Fix the Broken Electoral College

The system of electing the President needs changing because Five out of our 45 Presidents have come into office without receiving the most popular votes nationwide.  Oregon was one of the many states that were totally ignored in the 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2004 general-election campaigns.  Please email your Oregon legislators and urge them to pass the National Popular Vote bill (Senate bill SB823).   The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.   State winner-take-all laws are the reason why a candidate can win the Presidency without winning the national popular vote.  Under these state laws, all of a state's electoral votes are awarded to the candidate receiving the most popular votes in each separate state. Given that the average margin in the national popular vote has been only 5% since 1988, undemocratic outcomes will continue to occur if the system for electing the President is not reformed.   Existing state winner-take-all laws create another problem in every election. Presidential candidates only campaign in a handful of closely divided "battleground" states. Voters in other states (such as Oregon) get ignored because presidential candidates do not campaign in states where they are hopelessly behind or safely ahead. Of the 399 campaign events in the 2016 general-election campaign: Over half of the events (57%) were held in just four states (Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Ohio). Virtually all of the events (94%) were in just 12 states (containing only 30% of the country's population).  Details.   As presidential candidate Scott Walker (R) accurately stated in 2015,  "The nation as a whole is not going to elect the next president. Twelve states are."  Video  Fortunately, the U.S. Constitution specifically allows state legislatures to change the method of awarding their electoral votes without amending the U.S. Constitution.  Article II says: "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors...." Existing state winner-take-all laws may be changed in the same way they were originally enacted -- namely by passing a different state law in the state legislature.   Under the National Popular Vote bill, the winner will be the candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC.  The bill would take effect when enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes -- 270 of 538.  All of the presidential electors from the enacting states will be supporters of the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC. This guarantees the national popular vote winner with an Electoral College majority. Please tell your Oregon legislators to pass the National Popular Vote bill (Senate bill SB823).  A national popular vote for President is an achievable political goal that can be in place in time for the 2020 election. The bill has already been enacted into law in 11 states possessing 165 electoral votes, including four small jurisdictions (Rhode Island, Vermont, Hawaii, and the District of Columbia), three medium-sized states (Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington), and four large states (New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California).   It will take effect when enacted by additional states having 105 electoral votes. The bill has passed at least one chamber in 12 additional states with 96 electoral votes (AR, AZ, CO, CT, DE, ME, MI, NC, NM, NV, OK, OR) and was approved by unanimous bipartisan committee votes in 2016 in two other states with 26 electoral votes (MO and GA). A total of 2,955 state legislators have endorsed it. The National Popular Vote bill passed the Oregon House of Representatives in 2009, 2013, and 2015, but has not previously received a hearing in the Oregon Senate.  Recently, the National Popular Vote bill received bipartisan support in  40-16 vote in the Republican-controlled Arizona House 28-18 vote in the Republican-controlled Oklahoma Senate 57-4 vote in the Republican-controlled New York Senate 37-21 vote in the Democratic-controlled Oregon House  The National Popular Vote bill will make every vote equal throughout the United States.  It would ensure that every voter, in every state, will be politically relevant in every presidential election.  Learn more at www.NationalPopularVote.com.  Please tell your Oregon legislators to pass the National Popular Vote bill (Senate bill SB823).  Thank you.

Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay

Shell made a film about climate change in 1991 (then neglected to heed its own warning)

https://thecorrespondent.com/6285/shell-made-a-film-about-climate-change-in-1991-then-neglected-to-heed-its-own-warning/692663565-875331f6

The Ways to Destroy Democracy | The Nation

https://www.thenation.com/article/the-ways-to-destroy-democracy/

Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay

The Single Best Thing Salem Could Do

First Petition to the New Regime

 

Let's get a few million of us to sign the petition

This is how American health care kills people

http://theweek.com/articles/666799/how-american-health-care-kills-people

Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay

The Magic Trick

Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay

Willamette U, Divest Now! I just signed this petition -- will you?

Dear Friends,

I just signed the campaign: Divest Willamette University From Fossil Fuels.

The First University in the West should be among the First to Divest from Fossil Fuels!

