In Your Hometown" [1999] by Al Norman Raphel Marketing 8¾x5¾ pb [11/2003] for $19.95 Raphel Marketing 9¼x6¼ hardcover [7/99] out of print/used Al's 'Sprawl Busters' website |
"The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Create..." [] by Nelson Lichtenstein
http://www.amazon.com/Retail-Revolution-Wal-Mart-Created-Business/dp/B0048EL878/
Starbucks Coffee
Starbucks Corp. is a bad guy? Sure: They act like King Kong and buy the best location/s at the mall anddestroy the business of any other coffee seller (with no attempt to buy them out).
Starbucks Corp. website
Starbucks Corp. entry at Wikipedia
The Starbucks Digital Network will begin operation in Fall 2010, delivering free &
paid-for content through its existing in-store wi-fi service.
 | "Everything But The Coffee: Learning About America From Starbucks" [2009] by Bryant Simon Concludes that Starbucks' appeal lies not in the product that it sells but in a deeply felt American need for predictability, class standing, and community - the easily-consumed identity that Starbucks offers. Univ CA Press 9x6¼ hardcover [10/2009] for $17.13 |
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"It's Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles From A Life At Starbucks" [2007] by Howard Behar, with Janet Goldstein Portfolio 8x5 pb [4/2009] for $10.80 Portfolio 8x5¼ hardcover [12/2007] for $13.57 |
http://www.amazon.com/Starbucked-Double-Caffeine-Commerce-Culture/dp/0316014036/
http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-According-Starbucks-Living-Passion/dp/1578566495/
http://www.amazon.com/How-Starbucks-Saved-Life-Privilege/dp/B002ACPM7M/
http://www.amazon.com/Wrestling-Starbucks-Conscience-Capital-Cappuccino/dp/0813543207/
http://www.amazon.com/Starbucks-Experience-Principles-Ordinary-Extraordinary/dp/0071477845/
http://www.amazon.com/Starbucks-Experience-Principles-Extraordinary-ebook/dp/B001OLRN0Y/
http://www.amazon.com/Tribal-Knowledge-Starbucks-Corporate-ebook/dp/B001E52O8G/
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul [2011]
by Howard Schultz, Joanne Gordon 1605292885
Selected Books On These Subjects
Earth's Biosphere • Class War & Economics • Healthcare
Energy & Global Warming • Education • International Politics
'Corporations vs. America' Page
Books on U.S. Politics & Elections Page
at Spirit of America Bookstore
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