Moral dilemma?

The story, FBI Imposter Shoots, Kills Two Sex Offenders, was the inspiration behind today's Quick Poll at LarsLarson.com. (left side) The conversation prompted some interesting phone calls and a discussion at my workplace.

On the quick poll I chose the "No. Performed a public service" answer. This means that if you told me right now that you knew who the killer was I would not inform the police of that information.

Let me go a step further. If the killer was caught and I was on the jury then I would not be able to find him guilty. Not because I believe in vigilante justice, not because of the defendants skin color, and not because he had a rough childhood so it's not his fault. I would find the defendant not guilty within the law. Let me explain:

We, as Americans and individuals, have an obligation to protect ourselves, families, and innocent life. This obligation comes from God but our laws recognize this need as well and provide for justified killing in self-defense or the defense of others.

Government can't and does not protect the individual. It isn't even their mandate. Government is to provide for public safety. If someone breaks into your house with the intent to kill you, unless you are armed and prepared to defend yourself, then he will kill you. Government's job is to then respond by locking him up to protect the general public.

Rarely do the police prevent crimes, they simply respond to and solve crimes. This is one of the main reasons for the second amendment.

Now, we have a government that refuses to even provide for the general public safety. The legislature refused to pass Jessica's Law that would have provided for increased jail time for sexual predators who victimize children under the age of 12.

So sexual predators are released into society even though there is a HUGE probability that they will offend again. At this point your family's safety is jeopardized. There is a threat. But just like with any threat you must decide what the threat level is and what the proper response is.

For some, it may mean extra vigilance. For others, they may post pictures and warnings. This man chose to neutralize the threat by killing the predators.

You may argue that the threat was not immediate or readily apparent but that is in the eye of the beholder. Those of you who would judge this man must remember that certain elements of the community think that a crack-addict who is high and behind the wheel does not constitute a threat worthy of neutralizing.

I'm betting that the father of the Florida girl, Jessica, wishes that someone had taken steps to neutralize the threat posed by the sexual predator who abused and murdered his daughter. Everyone recognized the danger but the government chose not to provide for the public safety and no private citizen provided for individual safety.

These predators are ticking time bombs, I understand why someone would choose to defuse them. In this case we will never know how many, if any, kid's innocence and their very lives were spared by the actions of this man.

Note: I am not endorsing murder or saying that all sex offenders should be killed. I am not encouraging anyone to commit any crime. The above post is simply an intellectual exercise in which I explained how I would come to a not guilty verdict in the case of a man shooting two sexual predators to death.

Joseph Farah echoes the call: Impeach Bush

Impeach Bush
Pat Buchanan... has come to the conclusion that a courageous Republican legislator should move a bill for impeachment of President Bush.

I reluctantly agree – and for the same reasons.

America was founded on the principle of independence and sovereignty. The president is betraying our most sacred national heritage.

Bush is ignoring the will of the people and he is violating the law of the land.

It will be very interesting to see what other commentators are willing to jump on the bandwagon here and who, if any, of the "establishment" Republicans will adress this issue.

For my thoughts see the last post.

Impeach Bush!

No, you didn't stumble across Democratic Underground by mistake. The call for impeachment has come from Pat Buchanan.

A national emergency
What is true of New Mexico and Arizona is true of our nation, which is now home to an estimated 10 million to 15 million aliens who have broken our laws and broken into our country. It is a mark of the cowardice of our leaders that they are so terrified of being called "bigots" they tolerate this criminality. The moral rot of political correctness runs deep today in both national parties.

The Republican Party claims to be a conservative party. But what kind of conservative is it who, to cut a few costs or make a few bucks, will turn his family's home into a neighborhood flop house?

I agree with everything Buchanan has written and more! That's the problem with writing a column on illegal aliens, you can go on and on because the problems are so many and run so deep that it's hard to confine yourself to just a couple points.

As for the actual issue of impeachment, it was just a few days ago that while talking to a co-worker I brought this up. He was insisting that I could find no fault in Bush. Are you kidding? We may have a nuke in this country because of Bush, was my reply. If a bomb goes off in this country on Thursday and it was smuggled in through Mexico, we impeach Bush on Friday!

But to be honest I don't have a problem with impeachment without the nuke, just over the social and economic problems created by the illegal aliens. I'm not going to go over all the ways that they are ruining this country right now, we all know most of them anyways.

And can you imagine, if a republican calls for impeachment, what does the media do? Will their love for illegal aliens beat out their hatred for Bush? Whose side could they take? My general rule is that they will take the side that is worst for America but this one would throw them for a loop.

I for one am not willing to settle for "guest worker" programs, a few more border patrol agents or even the National Guard on the border. I'm not willing to settle for tough talk, "state of emergencies" or speeches.

I want immediate interior enforcement of our immigration laws. I want all illegal aliens deported within days of being apprehended. I want no more state ID for them and no more government benefits. I don't want them to get health care, a building permit, a job, an ITIN, or a library card.

Then, after that, I want every inch of the border that is not an official crossing to be covered. Fence it off.

The funny thing is, basically all I want is for our already on-the-book immigration laws to be enforced.

But at least he had a drivers license

Leonel Aguilera-Lazaro is a bad guy. He is currently residing in the Washington County Jail with the following charge:

CRIM MISCHIEF II
PV:ATTD FORG INSTR I
THEFT II
UNLAW ENTRY M VEHICLE
PV:ATT ELUDE
PV:FALSE INFO CRIM
PV:FALSE INFO CRIM

and...
HOLD

The last one is important. (not that the other ones aren't) The agency with a hold on this criminal is ICE or immigration and customs enforcement. Aguilera-Lazaro is an illegal alien.

But I do have good news... no, I didn't just save a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico. The good news is that the state of Oregon has issued Leonel Aguilera-Lazaro a drivers license so that when driving from one criminal activity to another he can do so with the blessing of our state government!

Next up.... is he registered to vote?

Any excuse for some amnesty

Bill seeks legal status for 9/11 families
Members of Congress from New York have written a bill to grant permanent legal status to illegal aliens whose spouse or parent was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The bill would apply both to those who were here illegally at the time of the attacks and those here legally as family members of someone with a work or student visa.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, New York Democrat, said..."We are talking about a small number of people who have suffered the loss of a father, mother, husband or wife on 9/11," she said. "For us to allow their deportation, regardless of their status, would be wrong. I can't believe the Congress would let that happen."

No word on whether or not Ms. Maloney has plans to pardon murderers, rapists, or drug dealers who suffered a loss on 9/11.

The given reason behind this move is that if deported, these newly made millionaires may be targets of kidnapping in their wonderful homelands. (obviously we should have an open border with a country where we are worried about people being kidnapped because they have some money)

The real reason that this is going on is because congress is scared. The open border lobby is now seeing a public groundswell against illegal aliens and they realize that their time may be short. The policy of "look the other way" has been fine but many of our "leaders" want official amnesty and chaos which is looking more and more like a political impossibility.

In taking a lesson from the radical homosexual lobby a few congressmen have decided to go with incremental change. Pick a small group that everyone can feel sympathy for, 9/11 families, and get amnesty for them. Then say "see, nothing bad happened" and identify a second group that needs amnesty. And on and on until next thing you know we have President Bush attending the gay marriage of two illegal aliens. OK, a little carried away there but you get my point.

I just can't get past the fact that these people are criminals.

New Mac Johnson column

Imaginary-Americans: An Increasingly Disenfranchised Minority
Photo ID is discriminatory.
Photo ID is the new Jim Crow.
Photo ID is the Klansman in your pocket.

And you just thought it was a way to prove you are who you say you are -- before you cash a check, or buy a beer, or a drive a car, or board a plane, or get a fishing license, or rent a tuxedo, or do any of a thousand common things in which people are tempted to lie about who they are, where they live, or how eligible they are.

Nope, the only group I can think of that could have their right to vote impacted by requiring the quick flash of a common photo ID are Imaginary-Americans. From the cemeteries of Chicago to the backwoods of Appalachia to the homeless voters of Seattle, Imaginary-Americans have long been a core Democrat constituency.

This is as funny as it is serious. That previous sentence makes no sense does it? But Mac Johnson does! Read his column.

http://www.mindspring.com/~macjohnson/

The double standard

Justice Ginsburg's Testimony

The video of ACLU lawyer Ginsburg's testimony at her SCOTUS confirmation hearings. It's a lot of "I would not like to answer that question." Over and over.

It's a must watch!

The prophesy is... false

Urban "Planners" and environmentalists will insist that "controlling sprawl" and otherwise limiting growth, development and progress through government restrictions does not interfere with the free market.

While it is hard to predict the future the saying is that "hindsight is 20/20." So let's take a look at a report from a while back that exalts Portland (and Metro) as the greatest human invention since tenure for traitorous professors.

regional goverance: portland
Formed in 1979, Metro was the country's first regional government and a key reason why Portland has become one of the most attractive, livable cities in the nation.

Yes, except for the constant violence, burglaries, horrible traffic, and the chronic homeless problem everything is great!!

Portland has shown that planned growth is not anti-growth. Quite the contrary. By clearly defining where future growth is permissible, and in what forms, the city has avoided divisive political fights over new development projects.

*Cough* Measure 37 *Cough*

While "planning" is often cast as an enemy of the "free market," Portland has shown that intelligent planning can maximize growth over the long term. Precisely because Portland has preserved its quality of life and not succumbed to sprawl, it has attracted such major corporations as Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Intel and Hyundai.

Hmm, Hyundai left, Intel demands huge tax breaks to stay, Nike is involved in a bitter dispute with Beaverton over annexation, and Hewlett-Packard cut jobs.

Yep, looks like the folks over at Sprawlwatch.com got it right!

Another public agency openly works with illegal aliens

Oregon Housing Opportunities in Partnership (OHOP) Program
The Oregon Housing Opportunities in Partnership (OHOP) program is funded under grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) and is designed to assist people living with HIV/AIDS in creating a continuum of stable, sustainable housing. The Oregon Department of Human Services, HIV Client Services Program, directly administers OHOP in addition to the Ryan White Title II program.
So federal tax dollars fund the assistance but since Oregon DHS is the direct administrators that means that our state tax dollars foot the bill for things like the administrative building, the office furniture, etc.

Now from the Oregon HIV Housing Task Force Meeting Minutes we have this garbage:

When working with the undocumented Hispanic community it is best to work through agencies that serve Hispanics.

OHOP will accept people without a SSN but other stable programs won't. The program needs to figure out how to serve this population and find a way to stabilize long-term housing opportunities.


Goal #2: Identify specific activities to help overcome two identified housing barriers:
􀂃 Persons without Social Security numbers have difficulty moving from OHOP to long-term stable housing; and
􀂃 Persons without citizenship documentation have difficulty getting utilities turned on.
Criminals don't deserve electricity.

Points made about fair housing Protections:
8. Clients do not need a SSN to access housing.

Our public agencies spend a lot of time and energy on ways to get services to people with no SSN. Why are they so focused on this group? Why are they on this jihad to spend tax dollars on illegal aliens? Answer: Because liberalism is a mental disorder.

In these people's sick little minds they think that by helping criminals they are somehow furthering the cause of diversity and helping those that are "vulnerable."

The flaw in their reasoning is that they are rewarding CRIMINAL behavior. Trying to find places to live for illegal aliens, who are not allowed to live here, is oxymoronic.

One post, two items
While going through minutes of various housing agency meetings to find other things related to the above story I ran across this one and just have to pass it on. It's just too good of an example of how government mucks things up:

OREGON STATE HOUSING COUNCIL
Minutes of Regular Meeting

I'm looking at page 7 & 8 here:
Stuart Liebowitz: The market study said that there is an oversupply of private-pay residents (page 44). Yet all but one of the four new one-bedroom units is dedicated to private-pay. Please clarify.
Shelly Cullin: The appraisal was confusing in the fact that the oversupply was documented. The need for this project was justified because it is 100% studio units and they are turning away people who need the one-bedroom units. Eight units will not affect the market...

