Newest articles on The Sacramento Press written by Robert Horowitz

Rally tomorrow for fair elections and clean government

2010-08-09T23:35:27Z

Are we, the people, tired yet of corporate governance yet? Corporations and the wealthy elite who make up the boards of directors of corporations have gained control of government at all levels in this country. They do this by donating extravagantly to election campaigns, by recruiting their lobbyists from the cream of the public service sector, and by placing their lackeys in control positions in the bureacracy (through extravagant donations). With their army of highly paid lobbyists, they hound elected officials and regulators tirelessly, mercilessly, until they get what they want. If they have to ply our government representatives with sex, drugs, meals or travel, that is the cost of doing business.

The result of all this is predictable and all-too-obvious these days; endless wars and nearly unregulated defense spending outsourced to contractors, global-scale envrironmental crises like BP's oil spill and pending climate disaster, and massive Wall Street fraud resulting in a global financial meltdown, conveniently bailed out by taxpayers. What cold be worse?

A recent Supreme Court decision, known as the Citizens United decision, greatly increases corporate ability to pour money into election-related activities. Legislative efforts to counter the Citizens United recently collapsed amid accusations of each side favoring their core donors. So we can expect more corporate influence in government, not less.

All of our many crises have their roots in one place, and that is the failure of America's system of electing leaders, and the closely related failure of how we regulate legislators and top regulators once they are in office. Attack the core problem, and the rest of the issues may take care of themselves.

Toward that end, please join the Other 98 tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 10 for a rally at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Sacramento. The Other 98 are the 98 percent of the American population who do not hire personal lobbyists, who do not sit on the boards of corporations, and who do not give extravagantly to candidates for elected office. See the Other 98 website.

The Other 98 is asking elected officials and candidates for federal office to sign the Other 98 pledge, which has three basic parts:

1. The candidate will work to overturn the recent Supreme Court decision which allows corporations to channel unlimited amounts of money into federal elections.
2. The candidate pledges to support the Fair Elections Now Act, proposed federal legislation which evens the playing field for candidates who are supported by numerous small donors.
3. The candidate pledges to support legislation which stops corporate lobbyists from showering federal officeholders with gifts like free meals and travel to exotic locales, and ends the revolving door between federal officials and the higher-paying corporate world.

The rally on Aug. 10 is to kick off a longer effort to clean up corruption in Washington DC. At the rally, a representative of Congresswoman Doris Matsui will read a statement of support for the effort. We will have speakers representing Sacramento labor groups and local grassroots activists working to build momentum for clean government and fair elections.

The rally begins at 11 a.m. and ends by 1. The Federal Courthouse is located at 5th & I streets in downtown Sacramento. Hope to see you there.

Rally for fair elections and clean government Aug. 10

2010-07-21T05:56:00Z

More than $3 billion –billion with a B--in campaign funds were spent in the 2008 federal elections cycle (a). If you’re a typical American, you gave almost none of that. Most of the $3 billion was given by wealthy corporations and individuals who make up the top 2% of all earners.

How much is $3 billion? It’s approximately equal to what BP will pay for its screw-up in the Gulf,(b) and about the same as the drop in value of all assessed property in Sacramento County due to the economic downturn.(c) It’s similar to what 1500 Americans with a bachelor’s degree will earn in their entire lifetimes.(d). And it was given in only one election cycle.

Three billion dollars is a lot of money. And citizens should not be surprised when elected officials who depend on large donors consistently fail to act for the common good. It doesn't matter what your issue is, if there is money involved, lawmakers will act in accord with their campaign contributors' interests, not yours. Because the system itself is corrupting, simply changing legislators is not an effective long-term solution.

If you think there is a fundamental problem with government that only listens to the wealthy super-elite and corporate lobbyists, then please turn out for a rally on Tuesday, Aug. 10 in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Sacramento. This rally will be to support a new campaign called “The Other 98%” being organized by Move On. We, the people, are the Other 98% who do not have lobbyists on our payroll.

The premise of “The Other 98” is simple. Federal elected officials and candidates are asked to sign a pledge with three components.

The candidate will work to overturn the recent Supreme Court decision which allows corporations to channel unlimited amounts of money into federal elections. Read about the decision here.
The candidate pledges to support the Fair Elections Now Act, proposed federal legislation which evens the playing field for candidates who are supported by numerous small donors. For more info, see: http://www.fairelectionsnow.org/
The candidate pledges to support legislation which stops corporate lobbyists from showering federal officeholders with gifts like free meals and travel to exotic locales, and ends the revolving door between federal officials and the higher-paying corporate world. Read about some of the revolving door appointees and their activities here.

At the rally, Sacramento Congresswoman Doris Matsui or her representative will sign The Other 98% pledge, and give brief remarks. Other speakers and signers are invited.

The Federal Courthouse is located at 501 I Street in Sacramento (5th & I). The rally will begin at 11:00 a.m. Please bring signs supporting free and fair elections. For more information about this event, or to volunteer to help, contact Michael DeSantis at: moveon810rally@yahoo.com

(a) http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/stats.php
(b) http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0705/bp-oil-spill-costs-spike-3-billion/
(c) http://sacramento.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/2010/07/05/daily19.html
(d) http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/moneymatters/a/edandearnings.htm

One week left to support mountain biking in national parks

2009-02-11T06:48:25Z

It's always been a struggle for me when I bring my bike to Yosemite or any other national park. Because of the difficulty of siting any kind of mountain bike trail, you're stuck on the paved roads with the Winnebagos and tour buses. Frankly, that scares the snot out of me. I wind up riding in places I shouldn't be, and that's bad too. The International Mountain Bike Association has been working for years to improve off-pavement bicycle access in National Parks and many other places. The Park Service has finally come up with a proposed new policy which will make it a little easier to site some trails in national parks. There is one week left for you to get your comments in on the new rule. You can read more about it and find a sample letter at the IMBA web site.

On the Sacramento front, SAMBA has been fighting for local trails for five years now. The newly updated American River Parkway Plan provides for an off-pavement bicycle trail network in between Parkway miles 2 and 6. These areas are known as Woodlake and Cal Expo. We could have up to 6 or 8 miles of trails in these areas, mostly on existing roads that are used by rangers and the folks who maintain the power lines. There is still some legislative work that needs to be done, so those trails probably can't happen until 2010, and even then there are some conditions we will have to meet regarding signage and buffer zones. SAMBA will be working on that over the next few years and needs your help.

These trails are going to be a great spot for family riding and also for people who are new to the sport. The terrain is mostly flat, and there are very few places--actually, no places--that require expert skill or nerves of steel. What folks in Sacramento and everywhere do need is more fun ways to get exercise that don't involve driving up to the mountains or out to the coast. Keep the fun local, and save the gas. Visit SAMBA on the web to get more info and the latest events.