Opinion Archives - Page 189 of 315 - The Source

The Legislature Bridges the Great Divide

The Oregon Legislature finally makes some achievements with a redistricting plan, and education reforms.

Source WeeklyJuly 6, 2011April 10, 2024

Maybe Oregon should pass a constitutional amendment requiring the state legislature to be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Judging by what the legislature achieved during its last session in spite of its partisan division, we could do a lot worse.
One of the legislature's biggest achievements, which we honored with a GLASS SLIPPER three weeks ago, was passing a redistricting plan – something it hadn't previously managed to do for 30 years. But it racked up a number of other significant accomplishments. Among other things, the legislature:

Opinion

Welcome Summer With Our Garden-Fresh Straight Poop

AdministratorJuly 6, 2011January 4, 2023

Monday,
June 27
Details, details: Michelle Bachman, kicking off presidential campaign in Waterloo, Iowa, says she's proud she was born in same town as John Wayne. Problem: Waterloo was birthplace not of John Wayne but of John Wayne Gacy, serial killer … Blago's busted: Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich found guilty of having unpronounceable name and silly haircut. Just kidding. He's convicted on corruption charges … Knock yourself out, kid: Supreme Court rules states can't ban sale of violent video games to children … Dicey: Wildfires force evacuation of Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory in New Mexico; officials say nothing to worry about. Uh-huh … Two Most Wanted: International Criminal Court issues warrants for arrest of Muammar Qaddafi and son Saif al Islam Qaddafi for “crimes against humanity.”

Opinion

Did You Hear What I Heard?

AdministratorJuly 6, 2011December 17, 2024

Like most Bendites, I love the summer street fairs and concerts. Thank you Sterling Savings Bank, and all the other sponsors, for The Bite of Bend.

Opinion

Take Your Facts And Shove Them

Source WeeklyJuly 6, 2011December 31, 2024

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Opinion

Little White Lies or Half Truths?

Victoria Smith speaks on the school districts cuts.

Source WeeklyJune 29, 2011April 5, 2024

Last month, the school district announced that they cut eight administrative positions. What they didn't announce was that a year ago, one of the individuals took a position in Portland and they never filled the position. Other administrators absorbed that workload. Also, three of the positions were elementary assistant principal positions, but in reality they had never been filled. In other words, there wasn't another human being tied to those positions.

Opinion

Save the Carrots!

Vanessa Schultz responds to Aaron Kirkpatrick

Source WeeklyJune 29, 2011August 28, 2024

Dear Aaron Kirkpatrick, in response to your public slander of me (people have sued for less, by the way), I choose to support you in your cause to save the misunderstood carrot. While I personally prefer to focus on defending animals – in this case, objecting to school programs that teach 5th graders how to kill animals for fun – if your calling is The Vegetable, then clearly you have read The Secret Life of Plants, a superb book that shows us the extraordinary sentience of the world around us.

Opinion

Our Fresh Poop Is Always Straight But Never Homophobic

Source WeeklyJune 29, 2011December 3, 2023

Monday, June 20
What could possibly go wrong? Tennessee Valley Authority, oblivious to Japan's Fukushima reactor disaster, plans six new nuclear plants in eastern Tennessee. At least there won't be a big tsunami risk … Big day for the Supremes: US Supreme Court's conservative majority strikes down massive sex discrimination class-action lawsuit against Wal-Mart … Court also unanimously strikes down suit aimed at forcing cuts in greenhouse emissions from power plants … Just when we needed some good news: Forecasting firm IHS Global Insight predicts Portland will return to pre-Great Recession employment levels in 2014, but Bend won't reach that point until (gulp!) 2021 … Only in America: Richard James Varone, 57, of North Carolina, unemployed and uninsured, robs bank of $1 so he can go to jail and get medical care for various ailments.

Tuesday, June 21
Losing traction: On the heels of 16 campaign aides quitting earlier this month, Newt Gingrich's top two fundraising advisers resign; campaign reported more than $1 million in debt … Still clueless after all these years: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he's “puzzled” as to why some folks were upset when he blamed Arizona wildfires on illegal immigrants … Scare tactics: US Food and Drug Administration unveils hideous cigarette pack images of festering sores, etc., aimed at discouraging smoking … Wrist slap: JP Morgan Chase & Co. agrees to pay $153.6 million to settle civil fraud charges. That's less than it makes in a week … Sweet music: Violin built by Antonio Stradivari in 1721 auctioned for $16 million; proceeds go to Japanese earthquake relief.

Opinion

The COCC Anti-Tobacco Nannies

COCC attempts to create a tobacco-free campus by prohibiting it everywhere on campus but it may not be teaching tolerance in a place where tolerance should be respected.

Source WeeklyJune 29, 2011January 4, 2023

Smoking and chewing tobacco are unhealthy things to do – nobody disagrees with that. And breathing secondhand smoke is unhealthy too – virtually nobody disagrees with that.
Motivated (presumably) by a noble desire to discourage students from smoking or chewing and to protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, Central Oregon Community College appears to be on the verge of approving a “tobacco-free campus” policy. Praiseworthy as the motive may be, the policy goes way too far.
COCC already has taken strong measures to make sure non-smokers aren't subjected to unwanted tobacco fumes. Smoking isn't allowed inside any of the campus buildings at any time. People who want to light up have to do it in one of the parking lots or on the street.

Opinion

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Hero: What an illegal immigrant can teach us about America

Rory O’Connor shares his journey of researching how social media affects journalism in today’s society.

Source WeeklyJune 29, 2011January 4, 2025

I first met Jose Antonio Vargas in the fall of 2008, in the midst of the historic Obama campaign for the presidency. At the time, I was a fellow at the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where I was researching the impact of the then-emerging social media on older legacy forms of journalism, such as newspapers.
A woman named Maralee Schwartz was also at the Kennedy School when I was there. Beginning in 1979, Maralee had spent her entire professional career at The Washington Post, largely as a political reporter and political editor. As national political editor, she led the Post’s award-winning teams of reporters in coverage including three presidential elections, the last term of the Clinton White House, and the first term of the Bush White House.

Opinion

Doe Story Goes Deeper

Reader is disappointed by News in Briefs, 6-1.

Source WeeklyJune 22, 2011January 11, 2024

I was disappointed in your report (on Cylvia Hayes, News in Briefs, 6-1), which read like it was written from a news release. No mention was made of Judge Frank Yraguen's investigation or the large amount of money spent on multiple investigations.
The following is information I read or heard on broadcast and print news.
Kulongoski asked Attorney General John Kroger to hire independent counsel to review the case (because he didn't like Kroger's analysis of the case ?). Kroger denied his department had a conflict and refused.

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