Taking every opportunity to promote their agenda for the “disadvantages,” Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) seems to agree with House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner (D-Portland) on the March economic and revenue forecast. “We are living through the most imbalanced recession of our lifetimes, where the wealthy, the stock market and the housing market thrive while front-line, low-wage workers and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities suffer.

“The data shows that we have lost 150,000 jobs in Oregon. We know that the pandemic has disproportionately impacted low-wage workers and BIPOC communities across the state. Our recovery efforts must prioritize those who have been most directly impacted by this crisis. As we plan Oregon’s recovery, these communities must be kept top-of-mind.”

The disparaging fact is the Economic Policy Institute reports Oregon’s 2020 first quart unemployment overall was at 3.3%, White people experiencing 3.6%, and Hispanics were at 3.0%, which means the BIPOC unemployed percentage was somewhat less. The second quarter, at the peak of the pandemic unemployment raised to 13.5% overall with White people experiencing 13.3%. Hispanics were at 14.2% meaning the BIPOC group had a less percentage unemployed than Whites.

The Majority leadership’s agenda to cater to what they identify as the “underserved” has at every turn exaggerated the situation to make their point.

A small light for equality came with Senate President Peter Courtney statement of the March 2021 quarterly economic and revenue forecast. “I’m very surprised… The forecast is way up. This allows us to start really dealing with the pain and suffering of Oregonians.”


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2021-02-24 16:12:39

Last Update: 2021-02-24 18:20:24

When the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis issued its February Economic and Revenue Forecast, one needs to keep in mind that they are talking about the state's economy and the state's revenue. You and I are on our own. Especially if you own a small business. Nowhere does the document talk about the many bars, taverns, restaurants and other small businesses which were effectively shut down during the government sponsored recession.

For some, while you weren't going out to your favorite Mexican or Italian restaurant, and working from home and not buying gas to go to work, you were pocketing the money. The OEA announced that "Households have built up considerable savings in the past year." Not if you're a waitress. They note that "Lower income households continue to struggle," that "Job prospects remain dim," and that "Federal aid has lapsed at different points."

If you're a service industry worker or a small business just hanging on by your fingernails, the OEA points out that "Pent up demand will be unleashed as pandemic wanes and economy reopens" and that a "mix of consumer spending will shift back to labor intensive, in person services, driving strong employment gains."

the OEA is a part of the Department of Administrative Services, which reports to the Governor. Do you suppose they know anything about her plans to open the state?


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-24 15:34:04

Last Update: 2021-03-09 20:34:35

Because of never-before-seen bailouts from the federal government last year, Oregon is on pace to exceed revenue expectations, according to the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.

Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod (Lyons) released the following statement:

“I prefer to focus on the revenue coming into Oregonians' bank accounts. The reality is that 150,000 Oregonians have been put out of work because of the pandemic and the economic lockdowns. Tens of thousands are struggling to make rent, afford child care, and put food on the table.”

The Revenue Forecast indicated that the state has taken in over $800 million in excess revenue.

“The state has been bailed out by the federal government. We are looking at billions more coming our way in the coming weeks from Congress and the Biden Administration.

“The Legislature should not be considering new taxes or rolling back COVID relief. That will simply hinder economic recovery and the chances of Oregonians getting back to work. If the Democrats aren’t careful, they might even trigger the kicker and give taxpayers their money back.

“The Governor is lucky to have gotten such a windfall from the federal government. Too many working people aren’t so lucky. They have been asked to sacrifice by tightening their budgets. It's time for their government to do the same for them.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-24 15:33:20

Last Update: 2021-02-24 15:34:04

Oregonians routinely carry firearms in the Capitol, sometimes openly, sometimes concealed, but a cursory search indicates that there has never been an incident involving the discharge of a firearm in the Oregon Capitol. Studies have shown that the known presence of armed people deters gun violence -- as is seen in tragic shootings too often, where so-called "gun free" zones are targeted.

