BClark

Art Robinson Worked With Unregistered Foreign Agent

Who is Samuel Patten?

Eugene, Oregon–Art Robinson’s deeper connections to illegal activity were revealed in a photo of political operative W. Samuel Patten and Robinson at his home in Cave Junction, Oregon in 2014.

As part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, Samuel Patten pled guilty on Friday to working as an unregistered foreign agent for Ukraine and funneling $50,000 of illegal foreign money to Donald Trump’s presidential inaugural committee. Additionally, prosecutors argue that Patten’s business partner, a Russian national, has ties to Russian intelligence.

Patten worked in Oregon in 2014 for Cambridge Analytica, the corrupt political data company that illegally harvested data from 50 million Facebook users and interfered with elections around the world. The company admitted to, “effectively managing Robinson’s (2014) campaign in its entirety” and Robinson was Cambridge Analytica’s first federal political client.

Patten posted a photo on his personal Facebook page with Art Robinson in 2014 at Robinson’s home in Cave Junction, Oregon.

In March 2018, The Washington Post and Willamette Week interviewed Robinson about his engagement with Cambridge Analytica. Robinson did not disclose his relationship to Samuel Patten.

Cambridge Analytica is partly owned by hedge fund billionaire and right-wing political extremist Robert Mercer. Mercer first began meddling in Oregon elections in 2010 when he funded a super PAC aimed at electing Art Robinson and attacking Congressman Peter DeFazio. DeFazio was the first Member of Congress to be attacked by a Wall Street-backed super PAC. Since then, the Mercer family has spent $1.7 million on Robinson’s failed congressional campaigns.

Mercer also funds Robinson’s institute, the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, which Robinson runs from his sheep farm in Cave Junction, Oregon. Since 2005, Mercer has given Robinson’s institute $1.77 million dollars including a $150,000 donation at the start of 2018.

Robinson is making a fifth attempt at Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. Oregon voters deserve to know the extent of Robinson’s relationship to Samuel Patten, Robert Mercer, and work with Cambridge Analytica.

Candidates Sought For RCC Board Interim Seat

Candidates Sought For RCC Board Interim Seat

The Rogue Community College (RCC) Board of Education (Board) seeks applicants for an interim appointment to represent Zone 2 of the RCC District.

To qualify, candidates must reside in Zone 2 of the RCC District, generally described as southern Josephine County. Interested persons may contact the Josephine County Elections office at 541-474-5240 to determine if they reside in the correct precinct.

The deadline to apply is 5 p.m., August 13, 2018.

Qualified candidates will be interviewed and appointed by current Board members as directed by ORS 341.335(3). Interviews will be conducted at the August 21 Board of Education meeting.

The Board is responsible for programs, budgets, policy, and college contracts. The college president reports directly to the Board, and through her administrative staff, carries out Board policies at the college. Currently, Board meetings are held in the afternoon of the third Tuesday of each month with periodic special meetings. Meeting participation in person is encouraged.

For an application or additional information, contact Denise Nelson, Assistant to the President – Governance, at 541-956-7001, dnelson@roguecc.edu or Rogue Community College, 3345 Redwood Highway (H Bldg.), Grants Pass, OR 97527.

HotOffPress/ Walden

Hammond Pardon Emboldens the Militia & ‘Patriot’ Movement

This is reprinted from a Rural Organizing Project email:

On Tuesday, President Trump pardoned ranchers Dwight Hammond Jr and Steven Hammond, at the urging of Representative Greg Walden (R-OR). The father and son were imprisoned in 2012 for arson on public land in Harney County Oregon. They served an 18 month prison sentence. In 2015 they were then re-sentenced to additional prison time under a federal mandatory minimum sentence for damaging federal property. The armed militia ‘Patriot Movement’ used this event to spark the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016. ROP and human dignity groups and leaders in Harney and Grant and counties across Oregon came together to demand an end to the the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation. Below we share reflections on President Trump’s pardon of the Hammonds:

It is significant that neither Rep. Walden nor President Trump mentioned the very damaging trend of Federal and State ‘Mandatory Minimum’ sentences, which disproportionately falls on working class people, especially people of color.

