Origins of the Democracy Action Group:

The Democracy Action Group DAG (formerly the “End Corporate Personhood Action Group”) continues to challenge the corporate threat to our democracy. We are both a study group and an action group that looks at ways that corporations control our government and our society. Our current focus is reform of the election process, primarily campaign finance reform in the state of Oregon where we have no limits on corporate participation in the election of our government officials. We will also focus attention and effort on making other changes in the elections process which will increase democracy and lessen the influence and dominance of corporations. The groups meets first and third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Contact: David Delk,  davidafd@msn.com  or Linda Schmoldt, Schmoldt@teleport.com, 503-236-3495.

The Purpose of DAG:

DAG is dedicated to addressing the injustices resulting from the legal fiction that corporations are people with constitutional rights. We are focused on: limiting the influence of corporations on the election process, giving communities decision-making power over corporations that want to locate within their jurisdictions, stopping human and animal rights abuses, and protecting the commons (resources which belong to society as a whole, such as: air, water, native seeds, wildlife, the Internet) for future generations.

Activities of DAG:

From November 2004 to the present, we have:

• sponsored or cosponsored several talks related to corporate dominance by Thom Hartmann, Paul Lehto, Greg LeRoy, Mark Crispin Miller, Tom Linzey, Carl Mayer, and Greg Palast;
• taught several classes based on Thom Hartmann's book We the People and led a discussion group on David Korten's book, The Great Turning;
• shown five films on various aspects of corporate dominance;
• sponsored a forum on "Corporate Personhood and Local Democracy" and cosponsored a forum on election reform;
• appeared on radio and TV shows;
• given presentations to various groups;
• cosponsored Tom Linzey's Democracy School;
• presented a workshop on "The Tapestry of the Commons";
• tabled at dozens of events;
• and created a website, power point presentations, a brochure, a banner, a tapestry, and position papers on issues related to corporate personhood.

• In 2006 conducted an extensive campaign to run a corporation for governor of Oregon.

DAG meets at the Church the first and third Tuesdays of every month from 7-9 p.m.