Candidates in last November's presidential election all promised to bring major change. We continue to wait.

In
this series, I've tried to describe how promises to solve our most
pressing problems run up against the economic and political
institutions that are those problems' primary cause.

I would
hope that, having eliminated the threat of world communism, we can have
an open discussion about the institutions of corporate capitalism.

We
are blessed with the democracy and protections provided by our
Constitution. When it was written, almost all Americans were farmers,
merchants, tradesmen, or slaves. Those who wrote it did not know
concentrated power.

They could not have anticipated the
emergence of the modern corporation in the mid 19th Century. They did
not know that the very capitalism that spawned democracy, individual
freedom, and more prosperity for more people contained internal
dynamics that, over the centuries, would threaten each of these values.

One such dynamic is that at the end of every profitable
transaction, investors must reinvest the profit to gain even more
profit, or consume it and cease to be investors. This expand-or-die
competition produces winners and losers.

Over time, fewer and
fewer winners remain in any industry, and they have more and more
concentrated power, wealth, and capacity to influence everyone else.
They are the largest corporations.

Only about 20% of U.S.
businesses are corporations. They make important contributions to our
lives. They bring us new technologies, develop life-saving drugs, keep
us entertained, and provide jobs to a lot of people.

I have
worked with senior managers and shareholders in large corporations, and
I know them to be decent people who have no particular desire to harm
others. They merely accept the institutional rules as they exist and
play very hard by them.

But those rules give corporations
inherent characteristics that enable them, even compel them, to do
harm. Corporation law separates management from ownership. It shields
owners from liability for a corporation's misdeeds, except to the
extent of the money that the owner has invested.

It requires
directors and managers to act in the "best interest of the
corporation," which is interpreted as maximizing shareholders' wealth.
Investment flows to those companies that can sustain the absolutely
highest rate of profit, whether or not they must harm their community,
employees, small businesses, future generations, and the planet to
produce it. In fact, shareholders can sue management if it does not
pursue such opportunities. Mainstream economists call these injuries
"externalities"-other people's problems.

Corporations enjoy the
protections of the Constitution that its framers only intended to apply
to human beings. This has been used successfully to strike down laws
that limit what corporations spend to influence politics.

Of the
world's 100 largest economies, 53 are corporations. Exxon Mobil is
larger than the economies of 180 nations. They are growing stronger as
states grow weaker. They have replaced the self-organizing market with
the corporate equivalent of central planning.

While their own
individual interests sometimes conflict, they cooperate on issues that
affect their general welfare. They do not and cannot exercise absolute
power, but they can and do shape the economic and political frameworks
within which everyone else has to operate.

Government is focused
on short-term election cycles, corrupted by money, and poorly informed.
It is little match for giant corporations. In 1968, there were fewer
than 1,000 Washington lobbyists. Today, there are about 35,000. Of the
100 largest lobbying efforts between 1998 and 2004, corporations and
their trade associations conducted 92. Corporations own and influence
the media as well, shaping public policy debate.

Attempts to
solve at their roots such critical problems as healthcare, energy
policy, military spending, financial industry regulation, and poverty,
are blocked or warped by the focused power of corporations with vested
interests in conditions remaining the same. Tiptoeing around this
reality produces piecemeal solutions that add large costs, reward those
responsible for the problems, and do not solve them. This would appear
to be the fate of the current healthcare debate.

For those
serious about change, here are a few entirely legal actions that could
begin to make a difference. Governments charter corporations.
Governments could revoke the charters of corporations that do great
harm to the public good. Changes in corporation law could also make
officers, directors, and owners personally liable if their corporations
are grossly negligent.

Corporations did not acquire the same
legal status as people because Congress passed a law or a court made a
decision. In an 1886 Supreme Court case, the Chief Justice remarked
that he thought Southern Pacific Railroad was entitled to 14th
amendment protections. Somehow this became legal precedent. Congress
has the authority to pass legislation that would eliminate this status.

Doing
so would allow placing legal limits on the money that corporations can
spend on elections and lobbying. And Corporations should not be allowed
to use shareholders' money to lobby without the oversight of the
shareholders themselves.

Sharply limiting campaign spending and
publicly funding elections would encourage more serious discussion and
fewer meaningless sound bites and distortions. Closing the revolving
door between the highest positions in government and those in the
largest corporations would make a big difference as well.

