With this year’s “short” session of the legislature, the $700 million a year cap-and-trade bill is on everyone’s mind. As they say on the infomercials: “Wait, there’s more.” Way more. Way more taxes. This year, Portland area voters are facing at least six new tax measures. First, we have Metro’s transportation package that will amount […]
Homelessness is reaching epidemic proportions in America. On a single night in January 2018, there were 552,830 people experiencing homelessness in the United States. Slightly more than 1/3 of them – 35% – were unsheltered individuals. Government policies clearly have something to do with the problem. According to HUD, California has more than half of […]
In 2016 Val Hoyle, then a legislator from Eugene, introduced a bill to guarantee postage-paid envelopes for Oregon’s vote-by-mail system. She argued that having to find and apply a stamp was a barrier to voter participation, especially to young people. That idea was widely ridiculed, and the bill died. Unfortunately, the political culture has changed. […]
Voters should reject Metro’s tax increase and land grab In approximately four weeks Portland area voters will receive their November ballots. One of the items is Measure 26-203: a $475 million bond measure by Metro, the regional government for the Portland area. Metro wants the money so it can buy more land for its so-called […]
In choosing the headline for this essay, I realized that it peripherally applied to me. I hope that I am still relevant in a world gone crazy with endless nonsense conjured up by those seeking absolute power. Revolutions purporting to establish a Utopian society to solve all perceived problems, likely solve none of them. “From […]
So far this summer, it has been hot here in the Portland area for a few days. But generally we have had remarkably nice weather. Not so elsewhere as cities from Anchorage, Alaska, to Washington, DC to London to Paris have sweltered in the summertime heat. Or so you are supposed to believe. In fact, […]
My name is Jeanne Robinson. Forty-six years ago, I moved from Portland to my home in what is now Damascus, Oregon. When making my purchase, I was under the impression that I would be living on Deep Creek Road in Damascus, only to learn after moving in that the road name had changed to 232nd […]
There is a clear political agenda to destroy the traditional family in America, and it’s facilitated by public schools. Never before have all parents been legally “separated” from their minor children by the government. Until now, the American family was considered to be the foundation of civic life; the smallest form of government, where children […]
Winetasting has become a popular pastime in Oregon, as wineries have sprouted up throughout the countryside. Apparently, our state’s climate is conducive to the growth of tasty grapes and wines. The landscape boasts so many wineries now, that you can spend an entire weekend sampling the fruit-of-the-vine at different ones. In the second chapter of […]
If you care about teenagers and their mental health, the rush to legalize marijuana in America is a great example of a really, really bad idea. THC is the active ingredient in pot. According to the Washington Post, some of today’s marijuana products average a 68% concentration of THC, stratospherically higher than what my college […]