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The Button Valley Bugle

I hope you are enjoying your year-long political campaign paid for with your retirement savings. Get used to it. This morning the U.S. Supreme Court announced in a 5 to 4 decision, without hearing any arguments, that the 2010 Citizens United decision applies to state elections whether states like it or not and they ain’t going to hear any arguments otherwise.  I expect Marcus Daily is doing handsprings in Hell.

In 1912, progressive Montanans passed the Corrupt Practices Act to stop corporate interests such as our beloved Copper Kings from buying our entire electoral process. In 1907, Mark Twain famously said of copper magnate William Clark;

“He is said to have bought legislatures and judges as other men buy food and raiment. By his example he has so excused and so sweetened corruption that in Montana it no longer has an offensive smell.”

With Citizens United and this latest ruling…

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Vendor Nathan Roper passes away…

For those who can't afford free speech

Street Roots is sad to report that one of our vendors, Nathan Roper, passed away this week. Nathan passed away at a Portland hospital after having a heart attack on the streets. He was 52 years old.

Nathan was a longtime street artist and poet who lived on the streets and had a very hard life. He sold the newspaper for the past two years at several locations, but mostly at NW 21^st and Lovejoy in the Northwest.

In a recent Street Roots vendor profile, Roper said, “I always had an artist’s soul.”

“Nathan was a gifted artist, a talented writer and a friend to many,” says Vendor Coordinator Cole Merkel.  “A kind and gentle soul, Nathan’s ability to overcome adversity in life while keeping a positive attitude was inspiring, and certainly will be remembered by me for years to come. He was an incredible member of the Street Roots…

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