RECENT ACTIVITIES

2011

DECEMBER

December 31

SFPI Radio: The topic is Focus on Africa. We will explore the military buildup in the region and its relationship to the corporate oil and military interests. Our guest is Badru Muzidalifa, who will help us understand the historical and political context of Uganda and the region, the effects of subjugation by a Puppet government supported by the international corporate terrorists who control the US government and the prospects for peace and democracy in the region.

Listen to the show here.

December 29

We received word that Health Care for All Oregon has endorsed Move to Amend, thanks to our efforts.

December 24

No show on SFPI radio due to the holiday break.

December 19

Dr Staggenborg presented to People on the Edge in Florence, Oregon. He talked about the various constitutional amendments introduced this year purporting to "overturn Citizens United, " why none will actually do so, the Pledge to Amend campaign and why it can result in passage of the amendment in Congress in as little as five years.

December 17

SFPI Radio: The topic was Communal Societies. Guest Angel Marerro discussed how to avoid corporate domination on a local by creating self-sustaining communities using environmentally sound practices and locally produced renewable energy.

Listen to the show here.


December 11

Dr. Staggenborg guest hosted the internet radio program The Mary and Sallie Show. The topic was corporate personhood and the Pledge to Amend campaign. His special guest was Paul Winger of Abolish Corporate Personhood Now.

Listen to the show here.

December 10

SFPI Radio: The topic was Toward a New Economy. We discussed how to create worker-owned cooperatives along the Mandragon model. The idea of a form of capitalism where the workers were guaranteed a fair share of profits was applied to organic agriculture and Green manufacture and service industries that did not require large investments by outside corporate owners.

Listen to the show here.

December 8-22.  Larry Agauyo made a concert tour from Roseburg, Oregon to North Dakota. He spread information about the abolition of corporate personhood and recruited new members of Take Back America for the People along the way.


December 4

In Oregon's Congressional District 4 quarterly meeting, delegates endorsed a resolution calling on the members of Congress from their Congressional District to introduce a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood. The resolution was introduced by a member of the Douglas County Central Committee after Dr. Staggenborg presented on the topic of corporate personhood.

December 3

SFPI Radio: The topic was Third Party Politics. Guest Tyrone Givens talked about the Occupy Party and the future of third party politics. We discussed the role of third parties in challenging the corporate-dominated Duopoly and how this fit into the general strategy of our Pledge to Amend campaign.

Listen to the show here.


NOVEMBER

November 27

Dr Staggenborg appeared on Populist Dialogues, the community access and web-based TV show of Alliance for Democracy in Portland. He explored with host and AfD national co-chair David Delk the problem of corporate personhood and Take Back America's Pledge to Amend campaign.

View the video here.

November 26

SFPI Radio: The topic was Breaking News on the Abolition Front. With no guest for the show, we discussed with callers the significance of the first two constitutional amendments that went beyond giving Congress the power to regulate corporate money in political campaigns. The problems with each were discussed along with the changes that would need to be in later amendments to satisfy all the requirements of our pledge: Abolishing corporate personhood and explicitly declaring that money is not free speech.

Listen to the show here.

November 19

SFPI Radio: The topic was Occupy: Moving Forward with guest Jorden Leonard of the Occupy Movement and Wolf Pac in Portland, Oregon. We discussed the recently passed resolution calling for a constitutional amendment abolishing corporate personhood, the role of Occupiers in furthering this goal and the hub-and-spoke model of direct democracy that Occupy Portland had begun using.

Much of the show was devoted to talking about the significance of the Occupy movement for the abolition movement. Among other things we discussed passing resolutions in city councils, presaging the eventual introduction of such a resolution by the Mayor of Portland after the camp was closed.

Listen to the show here.

November 12

SFPI Radio: The topic was Making Corporate Personhood a Campaign Issue. Our guest was Democratic Presidential primary challenger Aldous C Tyler, the first presidential candidate ever to support a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood.

We discussed the consequences of corporate control of government, with particular attention to the corruption unveiled in the Keystone XL pipeline project. Aldous talked about why he was running and the politics involved. The Pledge to Amend campaign that was recently kicked off was discussed.

Listen to the show here.

November 6

Dr Staggenborg presented at the Cedar Hills United Church of Christ on why the abolition of corporate personhood is a social justice issue that churches and church members should become involved with. Comparing the modern abolition movement to the abolition of slavery movement, he made the case that this is the central social justice issue of our time and the only way to salvage the social safety net that Christ argued it was our responsibility to provide.

November 5

SFPI Radio: With no guest, the topic was Listener's Choice. We had a lively discussion about a variety of topics, including the abolition of corporate personhood. Listen to the show here.



OCTOBER

October 29

SFPI Radio: The topic was Immigration Issues with Rita Dentino of Casa Freehold. We discussed how the politically charged issues surrounding immigration are directly affected by the corporate interest, from giant agribusiness corporations that depend on virtual slave labor to the private prison industry that is benefiting from the government's crackdown on excess cheap labor from Latin America. We connected a lot of dots in this interesting and informative discussion.

Listen to the show here.

October 22



SFPI Radio: The topic was Abolishing Corporate Personhood with fellow Board member Tracy Phillips. This was an in-depth exploration of how to get a constitutional amendment passed by making it a campaign issue. We explored the reasoning behind the strategy and details of how it might be implemented, outlining the Pledge to Amend campaign before its official launch.

Listen to the show here.



October 15

SFPI Radio: The topic was The International Drug War. Our guest was Jeffrey Dhywood, the author of WW-D: The Case Against Prohibitionism, A Road to legalization. We discussed the reasons that the US government continues to back the expensive, repressive and ultimately futile "war" on drugs. From profits to corporations in the war-torn regions that are the center of these conflicts to the funding of CIA black ops on behalf of the international corporate terrorists who control the government and the media, there are few stones unturned in this fascinating discussion.

Listen to the show here.

October 8

SFPI Radio: The topic was Mideast Peace. Guest Rich Forer talked about his book Breakthrough: Transforming Fear Into Compassion: A New Perspective on the Israel-Palestine Conflict. We discussed the transformation that will have to take place in the collective consciousness of Americans and Israelis to create a path for peace. In America this will have to include a new understanding of the role of transnational corporations in promoting conflict in the Mideast and elsewhere as a means to expand and maintain their corporate Empire.

Listen to the show here.

October 6

Dr Staggenborg began attending the Portland Occupation, pamphleting, speaking and videotaping on the topic of corporate personhood and the Pledge to Amend campaign. He gathered 500 signatures in the first week on a petition asking Senator Merkley to introduce an amendment meeting all the requirements outlined by Move to Amend and Take Back America in its Pledge to Amend campaign.

View a video from Occupy Portland featuring Dr Staggenborg and other Occupiers here.

October 1

SFPI Radio: The topic was Creating a Steady State Economy. Our guest was Rob Dietz of the Center for the Advancement of a Steady State Economy (CASSE). We discussed how to get off the treadmill of endless growth for corporate profit that is ignoring the ticking population time bomb and threatening the survival of human civilization. You won't want to miss this one.

Listen to the show here.