In the political campaigns shaping up for November’s election, perhaps the most heated battleground is the continued tug-of-war over healthcare coverage—namely, Cover Oregon, the effort to provide reasonably priced and comprehensive healthcare for uninsured residents. Leading the charge in Oregon have been gubernatorial hopeful Dennis Richardson and Monica Wehby, who has been lambasting Sen. Jeff […]
Editorial
Posted inOpinion
Pandora’s Bong
In late July, in a rare front page editorial, the New York Times offered its endorsement for the federal government to legalize recreational marijuana. And, last week, proponents for legalizing marijuana in the State of Oregon—an initiative for November’s ballot—announced they already had raised over $1 million for their campaign. Yes, public sentiment certainly seems […]
Posted inOpinion
Trust us, we’re from the federal government
That line, while once intended to inspire confidence, instead has transformed into a punch line for Hollywood blockbusters like Men in Black and TV shows like “Person of Interest.” Yet, as comic as that adage may have become, it also is an important reality and force that steers public policies and infrastructure decisions for the […]
Posted inOpinion
Vic Atiyeh: The gold standard
Perhaps it is overly romantic nostalgia to think that politicians were once more fair and balanced, and that they once followed their hearts more than their party lines. But even if that is a rose-colored look at the past, it only makes Vic Atiyeh an even more remarkable politician—and man. The state’s governor from 1979 […]
Posted inOpinion
Freedom: Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose
Five summers ago, leading up to its passage, so-called Obamacare was the focus of town hall meetings across the country. Many of those community meetings turned as ugly and unruly as an English soccer game, with shoving and shouting matches. Even after the wide-reaching Affordable Care Act passed a year later, that venom did not […]
Posted inOpinion
High on Taxes
On Tuesday, nearly two dozen new specialty stores opened in Washington State; that is, marijuana is finally for sale, legally, from Bellingham to Vancouver. Approved by voters nearly 18 months ago, Washington Liquor Control Board approved 24 outlets to open last week. Reportedly, some 7,000 permits have been submitted to the control board, but the […]
Posted inOpinion
When Corporations Took Over
Three years ago, in mid-September, dozens of protestors, upset about economic inequalities, stalked out a park near Wall Street in Manhattan. Over the next three weeks, similar “occupy” protests sprung up from coast to coast, entrenching the concept of “the 1%” in the mentality of Americans—or, less colloquially, that a minute portion of Americans holds […]
Posted inOpinion
Hot Hot Hot
This week, the Source office is split over whether to Boot or Slipper fireworks. Most of the office is against fireworks and, yes, I hear and understand and know their arguments that fireworks can be dangerous, especially in a tinderbox dry environment where even the tiniest spark can jumpstart a massive and quick fire. And, […]
Posted inOpinion
Stop It!
Three days after a school shooting in Newton, Conn., a grim-faced President Obama presented a national address, during which his mood wavered between sad and angry. Twenty children and six adults had been shot dead by a deranged man. And that shooting came at the end of a year when there already had been seven […]
Posted inOpinion
Hold the Line
So often—and by its very nature—firefighting is reactionary. But with the Two Bulls Fire, there also has been an impressive show of some of the precautionary measures taken to manage forest fires, on several fronts. The foremost being the prolific use of social media. As the fire spread, so did the city’s public information efforts. […]