It is also significant that, while Rep Walden was very public about his personal lobbying for a Presidential pardon in this individual case, he has been almost completely silent about Trump’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy towards refugees seeking asylum, and the separating of young children from families at the US Borders. There are currently over 150 refugees being detained in Oregon’s Federal Prison in Sheridan, yet Rep Walden is the only member of the Oregon delegation to remain silent. Additionally, over dozens of immigrants are detained by ICE indefinitely, under inhumane conditions at the NORCOR facility in The Dalles, in Rep Walden’s own District. He has never mentioned the NORCOR facility, let alone sought pardons for the immigrants and refugees detained, despite the fact that hundreds of his own constituents have protested their mistreatment.

The pardon also gives a very troubling green light to armed militia movements and the special interests behind them, who have used the Hammond case to mount an attack on public lands across the West. Ryan Bundy, one of the leaders of the armed militants that occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge two years ago, is quoted by OBP yesterday saying: “Today shows we were right, we went there for a good reason, and our efforts have finally come to fruition.”

During the 40-day armed occupation, militia members intimidated townspeople in Burns, damaged public property at the wildlife preserve, and desecrated unceded land of the Burns Paiute Tribe. They never once mentioned prison sentencing reform, but called incessantly for the privatization of public lands, and repeal of agreements between BLM, the Burns Paiute Tribe and local ranchers. If Ryan Bundy is correct, then yesterday was a victory for vandalism, paramilitaries and threats and intimidation, with big help from the area’s own Congressional Representative.

At the time of the armed occupation, residents in Harney County, the Burns Paiute Tribe and Oregonians across the state took a strong line against the take over and against militias, and continue to do so. This move by President Trump and Rep Walden seems to be his attempt to mobilize the militia, “Patriot” and paramilitary movements for upcoming midterms and to encourage their armed tactics that use threats and intimidation to endanger our communities.

During the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Occupation, Rural Organizing Project worked with Political Research Associates to put together this guide on the Patriot Movement in Oregon, Up in Arms: A Guide to Oregon’s Patriot Movement. Read more about the history and players in this movement and the many ways that rural Oregonians have organized in response for safety and democracy in their communities.

Rural Oregonians across the state are continuing to organize for a real vision of safety, justice and democracy in our communities: a dismantling of the systems of detention and deportation for immigrants; true economic justice in rural communities with fully funded public infrastructure like libraries and schools; healthcare access for all; an end to mandatory minimum sentences that disproportionately impact low income and communities of color; and a democracy where those impacted are a part of the decisions being made about their lives.

Josephine County Democratic Central Committee Meeting Tuesday, July 10, 2018

The next meeting of the Josephine County Democratic Central Committee will be Tuesday, July 10, 2018. The social time starts at 6:30 with the meeting call to order at 7:00. We will be taking care of some business including elections of Precinct Committee Persons who were elected but not confirmed by the state deadline; discussing the creation of an election slate for the November election; and brainstorming our response to the recent immigration and healthcare activities of the current administration.

Hope to see you there!

Date: July 10, 2018, 6:30 PM
Where: 129 NW E St; Grants Pass–Unitarian Universalists Building

Adopt-A-Highway Road Clean-Up This Saturday, July 7

What: Adopt-a-Highway Road Clean-Up

When: Saturday, July 7, 2018 9-11 a.m.

Where: Hwy 199 at Hubbard Lane, Grants Pass

Please come and help keep Josephine County beautiful! The Josephine County Democrats do a road clean-up every three months to help keep our highways uncluttered and attractive. We have adopted a section of highway that begins near Hubbard Lane on Hwy 199. Please bring sturdy footwear, water, gloves, and perhaps a hat. We need at least 8-10 volunteers to help out. Bags, litter-grabbers, and safety vests will be provided for you.

From Grants Pass, drive on Hwy 199 to Hubbard Lane (the last light on 199, near the college). Make a left at the light, then take the first right and park in the field to the right. Participants need to be at least 16 years old. It should be a beautiful morning, with temperatures in the 60s-70s.

