Eric Flowers

editor@tsweekly.com
Posted inOpinion

We Sold Our Souls For Rock and Roll: Gonzo at Wal-Mart, mud flap sales and Scientology

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from the catwalk at the
Eric Flowers

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from the catwalk at the annual fashion show in La Pine, wearing a tube-top, cutoff jeans shorts and cowboy boots, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.

And the Winner is…
Forget Simon, let's talk Sonia-Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor, that is, who was nominated on Monday by President Obama to replace David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. If her controversial same-sex marriage decision in Rocky v. Bullwinkle and those pictures of her eating a pickle don't come to light, Judge Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic and third female U.S. Supreme Court justice. "An inspiring woman who I believe will make a great justice." lauded Obama while introducing Judge Sotomayor's nomination. A case surely to hit the new justice's desk will be the California Supreme Court's upholding of a voter-approved ban on same-sex unions, which allows existing same-sex marriages to remain legal (how's that for confusing?). As Sotomayor's nomination was announced, nearby, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wiped away a tear, mumbled something incoherent, then returned to stocking shelves at Wal-Mart.

Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides

Restaurant of the Year: Ariana

Eric Flowers

When it comes to restaurants, of course it's highly subjective, but there are
some specific considerations: execution, presentation, creativity, ambience, service, value, consistency, attention to detail. When the field is as deep as it is here in Central Oregon, however, the deciding factor is often harder to articulate. It's that quality
that makes your eyes roll with every bite, that makes you inhale deeply as you swallow
so as not to waste that last vestige of flavor, where nothing in the overall dining experience distracts you from your appreciation. It's what makes you remember and relive the meal weeks or months later. It's when the very character of the restaurant embodies the values and tastes of a given place at a given time.

Posted inOpinion

Packed Like Sardines

This week’s letter comes from K. Golding who zeros in on annoying driving habits. On the eve of Memorial Day weekend and the official start
Eric Flowers

This week's letter comes from K. Golding who zeros in on annoying driving habits. On the eve of Memorial Day weekend and the official start of summer travel season, it's a fitting time to vent our frustrations. And we certainly concur with what our writer has to say this week. So be safe out there on the roads and think about your fellow travelers.

Meantime, K can pick up her winner's prize, a pound of Strictly Organic coffee at our offices, 704 NW Georgia.

What ever happened to the procedure of having a safe distance between you and the car ahead of you? I drive from Tumalo to Madras or Salem at least once a week and am tired of running into a line of cars with six feet between each other doing 40 miles an hour behind some guy with a trailer - most prevalent on the Santiam, but you see it on 97 also.

Posted inOpinion

The More Things Change

Meg says old school Republicans are scared. Well, what exactly is a new school Republican? What do they believe? That gay marriage should remain illegal,
Eric Flowers

Meg says old school Republicans are scared. Well, what exactly is a new school Republican? What do they believe? That gay marriage should remain illegal, but by golly, we could be a bit nicer about it? That we disagree with every single one of Obama's initiatives, but we see no need to get up in his face in a rude way? Troops should remain in Iraq indefinitely, but we don't have to sound like grumpy old men when we say so? I especially like Meghan's "I believe in a strong national defense," but yet "I love to wear black," as if a young Republican's clothing color creates meaningful differentiation between she and her grouchy father.

Posted inOpinion

Give Em A Bootstrap!

Well these folks seem to be popping up everywhere and most of them are none too bright! I have witnessed countless situations with the Bend
Eric Flowers

Well these folks seem to be popping up everywhere and most of them are none too bright! I have witnessed countless situations with the Bend Police and these folks and I am stunned at how brainless these individuals are. Now granted we are supposed to feel sorry for these destitute human beings who chose their course of action by not paying taxes, by not being involved with the community. We are supposed to feel sorry for their choices of alcoholism, their polluting habits, their foul mouths, their other poor habits etc.
I have lived in many cities and visited many, many places throughout the USA and there is nothing more pathetic than grown men whining about how life sucks for them. The economy sucks for everyone especially for the families doing everything they can to keep the family afloat. I have put myself, deliberately, in situations with the homeless and through my own investigations most of these folk are taking advantage of the system. Do you think we should still feel sorry for them? I don't! Should we feel sorry then for the terrorists blowing up our soldiers because most of them are not in their right minds either? Of course not. So let's apply common sense and take action by booting these people out of here into either a rehab institution or let them help out "The Peace Corps."

Posted inOpinion

Miss Americas Gay Bashing Breasts

Carrie Prejean’s topless photos and her anti-gay rhetoric illuminate the link between those two great American institutions: gay-bashing and pornography. As pre-teen boys start to
Eric Flowers

Carrie Prejean's topless photos and her anti-gay rhetoric illuminate the link between those two great American institutions: gay-bashing and pornography. As pre-teen boys start to figure out who they are, they're encouraged by older boys to express their normalness by lining up along school hallways and discussing girls as body parts.

Posted inNews

When The Well Runs Dry

Shortly before the Oregon Legislature released its revenue forecast last week, providing details of its budget for the fiscal biennium, State Economist Tom Potiowsky issued
Eric Flowers

Shortly before the Oregon Legislature released its revenue forecast last week, providing details of its budget for the fiscal biennium, State Economist Tom Potiowsky issued a statement saying the dramatic freefall of the state's economy has ended, and a full recovery will be noticeable by 2011.
Try passing that off as good news to the 14.7 percent of Deschutes County residents currently unemployed (or 12 percent of all Oregonians), because nothing short of going back to work will kill the pounding hangover they feel brought on by the current recession, regardless of any speculative elixir Potiowsky or other Oregon economic experts may serve up in the weeks and months ahead.
"We are living by faith, hoping that some magic will come out of the sky and that we'll be able to sustain ourselves under current conditions," Sen. Margaret Carter (D-Portland) said at a recent Salem press conference.
Instead legislators are finding that they have to perform surgery on this ailing patient with a cleaver rather than a scalpel.

Posted inNews

A Burning Question: To fight fire, fight forest development

Spring is here, and the forest fire season will soon be upon us. Every year,the cost of fighting forest fires increases so that now, firefighting
Eric Flowers

Spring is here, and the forest fire season will soon be upon us. Every year,the cost of fighting forest fires increases so that now, firefighting accounts for close to half the Forest Service's budget. The cost to tax payers has risen to the billions of dollars.
How do federal agencies handle this burden? The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management often end up raiding other programs in order to pay for firefighting. Congress has started to address this issue, with the House of Representatives recently passing FLAME, acronym for the Federal Land Assistance and Management Act. It would create a separate account to fund fighting the most expensive wildland fires.  If it passes the Senate and becomes law, biologists and recreation managers will no longer have to fear for their budgets when large fires break out.
Unfortunately, FLAME does nothing to address one of the key reasons why forest fires have become so costly: the increasing number of homes built on private land near forested public lands.
So far, across the West, only 14 percent of the private land next to publicly owned forests has homes on it. But this relatively small percentage is tremendously expensive. If you add up the efforts of local areas, state and federal agencies, the cost to protect homes from forest fires exceeds $1 billion per year. If 50 percent of the forested private lands were developed, the costs of firefighting could exceed $4 billion -the size, almost, of the Forest Service's entire budget.
A recent economic case study illustrates the gravity of the problem. On average, protecting homes from forest fires in Montana costs $28 million annually. By the year 2025, unless Western states start placing some restrictions on home construction, the costs likely will rise to $40 million annually.

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