Monahans in West Virginia, with a great piece by Public News Service

Laird and Robin Monahan were in Charleston, West Virginia this week, where they were interviewed by Public News Service. The article below summarizes the audio interview, which is available online here, and is well worth listening to!

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Unable to take it anymore, two retired brothers from California are walking across the country to protest court decisions they say have given far too much political power to corporations. They entered West Virginia on Sunday, on their way to Washington, D.C., and are in Charleston today.

Spurred by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that corporations have the right to free speech in the form of unlimited spending for political advertisments, 67-year-old Robin Monahan and his older brother, Laird, are protesting the court treating corporations like people. Robin says that calling money a form of speech lets big companies overwhelm democracy.

"The Supreme Court has a notion that for the sake of the law a corporation is a person, and they said money is speech. Now I'm sure they wouldn't like if I tried to pay my taxes with speech."

Supporters of the Supreme Court decision say corporations having the rights of people is well-established legal doctrine. They add that all political speech, including ads during campaigns, is too important to restrict.

Monahan says most people he talks to are upset about the decision, although initially few of them knew about it. He makes the point that equating unlimited corporate political spending with the right of free speech is a real threat to democracy.

"The elected official no longer represents 'we, the people;' the elected official represents the corporation. And you and I are left totally out of the electoral process."

The Monahan brothers have spent the last five months on the road, literally. Monahan says they have mostly camped out or stayed with people who have offered them rooms along the way - although he admits walking though Kansas in August did force them to stay a few nights in air-conditioned motel rooms. When walking, they leap-frog each other with the car, he explains.

"I will get out and start walking. When my brother reaches the car I have left, he gets in and drives ahead of me a half a mile, and then he'll get out."

The Monahans will be in West Virginia this week and expect to reach the Lincoln Memorial Oct. 20.

More information is available at www.lairdandrobin.org.

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Boston/Cambridge Alliance cosponsors stop on book tour

Boston/Cambridge Alliance is one of several local groups co-sponsoring a local stop by theologian and activist James Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters (2008). Douglass is on a six-city tour of New England and Philadelphia marking the paperback release of the book.

The Cambridge event takes place at the Harvard Epworth Church, 1555 Mass. Ave., right outside Harvard Square, beginning at 7 p.m.

From the release: "James presents motive and circumstantial evidence aplenty, all excellently and extensively documented, that the CIA and the Pentagon were the primary interest groups and executioners of JFK, the president who turned from cold warrior to peacemaker. Other heavy industrial interests are implicated as well. The same interest groups that executed this 1963 coup have formed the 'deep politics' 'shadow government' ever since, attacked the US on 9/11, and hold the US and the world hostage to this day."

For venues and co-sponsors, dates and contact info, click the "read more" link.

Thursday eve., Sept. 30th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear in Portland, Maine, at:
Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Church
80 Sherman St.
Portland, Me.

This event is co-sponsored by:
Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Peace & Social Justice Commission
Maine Green Independent Party
Peace Action Maine
Pax Christi Maine

For more info, contact: Jon Olsen, (207) 549-7787, joliyoka@gmail.com, or Bill Slavick, (240) 599-9413, billslavick@myfairpoint.net

Friday eve., Oct. 1st at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear (near Boston), at: Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church
1555 Mass. Ave.
Cambridge, Ma.

This event is co-sponsored by:

The Greater Boston Alliance for 9/11 Truth and Justice
The Boston-Area Citizens for Informed Democracy
The Boston-Cambridge Alliance for Democracy
The Assassination Archives and Research Center
The Citizens for Truth About the Kennedy Assassination
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

For more info, contact:

Lenny Mather
(857) 523-9606

gitcheegumee@earthlink.net

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Saturday noon, Oct. 2nd (12:15 pm), Jim Douglass will appear in western Mass. (near Amherst), at:

New England Peace Pagoda
100 Cave Rd.
North Leverett, Ma.

This event is solely sponsored by:

The New England Peace Pagoda

For more info, contact:

Elaine Kenseth
(413) 253-7609

edkenseth@aol.com( With thanks to Jonathan Mark, see also this link: www.valley911truth.org for more on the Peace Pagoda venue event.)


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Sunday, Oct. 3rd at 2:30 pm, Jim Douglass will appear near Londonderry (in south central) Vermont, at:

Weston Priory
58 Priory Hill Rd.
No. Weston, Vt.

