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October 31, 2009
Halloween, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Style
The White House, being what it is, is not the kind of place I expect trick-or-treaters to just swan up to the front porch and yell "trick-or-treat" … but that's just the way the First Family rocked All Hallows this year:
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama awaited more than 2,000 children Saturday night from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. The Obamas themselves were to spend time handing out goodies to the trick-or-treaters on the most famous front porch in America, the North Portico. What do you get for Halloween at the White House? Not bad, kids: A box of White House M&Ms with the president's signature imprinted on it, a sweet dough butter cookie made by White House pastry chef Bill Yosses, a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book, and a serving of dried fruit mix made up of cherries, apricots, pears, apples and papayas.
Not too bad, if you ask me. We should all be that lucky. They even understand the human cost of not giving with the candy:
Yosses, whose team assembled 2,000 cellophane goody bags, joked that the idea of filling the bags only with healthy treats was vetoed because they didn't want the White House to get egged Saturday.
Now, this is a crew that understands.
I just can't imagine any of the Republican crew being this cool about it all, although the US Government does employ spooks. Which reminds me, a quick riddle:
Q: What did VP Cheney call trick-or-treaters who came to the VP residence?
A: Enemy combatants.
Posted by The Chinuk at 08:19 PM |
Freedomworks' Little Frankenstein Lab: Oregon
from my friend Hart Williams
A scary, spooky Halloween story...
The "initiative" process, pioneered by Oregon in 1904, as a means of stopping corrupt and bribed legislators stalling needed reforms has been co-opted by the corrupters and bribers to STOP the Oregon legislature from making needed reforms.
Part The FirstI haven't written so much as an e-mail since October 14. Much needed vacation, although, in this case, it was more or less a "stay-cation." Just the Oregon back country between here and Boise, Idaho (business convention).
So, I'll intersperse this with Oregon pix, which turns out to be appropriate. This is the state that the [mystery benefactors]' little organization, Freedomworks* wants to buy with their stealth cash.
In part i, we'll look ONLY at the state of Oregon, so that you can watch the dynamic, which is replayed in many other states. Had this been a picture book, this would be fig. 1. But, I PROMISE you, it will pay off in the end if you will take a moment to wade through this little explanatory opening:
Let's start with a sticky wicket that all of our stealth political groups use as a specific kind of tax dodge. In IRS-ese it's called a 501(c)(3), which is the portion of the tax code that deals with tax-deductible charities, like, say, the Red Cross or the Girl Scouts. They're NOT supposed to politick on charitable organizations, since that would mean that your political contributions could be tax-deductible.
Sunrise over Boise, Idaho
So, they walk right up to the line as "non-partisan" public "education" organizations, like, say, the Heritage Foundation, or Freedomworks, or the Cato Institute. And the C3 contributions are fully tax-deductible. Like, say, the Red Cross or the ASPCA.
Got that? Good.
Now: very often, they have a twin organization called a 501(c)(4), which is a slightly different entity that CAN play politics. C4 contributions aren't tax-deductible like C3's, yes, but they DON'T have to reveal WHERE those contributions came from. Anonymous donations are OK, in other words.
If you want to promote, say, dolphin extermination, you might have a Yummy Dolphin Foundation, which is a C3, to "educate the public on the nutritive value of dolphins" AND you would have a C4 to engage in political campaigns to overturn bans on dolphin "harvesting," which would have the same offices and the same board members, and probably the same employees as the "charity."
Some groups have twins, which twin again, as in the Citizens for a Sound Economy, which becomes Freedomworks and Freedomworks Foundation, and the Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation, which becomes the Americans for Prosperity and Americans for Prosperity Foundation.
And so on and so forth, like political paramecia. In this case, the political petrie dish is Oregon. It isn't just Oregon, or just Freedomworks. But here, out West, we're just a little state, and these things show up in much sharper relief with a little daylight. Back East, the background noise tends to hide the outlines I'm about to limn here.
We begin: Outside of Springfield, Oregon
Who are we talking about?
Back in 2006, after the whole Howie Rich ballot initiative scheme played out, and tens of millions of dollars were spent, and local media in state after state (Arizona, Washington, California, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Maine, etc. etc.) asked WHO the stealth funders of their TABOR and eminent public domain and "rainy day" funds and term limits propositions, measures, questions and initiatives finally were, the trail stopped at Howie Rich, and an incurious media stopped right there.
But, as the Center for Public Integrity's "Takings" project found at the end, virtually all of the funds came from three entities, but they COULD NOT FIND OUT WHO THOSE ENTITIES WERE! They weren't Howie Rich, though. Rich turned his attentions to South Carolina and his compatriots formed NEW astroturf groups (which is a story for another day), supposedly not associated with Howie.
That 501(c)(4) trick works quite nicely to anonymously slush funds into political campaigns. Only here, we're talking about an anonymous government.
And that, my friends, is the issue: Is the initiative process a check on corrupt and bribed politicians, or do their shadowy masters now USE that selfsame system AGAINST state legislatures?
And who are these self-anointed masters? Who are our shadowy rulers, who hire the likes of Howie Rich and his sleazy political operatives to write their own laws in states that they do not live in? Imposing their "philosophy" on "We The People" when they don't even LIVE in the states in question?
Is this "democracy"? Is this "self-governance"?
Here's how rule by the Shadow Masters works:
The state legislature either passes something that the shadowy benefactors don't like, or else, they want a law pressing their agenda, and a well-oiled operation springs into being.
heading to MacKenzie Pass from near sea level
Polling is done. A campaign of how to sell it is mapped out.
A "chief petitioner" is found. A "proposition" is minted and filed with the state. (Increasingly, the "chief petitioner" is a front person, to make it appear "grass roots.")
A new committee is founded. And funded. A C3 and a C4 are incorporated.
C3 is the "charity." When you give them money, you can write it off your federal income tax, like it was the Red Cross, or Goodwill Industries.
C4 is the "Inc." and does the politicking. You can give them as much money as you want anonymously, and nobody can ever find out where it came from. Just ask the investigative reporters at the Center for Public Integrity.
the pass into Eastern Oregon
And a website goes up.
An army of "petition gatherers" is hired, generally paid PER signature. A certain number above the required number is gathered, using statistical analysis from prior modeling, etc. Very sophisticated stuff.
the road to the Painted Hills in John Day National Monument
Media companies are hired and the proposal goes on the ballot, with media buys, radio and TV production, printing and mass mailing, and even, with the Howie Rich stuff, audio-visual stunts (the Pig and before that, the "Trojan Horse", guaranteed to get cheesy puns from the Yokel ... er, LOCAL media)*.
[* Gee, that last one sure SOUNDS like the Tea Party FREEDOM bus tours going on at present. Don't worry. It's not an accident, or copycat: Howie Rich's Americans for Limited Government is a co-sponsor. See "By Their Pigs Ye Shall Know Them" for details.]
Painted Hills in John Day National Monument
This whole ball of snakes is like a baobob tree's branches on an invisible trunk.
So, let's keep it easy and Oregon:
A "new" set of twins was formed in Oregon in the spring of this year, called "Common Sense for Oregon."
When you check the registration of their website, this is what comes back:
Domain ID:D155196414-LRORDomain Name:COMMONSENSEFOROREGON.ORG
Created On:26-Jan-2009 22:29:37 UTC
Last Updated On:28-Mar-2009 03:56:24 UTC
Expiration Date:26-Jan-2011 22:29:37 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:GoDaddy.com, Inc. (R91-LROR)
Registrant ID:GODA-058633060
Registrant Name:Ross Day
Registrant Organization:Chemeketa Community College
Registrant Street1:7831 St Charles St NE
Registrant City:Keizer
Registrant State/Province:Oregon
Registrant Postal Code:97303
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.5033041893
Registrant Email:ross@oia.org
Hmm. That OIA in the email address stands for "Oregonians in Action," which makes sense, since Ross Day has been a paid employee of Oregonians in Action for many years now.
John Day National Monument sign
Indeed, Ross Day is credited with being "the author of measure 37" -- on which a big chunk of the Howie Rich 2006 campaign was predicated on.*
[* Please note: the error that the Center for Public Integrity made in their investigation was HUGE -- cluelessly, or arrogantly or just plain sloppily, the CPI decided to investigate "takings" -- thus, the "Takings Project" -- and missed the related term limits, TABOR, and other initiatives that the SAME GROUP was pushing. While their investigation was good, they fatally hamstrung it by DEFINING IN ADVANCE what they were looking for ("takings"), rather than following where the trail actually led. CPI has never corrected this error, and their reports invariably exclude as much vital information as they include. This is much like the ill-fated declaration of a "War on Terror" which ultimately is as futile as a war against sand. How you define your goals is of vital importance in determining what goals you actually achieve, or, NEVER LET YOUR WEBSITE DESIGN PREDETERMINE AND DICTATE YOUR CONTENT.]
The fact that Ross Day lists "Chemeketa Community College" as the organization is probably just a clerical error on his part, since it is unlawful for a state educational institution to engage in political activity, which is what "Common Sense for Oregon" does.
But let's follow the trail, shall we?
From the Portland Oregonian [emphasis added]:
photo: Ross William Hamilton/The OregonianMeeting in Salem, (from left) Ross Day, anti-tax activist Russ Walker and former gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix discuss a cluster of new groups they've created to serve as a one-stop operation for conservative initiative drives.
Oregon conservatives launch nonprofits to push initiatives
By Dee Lane, The Oregonian
August 01, 2009, 10:00AM
Ross Day is a boyish, earnest lawyer who says his mission is to rescue the most powerful political tool that conservatives have in Democratic-controlled Oregon: the ballot initiative.
Day has joined forces with two of the state's top conservative political activists -- former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kevin Mannix and anti-tax crusader Russ Walker -- to form a petitioning firm and an accompanying think tank aimed at providing a steady supply of credible ballot measures.
"I want people to feel good about the system again," said Day. "I want to make sure it's done right.
[...]
Day, previously an attorney for the property rights group Oregonians in Action, said he has long thought that the conservative movement needed to take a more sophisticated approach to ballot measures.
Last year, Day approached Mannix, who agreed to help him get the organizations off the ground. They set up three inter-related organizations -- two non-profits and a political action committee -- under the shared name of Common Sense for Oregon. By having the different entities, they can engage in a wide variety of political and policy work.
In addition, the trio formed a for-profit petitioning firm called Voice of the Electorate, which they also refer to as Vote Oregon. Day, working out of office space donated by Mannix next to his law firm in Salem, is the chief executive of both nonprofits and the petitioning company.
[...]
Common Sense for Oregon has already filed 14 initiatives and has another three in the works, although Day said the group won't try to qualify all of them for the ballot.Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense ... Common Sense has also been running radio advertising and promoting a new "Golden Fleece Award" attacking what it regards as examples of wasteful government spending.
