Preemptive Karma: August 2008 Archives

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August 31, 2008

Veep candidate Palin lying about 5th child?

(hat tip: Jack Bog)

Posted by Kevin at 02:54 PM |

August 29, 2008

McCain, Palin and age-related cognitive impairment

As McCain, who turns 72 years old today and already at increased risk of Alzheimer's, edges inexorably closer to the really high-risk Alzheimer's age, he just made a truly bizzare Veep choice by going with Alaska's ethically challenged Governor Sarah Palin. Palin is in the middle of an investigation as I type these words!

Fourteen days ago Anchorage Alaska's KTVA said Governor and staff's latest explanations leave more questions than answers.

Having steadfastly denied that her administration had pressured former Department of Public Safety Director Walt Monegan to fire Gov. Palin's former Brother-in-law Trooper Michael Wooten, a cop with a clean record. And then, when Monegan apparently declined to fire a good cop just to satisfy Ms. Palin's vengeful spite over what was reportedly a messy divorce between Wooten and Palin's sister, Monegan lost his job. Now Governor Sarah Palin has been forced to backtrack by newly released phone calls showing that at least one member of her administration certainly appears to have been trying to get Wooten fired. As well, recent denigrations of Monegan made by Gov. Palin herself seem to directly contradict fairly recent glowing statements she'd made... about Monegan!

(Update: Josh Marshall covers Palin Trooper Gate far more comprehensively than my lame attempt here.)

What does any of that have to do with McCain? New York Magazine's Daily Intel explains,

But when it comes to mental performance, McCain’s age carries risks. Twenty-two percent of Americans 71 and older are affected by mild cognitive impairment, a decline in brain function that causes memory loss and can lead to dementia. Further, 35 to 40 percent of older adults have neural deficits that lead to poor decision making.

Okay, so there's a higher risk of cognitive impairment at McCain's age (72!!). But that doesn't mean that he is suffering from it. Or does it?

In just the past six weeks, McCain has referred repeatedly to Czechoslovakia as though it still existed and to Vladimir Putin as though he were still president of Russia. More significantly, he has claimed that Iraq borders Pakistan, that the Anbar Awakening occurred after the surge, that the Iraq war was America’s first major armed conflict since 9/11, and that, unlike Obama, he would prefer to speak outside the country only after being elected president.
In May, McCain incorrectly said the U.S. had drawn down its forces in Iraq to pre-surge levels. In March, he wrongly claimed that Iran was training Al Qaeda operatives. Last April, he mistakenly said General David Petraeus regularly drove around Baghdad in an unarmored Humvee. In each of these “McCain moments,” political life would have been easier for the candidate if his statements were true. But none were.

Ask yourself this: Why would the presumptive nominee of a political party that has been embroiled in an ethical quagmire for the last several years (Rep. DeLay, Karl Rove, AG Gonzalez, Monical Goodman, etc., etc., etc.) choose a political novice who is in the midst of what looks to be a still developing ethical quagmire of her own to be his Veep?

Can American afford to gamble with handing the access codes to our nuclear arsenal to a man who is exhibiting such incredibly poor judgement?

Posted by Kevin at 01:09 PM |

August 28, 2008

Georgia/Russia War egged on by GOP?

Yes, I suspect it was.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he suspected unnamed persons in the United States had provoked the conflict in Georgia in an attempt to help a candidate in the U.S. presidential election.

Of course, only a fool would accept what Vladimir Putin says at face value. But by the very same token I don't see how anyone who has been paying attention for the last 7 years would blindly accept what George W. Bush has to say at face value either.

Ian Bell of Scotland's Sunday Herald lays it out succinctly:

LET'S RUN through this again. Vladimir Putin is not a nice man. The KGB, with whom the young Vlad earned his reputation as a people person, was not Russia's answer to the Rotary Club. As a direct consequence, Russian traditions of democracy remain wafer thin, a cracked veneer that fails utterly to conceal thuggery, rigged votes, oligarchic mafias, corruption, and the corpses of journalists. Are we clear?

Russia's current identity is composed, meanwhile, of a volatile mixture of intense nationalism and paranoia. Its rulers, whatever their labels, take it as read that their country exists under permanent threat of encirclement by its enemies. Now, here's the tricky part: there is nothing currently to suggest that they are mistaken. Intense nationalists of a different stripe, feed the paranoia of the intense nationalists in Moscow.

This is not, of course, the story we have been hearing. When the United States − having shredded the anti-ballistic missile treaty that gave nuclear deterrence its single justification − bribes Poland into housing rockets pointed at the Russians, we hear only of a "shield". When Georgia launches smaller rockets at a South Ossetian town, in defiance of all the humanitarian rules, we hear only that a freedom-loving but "provoked" Georgian leader has stepped into a cunning Russian trap.