This event is solely sponsored by:

The Weston Priory

For more info, call:

Brother Richard
(802) 824-5409

brrichard@westonpriory.org

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Monday eve., Oct. 4th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear near Hartford, Ct., at:

Central Conn. State Univ. (C.C.S.U.)
Vance Academic Center (rm. 105)
New Britain, Ct.

This event is sponsored by:

Pax Educare, Inc.
Connecticut PEACE Consortium
West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice
Peace Studies Program at Central Conn. State Univ.

For more info, contact:

Mary Lee Morrison
(860) 930-3182

paxeducare@comcast.net

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Tuesday eve., Oct. 5th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear in Worcester, Ma., at:

Worcester Public Library
Saxe Room (1st Floor)
3 Salem Sq.
Worcester, Mass.

This event is co-sponsored by:

St. Francis Therese Catholic Worker
Center for Non-Violent Solutions

For more info, contact:

Claire and Scott Shaeffer-Duffy
(508) 753-3558

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Wednesday eve., Oct 6th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear in Philadelphia, Pa., at:

Project H.O.M.E.
1515 Fairmont Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.

This event is co-sponsored by:

Alternative Seminary
The Simple Way
Conspire Magazine

For more info, contact:

Will O'Brien
(215) 842-1790 (hm.)
(215) 232-7272 (wk.)

wobrien@alternativeseminary.net

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Washington Post: "SuperPACS" pump even more money into 2010 elections

Along with this article, there's good material on the Washington Post website showing which groups are spending hard in which races. Bookmark this chart to follow the totals--while you can!

by Dan Eggen and T.W. Farnam. Posted September 28 on The Washington Post
A new political weapon known as the "super PAC" has emerged in recent weeks, allowing independent groups to both raise and spend money at a pace that threatens to eclipse the efforts of political parties.

The committees spent $4 million in the last week alone and are registering at the rate of nearly one per day. They are quickly becoming the new model for election spending by interest groups, according to activists, campaign-finance lawyers and disclosure records.

The super PACs were made possible by two court rulings, including one early this year by the Supreme Court, that lifted many spending and contribution limits. The groups can also mount the kind of direct attacks on candidates that were not allowed in the past.

Three dozen of the new committees have been registered with the Federal Election Commission over the past two months, including such major players as the conservative Club for Growth, the Republican-allied American Crossroads and the liberal women's group Emily's List.

FEC records show that super PACs have spent more than $8 million on television advertising and other expenditures, almost all of it within the past month. Groups favoring GOP candidates have outspent Democratic supporters by more than 3 to 1, mirroring an overall surge in spending by the Republican Party and its allies in recent weeks, records show.

The super PACs have "opened the door to the clearest, easiest way to spend unlimited funds on an election," said Trevor Potter, a former FEC chairman who served as general counsel to GOP presidential candidate John McCain in 2008. "This is pretty much the holy grail that people have been looking for."

The new committees are part of a complicated patchwork of fundraising operations that fuel political campaigns. They range from committees formed by individual candidates to the political parties and interest groups. The system relies heavily on political action committees, or PACs, which are mostly used to donate funds to indvidual campaigns and must adhere to strict limits on donations.

But the super PACs, officially known as "independent expenditure-only committees," are free of most of those constraints. The only caveat is that they are not allowed to coordinate directly with candidates or political parties. The groups must disclose their donors, although most have not done so yet because they are so new and will not file their first disclosure reports until mid-October.

Among super PAC spending, more than half has come from American Crossroads, a pro-Republican group founded with the help of former George W. Bush administration adviser Karl Rove. Donations to the group include $400,000 from American Financial Group, a publicly held company, which could make the contribution because of the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That ruling lifted restrictions on corporate spending in elections.

In two days last week, American Crossroads' super PAC reported spending $2.8 million on ads attacking Democratic candidates, including Rep. Joe Sestak (Pa.), Jack Conway (Ky.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.). "Harry Reid," one ad intones, "extremely out of touch with Nevada."

The super PAC is just one part of the American Crossroads operation, which also includes a nonprofit advocacy arm called American Crossroads GPS that does not have to disclose its donors under U.S tax laws. Overall, American Crossroads says it has raised about $32 million, divided evenly between its super PAC and nonprofit arms.

"There are some donors who are interested in anonymity when it comes to advocating for specific issues," spokesman Jonathan Collegio said.

Indeed, donor disclosure is the main reason that some trade groups, unions and other organizations might limit their use of super PACs, experts said.