Each year there seems to be at least one "open carry" event -- though it may be that this year it won't happen -- and the Legislative Administrative staff make sure that those who aren't comfortable with it, are prepared. In fact, on that day, many workers stay home.

Increasingly, as violence and rioting from the left -- Black Lives Matter and Antifa -- continues with little criticism from the party in power, criticism of right-leaning groups runs rampant. Government seems to be cheerleading groups who do the most damage and yet spending taxpayer money to defend against those who've done relatively little damage. It smacks of scapegoating.

Zach Hudson (D-Troutdale) is proposing to change a longstanding state law that allows guns in the Capitol via HB 3268, which would make it a felony for a civilian to have a loaded weapon in the Capitol.

The current law says that anyone who has a concealed handgun license is allowed to carry a loaded weapon in the Capitol. If this law passes, you'll be a felon.

Most people haven't had a reason to visit the Capitol this session, as it has been closed to the public, but until recently, the first floor windows were boarded up, much of it was surrounded by fences and large concrete block defenses were placed in front. As one former State Senator said, "It looks like Beirut."

Another legislator, who asked not to be named, said "What's to be feared is not guys with black, scary guns in the Capitol. What's to be feared is a Capitol that identifies lawfully gathered citizens as the enemy."


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-24 13:55:26

Last Update: 2021-02-24 14:33:32

Oregon OSHA has fined a Florence restaurant $18,150 for three violations of standards designed to protect employees from the coronavirus disease. In one of the infractions, The Firehouse Restaurant willfully continued to potentially expose workers to the virus, despite a public health order limiting the capacity of indoor dining to zero in an “extreme risk” county.

The citation resulted from an inspection initiated in response to multiple complaints about The Firehouse Restaurant. The division conducted the inspection by phone. That decision was made after an investigation of social media posts and websites discovered the potential for armed people to block access to the business.

Moreover, the investigation showed that some extremist groups were encouraging people to engage in violence against Oregon OSHA compliance officers if they visited the site.

Using his discretionary authority under state law, Oregon OSHA Administrator Michael Wood imposed a $17,800 penalty for the willful violation. That is twice the minimum penalty for such a violation. The decision reflects the need to ensure a more appropriate deterrent effect where employers insist on disregarding public health measures.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently helped employers understand and follow health and safety rules. Most employers are choosing to do the right thing in the face of immense challenges,” Wood said. “We thank them for their ongoing efforts as we work to defeat this disease. As for the vocal few that continue to defy standards and to put their workers at risk, we will continue to carry out our enforcement work.” Altogether, Oregon OSHA cited three violations of the division’s temporary rule:

• In allowing indoor dining, The Firehouse Restaurant purposely chose to disregard capacity limitations imposed by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) for such establishments in a county designated as Extreme Risk OSHA says it was a willful violation. Oregon OSHA proposed a discretionary penalty of $17,800.
• The restaurant failed to develop and implement an infection control plan. Such a plan could include redesigning the workspace to enable physical distancing and reducing the use of shared surfaces and tools. It was a serious violation, carrying a proposed penalty of $175.
• The restaurant did not conduct any COVID-19 risk assessment to identify potential employee exposure to the virus and to address how to reduce such exposure. It was a serious violation, carrying a penalty of $175.

The inspection of The Firehouse Restaurant found the business committing the violations on or about Dec. 26 and continuing to do so afterward. The inspection included an interview with Kylie McKenzie, manager of the restaurant.

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McKenzie said she originally closed the business to the public, but later decided to re-open it, even though she was aware the decision went against measures to prevent the spread of the disease in an extreme-risk county.

Ongoing refusals to correct violations and come into compliance with workplace health and safety standards can lead to additional higher penalties. Meanwhile, if an Oregon OSHA inspection documents violations while a county is at extreme risk, but the county’s risk level drops before the citation is issued, the citation will still be issued. The change in risk levels may affect how the violation needs to be corrected, but not whether it is cited.