After 7 long years of watching the GOP blatently use fear of foreign enemies as a political tool to secure domestic political advantage, how or why would a rational person believe that they've suddenly stopped?

I can't be the only American who looks at the situation in Georgia right now and wonders incredulously WTF was Georgian President Saakashvili thinking?

Ian Bell continues:

It may be, of course, that Georgia's President Saakashvili committed just such an act of astonishing, inexplicable folly. North Ossetia, ethnic and cultural twin to its disputed neighbour in the south, is part of the Russian Federation. Putin and those who support him - a clear majority, as no-one disputes, of Russians and Ossetians - meanwhile have difficulty understanding the concept of Georgian independence.
But when Saakashvili offered the gift of a direct military challenge by shelling Ossetian Tskhinvali, hospitals, parliament and all, how was Russia supposed to react? By asking politely for clarification of Georgian intentions? Imagine the French have just shelled the Channel Islands. What's our next move?

A daft analogy? Not as daft, I suspect, as the claim that the US, with military advisers on site in Georgia busily equipping and training its army, tried and failed to dissuade Saakashvili from launching a war. Does America have so little influence over a tiny client state that depends entirely on American goodwill? Or did Saakashvili somehow get the wrong idea from someone somewhere about the nature and scale of likely US support and US responses? Nothing else makes any sense.

Yes, dozens died and tens of thousands were displaced in the brief, fierce conflict between Georgia, Russia and South Ossetia. But we've seen this exact same scenario before - in Iraq.

Ian goes on...

We are being sucked in, suckered and conscripted. As an economically embattled US flails after former glories, it fashions Nato into a blunt instrument. Whatever the organisation's purpose during the Cold War, it currently stands revealed as an expeditionary force on behalf of Washington's interests. That is not a useful development for Nato, Europe, America or the world.
Georgia should be proof enough. We know that Putin's Russia is not to be trusted. But we also know a simple fact: in South Ossetia, Saakashvili started the shooting. Had the United Nations been allowed to function we might have been talking about faults on both sides. Instead, we are offered a new Cold War as though no other alternative is possible.

Exactly! Bush Inc. have complained loudly about the need for Russia to allow the U.N. to take the lead in Georgia. That would be the very same Bush Inc. which used the U.N. as a tool to rubberstamp their own militarism in a foreign country which hadn't attacked us.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me!

Posted by Kevin at 10:39 AM |

August 27, 2008

New Merkley ad, small cameo for me

That's me scratching the side of my head as I talk to Jeff there towards the end. Not exactly one of my finer moments but then again it's not about me.

This is actually... well, I'm not exactly sure how many of his ads I've been in but this is the 4th one that I'm aware of. There was an SEIU mailer sent out in the Primary that had a shot of me talking to Jeff on the front too. And recently I was again a volunteer extra in another shoot, so I may show up in some more ads this fall.

Hey, anything to help elect Jeff Merkley. I have NEVER done this much to help a political candidate in my life. Money, time, knocking on doors (which I hate, btw), and the occasional bit part as a volunteer extra. He just really impressed me very much when I got to talk to him at an event last December.

But enough about me. After the jump: Merkley addresses the DNC!

Posted by Kevin at 06:24 PM |

August 26, 2008

Poll: Oregonians loath Bush, McCain not doing much better

Hot new SurveyUSA poll:

Do you approve or disapprove of the job George W. Bush is doing as President?

Approve: 27%
Disapprove: 70%
Not Sure: 3%

Meanwhile...

A SurveyUSA poll released yesterday shows that McCain is only perceived slightly more favorably.

On a 1 to 10 scale 54% of Oregonians rated McCain a 4 or lower. 49% rated him 3 or lower.

Obama is perceived much more favorably with 51% rating him a 6 or better, and 38% rating him an 8 or better.

No wonder Gordon Smith is running away from his own Party as fast as his penny loafers can carry him.

Posted by Kevin at 01:20 PM |

Evangelical changed mind, wouldn't pray at DNC Convention

Cameron Strang backed out of giving prayer on opening night. Strang is the editor of Relevant which is characterized as a hip magazine about faith and culture.

Strang explains on his blog,

A few weeks ago, I was asked if I’d be interested in possibly praying at the Democratic National Convention. Taken aback, but intrigued at the opportunity, I accepted. What better way to continue positive dialogue, show support for an emphasis on faith issues and pray in a forum where faith isn’t typically thought to be emphasized? To quote someone close to me—and meaning no disrespect whatsoever to Christian Democrats—it was a chance to bring "light in the darkness." And hey, Jesus told us to pray, right?

So far so good...

