Document text
3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Cold front expected to drop local temperatures 20 degrees 10 things to know for Monday Nazi POWS once held at Camp White near Medford Emergency Services, March 30 Since You Asked: Fire station isn't gobbling up park Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency Services, March 30 Emergency services, March 29 Cottage Grove man dies in Rogue River boating accident Emergency services, March 28 State police: Grants Pass shooter tried to run victim off the road Politics and Elections Jackson County Commissioners plan no tax on marijuana for one year Arthur I. Cyr: Iran – a crisis without end Arthur I. Cyr: South Korea represents long-term triumph – for them and for US Special election: Jackson County voters OK marijuana tax Ex-Merkley aide chosen as Oregon secretary of state Education Which comes first: The rocket or the egg? Medford School District one of most accident-prone in state Dianne Williamson: College admissions mania ill-advised Oregon legislators may end fifth-year high school programs Phoenix High officer looks back on varied career Environment Rogue Valley lions on their way to California Corps hopes to clear Lost Creek Lake of debris Beetles taking toll on Ashland pines Mt. Ashland Ski Area to host party March 28 Controversial asphalt plant in Talent wins county planning approval State News Bend police kill cougar above popular hiking trail 5 things to know about Oregon's gun-control bill Feds celebrate sage grouse deal with Oregon ranchers Timber payments extension passes U.S. House $15 minimum wage bill dead in Oregon Senate Nation - World Obituaries Claudine Barbara Pollard Alexander Edwards Ray E. Kniffen, Sr. Lois Emmerette (Wright) Huntley James "Jim" Peter Duman Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable Sports Latest Stories Fantasy Sports: Reds’ Chapman opens list of top closers Bill Ballou: Pace-of-game rules are a good start to improving baseball South Carolina earns first Final Four berth Only blue bloods need apply Familiar Feeling Varsity 541 College Sports South Carolina earns first Final Four berth Only blue bloods need apply Familiar Feeling Beavers take series finale over Mustangs No. 7 Spartans Final Four-bound after OT win Pro Sports Bill Ballou: Pace-of-game rules are a good start to improving baseball Walker wins hometown Texas Open Blazers beat Nuggets, move closer to division title Walker gains lead over Spieth in Texas Aldridge propels Blazers past Suns Community Sports Business Latest Stories Cars We Remember: ‘Topper’ movie car most memorable After being sidelined by blindness, Stan Moore returns to the bike business in Medford Mandatory paid sick leave gets mixed reviews Blog: How to Practice Patience Ride & Drive: 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque Real Estate News East McAndrews Road sees a resurgence in commercial projects Business briefs: March 7 New construction prices jump 18.2 percent in Jackson County People In Business People in Business, March 26, 2015 Transportation Rogue Disposal plans natural gas fueling site Alaska, United Express boost Medford airport to record February CEO Rieder leaving Erickson March 31 Agriculture Broth maker leaves San Diego for Medford Harry & David announces new president Opinion Latest Wry & Ginger: Daylight saving and our hour of need Letters to the Editor, March 30 Other Views: Sage grouse listing would be unfortunate Kathleen Parker: A leap of faith — into thin air Our View: Phoenix lion sanctuary was a missed opportunity Editorials Other Views: Sage grouse listing would be unfortunate Our View: Phoenix lion sanctuary was a missed opportunity Other Views: Gun background check bill won't make us safer Our View: Some police videos should be released Our View: Public records rules should apply to lawmakers, too Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, March 30 Letters to the Editor, March 29 Letters to the Editor, March 28 Letters to the Editor, March 27 Letters to the Editor, March 26 Columns Kathleen Parker: A leap of faith — into thin air George Will: Remembrance of Clintons past Dana Milbank: The end of the White House's insularity? Guest Opinion: How to end the influence of money in elections Charles Krauthammer: The GOP racing form, first edition Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: How to end the influence of money in elections Guest Opinion: How schools teach U.S. history raises hackles Guest Opinion: Guest Opinion: Raise your voice against child abuse Guest Opinion: Central Point Cemetery needs work and city action Lifestyle Latest stories It Is What It Is: There’s only one thing worse than being sick … David Murdock: What’s in a name? (Quite a bit, actually) Brent St. Germain: Feeling the burn again Cars We Remember: ‘Topper’ movie car most memorable Paul Rogers: Choose the right tool for job in the garden Food Tammy Kelly: Lighten up traditional Easter desserts Kitchen Call: Goat cheese recipes worth bleating over Community blog: Try slightly smoky baked beans instead of refried App Finder: Best barbecue apps Health Watch: It’s OK to have a cheat day Home and Garden Paul Rogers: Choose the right tool for job in the garden Home Help: Easy enhancements for your master closet Prepare the beds for summer vegetables Hot tub: The perfect centerpiece for outdoor living Garden Cameos: Welcome spring to the garden Health Brent St. Germain: Feeling the burn again HealthStyle: Normal anxiety or anxiety disorder? Community blog: How to Get Rid of a Tension Headache St. Mary's student helps others with diabetes Community blog: Sleep Tight: Making Your Bed, Body and Mind Ready for Rest Hiking Biking Faith Religion briefs: Friday, March 27 Religion briefs Religion News: Presbyterian Church gives approval on same-sex marriage Religion briefs: Friday, March 13 More religion events in the Rogue Valley Milestones and Achievements Haga-Parks Exercise helps special-needs kids adjust to airport procedures Engagement: Workman-Wright Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Rising Stars raises $10,000 for LIFE Art ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ plays the Craterian Theater Here's Tempo's top five picks for live entertainment this week The 2015 Rising Stars music competition ends with its final round on the Britt stage in Jacksonville Live Music in Local Clubs Theater Review: From past into present in OSF's 'Long Day's Journey' ‘A Dream of Red Pavilions’ at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Review: Education and its discontents Next Stage Repertory presents 'Educating Rita' at the Craterian Theater Eugene O'Neill's 'Long Day's Journey into