Otherwise, the model offers a number of clear advantages.Unlike regular political action committees, there are no limits on how much money can be raised or spent. And unlike some other types of committees, super PACs can explicitly urge voters to oppose or support a candidate in an election.

"For people who want to get involved in the election and don't mind doing it openly and transparently, this is the route they're going," said Brett Kappel, an election lawyer at the law firm Arent Fox. "The people who are more bashful are giving to nonprofits."

The rise of super PACs is just one reason that 2010 is shaping up to be a record-breaker for a midterm election. Interest groups and political parties have reported more than $104 million in independent spending, and that does not include tens of millions more spent by groups that do not have to report advertising to the FEC.

The super PAC model emerged with little fanfare this summer from a pair of FEC advisory opinions, which were issued in response to inquiries from the Club for Growth and another group, Commonsense Ten, which supports Democrats. The FEC said the super PACs were allowed because of the Citizens United decision and a subsequent appeals court ruling, which struck down limits on individual contributions to independent groups.

David Keating, the Club for Growth's executive director, said old rules that were being applied to independent groups - including limits on explicit appeals to both donors and voters - were awkward and forced the organizations to be vague about their intentions.

"What's really liberating about this particular type of organization is that you can actually talk to people honestly about what you want to do," said Keating, who is also head of SpeechNow.org, the conservative group involved in the appeals court case. "Raising money is also a lot easier and more on the up-and-up for everyone involved."

President Obama and other Democrats have railed against the Citizens United ruling because they say it could unleash a tide of corporate and special-interest money into the political process. Since the ruling, Democrats have tried to impose disclosure requirements for companies, unions and others - much like those now required for super PACs - but have been blocked by Republicans.

In addition to American Crossroads, leading super PACs include the Club for Growth ($1.9 million); Women Vote! from Emily's List ($400,000); and the Patriot Majority ($700,000), which was formed by a Democratic strategist to counter the tea party movement. Several major unions have formed super PACs in recent weeks, along with the Texas Tea Party Patriots and other conservative groups, records show.

The number of new entrants is expanding almost daily. Last Tuesday, a new group called We Love USA registered its super PAC with the FEC, listing Nancy Watkins of Tampa as treasurer. Three days later, she filed notice that the group had made its first expenditures, totaling $33,000, for an outdoor media campaign against Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.).

Watkins did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment. The Klein campaign, which is fighting a tough race in South Florida against GOP candidate Allen West, said it had never heard of Watkins or the We Love USA PAC.

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The New York Times: "The Secret Election"

To the certainties of death and taxes add hours and hours and hours of obnoxious tv advertising in the weeks leading up to Washington's biennial money-sack race, courtesy of players and wannabes pouring cash into shadow 501(c)(4)s and superPACs. Too bad they can't spend some of that money on creating jobs...

Posted September 18 on The New York Times
For all the headlines about the Tea Party and blind voter anger, the most disturbing story of this year’s election is embodied in an odd combination of numbers and letters: 501(c)(4). That is the legal designation for the advocacy committees that are sucking in many millions of anonymous corporate dollars, making this the most secretive election cycle since the Watergate years.

As Michael Luo reported in The Times last week, the battle for Congress is largely being financed by a small corps of wealthy individuals and corporations whose names may never be known to the public. And the full brunt of that spending — most of it going to Republican candidates — has yet to be felt in this campaign.

Corporations got the power to pour anonymous money into elections from Supreme Court and Federal Election Commission decisions in the last two years, culminating in the Citizens United opinion earlier this year. The effect is drastic: In 2004 and 2006, virtually all independent groups receiving electioneering donations revealed their donors. In 2008, less than half of the groups reported their donors, according to a study issued last week by the watchdog group Public Citizen. So far this year, only 32 percent of the groups have done so.

Most of the cash has gone to Republican operatives like Karl Rove who have set up tax-exempt 501(c)(4) organizations. In theory, these groups, with disingenuously innocuous names like American Crossroads and the American Action Network, are meant to promote social welfare. The value to the political operatives is that they are a funnel for anonymous campaign donations.

Mr. Rove’s group, American Crossroads, hopes to spend $50 million, and is already advertising against Democratic candidates in California, Pennsylvania, Nevada and other states. The American Action Network, led by Norm Coleman, the former Republican senator from Minnesota, is spending $25 million, and has been blasting the Democratic senators Patty Murray in Washington and Russell Feingold in Wisconsin.

