Opinion
Posted inOpinion

This Bill Is a Killer

Conservatives just don't like speed limits.
Source Weekly

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.

Posted inOpinion

The Original Straight Poopยฉ – Beware of Cheap Imitations

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

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.

Posted inOpinion

Cougar in the Woods

Be prepared to meet a cougar face to face.
Source Weekly

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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.

Posted inOpinion

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 Weekly

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I have read recently that the top five names for boys in the U.S.A. are: Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Jayend and William. Donald does not appear anywhere in the top five, nor in the top ten list. As a Donald myself, I find that very disturbing. I believe that the current unpopularity of the name Donald is directly attributable to Mr. Trump of the same first name.

Posted inOpinion

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 Weekly

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.

Posted inOpinion

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

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

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.

Posted inOpinion

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 Weekly

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.

Posted inOpinion

Take Time to See the Roses

Recently while walking through Drake Park I witnessed a bald eagle dive bomb a flock of ducks, nearly getting one.
Source Weekly

I preface this letter by saying: I am a big music fan. I know how sweet it can be to bop through the park listening to your own private soundtrack.
Recently while walking through Drake Park I witnessed a bald eagle dive bomb a flock of ducks, nearly getting one. The duck got away and my companion and I stood in awe as the eagle flew directly over our heads and landed in one of the lodge pole pines. There was a young man standing about five feet away from us with head phones on, oblivious to the seven foot wingspan right above his head. I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out the bird, still in the tree. He grinned sheepishly and replied, “Damn iPod.”

Posted inOpinion

Round and Round

Enough with the traffic circles already!
Source Weekly

Is Measure 9-83 the best that planners for the City of Bend could come up with to try to hold onto the inflow of taxpayer cash set to expire next year? Did one of the planners take a course in college entitled “Traffic Circles 301” that he, or she, really, really liked? I would vote for this measure if it were focused solely on Reed Market Road, or Reed Market plus 14th Street plus 27th Street. But do we really want to buy three more traffic circles at $3 million each?

Posted inOpinion

Don't Subsidize Poor Planning

Infrastructure First does not recommend voting yes on 9-83 (Bonds for Transportation, etc.). These bonds do not pay for badly needed maintenance of existing roads.
Source Weekly

Infrastructure First does not recommend voting yes on 9-83 (Bonds for Transportation, etc.). These bonds do not pay for badly needed maintenance of existing roads. They are directed primarily at improving the eastside for UGB expansion and growth.
The ballot description is very different from the plans exhibited by the engineering department this winter. The worst plan is Reed Market Road. All east-west traffic will be pushed onto an already overloaded arterial. A better option would have been an improved Murphy Road (with R.R. Bridge) from the Parkway to 27th [street] to draw away more traffic from Reed Market Road.

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