Employers have 30 days to appeal citations.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-24 11:32:33

Last Update: 2021-02-24 11:40:53

After the Oregon Secretary of State and the Chief Clerk of the House were informed that Rep. Diego Hernandez intends to resign from the Oregon House of Representatives effective March 15th, the Democratic Party of Oregon started work to begin the process of nominating candidates to fill the legislative vacancy in Oregon House District 47.

The Precinct Committee Persons representing the precincts in House District 47 will conduct an election and nominate between three and five nominees to be his replacement.

The DPO is proposing a Vote-By-Mail Election to determine the candidates to send forward to the County Commissioners. This timeline would see ballots mailed out to voters on March 3rd, have ballots due to the DPO on March 14th, and have ballots tabulated on March 15th. The DPO would promptly submit the list of nominees to the Multnomah County Commissioners, who would then choose a person from the list to fill the legislative vacancy for the remainder of the current legislative term.

“The Oregon Legislature is just over one month into a critical five-month-long Legislative Session, and is working hard to respond to the many crises facing our state,” said Democratic Party of Oregon Chair Carla “K.C.” Hanson. “It is important that we are ready to promptly fill a legislative vacancy, so that the people of House District 47 are represented in the Oregon House throughout this Session.”

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This is the same process that the DPO has used to fill previous legislative vacancies that arose during the COVID-19 outbreak, including for House District 33 and for Senate District 24.

People who wish to be considered for State Representative must file form SEL 145 with the Democratic Party of Oregon. Prospective candidates must meet the minimum requirements to hold the office. Those include being a registered Democrat for at least 180 days before the effective date of the officeholder’s resignation, living in the House District for at least one year, and not being under the control of the Oregon Department of Corrections.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-24 11:02:33

Last Update: 2021-02-24 11:02:29

HB 2388 is a bill proposing to increase equitable access to birth in community-based settings by requiring that insurers negotiate fairly for reimbursement for midwife-attended births in all birth settings, because community birth honors consumer autonomy and choice, according to Nicole Bendotoff, a midwife in a small home birth practice in Portland and a supporter of the bill.

According to Bendotoff,

• Currently, Birth Center facility fees are rarely and inadequately covered by insurance, leaving fewer birth options for families.
• A 2020 consensus report of the National Academies of Sciences, Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice, determined that “Women have the right to informed choice of the birth setting they desire, but to exercise that choice, they must have access to options for birth settings.” Community Birth is safe.
• The WHO Statement on Caesarean Section Rates (2015) reports that cesarean section rates over 10% are not associated with lower maternal and newborn mortality rates. Cesarean sections can cause permanent complications, disability, and death. In 2019, Oregon’s cesarean birth rate for planned hospital births was 29%, and for planned community births it was 5%.
• The Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), demonstrated that birth centers have lower cesarean rates, fewer preterm births, and fewer low birth weight babies.
• In a pandemic such as COVID-19, access to midwifery care in the community setting conserves hospital resources for those who are sick and reduces infection exposure risk for healthy pregnant people and newborns. Community Birth is cost-effective.
• Birth center fees in Oregon range from $6,000-$12,000, while uncomplicated hospital births are at least $18,000.
• CMS has shown that community birth offers better outcomes at lower cost to the health care system. Community Birth reduces racial disparities in outcomes.
• Black, Indigenous, and People of Color are two to five times more likely to die around the time of childbirth than white people.
• Community birth can reduce this disparity by providing personalized care and reducing unnecessary cesarean deliveries.
• The Black Mamas Matter: Advancing the Human Right to Safe and Respectful Maternal Health Care toolkit (2018) calls for policymakers to “ensure access to doula support and midwifery care”.

Since midwife births tend to be less costly than hospital births, women without insurance were incentivized to to choose a midwife birth. Midwife births were on the rise until the national Affordable Care Act expanded insurance coverage and more women giving birth had insurance and opted to have the more expensive hospital births. This led to a decline in midwife births.