So I brought that concern up to the DNC, and they graciously understood. They still desired to have someone participate who represented this new generation of Christian voters (which is awesome, by the way), and I thought, who better than Blue Like Jazz author Don Miller? I respect him immensely, and he’s a much better representative of our audience than I am. So, I gave him a ring and he was more than up for it. Likewise, the committee was thrilled to invite him to give the benediction in my place—a move I think will ultimately be much better for the DNC. Don Miller’s famous; I’m not.

He's famous and you're not? That's a legit reason for a Christian to back away from an opportunity to "bring a light into the darkness"???

How is that substantively different from the account of Peter denying Christ?

On a more positive note,

As an aside, in a “put your money where your mouth is” move, this week I changed my party affiliation from Republican to Independent. I want to vote because of my values and convictions, not party affiliations.

Welcome! I made that switch nearly 20 years ago and for very similar reasons. But given your reasons for backing out of the prayer I would suggest that you still have some work to do in deciding whether your faith is more important to you than your political goals.

Posted by Kevin at 09:20 AM |

20 years ago today...

... I walked into an alcohol & drug in-patient rehab center a cocaine/meth addict unable to stop on my own.

By the grace of God as I understand Him and the invaluable help of a 12-step program I have been clean ever since.

My gratitude is immeasurable.

Posted by Kevin at 08:35 AM |

August 21, 2008

Addict's Almanac

I just stumbled across Contributing Columnist Tye Doudy's second part in a six-part series chronicling his life in addiction on Portland streets over at the Street Roots blog.

Addict's Almanac II

Regular readers and writers here know that I'm a recovering addict myself. The experiences that Tye relates are for the most part starkly different than my own for a variety of reasons, having mostly to do with the differences between his living and using in the urban jungle that is Portland and my living and using out in semi-rural and small town western Washington County. But those are more cosmetic differences than anything else.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I encourage you to read Tye's series. He's a fantastic writer who is writing about some very gritty, often harsh realities. And for those who are interested, I've left a comment on Tye's second part. It's presently waiting for moderation so I don't know when it'll be approved. But either way, the piece itself is more than worth the effort of clicking on the link and investing a few minutes of your time to read it.

Posted by Kevin at 08:18 PM |

Beef Cattle Being Fed M&Ms and Potato Chips

Even if you don't knowingly feed your kids junk food like M&Ms and potato chips, that beef you're putting on the table may very well be virtually the same thing. Check out this Wall Street Journal video on what today's beef producers are feeding cattle, now that corn has become so expensive.

Posted by Becky at 10:18 AM |

Russian General says Russia supplying Hezbollah and Hamas.

"We summoned the Israeli Foreign Minister to Moscow. And he was told that if he continues to supply arms to the Georgians we would continue to supply Hezbollah and Hamas." - General Vyachislav Borisov (via Bernard-Henri Levy @ The Huffington Post)

There's been lots of talk over the last week or so since this Georgia/Russia stuff first broke about the return of the Cold War. If General Borisov said what he's quoted as saying then two conclussions seem to me to be unavoidable:

1. The Cold War was restarted some time ago.

2. Bush/Cheney/Rice have to have known all along.

Posted by Kevin at 07:29 AM |

August 20, 2008

Gordon Smith = fiscal irresponsibility

Posted by Kevin at 07:10 PM |

How ironic is it...

... Condi Rice finally gets an international crisis (Georgia) that falls within the realm of her expertise (Cold War/Soviet Union) just months before she and her boss head into retirement?

How much more ironic is it that her past incompetence helped contribute to the quagmire in Iraq and seemingly endless war in Afghanistan?

A conspiracy theorist might be tempted to suspect that this newest crisis in Georgia has been as welcomed as domestically politically useful by the Bush Administration as the other more famous crisis at the front end of it's occupation of the White House was.

Good thing I'm not a conspiracy theorist...

Posted by Kevin at 08:14 AM |

August 18, 2008

Knights Templar sue Pope for $150 billion

Okay... I admit it. I definitely didn't see this coming.

The suit was filed in Spain and reportedly the Spanish newspapers are suggesting (predictably?) that it's a matter for psychiatrists to sort out rather than for the courts.

Atheists might be tempted to agree with that assessment. But I suspect it'd be for very different reasons...

Posted by Kevin at 10:38 AM |

August 16, 2008

Drawing of pedophile looks like Jesus!

The recent news report about convicted pedophile & murderer Joseph Edward Duncan III floored me when I first opened the link. The artist's drawing of him looks virtually identical to renderings of Jesus found in Anglo-centric churches all over North America and Europe.

