Opinion Archives - Page 192 of 314 - The Source

Dog Gone It!

For whatever reason, I have encountered many stray dogs since moving to Bend.

Source WeeklyMay 25, 2011May 23, 2025

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For whatever reason, I have encountered many stray dogs since moving to Bend. During the most recent encounter, I waited with the dog for an hour, hoping the owner would come looking. Instead, it was animal control. I could have let the dog go in the parking garage while teenagers raced the Autobahn, but chose to hang out and ensure a safe outcome. Having spent several hours in this situation, with several very sweet dogs, these are my comments:

To the City of Bend,
The $520 fine for a stray dog in the city limits is hyper excessive, especially in these economic times. This will only ensure that owners with limited funding will likely not claim their dogs from the shelter. What is likely to happen is these dogs, most of which have been older dogs, will not get a chance at adoption. Why not a fine and community service combo? Or some other options for those who may not have the funds, but still want their dog back? I fully agree there needs to be a penalty, but $520?!

Opinion

Overcoming “Illegal”

Thiel Larson believes it’s time to stop and acknowledge our common humanity.

Source WeeklyMay 25, 2011April 5, 2025

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A rally was held Monday, May 11, asking public officials to protect the civil rights of undocumented people in Central Oregon. I was there because I have, for 12 years, run a low-income program for children. I started this group when, as a teacher, I became increasingly aware of children living in debilitating poverty.
The neighborhood I work in has changed over the years to one that is now mainly Hispanic. With that change has come growth and awareness on my part of the plight of immigrants who desperately want a better life for their children and are willing to risk and work hard to obtain it. They remind me each day that this is our heritage. This country is, has been, the “promised land” for all of us at one time in our history. Our common humanity, the reality that we are all children of God, with different stories is what motivates me to walk alongside these families in their struggle to survive.

Opinion

Shimmer and Shine

The Tower Theatre thanks First Baptist Church for helping clean the theater on May 22.

Source WeeklyMay 19, 2011January 4, 2023

Opinion

This Bill Is a Killer

Conservatives just don't like speed limits.

Source WeeklyMay 18, 2011May 21, 2024

Conservatives just don't like speed limits. Along with anti-smoking laws, motorcycle helmet laws and seat belt laws, they see them as another manifestation of the detested “nanny state” that's always looking over their shoulders and wagging a disapproving finger.
When Republicans took over Congress in the 1990s, one of their first moves was to repeal the national 55-mile-per-hour speed limit imposed in 1974 by the Jimmy Carter Administration. That left the setting of speed limits up to the states. Since then, Republicans across the country have been crusading to get speed limits increased – or better yet, eliminated.

Opinion

The Original Straight Poop© – Beware of Cheap Imitations

Scoop Lewis, Ace Reporter, reviews the past week’s biggest news stories both locally and globally.

Source WeeklyMay 18, 2011October 31, 2023

Monday,
May 9
High-flying geezers: Former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, 80, says AARP is “38 million people bound together by love of airline discounts” … Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) says Republicans want spending cuts in “trillions, not billions” before they'll OK increase in federal debt ceiling … But he loves dumb blondes: Kevin Allen, a black contestant on “The Apprentice” who was fired by Donald Trump, tells Talking Points Memo that Trump “doesn't like educated African-Americans very much” … “Kicker” reform kicked aside: Measure to put half of Oregon's “kicker” tax refund into rainy-day fund gets sidetracked in state Senate; fate uncertain.

Opinion

Cougar in the Woods

Be prepared to meet a cougar face to face.

Source WeeklyMay 18, 2011July 15, 2025

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There is a cougar in Deschutes River Woods, maybe two, trying to make a living. DRW has a significant population of prey species making it good pickings for a large cat. Cougars have been hunting in the area for millennia.
Cougars are generally solitary animals, shy of human activities, and deathly afraid of dogs. They use stealth and cunning to acquire their food. When a cougar invades a residential area, most likely it has not yet learned to avoid humans and dogs. Which would indicate it is young and immature. If two cougars a traveling together they are most likely siblings recently run out of their mother's territory.

Opinion

What About Don Corleone?

What the world needs is more Donald Ducks and Donald O’Conners and Don Drysdales and Don Juans and fewer Donald Trumps.

Source WeeklyMay 18, 2011November 27, 2023

Opinion

High Noon for Open Government

Kroger is on the right side in this fight, and the government agencies that think their own convenience is more important than the public's right to information are on the wrong side.

Source WeeklyMay 11, 2011January 4, 2024

When a new sheriff rides into town the locals sometimes can get riled up, especially if the old sheriff's been there a long time and the new sheriff has a different way of doing things.
That's the situation John Kroger finds himself in. Kroger was elected in 2008 to succeed Hardy Myers as Oregon's attorney general, after Myers had been in the job for 12 years.
Kroger is an ex-Marine with an undergrad degree from Yale, a law degree from Harvard and a resumé that includes prosecuting Mafia thugs and Enron crooks. As attorney general he's aggressively gone after bad guys ranging from pharmaceutical companies to child pornographers to giant Wall Street banks.

Opinion

100% Fresh Straight Poop – for Best Results Use by 05/12/11

Scoop Lewis reports on the past week’s most newsworthy events.

Source WeeklyMay 11, 2011February 3, 2025

Monday,
May 2
Osama, The Aftermath: US officials say “mother lode” of intelligence seized from compound where Navy SEALS killed Osama bin Laden last week; “hundreds of people” examining contents of computers, thumb drives, etc. … Meanwhile Rush Limbaugh belittles the exploit, says President Obama almost botched it and staged it as re-election ploy. Way to keep it classy there, Rush … Elsewhere in the Middle East: More than 2,000 reportedly arrested in latest crackdown against Syrian protesters, another 5,000 missing … Yes, that's a 1 plus 11 zeroes: Wall Street Journal estimates Facebook stock could be worth $100 billion in initial public offering, making it bigger than Amazon or Cisco.

Opinion

This Week’s Number: 251

251: that's the number of species that the Department of Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service have pledged to evaluate over the next six years for Endangered Species Act protections.

Source WeeklyMay 11, 2011May 12, 2023

That's the number of species that the Department of Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service have pledged to evaluate over the next six years for Endangered Species Act protections. The pledge is part of a settlement with one of the key litigants in a series of cases brought against the federal government over its inaction on more than 250 threatened species, including the western sage grouse.

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