The Wandering Eye

There aren’t many things that The Bulletin’s editorial board and I agree on, but the Oregon Liquor Control Commission is one of them.
In an editorial this morning, The Bulletin asks why the state’s legislators don’t take a long, hard look at reforming “the archaic and contradictory system” under which the OLCC both regulates the sale of booze and is in the business of selling it.

Four years ago, Money magazine ranked Colorado Springs one of the 10 best places to live in America, and Number One among large cities. Now the joke is that the last person to leave will have to turn out the lights.

Republican Chris Dudley, the former Portland Trail Blazer who wants to be Oregon’s governor, is challenging Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to go one-on-one – but it’s not clear what game he wants to play.
Daley has gotten attention over the past week by predicting he’ll be able to lure businesses away from Oregon to Chicago after the passage of Measures 66 and 67.

Anonymous posters on websites, beware: You’re not as anonymous as you might think you are.
That’s the tough lesson learned by people who posted unflattering comments about Tami and Kevin Sawyer on the KTVZ site after the TV station turned over their IP addresses in response to a subpoena from the Sawyers.

The dust hadn’t even settled after the stunning victory of Measures 66 and 67 when the whining from Oregon conservatives started.
In fact, Larry Huss, writing on the Oregon Catalyst blog, started wailing “We wuz robbed!” before the ballots were even counted.

Well, that’s a relief: Oregonian Publisher N. Christian Anderson III is not a right-wing nut.

Everybody is shouting hallelujahs and hosannas over Facebook’s decision to build its new “data center” in Prineville.
The Bulletin had a big bold banner headline on the front page this morning: “Enterprise zone lured Facebook to Prineville.

Oregon conservatives who oppose the tax increases under Measures 66 and 67 say that what this state really needs is a fundamental reform of its tax system. No argument here – but what reforms would Oregon conservatives support?
Well, certainly not doing away with Oregon’s archaic and ridiculous “kicker” law, which prevents the state from accumulating sufficient reserves to see it through tough times like the present Great Recession.

The Bulletin’s opposition to Measures 66 and 67 seems to have turned into an obsession. Bend’s Only Daily Newspaper has yet another lengthy tirade against the tax measures on its editorial page this morning – the fourth, according to my recollection, plus a column a couple of weeks ago by Editor John Costa, numerous “In My View” pieces and countless letters to the editor.

The Wall Street Journal published an editorial against Measures 66 and 67 that’s been widely circulated via e-mail and quoted approvingly on conservative websites such as The Oregon Catalyst.  But Oregonian blogger Jeff Mapes caught the Journal with its factual pants down.