Bendotoff says, "My clients always appreciate the high quality and attentive care we provide. And, during COVID this has been even more apparent. With the isolation that is happening, pregnant people and new parents are needing even more support."

Photo by Anastasiia Chepinska on Unsplash


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-24 07:54:12

Last Update: 2021-02-23 20:53:36

Every ten years the US Constitution requires that a census be taken, and based on the data produced by that effort, the Oregon Constitution requires that all US Congressional districts, State Senate Districts and State Representative Districts be redrawn to reflect changes in population and ensure that each district represent roughly the same amount of people.

The district lines are drawn by the legislature, unless they can't agree by July 1 and then it goes to the Secretary of State, which it has often done in the past few decades, due to partisan disagreements within the legislature. The problem this year is that the federal census was delayed due to COVID-19 and the work might not get done by July 1, but since this is not the fault of the Legislature, lawsuits are teeing up to argue this.

Early signs are that Oregon will gain a sixth Congressional district, which will require some rethinking of all the districts. Will the coast get it's own unified Congressional district? It currently is split among three. Will Central Oregon and the growing Bend region get its own district? It's currently a part of the sprawling 2nd Congressional District that covers sparsely populated Eastern Oregon.

The Senate Committee on Redistricting, chaired by Senator Kathleen Taylor (D-Portland) and the House Committee on Redistricting, chaired by Representative Andrea Salinas (D-Lake Oswego) will each have public hearings in which the public is invited to testify.



These are the various virtual public hearings for different districts in the state. You can use the buttons to sign up to testify during these hearings. The map above shows the current Congressional Districts.

Some people are concerned that despite the fact that 35.5% of registered voters on Oregon are registered to vote Democrat -- about one-third of registered voters -- the decisions about what the districts will look like will be made exclusively by a Democrat-led House, a Democrat-led Senate, a Democrat Governor and a Democrat Secretary of State.

There's also concern that since the Tri-County metropolitan area is dominated by Democrats, that lines will be drawn in rural communities by politicians who have no connection to those areas.

According to some, part of the problem in Oregon is that you have politicians eating their own dog food -- i.e. they are drawing the very districts in which they will run and which they hope to continue to represent. Many other states have a redistricting process that involves decision makers who don't have a direct stake in the outcome. They've pointed out that in a democratic republic, voters should pick their politicians -- politicians shouldn't pick their voters.

Virtual Hearings for Individuals Residing in:	Hearing Dates:	Hearing Times (click on the time to sign up to testify)
District 1 (Clatsop, Columbia, part of Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill counties)	Tuesday, March 9	5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
	Saturday, March 20	9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
District 2 (Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, part of Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Wasco and Wheeler counties)	Wednesday, March 10	5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
	Saturday, March 20	1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
District 3 (Part of Clackamas and part of Multnomah counties)	Thursday, March 11	5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
	Saturday, April 10	9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
District 4 (Part of Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, part of Josephine, Lane and Linn counties)	Tuesday, March 16	5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
	Saturday, April 10	12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
District 5 (Part of Benton, part of Clackamas, Lincoln, Marion, part of Multnomah, Polk and Tillamook counties)	Thursday, March 18	5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
	Saturday, April 10	3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-23 19:27:35

Last Update: 2021-02-24 08:13:44

The cost of riding the Wheatland and Buena Vista ferries is scheduled to change on March 15, 2021.

At Wheatland Ferry, which crosses the Willamette River north of Keizer, the toll for vehicles less than 22 feet in length, which includes motorcycles, passenger cars and pickups, will increase $1.

The new Wheatland Ferry rate will match the rate already in effect at the Buena Vista Ferry, which crosses the Willamette River at the town of Buena Vista.

The toll for motorcycles, cars and pickups will remain unchanged at the Buena Vista Ferry. Bicycle tolls will remain unchanged and pedestrians will continue to be allowed to ride both ferries for free.