...Bob Repine: How many units are Medicaid approved?
Marvin Pratt: All of them. Shelly Cullin: They are all approved but some units will be marketed as private-pay.
Scott Cooper: The Council and agency’s mission is to serve low and very low-income. Yet the answer that Shelly just gave is that we are supplying market demand. How do we justify that?
John Wahrgren: First and foremost we provide affordable housing. The IRS has defined ALFs as housing, so they fit within our responsibilities. Secondly, we are lenders and make sure that these loans are secure and have adequate cash flow. We are helping this project become more financially viable in order to have a secure loan because we are in the deal...

...Marvin Pratt: The Medicaid reimbursement is not sufficient. The private-pay units subsidize it.
Bob Repine: In our loan portfolio, close to 70% of our facility beds are Medicaid units and approximately 30% are market rate units. In the non-affordable facilities, which we do not finance, the ratio is generally the opposite. They backfill their facilities with Medicaid beds to get the rest of their cash flow.

So in mamateurer analysis it looks like taxpayer funded projects affect the "free" market for housing. Government must do this because in their zeal to provide housing for one group of people they are willing to subsidize the low-income units with not just tax dollars, but the rent money paid by "market ratetenantsts.

A low-income housing complex can't support itself and can't be supported by a limitless amount of tax dollars so they are mixed into low-income and "market rate" units.

The problem is that if government built the units with tax dollars that means that the market forces don't apply. This means that the rent they charge is just a made up number rather than the amount to make the project profitable but still small enough that the market will bear it.

The ramifications of this are endless...

Kulongski spokeswoman not aware that illegal aliens "are an issue"

Immigration-reformers seek state of emergency
A state immigration-reform group wants Kulongoski to follow the lead of the Arizona and New Mexico governors who recently declared states of emergency in counties along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Anna Richter Taylor, a spokeswoman for the governor's office, said the letter had not arrived at the Capitol as of Thursday, but she said she was not aware of plans to declare a state of emergency.

"This is something that's not on the governor's mind right now," Taylor said. "It's not something that I'm aware of as an issue."

Oregon officials said their responsibility is to reach workers, not to investigate how they got to be workers in Oregon, which is a federal issue.
Bank robbery and kidnapping are also federal issues, are Oregon officials not concerned about these crimes?

Enforcing workplace-safety and wage-and-hour laws is a state responsibility, he said.

"These kinds of things are not dependent on a resident's immigration status," Corson said. "Beyond that, we feel it's important to reach out to that population because they're there. They're in the workplace."
Uh, Mr. Corson, they are dependent on a resident's immigration status. Illegal aliens are NOT allowed to work in America. See About Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification

Submit your comments to the Daily Astorian!

Mexican Consulate will send visitor to North Coast Sept. 10
There will be a visit by the Mexican Consulate 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Warrenton Community Center located at 170 S.W. Third St. in Warrenton, to process Matricula Consular and to get information about other services.

"Other services" is code for taxpayer funded programs that are illegal for non-citizens to obtain. But since government makes the laws they think that they can break the laws.

The Daily Astorian offers a section to "comment" on this article. For those of you who are "citizenship challenged" the Astorian offers this article in Spanish.

Bureaucrat: Not sure how much to spend on public art? Use "the most" and "see what happens"

PERCENT FOR ART PROGRAM:
Financial allocation process is informal, inconsistent, and may not fulfill requirements for public art

The audit was motivated in part by City Council concerns that the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) may not be receiving the amount of funds that it should under this program.

We did not review RACC's methods of record-keeping, art selection, and other internal processes except to the extent needed to achieve a basic understanding of them.

Important background:
Recognizing "the great value of public art," the City passed an ordinance in 1980 in order to dedicate one percent of the construction costs for the "new construction or major alteration" of City buildings to the acquisition of public art.

In an effort to bring public art to areas outside of downtown, the City broadened the program in 1989 to include a wider scope of City funded projects. Allocations for public art would now be required from projects involving any "structure, park, public utility, street, sidewalk or parking facility." The contribution was also increased to 1.33 percent in order to cover other costs such as maintenance, administration, and education.
I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Also missing is sufficient detail regarding funding sources as well as the project cost components which are needed both for the identification of an eligible project as well as the calculation of the
appropriate Percent for Art contribution.

When faced with a question or questionable situation what bureaucratsracrats do?

Is the hypothetical project eligible? We showed it to Project Managers and others whom we interviewed and asked what they would do. Some indicated that they would allocate the most money they could and see what happened. Some used the words "messy" and "murky" to describe the process of determining the correct amount to allocate to public art. One Project Manager observed that "there are no good rules available."
Way to be good public stewards. If you aren't sure if a proeligible even eligble for the percent for art program, and if it is eligible, how much money goes towards the art what do you do? Ask for clarification? Be fiscally responsible and go low? Not if you work for government and are spending someone else's money! Put out the biggest number you can think of and "see what happens."

Accountability?
RACC officials told us that the process to identify eligible projects and collect Percent for Art funding from Participating Bureaus is "very informal." This was verified during our audit. We found no centralized, citywide structure or process to oversee compliance.

One Project Manager complained that he "knows what they can't do, but not what they can." Only one Participating Bureau, the PDC, has developed a set of guidelines to assist its Project Managers with the overall process, although not all Project Managers are aware of the guidelines.

No central mechanism for oversight
Adding to the sense of informality is the lack of involvement in the program at the citywide level, specifically from OMF. OMF Financial Analysts are responsible for an annual review and analysis of Bureau CIP submissions. Several OMF staff told us that Percent for Art has
"never been on their radar screen" as part of their review. We were also told by individuals in Participating Bureaus that, in most cases, their financial staff do not get involved with Percent for Art.

What do you do when a program is so faulty, so informal, so inconsistent, so wildly used/misused/abused and lacks any oversight? Give them more money!

From Commissioner Sam Adams:
The workgroup's recommendations, including code amendments, will coincide with the
council's effort to increase the Percent for Art program from 1.33% to 2%...
samadams@ci.portland.or.us

What current job opportunities do out-of-work artists have right now?

Public Art for St. Johns. The Regional Arts & Culture Council, Portland, OR invites artists and artist teams from the West Coast ( WA, OR, CA, ID, MT and British Columbia) to submit qualifications for a public art project in the St. Johns community of North Portland. We are looking for an artist(s) who can add to the experience and vitality of the community through their own artistic expression. The budget for the public art is $100,000. For more information, contact Kristin Calhoun, Public Art Manager, kcalhoun@racc.org, or 503.823.5401. Deadline: 9/23/05.

But no new cops are being hired...

Welcome to Nuevo Porlando

Salir Adelanted
A needs and assets assessment of the Hispanic community of Multnomah County

Funded by:
Multnomah Board of County Commissioners
Multnomah County Department of Community and Family Services
Really funded by: YOU!!!

The desire of Latinos/as is to salir adelante, which is a process of personal and community improvement that leads to increased self-determination and empowerment. Accordingly, this document focuses on the issues and recommendations that can transform that hope into reality. In particular, it examines low income Hispanics in Multnomah County, most of whom are Mexican and foreign born.
The desire of Americans is for La Migra to deport these illegal aliens.

A few umbrella recommendations that are developed further in this report include:

Hire more bilingual/bicultural staff in all types of services, and
encourage more individuals to train and apply for these jobs by
offering pay incentives reflective of their additional linguistic and
cultural skills.
Waste tax dollars catering to criminals.

Continue to encourage greater participation in the health care
system, and respond to the voices that expressed a need for
urgent care services.
Further bankrupt the hospitals and public health care systems. Raise rates for the rest of us.

Incorporate into public policy those elements that encourage
the strong Latino/a family unit in areas such as housing design,
social service access, childcare, and senior living.
We have "public policy" centered around making social service access conveniant for one race? God help these people if I had a law degree...

Remember that Latinos/as are people first, regardless of the
type of labor they provide, their legal status, or other differences
with mainstream society.
Do we apply the "people first" standard to other criminals too?

Solidarity is what has enabled Latinos to make remarkable political gains as a group, in spite of their internal diversity. Solidarity is the basis of the concept of La Raza (your own people). Loyalty to the group starts by recognizing paisanos (those from your country) wherever one goes.
Ah yes, much like the Klan was all about "solidarity." This is sick shit. I'm sorry, but here we have our ultra-leftist county whose only goal is to worship at the altar of diversity writing a report that if you simply switched names/country/race could have been written by Hitler.

Why it is politically correct for Latinos to have loyalty to "The Race" and their home country is beyond me. If I suggest that they shouldn't have Spanish signs at the bank I get branded a "monoculturalist*" and a bigot.

*I believe that this is a word that tenured proffessors at UC Berkely made up while high on acid.

Many migrants live binational lives
Many of the focus group participants described their lives as living in two countries. Research shows that, many Mexican people migrate back and forth to Mexico several times a decade, sometimes keeping two residences9. Many people make one trip north with little intention of living permanently in the United States, butwith each successive trip, more and more of them end up staying. Such binational lifestyles may limit the acquisition of English and disrupt education. It also challenges continuity of service provision and can stymie the formation of community in Portland.
They are breaking the laws of our country repeatedly and Serena Cruz is worried that their travel could "disrupt education" of these criminals. Nice.

Not having legal documents exposes workers to abusive employers and practices.
Here is a sampling of comments:

The undocumented get exploited more.
If you don’t have papers, they do whatever they want with you.
Boo hoo. You aren't allowed to legally work in this country. By working you broke another law.

Of all Hispanic family households in Multnomah County, 26 percent identified themselves as female headed, no husband present, according to U.S. Census data40.

Single parents expressed the difficulty of finding employment near their homes that pays well, that is accessible with public transportation, and that allows the parent to be home when the children are home.
Nice family values. I suppose that the single moms, in addition to their above requests, would also like to be able to eat chocolate all day long and not get fat.

The hidden world of undocumented workers and the informal economy
A significant number of Latino/a men, women, and children, most of them undocumented, are working in the informal sector of the Portland Metropolitan area economy. Informal activities are different from criminal ones in that they include goods and services that are legal, but whose production and marketing are unregulated and untaxed.
The only unregulated and untaxed activity in Portland that the Multnomah County Commisioners support! Seriously, what do Serena Cruz and co. want to do about this?

Recommendations
Convene task force consisting of representatives from Oregon Health Science University, Portland State University, University of Portland, Portland Community College, Mt. Hood Community College, Hispanic Access, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Latino Network, Hispanic Services Round Table and community members. This task force can begin to identify strategies that can support community members in accessing careers for which they have been trained in their country of origin.
For all their self-proffessed multi-culturalism it seems that Cruz and co. don't know much about Mexico. The only thing they teach you is to go to America and send money back!

This "report" goes on for 45 pages. You eyes probably glossed over after read just these highlights from the first 19 so I'm going to stop now. I think that I've made my point. If you want to make yours:

For more information about Salir Adelante please contact:
Office of Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz
501 SE Hawthorne, 6th Floor
Portland, Oregon 97214
(503) 988-5219
E-mail: serena@co.multnomah.or.us
Website: www.co.multnomah.or.us/cc/ds2

Liberal policies to create unwed teenage mothers are a success

65 out of 490 girls at school pregnant
Shocking school administrators and others community members, fully 13 percent of the female students at an Ohio high school currently are pregnant.

"This has gotten to horrible proportions," said Redmond. "I wish I knew the answer to why it's happening."

Repository columnist Rick Senften mentions the potential suspects of movies, TV and video games, lazy parents and lax discipline.

Yes, I hate it when you are watching tv or playing a video game and next thing you know, you're pregnant! For all you parents out there, make sure you incorporate that into your "birds and bees" talk. You can't get pregnant from touching a doorknob but you can get pregnant from watching tv.

I'm just shocked that after all the sex-ed that students are getting that they still manage to get pregnant. I mean, those nutty Christian conservatives predicted this. But really, how could anyone else have the foresight to realize that telling young kids that having sex was ok as long as you use "protection" would have these type of consequences?

Who would have thought that the change is social norms and the loss of the stigma would have had these effects. Really, I thought that when we stopped telling people that being an unwed mother was shameful and instead said that she was "empowered" we would reduce the number of single mothers.

I thought that when we stopped saying that you were a slut for having casual sex and instead said that the girl was "liberated" that we would decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies and STD's.