Earlier this month, Voice of the Electorate won the contract to gather signatures aimed at forcing a referendum on two tax hikes passed by the Legislature.
So far, the firm has received at least $200,000 from the business coalition seeking the referendum....
Yeah.
But let's look at the Freedomworks connection here, because that's the easiest thread to follow.
West of Mitchell, Oregon, East of the Ochoco Mtns.
This year, they started out in June, by gladhanding Teabaggers:
Two-days-until-Liberty-Summit-Sign-up-today!.html
by In the news Thursday, June 4. 2009 Oregon Liberty Summit Saturday, June 6 Salem, Red LionSponsored by: FreedomWorks, Oregon Citizens For A Sound Economy PAC, Taxpayer Defense Fund, Taxpayers Association of Oregon, Cascade Policy Institute, Common Sense For Oregon, Contractors Association of Oregon, Oregon Patriots of Resistnet.com, 9-12 Project- Salem, Campaign For Liberty, Concerned Oregonians
Guest Speakers:
Russ Walker- FreedomWorks, Taxpayer Defense Fund, Oregon Citizens For A Sound Economy, Northwest Director
...
Ted Abram, American Institute for Full Employment, President; State Policy Network, FreedomWorks Foundation, Board of Directors
Ross Day, Common Sense for Oregon, Executive Director
Kevin Mannix, Common Sense for Oregon, Oregon Crime Coalition, President
Gee. Freedomworks in Oregon = Mannix, Walker and Day. Some of my long-standing readers might recall that I broke the story that Kevin Mannix (f0rmer state GOP chairman, GOP Gubernatorial and Attorney General candidate) was NATIONAL C3 Freedomworks' highest paid subcontractor -- you know, the one in Washington, D.C. where Dick Armey "runs" the organization? [See: "Kevin Mannix’s Dirty Little Secret" 7 March 2008, and Thursday, 8 March 2007: "Kevin Mannix FreedomWorks' Highest Paid Subcontractor".]
"Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense"
And remember who Freedomworks says they are. From their mission statement [emphasis added]:
Our values are deeply rooted in the philosophy of freedom found in the works of Adam Smith, Ayn Rand, Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Milton Friedman ... Our commitment to overcome all obstacles is inspired by the leadership of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan [?].Background Statement
The bold red are pretty hard-core libertarian -- although, perhaps tellingly, there is no mention of the (Robert) Heinleinian strain of that philosophy of unfettered individualism, a/k/a "The virtue of selfishness," as Rand once assayed in her essay. And, oddly, why all the secrecy and subterfuge? Why the mystery? At any event, for Oregon, our Ayn Rand Supermen representatives are presently Mannix, Walker and Day.
"Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense"
More than that, Day would not say.
From the 2006 tax return (a 990 Charitable return, which is a public record):
"Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense"
Well, the 2008 tax returns have now become available for public inspection, and guess what? Kevin Mannix remains Freedomworks' TOP C3 contractor for 2008 with $171,000. (Up from $85,000 in 2007).
Freedomworks' 2008 501(c)(3) 990 click to download
But aren't there 49 other states in the USA? you ask. Evidently not to Freedomworks. When not organizing Tea Parties, they're up to their eyeballs in Oregon affairs. Take a look at who ELSE is on the Freedomworks gravy train (same tax return - FreedomWorks Oregon Director is Russ Walker, not Richard Walker. Clerical error by tax preparer):
Click for 2008 page facsimile (and note Dick Armey's salary)
Yup. $131,032.00. Freedomworks' Oregon State Director (the only state director listed) got more cash from Freedomworks' C3, C4 and "other" than the Governor of Oregon for the same period -- which was, according to multiple sources, $93,600.
Vail, Oregon (Near the Idaho Border)
That's $37,432 worth of difference between privately legislating for Freedomworks and legislating as the highest ranking public servant in the state of Oregon.
"Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense"
(Of course, one supposes that Freedomworks expects Russ Walker to do MORE legislating than the Oregon governor. And, seemingly, he does.)
(no more information available)
One of the nice things about starting new C3's and C4's is that it hides your paper trail. Given that the standard practice is to delay filing the tax return until the last possible extension deadline (usually November 15 of the following year), don't expect to see ANY hard financial data from a tax return on Common Sense for Oregon until (at the earliest) December of 2011. Convenient for the 2010 elections, don't you think?
note the Orwellian "green" motif of the logo; does anyone believe that this color choice was an "accident"?
(Just in case you wondered why anyone would want to keep creating new C3 and C4 entities.)
On the Idaho border @ Ontario, Oregon
That's two of the three principals of the "new" "Common Sense" group, Mannix and Walker. What about the third? Ross Day?
Glad you asked.
Well, aside from working for the evil state government as adjunct faculty at Chemeketa Community College (formerly the Salem Technical-Vocational School, until 1969) -- as Day lists on the CommonSenseforOregonDOTorg website registration above, implying that the Community College is somehow involved or ENDORSES "Common Sense for Oregon," inappropriately, as the lawyer who WROTE Measure 37 OUGHT to know -- conservative/libertarian blog Oregon Catalyst tells us (note the date):
Ross Day leaves OIA. Begins private practice.
by In the newsThursday, February 5. 2009
After many years of fighting to protect property rights with Oregonians In Action, the esteemed attorney Ross Day is heading to Salem to begin private practice including working for the Common Sense Committee. This also brings him closer to his family where he lives in Marion County. Ross has been a valuable partner to OIA and a dear friend to landowners across Oregon.
Posted by In the news at 07:30
That represents, as we shall see, a significant loss of revenue for Ross Day. From Oregonians In Action's latest C4 tax return for 2006* (as is normal, the "extension" went to November 15, 2007, and OIA's president signed it on November 15, 2007, as late as it's possible to hold off on filing):
click to download the full tax return
[* NOTE: OIA comprises FOUR separate tax entities:
- Oregonians in Action, Inc. (501(c)(4) political entity)
- Oregonians in Action Legal Center (501(c)(3) charity)
- Oregonians in Action Education Center (501(c)(3) charity)
- Oregonians in Action Fund (501(c)(3) charity)
So that you can give to three of 'em and take a deduction from your federal tax return as a "charity." The rest of us then subsidize the activity by making up the shortfall in taxes. I continue to be AGAINST this scam by ALL parties. Politick on your OWN money, please. Not mine.]
Gee. Before the "perks" and add-ons, Day was making slightly LESS than the Oregon Governor. But with them, he made more, $108,822 -- appropriate for the "author" of Measure 37, the "develop it all" initiative of 2004.
Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense
Now, there's a lot more. I've followed Freedomworks' money into the triumvirate of Kevin Mannix, Russell Walker and Ross Day. Tomorrow, we'll see how that money moves back out. Or, perhaps, IN.
What's important to note here is that:
- "Common Sense for Oregon" was formed as a C4 and C3 organization this spring by two of Freedomworks' highest paid employees, in the ONLY state that Freedomworks is channeling significant cash into.
- That the third member of the triumvirate, Ross Day, is a long time well-compensated employee of an ideologically affiliated organization "Oregonians in Action" and a longtime "initiative" player.
- That "Common Sense for Oregon" (typically) refuses to tell WHO is backing it, and
- Oh yeah ....
"Common Sense for Oregon" has literally stolen the late Senator William Proxmire's (D, Wisc.) well-known "Golden Fleece Award," revived in2000 by the actually non-partisan and well-regarded Taxpayers for Common Sense, and, following this blatant act of intellectual (while legal) theft, are presenting themselves as 'champions against government "waste" ' and big-time ethical operators.
Yeah. Right. Sure. Some kind of ethics.National Audience: This is the drama being played out nationally and, for me, locally.
Oregon Audience: Regarding what you're reading: Sins of Omissi0n? Yes.
Oregon's "secret legislature" uses several groups and we have had several "professional" initiative filers through the years, but I am paring it down to keep things as simple as possible. That the complexity in design is intentional, cannot be in doubt, most likely to KEEP reporters from tracking these endlessly politically incestuous relationships, as noted in the "Our Oreg0n" blog in May of 2006:
IP24 Judges by District and IP57 Eminent Domain – All tangled up with Oregonians in Action, Oregon Family Farm Association ($100,000 from Loren Parks this cycle), Oregon Citizens for a Sound Economy, timber interests, FreedomWorks and Democracy Direct. Loans every which way.
and, further down (just to give you a flavor):
Crazy PAC CoincidencesOIA PAC is making in-kind contributions of phone calls to the following cozy friends:
IP6 TABOR campaign
Larry George for State Senate
Ross Day
IP90 Jessica’s Law
PO Box 1304 in Silverton is soooooo popular. It is shared by:
Friends of Karen Minnis PAC
Oregon Financial Services Association (a PAC representing payday lenders)
The Speaker’s PAC
Friends of Gary George
Keep Our Daughters Safe Committee (IP51: Parental Notification)
The Leadership Fund (for Republican candidates for the Oregon Senate)
Majority 2006
Healthpac & Healthpac II (for IP112)
And so on and so forth.
The "initiative" process, pioneered by Oregon in 1904, as a means of stopping corrupt and bribed legislators stalling needed reforms has been co-opted by the corrupters and bribers to STOP the Oregon legislature from making needed reforms.
Oregon, just before the the Idaho border
This year, the shadowy masters of Freedomworks have decided to undo the entire state budget on a "no taxes!" basis, and guess what? That brand new company from brand new "Common Sense for Oregon" Mannix, Walker and Day "Voice of the Electorate, which they also refer to as Vote Oregon?
So far, they've raked in $550,000, hired ex-felons to petition and are being financed by a "new" campaign committee called The Stop Job Killing Taxes Committee.
WOW! Oregon tax referendum drive nets 125,000 signatures!
by In the news
Friday, September 25. 2009
Taxpayer Association of Oregon breaking news,
Picture: Grassroots coordinator Paulette Pyle speaks in front of a massive stack of referendum petition boxes. Left is Ross Day of Common Sense for Oregon. On the right is Russ Walker (Freedomworks) and Andrew Over (State Director Oregon GOP).
The Stop Job Killing Taxes campaign turned in an incredible 129,500 signatures (petition 301) and 126,183 (petition 302) which is more than double the needed requirement.
The rally at the steps of the Secretary of State’s office was led by Paulette Pyle a veteran grassroots activists [sic] and agriculture-forestry advocate.... Jeff Kropf of Americans for Prosperity Oregon Chapter spoke and said “It is wrong to raise taxes in a recession which will cost jobs at the same time when the state has five billion in reserves and is hiring new employees.” A chart near Jeff Kropf showed how private sector jobs dropped by over 70,000 while government jobs grew.
Russ Walker spoke on how over 10,000 Freedomworks volunteers helped circulate petitions and created a flood of volunteer signatures." [...]
Oddly, Russ Walker didn't seem to say anything about the petition gatherers that his brand new company was paid half a million dollars to hire for the petitions. But then, Freedomworks IS paying him $131,0oo per annum -- maybe even so fast he can't keep up with it -- and he ought to put his employers' interests ahead of his own pecuniary pursuits.
Unless, of course, they coincide.
Sunrise over Boise, Idaho. End of first leg of vacation.
And we still don't know who the shadow masters actually are.
In 2006, using Howard Rich and his many front groups as a front themselves, three persons or entities attempted to act as a self-appointed legislature -- a political star chamber -- in dozens of states, from coast to coast, California to Maine. And they spent tens of millions of dollars to do so.
And we still have no idea who those three shadowy figures were. Right now, shadowy forces have decided to overturn the budget that the Oregon legislature painstakingly and painfully spent half of this year creating.
The special election is in January.
Perhaps it's representative democracy, but I'd sure as hell like to know WHO it is that Mannix, Walker and Day are representing. Because that doesn't seem like democracy at all.
More like oligarchy, or perhaps plutocracy, certainly a dubious sort of 'representative' democracy when you don't know who's being represented by slick ads, slick political operatives, and slick new companies, C4's, C3's and the rest of it.
Who elected the shadow government, please? And can I have MY vote back?
Mannix, Walker and Day: Freedomworks team for Oregon?
"Day refused to say who is giving money to Common Sense"
Day won't say. No way, José. Say hey? No way. OK? OK. Day no se. Oy vey. Odelay.
(next: we follow the money some more)
Now, isn't that a scary Halloween story?
Courage.
Posted by Mac at 12:02 AM |
October 30, 2009
So Maybe DeFazio's Not Liked By Everyone In The 4th
Creepy news out of Eugene today, via the mainstream news as well as BlueO report that, sometime during last evening apparently, bullets struck the office window at Rep DeFazio's office at the Eugene Federal Building.
The FBI is investigating, which means it's a Federal case. Damn skippy it should be a Federal case. It's to be hoped that this was an accident.
Still, I don't remember any lead being unloaded into Republican congressional offices during the last eight.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:49 AM |
They Just Won't Let Wild Bill Be, Them Unions
The problem with doing the Lord's work is, it's never done.
The OEA and the AFT-Oregon are going in after Wild Bill Sizemore again, for the same reasons as in 2004, but updated for a 2008 context – because rust never sleeps, and neither do Sizemore and the minions of Parks:
The suit seeks $18 million in damages, three times the amount the Oregon Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers spent to defeat the Sizemore measures a year ago.While Sizemore and the unions have tussled in court for nearly a decade, the suit marks the first time the unions have sued Parks, who has given $13 million to political causes and campaigns in Oregon over the years. A reclusive man who made millions manufacturing medical equipment in Oregon, he has previously declined to appear in court.
So the valuable final result of this will be Wild Bill having to find an honest job, since he wouldn't be able to weasel his way into a living using tax-exempt foundation money again. Which would suck for him:
"It's aimed solely at keeping me from putting measures on the ballot," Sizemore said.
Because, right there, is the sum total and extent of his skill set.
Welcome to our world, Bill.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:11 AM |
October 29, 2009
In Clatsop County, Two Or Three Or Four Votes Either Way …
In Dried Salmon County the issue of LNG is as explosive politically as the fuel itself is, it would seem; the issue of Bradwood Landing triggered two recalls, one for County Commissioner Jeff Hazen, the other for Couny Commissioner Ann Samuelson. And while Hazen survives by a 56-44 per cent margin, things are not so peachy for Samuelson, as the OLCV blog reports, the tally was 1,013 votes for the recall, and 1,009 against:
While OLCV didn't take a position on the recall election that closed Tuesday, it's another example of how close elections can be. Thousands of people voted. But if just two of those people who voted "yes" changed their votes to "no" the recall would fail. Or if just four of the 4142 registered voters who didn't vote showed up to vote "no" the recall would have failed.
And, as it turned out, the margin was exactly as large as it had to be and could be no larger to trigger a recount.
Looks like LNG isn't just explosive, it's poisonous.
That's not all though. Clicking through to The Daily Astorian article on it, we find that Samuelson isn't a stranger to being on the losing end of a recall effort:
If the result is certified, Samuelson will have been recalled twice in two years. She was recalled from the Jewell School District board of directors May 20, 2008. She had been on the board since 2005. Voters removed Samuelson and another member, Karl Meier.Samuelson and Meier were accused of "misleading the public about the board's intentions to conduct an open and public superintendent search involving the staff and community" and "violating executive session provisions of Oregon's public meetings law" - allegations that emerged after a January school board meeting where the district's directors extended the temporary superintendent's contract by two years.
I don't know if this says anything about anything at all, but I've been watching politics (as a citizen) for a long time now, and I don't know of any other politico on any other level who's been on the losing end of two recalls in two years.
Well, that's one way to get into the political history books, I suppose.
Posted by The Chinuk at 06:46 PM |
October 28, 2009
Finland tops in 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, U.S. is ninth
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) – For those who value their freedom of expression as much as health, wealth, and prosperity, then Finland is the place to be, with an index ranking the Nordic nation the best in the world.The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index, published on Tuesday and compiled by the Legatum Institute, an independent policy, advocacy and advisory organization, ranked 104 countries which are home to 90 percent of the world's population.
The index is based on a definition of prosperity that combines economic growth with the level of personal freedoms and democracy in a country as well as measures of happiness and quality of life.
With the exception of Switzerland, which came in at number 2, Nordic countries dominated the top 5 slots, with Sweden in third place followed by Denmark and Norway.
The top 10 were all also Western nations, with Australia (6th place) and Canada (7th place) both beating the United States, ranked 9th. Britain came in at number 12.
Here is the actual 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index. It is parsable in many different ways. One really cool feature is that you can choose two countries to compare side-by-side. For example I've selected Finland and the United States to compare. Other countries can be added to the mix too.
Several noteworthy things here.
* The United States is ranked number 1 in Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
* Every single one of the 26 nations who rank higher on the Health ranking have some form of "socialized" medicine as their national health care access system.
* A stunning corrolation between the countries dominating the Legatum Index here and their dominance in other economic indexes which I've written about previously.
* Several public policy ideas considered anathama to American conservatives are practiced in countries which rank higher than us on this index. Socialized healthcare access, high minimum wage, high taxes, etc. And yet... these countries are clearly thriving, economically and otherwise.
Posted by Kevin at 07:24 AM |
October 27, 2009
Advice and consent
Republican Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL 5th District) wants President Obama to seek the consent of Congress before formally accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. She bases her argument on the following portion of Article 1, section 9:
No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince or foreign State.
She argues that since the Nobel Peace Prize committee is appointed by members of the Norwegian Storting (parliment) that it therefore is "clearly subject to" the above requirement. As evidence that her reading is the correct one, she submits the apparent record of President Theodore Roosevelt.
President Theodore Roosevelt created a committee, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and several Cabinet Secretaries, to hold the money in trust until after he left office. He then sought the consent of Congress to disburse the money to various charities. President Roosevelt rightfully complied with the requirements set forth in the Constitution and acted in a manner becoming of the office of the President of the United States. I trust you will do the same.
Co-signing her letter (pdf warning) to Obama were Reps Cliff Stearns (R-FL 6th District) and Ron Paul (R-TX 14th District).
It's an interesting argument. Not the least of which is because she only cites President Roosevelt. And even that seems a little murky because I don't see anything in her letter indicating that Roosevelt sought the consent of Congress before formally accepting the prize, as she's demanding that Obama do. Roosevelt, according to her own statement, only sought the consent of Congress over how to disburse the money. Which would self-evidently seem to have been after he had formally accepted the Prize... else there would have been no prize money to disburse, no?
Additionally, a number of other federal office holders have been recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. President Wilson in 1919, Vice President Dawes in 1925 and Secretary Kissinger in 1973. The 1986 recipient, Elie Wiesel, was the Chairman of "The President's Commission on the Holocaust" and thus, according to Ms. Brown-Waite's own reasoning viz the Nobel Peace Prize committee, under the same Constitutional requirement. Did any of them seek or receive the consent of Congress? She certainly didn't cite any of them if they did.
All of that said... I find her argument interesting. Mostly because it's an angle that I hadn't ever considered. I'm no Constitutional scholar and for that reason am hesitant to throw down a definite "yea" or "nay" on her claim. But I am deeply skeptical of it's legitimacy.
For one thing, only two of the five members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee are members of the Norwegian government. But more importantly, their mandate comes not from the Norwegian government but from the very strictly interpreted and obeyed provisions of Alfred Nobel's last will and testament, as the Organisational Structure page on the Nobel Foundation's website makes very clear.
Let's contrast and compare.
The 1986 recipient, Elie Wiesel, was the Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Holocaust. A commission created by and premised upon the authority of the President. The Nobel Peace Prize committee, by contrast, was created by and premised upon the last will and testament of a private civilian. Yes the Norwegian parliment cooperates with the stipulations of Mr. Nobel's will and testament with respect to this committee. But that's a fundamentally different thing from a committee created by and premised upon the authority of some component of the Norwegian government.
More evidence that the Nobel Peace Prize committee is not legitimately an arm of the Norwegian government. These are found among the special regulations of the statutes governing the Nobel Foundation:
§ 5 The Nobel Institute is established by and is under the management of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in conformity with the Statutes of the Nobel Foundation.
As opposed to "... in conformity with the Statutes of the Norwegian government." Doesn't sound like part of the sovereign Norwegian government to me.
§ 9 Instructions concerning the election of members of the Nobel Committee shall be approved by the Storting. Proposals for amendments to other provisions of these regulations may be put forward by members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee or by members of the Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation. Before the Norwegian Nobel Committee makes a decision concerning the proposal, it shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of the Nobel Foundation for an opinion.
Again, this doesn't sound like part of the sovereign Norwegian government to me. Mainly because the ultimate sovereignty of the committee is derived from the Nobel Foundation in neighboring Sweden rather than from the Norwegian Storting.
Now, perhaps our American Constitution would bar our national legislature from cooperating with a mandate from a private citizen's will or with an entity which was created by said private citizen's will, as is the case with the Nobel Foundation in Sweden. But the Norwegian parliment doesn't operate under our Constitution and thus can't reasonably or rationally be held to the standard of it. Whether or not the Nobel Peace Prize committee is legitimately an arm of a foreign State, as Ms. Brown-Waite alleges, turns on Norwegian law, not our own law. And it appears that Norwegian law allows the Storting to cooperate with and be subservient to the statutes of a purely civilian entity based in another country and premised upon the last will and testament of a purely private civilian who wasn't a citizen of Norway.
