The article the Sierra Club doesn't want you to read

the real Threat to the Mattole
is shunka's profiteering under the guise of NCEF. he has diverted thousands for his own use.
Even setting up a retirement fund for himself.
the rank and file members have to take back financial control to make any kind of change

Vote fraud negates the effect of donations to organizations like Sierra Club. As long as they do not address the issue of election rigging, they are tacit racketeers.

The strongest environmental regulations in history were signed by Nixon.

check out www.blackboxvoting.org
Donating to organizations that try to stop vote fraud is more effective for the environment than rackets like Sierra Club. They make money on the failure of the system.

Large environmental organizations are part of the problem. As the author rightly asserts, they care more about money and fiefdom than the environment. The author also mentions "political access" -- and they only want this to further their priorities of Money and Fiefdom.

I always suggest that well-meaning folk NEVER join or give money to a large environmental organization. What we needare GRASSROOTS PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGNS to educate and politically ativate the General Public, college/university students in particular, on major environmental (and other) issues.

Inform others by working alone in your sparetime, or in small groups of people you know. NEVER get involved with big organizations. NEVER. They uniformly suck your money and effort, and leave well-intentioned, perceptive people disillusioned and de-moralized.

Sierra Club, Oregon Natural Resources Council (ONRC), and Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV)

The environment will be better off if they cease to exist.

I agree that we'd be better off if these groups didn't exist.

In '98 the Oregon Sierra Club voted to endorse Pacific Green Party candidate Karyn Moskowitz, an Environmental Activist and Economist, for US Senate over Ron Wyden. Wyden has done little for the forests or salmon during his 20 years in office (notice the continual decline) and failed to endorse the Zero-Cut plan (zero cutting in national forests). Moskowitz was an environmentalists dream - a smart, articulate, dedicated woman and was rightly endorsed by the statewide organization.

Right after the vote the national office had a hemorrhage. They were able to have the vote recalled and changed to Wyden. They were scared shitless that they'd lose their access with this supposed slap in the face. Even though the PGP candidate was much more inline with their values, positions and goals, they didn't want to upset the corporate Democrat.

ONRC is even worse. I have known Regna Merrit for many years and respect much of their work over the past 20 years but they will not even talk to Greens. The slimiest thing she and other leaders of the ONRC have done however is to call themselves Greens for Democrats during the Presidential elections to confuse voters and have them not vote for Nader or Cobb. She has been on TV, radio and in print claiming to be a "Green" who is just too scared to 'waste' her vote in that dangerous way. I don't believe she has ever voted Green or given money to Greens yet she portrays herself as a dedicated "Green" then tells people to vote Democrat. I stopped giving money to ONRC many years ago because of her behavior.

The best thing about the Keating campaign is that nobody can expose the "Big Green" enviro groups as the sham that they are.

Joe Keating has been a leading environmentalist for 20 years here in Portland and spent time in leadership positions in the big green organizations before getting frustrated with their allegiance to the Democratic party.

The same is true with the labor unions.

How long do the fascists (uh, I mean Democrats) have to prove that they are puppets to the corporate masters before labor and the big greens finally get it?

While the Sierra Club has certainly made great contributions to the environmental movement over time, it is extremely unfortunate and a shame that such an organization will not even interview somebody like Green candidate for Governor, Joe Keating. Less clear is how much of a hearing Keating received from the OLCV and ONRC. From my experience, such a decision is not only a disservice to democracy in Oregon and the environmental movement, but is also out of touch with many of the hardworking volunteers, donors, and staff members of these prolific environmental organizations. The question with regard to such automatic and unqualified support given by groups like the Sierra Club to the Democratic Party, even when it means spiting a smaller party like the Greens which shares many of the same environmental objectives, is at what level in these organizations are these decisions made? Certainly not, I would argue, at the grass roots level. This is a very sad commentary on the state of politics in Oregon and the environmental movement in general, which should by its very importance to humanity, seek to remain above petty partisanship such as this.

Please provide more insight as to the level of fair opportunity for endorsement (interview time, etc) that the OLCV and ONRC gave to Keating. Perhaps somebody affiliated with those organizations can provide more information, or somebody from the Green Party, since I believe both the OLCV and ONRC promise confidentiality in their correspondence with candidates. I think it is only fair that those organizations be judged based on their own dialogue with Keating and the Greens, rather than lumped in with the Sierra Club which was, at least partially, founded with backing from certain Rockefeller Foundations. I'm sure Greens would like to be judged on their own merits, rather than being lumped in with Libertarians and other smaller parties, just as it would not be fair for a Constitution Party member to associate Greens with Dems because they wouldn't support a Republican Candidate. I deeply appreciate your bringing this to my attention, Brian the Green, but lets make sure that we progressives of all stripes not allow ourselves to play the Conservatives wicked game of hyperbole and guilt by association. We are better than that.