People seeing images of Jesus, Mary, Allah and even Pope John Paul II in all sorts of things:

tree rings

kitchen cabinet doors

potato chips, cinnamon rolls, Cheetos, peanuts, fish scales

shrimp tails, ultrasound scans, snake scales, turtle shells and even in the drippings pan of a George Foreman grill

And a hell of a lot of folks actually believe these imagined images are divinely inspired, to the point that some of them are worshipped, particularly by Catholics.

So why not the artist's rendering of a convicted pedophile and murderer? That drawing looks a lot more like the common conception of Jesus than almost all of the worshipped Cheetos, cinnamon rolls and tree bark configurations. If they are divinely inspired and yet require such great amounts of creative imagination to see the supposedly divinity then how much more inspired is a drawing that doesn't require such creative interpretation? Which is why I wanted to blog about it.

Surely an omnipotent, omniscient Being would find it more demeaning to be imagined in the drippings from a cheap grilling machine than in the skilled lines drawn by a gifted artist. N'est pas?

Personally, as a theist, I think it is all so far beyond absurd as to defy the capacity of the written language to adequately describe. I have no doubt that the same folks who would worship a damn shrimp tail would find the suggestion that the drawing of a pedophile & murderer is divinely inspired to be scrilege. But by what rational or even theological standard? None whatsoever as far as I can determine.

Posted by Kevin at 11:29 AM |

August 14, 2008

Right Wing Pundits Defend Adultery

Wow, I would never have seen this coming. If you're one of those die-hard right wingers who still ascribes credulity to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, then you must immediately go here and watch the two linked videos. Here's a little hint about what you will find. In the first, Rush Limbaugh blames John Edwards' wife for his cheating on her. You see, the "smart" Mrs. Edwards knows everything and keeps flapping her jaws about it. Rush says John probably found himself attracted to a woman who could use her mouth for something else. In the second video, Sean Hannity defends John McCain's cheating on his first wife (after she was injured in a car accident) based on the fact that he had been beaten every day for five years in Viet Nam and, therefore, couldn't be held responsible for his actions.

The vast divide between the heretofore trumpeted moral standards of the right and these two commentaries by the most prominent mouthpieces of the right is phenomenally entertaining.

Posted by Becky at 09:43 AM |

Drilling for Jesus? Really??

Obsessed with increased oil drilling, Congressional Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn), trots out Jesus.

In an interview with OneNewsNow, brought to you by Christian American Family News Network, Bachmann rebukes Speaker Pelosi:

"[Pelosi] is committed to her global warming fanaticism to the point where she has said that she's just trying to save the planet," Bachmann said. "We all know that someone did that over 2,000 years ago, they saved the planet — we didn’t need Nancy Pelosi to do that."

Hmmmm...

Someone please explain to me why this line of reasoning wouldn't just as well justify all-out nuclear war? Particularly if Rep. Bachmann (R-Minn) subscribes to orthodox Calvinism which teaches that the eternal fate of each of us is sealed before we are even born.

I mean, why the hell stop with mere global warming? That seems like an awefully wimpy demonstration of faith on Rep. Backmann's (R-Minn) part, if you asked me.

Be that as it may, Rep. Backmann (R-Minn) finds herself with a shrinking base of whack-job Christian who might buy into her argument. Googling Christian Environmentalist yields 580,000 hits revealing a varitable smorgasbord of websites and blogs by Christians - conservative Christians even - openly and strongly advocating for environmentalism in the name of the very same Jesus that Rep. Bachmann (R-Minn) uses to justify her contempt for environmentalism.

Speaking of GOP oil drilling mantras, Vanessa Edwards Foster over at HuffPo observes that gas prices are dropping without any drilling or even pending legislation to open up new leases.

Imagine that!

Funny thing --

Since this has become the mantra of GOPer neocons, scaring the Democrats into dancing to the elephantine tune, oil has magically dropped by 25 percent. One-quarter of the price, evaporated -- and with no drilling whatsoever. Not even any pending legislation up for consideration. Think we still need to drill in order to survive as a country?

Which I suppose explains why Rep. Bachmann (R-Minn) resorted to an exceptionally narrow interpretation of the Bible. Present-day reality isn't exactly friendly territory for GOPers of her ilk.

(hat tips to Becky for the tip on the Bachmann piece and to Spyder for the tip on Foster's piece at HuffPo, both within hours of each other. serendipity can be a wonderful thing indeed)

Posted by Kevin at 07:57 AM |

August 13, 2008

Russia, Georgia and White-Haired Dude's lobbyist pals

There have been a lot of charges back and forth over who is at fault for the mini-war in the former Soviet republic of Georgia - the Georgians or the Russians. The circumstantial evidence seems to point to Russia as the instigator, and having done so for essentially the reason which Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has claimed - to undermine the budding Georgian democracy.

