Posted inDonald Trump International issues

Trump’s new tariffs are a big tax increase on ordinary Americans

Another day, another crazy decision by Trump. The newest contribution to the steadily growing list of illegal, improper, or inadvisable moves by the Trump administration is tariffs on goods imported from Canada, Mexico, and China. Before I describe how dumb this is, let's get one simple fact straight, something that Trump either doesn't understand or lies about. Tariffs imposed by the United States are paid by the American companies importing the goods, not by the exporting nation or companies doing the exporting.  Since those American companies either have to pay for the full cost of the tariffs themselves, or pass…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Trump is wrong that DEI caused the D.C. aviation disaster

Silence means surrender to tyrants. I'd rather be writing about other things than Trump's latest outrageous action, but I refuse to allow myself to be shocked into submission by the mountains of authoritarian crap that Trump is shoveling out in these early days of his presidency. For as soon as the American public accepts Trump's completely unacceptable behavior as something that we simply have to silently put up with, that's the day our nation slides irrevocably into a dictatorship.  Today Trump broke new ground for a president, and not at all in a good way. For he claimed with zero…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

No eggs points to danger of Trump administration incompetence

I'm not an egg eater, but my wife is. When she puts eggs on the list for my LifeSource Natural Foods shopping, ideally the pasture-raised variety, I buy a dozen. But today, for the first time I can remember, the shelves were completely bare in the egg section. I didn't look for eggs when I went to Trader Joe's, Natural Grocers, and Fred Meyer (there's four stops on my weekly grocery shopping expedition), so I don't know if any or all of those stores also were out. LifeSource has a "Where are the eggs?" page on their web site. They…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

My great idea for lifting Democratic spirits in the age of Trump

Like so many others who voted for Kamala Harris, then watched Donald Trump defeat her in a fairly convincing though not overwhelming fashion, I'm politically depressed. Meaning, I'm still enjoying the personal life I was leading before the election. But when my attention turns to Trump, my spirits sink.  Trump looks like he's hugely enjoying the kickoff to his second term. He's keeping his promise to be a dictator on Day 1, extending that promise throughout his first week in office. I expect Trump will attempt to realize his authoritarian dreams throughout his entire presidency. Meanwhile, while Trump holds center…
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Posted inCity Club City Council City of Salem

Upcoming “livability” property tax levy explained at Salem City Club talk

Today Keith Stahley, Salem's City Manager (basically the CEO of city government), gave a presentation to the Salem City Club about the city's budget problems that led to a decision by the City Council to put a "livability" property tax levy on the May 2025 ballot. Livability refers to the Library, Center 50+, and Parks/Recreation -- funding for which will be the focus of the levy. I took photos of almost all of Stahley's slide presentation, missing just a couple of slides. I'll use those slides as the basis for this report on what Stahley said.  Keith Stahley, standing at…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Every Trump voter should hang their head in shame after January 6 pardons

Trump voters, you knew what you were getting when you cast your ballot for him. A man who lies incessantly, who lacks any sense of moral decency, who loves dictators and hates democracy, who has no commitment to upholding the Constitution because his goal is only to uphold himself. Yet you preferred Donald Trump over Kamala Harris. Maybe it was because the price of groceries was too high. Maybe it was because you wanted our southern border to be strengthened and undocumented immigrants to be deported from the United States. I can understand those reasons. They make sense. Almost everybody…
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Posted in2024 election 2026 election Donald Trump

Why I’m going to look upon Trump’s second term as a political experiment

Progressives like me have a choice to make now that Trump has been inaugurated for a second term as president. How do we preserve our sanity during the next four years? I have Democratic friends who say that they're unable to pay attention to the news anymore, given all the crazy stuff the Trump administration will be doing. This doesn't appeal to me. I believe in staying informed, not ignoring what's going on. Another option is to remain in a more or less constant state of outrage as Trump dismantles valuable programs and policies from the Biden administration and institutes…
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Posted inNational politics

TikTok is dead. Will Trump resurrect it?

I'm an occasional user of TikTok. When I give it a look, I enjoy what I see. The short videos are mildly addictive. I like how easy it is to simply swipe up on my iPhone's screen and get a new entertaining video. Sometimes it's hard to stop scrolling through the endless TikTok offerings. Tonight, though, I was greeted with this message. This doesn't bother me much. However, all the people and businesses who rely on highly popular TikTok to publicize themselves are going to be irked. Of course, this wasn't a surprise. Last year Congress passed a bill with…
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Posted inNational politics Wokeness

Hegseth is wrong. Diversity, equity, and inclusion make our military stronger.

Today I watched part of Pete Hegseth's Senate confirmation hearing after Donald Trump nominated him to be Secretary of Defense in his administration.  It didn't take long for me to conclude that what I'd been hearing about Hegseth was absolutely true. He's spectacularly unqualified to lead our nation's military. Leaving aside the credible accusations against Hegseth of sexual assault, habitual drunkenness, and inability to competently manage two small non-profit organizations that he was in charge of, Hegseth came across as the weekend Fox News host that seems to be the only reason Trump chose him to head up the Defense…
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Posted inCity Club Oregon politics

Democratic and Republican leaders preview 2025 legislature at Salem City Club

In the not-so-old days, the Oregon legislature only met every two years. Now it convenes for a short session in even-numbered years, like 2024, and for a long session in odd-numbered years, like 2025. Today the Salem City Club had a program that featured the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, Kayse Jama, and the House Republican Leader, Christine Drazan (she ran for Governor in 2022). Christine Drazan and Kayse Jama Jama, a Somali-American, spoke first. Due to his accent and use of a handheld microphone (a built-in microphone wasn't working) I had some difficulty in understanding him. So I'll use this…
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Posted inDonald Trump Environment National politics

