fosterfell | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Member since Jul 3, 2010

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  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 03/27/2024 at 3:50 PM
    By my quick reckoning, the Hill Country of Texas, where the weather has been historically clear in mid-April and totality will last an astonishing 4 minutes, is closest to Bend,
  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 03/01/2024 at 10:53 AM
    Thank you, Michel Shehadeh, for your comments on the unfolding slaughter and engineered famine in Gaza. It's good to remember and honor Aaron Bushnell's last words: Free Palestine. Only then can a lasting peace take hold in the region and safety and security be guaranteed for all--for Israel and Palestine and their neighbors.
  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 01/10/2024 at 6:32 AM
    We need housing for all income categories; we now have a report showing retired, well-heeled Boomers now preferentially choosing Bend. When they move to developments like Jackstraw they free up housing that is more affordable for the rest of us. The City Council was faced with a Hobson's choice: Either reject the MUPTE and lose 300 much needed housing units--or grant it and create a political firestorm. I think that the financial predicament of Killian-Pacific is real; an independent auditor verified that to be the case. I don't see any evidence of corruption or political shenanigans at play here. My understanding is that the leadership of Killian Pacific has been reaching out to its small business tenants to resolve some of the complaints.
  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 12/25/2023 at 12:57 AM
    Democrats would have in any ordinary election year a wealth of fine candidates to choose from for the CD 5 primary. See Abby Kellner Rode's ringing letter of endorsement for Jamie McLeod-Skinner. See also the meritorious records of Jamie's opponents--Janelle Bynum and Lynn Peterson.

    However, are we Democrats really blessed with these three? On the issue that now deeply and perhaps fatally divides Democrats, we have heard nothing from them. On the war that has closed down the celebration of Christmas in the Holy Land, not a word.

    It is quite easy for a non-affiliated candidate to get on the ballot and run for U.S. representative in Oregon.

    Please see: https://ballotpedia.org/How_to_run_for_off…

    I would suggest that our people's candidate for Congress be chosen from among the amazing young people who participate in the weekly rallies in Bend for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.


    me to comment encompasses Jamie and her primary competitors Janelle Bynum and Lynn Peterson. If this were an ordinary primary election we Democrats would consider ourselves blessed to have such an outstanding group of candidates to choose from. However, it's not. To read their campaign statements you would think Jamie, Janelle, and Lynn
  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 12/01/2023 at 11:03 AM
    To add to the necessary context--but without endorsing violence directed against anyone--I would mention the September 1982 attacks against the Shatila and Sabra refugee camps in Lebanon. Between 2000 and 3500 Palestinians and Lebanese civilians were killed over the course of a 2-day siege coordinated by the Israeli army (headed by Ariel Sharon) and Lebanese Phalangists. Testimonies from the mass killing describe horrific acts of slaughter, mutilation, rape and mass graves. Images from the aftermath were aired on television worldwide and caused global outrage.The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution declaring this massacre an act of genocide.

    It is important to realize that the history of the region did not begin on Oct. 7, 2023.

    The recently concluded "truce" offers proof that diplomacy can absolutely work to
    save lives on both sides of the conflict. Please support local efforts calling for a permanent ceasefire. I am told the next mass protest takes place Sunday Dec. 3 from noon to 2 PM at Wall and Greenwood in downtown Bend.

    Continue calling Joe Biden, Ron Wyden, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer for their support for a ceasefire. (Jeff Merkley is only one of two US Senators to have endorsed a true ceasefire.)
  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 11/06/2023 at 1:53 PM
    Apologies to the Bulletin. The Algorithm must have been on duty this past weekend. Both of my submissions have since been published in the digital edition.
  • Posted by:
    fosterfell on 11/05/2023 at 12:46 PM
    Bend Bulletin threw out two of my attempts to question their Sunday editorial that excused Sheriff Nelson's "mistake" due to inadequacies in the County hiring "process." I was trying to point out that Dahlgren may have been hired as a political stunt to damage the reputation of our indefatigable local service providers and to delegitimize the "housing first" approach to helping the unhoused.

    Could it be that the Sheriff and his two ideological allies on the County Commission were feeling threatened by the success of projects already underway, such as Central Oregon Veterans Village, St. Vincent DePaul cottages, safe parking programs, Desert Streams Village, Rainbow Motel renovation, and the Lighthouse?

    How better to undermine these valiant local efforts than to bring in someone to debunk the findings of the annual Point in Time Count, a long-standing, meticulous, comprehensive survey that delineates the demographics of homelessness in Central Oregon.

    The Dahlgren version of the count inflates the incidence of drug addiction by a factor of seven, while ignoring causes such as disability, medical illness, poverty, ethnic marginalization, and domestic abuse.

    In so doing he creates a narrative more closely attuned to the worldview of certain County officeholders, who see the homelessness crisis more as a criminal and personal matter than as a matter of economic inequality, treatment and staffing shortcomings, and violations of civil and human rights.