Topic: Personhood

Charles Fort proposed that everything in the universe exists on a spectrum between the unreal and the real, a concept that supports an animistic worldview. This model suggests that the natural human state is animistic, as evidenced by the way people attribute personhood to pets and feel the "spirit" of specific places. Animism is identified as the earliest form of human spiritual experience, appearing more coherent than materialism in light of modern data.

The practice of scrying, famously used by John Dee, is linked to the idea of spirits "falling" into crystals to facilitate communication. Stephen Buhner’s herbalism techniques, where students sit with unfamiliar plants to intuit their uses, demonstrate a "two-thirds accuracy" rate comparable to remote viewing. These methods suggest that humans can verify the "personhood" and intelligence of the natural world through focused awareness and assembly of specific techniques.

Carlwood shares his personal critiques of voluntarism, questioning how essential services like fire departments or road maintenance would be funded without a central authority. He argues that corporations, rather than government, are the "real monsters" and proposes dissolving corporate personhood to make owners personally liable for company actions. He also references a Libertarian debate over driver's licenses to illustrate the complexities of absolute freedom.

The final segment touches on Clint Richardson’s research into the "straw man" and legal fiction, though the host expresses caution regarding the practical application of maritime law in court. Greg Carlwood closes the "Midnight Society" meeting, encouraging listeners to join the Plus membership for the full second hour.

The concept of "genius loci" or spirit of place suggests that consciousness can manifest as a landscape rather than just an individual organism. Recent legal developments in New Zealand and India have granted personhood rights to the Whanganui and Ganges rivers, respectively. This shift treats ecosystems as sentient entities with character rather than mere resources for plunder.

The 1886 Supreme Court case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad established that private corporations are "natural persons" under the US Constitution. This ruling granted corporations the same protections under the Bill of Rights as average citizens, allowing them to dominate the workforce and political landscape by 1920. This legal shift effectively marginalized small businesses in favor of big trusts and corporate influence.

The hosts vent about the "asinine" legal framework of corporate personhood, questioning if corporations like Viacom have the right to marry or adopt. They share an anecdote about a California man who attempted to use his corporate incorporation papers as a "passenger" to legally drive in the carpool lane. This serves as a critique of special interest groups and the current state of Washington D.C. politics.

A shift in Alex Jones' messaging around 2002 is linked to the creation of multiple LLCs and a sudden influx of wealth, leading to accusations of selling out. The discussion moves to the use of terrorism as a political tool, tracing it from the Bolshevik Revolution to 9/11 as a means for governments to implement totalitarian measures. The United States is ultimately defined as a corporation rather than a country, making traditional political resistance futile.

The legal redefinition of "person" in 1871 is cited as the moment corporations were granted personhood and the Vatican took control of the U.S. government. Santos Bonacci explains that birth certificates and land titles are illusions of ownership, as the Vatican claims all land through ancient treaties like the Treaty of Tordesillas. The current global order is described as a "Fourth Reich" or a continuation of the Roman kingdom of ideas.