Follow the Money
On Jan. 21, the nation marks the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a decision that enabled corporations and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence federal and state elections. As the 2012 election season ramps up, so will the corporate, union and special interest financing of political advertising. With the proliferation of SuperPACS and 501C organizations, major donors funding election advertising remain unidentified to the voters.
Be an informed voter.
First, ask every candidate at every level of government for his or her position on campaign finance reform.
Second, visit www.opensecrets.org for reliable information for following the money in races in your district and around the country.
And finally, question every political advertisement you see or hear. Ask yourself who paid for that ad and why. Does the ad state clearly who paid for it? If the sponsor is a group or organization, can you go to its website and see who is a member and who contributes? If not, ask yourself why not?
Help make democracy work—cast an informed vote!
Rebecca Fricke
President, Amherst League of Women Voters
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Debating Racism
Editor’s note: The following exchange initially appeared on the Valley Advocate’s website. To see more of the exchange, please go to www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=14534.
In regard to Maureen Turner’s Jan. 12 story, “Is ‘Sorry’ Enough? Public response to an Easthampton city councilor’s racist remark,” I think this entire “controversy” is being blown totally out of proportion.
This is exactly what the problem is with this kind of knee-jerk, find-a-racist progressive society that we live in here in Western Massachusetts. If [Easthampton City Councilor] Cykowski had said “Where’s an Italian when you need one”—meaning the Mob—not only would no one have been even remotely offended, but the councilors present probably would have all had a good laugh.
It’s a weakness in our society, not a strength, when one or two races are placed on a pedestal, making them untouchable to even the most harmless of ribbings. You can’t preach equality and then place certain ethnicities off limits to common and sometimes critical discourse.
The region’s minorities need to re-evaluate how their communities are being led and how they’re choosing (or not choosing) to participate in those communities (eg: low voter turnouts), and stop seeing the big, bad racists around every corner and blaming them for their problems. Guilt-ridden white liberals need to lighten up, too.
As for Cykowski, I don’t think he meant any harm at all with his off-the-cuff comment. So why don’t we just leave the dumb Polak alone?
Bill Dusty
via Internet
Wow! Hard to believe someone is trying to justify racism as a valid perspective, but this too is another example of how pervasive this evil is in our local society. Thank you, Bill Dusty, for having the courage to air your views in public so we can continue with the discussions and learning.
I wholeheartedly disagree with Bill, whose perspective appears to be symptomatic of those who don’t wish to seek an end to racism and fail to comprehend the damage it inflicts on society. This is exactly why living in a progressive society in Western Mass. is so great: justice is more likely to prevail. Perhaps in other portions of the country with a less progressive bent, the councilor’s remarks would have been allowed to be swept under the table and not addressed by the entire community. Instead it has been brought to the public’s attention and the issue has become not just a rallying point for those seeking to end endorsement of racism by public officials, but perhaps one of the best opportunities as a teaching moment to educate all on exactly what racism is and how best to confront it so as to purge it from our society, and perhaps even address it as the hateful criminal act it is.
We should all endeavor to take this issue seriously instead of lightly, as it’s a serious topic that affects everyone, and it is our collective duty to stop such actions. To ignore our collective responsibility to stop such actions is the cowardly way out and indicates a sympathetic perspective to the racism.
Gregory Bennett
via Internet
Vermont Bicyclist Advocates Laud Law Enforcement
I strongly encourage bicyclists to report harassment by motorists to police. With that in mind, I share a recent personal experience. When reporting an incident of harassment last year, I informed the law enforcement officer about the Safe Passing law designed to protect vulnerable roadway users and asked that the motorist be charged with violating it.
The officer was not familiar with this particular law, but he was eager to familiarize himself with the statute and spread the word within his department.
[I learned later] that the motorist was convicted of violating the Safe Passing law, as well as other infractions, resulting in heavy fines and a 90-day license suspension. (Unfortunately, this same driver was later picked up and charged with driving with a suspended license.)
I share these details as evidence that Vermont’s police officers are willing to use the tools provided to them to enforce the law. The Safe Passing law is on the books as a direct result of bike/pedestrian advocacy; the penalties for violating the different provisions of the Safe Passing law are stiff as a direct result of such advocacy.
For more information about the Safe Passing law or to join the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, please visit www.vtbikeped.org.
Nancy Schulz
Executive Director
Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition
