Current affairs

I haven't been to many election night get-togethers in my life. Here comes another one. Laurel and I are about to leave for the Marion County Democratic Party, um, party at the Grand Ballroom in downtown Salem. We relished a Measure 49 victory back in 2007 there. Hopefully tonight will bring similarly good progressive electoral news.But whether or not Chuck Bennett wins the race for Salem Mayor, and Measure 24-292 passes (an effort to reform the county charter that would enlarge the Board of Commissioners from three to five, make the members non-partisan, and elect them by district), I'll be…

I swing both ways. I subscribe to both remaining weekly news magazines, TIME and Newsweek. And I'm an avid consumer of online news. Well, let's make me a tripartite swinger, because I also read two newspapers every day, the Salem Statesman Journal and the Portland Oregonian. I find this to be a balanced news diet, the weeklies being an important part of my nutrition.Now Newsweek is up for sale. It, along with TIME, may not survive. Call me old-fashioned (I still read books made of paper), but I find this highly disturbing. Newsweek necessarily has transformed itself from a communicator…

Coincidence? Or something more...wonderful. I choose the more, that President Obama reads my blog and uses my words to inspire the American public. Check out the evidence:Last night, I wrote a post called "Gulf oil spill shows why government is important." I said:But hopefully people will take away a larger -- and marvelously simple -- message from this mess: government is us. The collective "we care" side of us.Today, President Obama gave a speech at the University of Michigan on the theme of defending government. He said:President Barack Obama took aim Saturday at the angry rhetoric of those who denigrate…

Ah, delicious irony. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal now is begging for government assistance as the BP oil spill threatens his state's fisheries, shipping, tourism, and coastal environment. This is the same guy who said this in response to a speech Obama gave to a joint session of Congress:We place our hope in you, the American people. In the end, it comes down to an honest and fundamental disagreement about the proper role of government. We oppose the National Democratic view that says the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen…

We need to boycott crazy states. "Crazy" admittedly is in the eye of the beholder. But since this blog reflects my view of the world, I'm calling the crazy shots:Arizona, because it just passed a "show me your papers" anti-immigration law that even a Kansas editorial board called unworkable, likely unconstitutional, and clearly inhumane.Kansas (sorry, editorial board), because the Board of Education tried to introduce intelligent design into the state's curriculum. Plus side: this brought us the Flying Spaghetti Monster theory of creation.Texas, because its equally wacky Board of Education has rewritten history to suit the political leanings of its…

If facts matter at all to Lars Larson and Oregon's other right-wing talk show hosts, hopefully they'll stop with the Oregon has a horrible business climate B.S. now that a corporate lobbying group has come to an opposite conclusion. Actually, Oregon has the lowest state and local business taxes in the country. A newly released study by a corporate lobby group found that Oregon tied for the lowest state and local business taxes in the country in fiscal year 2009. It also said that Oregon tied for first place in terms of providing “value” to businesses from the taxes they…

Yesterday my wife told me about a great web site she'd heard mentioned on the Thom Hartmann program (which originates from KPOJ in nearby Portland, Oregon -- on America's proudly left coast).It's Stop My Benefits, where the people who are ranting about Obamacare, socialized medicine, and government taking over our freedoms can sign a form asking that their participation in distasteful programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Veteran's benefits, and Social Security be stopped.Excellent idea. As the site says: It has been apparent that some people think that “government-run, socialized” healthcare programs are bad.  There has even been discussions where people don’t…

Much of the furor has died down over the fatal shooting by a Portland (Oregon) police officer of a drunk transient who came out of a public restroom bloodied and holding an x-acto knife.But I'm still bothered by it, notwithstanding the most press release from the Portland Police Bureau after an interview with the officer, Jason Walters -- which, disturbingly, didn't take place until days had passed after the shooting.Download 032510_Updated_Hoyt_ArboretumThe transient, Jack "Jackie" Collins, was intoxicated and threatening people at Hoyt Aboretum. After Walters knocked on the restroom door, Collins came out. Pretty clearly, Collins had been cutting on…

Republicans, beware. Your dream of an angry electorate rising up next November and returning your party to control of Congress probably is as fantastical as your objections to the health care legislation that passed the House of Representatives a few days ago.Watching the debate on television, and then listening to it on my car radio off and on as I drove around Sunday afternoon, I kept hearing Republicans scream, "People don't want this bill!"Well, if that was true on the weekend, Americans changed their minds by Tuesday. A Gallup poll taken after the House vote, on Monday, found that 49%…

I feel great, knowing that passage of the health care reform bill is virtually assured in the House. All the work and money millions of people put into electing Obama and a solid Democratic majority is paying off for the American people.It's a big moment, just as the passage of Social Security and Civil Rights legislation was. Soon the United States will be well on the road to assuring that everyone is able to get high quality needed medical care at a reasonable cost.Political junkie that I am, around 1:00 pm I sat outside a grocery store here in Salem…

It looks like health insurance reform legislation is going to pass the House this weekend, and that the Senate will approve it. Great news -- for the 30 million Americans who will finally get insurance, for the 44,000 who have been dying each year from a lack of insurance, and for the rest of us who will no longer be screwed over in various nasty ways by profit-hungry private insurance companies.But it won't be pleasant news for Fox News, which will be deeply embarrassed (or at least, should be) by how inaccurate its reporting and prognosticating on this issue has…