The United States Chamber of Commerce, still boiling over its failure to stop health care reform, is spending $75 million to defeat the lawmakers who approved it. Their donors need not be revealed. (Labor unions are trying to do the same thing for Democrats, but cannot raise nearly as much money.)

The new secrecy era began with the 2007 Supreme Court decision in the Wisconsin Right to Life case, which tore away federal restrictions on corporate and union political spending in the weeks just before an election. The F.E.C. interpreted that decision to mean that unless an ad explicitly said “elect John Doe” (as if that matters), corporate donors did not have to be disclosed.
Then the Citizens United decision fully legalized such donations under the First Amendment. That new protection has led to the flourishing of the (c)(4) groups, which know they will not be investigated by a deadlocked F.E.C. or an Internal Revenue Service that has bigger issues to deal with.

The Citizens United decision, paradoxically, supported greater disclosure of donors, but Senate Republicans have filibustered a bill that would eliminate the secrecy shield. Just one vote is preventing passage. That act is coming back for another Senate vote. The two Republican senators from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, might want to read a recent poll by the Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, which showed that 80 percent of the state’s voters support public disclosure.

It is too late for a new law to have any effect on the dark swamp of this year’s elections, but there is still hope that Congress will allow the sun to shine on the elections of 2012 and beyond.

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Change.org petition to end corporate personhood

Why not check it out and sign? They'd like 5,000 signatures; they've gotten more than 3,300 already.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

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Citizens United After Eight Months

Deep-pocketed donors are giving heavily, mostly to the GOP, in the wake of the Citizens United decision. The new corporate money is coming mostly from small to medium companies, but a substantial amount of cash is being generated. Drum urges liberals to match the support, but a more long-lasting solution is to eliminate the corporate-personhood basis for the Citizens United decision and institute public funding for election campaigning.

by Kevin Drum. Posted June 30 on Mother Jones
Last January, in the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations were free to spend unlimited sums to support or oppose candidates for office. Eight months later, how's that working out? Michael Luo and Stephanie Strom report in the New York Times:

Interviews with a half-dozen campaign finance lawyers yielded an anecdotal portrait of corporate political spending since the Citizens United decision. They agreed that most prominent, publicly traded companies are staying on the sidelines.

But other companies, mostly privately held, and often small to medium size, are jumping in, mainly on the Republican side. Almost all of them are doing so through 501(c) organizations, as opposed to directly sponsoring advertisements themselves, the lawyers said.

"I can tell you from personal experience, the money’s flowing," said Michael E. Toner, a former Republican FEC commissioner, now in private practice at the firm Bryan Cave.

The reason the Times' paints only an "anecdotal portrait" and Toner relies on his "personal experience" is that this new corporate money is increasingly being funneled through 501(c)(4) groups that aren't required to disclose who their donors are. You can see the results at the Washington Post's running tally of campaign spending by interest groups: seven of the top ten spenders are Republican organizations, and they're outspending Democrats by nearly two to one, much of it on ads specifically targeted against Democratic House and Senate candidates.

You think that's not fueled by an increase in corporate donations? Then I've got a bridge to sell you. Take number 7 on the list, a group called the 60 Plus Association. Its spending has skyrocketed to nearly $6 million so far this year, and when Dave Weigel asked them where this tidal wave of new cash was coming from, they declined to say. But that kind of money doesn't come from five-dollar donations from tea partiers. It comes from deep pockets — including, as Suzy Khimm reports, $400,000 from American Financial Group to Karl Rove's new campaign spending group, American Crossroads, a contribution that wouldn't have been possible before the Citizens United decision.

And all that money is showing up on the airwaves. Jonathan Martin of Politico reports that an internal Democratic spreadsheet has tallied up the spending so far, and the story is grim: as of this week, pro-Republican organizations had paid for a total of $23.6 million worth of ads compared to $4.8 million for Democratic-aligned groups. And it's only going to get worse: Over the next four weeks, GOP groups have $9.4 million worth of TV ads reserved across 40 districts compared to $1.3 million in five districts for Democratic groups.

And what about liberal groups? Even in the best of times they have a hard time competing with corporate PAC money, but this year is even tougher. At the same time that Citizens United has opened the spigot even wider for Republicans, it's run dry for Democrats. While Karl Rove and his buddies are hoovering up over $50 million for American Crossroads, liberal fundraisers are struggling with a base that's dispirited and unhappy over failures on climate change and DADT and shortcomings on healthcare reform. Jim Jordan, who has started up a new group called Commonsense Ten that's airing ads in Senate races, explains things crisply: "The progressive donor base has stopped writing checks," he says.

