Letter to the Editor: On Corporate Personhood

What if I told you that the campaigns for all future Presidents and Congressmen as well as State and local elections would henceforth be purchased and controlled with corporate money and the government would be run for the benefit of corporate profit?

The 2010 US Supreme Court decision “Citizens United” declared, corporations no longer need obey the same campaign donation rules they once followed. In truth, they no longer have rules. They are now allowed to spend as much money as they want to buy elections and candidates.

Politics has always been run by big money, but we the voters have been repeatedly assured by corporate media that we are still in control. Feeble attempts at “campaign finance reform” have led us to believe falsely, that big money could be reined in. Citizen’s United changed that in an astounding deviation from common sense and a terrible distortion of our Constitution’s true intent.

Corporations are now far more powerful than people in politics. Google ‘corporate personhood’ if you want the entire history. In the Citizens United case, an activist Supreme Court created a feedback loop where political clout increases profits, increasing political clout again, and so on.

Here’s some perspective. In 2008, a million people donated about 750 million dollars to the Obama campaign, the most expensive presidential race in US history. 750 million dollars is only 5% of one quarters profit of Exxon for that same year. With mere pocket change an Exxon or McDonnel-Douglas or Halliburton or Fox News or Monsanto corporation could literally buy their very own President.

That’s a terrifying thought.

Corporations have the dollars, but we have the strength of numbers. There is a grassroots movement to compel an amendment to the Constitution to outlaw ‘Corporate Personhood’ and the privileges this implies. Few of us like the idea of amending the Constitution, but it has been necessary 27 times in our past and is necessary again. There is no other legal way to reverse this decision. Cities large and small have already taken action, as have unions and civic organizations across the country, passing resolutions recognizing corporations are not persons and that money is not speech.

The Newport City Council will be asked to consider this issue February 6 at 6:00 p.m. A convincing crowd is needed for Councilors to understand how important this is. By investing an hour or two you can tell your children and grandchildren you stood up for democracy at such a dangerous time. I hope to see you there.

Stephen Farish

Waldport, Or.

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The Yaquina Wavelength Goes Dark Wednesday

The Yaquina Wavelength will join an international protest against censorship Wednesday, January 18 and will voluntarily go offline for the day. A growing number of popular websites, including Reddit, WordPress, MoveOn and Mozilla have announced they will also go dark for a time Wednesday to protest proposed Congressional legislation. The House bill known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and a companion Senate measure known as Protect IP Act (PIPA) would allow law enforcement to shut down websites for alleged copyright violations. The proposed laws would make it so a simple allegation of copyright infringement, with no review process, could lead to a shutdown of websites. Other large websites like Wikipedia are considering a blackout, and there is pressure being put on other giants like Google and Yahoo to join in.

We oppose SOPA and PIPA. While we strongly agree that copyright infringement should be stopped, we oppose the methods in these bill. We agree with those who say they violate the First Amendment and would have a chilling effect on free speech. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said he will lead a filibuster against the PIPA bill, and Oregon’s Jeff Merkley is on record opposing the two bills.

We urge you to contact your member of Congress and the House and Senate leadership to oppose these measures. And please, spread the word.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

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Oregonian News Network Adds Lifestyle Component

The Oregonian News Network (ONN) is rolling out the second phase of its online partner program. The Yaquina Wavelength is one of eight pilot partners who began working together in April, 2011. Three other sites have joined since then. The original ONN program includes independent local news sites like the Wavelength who allow their local news content on the OregonLive.com website and share content with one another.

The ONN expansion brings aboard more than 50 community blog partners – people from around Oregon and southwest Washington who “blog regularly and authoritatively about their passions,” according to a statement on the ONN site. They include award-winning authors like Laini Taylor and Bart King; gossip maven Byron Beck; travel writer Chris Guillebeau; food writers Kathleen Bauer and Deena Prichep; gardening guru Darcy Daniels; and cartoonist Matt Bors.

