Posted in2019 election Salem-Keizer school district

Oregon Right to Life behind deceptive Marty Heyen postcard

If you got this postcard in the mail, don't be fooled by the Women's Leadership Coalition name in the return address. Actually that group is an Oregon Right to Life organization. Below you'll find proof of this. So keep this deception in mind when you cast your ballot in the May 21 Salem-Keizer School Board election. Heyen is running against Raul Marquez, a much better candidate who isn't beholden to a special interest like Oregon Right to Life. Here's how I know Oregon Right to Life is behind this postcard. It didn't require much sleuthing. The return address -- P.O.…
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Posted inUncategorized

Three journalists talk about the Oregon Legislature

"Journalism is a public service, like being a fireman or policeman." I heartily agreed with what one of the three journalists shown below said at today's Salem City Club program, The Oregon Legislature Through the Eyes of Journalists." (From left to right: Aubrey Wieber of the Salem Reporter; Connor Radnovich of the Statesman Journal; Claire Withycombe of the East Oregonian and Salem Reporter -- who was filling in for Hillary Borrud of the Oregonian, whose editor called her away at the last moment for some other duty.) Before I  talk about the substance of what Wieber, Radnovich, and Withycombe said, I…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Here’s the most shocking thing Barr said today

If you like the prospect of the United States becoming a banana republic dictatorship where the rule of law doesn't apply to the Supreme Leader, you'll applaud Attorney General William Barr's trumpian display of arrogance, bad faith, and misleading testimony today at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. But being part of the majority of Americans who want our democracy to remain intact, I found one statement by Barr rose to the top of the OMG! I can't believe the head of the Justice Department just said that! pile, which was teetering precariously by the end of the hearing, the crap…
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Posted inSalem Health

Dispute between Regence and Salem Health features two unlikable combatants

I'm a Regence Medicare Advantage member, so have been following the dispute between Regence and Salem Health with considerable interest. But if I wasn't aware of it before, a full page Regence ad in last Sunday's Statesman Journal (April 21) made the contract impasse difficult to miss. Heck, it was two-thirds the length of our dog! The headline said, "Salem Health is asking for a bigger raise than you can afford." And down at the bottom, "Salem Health is demanding  a double-digit increase that you can't afford." Well, maybe.  Right now I'm not going to believe what Regence says, nor…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

City Council stops “Big Weed” book removal at library. For now.

Well, a few days ago the title of my blog post was a bit off. I said "Final skirmish at hand in Salem Library 'Battle of the Books.'" But at last night's City Council meeting, a motion proposed by Councilor Chris Hoy passed unanimously. It puts the so-called Big Weed book removal effort on hold until the end of June, most likely. Here's how the leader of the Big Weed opposition, Jim Scheppke, put it in an email he sent out today. Dear Library Supporters: Last night the City Council voted not to resume the Big Weed for a couple…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

Final skirmish at hand in Salem Library “Battle of the Books”

Back in November 2018 Jim Scheppke issued a battle cry to book lovers: the decimation of the Salem Public Library's print collection must be met with fierce resistance. See here, here, and here for my blog post reports about the first stages of the war against Library Director Sarah Strahl's efforts to implement what later became known as the Big Weed. Since, I've followed the exploits of Scheppke and his band of outraged library users with much admiration. They've been both relentless and reasonable in their efforts to understand why Strahl and her compliant Library Advisory Board feel it's OK…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump National politics

After drenching myself in Mueller report coverage, here’s my take on it

For a political junkie like me, today's non-stop coverage of William Barr's embarrassingly awful press conference and subsequent analysis of the redacted Mueller report has felt like taking a really long hot shower that leaves you both blissfully exhausted and pleasantly energized. I've read the tweets. I've looked over Washington Post and New York Times stories. I've listened to much of what MSNBC had to offer, while fast forwarding through repetitive or uninteresting parts. I've scanned some of the report. Here's what leaps out at me after the initial coverage of the lengthy Mueller report. Barr should be impeached. Likely…
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Posted in2019 election Salem-Keizer school district