Posted by Kevin at 04:06 PM |
The Cost Of Being A Blue Cross Democrat
After raising $1.1 million from January to June, the committee raised less than $87,000 between July and September — less than it brought in during any one of the preceding five months. And in just three months, the Blue Dog PAC’s monthly fundraising average dropped by more than $50,000 — probably not the sort of fiscal conservatism the 52-member coalition was hoping for.
Oopsie. Guess someone picked the wrong pony.
A symbol of the awakening of the American public that they're being chsieled? Well, we can hope.
Posted by The Chinuk at 02:51 PM |
Public Option: Merkley Was Key
Much of the attention was spent on the party's conservatives. But there was also a recognition that if they went too far, progressives would be offended. Sen. Jeff Merkley, a freshmen Democrat from Oregon, became a voice of support and a key player in the negotiations.
And we sent Jeff to Washington – what, less than 300 days ago?
He's become the Progressive wing of the Democratic party.
Oregon's Paul Wellstone.
I mean, he hasn't let one blade of grass grow under his feet since he got there.
In short, dayum!
Posted by The Chinuk at 07:39 AM |
October 26, 2009
Oh, For The Love of Cars: Ron Tonkin for PDX Mayor?
The O's Jeff Mapes today helps the Mayor of 122nd Avenue float a trial balloon about becoming the Mayor of the rest of Portland, if the Sam Adams Recall II succeeds (stop laughing):
In a way, Tonkin's interest isn't surprising. He floated his name back in 2004 but ultimately decided not to run. Thanks to years of advertising, he'd have plenty of name recognition, although he has to be aware that the public doesn't exactly put car dealers (or journalists!) up on a pedestal.
As a matter of fact, if you read Mapes' article now, you'll get, for no extra charge or APR, a comment from Jason Wurster.
Seriously. I said, stop laughing!
Also, with a view toward the immediately-previous posting, the word for the day is synchronicity.
Posted by The Chinuk at 11:15 AM |
The Oregonian's Circulation Off 12 Per Cent
Today in The Death of Print Media: According To Oregon Media Central, The Oregonian's circulation has taken a bit of a hit:
The numbers may result not only from reduced interest in print editions, but also from a price hike on single-copy sales in July. In the Portland Metro area, The Oregonian's newsstand price increased from 75 cents to $1.00. That increase is part of a national trend among papers to try to boost revenue from newspaper sales as ad sales slump.
Yeah, I know you have to make up the money from somwheres, but there's only so much of charging more for less that the peoples will take.
Maybe they ought to put another huge coin-sale or Amish hearth ad on the back page of the comics …
Bad idea actually. Wife's already on the warpath about that one.
Posted by The Chinuk at 11:10 AM |
October 25, 2009
What Jesus Doesn't Save, The FDIC Bails Out
(Important note: Riverview Community Bank of Otsego, MN, is in no way, shape, or form affiliated or connected with Riverview Bancorp of Vancouver, WA. They just happen to have a similar name)
Caught this on more than one of my copious liberal RSS feeds, and it was too ironicalicious not to share: perhaps one of the more sardonically humorous, if not outright remarkable, banks that got EATED this last week is Riverview Community Bank of Otsego, Minnesota.
The bank was started by one Chuck Ripka of Otsego, who claimed that God told him that if he would "pastor" funds, then God would see to the bottom line. Gawker has a sample of Pastor Chuck's banal attempt to evangelize with his catch-phrase and book, "God Out Of The Box", which is my way of telling you that if you care about religion, you'll spew if you watch it, so be warned.
This last week, amid rumors of faith-based oversight of loans and accusations by at least one regional progressive blog that the region's newspaper-of-record cleansed their reporting of the name of a prominent state Republican who happens to be a State Representative and a conservative Christian, Riverview Community closed only to open the next day under new ownership, with the assistance of the FDIC and, quite possibly, Satanists, or, at the very least, Objectivists.
Your tax dollars at work:
This picture was hung in offices of Riverview, who apparently had a special offer: open a checking account today and get a free Savior.
When you're God's chosen bank, why stop at a toaster?
(Picture: Nick Coleman via Twitpic)
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:27 AM |
October 23, 2009
As of Oct 30th, You Might Call It The Salish Sea, Offically
But the parts will still be called Strait of Georgia, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Pungeant Puget Sound, &c, &c. Crosscut.com writes:
One major difference between this proposal and some previous is that the name Salish Sea would not replace any existing names: Puget Sound would remain that, as would Haro Strait, Georgia Strait, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and other well known features. The best comparison is that it is akin to the "Great Lakes," which refers to a collection of lakes in the U.S. and Canada, but does not supplant Lake Michigan or Lake Superior.
The British Geographical Names Office has endorsed Canada signing off on this, and since the waterway lies in both USA and Canada, support from both sides is seen as essential for adopting … though I understand that the term Salish Sea is already common parlance amongst some sectors of the vox pop as well as the wonk communities.
Given heavy popular support, the Washington State Board of Geographic names seems expected to approve the nomenclature in its meeting on October 30th.
Posted by The Chinuk at 05:53 PM |
The Most Canceled Man In Portland Radio, Canceled Again
News has reached the humming teletypes at the PK Newsroom's media desk that at least three more unemployed people in the Portland area, as perennially-cancelled radio rock-jock Rick Emerson has once again been cancelled once again, this time by KUFO-FM.
Being shown the door along with Rick are Cort Webber, Fatboy Roberts, Sarah X Dylan, and others.
Cards on the table here: I've never listened to any of Rick's shows, but I have followed his career. As a long time fan of radio in general – and while I'm nowhere near elderly, remember the vibrant AM and FM radio culture that PDX used to maintain as late as the 90s – you don't have to be a fan of Emerson to recognize and respect him as a purely, quintessentially Portland talent. Eclectic, with a keen eye for pop culture and the rough-and-ready self-aware humor that has always seemed to be a part of radio, no matter where Emerson's been he's always brought a solid and devoted fan base.
The meta angle on all this, of course, is the continuing consolidation of media across this country, which seems to be continuing apace (they say this is part of a nationwide sweep by KUFO's parent, Alpha Broadcasting (is any PDX broacast media worth listening to (meaning not KPAM) anymore?)). With local news on even such stations as KPOJ (it's said) coordinated out of Sacramento and news in general now matured into the idea of just another profit center for media tycoons, how much longer will it be before everyplace on the radio sounds like every other place?
With conservative saturation of the AM dial, that pretty much has already happened. You can listen to The Talented Mr Limbaugh from coast to coast on your AM radio without too much trouble.
I regret the loss of Emerson and the KUFO crew not because I'm any sort of fan, but because they were some of the last quintessentially Portland broadcast talent outside of news/talk that gave any sort of Portland personality to the airwaves.
Now they're gone, again.
Posted by The Chinuk at 05:33 PM |
Nobody Likes Them, Everybody Hates Them …
"The Republican party may still be battling the legacy left to them by George W. Bush," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "They have also spent a lot of time in 2009 working against Democratic proposals. That hasn't left them a lot of time so far this year to present a positive, post-Bush message. Of course, there is still plenty of time for them to do so before the 2010 midterms."
Yes, there's plenty of time for the GOPpery to change its tune, but I wouldn't exactly cross the street on those odds. That's not the way they roll.
Only three in ten approve of the job Congress is doing, but the aggregate mass never like what Congress is doing, so no change there really.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:56 AM |
Eastside Streetcar Loop with Extra Added Manufacturing Jobs
The announcement of the funds for the eastside extension of the Portland Streetcar have a lot of good news with it. Local transit wonks are no doubt ecstatic about the advancing of a plan that will evolve into a nice, tight transit connection at the city's heart; as a fan of the Streetcar myself, I find little not to like here. US Rep Earl Blumenauer (via Portland Transport):
This final step in funding the Portland Streetcar expansion has great symbolism. Small Starts, a program I passed through Congress in 2003, is being put to work and funding the first-ever streetcar project right here in Portland. The $75 million released today is a down-payment on Portland's future that will create 1,300 high-wage jobs, spur development, and jumpstart Oregon's economy.
Those 1,300 manufacturing jobs are going to be with Oregon Iron Works, down in Clackamas. Local jobs, just when we need them.
More and better transit, high-paying local jobs … what's not to like here?
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:27 AM |
Dobbs vs Stossel: The Pot-Kettle-Black Show
Can there be anything more pointless than Lou Dobbs ringing up John Stossel for ripping him?
I can't think of it.
Short form:
Teh Stossel: Teh Dobbs is teh suxor! Teh Dobbs: Your mom is the suxor!
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:23 AM |
October 22, 2009
On the creation of whiteness and white privilege
So I'm checking out the hit counter here to see how many visits we've had today and where they came from. And I noticed a series of visits all coming from one place. Something called Unknown News, which is apparently just a series of daily links - each posted as a simple question mark. The second question mark for Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 is a link to The Chinuk's post the other day about Life in a Post Balloon Boy World.
Intrigued, I started running my curser over question marks to see what kinds of things usually get linked to. And I ran across the following absolutely riviting YouTube clip of Tim Wise posted on a blog called Red Room. Their brief description of it:
This is a clip from The Pathology of Privilege: Racism, White Denial & the Costs of Inequality, the newly released video from the Media Education Foundation. The video is of a speech given by Tim Wise at Mt. Holyoke College, October 1, 2007.
To purchase the full video from which this clip comes, click here
Everything Mr. Wise is saying here rings true to me. I was particularly pleased when he tied in economic privilege with racial privilege. One of my pet peeves with how racism is often discussed is that it's discussed without context... as if racism sprang out of itself and serves no other purpose than mere bigotry. There are knee-jerk bigots. But the vast bulk of racism masks economic forces seeking an advantage. And Mr. Wise smacks that ball right outta the ball park!
Posted by Kevin at 08:28 PM |
"What do you think I was fighting for?"
The woman at my polling place asked me do I believe in equality for gay and lesbian people. I was pretty surprised to be asked a question like that. It made no sense to me. Finally I asked her: what do you think I fought for in Omaha Beach?
hat tip: BoingBoing via my FaceBook friend Curt Dewees.
Posted by Kevin at 04:25 PM |
Roundup: Lew Frederick Appointed to Oregon House District 43
In a 3-2 vote on the Multnomah County Commission. Wheeler, McKeel, and Shiprack for former broadcast journo Frederick; Kafoury and Cogen for Cogen aide Karol Collymore. Nobody plumped for PCC Instructor and union organizer Eddie Lincoln.
Viewpoints:
The Oregonian has your quick-hits version.
Matt Davis of the Mercury gives us the narrative form (with some piccies!).