To
some, these measures may seem radical. They are merely reforms rooted
in our nation's founding values, and they are modest in comparison to
the changes that Americans must soon contemplate.

The
inevitable escalation of energy prices, the emergence of China and
India as powerful economic competitors, the continuing disappearance of
jobs, and the declining possibility of cheaply financing America with
other people's money will, together, fundamentally change how Americans
live. We must have a conversation about how the pain and opportunity
brought by these changes will be distributed, act effectively in
response to them, or become victims of them.

As
a Senator, he was known to champion progressive causes and bills and
was responsible for over 300 bills he wrote or co-wrote becoming law.
Kennedy was a staunch Democrat; however, garnered the respect of both
parties and was considered to be the best in the Senate at building
consensus. He was the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and
Robert F. Kennedy, both assassinated in the 1960's and he had been the
patriarch of the Kennedy family since the time of Robert's death in
March of 1968.

Kennedy was not without his personal faults,
having survived the incident at Chappaquiddick, a failed run for
President in 1980, divorce in the 1980's, the William Kennedy Smith
debacle and a string of public embarrassments in the late 1980's and
early 1990's. When he remarried in the early 1990's, he renewed his
commitment to the Senate and was seen to work harder than ever to
champion his party's ideals, most recently, the fight for universal
health care.

"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family
and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith,
optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever,' his
family said in a statement. "We thank everyone who gave him care and
support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so
many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness,
and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to
serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but
it's hard to imagine any of them without him.'

***************

You
heard it here first, get out your autograph books and get ready. The
word is that locally born movie star Ben Affleck is scheduled to be on
location on the 20th of October at the Twin Cities Plaza to film his
latest movie. According to reliable sources, the movie production
company will be filming in the shopping center parking lot for the
entire day. Sources also tell us that film stars Tom Cruise and Cameron
Diaz will be filming other scenes for another movie here in the 'Ville
throughout the fall season, we'll keep you posted as to dates and exact
places.

***************

Mayor Joe's annual Football Camp
week is here again. The Mayor will be hosting and personally coaching
the Somerville Football Team at Camp Leno in Lenox, MA. The week long
training event is well applauded by all the students and they look
forward to being worked hard by the Mayor and the other coaches. The
camp is run from Thursday August 27th to Sunday August 30th, hopefully
this will lead the team to a successful year.

***************

We
hear that Somerville will soon have a Halloween Head Quarters shop,
which is set to open up shop at the old Circuit City location next to
Home Depot real soon. At least the property won't look so abandoned
where it is one of the gateways to the city and seen by thousands of
motorists on a daily basis coming and going to/from Route 93.

***************

Recently
the Kiwanis Club of Somerville was well represented by its members at
the 91st Annual New England District of Kiwanis Convention at the
Crowne Plaza in Warwick, R.I. – Kiwanis clubs from six New England
states and Bermuda attended. Seventy-nine (79) Kiwanis clubs were
represented as representatives from Key Club International, Circle K
International and Kiwanis International. The convention offered
educational seminars, exhibits, leadership training and related
activities. The Kiwanis Club of Somerville meets every Thursday at
12:15p.m. at the Mt. Vernon Restaurant. If you're a businessperson here
in Somerville and looking to network and be involved in a great
organization go online to www.somervillekiwanis.org

***************

Save
the date and stop by the Somerville Police Station in the Police
Academy Room on Thursday, September 3rd between 8a.m. and 1p.m. to give
blood and get a free Red Sox t-shirt. A few of us from The Somerville
News staff team will be on hand to lend a helping hand for the day as
well, so come on by and say hello, the American Red Cross is asking for
your help.

***************

Our condolences to the Craven
Family on the recent loss of Marion Craven who sadly passed away this
past week, Marion was a wonderful lady with a heart of gold and will be
missed by many.

***************

Last week grand opening
of Mt. Vernon 3 at the Ship at Route 1 one was a huge success, over 300
attendees from all over and a huge contingent from Somerville. All to
wish the Henry family much success and luck in their new venture.

***************

Speaking
of last weeks events, the Lions event at Wonderland was attended by a
large Somerville crowd as well as a big contingency from the China Town
Lions Club. Everyone had a blast, the food was great and from what some
observers noted, not many lost at the races. King Lion – our own Billy
Tauro – did a fantastic job, along with Gene Brune, and fun was had by
all. They raised a substantial amount of money again for all the local
charities the Lions are so generous with here in Somerville.

