SEPT 26 - Our Government Institutions Don't Serve Us - By Design

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

  Please respond if you are interested in sharing transportation.

Wishing you well,

Bonita

nestree11402 @yahoo.com

A Free Evening Lecture with Paul Cienfuegos: "Our Government Institutions Don't Serve Us - By Design" Thu, September 26 at 7:00 PM  @Decorah Elks Club, 204 W Main St Did you know that the US Constitution is actually our second constitution, and that the first one was much more democratic? Did you know that state laws prohibit local governments from protecting the health and welfare of their local residents? Did you know that the Supreme Court has been granting constitutional "rights" to corporations since 1819 and continuing to this day, and that corporations now have more Constitutional rights than do We the People? Come and learn why our local elected officials' hands are tied and what we can do to untie them. Find out about the fast growing Community Rights movement, launched in conservative Pennsylvania farm communities in 2000, which has now spread to 155 communities in nine states among Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Greens, and many others. Please join us for this provocative evening! Contact: Liz Rog, 563-382-8013 or liz@decorahnow.com. This event is hosted by the Community Rights Alliance of Winneshiek County, newly formed in May 2013. More info on Paul Cienfuegos: http://celdf.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f45c6a914459919a14f80ee4&id=e26ab8889d&e=740adfccf9   Sept. 27-29: "Becoming We the People," with Paul Cienfuegos.  This workshop, a repeat of one we offered this May, is an immersion into Community Rights work, which has over the last 13 years served to protect 150 regions in 9 states from certain corporate harms. Are there any problems in your community caused by the activities enabled by the so-called personhood of corporations?  This workshop will inform you about how you can stop that as others have successfully done. Those of us from Iowa who attended the May workshop are full-speed ahead with this work and have orgainzed this Sept. workshop for you because we feel it's so important. Here's the site where you can learn more, and a link to the registration site. If you prefer to register with a check or cash, you can send it to Liz Rog at 1591 Manawa Rd, Decorah IA 52101. Sign up soon--there are 13 spots left of 30 available. Here's what some had to say about Paul's May 2013 workshop in Decorah:  "I came away from this workshop feeling like I know how to be a better citizen of my country. Paul opened my eyes to parts of our country's history that saddened me, and parts that really inspired me too.  I have a clearer understanding of why everyday people often feel powerless to make change for a better world.  And I now know what we can do about that.  Paul renewed my interest in participating in governance that is truly of, for, and by the people."  "I was impressed with the democratic vision of the community rights movement.  It's easy to lose faith in democracy when you only watch it operating on the very large, corporate-controlled scale of the federal and even state government--it's much easier, and much more exciting, to imagine democracy among neighbors, in local communities claiming the right to local control.  Paul's history of the United States through the lens of corporate personhood rights helped me to understand why I was skeptical about our large-scale "democracy", and I appreciated the discussion of decolonizing our minds from corporate control.  I believe it's time to put the rights of human beings and of the earth on a higher priority than the rights of corporations, and I'm grateful to Paul for showing us a path to making that happen!"  "a very enlightening weekend. I found out where my fear of large corporations comes from and how--with compassionate informed neighbors--we can move forward to demand a more just land."  "Wanting a better world for my daughters convinced me to attend Paul's training.  I moved from feeling ignorant, to oppressed, to empowered.  We can build a world that holds the interest of ourselves, our children, our whole Earth Community at the forefront.  And there are other communities leading the way!  Join me!" "I have been very sad for a very long time, seeing our personal lives, our health and our world threatened by all of the corporate harms we seem so powerless to affect. And for the first few hours in the workshop, Paul's history of our democracy-- and how it has been, from the beginning, torn asunder by a system stacked in favor of corporations-- brought back all of the sadness and helplessness. But it also made me realize this sadness is a natural response to what we and our non-human allies have been experiencing. And the workshop didn't end there; it provided us with tools to work on the local level to protect our natural environment (which is what sustains us after all is said and done). It inspires me to think of coming together with friends and neighbors (and the friends I haven't met yet in my community). And I could see potential for networks of communities coming together to weave a web of protection. Now I see what Paul was talking about happening all over the world. There are no guarantees, but there never have been. It gives us a challenge worth taking on." Also! You're Invited to   Democracy School    Fri. Nov. 1, 6:30-9:30 pm and Sat, Nov. 2, 9am-5pm Friday 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm and Saturday Sept. 28:  9:00 am – 5:00 pm Have you ever wondered why large corporations can overrule what people and communities want for themselves and their future?   Ever wondered why you lose your civil rights when you walk across your employer’s doorstep? Or how it is that your once beautiful land, clean well water, or pristine fishing area can be ”permitted” to be destroyed by industrial pollution whether you like it or not? Democracy School explores how it came to be that large corporations have more rights than American people, towns, cities and counties. It examines the way our constitution was reinterpreted and laws enacted to shift power from real people to “corporate persons.” Democracy School explores why big government now enforces the rights of big corporations to extract resources (natural and financial) of people and communities across the country.  Democracy School also shows you how some communities – beginning with tiny, conservative farming communities in Pennsylvania – are fighting back to protect their lives and livelihoods. HERE IS WHAT OTHER PARTICIPANTS HAVE TO SAY:  …taught me a new, empowering way to protect the environment, reclaiming local control… Mary Ann Kae …will never read a newspaper through my old lens again; enlightened on how process works… Maria Ross …awed by small, conservative communities that stood up to government-sanctioned corporate abuse ... Judy Hopkinson  …not realize how little legal power communities have when corporations want their way … Cynthia Sheldon  …first-hand knowledge of ways to bring power back to the people real examples of success… Marian BeddillDemocracy School is presented by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, CELDF.org REGISTER:  Make checks payable to Democracy School, Decorah  and send along with registration form to: Liz Rog, 1591 Manawa Rd, Decorah IA 52101. INQUIRIES should be directed to Registrar at <liz@decorahnow.com>  or 563-382-8013 Cost: Sliding scale, $75-$175  includes curriculum & lunch. Pay as you are able. Interested in donating to our scholarship fund or requesting a scholarship? Contact Registrar. 25 participants maximum Forward freely! Hoping to see you in Decorah in Sept. or November, Liz Rog for the Community Rights Alliance of Winneshiek County To subscribe to our newsletter click here.

-- Jane Skinner PeckAdjunct Professor, 

Dance and Theater Dept. 

Winona State University

JPeck@winona.edu

Artistic director, 

Dance Revels Moving History33939 Golden Drive

Lanesboro, MN 55949http://www.janepeck.com/revels@janepeck.com