Kari at BlueO gives us the time-code live-blog version. Eye-glazingly complete (in the good way); if it isn't here, you don't need to know it.
Posted by The Chinuk at 02:28 PM |
October 21, 2009
The Latest Victim of Rescission: The Health Insurance Industry
You know that thing they called rescission, where insurance companies tell people they have to die from cancer because they used, like, zit cream when they were a kid and forgot to tell the insurance company on those incredibly complex forms they make you fill in?
Well, today, House Judiciary, on a 20-9 vote, reported H.R. 3596, The Health Insurance Industry Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2009, out of committee where it goes to the House floor for inclusion in whatever health care reform we wind up getting.
In simpler language, the health insurance "industry" is on the brink of losing the anti-trust enforcement exemption they've enjoyed (along with the NFL and Major League Baseball) for so very long.
Chiseling the public is a pre-existing condition, as it turns out.
Who knew?
(PS: "Bipartisan", in this case, means all the committee's Democrats and just three of the committee's sixteen Republicans. Do, please, make a note of that, if you think Republicans are on the side of the little guy.)
Posted by The Chinuk at 04:26 PM |
PMerc Endorses Lew Frederick For OR House 43rd
Matt Davis/Sarah Mirk: We're going for Frederick.
Being a former reporter (KGW-TV), Lew does keep the broadcaster-as-public-servant thread going. The Mercury found both candidates nifty, but what made Fredericks shinier was a perception as a team-player, which they deem more important right now:
Frederick, who has lived in the district since 1974, brings a more responsible demeanor to bear. A reporter for KGW for 17 years, Frederick formed the Sexual Minority Task Force in Portland Public Schools and now runs a communications consultancy, serves on numerous nonprofit boards, and on the State Board of Education. He appears to be the right fit for a position that requires some compromise.
That's not to say they dismissed Collymore with faint praise – as a matter of fact, they offered some salient suggestions:
Frankly, we’d rather benefit from her innovative ideas here in Portland than have her weighing in on boring budgets in Salem. Collymore should consider running against City Commissioner Dan Saltzman next spring. Or wait until her boss, Jeff Cogen, makes his widely predicted move to city council, and run for his vacant county commissioner seat.
Locally we have an embarrasment of riches, it would seem.
(Update: I originally call the district HD 22 in the headline. I have no godly idea why. Fixed it!)
Posted by The Chinuk at 03:32 PM |
Great Moments In Journamalism: We Are All J-School Grads Now
Today in This Is Particularly Galling: The Politico's Andy Barr redefines "phoning it in" for the 21st Century:
This Politico headline tells you pretty much everything you need to know about the article that follows: "Palin offers calm critique of Baucus bill." Politico's Andy Barr goes on to cut-and-paste from Palin's Facebook post about the Baucus health care bill, pausing occasionally to describe the post as "tough but wonky," tout her citation of an actual economist to "make her argument" and marvel that Palin's approach was "more tempered" than her "Death Panel" claims earlier this year.
It's particularly galling because Barr is biting my style so hard he's leaving tooth-marks, and he's getting paid for it. Probably very nicely.
On the upside, at least it looks like I have enough J-School-style credentials to get a job with a major newsy-org. I'll let you all know how that works out, or you'll know as soon as you see me on Meet The Press.
I'll wave at y'alls from on high, because I don't forget my roots, yo.
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:37 PM |
The Incredible Shrinking OR-Gubernatorial Candidate (UPDATED)
The incipient campaign of quondam-and-future Gubernatorial Oregon Republican, Jason Atkinson, isn't just on life-support, it's in stasis.
Rumors are swirling through the Oregon political world that state Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, won't be a candidate in next year's race for governor after all.Atkinson has not returned several calls from me over the last five days and his legislative aide, Cheri Adkins, said Tuesday that "I just don't know" what is happening with his candidacy. She said she has also received numerous calls asking about Atkinson's status.
Kari Chisholm at BlueO distills down the numbers:
His campaign website lists no media clips since February. His campaign blog hasn't been updated since April. He's got a personal Facebook page, but not a political one. And his Twitter account has 81 followers and zero tweets.
It's especially surreal given the observation made back on Sept 3rd by Kari that Atkinson made a non-announcement announcement that he was going to run – all but explicitly saying that he'd formally announce in the latter half of September.
I will say this. After reading what the other pundits are saying, and with buzz somewhat centering on his health (he is still recovering, Mapes says, from the accidental gunshot accident 15 months ago) I fully expect that Atkinson most likely will withdraw from the race within the next two weeks. It's always possible that he's crafting us a surprise, but when your legislative aide doesn't even know what's going on, there's some major organic dysfunction with your campaign – or what there is of it.
I have no inside information here – two weeks is pretty much a wild guess. But now that the word is bubbling up from blogs to the state political press, something has to give on the A-Man's side.
Two weeks. Maybe less.
UPDATE, 3:00 PDT approximate: According to TorridJoe At LoadedO, the A-Man has suspended his campaign, citing the widely-buzzed about health problems. Kari at BlueO has it too. Mapes broke the news at 12:55 PM, and I made my call at 11:36 AM, so, hey, can I call it or what?
Posted by The Chinuk at 11:36 AM |
CBO: Dem bill with public option reduces deficit
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A preliminary estimate from the Congressional Budget Office projects that the House Democrats' health care plan that includes a public option would cost $871 billion over 10 years, according to two Democratic sources.
CBO also found that the Democrats' bill reduces the deficit in the first 10 years.
This new CBO estimate, which aides caution is not final, is significantly less than the $1.1 trillion price tag of the original House bill that passed out of three committees this summer. More importantly, it comes under the $900 billion cap set by President Obama in his joint address to Congress last month.
CBO analyzed what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls a "more robust" public option -- one that ties reimbursement rates for doctors to current Medicare rates, plus a 5 percent increase.
Posted by Kevin at 04:24 AM |
October 20, 2009
Simple Answer To A Simple Question:
… But this joker talks about shooting congressional Democrats, and it's funny. FOX News' Glenn Beck talks about poisoning House Speaker Pelosi and it's funny.The GOP is a party rather focused on jokes about murder and assassination. Is this a reflection on the poor caliber of its politicians, or the poor caliber of its voters?
Yes, to both.
You're welcome. This has been another edition of Simple Answer to a Simple Question (apologies to Atrios).
Posted by The Chinuk at 03:02 PM |
Joining The Army At 39 So Your Wife Doesn't Die From Cancer
Wisconsin father Bill Caudle was laid off from his job at a plastics company in March 2009, which resulted in his family losing their employer-subsidized health care coverage. This put the family in an especially precarious position, because Bill’s wife, Michelle, was an ovarian cancer patient. After months of unsuccessfully looking for work, Caudle did the only thing he could to get his wife chemotherapy — he joined the Army.
She'll get her treatment – but will have to do it alone, without the physical support of her husband, which might actually negatively impact her therapy, especially considering the emotions she might experience over where he might go in the service.
I'm pretty sure this is not what we meant by the public option.
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:56 PM |
The Way Teabaggers Roll
Credit Matt Davis for this bit of Orange Pekoe irony:
Sure I'll attend the rally – but don't publish that picture you took of the protest with me in it, K THX BAI.
Every teabagger should make themselves aware of something called a "reasonable expectation of privacy". If you're on a public street at a rally in front of a major daily's front door, kiddo, you don't have one.
And if you write a letter to the alternative weekly who publishes it asking to have it replace, expect a lot of people to point and laugh at you.
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:42 PM |
October 19, 2009
One Medford's Worth Of Unemployed People in Portland …
11.7 per cent (up a full half-of-one per cent since just August) means about 60,600 people since this time last year; 67,000 since January 2008. Medford's 2000 population was about 63,000 (it's more like 76,000 now, estimates say)
A total of 127,000 people are reported unemployed the PDX metro area as of now, of course, this doesn't count the discouraged who've given up.
That's a mass of unemployed people about four-fifths the size of the current estimated population of Salem.
Posted by The Chinuk at 12:20 PM |
October 18, 2009
Washington's Sizemore
Despatches from the tax war just north of here: Tim "I-man" Eyman sure acts a whole lot like our own Wild Bill Sizemore, except that where Billy has hit his peak and hasn't been much heard of in a while, Tim seems to be in the middle of his glory days … and, just like Billy, clumsily picking his battles and then misfiring grandly. Via the Northwest Progressive Institute's blog:
At 1:00 p.m., the "No On 1033" campaign will answer your questions in Electionland about Tim Eyman's latest attempt to @#$% over the state. You'd think Eyman would relish this chance to talk directly to you, the beleaguered taxpayers of Washington, without us liberal clowns here at The Stranger in the way. But no.Eyman won't do it (even though he reads Slog and routinely comments on posts about his cadaver of work).
Birds of a feather. I seem to recall that once Lon Mabon tried to export the OCA to Idaho and Washington. Bad ideas seem to start here and radiate outwards, so, once again, to our neighbors to the north, on behalf of sane Oregonians, my apologies.
Posted by The Chinuk at 08:30 PM |
You Do What You Can Do
T.A. Barnhart, provided for the general weal:
So you at your desk, or behind the counter, or at home — wherever you are — can move the progressive movement forward tomorrow in some small way. It will matter; it will help. Just get up as you do any Monday morning, get on with your life, and look for any opportunity to do something. Five-to-ten minutes; that's all it takes. Your morning break: phone Wyden's office and say, "Keep fighting for that public option!" Spend 15 minutes in the evening reading about a policy issue; get yourself a little better informed.The revolution will happen gradually. If we all do a little something everyday, it will come. Slowly, but it will come. There won't be any grand announcement; in fact, we'll probably recognize it in hindsight. But if we all get up tomorrow morning, get on with our normal lives and, at some point, do one thing for democracy, the revolution will come.
I like this. I don't know what I can add to it.
You do what you can do.
Posted by The Chinuk at 08:26 PM |
You Mean DeFazio Had An Opponent?
You might be excused for not being aware that some feckless Republican decided so sacrifice himself to Peter DeFazio in the 4th District this cycle, but if you did, you missed the darkly hilarious comedy of errors that is the almost-but-not-quite has-been campaign of Sid Leiken, at one time thought to be one of the rising all-stars of Republican challengers this time round.
Fundraising? Just $18,000.
Poll? Maybe. Unless it wasn't.
Employing Mom to do the poll? Could be, unless she wasn't.
Now, I'm in among the never attribute to malice what could be equally-likely lain at the door of stupidity crowd, so I'll save the usual scorn here, except to point out that the Leiken candidacy may or may not have been long on desire and passion where it should have had brains.
It is entirely possible that the idea of running a candidate against the perennially popular (and smart and maybe a goobernatorial candidate) DeFazio was just to kick a D out of office, after all.