***************

RCN
will be sponsoring an American Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday,
September 2nd, from 1pm to 6pm at the Somerville Community Baptist
Church, Fellowship Hall, 31 College Ave, Davis Square. The American Red
Cross is looking for all types of blood donations, A, B or O, positive
or negative.

***************

Quiet here in the 'Ville
the last big weekend of the summer….you can almost hear the doors
shut on Monday throughout Somervilla of the North and South. Back to
the city and the traffic. To those of us left behind, not so bad of a
summer here, either.

***************

That barrier in
front of the empty lot over on Cross Street is still there – a big hole
with a fence around it – nothing happening there now for an extremely
long time. One local long time business moved out, couldn't take it any
longer with the congested traffic and no place to park. The guy that
owns the lot is the head of the Zoning Board of Appeals – Mr. Herb
Foster – and the bank with the money apparently invested in over there
is the Winter Hill Bank, at least they're getting free advertising, but
maybe not good advertising? You'd think with an eyesore like that, a
bank wouldn't want their name associated with it, but hey it's the same
bank that has the Barracuda of Winter Hill as it's head and it's
apparent she has no feelings for East Somerville businesses, or the
sign would be gone. We think it's a shame that a local bank and a
person who is head of the Zoning Board of Appeals would keep this
eyesore in this condition going on a few years now. Maybe an
investigation needs to be done to get some answers?

***************

Our
good friend and former Publisher Bob Publicover is doing well in his
treatment, he can be seen daily at the coffee shop on Highland and
Cedar, there reading The Somerville News – his favorite paper. Stop by
and sit and have coffee, he'd be very pleased, or you can follow his
therapy on Facebook, it's easy to find him now that he spelled his last
name correctly.

Zoning changes proposed by
Somerville's Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development
(OSPCD) would effectively block the state's controversial proposal to
place a Green Line rail yard in the Brickbottom area while opening a
section on the city's border with Cambridge to an alternative plan.

The
new proposal sent by Mayor Joseph Curtatone to Secretary of
Transportation James Aloisi in May, referred to as the Mirror-H scheme,
would place the maintenance facility in the Northpoint area – the
target of a major development initiative by Cambridge. The new zoning
regulations would add uses to the "Industrial B" area along the city's
border with East Cambridge – including a waste energy plants, trash
transfer facilities, city owned buildings and rail yards. Uses such as
retail and manufacturing would be blocked. In the "Industrial A"
section, rail yards would be removed as a use, which would make the
state's "Yard 8" plan not allowable.

When Ward 2 Alderman
Maryann Heuston asked at an August 20 Planning Board meeting if the
city was proposing to remove the state's proposed rail yard from the
list of allowed uses in Brickbottom, Director of Economic Development
Rob May said the changes reflected what residents have requested.

"The
state has its own prerogative," May said. "But we feel this sends a
very clear measure that this is something the citizens of Somerville
support."

In a July letter to the Board of Aldermen, Curtatone
pointed out that the state could trump any Somerville zoning laws and
that the changes were meant to "ensure that private property owners are
aware of the City's intent."

Alderman-at-Large Bill White and
two residents expressed concerns about the city opening the Northpoint
area for waste uses. "A lot of people have concerns about waste energy
plants," White said.

"Those usually are not sited without a tremendous amount of public involvement and participation and opposition."

May
said the area is the only place where "Industrial B" is mapped in the
city of Somerville, adding later that such a facility would most likely
be a "traditional solid waste combustion facility."

"We're not
proposing to add a waste energy facility, we're just proposing that it
should be within the city's ability to site," May added.

During
the public comment period at the August 20 meeting, two residents
expressed skepticism about the potential for a waste energy plant being
placed near Northpoint.

"I really think we walk a very dangerous
line by opening up a neighborhood to potential uses like this," East
Somerville resident Ellin Reisner said. "We have enough pollution and
transportation issues in Somerville."

Heuston said Cambridge
City Manager Robert Healy expressed doubts about the zoning changes in
a July 31 letter to Curtatone, noting that the plan could hurt the
Northpoint development.

"I don't think we're the topic of
discussion in the city of Cambridge city council meetings very often,"
Heuston said. "Certainly back when this Northpoint was being developed,
those six acres belonging to the city of Somerville were simply
annexed."

