Two weeks ago, in a fit of irony overload, we gave Chris Telfer a mock glass slipper instead of the real one that we reserve for those folks in the community who continue to unravel the mess that former OLCC Regional Manager Jason Evers left in his wake. Initially disappointed by Telfer's seeming lack of accomplishment this legislative period, we overlooked that her willingness to meet with licensees helped to form the collective basis and network of trust that aided in the DOJ investigation that removed Evers.
Editorial
Posted inOpinion
John Day 1, Nazis 0
John Day is a pretty little Eastern Oregon town that up until last month was known mostly for the good fishing in the John Day River and good fossil-hunting in the nearby John Day Fossil Beds.
But in mid-February, a group that embraces fossilized political and racial ideas cast an unwelcome spotlight on John Day. Paul R. Mullet, who calls himself the national director of the neo-Nazi Aryan Nations group, breezed into town in a swastika-bedecked shirt and let it be known that he was looking at some real estate. The group is planning to relocate from northern Idaho, he said, and John Day looks like the perfect place to establish its new headquarters.
Aryan Nations is a virulently racist white supremacist organization founded in the 1970s and originally headquartered in northern Idaho. It's anti-black, anti-Semitic and anti-Hispanic, and dreams of creating a “Fourth Reich,” a whites-only “Aryan” nation within the United States.
Posted inOpinion
Crazy For You: The politics of education, unpaid dental bills and the problem with atheists
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from a failed Socialist state headed by an illegal alien (or maybe listening to too much AM radio) on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
The Crazies
There's something in the water. Or it's an election year… Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY – the state, not the sexy lubricant) is going out in style, retiring after two terms, and using an arcane Senate procedure to block a funding bill for extended jobless and health care benefits, infrastructure projects and other liberal Socialist programs. Immediately laying off 2,000 workers, cutting COBRA health coverage, and ensuring that 400,000 unemployed Americans starve, Bunning is doing so out of concern that the Dem majority hasn't shown a way to offset the $10 billion cost, offering, “I hope the American people understand my serious objections.” Of course, by the time you read this, Bunning's feat will be forgotten (much like when he pitched a perfect game in 1964 for the Phillies); much like Senator Richard Shelby's (R-AL) blanket blocking of Obama's 70-plus presidential appointments, all because he wants more earmarks for Alabama. One Republican wants to control spending and another wants more money, you gotta love the Grand Ole Party. What's next?
Posted inOpinion
The 911 Board's Weaselly Maneuver
For a six-year period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Oregon's state slogan was “Things Look Different Here.” Although that was replaced in 2003 with “We Love Dreamers,” many things still are different here – including the way public officials are able to hide things that are the public's business from the public.
The Deschutes County 911 Service District has been having some real problems lately. In early December the district's board of directors put its executive director, Becky McDonald, on paid leave and launched a personnel investigation. The board hasn't offered any explanation of why the director was sidelined or what's being investigated.
Posted inOpinion
From Vancouver to Kandahar: Shaun White spins, Tiger counts his sins, and more!
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from the land created by Mr. Cheney, where myth and facts entwine – on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
Olympics, Ughh
Haven't our standards for Olympic “sport” sunken rather low (or gone too extreme for other countries to compete) and why do metrosexuals seem to be everywhere? Apolo Ohno is now “the most decorated” U.S. Winter Olympian (Eric Heiden, puhleeze… ) Shaun White is totally kickass and his “double McTwist”1260 was astonishing – but is it sport? Fellow snowboarder Scott Lago left the Olympics voluntarily with a bronze after sexy pics of him and a fan hit the porn-net; skier Bode Miller finally got gold and has the most alpine Olympic medals of any American skier in Vancouverยญ – after taking the year off and considering quitting. Our hockey teams are on top, as are we; time for “amateurs” again, eh?
Posted inOpinion
St. Charles Stands Up for Patients
Many people think the Catholic Church's position on contraception is Medieval. They're wrong – it's several centuries older than that.
“Because of its divine institution for the propagation of man, the seed is not to be vainly ejaculated, nor is it to be damaged, nor is it to be wasted,” wrote Clement of Alexandria in 195 AD.