I thought that having the "everyone's doing it" statement go from back alley's to the classroom would make less people do it.

Seriously though, I want to put full responsibility on parents because that is where I believe that the responsibility lies. However, the schools have made it clear their intention to go beyond teaching reading, writing and arithmetic and now teach moral and social values. (among other things)

The public school system shares some of the blame with the bad parents. And yes, they are bad parents. If we want to start reversing this trend it is time to start making moral judgments like that.

Reed College still Godless

The Princeton Review college rankings are out and yet again Oregon's own Reed College tops the list of schools where "Students Ignore God On A Regular Basis." Oregon actually has the pleasure of having two schools in the top five on this list with Lewis & Clark being number five.

We should be so proud...

The who's who of liberal on-campus student groups at Reed...

RICO violation?

The following is an email I received from a state worker:

Daniel,

Yes, absolutely. If he is in Washington County, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center should be able to see him. If he shows up as a walk in, however, he should be prepared to wait a couple of hours to be seen.

Here is a list of those clinics that he can go to. It does not matter whether or not he is documented. My emphasis

Sorry for the delay but I was out on vacation and only back today.

Alberto Moreno, MSW
Migrant Health Coordinator
Health Systems Planning
Department of Human Services
Alberto.Moreno@state.or.us
(503)731-4017x899 phone
(503)731-4078 fax

The email included to Word documents as attachments. (One of which can be found online HERE) My original email "question" was sent on 8-9-05 and simply inquired about a "friend" who was an illegal alien and where he could get health care.

Alberto Moreno, a public servant, was helpful enought to respond on helping my criminal (and imaginary) friend. The question is, does it violate the law for public officials to help out known criminals?

Our only hope would be RICO. In America illegal aliens are entitled to emergency health care but I know of no law/ruling that says they get other forms of health care, especially at taxpayer expense.

I would like to see some group/individual with the legal resources pursue suing the state of Oregon for knowinly aiding and abetting known criminals in accessing services of value.

And regarless of whether or not laws are broken here, do we really need a "migrant health coordinator" on the public payroll?

You worried about the Patriot Act? I'm scared of Metro!

I know that all you libs are worried that George Bush himself is going to find out that you borrowed books at the library on indoor grow systems (we all know you aren't growing tomatoes) and the Kama Sutra. Me, I'm worried that Metro is psychologically profiling all of us in order to figure out the best way to get us out of our cars!

Travel Behavior Barriers and Benefits Research
Community-based social marketing (CBSM) stresses direct contact with people at the community level to promote behavioral change. It has been demonstrated that this approach can produce higher levels of success per contact than traditional media advertising.
This is similar to the "Mafia approach." Metro goons will approach you with an "offer you can't refuse." Namely, they will screw up the freeway so bad that sitting next to the heroin addict on the bus will seem like a viable alternative.

PROBLEM: THREE-FOURTHS OF AMERICANS DRIVE ALONE.
The same data show that in Oregon only 12 percent of all travelers making trips
to or from work carpooled, 4.2 percent used public transportation, 3.6 percent
walked, 1.9 percent used a motorcycle or bike...
Solution: spend 95% of the transportation budget on 9.7% of the population. Morons. If you were asked what your daily commute problem was, what would you say? That you drive alone or that traffic moves at 20mph? Just another disconnect between the "planners" and ruling elites and Joe and Jane Citizen.

The most extreme motivational technique to encourage people to use transit services was in Belgium (7f ). A mayor chose to close a major "ring-way" (i.e. beltway) instead of spending money to expand and repair it. After closing the major ringway he announced that all public transportation was free. This actioimproved thehe use of public transportation by 800%, and the mayor felt that the money used to support free public transportation was less expensive than repairing and expanding the roadways.
Every public official in Portland wants that guys autograph. This is what they would do if they thought that they could get away with it.

Suggestions made by participants for improving the communication about alternative
travel modes included:

*Have newspapers do feature stories on the options

* Educate school children who will spread the word to parents
Like you need to convince the Fishwrapper to push your socialist agenda. They do that voluntarily. As for indoctrinating our kids, you wonder why charter schools are so popular...

Side note: I always take surveys, polls, etc. Always. I make my opinion count. God help Metro if I am ever selected to sit in on one of these focus groups. This whole study is based on results of questions they have asked to citizens. (probably selected at random... from the Pearl District)

Barriers and Benefits to Non-SOV Alternative Travel Modes

Employer provided free parking
Expect Metro to attempt a fee for parking rule for all employers or to somehow bully employers into providing less parking or "reduced fare" parking for carpoolers.

Lack of freedom to come and go
Metro says that public transit is less affected by congestion (metro/ODOT created) and lack of parking (metro/ODOT dream).

Inflexibility of public transportation
Metro says public transit is "generally reliable and predictable." Metro has never actually used the bus.

I'm not going to list all the "benefits" of public transportation but most of the rest involve avoiding the (metro/ODOT created) traffic problems.

As transit-oriented development and lifestyles more in tune with a denser urban
form become more common, people will (re) discover the opportunities afforded
by greater (though not necessarily complete) dependence on public transportation.
You sick bastards. I'm contemplating running my car in the driveway while I write this right now. Do you understand what these sick people are doing? They create "transit-oriendevelopmentment" (read: use your tax dollars to build stuff) in order to make you modependentdant" on government transportation.

Urban Planners (we'll just call them "Satan" for short) design neighborhoobusinessness districts, and even whole cities to be unfriendly to cars. Their goal is "behavior modification." Your behavior. They want to make it too expensive, too uncomfortable, inconvenientiant to own your own car so that you will have to rely on government to supply you with transportation.

State bar discriminates to end discrimination

Oregon State Bar rejects Guard ads due to military bias
The Oregon State Bar board has voted to ban the Oregon National Guard from advertising in the bar magazine because of the military's controversial policy on homosexuals.

Notice the word "controversial" thrown in there.

"I don't believe the board was willing to basically gut its diversity policy to make an exception for the military," said bar president Nena Cook, a Portland attorney. The bar, which licenses and regulates Oregon lawyers, "needs to stand by its principles of fairness and justice for all," Cook said.

So who does advertise in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin? Well, this google search reveals several pages where a "directory of advertisers" link was at one time. Funny thing is, the links are no longer there. I have a nagging suspicion that ads from (controversial) groups such as NARAL have been in the Bar Bulletin. (just my suspicion)

As for the discrimination, the bar exalts Román Hernández for being elected to the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber, the Portland chapter of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber. (think that they will accept a black lawyer?)

Merle Weiner, whose last name is very appropriate, wrote this disgusting piece (could be called "controversial" if I owned a fishwrapper) for the bulletin and is an associate professor of law at the University of Oregon School of Law, an organization that discriminates.

My point is that the Oregon Bar is simply a left-leaning group that hates the military and loves homosexuals.

I demand that it be banned from schools

Court Says Atheism is a Religion
A federal court of appeals has ruled in favor of an inmate who claimed that Wisconsin prison officials violated his rights under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because they refused to allow him to create a study group for atheists.

I love how the courts look favorably on a inmates "rights" to practice a "religion" but a 12 year old boy scout who wants to say the pledge of allegiance in school is seen a public enemy number one.

The Supreme Court has said that a religion need not be based on a belief in the existence of a supreme being. In the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, the Court described "secular humanism" as a religion.

I do believe that for many people atheism is not simply a passive act but a rabid religion thacompelsls them to "evangelize" (mostly through the ACLU) and attempt to extinguish opposing belief systems. (mostly Christianity)

The best part about this ruling is that is demonstrates the absurdity of the "establishment clause" arguments that the ACLU makes every day. If having no religion is a religion then asking congress (or these days, judges) to establish that belief system expressly violates the first amendment.

On the other hand, having kids say a short prayer before they start their class in a public school does not as it does not establish a national religion and the school is not congress.

The "calm me down" column

After venting some frustration in my last post I realized that I hadn't read this weeks Ann Coulter column. I read it, got a little chuckle, acknowleged the flawless logic and am now a little bit calmer. Read it.

Cindy Sheehan: Commander in Grief
Fortunately, the Constitution vests authority to make foreign policy with the President of the United States, not with this week's sad story. But liberals think that since they have been able to produce a grieving mother, the commander in chief should step aside and let Cindy Sheehan make foreign policy for the nation. As Maureen Dowd said, it's "inhumane" for Bush not "to understand that the moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute."

I'm not sure what "moral authority" is supposed to mean in that sentence, but if it has anything to do with Cindy Sheehan’s dictating America's foreign policy, then no, it is not "absolute." It's not even conditional, provisional, fleeting, theoretical or ephemeral.

Let's just surrender to Mexico

2 Illegal Immigrants Win Arizona Ranch in Court
Now, in a turnabout, the 70-acre property about two miles from the border is being given to two immigrants whom the group caught trying to enter the United States illegally.

"Certainly it's poetic justice that these undocumented workers own this land," said Morris S. Dees Jr., co-founder and chief trial counsel of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala., which represented the immigrants in their lawsuit.

Mr. Dees said the loss of the ranch would "send a pretty important message to those who come to the border to use violence."

I don't know whether to give up and learn Spanish or form a militia.

What I do know is this:
Morris Dees should be deported from this country. His citizenship should be stripped form him and he should never be allowed to return. He should be publicly shamed as a traitor who has sworn allegiance to a foreign and hostile country.

The Southern Poverty Law Center should be declared a subversive organization and disbanded. It's lawyers should all be disbarred.

The illegal aliens who "own" the ranch should be made an example of. They have applied for visas which should be denied. They should be made to suffer through an extensive detention and deportation process.

The judge who issued these decisions should be impeached, disbarred and then deported with his citizenship stripped from him. He should be made a public spectacle.

The property owner should have shot and killed these illegals and said he feared for his safety and the safety of others.

To be honest, it is very difficult for someone like me to know how to respond to this action. I can't condone illegal action, but what do you do when our own government gives our private property to criminals who broke the laws of our nation and were trespassing on our property?

I believe, as I'm sure you do, that the actions of this unelected piece of shit judge are illegal. Our constitution DOES NOT ALLOW THIS. Our country has been perverted by lawyers and Senators and judges. Sick people who hate America.

Our complacency allows this to happen. We are the ones with the restraint. While they shit on our constitution and rule of law we sit back and say "What can we do? There was a judgment handed down, we must respect it." They break the law and we are expected to follow their illegal rules.

Criminals sue cops and win. Drug addicts are better served by our government than law-abiding citizens. Lawyers in black robes claim that our constitution gives the right to kill babies, homosexual marriage, and virtual child pornography. Bums are allowed to squat on government property and erect a tent city while taxpaying citizens who build a deck without the cities permission are threatened to have it smashed down.

Where did we go wrong? What are the solutions? To vote in more of the same ruling elite who don't care about us? Most are only worried about their golf trips and power? Some want to engage in social engineering and change our great country into a socialist/communist nightmare.

Our Senate leadership can't be counted on to pass a bill that would protect children from child molesters. The ACLU will defend the "rights" of those child molesters to meet and plot on their helpless victims. The ACLU is considered a "mainstream" group by many while the Minutemen are called fringe extremists by our elected officials.

God is considered offensive in our schools but rap music that talks about slapping bitches and selling crack is part of "diversity" and "culture." Gun owners are vilified while unwed teenage mothers are exalted for their ability to overcome adversity.

I'm going to stop now. Please pray for our country.

Legislators still congratulating themselves but...

Big money in Mexican meth
While new state and federal laws are cutting down the number of U.S. meth labs, the deadly drugs continue to flow into the U.S. across the porous border with Mexico, say law enforcement authorities.

But at the same time, seizures of smokeable Mexican meth known as "crystal ice" rose nearly fivefold, from 384 cases in the 15 months before the law to 1,875 since.

Mexican cartels have seen the profit potential and filled the vacuum created by the tough new laws in the U.S.

In all fairness to our governor and most of our legislators, they could never have seen this coming. You see, they don't believe in the free market or it's principles. They simply don't understand the laws of supply and demand.

Their solution to this problem, and every problem, is "let's regulate it some more." While this may have made things slightly inconvenient for local meth cooks (who must now make that looong drive to Vancouver for cold pills) it has given the Mexican drug cartels a larger share of the market.

