RSN: Bernie Sanders | Citizens United, 5 Disturbing Things Porter Ranch Methane Leak and Flint Water Crisis Have in Common

It's Live on the HomePage Now: 
Reader Supported News

---

Bernie Sanders | Citizens United 
 
Bernie Sanders, Reader Supported News 
Sanders writes: "Today is the sixth-year anniversary of Citizens United, one of the most disastrous Supreme Court decisions in my lifetime. This decision hinges on the absurd notion that money is speech, that corporations are people, and that giving huge piles of undisclosed cash in support of politicians in exchange for influence does not constitute corruption." 
READ MORE

ery little will ever get done until we reform our broken and corrupt campaign finance system. I hear about it everyday. The economic and political systems in this country are stacked against ordinary Americans. The rich get richer and use their wealth to buy elections.

Today is the sixth-year anniversary of Citizens United, one of the most disastrous Supreme Court decisions in my lifetime. This decision hinges on the absurd notion that money is speech, that corporations are people, and that giving huge piles of undisclosed cash in support of politicians in exchange for influence does not constitute corruption.

In essence, this ruling handed millionaires and billionaires — who have already rigged our economy — unlimited influence in our elections. It gave billionaires like the Koch Brothers an even bigger opportunity to purchase the House, the Senate, even the White House.

Super PACs — a direct outgrowth of the Citizens United decision — are enabling the wealthiest people and the largest corporations in this country to spend unlimited amounts on elections.

We know, for example, that the Koch brothers, the second wealthiest family in America, want to use the Citizens United decision to buy politicians across the country. This election cycle alone, they have committed to spend at least $750 million on political activities — an outrageous sum that is corrupting our political process. And I can assure you, brothers and sisters, they won’t be spending that money with the interests of working families, women, and seniors in mind. That is simply unacceptable, and it’s time for the American people to rise up and reclaim our democracy.

Let’s be honest and acknowledge what we are talking about. We are talking about a rapid movement in this country towards a political system in which a handful of very wealthy people and special interests will determine who gets elected or who does not get elected. That is not what this country is supposed to be about. That was not Abraham Lincoln’s vision of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The need for real campaign finance reform is not a progressive issue. It is not a conservative issue. It is an American issue. It is an issue that should concern all Americans, regardless of their political point of view, who wish to preserve the essence of the longest standing democracy in the world — a government that represents all of the people and not a handful of powerful and wealthy special interests.

Our campaign is doing so well because we are telling the truth about the reality of American life today. We are talking about a reality in which most of the new wealth and income in this country are going to the top one percent while working families are struggling more than at any point since the Great Depression.

My vision for American democracy is a nation in which all people, regardless of their income, can participate in the political process, and can run for office without begging for contributions from the wealthy and the powerful. While other politicians will make you the same promise, I am the only candidate running for the Democratic nomination who does not have a super PAC. And I am the only one who is telling the truth about the corrupting influence of Wall Street bankers and the obscenely wealthy in our elections.

We have to create a political revolution where working Americans come together to say they have had ENOUGH of the billionaire class buying our elections to enrich themselves while everyone else gets poorer. More than ever, we need a president who has a firm commitment to the American people — and no one else.

Our vision for democracy should be one in which candidates are speaking to the vast majority of our people – working people, the middle class, low-income people, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor – and discussing with them their ideas as to how we can improve lives for all people in this country.

I believe this vision of American can be a reality once again. We just have to do something unprecedented in the coming months — defy the odds and win the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/34789-citizens-united

Flint’s Water Crisis Is No Accident. It’s the Result of Years of Devastating Free-Market Reforms. 
Jacob Lederman, In These Times 
Lederman writes: "On the surface, Flint’s lead-contaminated water appears to be the product of a specifically local form of negligence and corruption. But in fact, the city’s poisoned water supply, as well as its devastated school system, crumbling infrastructure and high levels of violence have their origins elsewhere." 
READ MORE

US Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels 
Mark Mazzetti and Matt Apuzzo, The New York Times 
Excerpt: "When President Obama secretly authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013, the spy agency knew it would have a willing partner to help pay for the covert operation." 
READ MORE

Ted Cruz Forgets to Sign Up for Health Insurance, Blames Obamacare 
Tara Culp-Ressler, ThinkProgress 
Culp-Ressler writes: "GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz says his family is no longer covered by health insurance, and he thinks it’s all Obamacare’s fault." 
READ MORE

Racism in the Air You Breathe: When Where You Live Determines How Fast You Die 
Charles D. Ellison, The Root 
Ellison writes: "More African Americans will die from environmental causes than from police brutality this year, yet there is no movement to stop the environmental racism that invades our neighborhoods and homes." 
READ MORE

Gillian Anderson Was Offered Half of David Duchovny’s Pay for X-Files Revival 
Kelly Conaboy, New York Magazine 
Conaboy writes: "In an interview with the Daily Beast published Friday morning, award-winning actor Gillian Anderson revealed she was initially offered half of co-star David Duchovny’s pay for her work in Fox's upcoming X-Files revival." 
READ MORE

5 Disturbing Things Porter Ranch Methane Leak and Flint Water Crisis Have in Common 
Lorraine Chow, EcoWatch 
Chow writes: "They might seem different, but the ongoing disasters in Michigan and California are two sides of the same tragic coin: as Flint drinks toxic water, Porter Ranch breathes toxic air." 
READ MORE

hey might seem different, but the ongoing disasters in Michigan and California are two sides of the same tragic coin: as Flint drinks toxic water, Porter Ranch breathes toxic air.

These two areas highlight the abysmal failure of utilities and lawmakers as thousands of local residents continue to suffer. What’s important to remember, however, is that these travesties aren’t just isolated incidents—they might be much closer to home than you think.