Oregon Right to Life trying to take over Salem-Keizer school board

Students should be able to learn without anti-abortion zealots interfering with their education. But that's the plan of Oregon Right to Life: take control of the Salem-Keizer school board in the May 21, 2019 election. Three of the seven current school board members are backed by Oregon Right to Life: Kathy Goss, Jesse Lippold, and Marty Heyen. The photo above was in a 2017 blog post where Oregon Right to Life bragged about the election of Goss and Lippold, saying: Pro-life voices on school boards are important for several reasons. Not only do school board members affect education policy, they become…
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Posted inCity Council Oregon politics Third Bridge

Breakfast on Bikes blog concerned about HB 2974 being a Third Bridge workaround

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post, "Help stop HB 2974, a Third Bridge taxing scheme." Here's part of what I said about this bill  proposed by state Representative Paul Evans. A bill in the Oregon legislature seems like a backdoor way to get a Third Bridge built in Salem. At least, that's how I and quite a few others view HB 2974. HB 2974 is sponsored by Rep. Paul Evans, who I usually agree with. But after I read the following email message from a group opposed to the bill, I became convinced that HB 2974 is…
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Posted inDonald Trump National politics

Trump is acting like a dictator. Our democracy is dying.

This is the week that pushed me over the edge of being merely concerned about our democracy surviving, to freaking out about the fact that it truly seems threatened by Trump. Which is scary.  Being as old as I am -- 70 -- I've lived through Richard Nixon (Watergate), Ronald Reagan (Iran/Contra), Bill Clinton (blow job, yawn), George W. Bush (no Iraq weapons of mass destruction), and various other WTF-is-going-on scandalous presidential behavior. But Donald Trump is in a league of his own. And that's not a compliment. He's the only president who has refused to abide by norms of generally…
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Posted inCity of Salem Comprehensive Plan

Fun facts about Salem (well, some aren’t so fun)

Thanks, Jim Scheppke, for sharing on Scribd an Our Salem: Today presentation by the City of Salem that was discussed on April 3 at a meeting of committees charged with advising staff on revisions to the Comprehensive Plan.

OK, that sentence probably doesn't make your heart race with excitement. But if you click on the continuation to this post, you'll be able to pursue a bunch of facts about Salem that really are quite interesting.

Screen Shot 2019-04-08 at 8.07.23 PM

For example, in the not-so-fun-fact category, Salem sucks when it comes to bicycling.

The miniscule blue bar in Salem's column shows that, compared to Eugene and other cities, very few people are riding bikes here. Which almost certainly is because the City of Salem has put very little effort into making cycling easy and safe to do. 

Screen Shot 2019-04-08 at 8.03.38 PM

On the positive side, the presentation included the first results of a Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

As shown above, Salem has considerably higher emissions per capita than Eugene, likely because our transportation system is so car-centric. Eugene has a much better bus system and bike paths.Screen Shot 2019-04-08 at 8.04.28 PMThat theory is supported by this chart, which shows Salem's reliance on automobiles leads to much greater per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector than Eugene enjoys.

So the next step the Salem City Council needs to take is creation of a Climate Action Plan that lays out concrete steps to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Click below to peruse the entire presentation. 

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Posted inOregon politics Third Bridge

Help stop HB 2974, a Third Bridge taxing scheme

A bill in the Oregon legislature seems like a backdoor way to get a Third Bridge built in Salem. At least, that's how I and quite a few others view HB 2974. HB 2974 is sponsored by Rep. Paul Evans, who I usually agree with. But after I read the following email message from a group opposed to the bill, I became convinced that HB 2974 is a bad idea.  One big reason: four people elected to a Special Bridge District, plus an ODOT representative, would get to increase the taxes of everybody in Marion, Polk, Linn, and Yamhill counties…
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Posted inCarole Smith Downtown Homeless

Should lying on downtown sidewalks be banned between 8 am and 11pm?