Until our state, counties and cities get serious about locking people up, the demand will be there. Meth is a profitable market to deal in which guarantees that supply will be there as well. Our state may claim that it has reduced local meth labs (a claim that I would doubt) but even if I conceded that point, we did nothing to reduce the amount of meth in our community or the crime that goes along with it.

To do that, we need to lock people up and make our state unfriendly to the illegal aliens who are bringing the drug to our community.

Why I support Atkinson

I have been getting emails and a comment on my last post wanting some background info on Senator Jason Atkinson who has announced his candidacy for Oregon governor.

Sometimes the best way to judge a candidate is to see which advocacy groups like him... and which ones don't. You should also be tuning into the Lars Larson show as I am sure that he will call-in again to take questions from Lars' audience.

2003 On the votes that the Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Atkinson voted their preferred position 0 percent of the time.

1999 Senator Atkinson supported the interests of the NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon 0 percent of the organization in that year.

2003 Senator Atkinson supported the interests of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon 100 percent in 2003.

2003 On the votes that the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon considered to be the most important in 2003, Senator Atkinson voted their preferred position 50 percent of the time.
In 1999 it was 0%. I do wonder what he agreed with them recently. Will look into it.

1999 On the votes that the Oregon Christian Coalition considered to be the most important in 1999, Senator Atkinson voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.

2003 Senator Atkinson supported the interests of the Oregon Education Association 27 percent in 2003.
A vote against the OEA (the local version of the NEA, considered a terrorist organization by myself and former education secretary Rod Paige) is a vote I like.

2004 Based on lifetime voting records on gun issues and the results of a questionnaire sent to all state legislative candidates in 2004, the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund assigned Senator Atkinson a grade of A+ (with grades ranging from a high of A+ to a low of F).

2003 Senator Atkinson supported the interests of the Oregon AFL-CIO 53 percent in 2003.

The issue that is noticably missing from the list is the HUGE problem of illegal aliens. It's difficult to find a voting record on that though since our politicians have their eyes closed, their ears plugged, and their mouths shut on this issue.

Source

Atkinson for Governor

Today, on the Lars Larson show, Senator Jason Atkinson anounced his intention to run for Governor of Oregon.

http://www.leg.state.or.us/atkinson/home.htm

He is counting on a grassroots effort from Oregon's Republicans to help him campaign. I hope that all of Oregon's conservatives will take a few minutes to contact him, make their views known, and pledge their support.

Atkinsonforgovernor@yahoo.com

Perhaps liberals will call them racist

Report highlights division in Hispanic community
Illegal immigration is more than just a divisive topic nationally.

It also is dividing Hispanics, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center in Washington, D.C.

As for illegal immigration, 34 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics said such immigrants hurt the economy by driving down wages. Just 15 percent of foreign-born Hispanics think illegal immigrants hurt the economy.

Sixty percent of U.S.-born Hispanics approve of more restrictions on licenses, vs. 29 percent of foreign-born Hispanics.

Meanwhile, south of the border, where a separate survey was conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, 46 percent of Mexican citizens interviewed in May said they would move to the United States today if they could. Twenty-one percent said they would be willing to live and work in the United States without authorization.

So let's sum it up: 21% of Mexico's citizens are willing to break the law. 60% of Americans who are Hispanic want to restrict licences for illegal aliens. (That's higher than the percentage of people in the legislature who want to do that) And there is a good percentage of Americans who are Hispanic who say that illegal aliens drive down wages.

The defenders of illegal aliens and the open borders lobby uses the preferred liberal tactic of screaming "racist" any time someone suggests enforcing our immigration laws. Unfortunately this is a successful tactic these days as evident by the disclaimer that websites, talk show hosts, and anybody who brings up the subject must preface their arguments with. "I'm not anti-immigrant" or "this isn't about Hispanics."

If you aren't "anti-immigrant" then why bring it up? I don't preface every argument I make with "I don't walk on four legs" because that has nothing to do with it. The fact that everyone feels the need to defend themselves even when a direct accusation is not being made shows the effectiveness of the "racist" accusation.

But I digress, the charge of "racist" is laughable as is evident by this poll, and while I usually never respond to the charge of "racist" because that gives it some credence, I will point to this one and laugh.

Read the report:
Attitudes toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy: Surveys among US Latinos and in Mexico

Art coordinator

Community Development Coordinator
$1,873 - $2,636 MONTHLY

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Community Development Coordinator is responsible for providing statewide staff direction and support to Oregon’s community arts development efforts through partnerships with local and regional arts agencies and facilitation of communications between the arts community and other aspects of the Economic and Community Development Department including regional, rural, and community development, as well as Travel Oregon.

Assist communities in the creation and support of arts councils, particularly in under served parts of Oregon.
It is every Oregon communities worst nightmare to not have enough public artwork.

If you ever have a lot of time on your hands and feel like looking at worthless crap that has been paid for by your tax dollars you could always take the Public Art Walking Tour.

Go with a friend and make a game out of it. Ask questions like:

Did that rusty thing really come from the front yard of a trailor park?

Do you think that the state could have hired a cop for the price of that one?

What qualifies that piece of junk as art?

Is that panhandler "art" in the sense that he represents societal oppression of nonconformists and free thinkers? OK, that last one will only be said if a "real" artist is walking by.

The test is flawed but we stand by the results

Study errs in report of clean-air gains in Portland
Portland and Multnomah County officials were jubilant two months ago when a Portland city agency indicated that carbon dioxide emissions in 2004 had nudged just below 1990 figures. It's believed to be the first time a major U.S. urban area has documented such a decrease.

I believe their exact "jubilant" words were: "See, our little socialist experiment in trying to force everyone out of their cars really did work! We just thought we were being anti-capitalist but clean air is a bonus!"

But after an inquiry into the source of the numbers by a Portland think tank, a city official spotted a mistake in the report: Instead of a 0.1 percent decrease of emissions compared to 1990, there actually had been a .77 percent increase.

So instead of going down it went up. Oooops. This is simlair to the error in which Oregonlive.com, (home of the Fishwrapper, land of the cowards) cuts this story off after a "this doesn't really mean anything" rebuttle from a taxpayer funded tree hugger.

The article does finish with a public official doing the Dan Rather: "We know that the test was flawed but we still believe the results."

Read the analysis by the Cascade Policy Institute.

DHS: Tips to flaunt the law

This month’s ACCURACY TIPS
Disclosing SSN and Citizenship Status
This month’s accuracy tips have to do with how the application should be filled out by an applicant. The application (DHS 415F) was designed to capture the information of clients who apply for benefits and those who live in the same household but do not seek benefits for themselves. Civil Rights regulations prohibit us from requiring clients to disclose their SSN or citizenship when they are not applying for benefits for themselves. Therefore, in filling out the application, clients who are not applying for themselves should list their names under the
second section of #3 on page 2 of the DHS 415F, where it says “List all other people living in your home.”

Example: Mom comes in to apply for food stamps for self and her three children. Mom lists the three children on the application as the people she is applying to receive benefits for. She lists herself as another person in the HH, and does not want benefits for herself. There are a few reasons Mom might not want benefits for herself; one might be that she is an ineligible non-citizen, and does not want to disclose her status, and does not have a valid SSN.

In the FS Chapter, Section D.6, it states that only those persons who want benefits are required to provide their SSN. Other persons living in the household are not required to provide their SSN. You will not pend the application for the SSN or citizen status of the person that does not wish to be in the benefit group. (Their emphasis)

So that's the official word on how to get food stamps for illegal aliens. Mom is an illegal alien but her kids aren't, so the kids names go on the application as the beneficiaries and mom's name is simply listed as "living in the household." How dishonest is that.

This workaround could also be used to flaunt laws such as Prop 200 in Arizona where a citizen initiative was passed that forbid state agencies from giving benefits to illegal aliens.

But the scary part is that this is not some scheme cooked up by illegal immigrants who pass this information on to others so that they can scam the system. No, this is DHS instructing it's employees, public employees, how to scam the system to benefit illegal aliens.

More housing for illegal aliens

In a sane world this story would have a follow up that would say the houses were designed as a clever ruse, moments after residents occupied the new complex the Immigration and Customs Enforcement swept through arresting all the illegal alien occupants and deporting them. Alas, this is not a sane world...

Migrant worker housing complex offers more than shelter
Calling her new home a dream come true, Ana Rosa Paniagua was joined by more than 200 people Sunday to celebrate the official opening of Salem's first year-round farmworker housing complex.

Sunday's celebration, which included a traditional Aztec blessings of the complex, was about much more than a nice, new place to live, said Larry Kleinman, an FHDC board member

Salem City Manager Bob Wells told the crowd that the city, which allocated $300,000 for the construction of the complex, plans to participate with its community.

He said that in the past eight years, 1,115 housing units for farmworkers and their families have been built in Oregon.

The American dream is to come here legally, work hard and buy your own house. The American nightmare is that people can come here illegally and taxpayers will buy them a house.

What "progressives" want: more drugs

If you are a registered Democrat you need to ask yourself: Do these people represent me?

Arresting the Drug Laws
Cole wants to remove the profit motive from the equation by legalizing drugs and having them supplied by the government. “Organized criminals and world terrorists would be monetarily crippled for many years to come,” Cole says.
Government really needs to start selling drugs. The only side benefit to this is that government would probably do a worse job at delivering the product than the "private enterprise" drug dealers do.

California Superior Court Judge James Gray, author of Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs, wants to decriminalize marijuana. That would generate $2 billion annually in tax revenues that could be spent on education and drug treatment, he says. The government should regulate the quality of marijuana, he says, so tokers would know their weed won’t be laced with poisons.
Government is willing to sell our souls for tax revenue. Why not tax contract killings while their at it?

“Would it result in more marijuana usage?” Gray asks himself. “Yes, at least for six months, but then rates would be more like Holland’s.”
Yes, the usage of an addictive substance would increase but then magically taper off or decline. That's the way it usually works with addiction right?

He goes on to wonder why so many one-time drug users are imprisoned for crimes that didn’t harm a third party. “What the public doesn’t realize is that when you take a breadwinner out of the family and incarcerate him, it has a ripple effect,” he says. “There is nothing but negative about jailing people.”
Usually the "breadwinner" in the family isn't on drugs. But I guess this just goes to show you what the progressives think the average family is like. As for "nothing but negative about jailing people," how about less crime. Isn't that a positive?

The people who write this can't see beyond the tax revenue and their fond hippie memories. Thankfully a clear majority of Americans disagree with this proposition. (although in the democrat party in Portland they may have a large constituency)

Are ANY projects for cars?

What will $4.46 million of your tax dollars buy?

Funding category TDM - Transportation Demand Management
Total project cost $4,461,161

The Regional Travel Options program works collaboratively with state and local jurisdictions and agency partners to promote travel options to single-occupant motor vehicles throughout the metropolitan region. This includes carpool and vanpool services, employer outreach, special programs support for transportation management associations (local employer-based nonprofit organizations that promote travel options to their employees) and program performance evaluation.

For more information, call Regional Transportation Planning at (503) 797-1839, fax (503) 797-1911 or send e-mail to trans@metro-region.org.

I know that I have promised a direct comparison of the cost per mile of a "multi-use path" and new road construction or road widening but I am having the damnedest time finding a project that is just that.

As far as I can find all road projects involve bike path striping, new sidewalks, planted medians, improved bus access, etc.

That all projects are designed to accommodate a small fraction of the population while ignoring the majority of commuters, travelers, shoppers and recreators is very frustrating to me.

Please feel free to check for yourself at the Project descriptions and maps page and let me know if you find a project that is designed just for automobile (read: the majority transportation option) use.

I would also suggest that you email the above metro email address and ask them when they are going to put priority on your transportation needs. As always, be polite, i.e. don't call them communist car-hating bike path nazis.

New Mac Johnson column

Judge Rules: If Feds Won't Enforce Immigration Laws, Locals Must Not
The Open Borders Bloc successfully mobilized this summer to put down an unexpected outbreak of the rule of law. The rebellion was brief but threatening, as local law enforcement clearly overstepped their bounds and began enforcing laws willy-nilly--leading many in the ruling elite to wonder where it all might end. Luckily, a judge was able to step in and stop the law before it could be enforced again.