The first piece of evidence is the cyberattacks which preceeded the initial Georgian offensive into South Ossetia. This attack has been dismissed as the acts of nationalistic civilians rather than as something planned by the Russian government. But that explanation is premised on a series of assumptions which in no way prove that the Russian government didn't orchestrate it. Indeed, I think we have to credit the Russians as being savvy enough to deliberately try to mask their actions to make it look like the actions of amateurs.

Secondly, the cyberattacks against Georgian "media, communications and transportation companies" expanded to Georgian government servers "after Russian troops entered the Georgian province of South Ossetia".

Then there have been a whole series of Russian invasions of uncontested Georgian territory which the Russians vigorously denied only to have it later confirmed by independent 3rd party sources that in fact the Russian military was exactly where they'd been alleged to be inside Georgia.

Then there is the Russian insistance that they'll only withdraw back to their pre-war positions after the Georgian military returns to its barracks. Which is a clear attempt to dictate internal decisions of a sovereign Georgia which has every right to position it's military anywhere within the uncontested territories that it wishes to - and for whatever reason it wishes to.

Lastly there is the show of solidarity with the Georgians by all those former communist block countries on Russia's Western borders. Given Russia's propensity for walking not so softly while swinging it's club around, I can't see any of those former Soviet provinces/satellite nations weighing in against their much larger and much more powerful neighbor on a whim.

Now I'm not saying that I think Saakashvili is necessarily blameless or a good guy in all of this. Although she's proven herself untrustworthy, I believe the reports that Condi Rice warned Saakashvili in July not to start something he couldn't finish.

However, I find the Russian explanations and excuses unbelievable almost in their entirety.

Meanwhile, White-Haired Dude's chief foreign policy advisor turns out to be a paid Georgian lobbyist - which should surprise nobody. I'm beginning to wonder if there are any NON-lobbyists advising McCain... er... White-Haired Dude.

Posted by Kevin at 12:59 PM |

August 12, 2008

Focus on the Foolish

Oliver Burkeman has written a wonderful critique of Focus on the Family's attempts to use "humorous" videos to reach the masses. Once you read it in its delightful entirety, you'll want to click through to the Focus on the Family web site for even more comedic relief. But just to set the stage:

It would have made today special enough just to be able to bring you the "humorous" video embedded below, in which a spokesman for the evangelical conservative group Focus on the Family outlines a hilarious plan to pray for "abundant, torrential" rain to wash out Barack Obama's open-air nomination acceptance speech in Denver later this month. But that was only the start of it, because finding this clip led me, like Quatermain discovering King Solomon's Mines, to an entire treasure trove of footage in which Focus on the Family attempts to use the exciting new medium of online video comedy to spread its hardline messages. It's all rather too fantastic to put into words, but after the jump, I'm going to try.

Sadly, the video has been pulled so we can't enjoy the hilarity anymore, but I call it to your attention anyway because I wanted to point out the audacity of the entire concept of praying for rain to spoil Barack Obama's outdoor speech. Assuming that God exists as the sort of character Christians teach that he is - loving, wise, and all-powerful - what makes these people think that God needs their input and is incapable of coming up with his own ideas for dealing with this subtle and dangerous agent of Satan who threatens to destroy the moral fabric of our nation? (I assume you all understand that I am attempting to describe the Christian Right's view of Obama and not my own.)

Just picture it: God up there sitting on a cloud thinking, "That Obama character is beginning to get a real following. What to do ... what to do ... What's that? Abundant, torrential rain? What a great idea!"

Or how about this: God has big plans for dealing with this evil and deceptive Obama character. The plans involve mind control in as many voters as possible, as well as making just the right number of people forget to vote, and maybe looking the other way on some election irregularities so that the morally upright and godly John McCain will squeak by and we'll still have a good man at the helm of this Christian nation. But what's that? His people are asking for abundant, torrential rain to ruin Obama's speech? Not quite as sophisticated, maybe a little childish, but hey, they prayed and he promised to answer prayers, so he'd better do it.

I really am becoming annoyed at the juvenile attitude being displayed this year by Obama's opponents. From the comparisons to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton to the exclusive focus on and denigration of Obama's suggestion that people ought to properly inflate their tires (and acting as if that is the sole feature of his energy plan), it has been an unrelenting display of kindergarden mentality.

When I was a kid growing up in a Republican family, I remember throwing a fit when Jimmy Carter won. My grandfather, who had not supported Carter, sharply rebuked me. "He is our President now," he told me. "You will respect him." That is the sort of maturity and dignity that is utterly lacking in Republican politics today. And that is precisely why I won't have anything to do with the party.

Posted by Becky at 08:44 AM |

August 11, 2008

Nobody in Russia/Georgia gives a damn about Edwards' sex life

So says Hart Williams. And I for one agree with the sentiments behind the assertion.