Downtown Salem has a serious homeless problem. This is obvious to anyone who visits the area. I go to a Tai Chi class on Court Street three days a week around 4 to 7 pm. I'm bothered by the trash, people curled up in sleeping bags, shopping carts filled to overflowing with people's possessions. Last month I wrote "Seeing Salem's homeless sleeping outside stirred up these feelings." But I've got to be honest. I didn't share all of the feelings I had.  Along with feeling bad about the plight of the homeless, I also don't like what homeless people are…
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Posted in2020 election Donald Trump

Four reasons why I’m feeling fine about the Mueller report

Sorry, Trump supporters. I realize you think the Mueller report finding no collusion with Russia justifies a victory lap, with images of disappointed Democrats dancing through your heads. Think again.  I'm a Democrat who is feeling pretty darn good right now. Here's four reasons why. (1) Impeachment is even less likely now. Democratic leaders in Congress haven't been pushing for impeachment of Trump. Nancy Pelosi has said that she is against starting impeachment proceedings unless there's a bipartisan consensus in favor of this. Which will never happen. I suspect that impeachment now is even less likely, since apparently there's no…
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Posted in2019 election

Raul Marquez will add much needed diversity to the Salem-Keizer school board

Raul Marquez. David Salinas. Remember those names when you fill out your ballot for the May 21 Special District Election where three board members of the Salem-Keizer School District will be elected. Then, vote for Marquez and Salinas!  Last Saturday I got to hear Raul Marquez speak and answer questions at a house party hosted by Salem city councilor Tom Andersen and his wife, Jessica Maxwell.  David Salinas and Raul Marquez He's a really impressive young man. This photo of Salinas and Marquez was shared on Facebook by Councilor Andersen. Salinas couldn't make the house party due to a family emergency.…
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Posted inCity of Salem Downtown Humor

Downtown Cherry Pits takes a satirical jab at Salem issues

I like satire. I admire humorous writing. And I appreciate efforts to improve downtown Salem. Downtown Cherry Pits is a funny satirical newsletter that hits on all three cylinders for me. The March 2019 issue has a great cover. There's a lot of good stuff in the other eight pages also. Check out the issue via this PDF file of a scan I made of it.Download Downtown Cherry Pits March 2019 Or if you're lucky, there will be some free copies left in a box hanging on the wall outside 363 Court Street NE in downtown Salem (next to Lullu's). Carole…
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Posted inCity of Salem Comprehensive Plan Smart growth

Let’s make Salem a “Strong Town” with wise development

Excellent news! A Strong Salem group has emerged on Facebook that seeks to do a heck of a lot more than just exist in cyberspace.  If you're on Facebook, join the group and get in on the ground floor of what promises to be a force for positive change in this town. For example, one of the first posts on Strong Salem talks about the Our Salem effort aimed at updating the Comprehensive Plan. A primary motivation for starting up this group is to keep a close eye on the the "Our Salem" project at the City, which is a multi-year…
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Posted inOregon politics

Measles vaccine works. Anti-vaxxers are endangering children.

Let me start off by saying that I'm not out to demonize people who mistakenly believe that vaccines are more dangerous than the diseases they prevent. Those people simply are misinformed.  I'm pretty sure that most of those involved with the anti-vaccine movement are quite different from global warming deniers. The fossil fuel industry uses false information to keep money flowing into their coffers. Sure, pharmaceutical companies do make money from from vaccines, but vaccines are safe and effective. (Some do have side effects, such as the new shingles vaccine that my wife and I had brief bad reactions to,…
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Posted inThird Bridge

Letter writer gets so much wrong about the Third Bridge

Today's Sunday Statesman Journal has a caustic letter to the editor regarding the recent City Council decision to kill the Salem River Crossing/Third Bridge project on a 6-3 vote. I couldn't find the letter on the newspaper's web site, so wasn't able to leave a comment telling Rose Treasure how much I disagreed with what she said -- which was full of falsehoods.  So to set the record straight from my perspective, and blow off some irritated steam, here's my responses (in red) to Rose's letter, complete with links to actual facts.  West Salem is on the short end of…
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Posted inCity Council Tom Andersen

Tom Andersen: progressivism is alive and well in Salem

I'm a proud progressive. I'm a member of Progressive Salem. I enjoy hearing City Councilor Tom Andersen speak. And I like the food at the Marco Polo restaurant a lot.  So today it was great to mix those pleasures together and listen to Andersen talk about the past, present, and future of local progressivism at the first Progressive Salem Power Lunch meeting while munching on a tasty Marco Polo buffet meal. If you're a conservative wondering if I'm going to share any inside political secrets, I'm sorry to disappoint you. But I hope you'll read this blog post anyway. Andersen did…
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