The new rate structure includes toll changes for trucks and tractor-trailers greater than 22 feet in length, too. Once these rates go into effect, the toll schedule for the Wheatland and Buena Vista Ferries will be the same. Upcoming toll changes have been posted at both ferries to inform people that ride the ferries on a regular basis. You can view all Marion County ferry toll rates on the county's website.

The two ferries operated by Marion County provide an important transportation resource for various segments of the county. The upcoming toll increases will not make the ferry program profitable, but are designed to keep operating losses to a manageable level. This will be the first rate increase for the Wheatland ferry in 12 years.


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2021-02-23 13:10:05

Last Update: 2021-02-23 13:17:32

Editor's note: This is the first in a multipart series exploring tax measures before the Oregon Legislature during the 2021 session

As one of the few states without a general sales tax, Oregon depends heavily on property tax for revenue. Real property is taxed based on its value -- know as ad valorem taxes. As real estate prices spiked in the 1990s -- along with taxes -- citizens began to become resentful of the tax windfall enjoyed by their governments. In 1996 the citizens of Oregon passed property tax reform as Measure 47. There were some technical problems with Measure 47, so in 1997, the Legislature sent Measure 50 to the voters, which fixed the problems by repealing Measure 47, but keeping the tax cuts.

For 1997-98, the assessed value of a property was set at 90 percent of the property’s 1995-96 assessed value. After 1998 the growth in assessed value was limited to three percent annually. New properties are calculated by multiplying the ratio of assessed to real market value for similar property in the county by that property’s real market value. This means that if you have a home where the assessment has been rising only three percent in 1989 and you build a similarly valued home nearby, the tax rates would be similar.

Property values, especially with the policies in Oregon, tends to increase at a rate greater than three percent, so over the decades, most properties have seen a huge gap between the real market value -- what a home can sell for -- and the assessed value, which is capped to increase at no more than three percent annually.

State Representative Rob Nosse has introduced HJR 13 which proposes an amendment to Oregon Constitution providing that, for purposes of ad valorem property taxation, the ratio of maximum assessed value to real market value of property must be equal to three quarters of the market value.

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It also exempts from ad valorem property taxes lesser of first $25,000 or first 25 percent of real market value of each homestead and requires the legislature to enact laws for administration of exemption, including adjusting $25,000 for inflation.

This means that property taxes would no longer be capped at three percent annually. They are only required to lag behind market value. The legislative revenue office has not done any analysis on what dollar amount this will raise, but it has to be significant, and will grow over the years.

As with all changes to the Oregon Constitution, only the people can do that, so this bill is a referral to the 2022 ballot. This resolution has not be scheduled for a hearing.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-02-23 13:04:07

Last Update: 2021-02-23 15:48:24

In 2008, a friend and I chose to visit Japan to see a high school buddy of mine who had expatriated and been teaching English there for 6 years. While there we took a few days to go out to the country. First we went to Nikko, a small town north of Tokyo, which has some incredible shrines. Later, I split off on my own and went to a small coastal town called Shimoda, which is a small local hotspot for surfing.

I love history, and Shimoda is the port which Admiral Perry sailed into in 1853 making a very strong case that the Japanese should be interested in what the west was selling. He did so by showing them how the American west was won. Big cannons, with lots of powder. In truly Japanese fashion they still celebrate the festival of Black Ships with sister city Newport, Rhode Island where Perry was born. They celebrate the day Japan more or less had its borders forced open by western military technology.

Before I left Tokyo, my host, who had been in Tokyo and Yokohama for most of his time in Japan could not understand my need to get out of the city. “Kropfster, you grew up in the country. Country people are all the same whether it’s here or there.” Cities are where there’s a real difference in culture he inferred. I cannot say for sure that I totally agreed with him, but his point holds merit. We had grown up together in the same one stoplight town in the central Willamette Valley.

There is a similarity in people that live in the smaller towns and in the country, isn’t there? It's a slower way of life, and a different set of priorities. In some sense, my trip to the Japanese countryside confirmed this. I think there is a common misconception that people from the countryside are more small minded, and racist.