Night' opens at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Music Rising Stars raises $10,000 for LIFE Art ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ plays the Craterian Theater Futurebirds play the Brickroom in Ashland The 2015 Rising Stars music competition ends with its final round on the Britt stage in Jacksonville Live Music in Local Clubs Community Events Rogue Valley artist Linda Evans' pastel paintings capture landscapes of Southern Oregon Ashland Independent Film Festival announces this year's lineup OSF Hip-Hop Poetry Open Mic Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhibits by regional artists Jesse Lawson and Joe Moxley host 'Barkeeper' Dining Restaurant Inspections: March 29 Basque-inspired cuisine at Eleven in Ashland Parsing the meaning behind wine medals and scores Restaurant Inspections: Sunday, March 22 Jasmine Thai Cuisine Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines/Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Nazi POWS once held at Camp White near Medford ... Medford woman killed in Highway 140 motorcycle crash ... In-N-Out has the urge to build more Oregon restaurants ... Nazi POWS once held at Camp White near Medford ... Medford woman killed in Highway 140 motorcycle crash ... In-N-Out has the urge to build more Oregon restaurants ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: How to end the influence of money in elections By Phil Guidotti MailTribune.com By Phil Guidotti Posted Mar. 29, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Phil Guidotti Posted Mar. 29, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Recent price of running for Oregon State Senate: $600,000. Congress: $34 million. President of the United States: $1.1 billion. Fundraising total from the latest congressional midterm election cycle: $3.67 billion Do you feel like these positions are accessible to you? Should wealth and/or fundraising prowess be a requirement to run for state and federal office? The overwhelming influence of money in our election process has completely overtaken the influence of the ideas and will of the people. Thanks to a string of U.S. Supreme Court decisions over the past few decades, donors now have the ability to spend as much money as they want to ensure their preferred candidate wins an election. Wealthy individuals and organizations now have influence that far exceeds the original intent of the founding fathers. The one-citizen, one-vote principle is essentially dead. How do we solve such a problem? Do we call our congress members and ask them to undermine the process that put them in power? Congress, in addition to having historically low approval ratings, has incentives to keep things the way they are. After all, in the current system they have big wages, pensions and benefits to go with a 93 percent chance of keeping their seat after the next election cycle. At this time, Congress will not act. Now that the Supreme Court has endorsed the current broken system, only a constitutional amendment can overrule them and get the avalanche of money out of our elections. So how do we amend the Constitution without Congress? Thanks to our founding fathers back in 1787, we have Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which lays out two methods of proposing amendments. Predicting that one day Congress itself might be the problem, they allowed for another way to propose an amendment without Congress. If two-thirds of the states call for a national convention to propose a new amendment, then all 50 states would send delegates to a convention to determine the specific language of said amendment. After such a convention, three-fourths of the states would need to vote to ratify the amendment, as is required for all amendments. Can we refer to any historical precedent for such a convention? Turns out more than half of our 27 amendments started with calls for a convention of the states. This method historically has served as the lever to force Congress to act on tough issues. Most notably, in 1913 our country was on the verge of reaching the threshold to call a convention to require direct election of U.S. senators. Once Congress realized this was going to happen, members changed their stance and proposed the amendment themselves. Given this route is the most common to leverage an amendment proposal, a national movement is now underway to eliminate the influence of money in our country’s elections by calling for a convention of the states. Vermont, California, Illinois and New Jersey have already passed legislation to overturn Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission and related court rulings. These bills were crafted with the help of Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig. They specify all money interests (PACs, unions, corporations, private donors, etc.) will be included, regardless of whether they tend to favor Republicans or Democrats. In the Oregon House of Representatives, we are nearing a committee vote on House Joint Memorial 2, our state’s equivalent to the bills passed in the aforementioned states. Medford and its surrounding areas have immense power over how this vote goes as two local legislators sit on the Rules Committee. Republican Mike McLane, House minority leader, represents a district that includes the northeastern edge of Medford, part of Eagle Point, Shady Cove, and Butte Falls. Carl Wilson, deputy minority leader, represents Grants Pass and Cave Junction. These two men listen to their constituents, and with enough calls to their offices, will vote in favor of this bill. Their votes in committee will determine the momentum of the bill through the House and Senate. So here is your chance to eliminate the influence of money in our elections, at all levels of government. Call Mike McLane at 503-986-1400 and Carl Wilson at 503-986-1403 today. Urge them to support HJM 2 at its committee hearing at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 1. Then call other state legislators from our area yet to support this bill and its sister bill in the Senate, SJM 3 (Reps. Sal Esquivel, Duane Stark, Gail Whitsett and Dallas Heard; Sens. Herman Baertschiger, Doug Whitsett and Jeff Kruse). Time is of the essence. If we make these calls together, our collective voice will be impossible to ignore. With your participation, our elections will become battles of ideas, integrity, and intelligence, rather than fundraising contests. Phil Guidotti of Central Point is a volunteer with Wolf PAC, a national organization working to overturn the Citizens United court ruling.   By Phil Guidotti MailTribune.com By Phil Guidotti Posted Mar. 29, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501