BlueO has the straight skinny, complete with a chronology of teh pain.
Posted by The Chinuk at 07:54 PM |
October 16, 2009
Another Foot-High Snowfall For Oregon This Winter?
Blame ElNino, or, if you're conservative, gay marriage (which, presumably, "God" is getting us for) and support for single-payer healthcare.
Posted by The Chinuk at 08:15 PM |
Life In A Post Balloon Boy World
How many people died of preventable diseases today just because they were poor? How many jobs were lost because of Republican mismanagement of the economy during the Bush years? How many people were tossed out on the street because of a foreclosure due to not being able to find a job?
Your news media. Working for you.
Posted by The Chinuk at 07:43 PM |
Dawn v. Big Insurance
Four years ago, Dawn was diagnosed with a rare, but treatable brain tumor. CIGNA denied her treatment for more than two years, but now that the spotlight's on them, they're changing their tune.Unfortunately, they didn't offer any explanation for all the previous denials or a guarantee that they'll approve the next step in Dawn's treatment. Can you sign this statement of support to shine a light on Big Insurance's abusive tactics, get Dawn the care she needs and make sure they don't do this to anyone again?
Posted by Kevin at 12:54 PM |
It's Never Been Square, and It's Not Really All That Fareless Anymore …
Today in the TriMet edition of No Matter How Cynical I Get I Just Can't Keep Up, now that TriMet's Fareless Square is going to be less fareless than it ever was square …
… wait for it …
TriMet is collecting suggestions for a new name for it.
Well, my head just asploded. Is there nothing we Portlanders can't make into some banal contest?
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:23 AM |
The Logo FOX News Needs To Use
Cartoonist John Sherffius of the Boulder, CO Daily Camera (some towns' newspapers have the coolest names) dials FOX News's number and nails it flat.
Fair and balanced is the way we roll, yo.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:12 AM |
October 15, 2009
Oregon's New Orleans
What other town in Oregon has been washed away not once, but twice in the last few years and come back fighting and refusing not to be a community anymore?
First came the 500-year flood of February 1996. The isolated Columbia County community 40 miles northwest of Portland was almost entirely cut off by washouts, and more than 2,000 residents had to leave their homes.Most returned and rebuilt, however, only to be struck by another, even worse flood in December 2007. It destroyed Vernonia's schools, water and sewer systems and much of the community's housing.
The Oregonian's editorial board brings us up-to-date on Vernonia in the Coast Range. Catch up along with us.
The job of rebuilding is not yet done.
Posted by The Chinuk at 05:54 PM |
PolitiFact: Glenn Beck's healthcare claim = False
PolitiFact debunked Glenn Beck's claim that 45 percent of physicians would quit if health reform passes.
We found several problems with the poll and the way Beck described its results:-- Beck misstated what the poll asked. Beck said that 45 percent of doctors will quit. But in fact, the poll found that 45 percent of doctors said they will consider quitting. Considering quitting isn't the same thing as quitting, which makes Beck's statement a significant exaggeration.
In addition, the specific question asked of respondents was, "If Congress passes their health care plan, will you ... continue your practice, [or] consider leaving your practice or taking an early retirement?" This wording leaves open the possibility that respondents are saying they might simply leave their current practice to join another practice, rather than quit.
-- The poll had a low response rate. According to the statistics published in IBD, 1,376 practicing physicians responded to the poll, out of the 25,600 solicited nationally. That's a 5.4 percent response rate. In one of its articles about the poll, IBD bills this as "a high rate of return, considering how difficult doctors are to get hold of." But another survey of doctors released around the same time managed to do better -- much better.
That other survey was conducted by Salomeh Keyhani and Alex Federman, internists and researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, who published the results in the New England Journal of Medicine. They mailed 5,157 questionnaires and got a response rate that exceeded 43 percent -- nearly eight times the IBD survey's rate. In fact, Keyhani and Federman reached almost 50 percent more doctors despite sending out only one-fifth the number of inquiries.
Readers of PK will be familiar with the first listed flaw in Beck's statasticulation. Misrepresenting what polls find, by mistating what they ask, seems to be a favorite tactic of anti-healthcare activists, as one of our current trolls is fond of demonstrating in comments.
Posted by Kevin at 05:36 PM |
C-Tran Cuts: You Read About Them Here First
I congratulate OregonLive and Jack Bodganski for passing on the word that C-Tran service is going to get another deep hack in January.
I just wanted to point out that we had that one … way back on the 5th of October, complete with a neato-mosquito link directly back to the page that had the document.
You're welcome, Metro area.
We're still asking the wrong questions about public transit, by the way. Until we see it for what it ought to be – an essential public infrastructure component, no less important than streets and roads – we won't ask them, either.
If people can't get themselves moved around – assuming what you want is economic activity along not only the lines we have now but any one of a number of ways the economy can evolve into – then it's going to be hard for people to get to work, to get to your shop to buy anything … are you peoples savvy here?
We can discuss how urban mass transit will work, what form it will take, argue about what works better and how it will be paid for and whether or not TriMet is wasting money or spending it wisely – but it seems self-evident to me that a city just might work better if you don't require everyone who lives there to have a car to get anything done.
Posted by The Chinuk at 04:15 PM |
"I Have Piles Of Black Friends"
Today In My Head Asplode: You've heard it by now – a judge in Tangipahoa Parish (that's county for those of you who don't live in Loozianah) has refused to marry a couple because one is white and one … well, isn't. But it's all good, yo (via the AP):
"I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way," Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."
Translation: I'm not a racist, I just have a severe case of craniorectal impaction.
And while the offer to use the bathroom is very generous, I don't quite think that's an even trade for letting Judge Bardwell get away with thumbing his nose at the fact that anti-miscgenation has been illegal in the US since 1967.
As long as there are liberals in Louisiana fighting the good fight, there's always people like this waiting in the wings to give the state's rep another pop in the eye. The South may not rise again, but this joker never got that memo.
Posted by The Chinuk at 03:56 PM |
October 14, 2009
The Bush/Cheney Legacy: Iraq
A new report by the Iraqi government is giving hard numbers on how many Iraqis were killed/wounded in 2004-2008:
Killed: 85,694Wounded: 147,195
And here are some highly relevant quotes by members of the Bush/Cheney administration:
"It is not knowable how long that conflict would last, it could last, you know, six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 2/7/03"My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators." Cheney 3/16/03
"We know where (the weapons) are, they’re in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, north and south somewhat." Rumsfeld, 3/30/03
"Major combat operations have ENDED." George W. Bush, 5/1/03
"We’re dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, 3/27/03
"Iraq will not require sustained aid." O.M.B. Director Mitch Daniels, 3/28/03
"A year from now, I’d be surprised if there’s not some grand square in Baghdad that is named after President Bush." Former Pentagon Advisor Richard Perle, 9/22/03
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." — George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003, making a claim that administration officials knew at the time to be false
"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." — George W. Bush, May 24, 2005
"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. It is our number one priority and we will not rest until we find him." — George W. Bush, Sept. 13, 2001
&
"I don't know where bin Laden is. I have no idea and really don't care. It's not that important. It's not our priority." — George W. Bush, March 13, 2002
"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." - George W. Bush, June 18, 2002
"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." — George W. Bush, Sept. 6, 2006
Posted by Kevin at 08:17 AM |
October 13, 2009
Merkley And Dodd Advocating For Consumers
That Jeff Merkley just gets better and better. I keep steeling myself for the day that the culture of compromise wears him down, but the way he keeps going on doing the right thing keeps my faith in the elected official alive. Today, Mapes writes this about that:
The financial industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are vigorously fighting it, and you hear some chatter on conservative blogs. One called it "another effort by [President] Obama to take control of a significant portion of the economy."Merkley and Dodd said they're just trying to look out for consumers. They met at Portland State University with a selected group of people with stories to tell about how they've been affected by the financial collapse. Bob and Martha Barney of Milwaukie, for example, told how they got lured into a mortgage they said wasn't what they had been told it would be. Now they owe far more than their home is worth and they're worried it will destroy their credit.
Keep it up, Jeff.
Anybody throw Jeff any Senator Treats yet? Throw him some Senator Treats, please.
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:45 PM |
When They Do It, It's A Virtue; When We Do It, It's A Sin
Today in It's Easier To Ask Forgiveness Than Permission: The Republican Party, protestations to the contrary, is the inventor of the double-standard in American politics, and they use it with the ease and Zen-like shamlessness.
Our example today comes via Washington Monthly's Political Animal. And, perforce, the observation that, during the Weimar years, it was popular for Germany's insurgent political parties to form adjunct squads of what amounted to rabble rousers to go to competitors' political rallies with the express purpose of creating chaos. One of those insurgents, of course, were the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (work it out, Skippy). Now, if you were to compare this to manifest behavior such as, oh, I'd say SerfdomWorks and Americans for Reduced Prosperity and allied organizations organizing detachments of the Dick Armey to cause havoc at town halls, you'd hear Godwin's Law (somewhat-incorrectly) invoked so fast your head would be spinning.
However, when three minutes of a much-abused clip from a 2004 biography of die Reichskanzler is paired with a voice-over of the little Oesterreichisch corporal approving of Nancy Pelosi, well, shoot, they're just joshing, don't ya know?
The National Republican Congressional Committee happily linked and promoted the video, calling it "funny" (which is another sign of how LTTP these mooks are, since that clip has been pretty much abused to death) and recommending that people view it … until the National Democratic Campaign Committee called them on it, and then all they got back was a tepid apology.
Later that day, in various quarters, Republicans and conservatives criticized the typical liberal response of complaining about being compared to Nazis because … well, because they were being compared to Nazis.
And so it goes.
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:11 PM |
Snowe Votes Heathcare Overhaul Out Of Senate Finance; May Well Be Kenyan
In news breaking today, the Senate healthcare overhaul is said to be getting The Most Important Senator In The Whole World™'s support, meaning that the bill will most likely go out of committee and onto the floor of the Senate.
I'm of mixed feelings about the Senate's version, but it's notable here to observe that would it not for Senator Snowe (R-SPARRRTAAAA!) this would have been a straight party-line vote. All other Republicans are expected to vote against this version.
All of them.
They were never going to vote for it, no matter how nicely it treated the insurance industry. They want Obama's attempt to fix the country to fail … even if it takes the country down in the process.
That, mah peoples, is the takeaway, and it's more important that which way Snowe voted.
And, this just in: Code Blue, Dr Taitz, CODE BLUE!
Posted by The Chinuk at 12:52 PM |
Oregon Unemployment Down .5 Per Cent - Good News. Unless It Isn't
Oregon’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped half a percentage point in September: to 11.5 percent.