And the future? Probably worse. Big publicly traded companies may still be staying on the sidelines this year to see how things shake out, but that's not likely to last. As it becomes clear that corporate spending is here to stay, and efforts to force disclosure of corporate donations fail — such as the DISCLOSE Act currently before Congress — they'll start jumping in too.

Which means that liberals had better get out of their funk and start supporting liberal causes and liberal candidates. Because it's a sure bet that all those corporations newly empowered by Citizens United won't be.

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Bottled Water Industry’s Loss=Gains for Planet Earth?

A report by Food & Water Watch, released late last week, finds that shoppers are starting to leave bottled water off their lists, with possible positive consequences for natural resources.

The escalating consumer backlash against bottled water in the U.S. may be helping to conserve oil and water resources, while reducing the volume of plastics in landfills, finds new analysis released today by the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. Industry Sales Bad News for Bottled Water, Good News for the Planet finds that if bottled water production dropped commensurate with sales, 2009’s 2.5 percent decline in the volume of bottled water sold translates to a savings of 64.6 million gallons of water and 1.4 million barrels of oil.

“As bottled water sales decline, it stands to reason that so too would the industry’s destruction of precious natural resources,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “These numbers reflect a growing awareness among consumers that bottled water is a wasteful, mostly frivolous product whose eventual obsolescence will greatly benefit planet earth.”

Based on the known environmental impacts of bottled water production, decline in bottled water sales translates to 23,000 tons of plastic saved, and 17,000 fewer plastic bottles in landfills. These savings are the equivalent of the amount of energy needed to drive 47,000 cars for a year and the amount of water needed to wash 65 million loads of laundry.<

Industry Sales Bad News for Bottled Water, Good News for the Planet is available here.

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Nestlé, don't mess with Mother Nature!

by David e. Delk,
Look out, Oregon. Here comes Nestlé.

Nestlé has proposed building a bottled water plant at Cascade Locks.

Cascade Locks is a small poor community on the Columbia River, desperate for jobs. And so when Nestlé comes to town offering jobs, Cascade Locks is interested.

But Nestlé is really offering much more.

Nestlé offers to send up to 200 trucks per day into the Columbia Gorge. Cascade Locks has had plans to turn itself into a tourist destination being on the Columbia River, close to fishing and water recreation, in the beautiful Columbia Gorge and near beautiful Mt. Hood and its national forest. What happens to those plans when 200 trucks per day start rolling in and out of tiny Cascade Locks with the increase of noise and air pollution?

Nestlé offers to exchange the town's water for Oxbow Spring water, currently used by the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Department (ODFW) at our fish hatchery. Because of questions whether Cascade Locks' water is suitable for the hatchery fish, Oregon required Nestlé to submit to a one year test of the water. However, questions will still remain concerning water quality and temperature. Even if the hatchery fish are not negatively impacted, the effect of the warmer Cascade Lock as it leaves the fish hatchery could still be detrimental to fish in the watershed.

Nestlé offers to pay Cascade Locks for the use of their water. But whereas they will pay less than a cent per gallon for the spring water as an industrial ratepayer, they will then turn around and sell the resulting products for on average $8 dollars per gallon. Nestlé will make an enormous amount of profit from our public resource!

One further danger results if Nestlé is successful. Nestlé is a multinational corporation. If for environmental reasons, drought or because Oregon imposes future restrictions on Nestlé's water uses, Nestlé could sue under WTO or other “Free Trade” agreements for loss of profits. Oregon could be put in the position of either not enforcing future democratic rights or being forced to pay Nestlé for lost profits.

Alliance for Democracy Portland chapter chair David Delk said:

Nestlé should not be allowed to harm the rights of nature by removing water from its watershed, polluting our environment, consuming massive amounts of non-renewable fossil fuels and water in manufacturing and transporting bottled water, and potentially trampling on our democratic rights in order to enhance their bottom line.

Water is a human right, not a source of profit.

And Alliance for Democracy member Nancy Matela said:

Remember that granting Nestlé the ability to bottle Oregon water sets a dangerous precedence. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife must deny the Cascade Locks application to exchange its water for the Oxbow Spring water used by the publicly owned and administrated fish hatchery.