This is another great column by the Mac. His closing statements,

You never really lose until you stop fighting.

Charge them with something. Anything.

should be the motto of all of us who are fighting against both political parties and the establishment on the issue of illegal aliens.

No bike paths for oil

Some Metro projects to think about while you stare at red taillights throughout your commute:

Trolley Trail: Southeast Arista Drive to Glen Echo Avenue
Funding category Bike/Trail
Total project cost $1,653,000

The 6-mile Trolley Trail is a multi-use path that follows an abandoned streetcar right of way between Milwaukie and Gladstone.
Only $275,000 per mile.

Eastside Streetcar: Northwest 10th/Lovejoy to OMSI
Funding category Transit
Total project cost $84,000,000

This project will fund preliminary engineering for extending the Portland Streetcar system by 3.4 miles from the Pearl District to the east side of the Portland central city.
Only $24,705,882.35 per mile.

MAX Multi-use path: Cleveland Avenue to Ruby Junction
Funding category Bike/Trail
Total project cost $1,383,000

The 2-mile, shared-use path runs parallel to the light-rail tracks.
Only $691,500 per mile.

Marine Drive Bike Lanes and Trail Gaps: Northeast 6th to 185th Avenue
Funding category Bike/Trail
Total project cost $1,840,000

Four segments of off-street trail adjacent to Marine Drive will be completed, making a continuous 9.1-mile off-street trail from Northeast 28th to Northeast 185th avenues. This project also will complete .9 miles of bike lane between Northeast Sixth and Northeast 28th avenues that are an on-street alternative to the Bridgeton portion of off-street Marine Drive Trail.
Only $184,000 per mile.

Springwater Trail: Sellwood Gap: Southeast 19th Avenue to Umatilla Street
Funding category Bike/Trail
Total project cost $1,815,000

This project completes a missing link in the existing multi-use path. This .9-mile section of path will run adjacent to the Oregon Pacific railroad tracks from Southeast Umatilla Street to 19th Avenue.
The full price tag is for less than one mile.

I think that you get my point. I was looking for a project were they are widening a freeway so I could do a cost comparison, I was hoping to show that it is cheaper to widen a road than build a "multi-use trail" but I can't seem to find a project like that on their Project Priorities page.

The ones that do talk about streets have descriptions like:
This project constructs bike lanes and sidewalks along the north and south sides of Southeast Jennifer Street between 106th and 122nd.
and
This project reconstructs the existing street to include sidewalks, turn lanes, landscaped medians and bike lanes.

Let me take a shot at liberal hysteria here: (read aloud in frantic voice that doesn't let you get in a word edgewise)

Metro is causing global warming!!! The stop and go traffic is polluting the planet and destroying the ozone!!! If the roads had the capacity to move cars at the posted speed limits we could reduce pollution and our dependence on foreign oil!!! NO BIKE PATHS FOR OIL!!! NO MAX TRAIN FOR OIL!!! Halliburton has brainwashed you into spending money on light-rail!!! Look at the cost overruns!!! Dick Cheney, Texas, Tom DeLay, aaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!

Even better than Transit Oriented Development

Big-box blues
National megastores scouting the Portland region for sites search out one common ingredient: people, and lots of them.

That's why large retailers want to locate near centers designed for urban living: Portland neighborhood hubs and suburban downtowns.

But many elected officials worry that large stores will spell death for the centers, which have developed with millions of dollars in local government investment.

They want more authority to turn away the so-called big-box stores. Short of that, they want a strategy to help their own live-and-shop districts compete. Both will be considered this fall at Metro, the regional government.
You want to "compete?" Try the free market you idiots. Oh that's right, everything government does fails miserably when forced to compete on a level playing field.

Politicians from Hillsboro to Gresham foot the bill for plans and land to carry out an urban revival theory that plays well in earthy do-it-yourself Oregon. They envision shoppers with coffee in hand combing farmers markets and popping into friends' condos down the block. Metro has designated about 40 such places as "centers," each with its own personality.

This story mirrors my post from yesterday. Our "planners" at metro and local government would like to change our behavior and culture. They don't care if you want to save some time and money at Wal-Mart, they want you to sip a latte and pop into your friends condo downt he block.

What makes government think that it's their job to do this kind of social engineering? Especially when they can't do their first mandate which is public safety. This really seems communist to me that government makes decisions on who gets what, when, and for how much depending on our elite leaders "vision" for our community.

In Gresham, where a decade of planning and subsidies fueled development along MAX light-rail lines, city officials are poised to reject a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

They want to reject Wal-Mart because it would interfere with what the government has done, against taxpayer wishes I might add, to the area. And really, I don't see the Gresham city planners sitting at the Rockwood MAX station at 10:00pm sipping their coffees. Wonder why that is?

And it's no doubt that the Fishwrapper always takes the side of government. Here's something interesting. A man named "Bernard" is quoted in this story multiple times but we never find out who he is:
...Bernard says
...Bernard says
Bernard says...
...Bernard says
"All of us have to do things to make ourselves unique," he says. "But we don't need to bring in more competition."

"Bernard" who may in fact be a made up character, doesn't understand capitalism very well.

Local governments generally hang their denials on land-use zoning and traffic. Current laws don't allow them to consider competing business districts.

GreshamFirst, a group opposing the city's proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter, is nudging the Gresham City Council to look at the issue. During a recent council meeting, members spelled out their fears. Among them: Big-box stores could hurt existing businesses and jobs.

So local governments violate the spirit of the law by turning away business for a false reason. This is like an employer not hiring someone because they are black but saying it is because the position is filled. Wal-Mart faces the same kind of discrimination from Metro and local governments.

Feel free to write to your Metro councilor with your feelings on this post and my previous post.

*UPDATE*
Email I received from my (really hardworking) Metro Councilor:
Thank you for your e-mail. I will be out of the office until Sept. 6. If you need a response before then, please contact my assistant LinneaNelson at 503-797-1886 or nelsonl@metro.dst.or.us.You may also call the Metro Council office at 503-797-1540.
Thank you,
Carl Hosticka
Metro Councilor, District 3(503) 797-1549

Even better than the Urban Growth Boundary

Perhaps the only development program devised by government that is more pernicious than the high-density Urban Growth Boundary land use rules is Transit Oriented Development. What is transit oriented development?

Through Transit Oriented Development (TOD), communities encourage higher-density residential and commercial development near bus lines, streetcar routes, and train stations. This proximity increases the likelihood that transit services will be better used by the public. Such increased usage, in turn, makes the construction and operation of transit easier for governments to finance.

Yes, with TOD it makes life easier on government by making it cheaper to finance their pet projects. Notice how it does not make your commute easier, your shopping easier, or your time to destination any faster.

Jennifer L. Dorn, after being introduced by our own Earl "Bow-Tie" Blumenaur had the following things to say in a speech at the Rail-Volution Conference:

The world that liberals dream of:
The traditional nuclear families that made up 40 percent of households in 1970, now comprise less than 25 percent of households. And that percentage is expected to decline even more. In just one generation, the “typical” American household won’t have children living in it. In fact, nearly 70 percent of households will not include children. These households will consist of singles, empty nesters, and couples without children. And these are groups with a proven preference for our cities and the transit options they provide.

That icky, non-progressive world that liberals mock, ridicule and would rather leave behind:
When we think about the American Dream, we tend to think about the post-World War II vision. The American Dream was something that Americans would DRIVE to. In the popular lexicon, the American Dream meant a two-parent family with two children (one crew-cut boy and one pig-tailed girl, of course), and a dog -- all ensconced in a suburban tract house with a big yard surrounded by a white picket fence- and a roomy automobile parked in the garage to carry Dad to his job in the city each day.

Remind me again, was AIDS, drive-by's, teenage pregnancy, rampant homelessness, drug use, etc a problem back in "those times?"

Reality check:
There are clear signs that people are getting tired of the isolation that the car culture tends to create, and they are growing weary of having to get in the car for even the simplest of errands… The fact is, a gallon of gas for a gallon of milk is a terrible exchange rate.

I would venture that Ms. Dorn has never tried to take 3 screaming kids on the bus, in the rain, in December to get a gallon of milk. Rather than have the trip take 15 minutes it will take about 45. And good luck buyicartfullrtful of groceries, you know, the way that most people shop, when taking mass transit.

The transit crowd isn't just about "saving the ozone" but radically changing Americas families and lifestyles. They envision hip 20-somethings who lead selfish lives with no children to burden them, they will dwell in high density condos in the middle of downtowns. The icky suburbs (or sprawl in their language) will be outlawed through land use planning.

On the left and right coast no one will have a yard for the dog. No one will be able to have a car because there will be no where to park it. We will all take the MAX to our jobs with the local government while relying the heartland to continue to supply enough federal tax income to subsidize our urban lifestyles.

Of course, this vision is very flawed. The urban utopia is a farce. The shootings, the aggressive panhandling, the high housing prices, and the mass exodus of families has shown us that Portland is not where normal Americans want to live.

No habla espanol

Via Orbusmax.com

Supercuts sued for ban on Spanish
Some Chicago businesses post "Se Habla Espanol" signs to boast about their Spanish-speaking employees.

But two hair stylists said in a federal lawsuit Thursday that their former bosses at Supercuts posted a different sign:

"Speaking a language other than English is not only disrespectful, it's also prohibited."

I am currently considering putting that exact sign out in front of my house...

Guess who got a good deal?

The Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center is a health care site that caters to illegal aliens. With programs such as the Prenatal Outreach (to migrant camps) and the Migrant outreach program it is very clear that the purpose of this medical group is to serve a select demographic.

Through this program the Center provides screening, medical treatment and health education to migrant and seasonal farm workers living and working in the area migrant labor camps.

In conjunction with the migrant outreach the Center intensively provides outreach to find pregnant women in the migrant camps.

This program is funded through the Washington County Commission on Children and Families.

So Washington County helps fund "outreach" to the illegal workers. Great. But what really gets me is this:

A County building was leased to VGMHC at a cost of $1 per year, allowing their grant funds to be used for remodeling rather than land purchase and construction. We continue to work with them in plans for further expansion into Beaverton. SOURCE

What business does Washington County have leasing a building for $1 a year? This is simply a workaround so that they do not have to put their subsidy of this illegal alien health care center in their budget.

That building belongs to the taxpayers. It was built at our expense and if the county is not going to use it then they should sell it at market value.

Under the left's precious "campaign finance reform" I am not allowed to buy a Cadillac and then "sell" it to my favorite candidate for $1. This limits my individual liberty to do what I want with my money and my property.

But somehow government thinks that whatever they want to do with our money and our property is just fine. What would stop Washington County from buying a bunch of vans and then "selling" them to this illegal alien clinic for $1 a piece? What would stop them from buying a thousand bicycles and selling them to citizens for $1 a piece? Does this seem screwed up to anyone else?

Is Lars psychic?

The fact that PERS is a boondoggle for this state and completely out of line with other state's retirement plans is not debatable at this point.

The only debate is what do we do about it? One one side you have responsible people who want to rein the system in so that Oregon does not go bankrupt and taxpayers are not paying for the retired extravagance of public employees. On the other side you have big union. (From now on I will insert the word "big" in front of groups that I disagree with, similar to liberals naming of "big oil," "big tobacco," etc.)

Word came down yesterday that the taxpayers had won a major victory in court over the extravagance of PERS. This is good news for you and I however Lars predicted that today's fishwrapper headlines would portray the story not as a victory for the taxpayers but as a loss for public employees (government).

Here we are:
Employees lose PERS ruling

Workers wary of pension cuts, repayments

PERS divides high court a second time

High court rules PERS retirees must repay benefits

Illegal aliens came out on top in Oregon's legislature

Legislative Attacks on Farmworkers and Immigrants Defeated
The third longest legislative session in the history of Oregon ended on Friday, August 5th, marking the defeat of every major anti-immigrant, anti-farmworker piece of legislation. PCUN and numerous allies worked against over 18 proposals to undermine the minimum wage and collective bargaining, require proof of legal status to get a driver’s license, and make it more difficult for people to vote.

