Posted in2028 election Donald Trump National politics

Supreme Court just gave Trump more power. Also the next Democratic president.

No one ever could accuse Trump of being a genius at predicting the long term outcome of his actions. Trump acts, or rather reacts, emotionally in the heat of the moment on the basis of gut feelings, not on any sort of deep analytical understanding. So it isn't surprising that Trump is glorying in a victory given to him by the Supreme Court today, as described in a BBC story. Nearly 100 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt did not have unchecked power to replace commissioners on regulatory agencies set up by Congress…
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Posted inMicki Varney Progressive Salem

I fashion a fruit creation for Progressive Salem potluck

I'm a terrible cook. My best dishes are either microwaved frozen dinners or take-out food. Left to my own cooking devices, I rely heavily on tofu and brown rice. Not even slow-cooked brown rice. Three-minute microwaved frozen packaged brown rice from Trader Joe's. So when I needed to bring something to the Progressive Salem potluck at Woodmansee Park today, my first (and also last) thought was to buy some organic fruit. I settled on strawberries and blackberries. This morning I labored for a whole five minutes or so, rinsing the fruit, slicing the tops off of the strawberries, and then…
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Posted in2026 election City Council

City of Salem hiring Eugene attorney to help with investigation of Betsy Vega’s eligibility to be city councilor

Initially the City of Salem announced that the City Recorder and City Attorney would investigate an allegation that Betsy Vega is ineligible to be a city councilor even though she beat incumbent Mai Vang in the May election. That investigation was expected to be completed by June 22. But yesterday the City of Salem said that the investigation deadline now is July 7 because a Eugene attorney, Truman Stone, has been hired to help the City Recorder. Here's a screenshot of part of an email from the Salem Reporter (I'm a subscriber). This seems like a wise decision. If the…
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Posted in2026 election National politics

Democratic Socialists of America do well in New York primaries. Great news for Democratic Party.

I'm a firm believer in the Big Tent approach to Democratic Party politics. We need to include all sorts of people under the party banner. Including those who don't pass the sort of purity test that some Democrats demand of their politicians. Opposed to abortion? Welcome to the Big Tent. Love your assault rifle? Welcome to the Big Tent. Support Israel? Welcome to the Big Tent. Big fan of billionaires? Welcome to the Big Tent. Favor more drilling for oil and gas? Welcome to the Big Tent. Those are examples of how people with some right-wing leanings can find a…
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Posted in2026 election City Council City of Salem

Betsy Vega’s election as Ward 6 city councilor may hinge on definition of “qualified elector”

Betsy Vega has been certified by Marion County Elections as the winner of the May 19 election for the Ward 6 city council seat, as she got 44 more votes than Mai Vang, the incumbent. But Paige Barton, Vang's campaign manager, has filed a complaint with the City of Salem that asserts Vega may not be qualified to be a city councilor, according to the City Charter. Section 25. Qualifications. (1) An elective city officer shall be a qualified elector under the state constitution and shall have resided in the city during the 12 months immediately before being elected or…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

UFC bouts at White House were entertaining, even as setting was beyond disturbing

Yesterday I belatedly realized that the highly controversial UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) bouts at the White House were being shown on Paramount+ at no extra cost, and we had a Paramount+ subscription. So I fired up our Apple TV at 5 pm Oregon time, 8 pm Washington DC time, because I was curious to see the spectacle that had caused so much justified uproar among progressives like me. It did seem outrageous that the UFC folks could basically rent the White House grounds for MMA (mixed martial arts) fights in an especially built octagon that was plastered with ads for…
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Posted in2026 election National politics

Graham Platner’s Maine primary victory is a win for flawed people — which is everyone

Today the voters of Maine made Graham Platner the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat currently occupied by Republican Susan Collins. With 71% of the vote in, the New York Times shows Platner ahead of Janet Mills, the governor of Maine, 72% to 20%. Sure doesn't look like Maine Democrats have lost faith in Platner, even after reports surfaced that he had behaved badly with several girlfriends, and had exchanged sexual text messages with some other women at the beginning of his marriage. Nineteen polls were taken between July 2025 and June 2026 of the Democratic primary between Platner and…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Trump’s bizarre lie-filled end of his interview with Kristen Welker is astoundingly disgusting

I'm not easily shocked by Trump's utterances. But today Brian Stelter, the chief media analyst at CNN, shared on X a transcript of the final minutes of Kristen Welker's recent interview of Trump at a Wisconsin farm. Welker is the host of NBC's Meet the Press, and is a well-respected journalist. When I read it, I was struck by how this breaks new ground even for Trump in his authoritarian Hall of Shame. Naturally it is beyond embarrassing that the United States has s president who cares so little about truth and facts -- not exactly a good quality for…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

City of Salem agrees to investigate Betsy Vega’s qualification to be a city councilor

Excellent news. Today the City of Salem issued a statement (copied in below) saying that city staff will investigate a complaint challenging Betsy Vega's qualification to be a candidate for the Ward 6 city council seat. Though the statement doesn't mention Vega by name, it's clear that she is the subject of the complaint. It's pleasing that City Manager Namburi reversed the ill-considered decision by City Attorney Dan Atchison to not investigate the complaint. As I said in "Salem city officials are refusing to enforce the city's own requirement to be a city councilor," that was a screwy move by…
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Posted in2026 election City Council

Salem city officials are refusing to enforce the city’s own requirement to be a city councilor

We're all familiar with bureaucracies behaving badly. But I expected more from officials at the City of Salem when it comes to enforcing their own requirement for serving as a city councilor, because they're refusing to make sure that Betsy Vega meets the residency requirement for serving as the Ward 6 city councilor. There it is, on the City of Salem web site, on a page titled Elections - Run for Elected City Office. I'll attach a screenshot. The residence requirement for becoming a city councilor is "Live within the city ward candidate seeks to represent 12 months prior to…
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