<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
<title></title>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
Gerry Gras wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:4B6D11B7.2070506@earthlink.net" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">This vote could benefit from IRV.
BTW, does anyone know how effective change.org is</pre>
</blockquote>
As we go forward with this, I think that we need to consider the full
range of efforts that are taking place. Change.org is probably NOT the
most active organizational entity. That appears to be MoveToAmend.
You can see what they are doing by going to
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.movetoamend.org/">http://www.movetoamend.org/</a> That effort has over 57,000 signatures to
its petition. <br>
<br>
In fact, on last night's Bill Moyers Journal, he mentioned both
MoveToAmend (headed by a committee that includes Greens Ben Manski and
David Cobb) as well as FreeSpeechforPeople.org which has over 35,000
signatures. Both exceed the numbers at change.org. It hazard a guess
that this is a sign of the level of outrage against anyone in power. <br>
<br>
In particular, I think that it is very enlightening to read the
discussion between Moyers, Lawrence Lessing and Nick Gillespie that was
part of last nights program... the transcript is here:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02052010/transcript5.html">http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02052010/transcript5.html</a><br>
<br>
Lessing is Director of the E.J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at
Harvard
University where he also teaches law. He was previously at Stanford,
where he founded the Center for Internet and Society. You can read a
longer version of his argument in the current issue of <a
href="http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100222/lessig">Nation</a>
magazine but he gave a succinct definition to Moyers.
<blockquote type="cite">My view is Congress needs the power to protect
its own independence.
Look, when the Supreme Court decided this case, no credible person
could believe the Supreme Court was bought. You could disagree with
them in a thousand ways, and I do, about the particulars of this case.
But they have their own institutional integrity. We trust that they're
doing their work without the influence of money. But they have now
denied to Congress the same institutional integrity. Because everybody
believes money buys results in Congress. And this is just going to make
it worse. So, Congress has lost the respect of the people. And it's
only going to get much, much worse, because increasingly we're going to
believe they're dancing to the tunes that are set by those who are
trying to influence them, as opposed to what the people believe.
</blockquote>
Gillespie is a well known Libertarian and heads reason.com. He defines
a Corporation as a free association of individuals (stockholders) and
is concerned that efforts to limit the free speech (use of money) of
corporations would have to apply equally to all other such
organizational entities: e.g. labor unions, non-governmental
organizations like the Sierra Club, etc. Speaking of Citizens United
case....<br>
<blockquote type="cite">I think it was a victory for free speech, in
the end. And if anything,
it didn't go far enough. Campaign finance regulation is always a
suppression of speech. And this law addresses a small aspect of it.
That should help the quality and quantity and variety of political
speech.
</blockquote>
If, for example, one merely makes the point that corporations are not
citizens, do we then have to provide some mechanism for the protection
of corporations as granted to citizens the protection from unjust
search and seizure.<br>
<br>
My own observation is that our candidates and our sitting Congress
Critters spend absolutely too much time and energy on the very simple
act of fundraising. We just have to make sure that the cure is not
worse that the disease.<br>
<br>
Wes <br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="80">--
"Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better
and you don't,
then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente
Wes Rolley
17211 Quail Court, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.refpub.com/">http://www.refpub.com/</a> -- Tel: 408.778.3024</pre>
</body>
</html>