Short video from PCUN website

This session presented a different political reality due to the passage of the federal “REAL ID” Act in May, galvanizing the anti-immigrant group, Oregonians for Immigration Reform. One modest victory was persuading the Oregon Legislature to refrain from mandating implementation of any of REAL ID’s provisions this session, as the Department of Homeland Security has not yet issued regulations. For now, Oregon remains one of eleven states where all residents can get a driver’s license regardless of immigration status.

Way to go Oregon. You made it so meth cooks have to drive an extra 15 minutes to Vancouver to buy cold pills but you couldn't muster the support to make illegal aliens show proof of citizenship to get a drivers license.

In a few years all our ID's will be worthless because our "representatives" can't stomach the thought of punishing lawbreakers.

I had a comment on a previous post from a guy who suggested that he was considering becoming a drug addict as a career move. He felt like he would then be a represented constituency in Portland.

I would add that we could all renounce our citizenship so that our government officials would have more respect for us, we could get free health care at the many taxpayer supported migrant clinics and get ITINs, which in this day of ID theft are probably more secure than having a real SSN.

So nice that the illegal alien union has something to celebrate. The rest of us just shake our heads.

New Ann Coulter column

It's 'Let's Roll,' not 'Let's Roll Over'
Even if the next attack comes tomorrow, it is worth pondering that we've gone 47 months without the savages being able to mount another terrorist attack in a country virtually designed for terrorist attacks, a country where we search the purses of little old ladies so that recent immigrants from Saudi Arabia named "Mohammed" wearing massive backpacks don't get singled out.

But instead of news stories about how we must be doing something right in the war on terror, we're being carpet-bombed with news stories about how Bush doesn't have a "plan," the war was based on "lies," we're losing the war, the redcoats are coming!

Ann Coulter mocks the enemy.

Cuba lost a role-model

Oregon has lost ground as a model for land use
Way back in 1973, a bunch of Oregonians got together with a common goal: save farmland and stop urban sprawl.

These visionary individuals created Senate Bill 100, the most effective and resilient land-use program in the United States. The program's No. 1 goal was citizen involvement, and thousands of Oregonians helped cities, counties and the state design and implement the land-use rules.

Last fall, it was the people who surrendered.

By a stunningly wide margin, Oregonians embraced Measure 37 and jilted decades of consistent land-use planning.

Oregonians' approval of Measure 37 did more than chop local land-use ordinances into pieces. The measure stunned the nation, stalling efforts elsewhere to rein in sprawl.

Yes, I really felt like I was "surrendering" when I voted yes on Measure 37. I mean, I really wanted government to continue to tell people they couldn't use their land in the way they choose to but the folks down a Oregonians In Action just strong armed me.

The media's suprise at the "stunningly" wide margin just shows the disconnect between the media elites and the regular folks. We don't want big government telling us that we can't build a house on our property, put up a fence, or cut down a tree.

As for the opinion of the rest of the nation, it may have been other media outlets that were "stunned" by the passage of Measure 37 but it certainly wasn't the citizenry who look at Oregon like we are a bunch of hippie throwbacks.

What's YOUR middle school kid reading?

Sexual Diversity Bibliography: Middle School
Portland Public Schools

Zack’s Story: Growing Up with Same-Sex Parents.
Lerner, 1996.
Eleven-year-old Zack talks about his life with his mothers. Many color photographs show Zack at home, at school, at the Gay Pride Parade in New York City and with his dad and his dad’s other family.

Jack.
Macmillan, 1989.
The fictional account of a year and a half in Jack’s life, ending on his 16th birthday. It begins with the day Jack’s father tells him he is gay.

From the Notebooks of Melanin Sun.
Scholastic, 1995.
Melanin Sun is almost 14 when his mother tells his she is a lesbian. Melanin’s struggle to deal with his own homophobia and his friend’s reaction is intensified by the fact that his African American mother is in love with a white woman.

These are just a couple of the books available to your middle schoolers. I have no idea how graphic the content of these books are.

Again, the schools have decided that they will be the arbiters of what's right and wrong. Parents input is not needed or wanted. Your kids will be taught that homosexuality is not only ok, but something special to be admired.

Oh the irony

Sin. Bad behavior. Unhealth lifestyle choices. Behavior modification programs.

Are these words from the Fishwrapper talking about homosexuality? Abortion? Drug users? Hahahahaha. Absolutely not! These phrases are all used to describe smoking, drinking, gambling, and overeating.

Yes, the same people who are outraged that someone like me could "judge" their behavior or refer to it a sinful have looked down their noses at people who drink wine or eat fried food.

My absolute favorite quote from the "Eat, drink, be merry, Salem tells Oregonians" article is definitely this: "Sin had a fabulous session," summed up Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland.

I would agree Ginny, sin did have a fabulous session with the special rights for gays being pushed by your half of the legislature. Especially since it was being cloaked as neccessary because of Christian values. (which are NOT allowed unless liberals agree with them)

My point is this, bad behavior is relative. A drug addict thinks that stealing is fine, most of society disagrees. Therefore we have laws that say stealing is wrong. We have made a judgement on right and wrong and are regulating behavior. A homosexual thinks that gay marriage is fine, most of society disagrees. Again, we have made a judgement on right and wrong. This does not make us bigots. We simply disagree.

And don't give me the "uncostitutional" garbage about regulating behavior. If we want to regulate sodomy then we should be able to. Sodomy is NOT in the constitution. The right to bear arms is in the constitution but liberals such as Ginny Burdick would take that right away in a heartbeat if she had the power.

That Ginny burdick can come out and call people who drink wine or gamble "sinners" is laughable because she would recoil at the suggestion that homosexuals are sinners. Not only that, she would have my employer tell me that my views are wrong, teach my children that my views are wrong, and demand that my tax dollars go towards promoting behavior that I think is sinful.

Refering to gambling, drinking, smoking and eating as "bad habits" is also amusing. The media and the liberals have appointed themselves the sole arbiters of what constitutes "bad" nowadays.

Urban growth boudaries = good
Partial birth abortion = good
Homosexuality = good
Taxes = good

Cars = bad
Development = bad
Christians = bad
Guns = bad

Always keep that in mind when you are reading the Fishwrappers. They are under the impression that they are right and you are a backwards Wal-Mart shopping hick who doesn't know what's good for you.

Stopping communism upsets city government

Limits sought on forcible land sales
Oregon's top property rights group is asking voters to do what lawmakers wouldn't: limit governments' ability to forcibly buy private land.

Less than a week after the Legislature adjourned, Oregonians In Action laid the groundwork for a November 2006 ballot measure resurrecting a failed last-minute bill.

The Neighborhood Protection Act, filed on Tuesday with the state elections office, would allow governments to condemn property only if they plan to use it themselves -- not to turn it over to a private developer. Critics say the proposal could prevent important public projects.

You heard Dave Hunnicutt talk to Lars about this the other day. Now that the ballot measure has been filed the most difficult part will be collecting signatures. (No one thinks this won't pass by the voters) 75,630 signatures are needed.

I would urge all of you to make sure you are on the OIA mailing list so that they can send you petitions. Take on to your place of work or you church or just ask a few friends to sign.

This is democracy in action. Instead of letting 5 unelected judges impose communist property rules on us we can make our own laws.

Oregonians In Action website

DeLay is with the good guys

Watch DeLay Segment (courtesy ABP)

Tom DeLay at a Republican forum in Texas. He gets applause when he talks about immigration enforcement, he gets laughter when he jokes about the McCain/Kennedy plan! He has joined Tom Tancredo as an advocate for the American people.

Make sure that you make your voice heard. Take 3 minutes and use the links below to make our elected officials know how you feel.

Make sure that you have signed this petition:
Petition to the President

You can send free faxes to congress from here:
http://www.numbersusa.com/faxcenter

Contact Senator Smith

Only slightly longer lines than the DMV

Need a new ID card but don't have the proper documents? Head on down to the Mexican Consulate and pick yourself up a Matricula Consular! Great for obtaining government services, a drivers license, and voting rights.

For those of you outside Portland who have multiple DUII's and can't make the drive, the Consulate may be coming to a city near you!

SERVICE OF MOVABLE CONSULATE (Google Translation)
The Consulate of Mexico makes services of Movable Consulate during the week ends, to provide services to the Mexican communities that are in moved away zones of the consular seat.
In the services of Movable Consulate the "MERRY-go-round OF INFORMATION" participates that is integrated by several departments of the State of Oregon and Federales, that provide information in Spanish on their services.

Hat tip to Lars Larson for the great pics!

Why is it so hard to get an appointment?

You know how you want to make an appointment with your doctor for a problem that doesn't require a visit to the emergency room or urgent care but you want it taken care of ASAP? You know how sometimes it's difficult to find an appointment right away?

That might be because the state of Oregon has this recommendation:

The following are some suggestions, adapted from the Migrant Health Newsline, for practitioners who may be caring for migrant and seasonal farm worker families:

4. Consider booking 2 time slots for the first visit of a migrant/seasonal farm worker and family members. They often have transportation problems and the office visit could take longer if there is a language barrier.

That's right, illegal aliens get two time slots! Because they didn't bother learning the language or staying sober while driving it is more difficult for you, the legal resident, to make an apointment.

This was among other suggestions such as:

1. Consider attending a workshop on cultural competency to better understand the issues.

3. Ask about their living and work situations and give guidance that is within the realm of possibility for them. Ex. Be sure a patient has a refrigerator before prescribing medication that needs refrigeration, or asking them to apply ice to an injury.

The Oregon Health Division is very excited that, yes, even urban doctors have the "opportunity" to treat illegal aliens of their tuberculosis!

However, even urban practitioners will have opportunities to serve this population. Lately, migrant and seasonal farm workers are increasingly employed by labor contractors who transport them to and from the work place.

Source:
HEALTH ISSUES AMONG MIGRANT/SEASONAL FARM WORKERS

Traffic doesn't seem to get better?

Perhaps you were driving home last night, listening to Michael Savage, and when listeing to the news breaks on the half-hour you came to the realization that the traffic report is never good. Ever.

I love how we have gotten to the point where the traffic guy reports on "normal slowdowns" meaning you are going 20mph in a 55 zone. Anyway, you hear this report and this time it dawns on you. You look to your left and you see room to expand the road, you look to your right and you see room to expand the road. Then you wonder to yourself: What does ODOT do with all that money they have?

ODOT Pedestrian & Bicycle Program

Well, $4,958,679 went to "grants" for bike programs. If perhaps you are thinking that hey, it cost money to strip the bike lanes and stuff like that don't worry. This is not ODOT's budget for bikes, these are just grants they awarded various cities/counties to do something special in one location.

For instance, a "Bike Signal at E Burnside and 41st Ave" cost $147,900 to build. I'm not sure what a "bike signal" is or why it costs $150k but Portland is getting one on East Burnside and 41st.

So your stuck in your car and don't speak English you say? Never fear, your friendly state agency has printed up a Spanish Bicycle Manual for you. Yes, just think, while you are sitting in traffic wasting gas your gas tax dollars were paying state workers to translate a bike manual into Spanish.

Now I'm getting worked up

This is a retread but for those of you who have not heard these phone calls before it is definitely worth a listen to see more evidence of the "abortion culture" that I referred to in my last post.

Planned Parenthood’s Child Molester Cover Up EXPOSED!
Sexual activity with underage girls is illegal in all 50 states—yet Life Dynamics discovered that Planned Parenthood counselors are willing to cover up sexual crimes against underage girls by adult males!

LDI encouraged a team of girls to call PP clinics and pretend to have been sexually abused by adult males. In case after case, PP counselors willingly ignored state law to cover up these molestations and violations of statutory rape laws! These conversations were taped by LDI.

INDEX OF PHONE CALLS

Continuing the topic of tonight

Details of Teen's Forced Abortion in Portland, Oregon Come Forward
Portland, OR (LifeNews.com) -- Felicia Bautista was 15 years-old when she found herself pregnant and in a dispute with her boyfriend about whether to have an abortion. He said yes, she said no. Bautista took him to a local abortion business with the hope of changing his mind. Instead, she found herself the victim of a forced abortion.

