Editorial
Posted inOpinion

Taking the Wraps Off Campaign Money

Source Weekly

In its abominable ruling in the Citizens United case last year, the US Supreme Court decreed that corporations have the same free-speech rights as actual flesh-and-blood people. Short of a constitutional amendment, there probably isn't anything we can do about that.
But at least government can try to make sure that real citizens know which candidates and causes corporate “citizens” are giving their money to. Oregon Treasury Secretary Ted Wheeler is working to make that happen.
Wheeler sent a letter last week to the US Securities and Exchange Commission asking it to make publicly traded corporations disclose their campaign contributions. Many already do it voluntarily – including 60 of the firms on Standard & Poor's Top 100 list – but a substantial number don't.

Posted inOpinion

Our Fresh Straight Poop Comes With No Monthly Fees

Source Weekly

Monday, Sept. 26
This is turning into a routine: Senate approves deal to avert government shutdown Friday; Democrats and Republicans both claim victory … Nyaa, nyaa, can't touch me: Dominique Strauss-Kahn claims former status as chief of International Monetary Fund gives him diplomatic immunity against civil lawsuit by NYC hotel maid who says he raped her … Worth it to shut him up: Charlie Sheen settles suit against “Two and a Half Men” creator Chuck Lorre and Warner Brothers for reported $25 million … No PDAs on SWA: Musician/actress Leisha Hailey says she was kicked off Southwest Airlines flight for kissing her girlfriend, urges gays to boycott Southwest … Guess they aren't that unhealthy: Arch West, former Frito-Lay exec credited with creating Doritos in 1961, dies at age 97.

Posted inOpinion

Tony DeBone Has a Dumb Old New Idea

Source Weekly

Old beliefs die hard – especially the dumb ones. Despite all the evidence, some Central Oregon public officials still cling to the faith that they can pump life into the moribund local construction industry by giving builders a break on Systems Development Charges.
SDCs are fees levied on new construction projects to help cover the costs of things like new roads, sewers and water systems. For the past three years the City of Bend has offered builders a special deal under which, instead of paying their SDCs up front, they can delay payment for nine months or until their project gets a certificate of occupancy, whichever comes first. (It's essentially an interest-free loan to the builder.) City Finance Director Sonia Andrews reports that more than $900,000 worth of fees has been deferred so far, and builders still owe the city $285,000.

Posted inOpinion

Fresh Straight Poop: Now With More Fiber and Antioxidants

Intern

Monday, Sept. 19
This is how it's gonna be: President Obama vows to veto any debt reduction package that doesn't include tax increases on rich … A choice, not an echo: Ralph Nader and other liberal leaders announce plans to field progressive slate in presidential race; Nader says idea isn't to defeat Obama but to sharpen focus on progressive issues … Blood money: Rupert Murdoch's News International Corp. reportedly offers $4.5 million settlement to family of murder victim Milly Dowler for hacking their phones … Yemen's agony: Death toll from two days of clashes between protesters and security forces in Yemen tops 50, including children … Which came first, the ducks or the beavers? Bureau of Land Management says 7-million-year-old fossilized beaver teeth found in Eastern Oregon are earliest evidence of beavers in North America.

Posted inOpinion

Telfer Takes the Axe to the Arts

Source Weekly

Oregon government can't offer many shining success stories over the past decade, but the Oregon Cultural Trust is one of them.
The brainchild of the late State Sen. Ben Westlund, in less than 10 years it's amassed an endowment of more than $15 million. It has given grants to more than a thousand artistic and cultural nonprofit enterprises, including about 30 in Central and Eastern Oregon. The Museum at Warm Springs, the High Desert Museum and the Cascade School of Music all have benefited from Cultural Trust grants.

Posted inOpinion

The Oregon GOP Gets (Almost) Rational

The Source Staff

In a month when Texas Gov. Rick “Hang 'Em High” Perry is winning applause at GOP presidential debates by talking about his 234 executions and how he'd like to abolish Social Security, it was some comfort to see the Oregon Republican Party take a step – even a tentative baby step – into the 21st
century.
Up until now, the Oregon GOP's official platform included language that condemned gay marriage and civil unions and implied that gay couples were unfit to bring up children. But at its state convention in Bend last weekend, the party – prompted by a coalition of young Turks led by Xander Almeida, 26, of Portland – voted to ditch the worst gay-bashing language.
The revised platform is hardly a ringing endorsement of progressive ideas about gay rights, marriage or reproductive freedom. It proclaims that “the traditional family is ordained by God our Creator and is the foundation of our society. A traditional family is formed through the marriage of one man and one woman. This … environment is the optimum for raising children into responsible, self-sufficient, productive citizens” – apparently implying that kids raised by same-sex couples are destined to become crack-addicted welfare bums.

Posted inOpinion

Big End-of-Summer Straight Poop Sale – Stock Up Now!

Administrator

Monday, Sept. 5
Tell us how you really feel, Jimmy: Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., warming up Labor Day crowd in Detroit for President Obama, rips into Tea Party: “Let's take these sons of bitches out” … Tea Partiers wail about “violent” rhetoric … In tepid follow-up, Obama promises to support collective bargaining, challenges Congress to pass his forthcoming jobs plan … Euro-trashed: European stock markets and value of Euro plunge on concerns over safety of banks … Postage due: US Postal Service nearing default, facing deficit of $9.2 billion … Well, at least somebody's having a good year: Hollywood scores record-breaking summer, posting box office revenues of $4.4 billion.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
Following the money: Super PAC called “Make Us Great Again” plans to spend $55 million to snag GOP presidential nomination for Texas Gov. Rick Perry … In tape obtained by Mother Jones magazine, right-wing billionaire Charles Koch tells attendees at secret seminar for fellow fat cats that “we have Saddam Hussein” in the White House and 2012 elections will be “the mother of all wars” … Speaking of dangerous reptiles: Hunters in Agusan del Sur, Philippines, catch 21-foot saltwater crocodile, think there are even bigger ones out there … Hello, goodbye: Carol Bartz ousted as CEO of Yahoo; tells employees via email, “I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's chairman of the board,” Roy Bostock … Calling Det. Axel Foley: Eddie Murphy, who made some funny movies in the 1980s, to host 2012 Academy Awards show, first time for him.

Posted inOpinion

Our Straight Poop Is Freshness-Dated for Your Protection

Our Straight Poop Is Freshness-Dated for Your Protection
The Source Staff

Monday,
Aug. 29
Ill winds blow Wall Street good: Lower-than-expected damage toll from Hurricane Irene pushes insurance company stocks higher … Hurricanes … in Vermont? Flooding from Irene creates worst natural disaster in Vermont since 1927; at least three killed … Shelter from the storm: Algeria gives asylum to 31 members of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi's family and aides … Mum's the word: Redmond School District announces Redmond High Principal Brian Lemos on leave, won't say why … Encore for the Murdochs: Rupert Murdoch and son James to testify under oath about phone hacking in front of Britain's Royal Court of Justice … Let the birds keep it: Mutant bird flu strain not vulnerable to vaccines appears in Vietnam and China.

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