Monday, February 13, 2023

2-13-2023 Newsletter

 

RESPECT AND DIGNITY
"Democracy, remember, is not just a set of rules and institutions, but a way of life. In the democratic ideal, we meet one another in the public sphere as political and social equals, imbued with dignity and entitled to the same rights and privileges.

".... To deny equal respect and dignity to any part of the citizenry is to place the entire country on the road to tiered citizenship and limited rights, to liberty for some and hierarchy for the rest."
-- Jamelle Bouie, 
New York Times, February 10, 2023
SERIOUS STUFF IN SALEM
Why bother tracking legislation in Salem? Because without citizen watchdogs, bad bills could be enacted and good bills could be ignored. Here are 3 bills COIN volunteers are tracking. Learn more about these bills here. After you've read more about these bills on the COIN website, please send your feedback to incoregon@gmail.com. We'll forward your comments to COIN.
 
HB 3022    Prohibits Environmental Agencies from Adopting or Enforcing Rules  
COIN is watching this bill.This bill would essentially prohibit the Environmental Quality Commission and the Department of Environmental Quality from doing their jobs.

HB 2601   Divesting Oregon's Treasury from Fossil Fuels 
COIN is watching this bill. This bill would require the State Treasurer to exit from certain carbon-intensive investments, subject to fiduciary duties.

SB 676 AND HB 2215  Allows Nuclear Power Plants without Safe Nuclear Waste Disposal  
Pending COIN Opposition (decision by 2/16). 
These identical bills seek to overturn the will of voters who, in 1980, rejected the idea of allowing new nuclear power plants to be built in Oregon without adequate and safe disposal for nuclear waste.

 
WHAT DOES COIN DO?
INCO leader Cheryl Conway is a key member of COIN's Legislative Team, which is tracking bills in this legislative session. Details in future INCO newsletters.
SEE FOR YOURSELF
Looking for solid information and opinion?  These sources recommended by Robert Hubbell and his newsletter readers might be what you want.

"My “go-to” sources include Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, Ian Millhiser (Vox), Dahlia Lithwick and  Mark Joseph Stern of Slate, Charlie Sykes and Jonathan Last (Bulwark), David Frum (Atlantic), Philip Rotner (various sources), Jennifer Rubin and Eugene Robinson of WaPo, Lawrence O’Donnell, Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, Neal Katyal (all of MSNBC), Dennis Aftergut and Laurence Tribe (various sources), Democracy Docket, the trio of commentators Joyce Vance, Barbara McQuade, and Jill Wine-Banks of #SistersInLaw, as well as Joyce Vance’s Civil Discourse, and many others. As to independent voices, I frequently consult and promote Heather Cox Richardson, Dan Rather, Tim Snyder, Judd Legum, and Katelyn Jetelina (all of Substack). Jessica Craven of ChopWoodCarryWater is in a category of her own for her constant bias toward action. And despite my frequent criticism, I always check the NYTimes and WaPo on major stories."
-- Robert Hubbell, 
Today's Edition, February 10, 2023

Readers suggested the following additional sources.

Writers on Substack:

Other blogs:

THE 'REALITY-BASED COMMUNITY'
Who's actually telling the truth about Social Security, Medicare, and budget cuts? Congressional Republicans must think nobody is tracking their promises to cut Social Security and Medicare. Historian Heather Cox Richardson provides the details.
 SPECIAL DISTRICT ELECTIONS 
You can make a meaningful impact by serving as a board member of a Special District in Clatsop County. Special Districts are a form of local government created by a local community to meet a specific need. Special districts in Clatsop County include schools, Clatsop Care and Union health districts, rural fire protection, and others. Countywide special districts are the Port of Astoria, Sunset Empire Transportation, and Clatsop Community College.

You can volunteer to serve by running for office in the Special District elections on May 16. Information about local positions and filing is on the 
Clatsop County website. The County Clerk's office at 503-325-8605 has details. Filing deadline for the May election is March 16.
HAPPENINGS
Thursday, March 9 - INCO Community Meeting, via Zoom. Social time at 6 pm; meeting is 6:30-7:30 pm. All INCO members are invited to attend. We meet the 2nd Thursday of each month.
Link to join Zoom meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87835618044
 Meeting ID: 878 3561 8044
One tap mobile
+12532050468,,87835618044# US
+12532158782,,87835618044# US (Tacoma)
INSIGHTS
“Amid all the easily loved darlings of Charlie Brown’s circle, obstreperous Lucy holds a special place in my heart. She fusses and fumes and she carps and complains. That’s because Lucy cares. And it’s the caring that counts.”
-- Judith Crist, American film critic, quoted in her New York Times obituary, 2012   
Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com
Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org.
Encourage others to sign up for the INCO newsletter at our website 
or here.
Look for the INCO column in 
Hipfish Monthly. We're on Facebook, too.
INCO Weekly Newsletter       February 13, 2023