Oregon

Full bill text: https://sos.oregon.gov/admin/Documents/irr/2024/017text.pdf

TLDR; Oregon corporate tax has a minimum rate of 1%. This ballot measure would raise it to 3% and give $750 to each Oregon resident (including children).

Get ready for an Uber/Lyft level of corporate ads and media spamming to try to sink this common sense bill.

The bill was widely endorsed by the crypto and financial industries alike for providing much needed regulatory clarity. Looks like it passed anyways with rare bipartisan support and is now headed for the senate.

OR's house reps and how they voted

Salinas (D) - NO

Bentz (R) - YES

Blumenauer (D) - Abstain

Bonamici (D) - NO

Chavez-DeRemer (R) - YES

Hoyle (D) - NO

Axios article about the bill:

https://www.axios.com/2024/05/22/crypto-legislation-fit21-house-passes

Some other relevant background info:
https://www.dlnews.com/articles/regulation/us-house-passes-sweeping-crypto-fit21-bill/

Vote record if you want to look up your rep:
https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024226

Among other things, the bill establishes:

• Clear ways to determine if a crypto asset is a security or not, and a process for making that determination. If a crypto is a security, it is subject to many more regulations and laws which are needed to protect investors.
• Clear ways to determine is a crypto exchange is actually an exchange, money transmitter, or other entity subject to regulation and what those regulations are
• Which federal agency even has jurisdiction over crypto assets
• That sufficiently decentralized cryptos (like Bitcoin) are exempt from many securities regulations. This is because a decentralized cryptocurrency can't rugpull you or otherwise collude to harm whatever investments one has made in them. When you think about bad crypto scandals like FTX, exchange collapses, and other rug pulls, they are all a result of centralized actors taking advantage of the trust of others. Decentralized, trustless systems like Bitcoin do not have this flaw as one does not need to trust a select set of centralized actors to faithfully and transparently administer the system. There is no single entity or set of entities, for example, who can make new Bitcoin which is not meant to be minted according to the Bitcoin protocol or force the transfer of funds from one user to another.
• Likewise would exempt "decentralized exchanges" from securities regulations as there is no trusted centralized intermediary who can rugpull investors. One might use a decentralized exchange, for example, to swap BTC to ETH or another cryptocurrency. They are fast, transparent, and efficient.

Personally I vote straight D on the ballot, I was disappointed to see my reps vote against this bill and surprised to see Rs voting for it.

I've lived in Keizer, OR for a bit over a year. It's just north of Salem, almost an hour south of Portland.

There is a local low power station that I have not yet figured out. I have done some research (albeit surface level) into it, but have been stymied at every turn.

I have no idea how they have funding for a fully ad-free radio station. I don't know why they have such a fantastic music selection 24/7. I don't know anything about it.

It's a mystery.

I thought I would share that mystery. You can listen online if you wish, but also listener beware, you have no idea what might come on next: https://themoon.fm/listen-now/

If anyone can find more information about why I cannot find a way to donate to this station, I'd love to hear it.

Sincerely, Crackhappy.

Edit: I contacted the station, and found out that you can donate, it's just not listed on the site at all. @TheMoonOfSalem is where you can send donations on Paypal/Venmo.

Subheading: If the trend continues through 2030, the state could lose its recently added sixth U.S. House seat, a think tank says.

What does Oregon have in common with West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Louisiana?

They all lost population in the year ended July 1, 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimates, along with California, Hawaii, Illinois and New York.

Overall, Oregon’s population fell by 6,021 people, or 0.14%, to 4,233,358. That’s the seventh-largest loss in the nation, just behind high-cost California at -0.19% and ahead of Rust Belt Pennsylvania at -0.08%.

The declines, though small, are dangerous for a state like Oregon, which has relied on in-migration for much of its economic growth.

Bill name: Antisemitic Awareness Act

Current status: Passed house, awaiting vote in Senate

Good explainer by US news https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-05-07/explainer-the-controversy-surrounding-the-antisemitism-bill

Article about 700 Jewish professors who opposed the bill https://thehill.com/homenews/education/4651826-jewish-professors-biden-antisemitism-legislation/

ACLU statement against bill: https://www.aclu.org/documents/aclu-urges-congress-to-oppose-anti-semitism-awareness-act

Vote tally: https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2024172

Voted for bill: Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Salinas (D-OR), Bentz (R-OR)

Voted against bill: Val Hoyle (D-OR), Bonamici (D-OR), Blumenauer (D-OR)

If you feel passionately about this bill, contact your senators and Joe Biden who will have the final say if it passes the senate:

Jeff Merkeley (202) 224-3753

Ron Wyden (202) 224-5244

Joe Biden (202) 456-1111

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/14261766

Are you tired of voting for the "lesser of two evils"? Wish you had a say in who you got to vote for? Well you can, if you vote in the primaries! Primary elections determine who will be on the ballot in the general election. If you want to vote in the primaries for a party, you must select that party on your voter registration. You can update your voter registration online.

The next statewide primary election is May 21, which means you need to register and select a party by May 1 to participate in a closed primary. The sooner you register, the better off you will be.

What positions can you vote on in primaries?

• President
• Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• Treasurer
• State Legislators
• Federal legislators (house and senate)

Voting is one important way you can be politically active. There are many other ways as well. I hope you explore all your options and engage politically. Our political process has flaws, it's easy to look at things and think they are hopeless. But remember that apathy has never worked as a strategy to change anything for the better and probably never will :).