Posted inCoronavirus Donald Trump

Lie of the Year is denial and deception about COVID-19

I agree with PolitiFact that the Lie of the Year is denial and deception about COVID-19. A runner-up must have been Trump's lie about the presidential election being fraudulent. Which means the President of the United States is at the heart of two massive lies that have caused great harm to our country, leaving aside the many thousands of lies that Trump has spewed every day before and after his inauguration in 2017. Here's an excerpt from PolitiFact's Lie of the Year story. President Donald J. Trump fueled confusion and conspiracies from the earliest days of the coronavirus pandemic. He…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump’s last-ditch attempt to steal the election is disgusting

Trump's final attempt to steal the presidential election from Biden is based on an absurd legal suit by the Attorney General of Texas that asks the Supreme Court to not accept the electoral votes from Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia that Biden won. There's essentially zero chance that the Supreme Court will agree to this, since the suit has no basis in either facts or the law . So Biden will be sworn in on January 20. That's the good news. But the bad news is that -- as shown in the tweets below -- attorneys general in 17 other…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Biden beat Trump by a lot in every part of Salem

lt's always a pleasure for me to get local presidential election results from a fellow political junkie. This person figures out how the candidates did in each ward of Salem. There are eight wards. Scroll down to see a map of them. In 2020 Joe Biden whipped Trump's ass (to use a non-political science term) in every ward, including Ward 4, South Salem, and Ward 8, West Salem -- which traditionally are the most conservative areas of Salem. Here's the results for Salem as a whole, plus Marion and Polk counties, and Oregon as a whole. The county-level results for…
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Posted inCity Council Land use

Costco approval was bad decision by Salem City Council

Today the Statesman Journal published an excellent opinion piece by Lora Meisner and Bill Dalton about the City Council's approval of Costco's relocation to a Kuebler Boulevard location adjacent to a residential neighborhood. As you can read below, Meisner and Dalton argue that City of Salem staff and city councilors, with the exception of Jackie Leung, failed to stand up for the broad public interest -- siding instead with PacTrust (owner of the property) and Costco (the main tenant on the property). Meisner and Dalton are very familiar with this issue, including the decision by LUBA (Land Use Board of…
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Posted inChuck Bennett City Council Coronavirus

There’s shameful silence in Salem about COVID-19

Ever since the pandemic reached Salem last spring, there's been little communication from Mayor Bennett, City Manager Powers, the three Marion County commissioners, and other elected officials (such as the eight city councilors) about the need to follow Governor Brown's public health orders. Yes, some City of Salem press releases have been issued. Yes, city councilors have used Facebook to urge physical distancing, mask wearing, and such. However, this mainly happened early this year. So by and large -- and especially now, when daily COVID cases and deaths have reached new highs in Oregon -- the silence from our local…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

Salem Climate Action Plan is going in wrong direction

Very disappointing. But not surprising. City of Salem staff have a long history of ignoring what the City Council and citizens want, instead substituting their own bad ideas for good ones. So here we go again... The City Council wants a Salem Climate Action Plan to specify how we're doing to do our part in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions that are literally cooking our planet. Recently these goals were approved by the council. By 2035, Salem’s greenhouse gas emissions shall be reduced to 50% of the citywide greenhouse gas emissions for the baseline year of 2016, and by 2050,…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem police stand by as Proud Boys march without a permit

In a presidential debate Donald Trump famously said about the Proud Boys, "stand back and stand by," when asked to denounce white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys. It looks like the Salem Police Department heard those words and decided it applies to them when it comes to enforcing city ordinances during Proud Boy marches in our city.  KATU News photo of November 14 Proud Boys rally in Salem Salem police officers have been standing back and standing by when the Proud Boys come to town, openly carrying firearms and marching through streets without a permit. Here's a letter…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Feeling bad, Trump voters? I’m here to help.

In the Peanuts comic strip, Lucy used to offer psychiatric help to Charlie Brown for 5 cents. Knowing how bad Trump voters must feel right now, I'm undercutting Lucy by offering my therapeutic advice for absolutely free.  l even have some qualifications, having earned a Master's Degree in Social Work back in 1973, a mere 47 years ago. Sure, after becoming a MSW I quickly decided that I wasn't all that social, so went into health services research and planning.  But somewhere in the recesses of my mind there's remnants of what I learned about counseling. So read on, Trump…
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Posted in2020 election Coronavirus National politics

Oregonians need to step back from the brink of Crazy Cliff

A moderate amount of craziness adds spice to life. Who wants to be perfectly rational and reasonable all of the time? But currently there's way too much craziness going on -- both here in Oregon and elsewhere in the United States. So join me in making a heartfelt plea to all Oregonians to take several big steps back from the brink of Crazy Cliff. Going over the edge won't benefit anyone on the left, right, or middle of our political spectrum. I think of myself as an open-minded progressive. As you can read below, I'm fine with criticizing people on…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump ramps up effort to steal election from Biden

Donald Trump has crossed the line from lying about Biden not winning the election to actively trying to subvert the will of the voters. That's sedition, which is illegal. Here's the definition of sedition. That's exactly what Trump is trying to do. Incite his followers to overturn the lawful results of the election.  This is beyond outrageous. Trump is behaving like a third-world dictator, the only difference being that the United States, thankfully, still has enough judges who believe in the rule of law -- not Trumpism -- to stop this coup attempt. Journalists and other informed observers of Trump's…
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Posted inCoronavirus

Courthouse Club Fitness defies Governor’s order to close for two weeks

This is really disappointing. John Miller, the Courthouse Club Fitness owner, has decided to defy Governor Brown's order for gyms to close for two weeks beginning tomorrow because COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising so rapidly in Oregon. Here's part of an Oregon Health Authority graphic.Miller has decided that making money is more important than the safety of his employees, club members, and the public at large. He has joined the ranks of irrational anti-science right-wingers around the country who believe that public health orders needed to slow the skyrocketing COVID-19 cases are government overreach that must be fought. What's…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

What the hell is wrong with Trump voters?