The conflict has weighed on my mind these last few days but I didn't know what I could say about it that would be worth reading. So instead I'll point you to Hart's excellent and comprehensive post: Fiddling While Georgia Burns.

Posted by Kevin at 01:06 PM |

August 10, 2008

Congressman Cohen calls out Emily's List

Blue Oregon's Charlie Burr has the 3rd installment of the Cohen/Tinker saga with Cohen: Emily's List needs to apologize to its members for Tinker debacle

Apologize for what? For underwriting a campaign that was putting out garbage like this flyer:
Democrat Nikki Tinker's flyer

Posted by Kevin at 10:44 AM |

August 08, 2008

Gordon Smith, bad for Oregon's economy

I'm sure some of you have seen Smith's latest ad attacking Jeff Merkley for the Oregon legislature's purchase of new furniture. The O has a wonderfully snarky editorial criticizing Smith for it.

Still, there are reasons Smith might have been startled by the whole state Capitol remodeling project. After all, Oregon's effort is being finished in time and under the original $34 million budget, leaving $4 million to fix ceiling leaks that hadn't been addressed in the original plan.

During most of Smith's time in the U.S. Senate, Congress has been building a visitor center onto the U.S. Capitol. Four years late and $325 million over its original $300 million budget, it's scheduled to open in December -- reportedly because Congress didn't want it getting too much attention before the election.

During most of the construction, Smith's Republicans were in charge of Congress, and Smith himself was on the key Senate Committee on Finance and Upholstery.

As good as The O's takedown is, it misses a crucial point in all of this.

The furniture for the legislature was made in Oregon by Oregon Corrections Industries. Granted, it was made by prison labor. But the materials were all purchased through Oregon businesses and the wood was very likely grown here in Oregon, thus funneling Oregon taxpayer monies right back into the Oregon economy.

In his ad Smith suggests that IKEA furniture would have been more prudent. And where is IKEA furniture made? It ain't even made in America!

Plus, as The O's editorial points out, it's cheap furniture which isn't going to last nearly as long as the furniture that was purchased. Meaning that, if they took Smith's advice, another round of refurbishment purchases funneling more of Oregon taxpayer's dollars out of the country would have been required in a few short years.

With all due respect, Senator Smith, Oregon can't afford six more years of your economic ideas. But perhaps you could secure a comfy job in Sweden helping IKEA sell furniture in other countries?

Posted by Kevin at 02:21 PM |

Shame...

... on Emily's List

Posted by Kevin at 07:51 AM |

August 06, 2008

I Just Have One Question ...

Does John McCain want to lose, or is he just simply stuck working with a bunch of children?

The Republican National Committee widely distributed tire pressure gauges labeled "Obama energy plan" and suggested that was the Illinois senator's only idea for reducing oil imports, although both candidates have offered multifaceted energy proposals.

And for some reason, this is still a tight race. Oh...My...God.

Posted by Becky at 03:38 PM |

White-haired dude hearts Big Oil

Hey white-haired dude

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

I'm not a big fan of Ms. Hilton. Heck, I'm not a small fan of her either. But I gotta say that her stock has risen because of this response to McCain.

Of course she most likely didn't think this reply up. She's got "people" to do that for her. Plus, she never struck me as savvy enough to have thought this up. But even so, two things stand out about it to me:

1. Whomever of her "people" came up with this idea deserves a bonus.

2. She's the one who pulled it off in front of the camera and she did it brilliantly.

Posted by Kevin at 10:40 AM |

August 03, 2008

12 Ballot Measures in November

4 legislative referrals, 8 citizen initiatives (5 from Bill Sizemore)

I'm guessing Bill Sizemore doesn't care for unions much.
And he really doesn't like the teacher's union.
I wonder if his racketeering conviction and the $2-1/2 million dollar judgement against him has anything to do with it?
Is Bill the kind of person who would want REVENGE?
I've never met him in person, so I couldn't say, but it sure looks that way.

Teacher's Merit Pay Initiative: (proposed by Sizemore)
Would restrict public schools from basing teachers' pay raises on seniority, instead requiring that classroom performance be used as the sole criteria to determine pay raises and job security.
Bill says "it's about improving public education", but in other states that have moved from seniority-based to merit-based teacher pay, student scores on standardized tests have been used to determine pay increases. Affluent schools tend to score higher than poor schools (rural and inner-city), so good teachers are penalized for teaching in areas where they are needed most.
And this measure would reinforce "teaching the test" much like "No Child Left Behind" (which has been an unmitigated and unFUNDED disaster).
This measure assumes that the quality of the teacher is the ONLY factor in how well our children learn. It ignores the realities of underfunded districts, single-parent families, crime, homelessness and many other factors that affect the preparedness and alertness of school children.
I'll be voting (and working) against this measure.