The Sierra Club is a dating club for outdoorsy single Democrats. The Democrats and Republicans are the same Corporate Party. The Democrats are the conservative branch, the Republicans are the right wing branch and all their members are fearful, paranoid wage slaves of the Corporate Party. Voting for either one is like a meth addict, knowing that you shouldn't do it, you're tired and disgusted - but what else are you going to do you to keep up? - no matter what it does to your health, family, friends, community, country, or environment. Put the cooks in jail for polluting the environment and addicting the worker and get yourself off the Corporate habit!

What an inflammatory string of emails!

You could almost forget Ron Saxton might be our next Governor and is heavily funded by timber money and big developers. This race isn't between Keating and Kulio, its between Saxton and Kulio. One has to wonder if 'Brian the Green' still believes Bush and Gore were no different!

As for the innacurate quote "These groups care more about money, fiefdom, and political access than they care about the environment," wouldn't it have been fair to note that the Sierra Club also came out in support of the campaign finance reform petitions now on the ballot? An entire cover issue of one of their newsletters was devoted to encouraging their members to sign these petitions, just as a cover story was recently devoted to their endorsement of Kulio for implementing California tailpipe emissions standards, fighting for roadless areas, and moving forward with clean energy initiatives to ensure 25% of Oregon's energy is renewable by 2025.

Nobody who is actively involved in environtal issues is deluded into thinking Kulongoski is 100% with us, but he's also quite strong on a few environmental issues and could be persuaded to get better on others. Saxton would completely take the state in the opposite direction, and Oregonian's have a choice much like we did in 2000 with Bush vs. Gore. In hindsight, who would you rather have as President now?

Here's some reposted info from blueoregon.com on Saxton that should make any Green or green scared:

According to campaign finance documents made available last month, during this campaign cycle Swanson Group (one of Oregon's largest timber companies) has given Ron Saxton at least $75,000, Columbia Helicopters (logging roadless areas in southern Oregon this summer) and its Chairman Wes Lematta have given Saxton at least $30,000 worth of cash and 'in-kind' donations such as 'plane and pilot services,' Roseburg Forest Products has given at least $45,000, and Seneca Jones Timber at least $50,000.

In addition to bankrolling Measure 37 two years ago, some of the leaders of these companies (Steve Swanson from Swanson Group and Max Merlich from Columbia Helicopters) also served on the Bush/Cheney Natural Resource Leadership Team for Oregon, a group primarily made of up timber company executives working to spin Bush's horrible environmental record and shape his environmental policies in 2004.

Furthermore, 'Oregonians for Food & Shelter' also loves Ron Saxton. OFS is an unabashed advocate for the pesticide and timber industries and they're the same group who helped channel $5.5 million of mostly out-of-state dollars in 2002 to defeat a state measure that would have required the labeling of genetically modified food products. The American Forest Resource Council, who represent nearly 100 forest product manufacturers and forest landowners in twelve western states, although only 23 in Oregon, also endorse Mr. Saxton. Their stated mission is to create a favorable operating environment for the forest products industry by improving federal laws, regulations, policies and decisions that determine or influence the management of all lands. That's code language, folks. Sourcewatch says the American Forest Resource Council is a timber industry trade association focused on logging old growth forests in the northwest and confounding the science to support business as usual.

Ron Saxton's campaign is being bankrolled by major developers like Jeldwen, and big timber companies like the Swanson Group, Columbia Helicopters, Roseburg Forest Products, and Seneca Jones Timber who have been major loggers of Oregon's last remaining old growth forests and who have pushed hard to open up Oregon's last roadless areas and ancient forests to logging. In the past, these companies have generally only supported candidates who seek to roll back basic environmental protections for salmon, clean water, and Oregon's forests and all were major contributors to Measure 37 in 2004.

So harping on environmental groups for putting their weight behind Kulio this year is completely ridiculous when you really look at it.

blueoregon forgets to mention Joe Keating has been on the front lines and not sitting in a AIR CONDITIONED office building. He has earned the right to be heard. What are you afaid of, more talk about protecting the envro. GIVE ME A BREAK