I've been seeing post-election discussions where some say that Democrats need to do a better job of understanding those who voted for Donald Trump, a group that currently stands at 47% of the electorate, about 73,100,000 voters. OK. That's a laudable goal, so long as Republicans make an comparable effort to better understand those of us who voted for Joe Biden, 51% of the electorate, about 78,700,000 voters. Since I voted for Biden, I'll help Republicans out by sharing my current state of mind about the election. I'm really happy that Biden won. What concerns me is that more than 73…
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Posted in2020 election

2020 election results discussed at Salem City Club talk

Ed Dover, a retired political science professor, gives a Salem City Club talk after every election -- providing well-informed commentary on the results. I always look forward to hearing Dover speak. Today's talk was another interesting tour of the 2020 election landscape. Ed Dover on Zoom  Dover started off by stating the obvious: the presidential election was a referendum on the president. Obviously Trump didn't win that battle, since almost certainly he will end up losing to Biden by exactly the same electoral vote margin Trump beat Clinton by in 2016, 306 to 232. Incumbents usually win, but Trump became…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Speak out about Trump’s attempt to steal the election

I'm an optimist. Usually. After Biden was declared the winner of the presidential election on November 7, I figured that it was time to relax, chill out, and watch the peaceful transition of power from Trump to Biden that would take place between then and Biden's inauguration on January 20, 2021. Sure, I knew that Trump wouldn't concede gracefully. Maybe not at all. No big deal, I thought. There's no way Trump could succeed in overturning the will of the voters.  But after looking at my Twitter feed this morning, and reading a bunch of "red alert" warnings from knowledgeable…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump may never concede, but Biden has whipped his ass

Last Tuesday was tough for progressives like me. Sure, I knew that mail-in ballots, largely from Democrats, were going to take a while to count, and in-person voting on election day would be dominated by Republicans. But knowing is one thing. Emotions are a whole other thing.  I worried that somehow Trump would pull out another close victory like he did in 2016. Wednesday I felt better as Trump's lead in battleground states began to shrink. Thursday, even better.  And today, Friday, I'm feeling damn fine!  Now starts the fun part -- basking in the warm glow of Biden's almost…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Why I’m feeling post-election progressive joy

Tuesday's election could have been better, but it also could have been a whole lot worse from my progressive point of view. So I'm feeling fine right now, for these reasons. Biden appears to have defeated Trump. This is the biggest contributor to my positive mood, since another four years of Trump would have thrown me into a serious depression. Last night I was anxious, but as I checked election results throughout today, I started feeling better and better. At the moment it looks like Biden has a good chance of winning Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada. Coupled with the…
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Posted in2020 election

On election eve, thank you, local candidates

I've dusted off a blog post from May 2016. Changed the election day to what it is in 2020, November 3. Made it fit with a general election, rather than a primary election. Otherwise, left it much the same, because what I said back then on election day eve is what I also want to say today, with the election tomorrow. Thank you, candidates.  I offer a heartfelt Namas'cray to all of the local people running in races that will be decided in tomorrow's 2020 general election. Thank you for being crazy enough to put in so much time, effort,…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Trump is out to steal the election, but he will fail

Next week, I hope and expect, Donald Trump will become a one-term president. Given how outrageously authoritarian Trump has been since he was inaugurated in January 2017, it's fitting -- though disturbing -- that currently he is trying to steal the election in a way that might work if he was the strongman of, say, Russia, but will fail big-time in our still democratic United States. Trump's scheme is described in an Axios piece today, "Trump's plan to declare premature victory." President Trump has told confidants he'll declare victory on Tuesday night if it looks like he's "ahead," according to…
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Posted inCity of Salem Environment

Hazardous waste from Santiam Canyon fire may have polluted Salem

A few days ago the Statesman Journal ran a story about clean-up efforts after hundreds of houses were destroyed in the Beachie Creek fire that ravaged the Santiam Canyon in early September.  KATU News photo Here's some excerpts from "EPA hauls hazardous waste from homes burned in Beachie Creek fire." Static from Geiger counters and creaks from metal echoed as crews in hazmat suits carefully inspected and sorted rubble where a house once stood off E. Central Road in Gates.  The property, devastated by the Beachie Creek Fire in early September, is one of many sites across the state being cleared of hazardous waste by…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

My not-so-surprising presidential election prediction

With six days to go, it seems like the right time for me to make a presidential election prediction. Close enough to feel confident in the prediction, not so close as to be accused of waiting until the last moment when the pre-election cards have all been dealt face up. But I'm going farther, into a prediction of not only what will happen, but how the post-election period will go -- with a bang or a whimper? As a progressive, I understand why many in my political tribe are agonizing over all sorts of dire election possibilities. Some of this…
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