Oregon's citizens must be heard on this issue.

The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) has provided a 30 day comment period. That period ends on September 30, 2010. OWRD must approve the exchange of Cascade Locks' water for the Oxbow Spring water. Prior to approval, they must consider the potential harm to other water users. That is why your comments now are important.

Write your comments NOW! Your comments will be accepted until Sept 30. 2010. Mail by Sept 27, 2010 October 29. Mail by October 26.

Letters only are being accepted. Emailed are not allowed.

Letters should be addressed to:
Attn: Phillip Ward
Oregon Water Resources Department
725 Summer Street NE, Suite A
Salem, OR 97301
Re: Water Transfer Application No. 11109

See sample letters at www.afd-pdx.org
Read what other organizations have written on this:
• Sierra Club
• Oregon Fair Trade Campaign (This will be posted to our website Wednesday evening)
• Food and Water Watch here and their 2 page informational flyer
• News articles from The Oregonian, #1, #2

(photo: Scott Learn/The Oregonian)

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Fighting to Protect Consumers

Consumer protection is a little stronger thanks to President Obama's appointment of Elizabeth Warren as adviser on the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The appointment is an end-run around potentially endless Senate confirmation hearings, and a victory for the millions of people who spoke out in favor of her hiring. But we still need to stand behind the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and make sure she has the authority she needs to establish an agency that will be a no-compromise advocate for the people.

by Elizabeth Warren. Posted September 17 on OpEd News.

Over the past several weeks, the President and I have had extensive conversations about the vital importance of consumer financial protection.

The President asked me, and I enthusiastically agreed, to serve as an Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He has also asked me to take on the job to get the new CFPB started--right now. The President and I are committed to the same vision on CFPB, and I am confident that I will have the tools I need to get the job done.

President Obama understands the importance of leveling the playing field again for families and creating protections that work not just for the wealthy or connected, but for every American. The new consumer bureau is based on a pretty simple idea: people ought to be able to read their credit card and mortgage contracts and know the deal. They shouldn't learn about an unfair rule or practice only when it bites them--way too late for them to do anything about it. The new law creates a chance to put a tough cop on the beat and provide real accountability and oversight of the consumer credit market. The time for hiding tricks and traps in the fine print is over. This new bureau is based on the simple idea that if the playing field is level and families can see what's going on, they will have better tools to make better choices.

If the CFPB can succeed at leveling the playing field, we can go a long way toward repairing a gaping hole in the budgets of millions of families. But nobody has ever thought or argued that the consumer bureau can fix everything. Lost jobs, stagnant incomes, rising costs for college, dwindling retirement savings--there's a lot of work to be done.

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AfD endorses One Nation Working Together campaign and march

Saturday, October 2, a growing coalition of labor, peace, community development, environment and faith groups will converge on the Mall in Washington, DC for the "One Nation Working Together" march and rally. The march, and local events leading up to it, will promote initiatives aimed at economic recovery and opportunity, ending "endless war" and redirecting defense spending toward social programs. Alliance for Democracy has joined the coalition supporting the march and hopes that our members and supporters will join as well, either by going to DC or taking part in a local action. For more information, check out the One Nation Working Together campaign website, or head to this page on WeGotEd.com, Ed Schultz's website.

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Welcome to our new Maine water organizer!

The Defending Water for Life in Maine campaign is beginning the fall with a new organizer, Ryan Clark from Corinth. He'll be broadening the campaign to reach communities in the North Woods where powerful timber companies like Plum Creek own millions of acres of land, as well as the water below, thanks to state law granting "absolute dominion" over groundwater to landowners. This puts the timber companies in the position of being able to profit from exporting water once global water shortages make it profitable. A proposed East/West superhighway across Maine would make such exports profitable much sooner if this highway is actually built. Because the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, backed up by free trade agreements, makes it illegal to ban exports, getting rid of absolute dominion and replacing it with a robust law protecting groundwater as a public trust is critical to protecting Maine's water. While continuing to assist local communities in their fights against Nestlé/Poland Spring, the campaign will develop a longer-term campaign to end absolute dominion in Maine and to recognize the rights of nature as integral to the public trust.

