The Black Horse of the Blog World

It seems to me that one of the recent recurring legal questions, and one that fascinates me, is the question of when a corporation is treated like a person, and when it isn’t.  It seems to be dependent on the nature of the question.

If it is a question of business or economics, corporations seem to default to receiving all the rights of individuals, but not always.  See the recent Supreme Court ruling on the freedom of speech rights of corporations in funding support advertisements in political campaigns, notably.  See also intellectual and other property rights, etc.

On the one hand, this makes sense when considering the historical origins of corporations — the pooling of resources from a group of individuals to further a common business goal.  Economically speaking, this is a good thing.  A group of people working together can be more efficient and leverage greater scale benefits than any one individual.  The corporation should be able to exercise the freedoms that any of the individuals would have, as it is in some sense, an extension of the individuals.  On the other hand, corporations are not, in fact, living (or natural) persons.  So, for instance, they are given different tax structures (but so are different individuals sometimes) because they are not subject to some taxes (like an inheretence tax) and get to write off certain capital expenses and development expenses (progress does benefit everyone).

But on matters of moral, ethical, and criminal conduct, it is exceedingly difficult to treat a corporation as an individual, as fundamentally, it is not.  A corporation is made up of many actors, and in theory operates only under the direction of its controlling members.  So there are many times where a corporation is not or can not be held responsible for the actions of the individuals inside, even when those actions are to guide the corporation in an immoral, unethical, or criminal way.  The example I came across this morning is a recent interpretation of part of a very old law (ancient by US standards), called the Alien Tort Statute.  Here a federal appeals court ruled that this 1789 only gave the US jurisdiction over the actions of individuals, and not of corporations.  See the Bloomberg writeup here. In brief, this law was designed to allow the US to prosecute crimes against international laws established in treaty.  It was fairly dormant for a long time until recent decades when it has been plied towards punishing corporations that in some way support or further regimes that engage in human rights abuses.  As further context, the ATS predates by some 30 years the notion that corporations have legal personhood, which only complicates things further, as current US Code reads: “In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, unless the context indicates otherwise– the words “person” and “whoever” include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals”.  Apparently it has been determined that the context of the 1789 law indicated otherwise.  For other sorts of examples, look at recent legal actions taken in response to the activities of Enron, BP, and several large banking institutions.

So I ask you – when is a corporation a person, and when is it not?

(P.S., to be clear on my stance and reveal any bias I may have, I think it is frequently a mistake to grant corporate personhood.  The same thing that makes corporations efficient economic entities — that corporations are greater than the sum of their parts — is the same thing that, to me, negates their personhood, and gives them power in other arenas influenced by economic activity, such as politics, law, religion and culture.  Of course, corporate personhood can be a double-edged sword, as it is also what allows corporations to sue and be sued, so I am not wholly against the concept, just that it it seems to me to have been stretched and extended beyond reason at times, mostly in favor of corporations.)

(P.P.S., this sort of

Lifehacker.com recently ran a poll of its visitors asking them to vote for the best electronic invitation service.  Facebook received the most votes.  This is no big surprise to me, although a modicum of insight would illuminate exactly how terrible a result this is.  Most of you will remember that I am hosting two parties in the next week and a half, and you will also observe that I did not use Facebook to send out invitations.  If you’ve no interest in a rant on this topic, move along.  Seriously, this is scrutiny over something that really doesn’t matter that much. It might even be nitpicky or didactic.  If you’re the sort who likes to think about the applications of electronic tools to daily activities (which is explicitly part of what I’m paid to do), read on.

Continue reading Zen and the psychology of invitation services

Ok, we officially have too many boxes now. For moving purposes I was lucky enough to score about 200 of the standard size filing box to pack and stash in a storage unit. We’ve been unpacking for a while now, and stacking all the empty boxes in our spare room. The boxes are now threatening to eat me. They’re stacked 8 tall, going the width of the wall and three rows deep. I’ve apparently been playing minecraft since before it came out, and didn’t know it. So if you have a use for filing boxes, let me know, and we can come to an arrangement. Please.