White said that while he agreed with the sentiment,
the proposed changes would also affect Somerville residents. "If you
really want to have some fun with the city of Cambridge, tell them
we're putting a waste energy plant right on the corner of Northpoint,"
he said, "but it may have some affect on our own neighborhoods as well."

Over the
past two months, almost every public hearing that the Traffic and
Parking Commission held has had very good turnouts, most likely because
of the vast changes being made to the Somerville's parking
infrastructure. However, the past two held seemed to dishearten
residents whom attended, the board not entertaining questions or
heeding concerns from residents and Aldermen, and going through with
the changes that they and their had mapped out.

Still, the
uneventful hearing went on. All five items on the agenda passed
unanimously, which were as follows: Item number one was the acceptance
of the minutes proposed at the July 30th Traffic Commission meeting.
Items two and three were requests for handicapped parking at 85 Hudson
Street and 8 Rhode Island Avenue. This wasn't quite as clear; the
Commission made it clear that 8 Rhode Island Avenue would definitely
get the approval and handicapped parking, from what sounded like a
request by a friend, but didn't say anything more than "this item has
been put on the table" in regard to 85 Hudson Street. Item four was a
request to re-locate an existing loading zone at 152 Highland Avenue
about twenty-five feet east, and was approved unanimously by the
Commission.

Item number five was the big one, the request for an
amendment to the citywide permit parking regulation. This amendment
would make about twenty streets, including all of Medford St., Broadway
and Beacon St., as well as portions of Boston Ave., College Ave., and
Holland St. two hour parking except by permit from 8 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.,
and exclusively permit parking between 2:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., except on
holidays and Sundays. This item passed, but proved to be the one of
great importance to the Commission, and Acting Director James Kotzuba.

Mr.
Kotzuba and Stan Koty discussed the concerns that were laid out at the
past meetings, including those of specific businesses and religious
establishments in respect to the way permit parking would affect them.
Mr. Kotzuba stated that he has had multiple meetings with many
different businesses to assess the specific requests, and that all of
these requests have been addressed successfully, and that business
permits have already begun to be issued. Mr. Koty then asked Mr.
Kotzuba if he was planning to work in a 'as-we-go' matter of sorts, and
Mr. Kotzuba answered by saying that any further requests will
absolutely be open to discussion with himself and the Commission. Mr.
Kotzuba stated that he "feels comfortable going along with it."

The
meeting lasted for all of about 15 minutes, with no questions or
concerns being voiced to the board. The Commission stressed that none
of these changes will be immediately enforced. Even after the signs are
all in place, the City will not begin ticketing until all of the
residents and local law enforcement are clear on the rules and
regulations.

The event was put on by the Boston Comics Round
Table to raise funds for the fourth edition of Inbound, their biannual
anthology of comics, which features a variety of styles and genres.
Boston Comics Round Table is an artist collective that started in 2006
when its founder, Dave Kender, posted an ad on Craigslist in the hopes
of finding a possible collaboration with comic illustrators. Within a
few months, he found dozens of others who were looking for an
opportunity to share ideas and connect over comics. "Finding ways to
collaborate can be one of the benefits of the group, but the core
purpose is to get people with the same passion together." Today, there
are over 100 members in the Boston Comics Round Table, with nearly 30
members meeting on a regular basis. The group meets each Thursday at
7:30 in the Democracy Center in Harvard Square, and meetings are open
to anyone with an interest in writing, illustrating, and reading
comics.

Members of the Boston Comics Round Table come from
diverse backgrounds. Some have formal training, like Joel Gill, who
received an MFA in Painting from Boston University and now works for
the New Hampshire Institute of Art. Others are self-taught, with most
saying they've been drawing their entire lives. Each member brings
their own expertise to the group, like Dirk, a freelance illustrator,
who says he joined the group as a way to plug in to the comic book
scene after moving to Boston. His experience being published has given
him the role of a mentor and while he enjoys acting as a resource for
the group, he says he gains the most from the exchange of ideas between
artists.

Wild Ink was a great introduction to a thriving comic
book culture in Somerville and throughout greater Boston. No longer
"underground," it's definitely a sub-culture that's rapidly breaching
the boundaries of pop culture. With the rise of the graphic novel and
the recent wave of comic-based movies, comics are entertaining a larger
audience. For those less familiar with comics, the Boston Comics Round
Table is reaching out with their fourth edition of Inbound. The
upcoming collection of comics is Boston-themed, and geared towards an
audience who may not usually read comics. Kender says they hope to
reach a wider audience by offering short-form comics that all connect
to the same thematic element.