Tax cuts: (proposed by Sizemore)
Makes Federal taxes fully deductible on state returns.
I don't know anyone who's Federal taxes aren't fully deductible. I guess that's because I don't know any rich people with a Federal tax liability over $5500. (That means an adjusted gross income of over $40,000 AFTER all deductions. Since the standard deduction for a couple with 1 child is over $20K that would mean a gross income over $60,000.) Somehow I get the feeling this initiative was not the result of a grass-roots effort.
I'll be voting against this one also.

Building Permits: (proposed by Sizemore)
Drops building permit requirement on home improvements of $35,000 or less.
The main reason for requiring a building permit is to insure that the work is INSPECTED by a qualified professional. Would you like to buy a house and then discover that the previous owner did uninspected (and sub-standard) remodeling? That's what happened to a friend of mine and his house almost burned down because when a previous owner upgraded from 60Amp electrical service to 100Amp they failed to replace the wiring from the meter base to the distribution box. Luckily he discovered the problem BEFORE his house caught fire.
Another NO vote from me.

Union dues: (proposed by Sizemore)
Bans government from making payroll deductions of union dues for political action.
Okay Bill, now you're just being mean-spirited. This one DOES look like a revenge motivated measure. Employers only make payroll deductions for union dues (for any purpose) based on the employee REQUESTING the deduction. No one is forced to contribute to union political activity. Apparently Sizemore just likes to place whatever obstacles he can to interfere with union political activity. Howcum he never proposes any hurdles for corporate political donations????
Another big NO!

English immersion: (proposed by Sizemore)
Bans instruction in non-English after students' first two years.
Is there any question in anyone's mind that this measure is aimed at SPANISH speaking students? I guess Bill doesn't like people who emmigrate to the United States (even legal ones?). I wonder where HIS ancestors came from?
This measure would dismantle 4-J School District's (Eugene) current immersion programs in Spanish, French, and Japanese. It would also require schools with current immersion programs to offer them to all grades, but students would only be allowed to participate in them for 2 years. How long do you think it would take you to become fluent in Japanese?
Congrats Bill, that's 5 for 5 NO votes from me.

Crime: (proposed by Kevin Mannix)
Mandatory minimum sentences for drug and property crime.
Kevin didn't bankrupt Oregon's budget enough with Measure 11 (requiring us to build lots more prison cells), now he's back for more. I wonder where he thinks the money will come from to build the extra prisons? The school budget maybe? If we raise uneducated children I guess we'll be needing extra prison space.
Kevin also likes to usurp judges from doing their jobs and determining sentences based on the facts of each individual case. There's already a legislative measure for stiffer sentencing. If he wants to supplant the legislature, maybe he should run for office. Oops, I forgot, he DID.
Another NO vote here.

Crime-fighting costs: (proposed by Kevin Mannix)
15% of lottery proceeds would go to fighting crime.
We'll NEED this money and a lot more to pay for his crime Measure.
Question for Mister Mannix: What program(s) is the 15% currently being spent on?
I elect a Governor and Legislators to pass a budget, I prefer not to hamstring them.
NO again.

Voting: (proposed by Phil Keisling)
Top two vote-getters would proceed to general election, instead of victors in closed party primaries.
Is "vote-getters" an actual word in the English language?
When he was the Secretary of State Phil pushed two ideas as hard as he could. To institute "vote-by-mail", which I opposed, but which turned out to be a good thing because at least we always have a "paper trail" in the case of a recount. (Although I still miss the civic connection of everyone voting on the same day.)
And an open primary system. Which I also oppose because I believe only the members of a group should determine that group's nominee. Would you want non-union workers voting to elect union leadership? Would you want people who live outside the city limits voting in a mayoral election?
For those of you who belong to minor parties, this Measure will insure that your candidates are never listed on the ballot in November.
For those "unaffiliated voters"; if you want to vote in the primary then get affiliated! (with any party you wish) It doesn't COST anything to check off a box on a form and you can go back to being unaffiliated after the primary election.
I'll be voting (and working) against this one also.

School elections: (proposed by the legislature)
18-year-olds would be able to vote in school board elections; fixing an error in the Oregon Constitution.
FINALLY! A Ballot Measure that actually makes sense.
YES from me.

Crime: (proposed by the legislature)
Stiffer sentences and treatment would be provided for drug and property crime convicts.
Allows for stiffer sentences, but still leaves the sentencing in the judge's hand.
Much better than what Kevin Mannix proposes.
YES from me.

Property taxes: (proposed by the legislature)
The "double majority" requirement of more than 50% voter turnout and approval would be lifted for May ballot property tax measures.
Since I always opposed the "double majority" (which allows DEAD people to vote NO by not voting; untill they are purged from the rolls)
YES from me.

