Corporations are the *only* people, my friends.

The rest of us are just pesky citizens.

Mostly in the way, at least until the universally reprogrammable robots are online.

Case in point: Is there some way to exploit the labors of pesky citizens, without having to provide an unwholesome equanimity of remuneration? Make them temporary workers. And from there, why, it's all downhill. They don't have any real legal recourse, once they accept that first humiliation, but now it all looks so entrepreneurial!

Lesson? Never invite a vampire into your house.

Case in point: North Dakota. The person involved is Burlington Northern Railroad. The key passage for me in this article is:

"On June 20, 2011, the Schwalbes received a letter informing them that Burlington Resources intended to forge a 30,883.94-acre oil production unit that would effectively override their lease agreement with Marathon and subsume their mineral property. In the Bakken, such units are typically 1,280 acres.

The Schwalbes were instructed to sign a ratification agreement by August, when a hearing was scheduled on what some started calling “the mega-unit.” The mega-unit would include the Little Missouri State Park, a patchwork of private, state and federal land beloved for its rugged trails.Initially perplexed by the thick document on their doorstep, the Schwalbes soon grasped a painful point: though they would be ceding control of their mineral property, their consent was not required. Only the owners of 60 percent of the unit’s minerals were needed for ratification, and Burlington, together with the federal government, already met that goal.

“That’s part of why they chose Corral Creek for their scheme,” Dr. Chaffee said. “They didn’t have to deal with a lot of fleas like us, the pesky citizens.” 

Sound familiar? For this part of the country, it should: "For as long as grass grows and rivers run, the tribes shall have the right to possess, occupy, and use the lands allotted to it".

History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. And the Conquest of the New World would seem the best analogy I can use as comparison. But now individuals are the Redskins.