Last weekend, members and supporters of Oregon’s Democratic Party gathered for a biennial summit in Sunriver for three days of panels, speakers, and networking. To those already a part of the party, the event no doubt felt something like a family reunion. But the undercurrent of self-congratulation, assumptions about unaffiliated voters, and anti-Republican rhetoric revealed […]
Editorial
Posted inOpinion
The Boot 10/14-10/21
A River Should Run Through It
Mirror Pond is neither a mirror nor properly a pond, and yet it has gained both fame and infamy—and a protracted political process aimed at preserving it. As with most hot topics, there are passionate people on both sides of the issue. But the time has come to move beyond sentimentality and focus on facts. […]
Posted inOpinion
The Boot 10/7-10/14
Manning Up
After news broke that an armed student shot and killed nine people on the Umpqua Community College campus in Roseburg, people across the state and the nation reacted first with shock, then sadness, and later, took to the internet to share their theories about how to stop the tragedies that have become so common, we’ve […]
Posted inOpinion
The Boot 9/30-10/7
You Can, But You Shouldn't
Over the past several months, we’ve noticed a change in the air. No, it’s not the arrival of autumn, but the growing number of Confederate flags billowing in the breeze. From an impromptu summertime demonstration of cars and trucks decked out in the “rebel” flag, to now, local high school students flying it on school […]
Posted inOpinion
Legal Threat is a Wake Up Call
As a society, Americans have a reputation for being litigious. This tendency to sue over every too-hot coffee or too-tall neighbor’s fence is tedious, time consuming, and expensive. But sometimes, lawsuits are the clearest and quickest path to justice. When attempts to work things out informally fail, the mere threat of legal action can be […]
Posted inOpinion
Seven Things to Reflect On As The Forest Fire Flames Subside
1. Fire isn’t always bad. Fires can be beneficial to forests. By eliminating undergrowth, wildfires create openings in the forest, which enable diverse vegetation growth that provides fruit, seeds, and nectar for wildlife to thrive. Fires also create standing dead trees (snags) that many animals rely on for food and shelter. Dry ponderosa pine forests actually need fire to control […]
Posted inOpinion
The Boot
Freedom’s Just Another Word
“You can’t make me,” is a favorite retort of school children, and often precedes a tantrum. But that type of defiance seems to be emerging from a growing number of limelight- seeking government officials. In the past few weeks, elected officials in Kentucky and Oregon have offered similar responses when asked to issue marriage licenses […]
Posted inOpinion
Conservation Belly Flop
As wildfires continue to burn, and more of the state officially enters a state of drought, Bendites are preparing for the arrival of Slide the City, a giant water slide planned to stretch down College Way. If it seems odd that the City permitted a company to use Bend’s water while the county is in […]
Posted inOpinion
Post-Haste Makes Waste
A good idea is not necessarily inevitable; especially an idea—like the gas tax—which needs finesse to gather support. How that idea comes about matters immensely. That is Politics 101. But it is also apparently a basic tenet that the majority of Bend City Council decided to hopscotch past and, in the process, may have poisoned […]
Posted inOpinion
Groundhog Day
In the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day, Bill Murray plays a TV weatherman forced to relive the same day. Although perhaps remembered as a belly-laugh concept and romantic comedy, in fact, the film is a nihilist exploration about a stubborn inability to change, adopt, and move forward as Murray’s character struggles to extract himself from the […]