While in the Tokyo’s tourist districts, I was certainly exposed to racism. I actually heard first hand a loudspeaker van go through a huge tourist area saying “Japan is for the Japanese, you should all go home.” I was even able to offer that interpretation to our host while knowing almost no Japanese. He confirmed it was the “nice” version of what was said. Fascism seems to sound the same no matter the costume worn. Also, the costume in this case had lots of striking well understood symbolism. Bright colors and hard lines in red white and black. Some communications do not depend on words.

In the Japanese countryside, I got to experience a different sort of racism, being denied services, as a local hospice agent placed my reservation, only to confirm that the BnB owner was ok with a “gaijin” guest. She was not. In a lot of ways, I’m far more comfortable with the second situation than the first. I would have hated staying somewhere I was not wanted.

The next proprietor was more than happy to have me and I found my way to that Bed n Breakfast, which in the Japanese countryside could be called a Futon and Fish. I was relieved to find a place to stay. I had actually considered that I might have to find a ditch to crash in, as I had done my usual amount of planning and preparation for the trip. None.

My host tried to give me breakfast in the morning, but I couldn’t stomach fish and rice with broth for breakfast. The head was still attached to the body of the fish, and I was not feeling adventurous.

To be fair, I think there was a fried egg in the broth. She expressed a rigorous concern that I would not make it through the day, and mostly in sign language she let me know that I was far too big to skip breakfast. “You sooooooo beeeeeeeeeeeg.” Her english far surpassed my Japanese. The point was made, and I politely made my exit.

I remember fondly that trip to Japan. And though my friend could not quite understand why I would want to spend time in the countryside, I am very glad I did. It was a nice slowdown from the hustle of late night drinking and socializing in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills district. I was also afforded a different set of experiences that could not have happened in the city. I got a perspective on the world wherein my understanding of the contexts of our individual lives got some definition. I started to understand my friend’s perspective.

The border of Russia and Mexico

I currently live in a bit of an odd place along the border of Russia and Mexico. Tha is a simplification. Many of my neighbors are from Guatemala, Ukraine, Nicaraugua, or actually from Russia or Mexico.

Gervais, Oregon sits 5 minutes south of Woodburn and 15 minutes north of Salem. A heavily rural and agricultural economy abounds. There are greenhouses, farms, tree and nut production. The area represents an interesting cross-section of America in the early 21st century. The perspective here is enjoyable and unpredictable.

Many of the people here are guided by faith. Other than sub-century immigrants, the families tend to be of German or French Catholic descent, creating a lot of mixed Catholic cultures. There are a fair number of “old believer” Russians, and the beautiful churches accent the skyline with Mount Hood framed in the distance on clear days. The scenery is gorgeous, and the mix of cultures is refreshing, as are the attitudes.

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As a transplant to the area I have my own perspective as well. I have my hands in many arenas, and have a diverse group of friends. I was raised Mennonite until the age of 6, and culturally for my entire upbringing. Mennonites, a sect of anabaptism, (not anti-baptist) are a somewhat diverse group in and of themselves. The majority are very conservative, agrarian, and culturally separated from larger society. Most adhere to a strict way of life which prohibits involvement in organized sports, competition or politics. The very strictest and most well known are Amish.

Malcolm Gladwell, whose parents converted when he was a child, describes them as a sort of American Christianity with Jewish traditions and roots.

My dad laughed at this description with familiarity when I relayed it to him. He had never heard it put this way, and could not help but agree. “Those (traditional Jewish) are our stories and traditions,” he acknowledged.

In many ways, Mennonites live as immigrants in whatever land they choose to live, another commonality with the Jewish heritage they embody.

Over the past election cycles I’ve witnessed notable phenomena. In 2016, I recall talking to friends in Eugene that could not conceive of how Donald Trump had won election. I pointed out to them that where they live represents a specific bubble, and that they get insulated from outside perspectives.

