Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is in danger of being designated a national nuclear waste dump site in spite of vast quantities of nuclear waste already on site which is leaking into the Columbia River.

Should this happen, 20,000 to 30,000 truck loads of nuclear waste could start traveling on Oregon highways carrying the waste for storage at Hanford. A US Department of Energy study concluded that over 800 death would result. However, we know that the number would be much higher as they used the average adult male to obtain the figure. Women and children would die at a higher rate than adult males.

Beyond the danger from leaking radiation, accident or terrorist attacks could happen. If that happened on a freeway in Portland, hundred of square miles would need to be evacuated, economic activity would be disrupted up and as many as 1000 people could die.

The state of Washington could say no to the plan. They have the right to refuse shipments of chemical wastes at Hanford. Nuclear waste is not pure but is a toxic stew of nuclear and chemical waste and therefore subject to regulation by the State of Washington.

The Washington Dept. of Ecology will hold a public hearing at which you can comment. The meeting date/time is Wed. May 16th at 7 PM at Red Lion Jantzen Beach. Heart of America NW will hold a pre-hearing learning session starting at 6:15. They are the main advocates for clean-up of Hanford.

Additional information is available at the Alliance for Democracy website at www.afd-pdx.org, including two 5 minutes YouTube videos containing good talking points.

Protesters gather to oppose Portland police plan for video surveillance cameras

May 09, 2012
Maxine Bernstein

The Oregon Progressive Party is protesting the Portland Police Bureau's proposal to place video surveillance cameras on private property in Old Town to help monitor drug deals.

"Instead of spying on our citizens and creating a police surveillance state in the vein of Orwell's 'Big Brother,' the PPB should be using their limited resources in prevention and treatment, not adding another weapon to the failed War on Drugs," said Phillip Kauffman, Oregon Progressive Party state council member.

About 20 people came to protest outside City Hall on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, the mayor pulled the item from the morning's council agenda, and referred it back to his office. Last week, Commissioner Dan Saltzman said he wouldn't support the program unless Chief Mike Reese adopted protocol restricting the camera's use and stating the consequences of any misuse.

The chief has said the cameras, which can "pan, tilt and zoom," would focus on public spaces and the images could be monitored by officers' smartphones, mobile computers in their cars or laptops. He said the surveillance could be helpful in aiding police in drug and gang enforcement.

Roberto Lovato, among the protesters, said he had hoped the demonstration would put pressure on the mayor to halt the plan. "If they get the OK to put them up in Old Town and Chinatown, they'll put them everywhere," Lovato said.

The chief's proposal to hold private property owners harmless from any liability that might arise from the installation of the police cameras on their buildings had been placed on the council's consent agenda two weeks ago as an emergency ordinance.

Portland Copwatch objected, and it was pulled off the consent agenda last week and placed on the regular agenda last week allowing for council discussion. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon also has opposed the police plan, saying the surveillance is ineffective and a waste of resources.

The Citizens Crime Commission supports the proposal, saying it will increase security for area businesses and help police enforcement of street-level drug dealing in Old Town Chinatown.

Join David Cobb,

Chief Spokesperson for Move to Amend, for a rousing evening because .....

It is time to change the rules.

The Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling is just the latest - and most blatant - example that corporations have hijacked our government.

We've had two great days with Ralph and Rocky in town and we'll have our monthly meeting at our office here starting at 7pm tonight. Below is a sampling of the media. Ralph packed 250 people at noon into Powell's, then had more than 600 people pack into Lewis and Clark to see him debate former Bush admin. official and neo-con Jamie Fly (Ralph won that debate easily)! Today we had a great press conference with Rocky & Ralph (video here) , had an article in Oregonian, two TV channels (KATU and KPTV), and Oregon public broadcasting there.  Then we had a successful rally with Rocky at PSU. This is a great kick-off for the Progressive Party and 2012 Elections let's keep the momentum up and firing...go we go...

• NADER & ROCKY PRESS CONFERENCE: http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/04/former_salt_lake_ci...
   
• NADER STEVE DUIN INTERVIEW: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2012/04/st...
   
• NADER AT POWELL'S Coverage http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/04/green_party_staple_...

At a press conference in Portland today, Ralph Nader introduced and announced his support for Rocky Anderson as the 2012 nominee of the Oregon Progressive Party for President of the United States.

The Oregon Progressive Party is a ballot-qualified minor party in Oregon.  It was created by voter petition as the Peace Party in 2008 and that year nominated Ralph Nader for President.  The party changed its name in 2009 to the Oregon Progressive Party to reflect its broader platform.

Rocky Anderson is the progressive former 2-term Mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah.  He has now obtained the Presidential general election ballot in 3 states--which is 3 more states than Ralph Nader had obtained at this stage in 2008 on his way to appearing on the ballot in 45 states.

The State Nominating Panel of the Oregon Progressive Party seeks feedback from party members on the prospect of nominating Rocky Anderson to run as our candidate for President of the United States in the November 2012 election.

Rocky Anderson is actively seeking our nomination.  His positions on issues closely match those of the Oregon Progressive Party.  Ralph Nader favors his candidacy over all others.  If nominated by the Oregon Progressive Party, he has promised to campaign actively in Oregon.