Please RSVP to chair@josephinedemocrats.org or call 541-295-8691 so we can get an accurate head count of our volunteers.

Thank you!

Oregon Democrats Stand with Labor

Today, and every day, Oregon Democrats stand united with our partners in labor.

Today’s deeply flawed ruling from the Supreme Court undermines generations of work to create a more equitable and fair society.

Oregon unions, in particular, have led the way on improving working families’ quality of life. From paid sick leave to minimum wage to tax fairness, they have been at the forefront of progressive victories across the decades.

We will continue to work in partnership with our brothers and sisters in labor, collectively fighting for union rights and securing a more just and prosperous future for all Oregonians.

In solidarity,

Jeanne Atkins
Chair, Democratic Party of Oregon

“Families Belong Together” March in Grants Pass – June 30th

“Families Belong Together” March in Grants Pass – June 30^th

Join the Nation – there will be Marches across the United States.

Saturday, June 30^th, congregate at 9:30 am in Riverside Park

March starts at 10:00 to the Josephine Courthouse.

This is a family friendly March – please keep this in mind for your signs!

Message from Nationwide March Organizers:
The executive order that Donald Trump signed today is not a solution to the crisis created by his administration; it keeps kids imprisoned indefinitely, and doesn’t reunite thousands of separated families. But it does show the administration is reacting to public pressure, so we will continue to increase our pressure for justice at hundreds of events on Saturday, June 30, to say that families belong together—and free.

Donald Trump and his administration are cruelly separating children from their families.

But we won’t allow it to continue. On June 30, we’re rallying in Washington, D.C., and around the country to tell Donald Trump and his administration to stop separating kids from their parents!

Trump and his administration have been systematically criminalizing immigration and immigrants, from revoking Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to ramping up intimidating ICE tactics.

Join us on June 30 to send a clear message to Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress: Families Belong Together!

Public Comments on Jordan Cove Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and Pacific Connector Pipeline Project Due Soon

It’s Time for You to be Heard

For over a decade, communities in southern Oregon have stood up against the proposed Jordan Cove Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) and the Pacific Connector Pipeline project. This project, now proposed by a huge Canadian fossil fuel corporation called Pembina, would threaten 379 waterways (including 12 public drinking water sources); disturb tribal territories and burial grounds; trample the rights of 675 landowners through the use of eminent domain; put existing jobs in fishing, tourism, and other sectors at risk; and drive up energy prices. Coos Bay estuary to construct the project would be located in the tsunami zone and would require dredging 5.67 million cubic yards of sediment across 53 acres of the LNG terminal site. LNG is also highly explosive and would become Oregon’s largest source of climate pollution by 2020.

You can make a difference by providing your comments!

A Section 401 Water Quality Certification is required through DEQ for any federally licensed or permitted projects that may result in a discharge into navigable waters. Specifically, the certification ensures that work permitted under a federal Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit will meet the state’s water quality standards. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for evaluating the permit application under Section 404.

The liquefied natural gas facility would affect waterways and wetlands on the North Spit, in Coos Bay, at dredge disposal sites, and at the Kentuck Slough golf course mitigation site. The Pacific Connector project would affect waterways and wetlands in Klamath, Jackson, Douglas and Coos counties.

DEQ’s public comment period on the Section 401 Water Quality Certification application closes on July 21, 2018. Written comments on the application related to water quality must be received at DEQ by 5 p.m. on July 21. Written comments may be emailed to JCEP401PublicComment@deq.state.or.us, faxed to 541-686-7551 or mailed to Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 165 E. 7th Ave, Suite 100, Eugene, Oregon 97401, Attn: 401 Water Quality Certification Project Manager, Chris Stine.

For further information go to Oregon.gov Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or Medford Office – 221 Stewart Ave., Suite 201, Medford, OR 97501, Phone Number: 541-776-6010; Toll free in Oregon: 877-823-3216

Josephine County Democratic Central Committee Meeting Tuesday, June 12, 2018