Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Warren Binford talks about horror of migrant child detention center

It wasn't the cheeriest City Club talk I've ever been to, but it was one of the most important. Warren Binford, from my seat at a City Club table Today Warren Binford, a Willamette University law professor and children's rights expert, spoke about the history of child separations at the Mexican border and her four day visit to the Clint, Texas Border Patrol Facility. Binford told us that the Clint facility, better termed a child warehouse, was built for about 100 adults, yet housed around 400 children.  When asked "How have you been treated," they started to cry. Binford spoke…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

I was wrong about the wisdom of impeachment. Go for it, Dems!

Time in this age of Trumpism is a lot like "dog years." It passes seven times (at least) more quickly than what I've been used to in every other presidential administration. Only last Sunday -- which now seems like two months ago, rather than only two days -- I was opining to a friend at our usual get-together at West Salem's Urban Grange coffee house that I hoped Democrats would take the advice of Nancy Pelosi and make the 2020 election an impeachment of sorts. I said the Dems should tell voters, "Here's the horrible stuff that Trump has done.…
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Posted inOregon politics

Oregon Republican Party platform showcases GOP craziness

I'm a firm believer that Republicans here in Oregon are just about as extreme as those, say, in Alabama. Members of the GOP in our state often just try to look moderate, because they know that with only 26% of registered voters in Oregon identifying as Republican, it's an uphill battle for them to win statewide elections. (Democrats are at 35% and Non-affiliated are at 32%). But I think Oregon Republicans should be proud of their extremism. Rock on, crazy conservatives! Don't hide your right-wingless. Flaunt it! To that end, I'm pleased to share some highlights -- OK, for many,…
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Posted inHomeless

Why homelessness is an absurd problem, philosophically

Being human is tough. We're subjective creatures, as are all other animals. Yet unlike our fellow primates with whom we're closely related, us Homo sapiens possess a strong capacity for objectivity -- seeing the world from a perspective largely, though not completely, distinct from our personal viewpoint. Many social problems are difficult to perceive clearly given the often-blurry double vision that comes with our twin capacity for empathetic subjectivity and detached objectivity. Homelessness is one such problem. I got to thinking about this after finishing a book by philosopher Thomas Nagel today, The View From Nowhere. Nagel is more famous…
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Posted in2020 election City Council

City Council shake-up: Sally Cook and Brad Nanke aren’t running again

Today brought some interesting, though not hugely surprising, local political news. The Salem Reporter broke the story that Sally Cook has decided to resign her Ward 7 City Council seat following the death of her husband, Jason. Sally Cook plans to resign her seat on Salem City Council soon, she informed City Manager Steve Powers on Thursday. The 39-year-old councilor said the sudden death of her husband three months ago and reality of being a single mother of two led to her decision. “I need to be able to spend time with my family. It really is a large commitment,…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

Political moderation has a place in Salem. So does extremism.

As the saying goes, there's a time and place for everything. Like, being a political moderate. Or, a political extremist. It doesn't make sense to always embrace one or the other.  Sure, it sounds good to hear politicians say, "I want to work with those on the other side of the aisle."  But sometimes those on the other end of the political spectrum aren't interested in compromise and moderation. Barack Obama found this out when Republicans in Congress opposed almost everything he put forward. For example, a lot of time was wasted trying to get the GOP on board with…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Trump is best mocked, not ignored

Donald Trump is a joke of a president. Except, he isn't a funny joke. He's pathetic. Which makes him eminently mockable, because he's clueless about his obvious weaknesses, failings, and insecurities.  If Trump had even a smidgen of self-awareness, if he showed even the slightest bit of compassion for other people, if he even occasionally manifested respect for truth -- then my compassionate Buddha-nature (slim though it is) would look upon Trump somewhat more favorably than I view him now. But since Trump has never shown me anything but incessant narcissism, incompetence, and non-stop lying, I've concluded that mocking him…
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Posted inDowntown Homeless

Check out the City of Salem’s new “sit-lie” proposed ordinance

Something needs to be done about homeless people sleeping on sidewalks during the day, and leaving their belongings on sidewalks. The City of Salem has come up with a proposed approach that seems quite reasonable. Because there's been discussion on Facebook and elsewhere that this amounts to a criminalization of being homeless -- which isn't true -- I'm hoping that people will educate themselves about the proposed ordinance before rejecting it as a bad idea. Below I've copied in the questions and answers from a City of Salem web page, "Salem responds to growing concerns of activities in public right…
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