Posted on Categories PBC Comments, Podcast Info

Police Violence Against Occupy Must Stop! John Bonifaz: Amend Constitution to Fix Citizens United; Will Durst Thanks the Turkeys–D and R

PBC comments on police brutality against Occupy, including UC Davis pepper spray incident.  John Bonifaz of Free Speech for People is leading an effort to amend the Constitution to end the corporate corruption of political campaigns enabled by Citizens United.  Will Durst wants to thank the political turkeys who keep him working.PBC opens with comments on the police brutality against Occupy protesters in many cities–the gratuitous use of mace and pepper spray must stop.  It appears the police state tactics are being coordinated by the Police Executive Research Forum, which has been organizing the conference calls for mayors and cops that Oakland Mayor Jean Quan revealed, and gets funding from the Department of Homeland Security, which is now about securing the “homeland” from its people.  And he quotes an Egyptian state TV anchor saying the recent brutality in Cairo is modeled on US treatment of Occupy protesters.

At 24:10, John Bonifaz of Free Speech for People joins us, to make the case for a constitutional amendment to correct the pro-corporate ruling of the Supreme Court in Citizens United.  We talk about the process–the amendment must be approved by 2/3 of each house in Congress, then ratified by the legislatures of 3/4 of the states.  We also talk about the Udall amendment in the Senate, the 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision and the need to reject the notions that money equals speech and that corporations have the same rights as persons.  And we discuss Harvard Law Professor Larry Lessig’s op-ed proposal to ban corporate contributions, and limit individual contributions to $100 cash and a $50 government voucher.

At 51:41, Will Durst wants to thank some political turkeys in the spirit of Thanksgiving.