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Public comment period opens for Nestlé's bottling plans at an Oregon spring

The Oregonian reports that Nestlé Waters North America's bid to tap a Columbia Gorge spring for a new bottled water plant will be open to public comments through the end of September. For the plan to go through, state regulators have to approve a plan to swap city of Cascade Locks well water for spring water that currently supplies a state fish hatchery. If the exchange is approved, the city will be free to sell upwards of 100 million gallons of spring water a year to Nestlé. Opposition to the plant focuses on the potential ecological harm, the need to protect local water, and grave doubts about the local economic benefits that Nestlé claims the bottling facility will generate. You can read the story here, which gives information for submitting comments as well.

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More on Oregon's feed-in tariff program

Here's a more detailed look at how Oregon's new feed-in tariff program is working for one participating family. The pilot program is designed to encourage local production of solar power, and is backed by AfD partner organization Oregonians for Renewable Energy Policy (OREP).

by Richard Read. Posted September 1 on The Oregonian
Like almost all Oregonians, Jeff Ramp has paid utility bills for years to power his home, which sits on an onion farm near Salem.

But within a few weeks, Ramp will start receiving monthly checks from Portland General Electric Co. instead. The utility will pay him a premium for solar energy he produces and consumes. The checks will keep coming for 15 years and could exceed $600 a month, ultimately more than repaying his investment.

Ramp, 61, is the first PGE customer to generate electricity under a pilot program in which utilities pay homeowners for power produced from solar panels. The program, also available to Pacific Power customers, proved so popular when it launched July 1 that available spots ran out in 15 minutes. The next chance to apply is Oct. 1.

"I've been wanting to do this for years, but it never made economical sense," Ramp said. "I like to take advantage of what nature will give you."

Directed by the Legislature, Oregon's Public Utility Commission launched the solar program in such a hurry that Ramp and other early adapters had to wait while installers and utility workers refined details.

PGE managers overcame a glitch in insurance requirements. An electrician returned to Ramp's house and rewired a meter after the utility developed specifications. The fixes will smooth the way for the next round.

Solar advocates say a far more significant barrier is posed by an obscure federal regulation, interpreted by state officials as preventing homeowners from selling to utilities any power beyond what they consume. Because of the regulation, Oregon and other states have stopped short of an approach that has boosted solar power in Europe and Canada's Ontario province, where homeowners sell their surplus electricity to power companies.

Under Oregon's pilot program, revenue from surplus electricity is donated to Oregon Heat, a low-income energy-assistance organization. A spokeswoman for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which presides over the U.S. energy system, declined to comment Wednesday on the sell-back prohibition.

National Solar Inc.'s Kim Berhorst, who helped design Ramp's system and managed the project, is pleased to see Oregon's pilot program move forward. She hopes residents of Oregon and other states will eventually be allowed to sell excess solar power to utilities, using a so-called feed-in tariff system.

"This is a first step toward trying to craft a true feed-in tariff for the state of Oregon," Berhorst said. "That's the only way for the United States to catch up with people in Europe and Ontario."

Berhorst said she discovered while working on Ramp's system that insurance companies would not allow residential customers to add liability coverage for PGE to their homeowners' policies. PGE amended its contract language to waive the provision.

In Central Oregon, homeowner George Jameson got his solar system running Aug. 11 with minimal problems, apparently becoming the first person in the state to connect under the pilot program. Jameson, 66, a retiree from the computer industry, said the only hitch was Pacific Power's refusal to tell him what day -- let alone what time -- its technician would arrive to install meters.

"They eventually showed up," Jameson said, "and, luckily, we were here."

Jameson and his wife, Deanna, spent just over $20,000 on their system, installed by Bend's Sunlight Solar Energy. The Crooked River Ranch residents are eligible for a 30 percent federal tax credit. But like all participants in Oregon's pilot program, they're ineligible for state tax credits and cash incentives.

Oregon residents can still qualify for those local perks, and the federal credit, if they install solar systems without applying to receive utility checks.

The Jamesons expect checks averaging about $185 a month, meaning they'll break even in about nine years -- profiting during the remainder of their 15-year contract with Pacific Power. George Jameson marvels over an idiosyncrasy of the system that encourages him to burn more energy in order to receive bigger payments. He's not likely to do so, given his interest in conservation.

In Brooks, Ramp expects a payback in roughly the same time period as Jameson. Ramp spent $63,000 on his 9,900-watt system, which uses U.S.-made panels and electrical inverters manufactured by Bend's PV Powered Inc.

Payback times may be somewhat longer for future applicants. That's because the Public Utility Commission could decide during a Sept. 21 public hearing in Salem to reduce payment amounts by 10 percent, as requested by PGE and Pacific Power, due to the program's popularity.