Yay! Or, maybe, not:
Art Ayre: “The reasons for this larger than normal drop are not clear to us, they’re unknown to us. But they could include people dropping out of the labor force to go back to school in the fall. Or discouragement about the prospects of finding a job. Or also possible increased confidence in the economy and the reduced feeling of need to find a job.”
Or maybe. I don't know. Who can tell? The experts are of no help here. And while the raw numbers are a sort of good news, the quantity hardly, of course, touch on quality. How many of the jobs that Employment Division's Tom Fuller quotes in the linked article are full-time? How many have benefits? Do any of them accept Unicorn-Americans?
More jobs is great. Less unemployed is better. More service-industry jobs? Not so much. What are we all supposed to do here in Oregon – sell each other hamburgers and refill each others' cell phones all day?
Posted by The Chinuk at 12:07 PM |
October 09, 2009
The Nobel Peace Prize: Why He Was Awarded It
The awarding of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama is quite a cause for pride for every American, regardless of Morning Schmuck and FOX News (remember, it's one vowel movement away from the truth) say.
And never mind what RedState and WorldNetDaily say. Seriously, never mind it. What the squeaks and squealings of the brain stems that have captured media and the Republican Party have to say have no bearing at all, and that goes double, double times again for any conservative radio commentator has to say (that's what they always claimed, right, that they're just entertainers?).
The plain and simple fact of the awarding on the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama is that this is the world – which we acted like complete a-holes to since 2001 – saying back to us: "Good Job, America. You had a moment of sanity back in 2008 and you acted on it."
The Prize was awarded not so much for anything Obama's done, but for what he stands for and what he could be doing, and what difference he might make:
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
However you chose to see the elevation of Obama to Nobel Laureate, be it a vote for what he represents or a vote repudiating the Dubya Doctrine, this is a good thing. It means the world sees us less as a bully, that they believe that we're going back to a place where America can do good things, and most of all, it's causing the Reich Wing (who, last week, giggled themselves silly with self-backslapping over Chicago not getting the 'Lympics) to eat themselves alive in resentment.
Schadenfreude, sweet and pure. Enjoy it, mah peoples.
Am I still of dubious faith? Well, yes, I am. I am dismayed that the President seems to be solving the problems of Gitmo and Iraq and Afghanistan without the alacrity that he displayed on the campaign trail, and it seems to be getting lost in compromise and the unfortunately-enduring fetish for bipartisanship. But maybe he's doing things on a level that's a bit above me, and very soon now, it'll all make sense.
After all, if Barack Obama has become the second sitting US President to get the Nobel Peace Prize (the first being Woodrow Wilson, which is ironic, if you know about WW), maybe they're trying to tell us that it's all still a work in progress, and better things are to come. I'll take the optimistic view.
Posted by The Chinuk at 08:41 AM |
October 08, 2009
Health Care Myth Busting
The myths:
1. Canada’s health care system is “socialized medicine.”
2. Doctors are hurt financially by single-payer health care.
3. Wait times in Canada are horrendous.
4. You have to wait forever to get a family doctor.
5. You don’t get to choose your own doctor.
6. Canada’s care plan only covers the basics. You’re still on your own for any extras, including prescription drugs. And you still have to pay for it.
7. Canadian drugs are not the same.
8. Publicly-funded programs will inevitably lead to rationed health care, particularly for the elderly.
9. People won’t be responsible for their own health if they’re not being forced to pay for the consequences.
10. This all sounds great — but the taxes to cover it are just unaffordable. And besides, isn’t the system in bad financial shape?
And the debunking:
10 Myths About Canadian Health Care, Busted
Posted by Kevin at 05:33 PM |
Bob Stacy To Battle Rex Burkholder Over Metro Chair
The Bragdon era is coming to an end over at Metro (the Zoo, solid waste, and regional planning), which means that we're going to have a battle for Metro Chair. So far, Rex Burkholder has plumped for the race, and now we have Bob Stacy:
Like Burkholder, Stacey is a cyclist with a strong environmental reputation. But there's one big issue that separates the two candidates: the Columbia River Crossing (CRC). Burkholder supports the bridge. Stacey was one of the first civic leaders to come out swinging against the 12-lane plan. Stacey made the CRC the crux of his speech and I'm sure it will be the central issue of the campaign.
Both have the cred to get elected to Metro chair, here in blue-on-blue northwest Oregon, so it'll boil down to how many lanes you want going over the Columbia into and out of the 'Couv.
That's so Portland.
Oh, and if you wonder what Bus Rapid Transit is, it's kind of like light rail, but with buses: special high-capacity buses leave town on the street, just like regular buses, but travel outward on special busways that have rail-esque stations and get priority at signals. They have one in Eugene: LTC calls it the EMX (Emerald Express).
Posted by The Chinuk at 04:03 PM |
October 07, 2009
Sen. Merkley uses Rubik's Cube to illustrate HealthCare puzzle
Posted by Kevin at 12:56 PM |
Friendly reminder: GOP on healthcare reform
The Problem:
The Republican Solution:
Sen. Merkley calls them out:
Posted by Kevin at 08:55 AM |
October 06, 2009
Now that was compelling reading!
The truth is often stranger than fiction, as the old saying goes. Be that as it may, the truth is also frequently more compelling than fiction. Such is the case with a post I just read on Sean Cruz's blog. It's the single most compelling thing I've read on an Oregon blog in some time:
Sean Cruz confronts man who kidnapped his children
Posted by Kevin at 08:28 PM |
Three Americans Win The Nobel Prize For Medicine …
You see, we told you women were smart. First time two women ever shared the prize.
Posted by The Chinuk at 02:38 PM |
David Letterman Deep Thought
I haven't thought much about what The Letter Hound did, mostly because I haven't watched his show in, what, over a decade?
My wife never did like him much. But then, she's always been a better judge of character than me.
Posted by The Chinuk at 02:33 PM |
Jasun Wurster: Sam Adams Recall 2 And The Chamber Of Secrets
The first Sam Adams recall died of, pretty much everybody knows by now, a case of rather severe anaemia. Jasun's promised he'd be back, though, but just won't tell us very much about it.
Before the deadline, he wouldn't tell anyone how many signatures he was actually able to gather.
Now, after the deadline, the signatures are being passed on to the sequel group and we're hearing claims (reported by Willy Week's Nigel Jaquiss) such as:
We've definitely got commitments from 15 to 25 business owners," says Wurster, this morning. "This campaign is going to raise $250,000, use paid signature gatherers, and our list of 30,000 signatures.
But he's not gonna tell us who, nuh-uh. Matt Davis of the PMerc started asking around, and it would seem that either a whole bunch of these business leaders are keeping it a secret – or maybe Recall 2 will be even more vaporware than Recall 1 was.
A long time ago I needled Jasun on another blog about how feckless his approach was (this was back when he showed up for City Council in a hoodie and seemed wholly unprepared). After he responded (very politely) to me I admitted that maybe I was being a little unfair, but the approach to this still rings a sour note with me, from the rollout at Nick's Coney Island (which every local crank seemed to sign on at, and I think the terminally unlistenable-to Victoria Taft actually gained a listener) to the signature-gatherers you couldn't find even though you heard they were everywhere.
Now he won't tell us how well he failed or who's backing him.
And I'm supposed to take that seriously?
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:55 PM |
Tuesday entertainment
Two items here, very loosely under the heading of "science."
First is a (typically) brilliant post by Ed Brayton on scienceblogs.com: Glenn Beck tries to kill parody website. (h/t Spyder)
Second is this amazing video clip one of my cousins posted to FaceBook this morning:
Posted by Kevin at 08:55 AM |
October 05, 2009
Sam Adams Dodges The Bullet
…an extremely large, slow-moving, easy-to-avoid, kinda-big-yellow-foam-rubber bullet:
Today is the deadline for the Wurster-led recall effort to turn in the signatures it’s gathered if it hoped to put a recall of Adams on the ballot for Portland voters. Wurster claims 700 volunteers will have gathered more than 30,000 signatures. But he says rather than turning those signatures in, he will give them to the new group, Portland Future PAC.Wurster says he has two reasons for not turning in the signatures: first, he doesn’t think he has the 32,183 valid signatures needed; second, the names of those who signed would become a public record and he says he does not want to expose them to the wrath of Adams and his supporters.
Yes, watch out for the Sam Adams Mafia, coming to a home or countertop near you, full of retribution for you signing the petition.
With all due respect to Jasun Wurster and his passion (I do happen to believe it was sincere) can we say yet that the recall campaign was always pretty much a lost cause from the first? And will we ever know how many signatures were really gathered, or will we forever had to take his word for it?
And will Portlanders take the next go even less seriously than they did this one?
(For reference, the answers are yes, no, yes, and yes)
And I didn't know you could just turn the signatures over to a new group. I thought you had to start from square one again.
Posted by The Chinuk at 01:44 PM |
Ash Grove Cement's Durkee Plant To Close – But Not Because Of The Mercury
One of the more controversial sources of employment in Oregon is alone Interstate 84, deep in eastern Oregon, along a lonely stretch of rural freeway in a gulch.
In a place called Durkee, between Baker City and Ontario, the Ash Grove Cement Company, with plants across the US of A, makes cement from limestone. It's also very nastily dirty. Les Zaitz of The Oregonian reported:
Ash Grove's Oregon plant, situated next to Interstate 84 about 30 miles south of Baker City, has been in the headlines for emitting more mercury into the air than any other industrial site in the state. The plant, which mines limestone to process into cement, vents about 2,000 pounds of mercury a year. The mercury occurs naturally in the limestone and is vaporized during the cement-making process.
The company had reached an agreement with the State of Oregon about emissions but then the Feds were chiming in with their own even more stringent standards, and things were looking bleak. Then, the economy rendered the whole thing academic:
The Portland Cement Association said cement consumption dropped 22 percent so far this year on the heels of a double-digit decline in 2008. The association doesn't expect the demand for cement to rebound until late 2010.
There's actually a glut of cement on the market right now, and less building activity to consume it.
After all the worries about mercury in the environment – which does nasty things to you, and pregnant women, and things of that nature – it's rather ironic that the recession should render it moot.
Posted by The Chinuk at 12:50 PM |
The Republican healthcare plan:
Posted by Kevin at 11:06 AM |
… Or, For A Few Bucks More, You Could Buy An Actual Homeless Child
… but, for only $95, you can give Mattel's American Girl "Gwen Thompson" doll a home.
If you really want to mourn the death of American culture, you can read this New York Post article on it.
If you haven't yet cried and died inside, consider that Mattel offers hairstyling for the doll – for $20.
And for $95, this doll's homeless problem is solved! Sweet!
And how much of this is going toward charity for the million-plus actual homeless children in America?