Bautista won an out of court settlement against the All Women's Health Services abortion facility in January...

Over time you hear stories trickle out of these abortion clinics that should frighten anyone. And I don't believe it to be isolated incidents but a systemic problem that is a direct result of the abortion culture that says "the more abortions the better."

Planned Parenthood goes nuts!

Planned Parenthood superhero terminates Christian protesters
An online animated video sponsored by Planned Parenthood's San Francisco-area branch features a superhero character drowning an abstinence promoter in a trash can and blasting into oblivion several pro-life picketers protesting in front of one of the organization's facilities.

See the movie

Oh...my...God... when I called my wife over to watch this she thought it was a parody. It's that far out there. I'm not going to take the "I'm so offended" route but I am very disturbed that this is a cartoon. Cartoons are for children. Showing Christians as green faced zombies who get called "ugly" and told that we "dress funny" doesn't seem like a very tolerant message. That doesn't even cover the drowning and exploding done.

Now if I made a cartoon that showed what I though of PP women, that they are baby-killing sluts who kill for conveniance because they won't take responsibility for their actions, and showed them getting drowned or exploded like in this video I think that the tolerance police would have a problem.

This video is a must watch!

Strangely, no lawsuit from the ACLU

Lars talked a little about this on Friday and I meant to check it out sooner but here it goes:

Understanding Fannie Mae
The FHA Administrator chartered Fannie Mae on February 10, 1938. The impetus for creation of Fannie Mae was twofold: the national commitment to housing and the inability or unwillingness of private lenders to ensure a reliable supply of mortgage credit throughout the country.

It stipulated that Fannie Mae be exempt from all local taxes except property taxes, and provided for the Federal Reserve Banks to perform various services for Fannie Mae.

Fannie Mae would be transformed into a "government-sponsored private corporation" responsible for the self-supporting secondary market operations. The reconstituted Fannie Mae was to be stockholder-owned and managed. Fannie Mae retired the last of its government stock on September 30, 1968, and transformation to a government-sponsored private corporation was completed in 1970.

OK, we have established that Fannie Mae is a governement sponsored lender with some serious perks. Then we have this:

News Release
Fannie Mae To Invest $10 Million In Unique Islamic Home Financing Model With American Finance House LARIBA; Islamic Mortgages Recognize Qur'aan's Restrictions Against Interest Payments

The amount of the monthly payments by homeowners under the LARIBA home financing model is made to be very comparable to a conventional, market-rate, fully amortizing mortgage.

Very comparable or exactly the same? Would I have a lower mortgage payment if I was Muslim?

"Fannie Mae recognizes the growing needs of observant American Muslims who want to achieve the dream of homeownership and the unique religious sensitivities that, in the past, have kept so many from being able to own a home of their own," said Julie Gould, vice president for community lending at Fannie Mae.

At what point did our public institutions start giving preferential treatment to Muslims? Oh yeah, right after 19 of them flew planes into our buildings.

I have no problem with LARIBA or some other private financial institution (although without looking into it I am going to say that it is probably financed by Saudi Arabia) offering Muslims a financial service that caters to their religion. If Muslims want to buy a house/car/whatever without paying interest then save up for it and purchase it outright.

What I have a problem with is a tax subsidized quasi-government agency bending the rules for the religion of Islam and the double standard that no media outlets complain, no ACLU lawsuit, no Americans United for the Separation of Church and State protests. Just silence.

I mean, I understant they are very busy trying to keep an idea, intelligent design, that a majority of Americans believe in, out of our government schools but you would think they could pay a little attention to this issue as well.

Oh how the left loves socialism

The democrats always have a very thinly veiled love for socialism. They can't say it outright, but you know they are thinking it. You know that their goal is incremental steps towards government be-all and end-all. The Nation magazine (you know, the one that is always most prominently displayed at Powells bookstore) just can't hold back any longer.

Being Like Bernie
Even if he were not a socialist, and even if he were not an independent who eschews most of the trappings of contemporary partisan politics--including those of a Democratic Party he sees as dramatically too centrist, too cautious and too unfocused to counter the country's drift to the right--the enthusiasm Sanders inspires would be remarkable.

There is nothing cautious about Sanders's politics: He opposes the war in Iraq, he is an outspoken critic of the Patriot Act, he condemns corporations and he maintains a lonely faith that government really can do a lot of things--like guarantee healthcare for all--better than the private sector.
Inside sources tell me that his stance on that last issue could change before election time, it turns out he has to renew his license at the DMV soon...

...as played out on issues ranging from protecting Social Security, retirement plans and Medicare to expanding access to healthcare, lowering drug prices, raising the minimum wage, helping small businesses get started and keeping family farmers on the land.
Read: government retirement plan, government healthcare, government interfering with the free market and stifling new medical innovations, forcing employers to fire employees or send jobs overseas, subsidies, and telling land-owners that they can't develope their own land.

Democrats have essentially backed off the race; Sanders's old nemesis, former Governor Howard Dean, now the Democratic National Committee chair, says, "A victory for Bernie Sanders is a win for Democrats," while most of the party's prominent players in the state have endorsed him.
The self-identified socialist is considered a Democrat by most on the left. Let that be a lesson on where the left stands.

At least, Sanders notes, his status as the country's best-known "out" socialist means "it'll be hard to redbait me." To counter the GOP attacks that do come, Sanders expects he'll have to raise $5 million--after years in which "the most money I have ever raised in an election is $800,000 or $900,000."
As long as we are talking about ways to better spend other people's money, couldn't that $5 million go to a more worthy cause?

Vermont's a nutty state and this will be an interesting race to watch. A statewide Senate seat is very different that an House seat however. Bernie can only promise to give government hand-outs to so many people.

Campaign ad for Kulongoski's opponent

Ran across this one this old speech from our fearless leader:

Speech by Governor Kulongoski
I also want to thank your very hard working Executive Director – Chris D’Arcy. Chris – you not only fought and helped win an uphill battle to save the Oregon Arts Commission and the Oregon Cultural Trust – you started the year serving one board and finish the year serving two. That makes you Exhibit A that in Oregon we really are making government more efficient.
Yes Teddy, having one guy serve on two seperate public art boards really does show how frugal Oregon government really is.

The best kept secret of 2003 – and the accomplishment I am most proud of – is that we truly did save the arts in Oregon. The record speaks for itself. We merged the Cultural Trust into the Arts Commission – which protected both of them. We held on to the cultural tax credit. And we assured that the Oregon Arts Commission would have not just a budget – but a budget large enough to earn a matching grant from the NEA.
The accomplishment he was most proud of?!? I mean sure, he takes a lot of naps but jeez, didn't he do anything worthwhile that year?

We just unveiled a new branding campaign for Oregon – built around the line: Oregon – we love dreamers. So I ask you: How could we possibly love dreamers – but not love the arts. The answer is obvious – we can’t. And fortunately, we don’t.
This is a statement that makes perfect sense to liberals but makes no sense to the rest of us.

At a time when we were cutting the Oregon Health Plan – and schools in some districts were closing several weeks early – many people looked at the arts and saw a frill. I see something different. I see art and culture as part of the solution – not part of the problem. We need art and culture in Oregon.
We have all seen how public art has been the "solution" to the school and health care problems. Thank goodness that Teddy had the foresight to recognize this when he did.

...we’re going to hold onto our cultural history, hold onto our support for the humanities; and hold onto the arts. Not simply because we want to – but because if we are to remain a tolerant, progressive, enlightened – and economically strong community, we have to.
Avoiding the progressive and enlightened society is just one more reason to oppose public art!!

While Teddy may not even run for reelection (he does have winter hibernation to think about) we are all paying for the one-term he does have. Really, what is that piece of junk? (besides a great wasted of taxpayer dollars)

Terrorists from Potterville

Oregon terror camp suspect extradicted to U.K.
LUSAKA, Zambia -- Haroon Rashid Aswad, the militant wanted by the United States for attempting to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon, has been extradited from Zambia.

No word on whether or not Vera Katz has a job opening for Mr. Aswad. Also, Tommy Potter has indicated that unless he knows the terror suspect's shoe size, favorite tv show, and exactly how many lice are infesting his beard, then no Portland agency will offer support in his prosectution. However city agencies will still be able to offer to pay his water bill or find him some health care.

"Breaking" news

The mainsteam media, in this case FOX12, covers a story that was blogged here on July 12. NARALS "screw abstinece" party finally got a little tv coverage, but if you want your news in a timely manner just keep coming here. (no mention of this story on KPTV12 website or I would provide link)

Of course, the local news did the usual. Pan the camera on the front of the building then stick a microphone in some local idiots face so us viewers can hear the least intelligent comments possible.

In this case you had a guy who was obviously very excited over the prospect of a bunch of drunk women in a room with sex toys who are wanting to put out to make a political statement. I'm soooo glad that the feminist movement has brought women this far.

The second local idiot was a women who said that her six year old son knows about safe sex and that they "talk about sex openly" in her house.

But maybe these people are right, maybe kids should be having sex. After all, they are responsible...

Trends in Reportable Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States, 2003 - National Data on Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Syphilis
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) continue to be a major health threat in the United States. CDC estimates that 19 million STD infections occur annually, almost half of them among youth ages 15 to 24.

Err, maybe not.

Editorial page rant

Ahh, the Saturday Fishwrapper. Nothing helps my morning breakfast of eggs and toast go down better than the editorial page. Or does it make my breakfast want to come back up?

We start with the "we should hurry and save money but not too fast" editorial on the outrageous FPD&R scandal. Ooops, sorry, it doesn't qualify as a "scandal" since Republicans aren't involved. We'll just call it an "oversight."

I'm not sure what the Fishwrapper editorial board wants here except to not give voters a chance as soon as possible to scale this Cadillac plan down to the norm.

The we have the "oh woe is us for winning a war" piece. Do any of the peaceniks realize that Japan wasn't always the Honda making, Pokemon loving, technology having society that it is now? We were fighting Imperial Japan. They attacked us first! Then we won with the help of our superior weapons technology and save thousands of our soldiers lives. And yes, our soldiers lives are worth more than their lives when we are at war.

Moving over to the "Daniel is no longer printed here section" also know as the "letters to the editor," we start with another "I'm ashamed to be American" writer. If Rowdy Webb has to "look at her shoes and mutter" when telling people what country she is from then maybe she should just leave. Renounce your citizenship and move to Mexico.

Next we have the "war never solved anything" (except independence, slavery, genocide, imperialism...) letters that blame America for wars started by communists and Muslims. Dennis Kenny is an idiot.

A Certified Public Accountant has a great idea for setting public employee wages but doesn't quite grasp how the system works. I'm sure that the Union goons are inside his house right now beating some sense into him.

A little farm bashing... blah blah blah

A John Day resident responds to the "people who don't live in The Pearl and shop at Bridgeport Village are backwater hicks" article that was written by Richard Cockle. (obviously this man was teased as a child because of his name causing him to become a lifelong democrat, aka "a victim") My music player is currently playing the song "Hicktown" by Jason Aldean. Ah, the good life...

Then Mark Kirby writes a letter in opposition to preventing terrorism. Kirby makes the most absurd comparison of racial profiling Arab terrorists to auditing middle-aged white guys with six figure incomes. Uh, Mark, that's who they do audit. Tax lawyers will tell you that if you make less than $50,000 a year you are more likely to be struck by lightning than audited. This is why Clinton's IRS was suspect when Paula Jones got audited. People who make less than $50k are less likely to cheat on their taxes, people who are 21 - 34, Arab, and named Mohammed are more likely to blow themselves up. Those are facts.

Moving to the op-ed page we have another "ashamed American." Not just content to let foreigners bash our country she must write a guest column for our Fishwrapper advising Americans to pretend to be Canadian.

Let me say this, Mr. T pities the fool who tries to talk down on America to me. (foreign or not) And if Tracey Barrnett, surprise: a liberal, hates America so much then she should renounce her citizenship and adopt a new country. I hear that you can sneak into Mexico and they will give you all kinds of free social services with no questions asked, try that Tracey.