Also -- perhaps predictably, during tight budgetary times -- state and federal officials have decided homeowners must pay income tax on the utility payments they receive.

The determination doesn't faze Jameson. "If you're going to tax me on the revenue that comes from that solar system," he said, "I can depreciate that asset."

How to apply: Utility customers can apply to enter the next round of Oregon's solar pilot program starting at 8 a.m. Oct. 1. They'd better be prompt. When the program opened July 1, applicants snapped up available spots in 15 minutes. Successful applicants can proceed to install solar panels and receive monthly checks at premium rates for power they produce and use themselves.

Pacific Power customers can apply online for the company's Solar Incentive Program. Portland General Electric customers can apply for PGE's Solar Payment Option. Applicants must come prepared with detailed information concerning their proposed project.

Idaho's Power customers in Oregon are also eligible, starting at the same hour. They can apply for the utility's Oregon Solar Photovoltaic Pilot Program.

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New Hampshire legislation helps towns protect groundwater

Thanks to the diligent work of Bill McCann, AfD's New Hampshire organizer for the Defending Water for Life Campaign, New Hampshire now has a state law that enables towns to pass local ordinances to protect groundwater. Serving on the NH Groundwater Commission established by the state legislature, Bill held hearings around the state on the issue of local control and then built on this base to get the state law passed. The law makes it unlikely that the state will challenge local ordinances like the one passed in Barnstead in 2006, with support from AfD's Defending Water campaign. The Barnstead ordinance has now been replicated in three other NH towns. The law goes into effect on September 18th.

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The return of "Political Bribery"

We're working to update to our 2001 booklet, "Political Bribery in the U.S.A.: How Corporations and the Wealthy Buy Power & What We Can Do to Stop It." The revisions will reflect the new reality of corporate political bribery post Citizens United, and the "case studies" sections will be brought up to date. We aim to make it available as an online download as well as a print publication. Your membership will support this work! Please join now with a secure online donation.

To reserve a copy or inquire about bulk sales, please contact the office. We anticipate a single copy will cost $2.75 (postage included), with discounts for bulk purchases.

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Maine chapter hosts talk on "Endless Corporate Rule"

The Alliance's Blue Hill Maine Chapter, chaired by AfD vice co-chair Bonnie Preston, sponsored David Cobb of POCLAD and Move to Amend at the nearby Ellsworth Public Library, August 24. David was on tour, with Nancy Price driving, speaking on "Ending Corporate Rule" this week before the 25th Veterans for Peace Anniversary Convention in Portland, ME where he was the Plenary speaker. At every town, 40-70 people turned out and gave David a rousing reception.

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Going against corporate personhood in Ft. Bragg

Jim Tarbell reports that the Ft. Bragg, CA chapter is working on a resolution to deny corporate personhood and constitutional rights to put before their City Council. The group is working to document why the city council should be opposed by describing how corporate personhood and rights impact local government and community rights. This should make a good handout for other chapters to use.

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Save the Date: Monahans' walk will end with DC rally

On Wednesday, October 20, join Laird and Robin Monahan as they walk into Washington across the Arlington Memorial Bridge, concluding their cross-country walk along Highway 50 to protest and educate on the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. Events planned include a rally at Lincoln Memorial and at the Supreme Court, and evening reception at Busboys & Poets Restaurant at 5th and K. Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign will be there with the Preamble to the Constitution Banner and puppets. We’ll keep you up-to-date on plans here, on the AfD website, and in the e-news (subscribe here!)

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California: Alerts on Water and Health Care

Thanks to all the Californians who took action on Monday's alert and called Assembly speaker John Perez’s office to urge him to bring SB 801, the California Universal Healthcare Act, to the floor for a vote. Sadly, the bill never made it to the Assembly, and is dead for the year. The bill's sponsor is California state senator Mark Leno--Leno's office couldn't say if the bill would be reintroduced.

Today, though, we're asking people to please contact Governor Schwartzenegger and tell him to sign AB 301, a bill which would require bottled water companies to make public how much water they’re removing from the state’s aquifers. This bill passed last year, and was vetoed. Will the Governator, who’s term of office is up in November, side with the people of California and not the bottled water industry? Maybe, but only if the people call! Email through the official site here, or pick up the phone at 916-445-2841 (fax a letter to 916-558-3160). Thank you.

You can follow action by the Alliance and its many water allies in California at DefendingWaterinCalifornia.org.

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