One of the things that I did not talk about in the last post at all (because I was saving it for its own post) is The Wrathskellar.  The Wrathskellar is the upcoming show from The Boston Babydolls.  It’s a remake of a show that was first done back in 2009 (but I promise, it is -way- better).  It is a dark burlesque show, and is the most theatrical burlesque show you’re likely to see, with a complex set of characters, and a show within a show.  It is set in a dim, possibly dank alley club home to characters more closely resembling Mack the Knife than Dean Martin.  Opening night is October 27th (with a special sneak preview on Oct. 26th) and it runs through Oct. 31st at the Cambridge YMCA.  Yes, Halloween.  Tickets range from $10 to about $35 depending on what night you go, and where you sit.  Cabaret tickets come with the option of food and drink service, served by Wrathskellar Waitstaff.  From the very moment you enter, you are completely transported to The Wrathskellar.

Oh, and as a special option, when ordering tickets you can use the discount code of “Hans” to get 2$ off of tickets for the 27th or 28th!

So, why should you go?  Especially if you saw the last production?  Let me talk a bit.  First of all, it’s burlesque.  The burlesque dancers are incredibly talented, elegant, sexy, and entertaining.  They are consummate professionals, and every show is well done and worth seeing.  Secondly, this is theatrical.  There is a storyline that runs through all the numbers.  There will be live music with a live band.  There will be dark magic routines.  There will be a soundtrack featuring songs from artists like Tom Waits and Rufus Wainwright.  You’re not just seeing a show, you’re getting an experience.  Thirdly, it is dark and evocative.  If you saw the last show, be warned, this time it is even darker, deeper, and definitely creepier.  At least one person will walk out disturbed.

Side note along these lines –> I play a character named Hans (thus the discount code).  Hans is the stage manager at The Wrathskellar, as I will be the stage manager at the show.  As an example of the darker nature, Hans is carting off at least two, maybe three dead bodies during the course of the show, and will be forcible hauling a few more living bodies as well.  This is what happens when people give in to their base natures.  Life is so cruel.

Fourth, and this is for those who have seen other shows by The Babydolls, every number is designed and choreographed by hand. Almost everything is brand new, as it is for all the big shows. The costumes are new, with a team of helpers crafting full costumes, in many cases sewing new outfits.  New props and sets are being assembled.  The artistic values are top notch.  Fifth, throughout the month of October, there will be a special promotion running with area businesses.  Watch for more details, but to whet your appetite let me tell you that it will be a scavenger hunt, and at least one establishment is creating a new product named after the show.  Successful completion of the scavenger hunt will give you a chance at winning what is looking to be a pretty sweet prize package (in addition to seeing a fabulous show, no?).

The elevator pitch for the show is “The Wrathskeller is an evening of revenge, jealousy, greed, betrayal, lust, and murder… all to your favorite tunes.”

Now for juicy inside scoop.  I’m going to hint briefly at some of the numbers.  More hints can be gleaned if you check out the Wrathskellar Blog on the Boston Babydolls web site, or if you check out the pictures on the Facebook group, or if you follow the twitter feed.

One of my favorite numbers that I’m working on is with a character referred to as The Lost Girl.  She has developed a routine in which I am a part that is downright –creepifying–.  Deliciously so.  We actually refer to the routine as Creepy Doll.  I’m picking up a few parts for it at Home Depot this weekend.  Another number that I enjoy is one that I’ve always enjoyed. It’s the only repeat number from the first production (I think), and is a duet between two characters, and is one of the lynchpins in the overarching plot.  One character is conniving, and the other is blithely stumbling into the unexpected nature of The Wrathskellar.

I could talk about it for pages and pages more, but no matter how much I went on and on, it could never in any way substitute for seeing the show yourself.  With almost a full week of performances, I’m sure you’ll find yourself coming in from the cold one evening.  We look forward to seeing you there, and Welcome to The Wrathskellar.