Person?. . .

(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.

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Award. . .

The 'most poorly phrased statement' award goes to Donald Rumsfeld.  Speaking on The Today Show
about the Congressional Republicans’ questioning of the events of Sept. 11, 2012 in Benghazi, he said. . .

“If you’re going to put people at risk, you have to try to protect them. . .”

(Seems that in order to achieve the latter, you shouldn't do the former?)

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Race. . .

. . . on over to Brewer's Alley Restaurant & Brewery
Monday
May 20, 2013
@ 7:30PM
to hear Ray Jozwiak - Gonzo Piano
open the Brewer's Alley Songwriters Showcase

Monday Night Songwriters' Showcase (now in its eighth year!) is held on Monday evenings in beautiful downtown Frederick, MD, except during December (when we are closed after the first Monday). The program starts at 7:30 pm with a piano prelude, followed by three or four songwriters doing three songs each (lots of variety). The featured songwriter for the evening goes on around 9 pm for around 45 minutes to an hour, followed by two or three more three-song performers. Somewhere in the mix we throw in some poetry from our resident poet, John Holly. Our MCs are Ron Goad, Todd C. Walker and Tomy Wright, frequently interrupted by Rod Deacey on sound. Most of you know all this, but this mailing is going out to some people who may be unfamiliar with our format, so please bear with me.... Our shows are FREE – we collect tips for the featured songwriter, but there is no door charge, so come and support LIVE MUSIC!

(take the elevator on the right to the 2nd floor)
124 North Market Street Frederick, MD 21701

Telephone: 301-631-0089 Fax: 301-631-1874
 http://www.brewers-alley.com/

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Orange. . .

.

 . . . crate. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
". . . Between 1992 and 1995, (Van Dyke) Parks teamed up again with a then-reclusive Brian Wilson to create the album Orange Crate Art. Parks wrote all of the songs on the album, except "This Town Goes Down At Sunset" and George Gershwin instrumental "Lullaby", with vocals by Wilson. Orange Crate Art is a tribute to the Southern California of the early 1900s, and a lyrical tribute to the beauty of Northern California. It was recorded during a stressful period for Wilson, after being involved in court orders relating to years of psychiatric misconduct he had been subject to. According to Parks, "When I found him, he was alone in a room staring at a television. It was off." The album was met with poor commercial reception, much to the disappointment of Parks. . . "


(The album from which came. . . Movies is Magic)

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Movies. . .

. . . is magic. . .

(from wikipedia.com)
". . . A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still images on a strip of plastic which, when run through a projector and shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion picture camera; by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques; by means of CGI and computer animation; or by a combination of some or all of these techniques and other visual effects. The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry.

Films usually include an optical soundtrack, which is a graphic recording of the spoken words, music and other sounds that are to accompany the images. It runs along a portion of the film exclusively reserved for it and is not projected.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures. They reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment, and a powerful medium for educating—or indoctrinating—citizens. The visual basis of film gives it a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles to translate the dialog into the language of the viewer. . ."

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Success. . .

I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
-Jonathan Winters

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
― Winston Churchill

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
― Confucius

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. ”
― Mark Twain

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.”
― Bob Dylan

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
― Woody Allen

“He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who has always looked for the best in others and given the best he had; whose life was an inspiration; whose memory a benediction.”
- Bessie A. Stanley

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Oho . . .

Dear __________,

Writing to acquaint you with OHO and our music in hopes of securing future performance dates at _______________**.

OHO began as Baltimore's answer to Pink Floyd, an American underground icon, a band that came out of nowhere playing music the chroniclers swore was years ahead of its time. OHO sneaks around the musical conventions that have mummified so many others, unleashing sliders where you'd expect curve balls, fast balls where you'd expect change-ups. Part of it is their sense of humor, part of it their unerring humanity. A curious anomaly, the band was totally out of synch with current musical trends when they formed in late 73, a five-piece multi-instrumental, avant garde, acid-progressive band from Baltimore with a do-it-yourself lifestyle and album/label/outlook who were either seven years too late or seventeen years too early.

After almost forty years of evolution from precocious prog-rock darlings to pre-punk garage rebels, to folk-jazz free fliers to power-trio original and sophisticated-covers band, OHO (now consisting of founders Jay Graboski and David Reeve, reunited with thirty-year musical collaborator [1970s Ful Treatment] Ray Jozwiak and occasional, special, when-available, musical guests) now belts out a bevy of thought-provoking original material blended with classics and the cream of current, intelligent rock and roll, spiced with musical influences from everywhere-including the kitchen sink- for your dancing, dining and drinking pleasure.  A physical and aural delight.

We hope to experience the pleasure of performing for your fine clientele at ____________** in the near future.  Looking forward to hearing from you.  A CD of the current incarnation of OHO is enclosed and and free download card (to experience the rich history of OHO) for your review and musical pleasure.

Very truly yours.
(** = YOUR venue)

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My latest release, Black & White Then Back,
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