Constitution Day in Sarasota Schools

Manasota Move To Amend participated in the annual Constitution Day activities in two public schools in Sarasota County. Jaime Canfield and Arlene Sweeting enlivened five classes of 7th to 10th grade Pine View students. Jaime reports taking them on

"a journey through the history of the struggle of various segments of our society to be considered as part of the expression We The People. From the original wording and subsequent evolution of the Constitution, through the enactment of the existing 27th Amendments and the influence of judicial activism, the presentations were designed to illustrate the need for a new 28th Amendment to the Constitution to reestablish the original intent of the expression We The People to include all of the people and exclude corporations. Additional discussions were inserted to include a second as important assertion that the malignant influence of money in our political process must be eliminated."

Later in the day, Carol Lerner and Rhana Bazzini formally introduced twenty one fourth grade students from Garden Elementary School in Venice to the U.S. Constitution. Discussion points included the purpose of the US Constitution, how it defined the structure of US government, and how it established human rights for the citizenry. Carol reports that

“the students applied this learning to writing a mock constitution for their class. Using a timeline and photographs, the students also discovered the process of amending the Constitution. The students particularly looked at the Amendments that expanded the right to vote in the United States. Using photographs representing different segments of the population (photos showing gender, race, class and ethnicity), the students sorted the photos to guess which group was able to vote at different points in US history. They were surprised to learn that only around 6% of the population, just white, male property holders, could vote when our nation was founded. They learned about the struggles, like the women's and civil rights movements, to expand the number of voters through Amendments and legislation. These young students asked outstanding, meaningful questions and were extremely excited to learn about the evolution of the U.S. Constitution.”

Our Manasota Move To Amend team is already excited about participating in Constitution Day next year. Get in touch, if you are a teacher or school administrator, in Sarasota or Manatee Counties, in a public or private school - and you're looking for an exciting Constitution Day option.

Doug - Gyrocopter Man - Reports to Prison

Doug Hughes' cake celebrates America.

Remember Doug Hughes from just north of Manatee County in Ruskin, Florida?  He landed a gyrocopter on the West Front of the Capitol in an attempt to deliver mail to each member of Congress.  The letters demanded that our Congressional representatives refuse to take large contributions from big donors and corporations, because this corrupts the democratic process.  As Doug wrote -

"That much money is a megaphone which drowns out the voices of 'We the People.'"

Most of the media attention on Hughes focused on the illegal landing of his gyrocopter and the lack of security that allowed it.  Hughes was sentenced to jail-time for his action.  After months of house arrest and losing his job with the postal service, Doug has just started serving his prison sentence. Manasota Move To Amend activist, Rhana Bazzini, spent time with Hughes just prior to the commencement of his prison sentence. He even had a cake specially made for the occasion. Brenna Williams from CNN reported on his last hours of freedom.  Most remarkably, Doug Hughes spent his last couple of hours of freedom lobbying Tim Cannova to get big money out of politics.

Public Comment with the Manatee County Commissioners

Manasota Move To Amend pressed forward with the Manatee Board of County Commissioners during the Public Comment period of their June 7 meeting.  Jaime Canfield, William Dennison, Mary Sheppard, and Frank Dellert took to the podium to catalog some of the problems associated with corporate power from a local perspective. This was their second attempt to speak.  On May 24, a group of Move To Amend supporters did not get a chance to speak due to a large group that monopolized the microphone. They persevered and returned two weeks later.

Hands Across The Sand, Englewood Beach

Last weekend in Sarasota County, folks came together at Englewood Beach. And they were not an isolated group; they joined thousands around the world to speak out against dirty energy industries.

In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker ran into a reef in Prince William Sound. The resulting oil spill devastated the nearby town and ecosystem. Just twenty one years later during the Deep Horizon spill, BP took a page from Exxon's playbook. They dramatically underestimated the size of the spill, downplaying all aspects. And they capped liability right at the beginining.

The underlying crisis, it seems, is a crisis of democracy. Corporations have become so powerful that our government isn’t able to regulate them sufficiently to keep such disasters from occuring. And when such inevitable accidents do happen, government is unable to hold these corporations accountable.

But people are speaking out. Hands Across the Sand formed in 2010 in response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It has grown into an international movement. Every year, people come together to join hands, forming symbolic barriers against spilled oil and to stand against the impacts of other forms of extreme energy.

Sarasota Marches Against Monsanto

Monsanto produces the world’s top selling herbicide. They make genetically modified seeds, created to withstand the chemicals they produce. Several of their factories are now toxic Superfund sites.

Yesterday, Sarasota and dozens of other cities worldwide participated in the March Against Monsanto. The folks protesting demanded that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) be labeled. They marched down 1st Street, heading over to the Bayfront. Under the Unconditional Surrender sculpture, they held signs and chanted. Cars honked in support.

But it's how Monsanto uses their size and power that makes them such a prime target. They get seed dealers to not stock many of their competitors products. When licensing their patented genetically engineered traits to seed companies, they restrict the seed companies’ ability to combine Monsanto’s traits with those of their competitors. And, as has been widely publicised, farmers who plant Monsanto seeds are forbidden from saving and replanting their own seeds. Yet, to date, U.S. laws have not put an end to these practices. That comes as no surprise, since they spend millions lobbying the U.S. government every year. Not too many companies so clearly reflect the harm that can come from corporate power and their political spending.