Trump acting like a jerk in politicizing Los Angeles wildfires

No big surprise, but really disturbing nonetheless. Donald Trump, who recently was elected president of the entire United States, all 50 of them, is acting like the non-empathetic jerk that he is by making completely unfounded criticisms of California's governor regarding the wildfires that are devastating the Los Angeles area. If Trump had one ounce of decency in his flabby body, he'd be making statements like any other president-elect would. Like: "My heart goes out to everyone suffering from the fires in southern California. I assure you that once I become president I'll order my administration to do everything possible…
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Posted inChris Hoy City Council City of Salem

demobrats podcast is a must-listen if you care about Salem politics

I'm not a big fan of podcasts. Until now. Because thanks to a December 31 story by Whitney Woodworth in the Statesman Journal, "Salem politics goes brat: New 'demobrats' podcast focuses on city budget, local government," I learned about the podcast started by Virginia Stapleton and Vik Schaaf. Stapleton is a former Salem city councilor who didn't run for re-election last year, choosing to challenge Kevin Mannix for his seat in the state legislature, House District 21. Unfortunately, she lost to Mannix. Schaff handled social media for Stapleton. The story says that the demobrats color scheme and name is a…
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Posted inSalem Health

Regence dispute with Salem Health shows craziness of U.S. health care

I'm glad I ditched my Regence Medicare Advantage plan last November, switching to a Providence Medicare Advantage plan after getting a letter from Salem Health warning that negotiations were ongoing with Regence over renewing a contract for in-network services that expired at the end of the year. For it turned out that December 31 came and went with no agreement between Regence and Salem Health. A Salem Reporter story, "Thousands of Regence members to lose in-network care at Salem Health, insurer says," tells the sorry tale. Thousands of people insured through Regence will have to pay more to get care…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City Council National politics

My totally made-up 2024 local and national political awards

It's the last day of 2024. Time to spend a (very) few minutes inspecting the recesses of my brain about what struck me, politically, during the past year, before I turn my attention to a Very Important Question: will CNN be up with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen consuming copious amounts of alcohol at Times Square, or will this be a dry year for the only New Year's Eve hosts I can stand to watch? Here's some 2024 awards. Biggest national fuck-up. Joe Biden ignoring his almost-but-not-quite-explicit pledge to only be a one-term president before turning the 2024 Democratic presidential…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Jimmy Carter’s death reminds us that presidents should be decent and honest

When I got in my car this afternoon and heard talk about Jimmy Carter after I turned on the radio, I knew, or at least strongly suspected, that former President Carter had died.  My first thought was, "He was such a decent person, the complete opposite of Trump." Listening to reports of Carter's life -- his upbringing, his presidency, his post-presidency -- reminded me  that it wasn't that long ago that decency, honesty, strong moral character, and putting the broad interest of the nation above narrow party politics were viewed as basic qualities someone aspiring to be president needed to…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Vice-President Trump looks weak compared to President Musk

Donald Trump has gotten a political lump of coal in his Christmas stocking. He loves to pretend that he's a macho guy, even though he actually is a grossly overweight, out of shape, hair-dying, makeup-wearing narcissist who doesn't demonstrate any genuinely manly qualities. Now his weakness is on full display, and he hasn't even taken office yet after narrowly defeating Kamala Harris for the presidency.  It's clear that the genuine leader of the Republican Party isn't Trump, but Elon Musk. That's why Democrats like me are finding great satisfaction in referring to President Musk and Vice-President Trump -- as these…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Trump, don’t mess with Daylight Savings Time!

Since I was a strong Kamala Harris supporter, it isn't surprising that much of what Trump wants to do in his second term as president worries me. But there are big differences when it comes to my emotional reaction toward Trump's proposals. If he wants to get back to building his border wall, even if Mexico doesn't pay for it, I say, fine, go ahead. If he wants to pardon some or all of the January 6 rioters, a wrong-headed idea, I say, fine, go ahead. However, if he wants to do away with Daylight Savings Time and make the…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

Avelo Airlines reduces Salem flights. Only one place to go now: Burbank

Just as skeptics about the newest attempt to bring commercial air service to Salem predicted, in a short time Avelo Airlines has gone from three destinations for outbound flights -- Santa Rosa, Las Vegas, and Burbank -- to only one, Burbank. The best way I've found to describe the recurring fantasy of Salem's Chamber of Commerce and City Council that commercial air service is viable here is an image from the Peanuts comic strip, along with an excerpt from my January 2023 blog post, "City Council approves $2.4 million for airport in dumb move." Here we go again. Monday night…
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Posted inChris Hoy City Council

Thanks to Mayor Hoy and three others who are leaving the Salem City Council

Tonight is the last Salem City Council meeting for the year. So this is a goodbye of sorts for four members of the council who won't be returning after their terms end on December 31, either because they lost a re-election bid or chose not to run again. Mayor Chris Hoy (lost reelection bid) Ward 1 Councilor Virginia Stapleton (chose not to run again)Ward 3 Councilor Trevor Phillips (chose not to run again) Ward 5 Councilor Jose Gonzalez (chose not to run again) I've adapted a "thanks for running" blog post from 2016 and 2020 for this occasion, because it…
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Posted inDonald Trump International issues

South Korea’s brief stint of martial law is a warning of what Trump might do

South Korea, like the United States, is a democracy. But that didn't stop President Yoon Suk Yeol from declaring martial law today, reversing his order a few hours later following massive outrage and demonstrations from South Korea's citizens and a unanimous vote from parliament rescinding the order. But for a while, troops tried to prevent members of parliament from entering their building, since Yoon's order declared political gatherings unlawful. For a while, things were really ugly in South Korea. Yoon's martial law announcement sounded like a dream come true for Donald Trump. If the decree had been put into effect,…
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