Well, nothing, silly! What country do you think you live in?
(via Thom Hartmann)
Posted by The Chinuk at 10:34 AM |
The Empty Quarter Gets Emptier
An article in this last Sunday Oregonian provides food for thought.
Anyone who's familiar with Oregon geography knows that most Oregonians live along the margins. Maybe 2/3rds (or more) of all Oregonians live within fifty miles either way of Interstate 5; a scattering along I-84, with towns of 5, 10, and 15,000 studding it like unevenly-spaced pearls. US Hwy 97 had just a handful until Bend's population exploded; as recently as the mid-1980s, Bend was still only about 25% of today's size. It was something of a bubble-borne anomaly.
South of I-84 and east of Hwy 97, Oregon's Outback, the Empty Quarter, dominates. Some of the worlds most unique wildnerness areas, the most spectacular scenery, and the lonliest vistas that can be had, are found in the big counties in the east and south.
According to this Sunday Oregonian article, Oregon's Empty Quarter seems to be getting emptier. The culprit? The economy, with business and industry leaving the dry side, leaving small communities behind where one ends up road-tripping literally hundreds of miles to go to the grocery store, and taverns and social gathering places we city folk take for granted just don't exist anymore:
Long Creek, a ranching town 90 miles south of Pendleton at the base of the Long Creek Mountains, is a classic Western town, sitting amid pine-covered peaks and vast rangelands the color of buckskin. U.S. 395 and Oregon 402 are the main streets.The town of 125 lost its vitality more than a decade ago when its sawmill closed, says Paul Barnett, a veteran cowboy and owner of the town's motel, the Long Creek Lodge.
"It used to be a thriving place," says Barnett, 75, who proudly wears a Stetson he bought in Montana 40 years ago and who still spends hours in the saddle rounding up cows. "We get a lot of hunters, and that helps us."
Though the gas station in Long Creek has been closed for four years, dozens of drivers still roll into town expecting to find fuel. The town of 125 has had a restaurant since July after going without one for about a year. Curtis and Stacie Witt opened the Mountain Inn Cafe after the Prairie City sawmill where Curtis used to work closed. “I had to do something,” Curtis says. The defunct service station, closed four years ago, sits like an overturned box next to Barnett's motel. Nearby, a one-story building has a yellow "Groceries" sign on the roof, but the doors stay locked. U.S. 395 is so empty much of the time it could double as a landing strip for small planes or as a target range for competitive 1,000-yard rifle shooters.
I got lonely just reading this stuff.
Beautiful pictures too – lonely, beautiful pictures.
The future Oregon – outside of the cities, outside of the Willamette Valley, beyond I-5 and I-84, is evolving thus.
And so it goes.
Posted by The Chinuk at 10:02 AM |
Carla Loves Oregon: We Applaud Her Taste
I've never made much of a secret of my admiration for Carla "The Unimpeachable" Axtman over at BlueO. Instead of her usual sharp reportage, though, she admitted her love affair with this most singular state.
I quite agree. Being a native of the great State of Oregon (something I think I am justly smug about) I've always loved my home, and the limited scope of a rather impoverished life devoid of the travel many others enjoy has been well mitigated by the fact that I can find everything I need to inspire and delight me between the crest of the Cascades and the crest of the Coast Range, in my beloved Willamette Valley. With occasional trips east to the desert and west to the beach, there is no feeling that Oregon cannot capture and lovingly deliver to you.
A photographer once said to me for truly great photographs, not only does the subject need to love the lens, but the photographer needs to love the subject. Carla fits that bill very well indeed. Observe:
Oregon Movie, 2009 from Carla Axtman on Vimeo.
Discuss (and compliment Carla) over at BlueO, if you'd be so kind, thankyew.
As someone who was born and raised here, I kind of take Oregon for granted sometimes. Thanks to people like Carla, I'll always understand how lucky I am to call myself Native Oregonian.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:19 AM |
One Of The Mad As Hell Doctors Got In To See The Prez …
Sorry about this, I have nothing to link to because I was hearing it on the radio thingy, but on KPOJ this morning Carl Wolfson was chatting with one of the Mad As Hell Doctors who, word had it, weren't going to get in to see the President with the rest of the other doctors who were invited, but as they were talking to one of them, one of them was being ushered in through security with the rest of the group that had also been invited.
Listening to that guy being taken through security while in my car, on the radio, was an interesting expericnce.
But at least there's someone there speaking for the rest of us – or at least that's the way it seemed.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:09 AM |
Clark County Getting Less Transit, Starting In January
Earlier this year, in response to greatly-reduced funding, C-Tran – the public transit system serving Clark County, meaning greater Vancouver WA, adjusted service downward quite a bit.
Now, I know you Vancouverites were thinking that would be it for a while, but wait, there's less:
The proposal, which consists of a 3–6% net reduction in C-TRAN’s annual service hours, is necessary in the wake of the prolonged economic recession and a projected $4 million budgetary shortfall caused by declining sales tax revenues which account for approximately 60% of C-TRAN’s revenue. The projected shortfall is in addition to savings recently generated by C-TRAN’s receipt of federal economic stimulus funds used to off-set preventative maintenance costs. If adopted, the proposed service adjustments are expected to close approximately $480,000 to $1 million of this budget gap, with the remaining to be bridged through non-service related spending reductions and use of reserve funds.
A PDF containing details of the reduction is available at C-Tran via this page: http://c-tran.com/news/detail/id/14. Click on the words Service Adjustment Plan in the middle.
At least VanWA's still getting Sunday service. They don't even get Saturday service in Salem anymore.
We're going the wrong way with transit, dammit.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:02 AM |
October 02, 2009
Us, A Patriot
Today in "If You Have Nothing To Hide, You Have Nothing To Worry About", we find that Sen Russ Feingold (D-WI) has gotten tough and sneaky:
U.S. Senator Russ Feingold successfully added an amendment to the PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee today to reform invasive “sneak and peek” searches. The “sneak and peek” provision of the PATRIOT Act allows the government in run-of-the-mill criminal cases to enter into someone’s home and perform a search without having to inform the subject of the search until weeks or months later. Feingold’s amendment simply requires that the subjects of “sneak and peek” searches be notified of the search within seven days, unless a judge grants an extension because it is necessary to keep the search secret.
Well, that's something, I guess. They'll have to tell you within seven days, unless, of course, they don't.
And is that seven calendar days or seven business days?
Well, we're getting them terrorists, ain't we?
In the following, the emphasis is mine:
“Despite the fact that this authority was pushed as part of the Patriot Act in the wake of September 11, it is not about terrorism at all,” Feingold said. “A recent report on the use of these searches last year shows that the vast majority are conducted in drug cases, and almost none of them in terrorism cases. This is an extraordinary authority, to allow government agents to break into people’s homes without telling them, and I am pleased that the Judiciary Committee agreed to include this important safeguard.”
Oh, my.
(Remember, this is a US Senator saying this stuff. I'm just reactin')
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:45 AM |
What It Takes To Go Rogue To The Willy Week
Deciding you're not ready to take on Kitz and Brad to be Goobernor.
I wish she'd of run, too, and I don't know what word I'd use for it, but "rogue" seems to be a bit wide of the mark here.
But, hey, it's not like I'm a pro-journo or anything.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:27 AM |
This Is What Democratic Backbone Looks Like: Grayson, Merkley
A couple of posts ago, Kevin put in this blog's two cents about the amazing Rep Alan Grayson, Democrat of Florida's Eighth, and his epochal telling-it-like-it-is about the Republican health plan for America's working class:
• Don't Get Sick
• If You Do, Die Quickly
Which pretty much sums it up.
What hasn't been touched on here yet is Grayson's response, which can be gathered from this bit from Orlando's WFTV report:
Grayson told Eyewitness News that he stands by what he said and he will not apologize."Everyone needed a kick in the rear and I said Democrats, Republicans, everyone work together until it's done. And someone needed to say that," said Grayson. "What I said is true. Do you apologize when you say something true? Do you?"
Which, if I said it, would sound more like pound sand, so maybe it's a good thing I'm no US Representative, especially a Democrat, who's supposed to be deferential to Republicans even though they're out of the majority and out of power now.
But just to remind, it's not just Rep. Grayson who's acting like a stem cell planted into the Congress to restore a spine to the Democrats so that they do the right thing. Allow me to point you toward this bit of plain-talking from our own junior Senator which, in case you've been living under a rock (or in the case of Oregon Republicans, in denial), is one Jeff Merkley:
This is what Democratic backbone looks like.
We should rally round them and, if we can, reward them appropriately. Those of you who still have incomes need to contribute. The rest of you, write them. Encourage them. Tell them they did the right thing.
Posted by The Chinuk at 09:02 AM |
The 2016 Chicago Nolympics
Despite an appeal from President Obama, Chicago's out – in the very first round, a surprise since a read of the conventional wisdom had it that Chi-town would have made it to the final balloting.
Republicans, you can start blaming the President …
Now.
Posted by The Chinuk at 08:56 AM |
October 01, 2009
Racists = "birthers" = racists
The lunatic fringe (aka: "birthers") have a new infomercial out trying to further hype their lunacy.
A Christian website called LivePrayer.com produced an infomercial that the United States Justice Foundation organization is set to air in seven Southern states....
Led by Bill Keller, a born-again Christian once convicted of insider trading on Wall Street, LivePrayer.com is working with an attorney, Gary Kreep, from the Ramona, California-based United States Justice Foundation, to air the production, titled "Where Was Obama Born?" in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Missouri and Florida.
Wow... imagine that. They're only running their infomercial in states which have long and sordid histories of racism. Coincidence? Perhaps. And perhaps the Earth is flat...
Glibly ignored by these racist, knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing "birthers" is the fact that the sainted Founders considered being born to an American mother just as valid as having been born inside the geographical United States, in the Naturalization Act of 1790. Of course those same stained... er... sainted Founders only considered it applicable to those with white skin. Which brings us back to where this current crop of racists are airing their infomercial.
They, of course, don't have the cajones to be honest about their racist intentions. Which is why they continue to blather on about birth certificates despite the fact that Hawaii has already produced Obama's birth certificate proving his legitimacy as President. It's also why they are preying just upon geographical areas with the strongest associations with racism.
Racists = "birthers = racists.
Posted by Kevin at 09:15 AM |
The GOP healthcare reform plan in 3 simple steps
Needless to say, Congressional Republicans were not amused.
I'd be among the first to freely concede that Rep. Grayson's tactic here was not constructive. But at the same time, I see zero evidence that the overwhelming majority of Congressional Republicans are even interested in anything that resembles being constructive.
If anything, what Rep. Grayson did was to meet Congressional Republicans at their own level of... constructive discourse.
Posted by Kevin at 08:44 AM |