I was appalled to read that on the weekend that we celebrate the sacrifice of our military to live up to their oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and then their paying the ultimate price to do so, that the Kirkland Reporter chose to publish their article on Ben and Jerry’s cofounder and I-1329 Initiative which represents a direct assault on that same Constitution. The Kirkland Reporter and the Kirkland City Council don’t seem to care about protecting our liberties but rather embracing this agenda.

I noted that the paper neglected to mention that the same Ben Cohen who is pushing to attack corporation’s rights to make campaign donations is the same person that used Ben & Jerry’s corporate profits to bankroll numerous liberal political efforts or causes.

It is a sad commentary on the state of this country reflecting either the abysmal education of its citizens on civics and American government basics as to what rights they have and what the Bill of Rights actually means or the fact that entities will attack a Supreme Court decision based on the proper interpretation of our freedom of speech provisions merely because they want to limit the funds available to their political opponents. Corporations are simply businesses created and developed by individuals with certain legal benefits in incorporation. They are not some faceless, nefarious or evil entity operating in the dark or seedy alleyways.

The profits and holdings of those businesses belong to those individuals or their stockholders. What they choose to do with those funds that they and their stockholders own is both their right and their decision. To limit them, as the Supreme Court said, is a violation of their rights and forces them in into a subservient or second class citizenship status and denies them their freedom of speech. This is merely evoking class envy to whip up support for this initiative.

I find it hypocritical that organizations and people who decry that corporations or billionaires donate their own money to support their conservative or religious values but readily accepts the pandering to and solicitation of millions of dollars from corporations and rich people with liberal leanings.

Initiative I-1329 is a direct assault on our constitutional rights and just one more step in the erosion of our rights. Voters need to read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as well as the Federalist Papers in which the founding fathers explain their intent and the actual meaning of those documents and what they promise us. Ignore the rhetoric being bandied about and make an informed decision on this initiative.

William Webb, Kirkland