It would mean the world if you could also add your name to this fossil fuel divestment campaign.

The divestment movement is catching on like wildfire, and with good reason: 

If it is wrong to wreck the climate, then it is wrong to profit from that wreckage, and to invest in a thing is to encourage more of it.

We believe that educational and religious institutions, city and state governments, and other institutions that serve the public good must divest from fossil fuels.

Every name that is added builds momentum around the divestment effort and makes it more likely for us to win. Will you join me by taking action on this campaign?

http://campaigns.gofossilfree.org/petitions/divest-willamette-university-from-fossil-fuels-1

After you've signed the petition please also take a moment to share it with others. 

 It's super easy – all you need to do is forward this email.

Thank you!
John

"Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay"

Oregon Public Empowerment News (OregonPEN.org)

An Important Film on 1/17 as Corporate Orcs Descend on D.C.

One week from tonight:

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

at 7 PM

 for

"We The People 2.0"

In spite of the legendary belief that the United States Constitution established a government of, by and for the people, it is the people themselves who have long been struggling to straighten the crooked bough of American law.

We the People 2.0 confronts its viewers with the ravages of environmental damages that corporations have done across America. Alongside documenting grassroots activism, including the kayak flotillas that protested Shell Oil in Seattle, the film focuses on legal challenges presented to corporations by granting rights to ecosystems. Talking heads include the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, a nonprofit that helps small towns draft laws against fracking, factory farming, and water privatization. 

 

Our documentaries are followed by guest speakers and an audience discussion.

See below for more information. 

And thank you for your support.

Upcoming Film

Tuesday January 17, 2017 * 7 PM  We The People 2.0 We the People is a visual essay about the loss of democracy in the United States.  The film utilizes both original footage as well as found footage to describe a profound change in thinking at the grassroots level. The story unfolds through the eyes of rural people who have faced decades of toxic dumping, drilling and mining in their communities.  We learn with them that the reason why, in spite of all their efforts, they "get what they don't want, again and again," is because they are, by law, truly powerless in spite of propaganda that says they live in the "best democracy in the world."   These people come to understand that the reason they can't stop the destruction is that the US has become an oligarchy, run by the corporate few who ignore the rights and will of the people.  These people are frontally challenging our corporate state; thereby saving nature and themselves. Thomas Linzey, a nonprofit attorney's inspiring words shows how, we, the people, can turn this around and lay claim to our democracy. This movement is building as you read this, not just in this country but around the world; our film shows how and where it all began.  Guest speakers: Ann Kneeland, Environmental and land use attorney, (also in the film) Ed Dover, Professor of Political Science,  Western Oregon University To view trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGyLRhsGYjU

Dept. of Great Local Stuff: Fill Your Pantry Event at Marion-Polk Food Share

Fill Your Pantry

What? Friends of Family Farmers & Marion-Polk Food Share invite you to Fill Your Pantry! How it works: order online to fill your pantry shelves with local storage crops like beans, grains, winter squash, root veggies, and more! Then come out on January 28th to pick up your goodies from the folks who grew them.  ONLINE ORDER PERIOD: January 8-22

Where? Marion-Polk Food Share 1660 Salem Industrial Drive Salem, Oregon 97301 *Please enter using the side door

When? January 28, 2017 11:00am-2:00pm

Order Online Now! Online order period: January 8-22 Pre-ordering is recommended because it is both easier on the farmers (knowing exactly what to bring to market) and offers the customers the best selection, as many items sell out!

Online Ordering

Participating Vendors: Salem 2017 vendors include: Carman Ranch, Grateful Gardens, Lonesome Whistle, Foothills Honey, Sun Gold Farm, Adaptive Seeds, Oven & Earth Farm, Springbank Farm, Minto Island Growers, and Heritage Farms NW

SNAP/EBT Accepted! We will have a SNAP terminal on site. If you are paying with the Oregon Trail card, you can still pre-order, but you will pay the day of the event.

FAQ's

Questions? Contact Friends of Family Farmers:  503-581-7124

Let's live on the planet as if we intend to stay