Posted inCoronavirus Salem Health

I get a Salem Health Covid shot, a bit unfairly

NEXT DAY UPDATE: BAD NEWS. My wife just spoke with an over 65 friend who, along with her husband, were hoping to get a Covid shot at the Fairgrounds today, Friday. She was told that they were turned away, likely because of what Governor Brown announced this morning about the state not getting additional vaccine doses from the federal government as promised. Looks like another screw-up from the Trump administration, among many others. It's been an interesting 24 hours, Covid-wise.  Last night I wrote a blog post, Salem Health is allowing people to get "extra doses" of Covid vaccine, where…
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Posted inCoronavirus Tom Andersen

Salem Health is allowing people to get “extra doses” of Covid vaccine

Salem Health is allowing people to get the Covid vaccine who aren't part of the 1a group that supposedly comprises the only Oregonians eligible to be immunized currently. This seems unfair to me, though I'm not criticizing those who took advantage of the extra doses that Salem Health has been doling out to those in the know who have shown up at the Fairgrounds vaccination site. Yes, it is well known that often it is possible to get more shots out of a vial of vaccine than the usual number. That vaccine shouldn't go to waste. However, I don't understand…
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Posted inSalem-Keizer school district

Jesse Lippold, a school board member, ignores Covid rules

We're used to elected officials doing outrageous stuff, but shouldn't a Salem-Keizer school board member -- Jesse Lippold -- understand that breaking Covid rules Oregonians need to follow so schools can safely reopen isn't a smart thing to do? Sure seems so. Thus let's give Lippold a "F" for failing to act like a responsible school board member. Hopefully voters will keep this in mind, since Lippold is one of four school board members up for re-election in May 2021. The image above is from Lippold's Facebook account. It's been shared widely on social media by people who object to…
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Posted inHumor

Angry Owl’s 2021 predictions for Salem, Oregon

It's always a pleasure to be able to share local predictions for the coming year from Salem's most famous life form, Angry Owl. Here are Angry Owl's Twitter tweets -- better termed "hoots," of course.  They're funny and wise. Since Donald Trump has been permanently banned from Twitter, I'm recommending that his 80 million or so followers migrate over to Angry Owl's account.  After all, there's way more truth in a single Angry Owl tweet than in the countless tweets Trump inflicted on the nation. Enjoy...
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

Insurrection at Capitol today caused by the Cult of Trump

This is what happens when people fall under the spell of an authoritarian cult leader. A woman died today in the Capitol building after a mob incited by Trump stormed the building in an insurrection aimed at stopping Biden from being declared president-elect by Congress. Who is responsible for her death? Who is responsible for the first invasion of the Capitol since the War of 1812? Easy answers. -- Donald Trump, of course. He urged his cult members to march to the Capitol today. Trump deserves to be impeached for this act of sedition. -- Everybody who voted for Trump…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump Joe Biden

Coup attempt by GOP on January 6 is beyond disgusting

If you're a Republican who isn't planning to end your allegiance to the GOP, either you are unaware of the highly unpatriotic coup attempt being planned by your political party in Congress on January 6, or you're OK with this shameful effort to overthrow the lawful result of the 2020 presidential election in favor of a wanna-be authoritarian, Donald Trump. I'm hoping that the former is the case. Maybe you've been busy with Christmas and New Year celebrations and haven't paid much attention to the news. In that case, I'm sharing some Twitter tweets and a Washington Post opinion piece…
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Posted inCoronavirus

If a Salem business isn’t requiring masks, report them to OSHA

Remember the saying popularized after the 9/11 attacks: "If you see something, say something."  That's the patriotic thing to do if you're aware of a danger to your community. These days it isn't so much terrorism that we have to be worried about. It is people and businesses not complying with public health measures, such as mask-wearing, needed to save lives and prevent illness from COVID-19. So don't be shy about complaining to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health division if a business is being lax about requiring that masks be worn by employees and customers, or is failing to…
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Posted inHomeless National politics

Homelessness and other big problems always should shock us

Today the Statesman Journal had a front page story about homeless campers being flooded out of Cascades Gateway Park following the recent heavy rains.  This story didn't shock me, because I recall the same thing happening at Wallace Marine Park not too long ago, seemingly last year or the year before. Yet I should have been shocked by the very idea of people in the United States having to sleep outdoors because they lack a home. There's an old saying, familiarity breeds contempt. It also appears to lead to complacency.  This is dangerous when it comes to problems facing our…
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Posted inDonald Trump Oregon politics

Armed right-wing protesters look foolish at Capitol today

There was a successful one-day special session of the Oregon Legislature today, where several Covid relief bills were passed. There also was a farcical protest by Patriot Prayer members and other right-wingers who were outraged about... something or other. Being asked to wear a mask? Not being allowed into the Capitol building, even though no members of the public were able to go inside during the special session? Angry that their Beloved Leader, Donald Trump, lost to Joe Biden? Who knows. These days it doesn't make sense to ask what right-wing wackos are protesting about, because even when they give…
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Posted inCity of Salem Steve Powers

Salem City Manager to Proud Boys: “No permit, no problem.”

ln case you're wondering why the Proud Boys hate group is planning to come to Salem five times, one reason is that City officials have been welcoming them with open arms.  Below is an email interchange citizen activist Jim Scheppke had with Salem's City Manager, Steve Powers, who oversees all City of Salem employees, including those in the Police Department. You'll see that Powers makes some clearly false statements about previous Proud Boys marches on city streets without a permit. Steve Powers, Salem City Manager First, here's Scheppke's message to Powers. I highlighted Scheppke's "fact check" remarks in red. Mr.…
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Posted inDonald Trump Salem Police Department

The Proud Boys hate group is coming to Salem — five times

This time of year we like to hear "Santa Claus is coming to town." Such is happening on December 25, but it looks like Salem also is going to be visited by the Proud Boys, who are much more naughty than nice. And not just once, but up to five times.  The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the Proud Boys a hate group. Here's a report on the upcoming visits to Salem of the Proud Boys, courtesy of an alert shared today by a local activist who goes by Concerned Citizen. I've boldfaced parts of the message to highlight the…
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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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