Posted in2022 election Oregon politics

Kotek only Governor candidate who will fight climate change

If you're an Oregonian who cares about fighting climate change, there's only one Governor candidate who deserves your vote: Tina Kotek, a Democrat. The other candidates -- Republican Christine Drazan and unaffiliated Betsy Johnson -- oppose what Oregon is doing now to combat the global warming that's causing hotter weather, more intense wildfires, and other nasty effects in our state. So says a well-researched OPB story, "Oregon governor's race will dictate the state's direction on battling climate change," that I learned about via Twitter.  Here's some excerpts from the story.  In the last decade, Oregon has sought to position itself…
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Posted inHumor LGBTQ issues Political correctness

Bill Maher wrongly makes fun of Portland schools “wokeness”

I've watched Bill Maher for many years, most recently via his Real Time show on HBO. Generally I enjoy Maher's blend of political humor and observations, but sometimes his tendency to criticize perceived liberal excesses rubs me the wrong way. Not because I object to Maher making fun of extreme left-wing stances, which indeed can be deserving of ridicule now and then. Rather, I don't like it when Maher oversimplifies a complex issue just for the sake of making it a more convenient object of scorn on his show. Yesterday Maher had a bit in his New Rules segment where…
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Posted inCity of Salem Public Safety

Fire showed emergency message system needs improvements

Last Friday, September 9, the Vitae Springs fire in south Salem caused lots of people to search for information about how rapidly the wildfire was spreading, where evacuations were taking place, and what the chances were of the fire reaching areas further away. Like, my neighborhood, Spring Lake Estates, that adjoins the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge. Friday evening I'd seen a report that a Level 1 (Be Ready) evacuation notice had been issued for areas four to six miles from where the Vitae Springs fire had started. I found via Google Maps that our house was about 7.6 miles from the…
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Posted in2022 election City Council City of Salem

Wasteful use of fire trucks called out by 350 Salem OR

Sending a giant fire engine out to respond to a medical emergency is like having an Amazon package delivered by a semi-trailer truck. In each case, almost always there's no need for such vehicle overkill.  But even though just 2% of calls to the Salem Fire Department involved fires, the department is asking for $26 million in the $300 million bond levy on the November ballot to replace worn-out fire trucks.  The reason, pretty obviously, is that those trucks are being used inappropriately. If a right-sized vehicle was used for medical emergencies, fire trucks would be used for their intended…
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Posted in2022 election Oregon politics

Deb Patterson and Raquel Moore-Green debate at City Club

Today it was pleasant to watch a polite substantive Salem City Club debate between the candidates for Oregon's Senate District 10, Democrat Deb Patterson (the incumbent) and Republican Raquel Moore-Green, who holds the District 19 seat in the Oregon House. Deb Patterson (D) and Raquel Moore-Green (R)  This was the first in-person meeting for the City Club in what seems like forever, but actually is just since Covid struck in early 2020. It felt great to be in the Willamette Heritage Center Dye House in physical reality, rather than watching the program via Zoom. (That reality included made-to-order lunches by…
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Posted inCoronavirus

Not wearing a mask in a pharmacy is selfish

I got my third Covid booster today at a Walgreens pharmacy. It was the new dual action booster that protects against original Covid and the newish Omicron variant that's highly contagious. It's been over five months since my last booster, so I was due for an antibody rejuvenation. Overdue, actually, since the newest booster is recommended for anyone who got their previous  booster or initial two shots at least two months ago. I also got a flu shot at the same time.  So today's pharmacy visit worked out well. Laurel, my wife, was scheduled to get her Covid booster yesterday,…
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Posted inCity of Salem Police reform

Oregonian editor criticizes Marion County DA and Salem Police secrecy

Officials at the City of Salem, including the Police Department, along with the Marion County District Attorney's Office, are getting some well-deserved bad press. After the Salem Reporter editor criticized the City of Salem and Marion County DA for a coverup following a public records request by his publication concerning a suspicious $53,500 payment to former deputy police chief Steve Bellshaw, today the Sunday Oregonian had a letter from the editor that makes similar criticisms. Here's the letter from Therese Bottomly. It makes for interesting reading, especially for those of us concerned about government transparency and public accountability. In decades…
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Posted inSalem-Keizer school district

Three Salem-Keizer school board members targeted for recall

Thanks to the Salem Reporter, which scooped the Statesman Journal on this important story, we know that an effort is underway to recall three progressive Salem-Keizer school board members elected in 2021. Here's how the story by Rachel Alexander starts off. A Salem parent is seeking to recall three members of the Salem-Keizer School Board, alleging they have been dismissive of parents with differing political views and failed to prioritize the education of students. Casity Troutt filed petitions to recall board Chair Ashley Carson Cottingham, former Chair Osvaldo Avila, and Second Vice Chair Karina Guzmán Ortiz with the Marion County…
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Posted inDonald Trump

I love the photo of top secret documents found in Trump’s residence

When Trump is convicted of mishandling government documents, many of which were marked top secret, as I dearly hope will happen, this FBI photo will be part of the evidence that led to his downfall. There's so much to love about this photo. For one thing, it demolishes any argument Trump could make that he didn't know the documents were marked as classified.  The big red and yellow borders around the secret/top secret cover pages show that it would be impossible to miss that these were highly sensitive documents. Which, of course, belong to the U.S. Government, not Donald Trump,…
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Posted inCity of Salem Salem Police Department

Salem Reporter editor criticizes secrecy of Salem city officials

Below is a indictment of what sure seems to be a coverup by officials at the City of Salem following a public records request by Salem Reporter concerning a suspicious $53,500 payment to former deputy police chief Steve Bellshaw. Written by editor Les Zaitz, I'd intended to only use excerpts from Zaitz' column, since I respect the right of Salem Reporter to make content available only to subscribers, of whom I'm one. But the more I thought about it, the more important it seemed to have this column read by as many people as possible. So I'm hoping Zaitz will…
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Posted inCity of Salem Police reform

What is Salem Police Department hiding from the public?