Redistricting: (proposed by the legislature)
Legislators drawn out of their districts through reapportionment could complete their elected terms.
I don't have a dog in this fight, but it sounds sensible to me.
And it reduces the incentive for legislative bullies to punish the minority party by deliberately gerry-mandering them out of their district.
My party is in the majority AT THE MOMENT, but it will not always be so.
YES from me.

So I'm 4 for 4 in favor of the legislative measures and 8 for 8 against the citizen initiatives.
Oregon passed Citizen Initiative Ballot Measures as a response to many years of "do nothing" legislators, but today it has morphed into a way for "rich jerks" (Boy, did I clean that one up!) to attempt to buy any Statutary Law or Constitutional Amendment their hearts (and checkbooks) desire.
Two years ago we had a flurry of (New Yorker) Howie Rich backed measures (which all failed). This time it's Sizemore (and his principal backer Loren Parks, who doesn't live in Oregon either) and Mannix. Hopefully my fellow Oregonians will see these measures for what they really are; an attempt to throw their sabots into the workings of government.

Posted by Mac at 05:07 PM |

My experience with the Union/Employer divide

There's been a lot of talk lately here in Oregon and elsewhere about union politics. Chris Lowe has an excellent post over at Blue Oregon which goes to the heart of the issue.

I've only belonged to one union and so recognize that my experiences were perhaps an abberation rather than the norm. But be that as it may, I'm fairly contemptuous of both sides based on my experiences.

The crux of it came nine years ago. I worked for an international exhibit house (tradeshow, interpretive & museum exhibits [& graphics] along with corporate lobbies and point-of-purchase [POP] fixturing) and business was slowing down due to the economic downturn following the dot.com bubble bursting on Wall Street. We'd started out non-union but had voted to go union a year or so prior.

So anyway we start to hear rumors about the union leaders of our Local meeting with management. Turned out that they were negotiating a side contract to do a major POP fixturing run for a major international boot & shoe manufactorer (hint: distinctive yellow stitching on the soles) in one of the warehouses across the street. The point was to hire employees at a much lower wage than our union contract stipulated because management obviously didn't think they could make money on this job paying the full wages. Meanwhile, we were experiencing layoffs in the union shop.

The Shop Steward demanded answers from the Local union leaders the next time he saw them at our facility and warned them bluntly that we would vote to decertify them if they proceeded to negotiate this side contract while our union guys were getting laid off.

The side deal was altered, but not scrapped, so that union members from our shop were given first choice to take the positions being hired for. Prior to that the plan had been to hire a full slate of temps. The wage scale was lower but at least we had the opportunity to keep working (along with the benefits and accrued pension time) until the economy improved. I was one of the union guys who ended up going across the street to work on the fixturing run.

All but two of the temps that had been hired prior to our Shop Steward's intervention quit within the first week. Many didn't even show up for the second day of work. So by the end of the first week we had the usual faces from across the street - union guys (and one gal).

We started kicking ass and taking names. Nobody, not the union reps nor the management team counted on the sheer competitive drive of two guys battling to not let the other guy best him day in and day out. I was one of those two guys. The other was the warehouse guy that they'd tagged to be the supervisor for the job. It was repetitive, physical, sweaty work in a warehouse baked by the summer sun!

The very first paycheck was the only one we ever got which had the reduced wages on it. Quietly and with zero explanation from management we were all returned to our regular wages for the remainder of the fixturing run - which went for several more months. That's how much we'd exceeded everyones expectations. In fact, the project manager, who had a well-deserved reputation as a self-serving prick, started dropping by with icecream bars and cold pops for the crew... friggin' totally out of character for him!!

The supervisor was an alcoholic and ended up going on a bender... which meant not showing up for work for about a week. So he was out and I took over as the supervisor. Week after week we continued to improve on the projected margins set at the outset of the job. One half of the job I ended up bringing in at nearly 40% better than the projected margin. The other half I brought in at a little over 40% better than the projected margin.

Management was... ecstatic, to say the least!

Here we had the union reps and management trying to rig up a side deal which would have materially FUCKED the union guys in the shop. And why? It was all in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Yet we union guys (and one gal) from the shop floor ended up making more money for the damn company than they'd ever dreamed of it making. So much so that the project manager got a fat bonus before we were even done with the fixturing run and bought one of those bad-ass Porche 911s with the whale-tail in the back. And except for that first pay period, we did it at full wages, which just underscores how incredibly short-sighted (read: incompetent) both management and the local union reps had been.

In my experience, unions are only as good as the local Shop Steward. Mangement and Local reps alike will FUCK the union members in a heartbeat if they think that doing so will benefit them.

That is my experience.

Posted by Kevin at 10:03 AM |