CONFERENCE TO CLOSE BASES IN BALTIMORE JANUARY 12-14-2018

An opportunity to join others in taking action against the bloated American empire of bases:

http://noforeignbases.org/?link_id=2&can_id=7c304174349c626280cea6bc287b4a0d&source=email-join-us-in-baltimore-on-january-12-14-to-close-bases&email_referrer=email_276307&email_subject=join-us-in-baltimore-on-january-12-14-to-close-bases

FAKE POPILIST TRUMP IS CREATING A NEW MORE OLIGARCHIC DEEP STATE

Nafeez Ahmed interviews Deep State author, Mike Lofgren in INSURGE INTELLIGENCE, a crowdfunded investigative journalism project for people and planet. Support us to keep digging where others fear to tread.

https://medium.com/insurge-intelligence/republican-insider-trump-is-creating-deep-state-2-0-but-it-might-crash-the-economy-exclusive-704522e6761a#.xzezu3mq6

GREENWALD DESCRIBES U.S. HYPOCRITICAL FOREIGN POLICY

Human rights only count when when we want to intercede in another country, but not when the country is our ally. See Greenwald:

https://theintercept.com/2015/09/13/two-short-paragraphs-summarize-us-approach-human-rights-advocacy/

"The Iranian Threat": Who Is the Gravest Danger to World Peace? By Noam Chomsky, TomDispatch

Chomsky cuts through all of the nonsense about the Iranian  threat. We are the greatest threat to world peace. We need to wake up and take an honest look at what is going on in our name.

Cost of Empire to Mexican Workers

Mexican workers are made modern day slaves so that we can have cheap produce. See article: Alternet

Clinton Foundation as American Ambassador

Despite all the brouhaha over the Clinton Foundation , it is one of our best ambassadors for America. And it is bringing in other donors who also become ambassadors of good will. Forget the attacks and celebrate America at its best.

Christoper Ruddey explains it in the following article:
 http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/clinton-foundation-cash-controversy/2015/04/27/id/640856/?ns_mail_uid=38484644&ns_mail_job=1618460_04272015&s=al&dkt_nbr=ovujvir8

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree Letter on Transparency

Thank you for being in touch about the importance of bringing accountability and transparency to our federal election system. I appreciate hearing from you about this important issue. I have long been an advocate for public financing of federal elections. I believe it is past time to separate money and politics, and allow elected officials to spend their time at home, hearing from constituents and working on the issues that matter. That is one of the reasons I am a co-chair of the Task Force on Election Reform in the House, which has a broad range of priorities, including supporting a Federal Clean Elections system. Maine's Clean Elections system has proven very successful, with Clean Elections candidates holding more than 80 percent of the seats in the Maine Legislature in 2010, and it is past time to enact this model on the federal level. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has issued a number of decisions at odds with the principles of Maine's Clean Elections system. As you know, in Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations have the same free-speech protections that you and I have as individuals. Additionally, in 2014 the Court ruled to overturn contribution limits to federal candidates, political parties, and political action committees (PACs) in McCutcheon v. FEC. This ruling further increases the influence of the wealthiest Americans on our elections. I believe allowing already dominant players to directly influence Congressional and Presidential races will further tilt the playing field towards a narrow and already well-represented range of interests. I support a number of common-sense pieces of election reform legislation to address the problems created by these recent rulings, including H.R. 154, the Close the Floodgates Act. This bill would undo last-minute provisions inserted into the FY15 Omnibus that would allow wealthy donors to dramatically increase their contributions to political parties. H.R. 154 was introduced by Congressman Derek Kilmer (D-WA) on January 6, 2015, and I hope to see it come to the House floor for a vote soon. Additionally, I was proud to join my colleague Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) in the introduction of H.R. 20, the Government by the People Act. This bill would create a voluntary system giving Congressional candidates the option to stop raising huge sums of money from a limited number of corporate and wealthy donors, allowing them more time to work on the people's business. Candidates who participate in the programs set up through this bill would agree to limit their campaign spending to the amounts raised from small dollar donors plus matching contributions from a federal matching fund that would enable them to compete with individuals raising campaign contributions for wealthy donors. Lastly, I believe we need to amend the Constitution to clarify the authority of Congress and the states to regulate corporations' expenditures of funds for political activity. That is why I am a proud cosponsor of H. J. Res. 22, a Constitutional amendment which would allow the federal government to regulate the amount of campaign expenditures and contributions in both federal and state level elections. I hope to see this resolution come to the House floor for a vote soon. Please rest assured I will continue to work to move these critical policies forward. Thank you again for sharing your concerns. I appreciate hearing from you and hope to see you in Maine soon.

Sincerely,
Chellie Pingree
Member of Congress