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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Posted inDonald Trump Humor

Borat 2 movie shows the funny side of right-wing politics

Humor is subversive. Lenny Bruce knew that. Other comedians throughout the ages, including ancient Greece, also have known that. To mock a political stance is to show how absurd it is, how open to ridicule it is. Sacha Baron Cohen's new Borat movie, creatively titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, may not be a comedic masterpiece, but it is damn funny.  Laurel, my wife, and I rarely laugh out loud during movies, even when we are watching them at home. But last night we fired up the Amazon…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Trump lost tonight’s debate because he is Trump

The real winner of tonight's Trump-Biden debate is everyone who's glad there's no more debates. Which definitely includes me.  Sure, I enjoy debates. But I'm ready for the election. This debate marks the beginning of the home stretch toward November 3. I'm eager for that day to come, especially if, as I both suspect and hope, Biden defeats Trump. Nothing I saw tonight changes my opinion about Biden being the clear favorite to become the next president. Currently FiveThirtyEight places the odds of this happening at 87%.  It's hard to see how Trump's non-disastrous performance in this second debate, a…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City of Salem Peter Fernandez

Flooding in Battle Creek area needs to be taken seriously

Here's another tale of how staff in the City of Salem Public Works Department are failing to be open, honest, and transparent with citizens. Earlier this year I reported that documents received from a public records request proved that Peter Fernandez, the Public Works Director, and other staff lied about why a property on Taybin Road in West Salem was slated for purchase. Fernandez, et. al, claimed it was for stormwater management. Actually, it was to buy right of way for Marine Drive in an area that the City Council had declared off-limits for ROW purchases. So the credibility of…
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Posted inCity of Salem Police reform Salem Police Department

One Salem Police Chief candidate seems better than the other

The City of Salem has narrowed the search for a Police Chief to replace retiring Jerry Moore to two candidates, Malik Aziz and Trevor Womack. (That link allows you to submit a question to be asked of Aziz and Womack during their October 30 interviews in Salem.) I spent some time today Googling Aziz and Womack. Obviously this is a very rough way of coming to a conclusion about which man would be best suited to lead Salem's Police Department.  But, hey, us bloggers are opinionated, and I came up with an opinion: Malik Aziz. First, and most obviously, Aziz…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Biden was warmly welcoming. Trump was coldly corrosive.

It wasn't a mistake for ABC and NBC to hold town halls with Joe Biden and Donald Trump on the same night, at the same time. I thought it would be, but thanks to my DVR, I was able to watch the hour with Trump, then the hour and a half with Biden. I appreciated the immediate stark contrast. Once again, Biden was the clear winner of the debate that wasn't, yet in a a way, was. The most obvious way Biden won was that he made no glaring mistakes, whereas Trump did. Supposedly Biden is the one who makes verbal…
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Posted in2020 election

Danielle Bethell getting big bucks from anti-abortion groups

Here's some fun facts about Danielle Bethell, a Republican who is running against Democrat Ashley Carson Cottingham for a seat on the Marion County Board of Commissioners. (1) Campaign finance reports show that to date, Bethell has gotten cash contributions of $7,500 from Oregon Right to Life and in-kind contributions of $57,263 from the Women's Leadership Coalition PAC -- which is a thinly-disguised arm of Oregon Right to Life. (2) So far, in 2020 Friends of Danielle Bethell, her campaign finance organization, has gotten $151,939 in contributions. So the $64,763 Bethell has gotten from the two anti-abortion groups make up…
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Posted inCity Council

Urge the Salem City Council to adopt strong greenhouse gas reduction goals

Want to do your part to preserve our one and only planet Earth for human habitation? Of course you do. Good news is, it'll just take a few minutes for you to have that warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with doing the right thing -- for those of us alive today, and for generations to come.  Next Monday, October 12, the Salem City Council will vote on a motion by Councilor Tom Andersen that sets strong greenhouse gas reduction goals for the Climate Action Plan being worked on this year and 2021.  The short and simple motion says:  I…
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Posted in2020 election

Why Deb Patterson deserves your vote, not Denyc Boles

Last Friday the Salem City Club had a debate via Zoom between Deb Patterson and Denyc Boles, who are running for the Senate District 10 seat in the Oregon legislature. A libertarian candidate also took part in the debate, but he has a virtually zero chance of winning. I favored Deb Patterson, the Democrat, before the debate. After it, I favored Patterson even more, because I learned how bad Denyc Boles, the Republican, really is. I'll explain below. Boles came across as a right-wing politician who is trying to look more moderate than she really is. That's a typical campaign…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Reality is the big winner in Trump’s COVID-19 infection

I'm deeply political, so naturally I find opinions about how Trump coming down with COVID-19 will affect the November 3 election highly interesting. My bet is that this increases Biden's odds, but no bet is absolutely certain, including mine. When I first heard the news about this last night, my snap reaction was This will really help the fight against the coronavirus. I thought this because Trump has been the biggest super spreader of covid misinformation about masks, social distancing, hand washing, and other public health measures called for by scientific experts. He also has touted unproven remedies, none of…
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