Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

Go Timbers!

Sheesh...

Cesar E. Chavez Avenue

Congratulations Portland you have a new street name.  I am sure this will change everything for the 50% of high school students who don't graduate.  And suddenly, young Hispanics will no longer be drawn the downward spiral of gangs, guns and drugs.  After all, they can now stand on the street corner and admire street signs.  Certainly, that will make all the difference in their lives.  And from now on, special interest groups will know that if they are stubborn enough, ignore any dialogue about compromise and treat process as a cudgel, they will get what they want.

Yea, this is a proud day for Portland.  Hoist the political correctness flag over City Hall and let the party begin.  Our city's special band of distracted, self-absorbed liberalism is on the march. 

On to the next distraction.  Soccer anyone???

Technorati Tags: Portland,Cesar Chavez

Gearhead Alert

Go ahead.  You know you need this.

What Did I Tell You About The Jackson Memorial?

There's money to be made on dead freaks.

All so predictable.

Despite efforts to keep people from profiting from Tuesday's public memorial service for Michael Jackson, scalpers online Monday were asking as much as $9,000 per ticket to the free event.

Key Economic Indicator

In the toilet.

Lucky Fans Get News On Jackson Memorial Tickets

I kid you not.  That is the CNN headline.

Just wait until we hear the scalp price on those tickets.  Lucky indeed.

Once a freak show.  Always a freak show.

Sheesh....

Sarah Palin Cuts and Runs

This announcement will only make sense to the loyal wingnuts who will now sanctify her as victim of the liberal elite.  Fortunately, the wingnut core is a relatively small portion of the American electorate.

For the rest of us, she is just a quitter.  Worse yet, she is a quitter on the 4th of July holiday, America's most enduring symbol of endurance, fortitude and steadfastness. 

Now she will get rich preaching to the choir.  Politically, she is done.  Palin has has now evidenced a character flaw that most Americans find reprehensible.

 

Have You Missed Sarah Palin?

Yea.  Me too. 

Spend some time with this new Vanity Fair piece and you will have trouble disconnecting the name John McCain and the descriptor venal.

A Good Politician?

It is far too easy to take a shot at any political figure.  (One could start a new blog devoted solely to the train wreck that is Mark Sanford, the globe trotting governor of South Carolina.)  But amidst the infuriating conga line of underachievers, Multnomah County managed to pick a real winner.

In my meanderings, I have seen County Chair Ted Wheeler speak a few times and have garnered an introduction and brief chat.  As much as anyone can tell from a careful distance, this politician looks like an actual leader.  As much as a political figure can, he is a straight shooter.  I was especially impressed with both his forthrightness and compassion in how he rolled out a painful down-economy budget.  And, one can never underestimate the tenacity and discipline of a guy who has summited Everest . . . twice.

Need a litmus test?  How about the current soccer/baseball stadium fiasco?  In the midst of endless contortions to garner the favor of one special interest group or another, Chair Wheeler seems to be focused on the constituency who should count: us.

County Chair Ted Wheeler this morning told the Mercury that he doesn't feel $15million for Major League Soccer is an appropriate use of urban renewal money—setting the stage for a fight with Mayor Sam Adams unless the mayor can find an alternative source for the cash. . . .

Wheeler delivered a pointed presentation to the group this morning, arguing that since URAs are supposed to improve "blighted" areas, the city is going to have to agree on what "blight" means downtown. The definition of "blight" in state law is "wishy-washy," he said, before encouraging the group to decide whether "we're taking dollars from areas that are truly blighted, and not just with a wink and a nod around the table here."

Wheeler repeated his perennial point that the creation of a URA means at least a quarter on every tax dollar is taken away from vital county services like jails and drug treatment, and also the school district. "We're going to make some very real trade offs on some of the important community services we're investing in," he said.

After the meeting, the Mercury asked Wheeler whether he intends to oppose any effort by Adams to take $15million from the URA to fund the renovation of PGE Park for MLS.

"I hope I didn't come across as being confrontational," he said. "It's just that the trade offs with urban renewal are not theoretical. They are very real. I'm helping focus the question. I'm not telling people what to do. I just want people to be able to consider these questions."

I know you may feel a little confused.  Sit down and take a few deep breaths.  You just aren't used to a local politician talking to you like an adult and showing a bit of integrity. 

Technorati Tags: Portland Timbers,Ted Wheeler,soccer deal,urban renewal,mls

Will He Really Look That Much Different?

I mean . . . really?

Well, as long as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton can play to the assembled cameras then that is what really counts.

Sheesh....

Have You No Shame? Who Me?

When you have violated your convenent with your family and your state by all means drag God into it. Please mark the assumption that this guy started from a state of grace from which he could fall.

Gov. Mark Sanford signaled Friday that he intends to serve out the remaining 18 months of his term.

“I remain committed to rebuilding the trust that has been committed to me over the next 18 months, and it is my hope that I am able to follow the example set by David in the Bible — who after his fall from grace humbly refocused on the work at hand,” Sanford said in a statement following a meeting with his Cabinet. “By doing so, I will ultimately better serve in every area of my life, and I am committed to doing so.”

Let me point out that one week ago the Republican party said that this man had all the right stuff to be a presidential candidate. Welcome to the vapid, shameless world of the conservative political Christian right in America. Keep it up guys. You own that 25% of Americans who will follow you to the gates of hell. I think they call that "leadership."

It Works Like This Sometimes

Michael Jackson Dead.

Keith Richards Alive.

Nuff said....

Still. In Iran The Counter-Revolution Lives

No, I haven't forgotten Iran. I still pore over every bit of information I can and push myself to watch the increasingly frightening YouTube video snippets. Fascism, worse, fascism wrapped in the imagined embrace of God, is in full fury on the streets of Iran. From reports of peaceful protesters not just being beaten, but beaten to death, to the eye-witness accounts of bodies being whisked away from hospitals and any injury showing up at a hospital being grounds for arrest, it's clear that the Iranian government cares only for its cruel order and quiet submission to power. I don't know if the kids can keep up the pressure under such circumstances. Evil has a way of slowly strangling courage. Yet, there is something different about this and China 20 years ago. To be sure, there is the Internet and this new linkage between freedom and ubiquitous communication. But more importantly, this corrupt and rickety government doesn't have the means to buy off a generation. 35% unemployment is still there when the smoke blows away and the last protester is arrested. No, this is a counter-revolution with a sense of inevitability. So, while the kids have had to remove their green to stay alive, this blog will stay green so they may know we haven't forgotten them.