Rural Americans don’t think like suburban or metropolitan Americans. When you live in the country or in small towns, priorities are different. Which is in no way to say that people from specific areas all think the same. In fact, that’s the point I’ll get to by the end. I consider myself a bit of an amalgamation in that I grew up country, went to college in a small town, and lived in both a small city and a larger city at different points in my life. I’ve also had the benefit of visiting some of the world’s largest metropoli.

Living in a largely immigrant cultural area affords a perspective on the differences in the way immigrants and think compared to the way established cultures think they think. I know that's a mouthful, or a mind full. Generally, I find that people from large cities think that people from rural areas ought to share their values. And, if that is not the case, they assume that minorities from rural areas will have similar values to their own.

It is not only a narrow understanding, but also a grossly negligent, and in some cases racist viewpoint on the part of my well meaning friends from the city. I often cite a conversation I had with a friend that immigrated from Nicaragua over 30 years ago.

She and I were talking about the election in 2016 when Mr. Trump was campaigning on a promise to fulfill on the proposed border wall from 2006 legislation. My assumption was that my friend would not support building a wall, and I could not have been more wrong.

“Well,” my friend related “ what I remember of Nicaragua was not positive to say the least. It was a hell we escaped, and we were lucky to get out alive. As far as I’m concerned, build that wall, there are bad people down there, and I support any measure of protection from them we can get. Americans don’t understand what that looks like. Sandinistas were truly awful.”

I’ve relayed this conversation to multiple friends over the years. Usually I’m giving this as an example of why we cannot make assumptions about people’s political beliefs. Belief comes from context, context comes from experience, or at least the story we tell around the experience. A lot of immigrants have had awful experiences that don’t have them align with party line politics on either side. It turns out that Cuban and Vietnamese immigrants tend to be very skeptical of communism and socialism for instance.

In large part, Democrats and the “left” are guilty of this to a greater degree than their R counterparts. Though in large part, the assumption is the same in both cases, and that assumption is that minorities vote left. At the end of relaying my story, I have often heard some version of the following: “so they vote against their own people?”

I usually try to point out that they do not for a second think they are “voting against their own people.” They want to be here, and they are Americans (the USA kind, no offense to our neighbors). They don’t view it as “their people”. They are us, and are acting upon their own best interests, whether we agree with them individually or not. Likely, there is a belief that they are acting in defense of the United States, their adopted country. They came for the American dream, and to flee people that would have oppressed them.

This is a context I feel many people would be well served to understand, even if it may be difficult. Perhaps immigrants understand better than any what “Us and Them” really looks like. Or doesn’t. Immigrants often come here to relate to people on a level of equal philosophy, and to have a bond in a new country that they believe is linked by common ideology instead of being falsely divided by race and culture.

We need a new diversity- not one based on biological characteristics and identity politics but a diversity of opinion and worldviews.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

I personally think a new paradigm could be emerging in which political analysts finally abandon racial assumptions. I encourage all of us to do so. The last two elections have certainly challenged what many think along these lines. Progressive liberals have been hard pressed to understand why Latin and African Americans have voted in historically large numbers for Donald Trump.

Race and culture certainly color our individual perspectives. So do things like our pace of life, and access to having our assumptions challenged through exposure to new views and attitudes. I believe things like rural / city are another lens through which opinions and attitudes become contrasted and understood.

Many immigrants understand America, at least the USA and Canada, as places where they can voice their opinions freely and be judged by their character and actions instead of by the color of their skin or any other indication of where their lives may have begun. They most likely hold their beliefs and opinions with reasons all their own. Not understanding them, does not mean they are illogical.

We could assume political beliefs or biases based upon where people live and likely be more accurate than making assumptions based on race. Let’s not do that though either. Let's not assume we know what people think. Especially in Oregon where my Trump supporting friends also strongly backed legalizing mushrooms for psychiatric treatment. Oregon, where my NRA member friends with concealed carry permits have been active members in the Portland Pride community. Oregon, where socialist rednecks are a real thing.