Here is his impressive biography: http://www.voterocky.org/meet_rocky.  Perhaps most impressive is his election and reelection as the notably progressive Mayor of Salt Lake City in a state that has voted all Republican in federal elections for decades and voted for a non-Republican for President only once in the past 60 years (Lyndon Johnson in 1964).

Here is his Wikipedia page:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Anderson
Here are some videos of his recent appearances:  http://www.voterocky.org/television

If you are a member of the Oregon Progressive Party, you can provide feedback by sending email to info@progparty.org (with Rocky in the subject) or by posting comments on this item.

We just received a fundraising email signed by "Barack" himself.  He says:

As we count down to another critical fundraising deadline for this campaign, it's important to remember this: We always knew this election would be about two competing economic plans -- whether we get to build on our progress or see it taken away. But we had no idea we'd also be up against a social agenda that would roll back decades of progress, particularly for women's health.

He had no idea that Republicans would advance such a social agenda?  What planet has he been living on?

On March 13, 2012, the Oregon Progressive Party endorsed these candidates for Portland Mayor and City Commissioner (in alphabetical order by office sought):

Mayor:  Cameron Whitten, Jefferson Smith

City Commissioner #1:  Amanda Fritz, Teressa Raiford

City Commissioner #4:  Mark White

"There was lively debate, and we appreciate the efforts of the candidates to convey to us their qualifications and positions on the issues," said David Hess, Treasurer of the Oregon Progressive Party.

In a further assault on first amendment rights, the American Congress approved H.R. 347: Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011. When it comes to civil liberties, all to often the Republicans and Democrats stand together to place new and unconstitutional restrictions on the right of people to speak and to assemble. Note that in the House, all of Oregon's congressional delegation except Suzanne Bonamici voted in favor; in the Senate there was a voice vote by Unanimous Consent and no record was kept. Rep Bonamici voted yes on the measure which adopted the Senate version of the law, thereby allowing the House to vote. She did not vote on the final bill. The bill has gone to President Obama for his signature.

Two events coming up this Wednesday and both worth attending and participating in.
1. Sen Merkley town hall
2. Town hall on Free Trade Agreements, especially the TransPacific Partnership, aka NAFTA of the Pacific.

Jack Ohman, the renowned political cartoonist of the Oregonian, has allowed us to reprint this gem from February 12. It is available nowhere else on the web. Click on the cartoon to see a readable version.

Where Ohman says, "But we don't have any limits on contributions," he means Oregon does not have limits that are being enforced. As we know, in November 2006, the voters of Oregon enacted Measure 47, which established one of the nation's most strict system of limits on political campaign contributions and expenditures. It also requires every political advertisement funded by "independent expenditures" to fully disclose the names, businesses, and amount contributed by each of its 5 largest donors, right in the ad itself.

The Secretary of State and Attorney General of Oregon have refused to enforce Measure 47, even though no court has ruled any part of Measure 47 to be unconstitutional. The Chief Petitioners have sued the Secretary of State and Attorney General to compel them to implement and enforce Measure 47, and that case is now before the Oregon Supreme Court, where oral argument was heard on January 9, 2012. The Court will probably make a decision within a few months.

Due to their refusal to implement Measure 47, campaign spending in Oregon continues to skyrocket. Total spending on campaigns for state and local offices in Oregon increased from $4.2 million in 1998 to $57 million in 2010. Candidates for Governor in 2010 alone raised and spent over $20 million. Winning a contested race for the Oregon Legislature now typically costs over $600,000, sometimes more. The Oregonian reports that spending on state legislative races in Oregon is higher per capita than in any other state, except New Jersey.

The Oregon Legislature's consideration of SB 1534 has triggered a massive outpouring of opposition, not just in Oregon but nationwide. Here are two of the articles in national publications about it:

Mother Jones     Forbes

Here are videos of the testimony about the bill at the Oregon Senate Judiciary Committee:

SB 1534 Testimony 1     SB 1534 Testimony 2

Attempt to criminalize tweets that solicit law-breaking fizzles at Oregon Legislature

Jamie Francis/The Oregonian Flash mobs that engage in criminal activity are the target of a bill that would make it illegal to electronically summon two or more people to a designated place to do something that is against the law. Critics say the bill, which appears dead, is aimed at preventing demonstrations such as Occupy Portland.

SALEM -- It was dubbed the "flash mob" bill when it got a hearing Monday at the Oregon Legislature -- a proposal to make it a felony to summon people by Twitter or email to commit a crime at a designated place.

Now it's more like flash-in-the-pan.

"It's dead," said Sen. Floyd Prozanski, the Eugene Democrat who, because he holds the gavel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, gets to decide such things.

Yet 11 Republicans and one Democrat signed onto Senate Bill 1534, which would have created the crime of "aggravated solicitation." And we're not talking street corners here.

Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, said he asked for the bill because he heard from retailers about being victims of flash mobs that steal stuff. It wasn't meant to stifle free speech, he said, but to bring law enforcement up to date with the modern era of social media and instant communication.

"If someone wants to bring a whole bunch of people to the Capitol to demonstrate, no problem," he said. "But if they're solicited to come to the Capitol at 9 p.m. to firebomb the place, that's a problem."

Critics say it's an unusual -- and dangerous -- incursion into the freedom to protest, not to mention tweet.

"I would expect a law like this is Myanmar, Turkmenistan, North Korea or Zimbabwe," said Dan Meek, a Portland attorney who testified Monday. Not, he said, at the Oregon Legislature.