Ad Watch: New Wyden and Kitzhaber ads
Congress Poll: Schrader losing over Bruun
Lars Larson: Is our homeland any safer?
Remember all those years during the Bush Administration? There were attacks by Al-Qaeda on foreign soil but after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, none on our own soil.Well, that appears to be changing. The Christmas Day bomber, Ft. Hood, Major Hasan and now we’ve got the two mystery flyers who were arrested in Amsterdam.
Oregon’s Fading Economy: Putting Lipstick on a Pig
The latest revenue forecast figures are out from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis and isn’t good news. Revenue collections are down another $377 Million from the last quarterly forecast. That’s in addition to the $577 Million from the last quarterly forecast. That’s a total of $1.2 Billion since adoption of the state budget a short fourteen months ago.
The sad part of this is that the forecast is still wrong, still overly optimistic, and still using a flawed formula for estimating revenue. The state economists still rely on a program that assumes growth in revenue from any point in time despite the reality that Oregon’s economy, Oregon’s employment and Oregon’s tax revenues have been steadily declining for at least nine quarters.
Text of Obama Iraq War Speech
Text Of President Obama's SpeechGood evening. Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about the end of our combat mission in Iraq, the ongoing security challenges we face, and the need to rebuild our nation here at home.
I know this historic moment comes at a time of great uncertainty for many Americans. We have now been through nearly a decade of war. We have endured a long and painful recession. And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we are trying to build for our nation — a future of lasting peace and long-term prosperity may seem beyond our reach. But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment. It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.
Senator Chris Telfer: Ways to Reduce State Spending
Senator Chris Telfer Proposes Ways to Reduce State SpendingBy Oregon State Senator Chris Telfer,
Salem, OR – Last week state officials revised their revenue projections and they are down, again. Since the close of the 2009 Legislative Session revenue projections have fallen by more than $1.2 billion. Senator Chris Telfer (R-Bend) is proposing several ways that lawmakers can reduce state spending and balance the budget.“As legislators it is our job to balance the state budget,” said Telfer. “Letting the Governor cut across-the-board is irresponsible.” As he did in June, the Governor is ordering an 8 percent cut to every program regardless of its value to Oregonians. Telfer is asking lawmakers to meet in Salem to discuss a list of targeted budget reductions that will preserve the most vital state programs. “From this point forward our budget must be focused on creating private sector jobs,” said Telfer. “Without them we will not get Oregon’s budget back on track. Washington D.C. cannot print money fast enough to bail us out. We must step up and fix this problem here. Most of the items on the list below require lawmakers to meet. They cannot be enacted by the Governor or the Legislative Emergency Board alone.
Proposals include:
Labor Day Hypocrisy: Unions block member from picnic for being wrong party
SEIU to Member & Candidate; Stay Home!Senate Candidate Mike Forest Press Release
SEIU is having a picnic on Sept. 6th and did not invite as a Candidate a 20+ year SEIU Member in good standing – Mike Forest. Mr. Forest is a candidate for state senate in dist. #11. Mr. Forest is an Employee of the State of Oregon in the Financial Services Division at Oregon Department of Agriculture. Mr. Forest has not been endorsed and has not received a campaign contribution from his own Union. Mr. Forest does not recall ever being asked to receive either from his Union.However Peter Courtney, who is not a member of SEIU, is invited as a Candidate.This further magnifies the question, is SEIU a Labor Union or a Political Union?
All members who are officially a Candidate for Public Office should never be excluded from their free speech rights. A Labor Union should always invite and support any fellow Brother or Sister to their events.
Minor parties sue Secretary of State over party labels
Progressive Party Sues Secretary of State to Preserve Party Labels on BallotsBy Oregon Progressive Party,
On August 30, the Progressive Party of Oregon, Working Families Party of Oregon, and State Senator Larry George (R) filed suit in Marion County Circuit Court to stop the Secretary of State from dramatically altering Oregon's general election ballot by removing from it all party names next to the names of candidates.
The text of the complaint, motion for preliminary injunction, and all related documents are available at http://progparty.org/abbs
The Secretary of State just adopted a rule that, instead of printing party names next to the names of each candidate nominated by that party, the ballots will instead show only "three character designataions" for each party.
