Posted inJulie Hoy

Check out demobrats podcast where we talk about Mayor Hoy’s ethics violation and other juicy subjects

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being part of a demobrats podcast episode, "The Mayor, In the Office, With the Ballot Measure." You can listen to it by either clicking on that link, or via this embedded player. Virginia Stapleton and Victoria Schaaf, the demobrats duo who have a pleasing repartee (hardly ever get to use that word, but it beautifully fits how they converse together) offered up this description of the episode. Hopefully this is the last time we have to talk about this (fingers crossed). In this episode, Brian Hines, an avid writer and community member who filed…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Trump fits narcissistic personality disorder diagnosis perfectly (no big surprise)

Donald Trump is a despicable human being and the worst president in the history of the United States. But that description doesn't fully capture all of his flaws. That's why we need to turn to psychiatric nomenclature in order to better understand why Trump is so dangerous to the United States and the world. One step in that direction was made clear by an article in the September 27, 2025 issue of New Scientist: The Truth About Narcissists: How to Handle Them, and Can They Change? Here's a PDF file. The truth about narcissists: How to handle them, and can they…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Seven reasons why Trump’s destruction of White House East Wing enrages me

I'm used to being irritated by Trump. That's to be expected when the worst president in American history almost daily challenges his own record for worst'ness. But there's something about his destruction of the East Wing of the White House so a $350 million ballroom can take its place that has pushed my irritation to new heights of outrage. Here's why, in no particular order. (1) The gigantic ballroom is an architectural travesty. It will be almost twice as large as the entire White House was when the East Wing was standing. This rendering shows how the ballroom will overpower…
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Posted inCitizen involvement Donald Trump

Photos and videos of No Kings rally in Salem, Oregon

Yesterday I joined at least 6,000 other people for a No Kings rally near the state capitol here in Salem. We protested Trump's authoritarianism and inhumane policies. The rally was energizing. Also, highly positive, fun, and entertaining. It felt great to be among so many people who felt the same way about Trump's destructive actions in his second try as president: disgusted and shocked, yet optimistic about our nation's future if we stand together and resist Trump's efforts to turn our democracy into an autocracy. Here's photos that I took, followed by several brief videos. Lots of blow-up animals. Zero…
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Posted inDonald Trump Humor National politics

Me and my senior citizen Marxist, Antifa, Hamas-loving friends will enjoy the No Kings rally tomorrow

I'm really looking forward to attending the No Kings rally here in Salem, Oregon tomorrow. But I'm confused about what Republicans have been calling the Hate America rally. It sure seems like me and my senior citizen friends love America. However, since President Trump is known for never lying, being even more honest than George Washington, who lied about chopping down a cherry tree (some say this is a myth, but that's another bit of fake news), naturally I assume that Republican leaders are just as truthful as Trump. [Note: some people may hear what Trump said at a press…
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Posted inChris Hoy Julie Hoy

Must watch City Council videos: Chris Hoy and two other people call out Mayor Julie Hoy for her lies

Speaking truth to power. It's not just a cliche. It was on full display at last Monday's City Council meeting when former Mayor Chris Hoy and two other people stood at the public comment podium, looked directly at current Mayor Julie Hoy, and called her out for the lies she told in the course of violating Oregon's ethics law that governs public officials. Lie #1 was Mayor Hoy telling the City Council president, Linda Nishioka, that after she'd spoken with all but one of the city councilors in private conversations that  are prohibited by the Public Meetings Law, a majority…
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Posted inCity Council Julie Hoy

At ethics commission meeting, Mayor Julie Hoy denies lying, which almost certainly is another lie

Salem Mayor Julie Hoy is digging herself deeper into an unethical hole. Yesterday Hoy claimed at a meeting of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission that contrary to the finding of a commission investigator, she never told City Council President Linda Nishioka that after speaking privately with members of the council, a majority wanted City Manager Keith Stahley to resign. Joe Siess of the Salem Reporter wrote in a story, Ethics commission finds Salem Mayor Julie Hoy, 5 councilors broke public meetings law: Hoy and Nishioka each disputed the other’s version of events during the commission meeting. Nishioka has repeatedly said…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Trump memo on domestic terrorism singles out common beliefs as indicators of terrorism

Today the Justice Department came up with another sham indictment of people on Trump's enemies list. Letitia James, New York's Attorney General, was indicted for the non-crime of stating on a mortgage document that it was for a second home, then later renting the house out. The only way this is a crime is if prosecutors can prove that James intended to rent the house at the time she signed the document, because obviously people rent out second homes all the time. Since James can't be called by the prosecution as a witness, this is another instance of illegal selective…
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Posted in2026 election Julie Hoy Vanessa Nordyke

Given Julie Hoy’s serious lie, her future as Salem’s mayor seems bleak

Four days ago I wrote a blog post about how Salem Mayor Julie Hoy lied to the city council president, Linda Nishioka, about how Hoy had supposedly learned that a majority of the council wanted the City Manager, Keith Stahley, to resign. After Nishioka passed that falsehood on to Stahley, he resigned -- setting in motion a fiasco that culminated in a recently-concluded investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission. The investigation found that instead of a majority, five, of the city council members wanting Stahley to resign, actually just one did: Mayor Hoy herself. Yesterday I talked about Hoy's…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Julie Hoy

Salem Mayor Julie Hoy lied about a majority of the city council wanting the City Manager to resign. Actually, only Hoy did.

A recently concluded ethics investigation found that the Mayor of Salem, Julie Hoy, violated our state's Public Meetings Law in February 2025 when she orchestrated a private series of individual conversations with city councilors about whether the City Manager at the time, Keith Stahley, should resign. That was bad. But this is worse: Julie Hoy lied when she told the city council president, Linda Nishioka, that her conversations revealed that a majority of the city council (at least five of the eight members; one seat was vacant at the time) wanted Stahley to resign. At the request of Mayor Hoy,…
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Posted inCity Council Julie Hoy

Ethics investigation concludes Mayor Julie Hoy and five city councilors violated Public Meetings Law

Today I received the results of an investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission into whether Mayor Julie Hoy and seven city councilors violated various provisions of Oregon's Public Meetings Law. I got those results because I was one of two people who filed a complaint about the actions of Hoy and city councilors that resulted in the resignation of then City Manager Keith Stahley earlier this year. Elliott Lapinel was the other complainant. My complaint was in the form of a blog post, appropriately titled "Here's my Oregon Government Ethics Commission complaint about Keith Stahley's forced resignation." Josh Sullivan,…
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