Posted inCurrent affairs

Scalia says religious groups have to follow the law

Amazing. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia agrees with President Obama and other progressives about something: that religious organizations which enter into commercial activity have to follow the same laws everybody else does. We have never held that an individual's religious beliefs excuse him from compliance with an otherwise valid law prohibiting conduct that the State is free to regulate. On the contrary, the record of more than a century of our free exercise jurisprudence contradicts that proposition. When followers of a particular sect enter into commercial activity as a matter of choice, the limits they accept on their own conduct as…
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Posted inSalem

Untold story of Salem’s “Singing in the Rain” flash mob

Today, hundreds of people assembled in Salem for an almost unheard-of happening in Oregon's capital city: to do something creative, semi-spontaneous, and fun. We danced to "Singing in the Rain." Ironically, it was a nice day. As a blogger, I have a duty to disclose the untold story of this event. You won't find this in the Statesman Journal, which is going to do the usual mainstream media thing -- reporting news in an unbiased, objective, big-picture fashion. So if you want to see professionally taken photos of people taking part in "Singing in the Rain," which was wonderfully organized…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

Wolf-phobic ranchers need therapy, not HB 4158

Eastern Oregon ranchers, my wife and I want to send you some healing thoughts: You don't need to suffer from your fear of wolves. Really. Breathe in...breathe out. Embrace reality. You're safe. There's no wolf at the door. Little Red Riding Hood is a fairy tale. Unfortunately, so far the ranchers and other wolf-phobic Oregonians haven't gotten the therapy that they need. House Bill 4158 is evidence. Introduced in this month's mini-legislative session, it "allows killing of wolves to address depredation of livestock." I guess the sponsors of the bill, which was introduced at the request of the Oregon Cattlemen's…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Rep. Dennis Richardson, “spam king,” gets mine in return

After getting several unwanted email "newsletters" from the Oregon legislature's unchallenged Spam King, Rep. Dennis Richardson, tonight I followed the Golden Rule and sent him one of my own. Richardson used a public records request to get hundreds of thousands of personal email addresses from the state computer system. Well, give spam and you deserve to get spam.  Here's the email message I just sent to the Spam King. Subject: "Great offer." Rep. Richardson, thanks for sending me another of your unwanted emails. I've sent you a "DELETE" request, but wanted you to enjoy some spam email from me. Since…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

HB 4095 hearing shows dysfunction of 2012 Oregon legislature

Wow. This 2012 short session of the Oregon legislature is even more screwed-up than sessions usually are. And that's saying a lot, giving the dysfunction evident in normal legislative deliberations. This is the first even-year session, as Oregon has done away with the archaic practice of having the legislature meet every two years. A lot needs to be accomplished in 35 days, but some (translation: mostly Republicans) are doing their best to focus on pet dream bills rather than on pressing immediate priorities. Case in point: HB 4095, which Republicans have introduced before in different guises. It's an attempt to…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

Don’t base land use laws on “two Oregon’s” myth

"There are two Oregon's," said Rep. Wayne Krieger (R-Gold Beach). "The Willamette Valley and everywhere else." [Update: Glancing at the notes I took at the meeting before the paper went into recyling, I see that I jotted down "Rep. Esquivel" next to the two Oregon's mention. So, probably was him. But I'm sure Krieger endorses that notion.] Waiting to testify on House Bill 4095 at a Judiciary Committee hearing this morning, I thought, What is he talking about? Two Oregon's? That notion is untrue and divisive. Unfortunately, it's also an assumption that underlies a lot of bad legislative proposals, mostly initiated…
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Posted inDogs Home life

Wanted: dog just like ours, but much younger

My wife wants to get another dog, even though our current canine companion, Serena, is still very much alive at the age of twelve -- though admittedly slowing down. (But isn't that to be expected given that she's 80+ in dog years?) Recently Serena helped me survive the Great Salem Snow-pocalypse of 2012, so I feel a lot of loyalty toward her. Plus, I believe in the adage that worked great during my child (singular)-raising years: don't allow you and your spouse to be out-numbered. One little child, two large parents. That's a fair fight. Yet even then the kid…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Shame! Komen for the Cure politicizes cancer

