Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Here’s the scariest thing about Trump (hint: it isn’t about him)

At this point in Trump's presidency I've become accustomed to being shocked on a daily basis by the newest horror inflicted on us by the Liar-in-Chief. Today, for example, Trump cancelled pay raises for civilian workers in the federal government because our "nation's fiscal situation" can't afford it. This is the same Trump who regularly proclaims that our economy is the best it's ever been in the history of the United States, and he's the reason things are so amazingly great. And this is the same Trump who pushed for a massive tax cut for corporations, which, along with smaller…
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Posted inCity Council

Conservative City Council hearts all aflutter about taking a stand on ballot measures

Oh, my, the very thought of viewing the Salem City Council as, gasp, political, seemed to make the three remaining conservative councilors dab their feverish brows with tidy white handkerchiefs, given the shock to their delicate psyches that Tom Andersen and other progressive councilors wanted to take a stand against Measure 105, which would repeal Oregon's sanctuary state law. Not having watched last night's council meeting, I base my hearts all aflutter conclusion on a Statesman Journal story, "Tensions flare as Salem City Council takes stand on sanctuary state ballot measure." Salem city councilors voted 6-3 to oppose a November ballot measure…
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Posted inNational politics

Liberals, let’s honor McCain by being moderate for a moment

Today, following John McCain's death on Saturday, there's been lots of media coverage of McCain's life, courage, and maverick'ness. I also want to honor this American hero, even though I'm a liberal who didn't agree with McCain on most of his policy positions -- though I heartily share his commitment to recognizing climate change as a reality and his voting to preserve the Affordable Care Act. Now I realize there's some debate about how moderate McCain was. A Slate article argues that he was a conservative, not a moderate. Wikipedia, though, presents evidence pointing to McCain being at least moderately a…
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Posted inCity of Salem Land use Smart growth

Our local transportation planning organization is fiddling while carbon emissions burn us up

It's embarrassing that the SKATS (Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study) body, which focuses on transportation planning in our area, has some global warming deniers on it who are mightily resisting connecting a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions with how people should get around via vehicles, mass transit, bicycles, and whatever.  Salem-Keizer Area Transportation Study (SKATS) is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Salem-Keizer area. A MPO is a federally mandated body for any urban area over 50,000 in population. The SKATS MPO is directed by a Policy Committee composed of elected representatives from the cities of Keizer, Salem and Turner, Marion…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Truth isn’t dead, though Trump wants to kill it

Great timing. This morning I'd just finished Michiko Kakutani's book, "The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump," when a New York Times story popped into my attention: "Giuliani Says 'Truth Isn't Truth' in Defense of Trump's Legal Strategy." Here's an excerpt from the story, which reports on today's Meet the Press interview between Chuck Todd and Giuliani. Mr. Giuliani replied he would not be rushed into having Mr. Trump testify “so that he gets trapped into perjury.” “And when you tell me that, ‘You know, he should testify because he’s going to tell the truth…
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Posted inChamber of Commerce Third Bridge

Salem Chamber of Commerce still pushing billion dollar bridge boondoggle

Yesterday someone sent me a couple of pages from a recent Salem Area Chamber of Commerce publication that boasted about them adding 188 new members last April, which is going to enable the Chamber to keep pushing for a new bridge across the Willamette River. Download Salem Chamber of Commerce pages Here's a close-up of the highlighted part. The payroll tax would have allowed the Salem bus service, Cherriots, to offer evening and weekend bus service. Here's how I described the ill-considered opposition to this tax in an October 2015 blog post about the ballot measure. Opponents of the payroll…
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Posted inSalem Reporter

I report on a talk with a reporter from Salem Reporter

This afternoon I spent an enjoyable hour chatting with Troy Brynelson, one of the Salem Reporter's fresh journalistic faces in this town. Troy got to the Beanery in downtown Salem before I did, and sent me a helpful email saying he was wearing a green shirt, but because I'd carefully studied the photo above, my keen senior citizen eyes were able to pick him out from the three or so people in the coffeehouse when I arrived.  Early on, I assessed Troy for possible mental illness after he told me that he has a journalism degree from the University of…
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Posted inChamber of Commerce Larry Tokarski Salem Reporter

First meeting of Salem Reporter was with business leaders. Bad optics.

I was pleased to be one of the first to fork out $100 for a year's subscription to the Salem Reporter, a new online news source headed up by Les Zaitz that will start publication in September. Right after I subscribed, I emailed Zaitz and the three reporters he's hired, telling them how disappointed I've been that the Statesman Journal (Salem's daily newspaper, owned by Gannett) hasn't run stories that challenge the Powers That Be in this town. I’ll end by observing that in recent years I’ve been frustrated by the failure of the Statesman Journal to do genuine investigative…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Gator Gaynor

Will Alex Jones follow Gator & Denise into Salem talk show oblivion?

Salem is a liberal-leaning city. But local radio stations, with the notable exception of KMUZ, tend to tilt decidedly rightward. KSLM and KYKN seem determined to compete on who can air the most conservative craziness, as I blogged about last April in "KSLM is trying to out-right-wing-wacko KYKN." A show featuring two local conservative commentators, Gator Gaynor and Denise Nanke (wife of Salem City Councilor Brad Nanke) has disappeared from the KYKN lineup. I emailed KYKN management, asking why this happened, but never got a response. It could have had something to do with Gaynor and Nanke mocking the Parkland,…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

My Google Images guide to the best 2020 Democratic presidential candidate

Today my habitual Donald Trump depression lifted a bit when I watched Chuck Todd interview the Daily Kos' Markos Moulitsas about who Moulitsas thought would be the best Democrat to run against Trump in 2020.  I agreed with Markos (his last name is too tough for me to spell repeatedly) that Bernie Sanders' time had come and gone, though he'd have a role to play in the next presidential election. They joked that Markos would pay for that assessment with a flurry of nasty comments on his web site from fanatic "Bernie bros."  Markos then rattled off the names of…
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Posted inSalem Reporter Salem Weekly Statesman Journal

“Salem Reporter” is a new Tokarski-funded online news site

Here's some interesting news about the news industry in Salem. Read all about it in a Poynter story, "Salem, Oregon is getting a new online news site. 'I'm pretending there's no other media there.'" And they already have a website! Leslie Zaitz is the publisher and editor of the Malheur Enterprise in Vale, Oregon. Larry Tokarski is a businessman and real estate developer with strong connections to Salem.  On Sept. 17, the Salem Reporter will go live with Zaitz as CEO and editor and three full-time reporters who will cover “local government, schools, business, nonprofits and state government,” according to a press…
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