(from http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-hobby-lobby-supreme-court-arguments/359539/)
". . . Chief Justice Roberts appeared to tip his hand when he told Mr. Verrilli that the parade of horribles — all kinds of religious exemptions being claimed by all sorts of employers, punching holes in the uniform application of the laws — could be avoided by a ruling limited to closely held enterprises, like S corporations that pass their earnings through to their shareholders. That would leave the issue of, say, an Exxon claiming religious freedom rights to another day. Later, Justice Breyer suggested he might be open to that type of resolution. . ."
. . . well OF COURSE they're OPEN to THAT!!!!! They think corporations are PEOPLE!!!!!
OHO's
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(from www.MoveToAmend.org)
When it comes to constitutions, the application of law, and common sense, the Supreme Court of the United States could learn a thing or two from President Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca of the Washington County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania.
O’Dell-Seneca overruled a previous decision that sealed a settlement between a Mount Pleasant Township family and large energy corporations, which caused the family harm because of fracking on an adjacent property to their own. The Observer-Reporter and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pressed the suit, which ultimately decided the public’s right to be informed outstripped the corporation’s right to privacy.
In fact, O’Dell-Seneca went much further than that. The judge asserted corporations have no constitutional rights:
“...the constitution vests in business entities no special rights that the laws of this Commonwealth cannot extinguish. In sum, [corporations] cannot assert [constitutional privacy] protections because they are not mentioned in its text.”
“...it is axiomatic that corporations, companies, and partnerships have no ‘spiritual nature,’ ‘feelings,’ ‘intellect,’ ‘beliefs,’ ‘thoughts,’ ‘emotions,’ or ‘sensations,’ because they do not exist in the manner that humankind exists… They cannot be ‘let alone’ by government, because businesses are but grapes, ripe upon the vine of the law, that the people of this Commonwealth raise, tend, and prune at their pleasure and need.”
Despite the mainstream media’s blackout on any reporting that calls into question corporate personhood, this recent decision is an important victory for our movement.
CELDF (Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund) Executive Director Thomas Linzey writes: “The ruling represents the first crack in the judicial armor that has been so meticulously welded together by major corporations. And it affirms what many communities already know -- that change only occurs when people begin to openly question and challenge legal doctrines that have been treated as sacred by most lawyers and judges.”
Laws follow culture and the legal system adjusts as society's views shift. This case illustrates that we are collectively beginning to change hearts and minds about the appropriate role of the corporation in society, even amongst those who are entrenched in the current system.
(From SAW Note, July 2012)
Doug Sedgwick is a widely-traveled poet, Army veteran, high-energy live performer and spiritual (Unitarian) musician based in Reston, Virginia. Doug is also a longtime Songwriters' Association of Washington (SAW) member and winner of 2 Mid-Atlantic Song Contest Honorable Mentions (Jazz/Blues/Instrumental 2005, World 2006). He hosts a monthly open mike at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Reston every second Friday of the month. According to music critic / blogger Wildy Haskell, Doug has “tremendous songwriting talent and the ability to project different personalities/voices into his songs, like soliloquies in a one-man Broadway show. This folk/rock singer-songwriter might be one of the best of the genre, and you’ve probably never heard of him.”
As part of promoting his 2008 CD “Committed,” Doug was asked by the California-based “On Songwriting” blogger Rick Jamison for an interview – but instead of a Q & A, session, Rick ended up publishing a set of twenty insights Doug had put together and labeled as his songwriting“principles.” Here they are – slightly updated for your perusal and enjoyment.
(Paraphrased and edited for space)
1. If it works as a piece of art and doesn’t adhere to the “principles” - go for it! Never let anyone tell you what rules you should be following. Develop your own set of principles.
2. The basis must be emotion and the subconscious goal is movement of the listener. Move yourself emotionally and the listener will be moved.
3. The idea to get across should be simple. It should fit into 3 or 4 minutes - maybe longer if it requires a solo or extended bridge to help emphasize the point.
4. Stolen from Andrew McKnight: Your most favorite song in the entire world is the one you’re singing at the time you’re singing it. Put every ounce of your feeling into the performance.
5. A new song should begin with the words. The cadence of a phrase brushed against the cockles of your heart ought to get a back and forth rhythm going. Seek out the chords after the basis of the melody springs up from the motion of the words themselves.
6. Go to the musical fourth for the chorus. Get as much melody worked up from the words as possible – then see if you don’t naturally go the fourth for the chorus anyway. If not – see # 1.
7. [From “This is Your Brain on Music.”] Studying the brain waves of jazz musicians in the act of improvising shows a close correlation with the brain activity of dreaming. Dreaming and writing music are intertwined. Find where your intersection of the two activities helps you produce.
8. Even though the best songs are the usually the ones that seem to flow from a higher power, you should still attempt to work through and finish any song you start. Determination to solve musical challenges in lesser songs will help develop your songwriting skills.
9. Seek inspiration wherever you find it. If listening to Dylan gets your juices flowing – don’t be afraid to take in chunks from YouTube or your old vinyl. There’s no infringement in stealing an IDEA for a song that came from listening to another song.
10. Learn to let go and not judge what starts to happen when moments of inspiration kick in. Follow your instincts. Ignore your reason. (Paraphrased from songwriter friend Philip DeStefano, I believe.)
11. Rhythm rules. The beat trumps the melody. Greater is the sin to play offbeat than to play off-key. Develop rhythm EVERYWHERE in everything.
12. Learn to believe completely in your own magic. If Spielberg doesn’t put his own faith on the line, the audience will sense it the same way a dog senses fear. Your FAITH in YOU is what carries.
13. Your unique view is valuable. Your experiences and views are no less important than the 'virtuosi' - your execution and expression is just different - but must be here to satisfy SOME need in the universe. Revel in your ability to express yourself in a manner unlike any other.
14. Pitch matters - but not the way you hear it. No two people hear the same. No single person hears the same their entire life.
15. Zoom out. A painter with his nose inches from the canvas sweating the texture of a cloud may have lost sight of the true focus of his own painting. As the song develops, keep trying to step back from the easel a few feet occasionally.
16. Take all criticisms with a grain of salt. What if Tom Waits (or Bob Dylan or Neil Young) - attending song circles had been told he really needed to learn a new way to sing? Part of that which makes them truly unique would have been lost. But be polite and not vengeful.
17. Keep the child inside alive. If your musical knowledge and depth of understanding have grown SO VAST that you have lost the sense of wonder and the willingness to be fooled into believing in magic (see #12) - you should give up the craft.
18. Never stop learning. There is something to be learned from everybody you encounter – both inside and outside the realm of songwriting.
19. Give of yourself by listening to people. Especially in these times when we’re bombarded by the media talking at us, there is a deep hunger in the population at large to just be heard anymore. Lend a sympathetic ear.
20. Practice self-discovery and self-improvement. Take a spiritual path, and let your own self-awakening surprise you with songs inside you never knew were there.
You can reach Doug (who enjoys both writing AND talking about himself in the third person) via email through bugsunplugged (at) comcast.net. . . "
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