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation's outrageous decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood's breast cancer screening efforts is a case study in disastrous public relations. Overnight, Komen for the Cure went from "great public-spirited organization" to "handmaiden of right-wing crazies" in the minds of countless Americans. Like me. Until the Planned Parenthood defunding hit the Internet airwaves, I hadn't paid much attention to Komen for the Cure. A couple of times a year I'd see a positive story on the evening news about women (and some men) dressed in pink running together to raise funds and publicize the…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

“Expansionary austerity” isn’t working in Europe

I'm no economic expert. But much of economics is simple common sense. So it's no big surprise to me that the British economy is faltering after David Cameron's conservative government decided several years ago that cutting government spending in a recession was the best way to stimulate growth and job creation. Huh? This "expansionary austerity" notion is another example of faith-based voodoo economics, like believing that cutting taxes results in more revenue. That's also a myth. Recently Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman wrote about Europe's continuing economic problems that have been exacerbated by austerity measures. "The Austerity Debacle" shows why it's…
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Posted inHome life

People who throw cigarette butts out of their car are…

My wife and I have quite a few words that finish off the title of this blog post. Jerks. Inconsiderate. Litterers.  It hugely bugs us when we see someone toss a cigarette butt out of a car window. But usually the offender is driving along in front of us, so it's difficult to see what sort of person is the inconsiderate littering jerk. Today I had a chance to get a close-up view of that odious species, Cigarettebutt discardiatis. I was pushing my shopping cart in the south Salem Fred Meyer parking lot. Nearing my vehicle, I saw a car…
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Posted inMeasure 37 Salem Sustainability

Marion County commissioners raked over legal coals again

Ha, ha! We were right and you were wrongI Thanks to Salem Weekly, our city's alternative newspaper, I got to gloat again about our neighborhood's land use win over the Marion County commissioners after publisher A.P. Walther asked me if I'd like to write an opinion piece based on my recent gloating blog post. "Of course," I told A.P. I then struggled to find the perfect lead for the column, one which reflected my maturity, seriousness, and dignified writing style. "Ha, ha!" struck me as perfect, especially since I figured Salem Weekly wouldn't allow stronger language in a publication that's…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Science Sustainability

Eugene girls sue Kitzhaber over climate change inaction

Here's four big Green Thumbs-Up from my wife and me to Eugene residents Olivia Chernaik, 11, and Kelsey Juliana, 15. The Register Guard reports: ...with the help of their mothers, Lisa Chernaik and Catia Juliana, [the girls] filed a lawsuit against the state of Oregon and Gov. John Kitzhaber, accusing them of violating their duties to uphold the public trust and to protect the state’s atmosphere, water, land, fishery and wildlife resources from the impacts of climate change. Excellent! The lawsuit is being brought under the aegis of iMatter, a group that encourages kids to get involved in the fight to…
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Posted inMiscellany

Still a man’s world (in movie trailer voiceovers, at least)

Interesting piece in the New York Times about why movie trailers almost always feature male voices. Here's some excerpts from "Why Men Always Tell You to See Movies."  The question has been pondered by mystics through the ages, but in the sanctuary of cinema the voice of a sonorous, authoritative, fear-inspiring yet sometimes relatable presence is, invariably, that of a man. Consider the trailer and the omniscient, disembodied voice that introduces moviegoers to a fictional world. ...Do moviegoers want to hear female voices? Research indicates that our brains are wired to prefer theirs to male ones; that’s the reason robotic…
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Posted inCurrent affairs Neighborhood Salem