Aiming for the Manatee County Commission

Organizer, Jaime Canfield

Approximately 30 people attended the Manatee Unitarian Universalist Potluck in Bradenton to learn more about Manasota Move to Amend's efforts to build a movement strong enough to amend the Constitution to end corporate personhood and allow the government to regulate campaign spending. Arlene Sweeting gave an overview of the history of Move to Amend in Sarasota and Manatee counties.  Then Jaime Canfield gave a detailed explanation of plans to present a resolution to the Manatee County Commissioners. Many Occupy Bradenton members were in attendance. The Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is one of 14 local groups that have endorsed Move to Amend.  As Jaime says, "Only by building a coalition of like minded groups do we have a chance of success."

Passion & Purpose at First-Ever MTA National Leadership Summit

Move to Amend Affiliates from across the nation converged on Washington DC for the National Leadership Summit.  Two dedicated volunteers from the Manasota affiliate attended.  Here is their report.

Kindra Muntz and Arlene Sweeting represented the Manasota affiliate at the first ever Move to Amend National Leadership Summit this past weekend in Washington, DC. The passion and purpose of the National Leadership Team was inspiring - as well as the work being done in affiliates across the country.  In Washington State, they collected 336,000 signatures to get Move to Amend on the ballot this Fall, and it looks like it will be on the ballot in California too!   Participants learned how to lobby more effectively, spent time visioning a more democratic future, and heard from allied groups about how to build relationships with people of color communities.  The workshops were engaging and participatory with many people getting to take on leadership roles.

Due to the death of Florida activist Ilene Singer, Broward County sent Moqtadir Naim to represent them. Kindra and Arlene teamed up with Moqtadir for Lobby Day and dropped in on his Congressmen - Alcee Hastings and Ted Deutch. They also met with staff from the offices of Rep. Tom Rooney, Rep. Vern Buchanan, and Sen. Bill Nelson to encourage them to sponsor HJR48 - the We the People Amendment.

Bringing Move-To-Amend to the Sarasota County Commission

50+ Move To Amend supporters attend County Commission meeting 

The power to place a non-binding resolution on Sarasota County ballots in November rests with the Sarasota County Commission. County resident, Kindra Muntz, put together possible wording for such a resolution.

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STRAW BALLOT QUESTION: 

Only Human Beings Are Endowed with Constitutional Rights

Should the rulings of Citizens United and related Supreme Court cases be effectively overturned by an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America to clarify that only human beings, and not corporations, labor unions and other artificial entities, are endowed with constitutional rights, and that money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech? 

 Yes _____            No_____

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Kindra along with three other Sarasota County residents - James Keeney, Arlene Sweeting, and Rhana Bazzini - all spoke in support of such a ballot initiative during the Public Comment period.

Democracy Awakening in Sarasota

Thousands of people converged on Washington, D.C. this weekend, as part of Democracy Awakening - a movement to demand a democracy that works for all Americans. Elected officials must be accountable to the people, not just to Big Money from corporations and wealthy donors. On April 15, 2016, citizens of Manatee and Sarasota counties hosted a Democracy Awakening rally in solidarity.


Andy Mele, of the the Manatee-Sarasota Sierra Club, gave a rundown of the Supreme Court decisions that opened the floodgates for Big Money campaign contributions. Lou Murray, of Newtown Nation, gave concrete examples of voter suppression in African American communities in Manatee County. Valerie Buchand, of Newtown Nation, spoke to the power of the people. Susie Copeland, of the Manatee County NAACP, focused on getting folks to vote. Kindra Muntz, of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, detailed many of the election reform bills stalled in Congress right now. Charles McKenzie, of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, spoke to the importance of voting. Arlene Sweeting, of the Peace Education and Action Center, spoke about the need for reform.

Other local groups to endorse the rally included the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice Social Justice Committee, the Nation Group, National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United-Florida, American Association of University Women-Manatee Chapter, In Granny D’s Footsteps, United Nations Organization, and Occupy Bradenton.

Democracy Spring

Thousands of protesters from around the U.S. are descending on Washington D.C. They will be rallying, marching, lobbying, and engaging in acts of civil disobedience to shine the spotlight on the failings of our democracy. Rhana Bazzini, along with over 3000 others, has agreed to risk arrest as part of a non-violent direct action. She took the train from Sarasota to be part of this Democracy Spring.



Rhana made it to Washington and attended the weekend training for those who were willing to risk arrest. Rhana reported that there were so many people in attendance, that they had to schedule a second training to accommodate the overflow volunteers. Yesterday, over 400 were arrested. More are preparing for arrest each day this week.

And yet, there was almost no corporate media coverage of these mass arrests. The Intercept reports that yesterday,

"CNN did not devote any coverage to the actions. MSNBC mentioned the protests for approximately 12 seconds, while Fox News mentioned the arrests and discussed the protests for about 17 seconds."

Next weekend, larger crowds will gather for Democracy Awakening. They will press Congress to pass reforms to ensure that everyone can cast a vote that counts and that the power of people’s voices is not measured by the size of their wallet. This historic mobilization intends to define the national debate. But will the corporate media cover it?