The founders of Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop are visiting the Shops at Highland Village location on Thursday. From 3:30 to 4:30 p.m., Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield will be at the shop between the AMC Theater and the Barnes & Noble at FM 407 and FM 2499 to sign autographs and take pictures.
The duo also join Hunter Rose, who owns the Scoop Shops in Plano and Highland Village, to bring awareness about a Supreme Court decision that they indicate inadvertently gave unions and corporations the ability to spend as much money on political campaigns as they wish, according to a news release.
“It has become protected as free speech. The decision led to the creation of Super PACs that are allowed to accept unlimited amounts of money from individuals and corporations to be used independent of the candidate on political campaigns,” Rose said in the release.
“Essentially, it gave the notion that corporate money equals free speech. This decision has been exploited on both sides of the political fence to the point where we now have over a billion dollars being spent on either side of the presidential race by corporations hoping to prop up a candidate that shares their political view,” Rose noted. “There are additional provisions where donations can be made anonymously, so we don’t even know if these contributions are being made by American companies. We don’t want our politicians to be legally bought and influenced by corporate money. It has gotten too far out of hand and is heading down a very bad direction.”
Called the Dallas Metro Area party with a purpose, the founders are part of a campaign to “keep the dough out of politics.” A currency stamping station will be at the location for anyone wishing to put the message, “Not to be used for bribing politicians,” on their currency as part of a legal civil disobedience movement called StampStampede.org.
According to the news release, Rose was the first to use his Scoop Shops to start a grassroots effort to overturn the Citizens United decision which would require a constitutional amendment by Congress.
Organizers say though many assume it is illegal to write on paper currency, they indicate in the news release that the law says it is illegal to destroy paper currency or deface it so much that it’s no longer recognizable and has to be taken out of circulation.
“We hope everyone attends our Party with a Purpose and gets a chance to try their favorite Ben & Jerry’s flavor! It’s great ice cream for a great cause – you can’t lick that,” Rose said.
In the news release, Rose, a Republican, indicated he wanted to reach across the aisle to the founders to bring bi-partisan awareness to the issue. The founders have been involved in several social movements over the years, according to media reports.
Information on the Scoop Shop is also available at www.benjerry.com/highlandvillage.
Ben and Jerry will also be speakers in the University of North Texas distinguished lecture series later the same evening.
In other upcoming events, Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day is April 14.