If anyone thought that a new police chief, Trevor Womack, would usher in an era of transparency and openness for the Salem Police Department, that thought needs to be dumped in the trashcan of unmet expectations. Last month I described two examples of the department hiding facts from the public. The people trying to lift the lid on police secrecy are experienced journalists: Joe Douglass and Ardeshir Tabrizian. When Douglass hit roadblocks from the Salem Police Department with his public record request for information related to communications between police officers and the Proud Boys militia group prior to a 2021…
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Posted in2022 election

Great letter in support of Jamie McLeod-Skinner

Salem isn't in the 5th Congressional District now, being put in the new 6th Congressional District after Oregon gained a seat in the House of Representatives when the 2020 census showed we deserved it. But most of Marion County is. So if you're a 5th Congressional District voter, or know someone who is, urge them to cast their ballot for Jamie McLeod-Skinner in the November election.  Here's a letter to the editor in today's Oregonian newspaper in support of McLeod-Skinner. Cathy Whiting, the person who wrote it, is a friend who lives in Canby. She's a member of the Salon…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Let’s imagine President Hillary Clinton acting like Trump

I realize that almost everybody is biased toward the members of their own political "tribe." For sure, I am. I readily admit that I'm more willing to overlook transgressions of fellow Democrat politicians than Republican politicians. But I deeply doubt that most Democrats would put up with all the crap that Donald Trump has done as president and post-president. At least, nowhere near to the extent that Republicans still bow down at the Altar of Trump. If you're a Republican who disagrees with that assessment, here's a thought experiment for you to consider. Imagine this alternative reality... In November 2016…
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Posted inTom Andersen

Tom Andersen will be missed as a Salem city councilor

Councilor Tom Andersen has resigned from the Salem City Council to focus on his campaign for Oregon House District 19 state representative.  He'll be missed.  Andersen was the most unforgettable councilor, in my decidedly personal opinion. I'm not great at remembering how I met people (other than my wife, I hasten to add), but I have no problem recalling what I'm pretty sure was my first face-to-face with Andersen. It was at a Salem City Club meeting. Someone introduced us. I was instantly taken by Andersen's intensity. His eyes were unusually alive when he spoke to me. He struck me…
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Posted inDonald Trump

Eight cartoons about FBI raid on Trump’s Florida home

I was so happy yesterday when I heard that the FBI had raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in search of classified documents that the worst president in our nation's history had carted off illegally. Word is that the FBI agents left with about a dozen boxes, which follows on the fifteen boxes that were sent back to the National Archives earlier.  Since a federal search warrant can't be issued without a judge affirming that there is probable cause that a crime has been committed, and that evidence of the crime could be destroyed without the warrant, it sure seems like Trump…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

New plan for commercial air service at Salem airport sounds like old failed plans

Here we go again, the Chamber of Commerce and Travel Salem engaging in another round of fantasies about commercial air service returning to the Salem airport. Salem's Angry Owl isn't impressed. Neither am I. Having moved to Salem in 1977, back then there really were airlines flying out of the Salem airport to places people actually wanted to go. Can't remember exactly what they were, but I recall there were frequent flights to the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, and probably other locations. Now a Salem Reporter story paints a decidedly less rosy picture of where it might be…
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Posted inLand use

South Salem Office Depot kicks out farm stand and food trucks

Office Depot acted like a corporate jerk when it kicked out a farm stand and two food carts from their vast and mostly empty south Salem parking lot. A Statesman Journal story, "Where did the food carts at the South Salem Office Depot parking lot go?," describes the bullshit reason for this decidedly unneighborly act of corporate asshole'ness. The departure was fueled by an order from Office Depot's corporate office claiming the food trucks and stands were taking up too many parking spots, food cart owners said. This left staff of the South Salem location, who confirmed the move, to…
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Posted in2022 election National politics

Kansas votes for abortion rights. Good news for Democrats.

Being an avid Democrat, I needed this. A big win for abortion rights in Kansas today. Yes, Kansas. A decidedly red state.  A Washington Post headline buoyed my liberal spirits. Political prognosticators were saying the vote in Kansas would be close. Actually, it wasn't.  This bodes well for Democrats in the November midterms. The Kansas legislature, dominated by Republicans, put this constitutional amendment question on the ballot in what they thought would be a low-turnout primary election, hoping that Kansas voters would sleepwalk their way to approving a change to the state's constitution that would take away a woman's private…
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Posted inCity of Salem Police reform

Another example of Salem police hiding facts from public

This shouldn't come as a surprise, given that so many police departments in the United States act as if they're beyond the law. Which of course is ironic, given that police are supposed to be enforcers of laws. But there's an unmistakable whiff of arrogance emanating from police officers these days that didn't seem to be nearly as apparent in years gone by. Partly this could be a defensive reaction to recent well-publicized failures of police officers to do their job competently. Partly this comes with carrying a gun. That makes many people look upon police as if they were…
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Posted inCity of Salem Police reform

Joe Douglass pursues how Salem police handled 2021 Proud Boys rally

I give Joe Douglass a lot of credit for how diligently he's sought public records related to how the Salem Police Department handled the May 1, 2021 Second Amendment gun rally in Riverfront Park where the Proud Boys provided "security." (More accurately, insecurity, since Proud Boys accosted a journalist and other people in the park, demanding that they leave the area, even though the rally had no more of a right to be there than anyone else.) Since the Proud Boys are a violent hate group that played a big role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the nation's…
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