Salem’s Todd Davidson heading up international tourism efforts

One of our neighbors here in rural south Salem has become a celebrity -- in the tourism promotion world. Recently President Obama announced at Walt Disney World that Todd Davidson will lead an effort to increase international tourism through the U.S. Tourism and Travel Advisory Board.  Here's a KGW story about Todd's appointment (after a brief ad).  Davidson is CEO of Travel Oregon, which has been successful in boosting tourism in our state. "The travel industry is an important part of Oregon's economy," said Governor Kitzhaber. "Appointing Todd Davidson to Chair the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board was an excellent…
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Posted inHome life

Hines weight loss system: take a crap

Here's a can't-miss way to lose quite a bit of weight almost instantly. I'm sharing it with the world because I'd love it if this became known as the "Brian Hines Weight Loss System." (Don't hesitate to reblog this post and share it on social networks. Just make sure that my name keeps on being prominently featured.) I weigh myself every morning as soon as I get up, dutifully recording the result in my iPhone Weightbot app. I've noticed that my weight will mysteriously vary by a pound or two from day to day, even though I hadn't changed my…
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Posted inEntertainment

“The Artist” movie inspires me to… express myself!

When I first heard about "The Artist" (2011) I thought, "This is a movie that I should like, but won't." Black and white. Almost entirely silent, as regards speaking. French actors/director. An homage to films of the 20's and 30's. I figured "The Artist" would be one of those films my wife and I go to at Salem Cinema because it's an artsy, indie movie that's getting a lot of attention. Afterwards we'd look at each other and say, "What was that all about?," then go home and watch something genuinely enjoyable on TV, like The Colbert Report. Wrong. I…
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Posted inHome life Sustainability

Our Nissan Leaf doesn’t give me “range anxiety”

"Range anxiety" is a hyped-up malady potential electric car owners shouldn't worry much about. Yes, at first I worried about how far our Nissan Leaf would go on a charge. Now, I don't.  After four months of owning the electric Leaf, I enjoy driving the car almost as much as our Mini Cooper S. (Not quite... nothing is more fun than a Mini Cooper in my utterly biased opinion.)  It's quiet, smooth, responsive, and handles well. The turning radius seems as small as the Mini's. The interior is light, open, and well-designed. For a $26,000 car, after federal and state…
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Posted inNeighborhood Salem

Salem’s great Spring Creek flood of 2012

This is one for our rural south Salem neighborhood's memory book. Until we die or move away, us old-timers will be saying, "Remember the flooding back in 2012? Man, that was something we've never seen before, or since." Spring Creek is only half a mile long, at most. It's fed by, no big surprise, springs. The creek winds through our property on the way to Spring Lake. Usually it's quite small, even in winter. But the rainfall we've gotten this week isn't usual. Here's a seven minute video of how Spring Creek and Spring Lake looked to me, my wife,…
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Posted inHome life

Yellowbook, stay out of our mailbox! It’s illegal.

Curses to the companies that drop unwanted "yellow pages" directories beside our mailbox. That's littering, and we hate it.  And double curses to Yellowbook for putting the Salem - Keizer 2012 2013 version of their unwanted directory inside our mailbox without postage or an address label. That's illegal, and we hate it even more. I've filed a complaint with the Postal Service, choosing "tampering" as the offense. If this happened to you, and you want to file your own complaint, here's the Yellowbook corporate headquarters address and phone number (this is needed to file a Postal Service complaint):  Yellowbook398 RXR…
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Posted inSalem

Pringle Square gets ripped in a letter to the editor

   Ah, I was pleased to read in the Salem Statesman Journal today that another person dislikes Pringle Square for the same reasons I do.  This monstrosity of a development proposed to be built on the riverfront is ugly and uncreative. It won't draw people downtown. It won't make central Salem a more interesting and livable place.  Rebecca Custard is absolutely right: "Downtown Salem doesn't need another eyesore." I very much agree with Carole Duree-Jones (letters, Jan. 13) regarding the plans for the new Pringle Square. To those who are tasked with making and approving the design and usage decisions…
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