1. Both areas were in dire emergency long before official declarations

Flint: Local and state-level declarations of emergency were made by Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in December 2015 and January, respectively. However, the problem started way back in April 2014, when an unelected state official switched the city’s main water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River to save money. On Jan. 16, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint. Such a declaration allocates up to $5 million in federal funds to the city. It also authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency to galvanize supplies and distribute water bottles, filters and other supplies.

Porter Ranch: Compared to poverty-stricken Flint, government action has been noticeably faster for the affluent Los Angeles neighborhood. Following months of pressure from activists and residents, California Gov. Jerry Brown issued a state of emergency on Jan. 6 over the gas leak—the biggest in U.S. history—that has spewed 86,000 metric tons of methane and counting into the atmosphere since Oct. 23, when the leak was first reported. The order means “all necessary and viable actions” will be taken to stop the leak and ensure that the Southern California Gas Company (SoCal Gas), which owns the leaking natural gas injection well, is held accountable for the damage. A federal state of emergency has yet to be declared.

2. Environmental contamination and noxious greenhouse gases spell trouble for the planet

Flint: Research has found that the water in the Flint River is 19 times more corrosive than Lake Huron’s water, causing the city’s aging pipes to degrade and leach lead into the water. Water samples indicated an average lead concentration level of 2,000 ppb (parts per billion) with the the highest level recorded at 13,200 ppb, The Guardian reported, putting lead levels 200-1,300 times higher than the World Health Organization standards of 10ppb. When used for irrigation, lead-contaminated water can cause toxicity levels in garden and urban soil and cause poisoning if it enters the food chain through fruits and vegetables.

Porter Ranch: The leak, deemed the worst environmental disaster since the BP oil spill, has sincespread across the Los Angeles San Fernando Valley, according to new research from Cambridge-based nonprofit, Home Energy Efficiency Team. The Los Angeles Times reported that “the leak is so large it will measurably set back not just the city’s but the entire state’s greenhouse gas emission targets, effectively erasing nearly a decade’s worth of statewide emission reductions.” Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gasthat accelerates climate change.

3. Many people, especially children, have suffered from health problems

Flint: Lead, which has no safe blood level, has been entering the city’s drinking water through corroded pipes and plumbing materials. Exposure to this toxic metal is considered most harmful to children and fetuses because they absorb lead more easily than adults. Lead can damage people’s kidneys, blood, and nervous system and progress to coma, convulsions or death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 27,000 Flint children have been exposed to lead in the city’s water, according to The Detroit News. Additionally, 87 people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. Ten of those who were sickened have died.

Porter Ranch: More than 2,500 families have fled their homes and more than 1,000 children have been relocated to other schools. Residents reported symptoms related to the exposure of natural gas such as nausea, vomiting, headaches and respiratory problems. Not only that, a Los Angeles city councilman called on SoCal Gas last week to extend residential relocation assistance to residents in Granada Hills, Chatsworth and Northridge who live near the Aliso Canyon gas leak above Porter Ranch. Even pets are suffering from ailments similar to their owners, such as nose bleeds, nausea and rashes, ABC 7 reported. As residents flee, businesses in the neighborhood are also struggling to stay open.

4. A disaster in the making. Lawmakers and utilities, now facing mounting lawsuits, ignored aging infrastructure

Flint: “The fact is,” as LA Progressive wrote, “that the pipes conducting water from the Flint River are and have long been highly corrosive and have been leaching lead into the city’s potable water system. Pipes to each home and business, including sink and shower faucets, have been directly affected through both negligence and lack of regular maintenance by the city authorities.” On Tuesday, amid calls for resignationand a growing number of lawsuits, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder apologized and admitted that he failed Flint residents. According to emails released to the public on Wednesday, Snyder was informed of Flint’s water quality issues in as early as February 2015 but his administration said the problems would eventually “fade in the rearview.” The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also acknowledged on Tuesday it did not respond fast enough to the water crisis.

Porter Ranch: Similarly, California’s aging pipeline infrastructure and poorly managed storage facilities have been put under the microscope. “The gas leak comes from a broken well that was last inspected in 1976,” as Earthworks observed. “The LA Weekly reports that the well’s safety valve was inexplicably removed in 1979.” SoCal Gas now faces a class-action lawsuit alleging that the gas company removed safety valves on Aliso Canyon gas storage wells that lead to the massive methane leak.

5. The disasters in Flint and Porter Ranch could easily happen to your city

Beyond Flint: Think your water is safe to drink? A Vox report stated that “children in essentially every city in America are being exposed to hazardous levels of toxic lead, and very little is being done about it.” And if lead contamination isn’t bad enough, “a 2009 New York Times investigation found that more than 62 million Americans had been exposed to drinking water that did not meet some government health guidelines,” as PRI observed. “A 2011 analysis by Environmental Working Group found that more than 100 million people in 43 states were drinking water contaminated with trihalomethanes—a dangerous chemical that’s the byproduct of a chlorine reaction.”

Beyond Porter Ranch: While Porter Ranch has everyone’s attention, natural gas leaks are persistent and widespread across the country. A team from Environmental Defense Fund found an average of about one natural gas leak for every mile driven in New York City’s Staten Island, one leak for every 200 miles in Indianapolis and one leak for every three miles in Chicago. “Events of this size are rare, but major leakage across the oil and gas supply chain is not,” Director of Environmental Defense Fund’s California Oil & Gas program Tim O’Connor said in a statement. “There are plenty of mini-Aliso Canyons that add up to a big climate problem—not just in California, but across the country.”

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/34783-5-disturbing-things-porter-ranch-methane-leak-and-flint-water-crisis-have-in-common