Tony Davis, owner of the Harvard
Square comic book store, Millionaire Picnic, says the Boston Comics
Round Table is filling a void in the local art community. "Boston used
to have a vibrant local comic scene 10 years ago. Now with the Round
Table, that vibrancy is coming back and it's richer, because it's more
collaborative than in the past." James Welborn, owner of the
Somerville-based Hub Comics, agrees, and says, "Local artists are what
sets my store apart. Every store can carry the same
nationally-published comics, but books like Inbound give a local
perspective you don't find anywhere else."

On
August 10, Everett based Phunk Phenomenon Dance Complex announced that
one of its hip hop dance teams, Lil Phunk Boyz, received a gold medal
at the 2009 World Hip Hop Dance Championship. Barnes is one of the
eight boys on this team.

Despite his young age, Barnes' history of dancing goes back several years.

"A lot of my cousins and friends were always into dancing," he said. "I guess that's how I got interested in it at first."

Barnes says that he started really becoming involved in dancing when he was just four years old.

"I started dancing at home, teaching myself new moves," he explained.

It was not long after this that Barnes' dancing started getting attention.

"When
he was about five years old, at my brother's wedding, the DJ put on
some music and Dre was out on the floor dancing. The photographer was
filming him and everything," laughed Barnes mother, Aurora.

Barnes
has been on the professional dance team, Lil Phunk Boyz, for about one
year, and has been involved with Phunk Phenomenon Dance Complex for 3
years. His sister Xhane, 13, is also involved with the dance studio,
and is responsible for introducing him to the dance complex.

The
2009 World Hip Hop Championship was held in Las Vegas, Nevada and drew
over 1,500 dancers from 28 countries worldwide, as well as an audience
of thousands. The competition, which has inspired the popular MTV show
Randy Jackson Presents "America's Best Dance Crew," awards medals for
junior, varsity, and adult divisions. Lil Phunk Boyz brought home the
gold for the junior division, and was the only U.S. team to win a medal
this year.

"Successes like this one don't just happen. We worked
the boys very hard this summer and they never missed a beat," said
Chris Dinicola, Lil Phunk Boyz coach and choreographer in a press
release.

"We started out practicing two times a week, every
week," explained Barnes. "When it got closer to the competition, we
were practicing every day of the week for at least three hours."

Clearly,
all of the hard work and dedication exhibited by Barnes and the rest of
his team has paid off in a big way. Incredibly, the team managed to
persevere through the competition despite the last minute loss of
teammate Kyle Brooks, who fell ill with appendicitis following a first
place win in a preliminary round of the competition.

While
Brooks was hospitalized, the rest of the Lil Phunk Boyz had to change
their dance choreography to accommodate the missing teammate. The crew
managed to advance in two more rounds of the competition.

"The
boys are incredibly professional when it comes to their dancing," said
Barnes' mother. "You wouldn't believe they were as young as they are."

Brooks
was able to rejoin his team for the final competition, which meant yet
another change to their choreography. Incredibly, the boys still
managed to come out on top.

Despite the high pressure,
unexpected complications and the stiff international competition,
Barnes that he never feels anxiety before or during a performance, and
the world championship was no exception. The only time he mentioned
feeling anything but calm and collected was when he and his teammates
were awaiting the judges' final decision.

"We were really nervous before they announced the results," Barnes said. "We were really shocked when we won."

Despite
the notoriety of being a world champion, Barnes remains surprisingly
nonchalant about the win and speaks of it in a remarkably casual
manner.

"I don't think the win has really hit him yet," his mother commented. "But he's very humble about it."

Barnes plans to continue dancing in the future, saying that it's "a lot of fun."

Phunk
Phenomenon Dance Complex requires auditions to be on the team every
year. They are holding fall registrations on Aug. 30th and Sept. 13
from 4 -7pm at 1760 Rear Revere Beach Parkway (behind Boston Harley
Davidson) in Everett, MA.

Barnes plans to audition to be on
the team again, but is very levelheaded about his expectations. Despite
being having won the competition, he remains grounded and humble in his
understanding that nothing is guaranteed.

"When we found out that we won, everyone was like, 'we're dreaming,'" he commented. "Sometimes, it still feels that way."