The church's thinking has changed very little in the roughly 19 centuries since then, so we have no doubt Clement of Alexandria would have approved of the decision announced this week by Robert Vasa, bishop of the Diocese of Baker, to end the church's 92-year relationship with St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
Posted inOpinion
The Wart On Terror: Pols and polls, Olympic greatness and NASCAR runs America
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from the land of monsters and mythology, chillin' with Goliath and Paul Bunyan – “On Giants: or, Why We Want To Be small” – on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
“The Majority of Americans”
Playing politics with terrorism is an art form among Republicans, with Rudy Giuliani recently saying there were, “No domestic attacks under Bush,” but already one under Obama. Huh? Wasn't Rudy in NYC on that day – Surely we saw him in every 9-11 photo-op playing the mayor. Toying with reality is the new playground, “The majority of Americans… ” is the catchphrase spewing from GOP lips like “I'm mad about blah blah, I have a boo-boo and want my ba-ba… ,” at a Tea Party convention. Despite being swept from office, the GOP's denial is resolute, “There was no debate… No bipartisanship… ” is their excuse/accusation of why they do nothing, and won't be held responsible for the two wars Obama inherited and is now trying to win (see below), as well as this minor mess dubbed our Great Recession. Of course Dems are wimps and falling into the same old traps: Still unsure of where to hold the trial of 9-11 terrorist mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (FYI: Dick Cheney has yet to be charged,) and overly eager to allay fears, VP Joe Biden is “guaranteeing” a conviction, making a mockery of himself (as usual) and our legal system at the same time. Meanwhile, a new Washington Post-ABC poll found that two-thirds of all Americans are “unhappy” or “angry” at how the federal government is working (the only clear “majority” these days – one which neither party wants to claim) with those polled saying that “53 cents of every dollar” sent to Washington is “wasted.”
Posted inOpinion
Reinhart's Slash-and-Burn Attack
Bend City Council elections are supposed to be non-partisan, and generally that's worked pretty well for us. Our council races are far less acrimonious than, say, the typical campaign for president, Congress or even the State legislature.
But Troy Reinhart apparently would like to change that. Reinhart, the Chairman of the Deschutes County Republican Party, ripped into City Councilor Mark Capell, a registered Democrat, in an e-mail to party members last week.
“I think for Republicans, he's a target,” Reinhart said. “He will have competition, I can assure you of that.”
Posted inOpinion
Welcome to the Tea Party: Notes on the end of the recession, tea-bagging with Palin and more!
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from Sarah Palin's palm, offering talking points and apologies to Todd for last night, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
“Cause for Hope but not Celebration”
New unemployment numbers for January came in surprisingly strong (in a good way) with the jobless rate falling to 9.7 percent – a stat not seen since last August when we were all eating caviar and drinking champagne. Manufacturing added jobs for the first time in three years and companies “only” shed 20,000 jobs. “The recession is over,” declared former Fed Alan Greenspan on Meet the Press, adding with his usual precision and lack of enthusiasm, “It's going to be a slow, trudging thing… We don't know where the jobs are coming from, but we know the process is underway.”
Posted inOpinion
Ripped From The Headlines: Torn gets ripped, Obama woodsheds Congress and more!
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from the Super Bowl (really his couch, a bottle and bookie only a reach away), hating the guy who loves the commercials – on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
Busted Piggy Banks
President Obama is doing more damage control than Toyota. Gas pedals sticking to the floor and sending cars out of control at high speed (stop, think, put the car in neutral, people) is much like government spending. The new $3.6-trillion budget is akin to a panhandler trying to sell a Hummer (err, let's say Porsche) and will increase our deficit by $1.6 trillion over ten years, a reality that the White House defended by pointing out that Obama inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit from Bush. Does any of this make sense? Of course not. We're dealing with D.C. here, where our money and morals are mere talking points. The budget does include cuts: Bush's attempt to explore the moon (so much cheese still undiscovered), border security (shhh, don't tell Mexico), and a bunch of programs that fix the environment and actually help people but are no longer compelling sound-bites on television and YouTube.