A ONN statement continues: “We’re excited to present this collection of unique and interesting voices. You may already share a common interest like birding, literature or parenting. Or you may want to explore a new topic like urban foraging or Portland’s geek culture. Either way, we invite you to join us as we make the most of this new partnership. The community blog partner program is all about making connections. By sending more readers to websites they might not know about otherwise, we aim to help build audience for our partners while serving as an online town square.”

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Regarding the YW Comment Policy

This goes out to the person commenting as “Anonymous” but is also for anyone who wants to post comments on YW.

While our policy allows for you to remain anonymous, we ask all commenters to give us an email address in case we need to make contact to explain we didn’t publish your comment, and to resolve any problem. We wish to encourage as much public discussion as possible.

The most recent comment offered by “Anonymous” is one of these instances. If you enter an email address along with your comment it will not be published or shared. Or you may contact us directly at inbox@yaquinawavelength.com.

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Letter to the Editor: On Civic Engagement

I am writing to encourage you to get involved on any level with the process of selecting a new Mayor for Toledo. In these difficult times when many of us may feel unable to affect change in national politics, the banks or to get the sluggish economy moving we can make a difference in our local government.

Due to the unforeseeable death of Sharon Branstiter as Mayor in April 2007 we have had three Mayors (Jim Chambers, Rod Cross, Monica Lyons) in four years. Due to health reasons Monica has recently resigned and the city council will be looking to fill the Mayor’s seat without any election and possibly very little input from the public unless all of us start getting involved.

Currently two city council members have been placed on the council who were not voted into office. One of these candidates was the only applicant to apply, essentially giving the city council very little options in the selection process. I also understand that a city councilor will be vacating their seat this spring when they will be moving out of the area.

Essentially within a few months we could be looking at having a Mayor and three of the six city council members NOT being elected officials. The possibility of potentially having a Mayor and half of the city council selected by six or less people without any input from the community raises concerns. It seems questionable at the least and could produce unforeseen consequences for the community of Toledo on down the road.

Some of you may be facing barriers that you feel stop you from getting involved such as work, raising a family, over committed to civic organizations or even a lack of energy due to the aging process. Some of you may say “I don’t live within the city limits of Toledo or my politics are different than others.” But if you’ve ever shopped in Toledo, used the recreational facilities including the pool or library, attended any of the Toledo community events (Thursday Markets, Summer Festival, Wooden Boat Show, Quilt Quest, Artwalk, Antique Festival & Car Show, etc.), or enjoyed the beautification of Toledo through flower baskets and public art then you do have an invested interest in how the city of Toledo works.

You may have agreed or disagreed with Sharon Branstitier’s politics. But she was a local person with local history who was highly visible, sought input and involvement from people in and around the surrounding Toledo community. She worked hard to represent all of us no matter our differences and to promote the city of Toledo. She believed in perseverance, patience and the power of one person to make a difference. If Sharon were still here she would tell you to get involved and to make a difference.

Decisions will be made soon on how to select a Mayor or possibly one or two city council members again. I am assuming that a plan to select a new Mayor will be either discussed at the city councils monthly work session on Tuesday, January 10th at 6:15 or at the next city council meeting on Wednesday, January 18th starting at 7:00. Both are open to the public and I am encouraging you to get involved by any of the following ways:

· Contact city hall at 541-336-2247, extension 202 to ask when the process of selecting a new Mayor will be on the agenda? Will it be discussed at Tuesday’s work session or next week’s city council meeting? Ask how you might give input or plan to attend one or both of these meetings.

· Email Michelle Amberg city manager and all the city councilors to give your input on the process. Their names and email addresses are listed below:

· Pass this email on to other friends, relatives, Toledo community citizens or others outside of the city limits who frequent the businesses, enjoyed the activities or benefit from any of the services provided by the city of Toledo.

Email addresses:

Michelle Amberg (City Manager)

Mark Camara

Jack Dunaway

Nancy Lynne

Franki Trujillo-Dalbey

Ralph Grutzmacher

Jill Lyon

Sandy Blackman, Toledo

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