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Ben and Jerry’s co-founder wants to rubber-stamp dollar bills with Occupy messages
Yahoo News ^ | June 4, 2012 | Liz Goodwin

Posted on 06/04/2012 4:35:51 PM PDT by Brandonmark

Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and one of the deep pockets behind the Occupy movement, says he is helping launch a campaign this summer to highlight the influence of corporate money in American politics.

Cohen and the Move to Amend advocacy group will distribute rubber stamps with anti-corporate election spending messages so that the politically minded can mark their dollar bills. The end goal: To secure a constitutional amendment saying corporations do not enjoy the same protected rights as individuals and that money is not a form of speech.

Cohen plans to put a giant stamping machine on a national tour in August to encourage "thousands of people to buy rubber stamps and stamp any currency that comes into their possession," he tells Yahoo News. According to his attorney, this is legal, as long as the bills are still legible after the stamping. The Occupy movement tried the stamp tactic last October, defacing dollar bills with infographics that showed the income distribution in American society.

This round of stamps will include "Corporations are not people," "Money is not speech" and "Not to be used for bribing politicians," among other slogans.

The amendment for which Cohen is advocating would reverse decades of Supreme Court decisions, which have extended free speech and other rights to corporations and have ruled that spending money is a form of protected speech. The Citizens United Supreme Court decision in 2010 held that corporations and unions can spend unlimited amounts of money during elections as long as they are not directly funding individual candidates. (This led to the rise of independent super PACs, which have poured millions of dollars into this election cycle alone.) The decision overturned existing campaign finance laws.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: benjerry; icecream
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To: Brandonmark
They need to shut up and keep making expensive “liberal, tree hugging” ice cream!
21 posted on 06/04/2012 4:59:42 PM PDT by ForAmerica (Texas Conservative Christian Black Man!)
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To: Foolsgold

I stopped going to BJ when I got a bunch of hair in my ice cream.

They have a real quality control problem.


22 posted on 06/04/2012 5:02:18 PM PDT by Gabrial (The nightmare will continue as long as the nightmare is in the White House)
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To: CharacterCounts

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Co. was sold to Unilever over 10 years ago and as far as I know the founders retained zero residual interest. So while it may feel good, going after the ice cream containers wouldn’t leave a mark (pun intended.) Kind of like trying to punish the French by not eating fries.


23 posted on 06/04/2012 5:03:17 PM PDT by masadaman
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To: Brandonmark

What would keep a small business from stamping their ad and/or website address on every bill they get their hands on, as advertising? Wouldn’t that be the same thing?


24 posted on 06/04/2012 5:03:50 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (Ich habe keinen Konig aber Gott)
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To: masadaman
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Co. was sold to Unilever over 10 years ago and as far as I know the founders retained zero residual interest. So while it may feel good, going after the ice cream containers wouldn’t leave a mark (pun intended.) Kind of like trying to punish the French by not eating fries.

Not sure I agree with you as evidenced by their recent advertising in support of the Occupy movement:


25 posted on 06/04/2012 5:08:23 PM PDT by Brandonmark (2012: Our Hope IS Change!)
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To: masadaman
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Co. was sold to Unilever over 10 years ago and as far as I know the founders retained zero residual interest. So while it may feel good, going after the ice cream containers wouldn’t leave a mark (pun intended.) Kind of like trying to punish the French by not eating fries.

Not sure I agree with you as evidenced by their recent advertising in support of the Occupy movement:


26 posted on 06/04/2012 5:08:37 PM PDT by Brandonmark (2012: Our Hope IS Change!)
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To: masadaman
Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Co. was sold to Unilever over 10 years ago and as far as I know the founders retained zero residual interest. So while it may feel good, going after the ice cream containers wouldn’t leave a mark (pun intended.) Kind of like trying to punish the French by not eating fries.

Not sure I agree with you as evidenced by their recent advertising in support of the Occupy movement:


27 posted on 06/04/2012 5:08:48 PM PDT by Brandonmark (2012: Our Hope IS Change!)
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To: Brandonmark

sorry for the duplicate post


28 posted on 06/04/2012 5:09:43 PM PDT by Brandonmark (2012: Our Hope IS Change!)
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To: NEW YORKCITYGOPMAN

Ben, Jerry, and Barry want to make it “The Long Gay Line”.


29 posted on 06/04/2012 5:11:20 PM PDT by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Implementing class warfare by having no class!)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Maybe the bills should be stamped...

Tear this bill in half, now you have TWO Obama bills!


30 posted on 06/04/2012 5:15:05 PM PDT by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: Brandonmark

Work at Walmart on the weekends and got an Anti-Walker “Recall Walker” Dollar Bill once, I just took it put in the drawer. When I had gotten down to paying back Dollar Bills for change I just skipped over that one and put it in the bottom of the pile for corporate to turn over to the banks (and the would likely promptly destroy it b/c of the defaced nature). No way in H*ll was I going to give this to another customer (embarrassment’s sake alone) I won’t support the Union-libs!


31 posted on 06/04/2012 5:16:34 PM PDT by JSDude1
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To: rovenstinez

I DEMAND FREE ICE CREAM! IT’S FOR THE PEOPLE!


32 posted on 06/04/2012 5:17:16 PM PDT by Dallas59 (President Robert Gibbs 2009-2011)
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To: Brandonmark

Isn’t this outfit still a subsidiary of Unilever?


33 posted on 06/04/2012 5:33:13 PM PDT by VanDeKoik (If case you are wondering, I'm STILL supporting Newt.)
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To: Traveler59
Same thing happened here when an attempt at local "gay pride" day at the beach . . .
Had this happen in Pensacola, FL about 15 years ago. Wife worked at a bank and said as soon as any of those bills came in, they were removed and sent back to the Fed. The stunt never got any traction.

Geez, that happened more than 10 years ago. You'd have thought these idiot liberal/socialist/democrats would have learned by now.
One definition of insanity is . . . :-)

34 posted on 06/04/2012 5:36:50 PM PDT by Oatka (This is America. Assimilate or evaporate.)
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To: Brandonmark

How about practicing some anti-corpratism for B&J by NOT buying their products. That is what I do.


35 posted on 06/04/2012 5:49:54 PM PDT by GreyFriar (Spearhead - 3rd Armored Division 75-78 & 83-87)
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To: rovenstinez
In Mexico, we stopped this sort of thing real quick by people NOT accepting bills that had been defaced. They had to go to the bank, and do some explaining. Sometimes even the bank did NOT redeem them.

America is different from Mexico.

In America you accept the money. Period.

I don't agree with these putzes' message but seriously.

If the money is legible then it is legal tender. Politics has nothing to do with it.

36 posted on 06/04/2012 5:55:01 PM PDT by rogue yam
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To: tet68
Of course others can play that game too.

For some reason people have been writing or stamping the words "TAX CHEAT" over Timothy Geithner's signature on newer bills.

http://pjmedia.com/instapundit/140003/

37 posted on 06/04/2012 6:04:38 PM PDT by rogue yam
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To: boop

As far as I know, Ben and/or Jerry no longer own “Ben and Jerry’s”. They sold it for a gazillion dollars.

But irony is lost on ol’ Ben.


38 posted on 06/04/2012 6:08:26 PM PDT by hattend (Firearms and ammunition...the only growing industries under the Obama regime.)
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To: Brandonmark

At least, by lobbying for an amendment, they seem to be admitting that the goals of the Occupiers are currently unconstitutional.


39 posted on 06/04/2012 7:13:11 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: rogue yam

Proof that the left NEVER have an original idea!


40 posted on 06/04/2012 8:44:16 PM PDT by Mortrey (Impeach President Soros)
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