Assumptions are not just toxic, they are profoundly lacking in nuance and understanding and likely inaccurate. Let's get to know our neighbors and see if we might actually be able to understand where they are coming from.


--Jeremy Kropf

Post Date: 2021-02-23 11:12:15

Last Update: 2021-02-23 12:29:30

Each legislative session many bills are proposed to change human behavior in the hopes that the climate will change to match someone’s idea of a utopian world. Gordon Fulks, PhD. of Corbett, OR is an astrophysicist. For the last decade he has addressed concerns about global warming with a presentation of the subject in terms the layman can understand. To the extent the topic is divisive he is welcomed or shunned. A true scientist, his teaching hasn’t changed because the science behind it hasn’t changed. He does respond to how others spin the message for effect.

The research that Fulks relies on is key to scientific understanding. He relies on sturdy temperature reconstructions from the Greenland ice cores. Those reconstructions cover tens of thousands of years and show relatively recent Minoan, 1000 B.C., Roman at time of Christ, Medieval, 1000 A.D. and today’s Modern warming periods. Each is spaced about one thousand years apart and each experienced higher temperatures ranges than we do currently. They do show that our current warming period is cooler than the three previous ones.

The numbers on the left show temperatures in central Greenland at the time intervals on the base line. The U.N.’s International Panel on Climate Change UN/IPCC working with many universities worldwide, created over 100 computer models beginning in the late 1970’s to predict temperature changes in the twenty some years to follow. All of those computer models used the premise that rising CO2 levels would create rising planet temperature GAST. Every model failed spectacularly as shown below. They show that there is no correlation between the rise of CO2 levels and the rise in Earth’s GAST.

. With future funding from the United Nations at stake, Penn State, East Anglia and many other universities wouldn’t acknowledge that their theory relating CO2 levels to temperature was incorrect. Choosing to follow their funding versus following the science these IPCC members proceeded to alter temperature readings from around the globe. They were caught in the coverup. That was called Climategate, it occurred in 2009 and resulted in the dismissal of the head of the IPCC. After that the UN/IPCC dropped the reference to global warming and adopted the term climate change.

During that time interval real temperatures rose slightly but well within a range of normal variation. The IPCC accidently proved their premise to be incorrect, that rising CO2 levels will produce rising Earth temperatures, but they persists in this false premise to this day. It is the bedrock argument for eliminating carbon-based energy, a key to globalists tightening controls over human activity. Measured Earth CO2 levels did rise from 280 parts per million to 420 parts per million in those 25 years of computer modeling. The rise did not produce a corresponding rise in temperatures. It did produce a 17% increase in vegetation globally and hunger worldwide was sharply reduced. For perspective, the CO2 levels experienced by crew members on a Navy submarine are near 5000 parts per million.

The temperatures on Earth are most affected by celestial conditions, things astrophysicists study. The major ones being the Earth’s elliptical orbit, exaggerated by gravitational pull from our largest neighbors, Jupiter and Saturn and by forces experienced in the movement of our solar system as it travels through The Milky Way. https://www.theplanetstoday.com/ Constantly changing conditions of activity by our sun with its active and quiet periods correspond most to temperature conditions on Earth. When you make legislation based on a false premise -- humans cause global warming -- that relies on another false premise -- rising CO2 levels cause GAST to rise -- you can only do harm.

There is a third false premise involved here as well. That is that humans can control the level of CO2 on Earth. One volcanic emissions can equal the CO2 created by all humans each year and we have hundreds of volcanic events both above and below the sea each year. Do any of those legislators or those they speak for have the requisite science background to act with authority on proposed climate legislation? Do they presume their scare tactics have worked? Do they presume skeptics are too intimidated to speak up?


--Tom Hammer

Post Date: 2021-02-23 09:27:25

Last Update: 2021-02-23 14:40:13