"This change is clearly illegal," said Dan Meek, attorney for the Progressive Party. "Oregon statutes have always required that the `name' of the political party appear on the ballot, not some incomprehensible 3-letter abbreviation."
GOP vs. Dem: GOP polling highest in Gallup history
Gallup Reports,
PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans lead by 51% to 41% among registered voters in Gallup weekly tracking of 2010 congressional voting preferences. The 10-percentage-point lead is the GOP's largest so far this year and is its largest in Gallup's history of tracking the midterm generic ballot for Congress.These results are based on aggregated data from registered voters surveyed Aug. 23-29 as part of Gallup Daily tracking. This marks the fifth week in a row in which Republicans have held an advantage over Democrats -- one that has ranged between 3 and 10 points.The Republican leads of 6, 7, and 10 points this month are all higher than any previous midterm Republican advantage in Gallup's history of tracking the generic ballot, which dates to 1942. Prior to this year, the highest such gap was five points, measured in June 2002 and July 1994. Elections in both of these years resulted in significant Republican gains in House seats.
See enthusiam chart below
Continue reading "GOP vs. Dem: GOP polling highest in Gallup history"PRINCETON, NJ -- Republicans lead by 51% to 41% among registered voters in Gallup weekly tracking of 2010 congressional voting preferences. The 10-percentage-point lead is the GOP's largest so far this year and is its largest in Gallup's history of tracking the midterm generic ballot for Congress.These results are based on aggregated data from registered voters surveyed Aug. 23-29 as part of Gallup Daily tracking. This marks the fifth week in a row in which Republicans have held an advantage over Democrats -- one that has ranged between 3 and 10 points.The Republican leads of 6, 7, and 10 points this month are all higher than any previous midterm Republican advantage in Gallup's history of tracking the generic ballot, which dates to 1942. Prior to this year, the highest such gap was five points, measured in June 2002 and July 1994. Elections in both of these years resulted in significant Republican gains in House seats.
See enthusiam chart below
Oregon School Districts Restrict Choice for Special Education Students
By Olivia WolcottIn Oregon public schools, every special education student receives an Individualized Education Program (IEP), designed to provide the child with an education in the “least restrictive environment” possible. However, Oregon school districts restrict the path to success for many special education students, especially in the case of virtual charter schools.
Hundreds of parents have turned to virtual charter schools to meet the needs of their special education children, voicing concerns that their children are not getting needed attention and are experiencing bullying and anxiety in their district’s special education classes. The online students attend local IEP meetings but can also participate in the same virtual classes as other students at their own pace and ability.
We Told You So...about Measures 66 and 67
In December 2009, Cascade Policy Institute published a research report by Randall Pozdena, Ph.D. and Eric Fruits, Ph.D. forecasting the impacts of tax increase Measures 66 and 67 on Oregon employment. The study was based on thorough research of peer-reviewed literature and a quantitative analysis of taxes and economic growth across the U.S. and over a long period of time. They concluded that the tax measures would have a significant negative impact on Oregon's employment picture, as shown in Exhibit 1 on page 7 of their report.
Reclaim Oregon's Forests: We Can Manage
By Ben SheltonFederal ownership of Oregon's forests has failed. Oregon, like other Western states, has relied on federal agencies to manage the majority of its land. But it is now clear this century-long experiment has crippled our forests and rural communities. In spite of these hardships, federal bureaucrats add insult to injury with reports like the one released in late July by the Western Oregon Task Force, which offered "too little, too late," according to Oregon's congressional delegation. If Oregonians want this to change, we must abandon our deep-rooted faith in federal agencies, reclaim our forests, and manage what is ours.
The federal government owns 18.2 million acres of Oregon's 30 million acres of forestland. A recent study released by the Oregon Forest Resources Institute points out that many of these forests are "sick and require immediate help." Many are overcrowded and subject to devastating fires and insect infestations. Add to this The Oregonian reported in June that the Spotted Owl population continues to drop, despite 20 years on the endangered species list. In addition to environmental concerns, once-thriving rural communities now rely on the uncertain arrival of federal timber payments to fund essential services. Meanwhile, Congress and the responsible federal agencies remain gridlocked amid competing special interests with no incentive to improve the system or to cede land back to local authority.