The we have the "conservative columnist" Krauthammer who starts with "It is a good idea to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research." You always know who the least conservative, least eloquent, least intelligent republicans are because the mainstream media has them writing on their op-ed pages. I will stop calling The Oregonian the "Fishwrapper" as soon as they start running Mac Johnson, Ann Coulter and Lars Larson columns.

Then we have the Saturday cartoons. Boring, boring, ah a football analogy. Since liberals have never watched football they apparently don't understand the rules. Bush scoring after the game wouldn't happen. He would have steadily advanced up the field because the Dems would have had repeated DELAY OF GAME penalties.

Steroid cartoon is funny...

Oh good, let's compare Christianity to alchemy and magic. Yes, that's nice. Don't think that I'm "offended" or a "victim" here, I just don't like the double standard. Wiccans get more respect in the Fishwrapper than Christians do.

This concludes my Fishwrapper editorial analysis.

Links:
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/
Today's Letters
EDITORIALS ARCHIVE
Guest Commentary

letters@news.oregonian.com

Protest tommorow

Don't forget that there will be a protest in Springfield because the State of Oregon is cooperating with the Mexican government in aiding and abetting illegal aliens. BROCHURE Come watch your taxpayer dollars in action!

RALLY AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Bring cameras and your "unofficial border patrol" minutemen t-shirts!

See previous post on this subject.

New Lars Larson column

Introducing a new column by radio guy Lars Larson
If you're tired of waiting for your Oregon Megabucks winning lottery number to come up, try getting the job held by the top dog in the Public Employee Retirement System sweepstakes. He only made $89,000 a year when he was working for the state (not quite 300 percent of the average wage of the taxpayers who funded his salary). But when he retired, the PERS board (in its infinite collective wisdom) decided that he was entitled to $221,000 a year for the rest of his life.

More newspapers are picking up the new Lars Larson column! This is the first time that The Springfield News is carrying it. Make sure you drop them a line to tell them thanks!
(541) 746-1671
news@springfieldnews.com

And I have to say that I like the way Lars' writing style is evolving.

Down at Charleston, they have a real squabble going over Squaw Island. It's a little spot of land in Sunset Bay. You may remember that the Oregon legislature, when it's not working hard (for a definition of "working hard," see "Kulongoski," above) on the state budget, it's doing important things like banning Foie Gras and deciding the midnight speed limits near grade schools.

I see a little Ann Coulter (the gold standard) in there. I have read Lars in the local magazine Brainstorm NW and subscribed to The Lars Report (while it was available) and his style has definitely changed. Now we just have to wait for a book...

Oregon Senate forces meth cooks to drive 15 miles

Oregon Senate Approves Major Meth-Fighting Bill
Salem, Oregon - Legislation ramping up the fight against meth on a wide range of fronts passed the Oregon Senate July 30. The bill, HB 2485, focuses on effective means to regulate precursor drugs and requires a doctor's prescription to purchase any product with Pseudoephedrine, Ephedrine, or Phenylpropanolamine.

"This horrific drug is a tragedy to the environment, a tragedy to our communities, a tragedy to the people enslaved by it, and a tragedy to the children living in meth houses," said Senator Ginny Burdick (D - Portland) chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-author of the bill.

The only thing that Ginny Burdick hates more than guns is cold pills. The cold pills are ruining this state. It's all the cold pills fault...

This is typical liberal logic that involves no accountability for people. The drug isn't the problem, the people using it are. And people aren't "enslaved" by it, they choose to smoke, snort, or shoot it into their veins. Obviously this is an addictive drug that users feel compelled to keep taking but that still doesn't negate the fact that they could choose to stop.

But many won't stop. They will do anything and everything to get their hands on this drug... inlcuding driving over a bridge to Vancouver to buy their cold pills!!! Gasp! A serious loophole in the "major meth fighting bill." Or, if the drug makers have email they could simply order from one of the many spam mails that advertise prescription drugs over the internet.

What this has accomplished is that when my kid is sick at 10:30pm I can't just go to Albertson's to pick them up a decongestant. That late at night I would have to use urgent care because the doctor's office is closed, but it probably wouldn't matter because the pharmacy is closed that late anyway.

And imagine a scenario where you have a really sick kid late at night and you do bother to go to the expense of getting a prescription from urgent care ($$$) and driving to a 24 hour pharmacy to fill it. Kids are contagious and so your other kid gets sick the following night. It is ILLEGAL for you to give him the cold pills you already have in your possession because they are a prescription drug!

Unable to act, Al-Qaeda continues to "threaten"

Al Qaeda Leader Vows More Attacks
Al Qaeda deputy leader Aymen al-Zawahiri (search) marked the four-week anniversary of the deadly blasts in London's transit system by threatening more attacks on London and against the United States.

"If you go on with the same policy of aggression against Muslims, you will see, with God's will, what will make you forget the horrible things in Vietnam and Afghanistan."

With the reference to Vietnam and Afghanistan I have a nagging suspician that al-Zawahiri (birthname: Billy) might be a former member of our mainstream media, they love to think about the glory days of Vietnam and they are certainly the only ones who think that Afghanistan wasn't the easiest military victory of all time. (Maybe Dan Rather grew a beard and put a towel on his head?)

But stuff like this makes me chuckle. It is infantile posturing. Obviously this nutjob wants to kill us. But killers who can, do. "Killers" who don't have the means or guts, simply posture and threaten.

And the reference to him as a "leader" by our news outlets is also a joke. These people are a ragtag group who have no real command structure and no real organization. The media will constantly recycle the Al-Qaeda "training" video of a group of guys with towels on their heads crossing some monkey bars in preparation for... don't touch the gravel tag. Yeah, my kids play that at school on the monkey bars too.

Really, I think that we give these guys to much credit. I'm not saying that they don't have the ability to cause great death and destruction, any idiot can do that if they have the will. What I'm saying is that we have this grandiose image of our enemy that is false.

Any time a bomb/rocket kills some civilians in Israel you see three different "groups" take credit for the act. They can't have all done it, some are lying because they want to look tough. And I don't think they want to look tough for the Israelis, they want to look tough to their own people. Kind of like the bully who is a scared little boy inside.

This al-Zawahiri has his gun sitting behind him (ooh, I'm so scared that you are going to come to my house and shoot me) and makes all these threats but I'm not buying that this is significant in any way. They wanted to kill us yesterday and they will want to kill us tommorow, I don't need a video of some guy puffing out his chest to tell me that.

They will keep being cowardly and killing civilians and waging guerilla warfare and we will continue to fight with one hand tied behind our back rather than release the full power of our military might. (Time for some shock and awe on Syria and any country that is supporting these terrorists)

New Ann Coulter column

Read My Lips: No New Liberals
The relevant question for a prospective justice, and it can be asked properly either by a president or a senator, is: "What, in your view, is the legal force of a Supreme Court opinion?" If Roberts believes that Supreme Court opinions are law of some kind, all is lost.

Now comes the news that Roberts says he respects "precedent" -- which is another way of saying: We can count on Roberts to uphold the court's previous unconstitutional findings.

More criticism of prospective Supreme Court Justice Roberts. I have to say that I share her opinion, just nominate Tony Perkins (the head of Family Research Council) and let's start arguing about the issues.

With Roberts we look at a meager helping of decisions and try to make vague guesses as to what he will do as a judge. His nomination will turn into an argument about procedural formalities (not turning over documents) that will put Republicans on the defensive in the media rather than argue about recent decisions like to communist "take your property for a wealthy developer" decision where our side has the support of the American people.

Study: Posted signs not able to prevent crime

Forbidding handguns does not keep them off campus
When I filed my lawsuit against the Oregon University System in an attempt to lift an unjust and illegal rule prohibiting the carrying of licensed concealed handguns, the response was predictable. The OUS and University of Oregon administration brought out the standard line: They were concerned about student safety. Student interviews and polls printed in the Emerald showed that the majority of students (and I’m sure faculty and staff) felt uneasy about having concealed handguns carried onto campus by lawfully licensed and competent people.

If the campus community was uneasy about handguns carried by law-abiding citizens, I can only imagine the fear that has fallen upon campus with the revelation that, yes indeed, there are already guns on campus — not being carried by licensed, responsible people.

The Daily Emerald has this guest commentary written by a student with a CWP who has tried to overturn the U of O's unlawful prohibition on carrying concealed on campus.

Clearly the school has no authority to regulate the carrying of concealed weapons as only the legislature is allowed to do that and the school is open to the public. And really, someone at the school should be armed to protect the local hippies who would probably cry at the sight of blood.

No protection for women, but no feminist outrage

Oregon Will Likely Fail to Protect Pregnant Women From Violence
Salem, OR (LifeNews.com) -- The Oregon legislature will likely fail to offer additional protection for pregnant women and their unborn children. The state House has rejected a bill that acknowledges only one victim when pregnant mothers are attacked and a two-victim bill will not get a vote in the Senate.

Protecting women comes in as a distant second to protecting the most sacred of all Democrat values: the ability to kill babies as birth control.

Illegal banking

Reading finacial and bank analysts talk about the "purchasing power" and "growth potential" of an untapped market may seem pretty boring in the same way that reading conveniance stores discuss an "untapped market" for cold pills sounds boring. That is, unless you realize that both of these examples involve illicit activity and illegal money.

The cold pills are just a comparison but several banks are gloating about there ability to "serve" the illegal alien market. Wells Fargo has this on their website:

Wells Fargo Matricula Account Openings Surpass Quarter Million Mark
“We’re proud to have been the first major financial services company in the United States to help Mexican nationals move from the risky cash economy into secure and reliable financial services – by promoting acceptance of the matricula card as a primary form of identification,” said Dick Kovacevich, Chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo. "By accepting the matricula card as a qualifying form of primary identification, Wells Fargo is providing a much-needed service to help Mexican nationals open a bank account and to succeed financially.”

Perhaps it escaped Dick's attention but Mexican nationals are not allowed to work in the United States. That means the money being desposited in his bank is illegaly earned. I would say that Wells Fargo is participating in money laundering and if I had any authority I would shut them down.

They also have a handy Money to Mexico (translated with google) page so that illegal aliens can take money out of the local economy to prop up their home country.

Bank of America has this in their FAQs section:
Can I get a loan if I'm not a U.S. citizen or if I live outside the country?
Yes. As long as the property you are buying or refinancing is in the United States.

Banking Strategies Magazine has this on their website:

Immigrant Outreach
One community bank in Vienna, Ga. has gone a step further. Flag Financial Corp., with assets of $540 million, operates two separate all-Spanish branches in the Atlanta suburbs under the name "El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad." The first branch in this group, which opened in June 2002, is already profitable, according to the bank.

Federal banking officials generally applaud these efforts, noting that alternatives to the banking system, such as check-cashing shops and informal remittance systems, can be more expensive for the immigrants. "It's good for the consumer, it's good for the economy, and it's good for banks to develop new customers," says Sandra Braunstein, senior associate director of the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board.

The banks make money, the Feds like the idea, and the illegal aliens feel more comfortable breaking the law. Everyone's happy... except 75% of American citizens who have a serious problem with the current state of illegal immigration.

I would like to give kudos to two banks who failed to return any hits on the search term "matricula" either through their internal site search or a google search of their site: Washington Mutual and Key bank. Although Washington Mutual did return some hits on the term "immigrant" with regards to "outreach" but it didn't seem to go into all the "cultural" garbage and Spanish speaking nonsense found at other banks.

Definitely the worst of the worst is Wells Fargo. Contact them HERE
General Banking Questions: 1-800-869-3557
Report Fraud: 1-866-867-5568

The "report fraud" number is especially ironic. I intend to call them tommorow to report some fraud, namely that illegal aliens are banking with them. I will post a comment or update this post with the response I get.

YES on HB 3486

Of all the worthless bills/new laws that the Fishwrapper is bemoaning about not getting a vote/hearing or passing before the end of the session I notice a very simple and important one missing: HB 3486

Sponsored by Rep Jerry Krummel, who happens to be my representative, this bill simply tells the Oregon State Police to establish a sex offender registry website. It looks like this bill is heading to the Senate floor tommorow so it's very important that you contact at least your Senator and tell them to vote YES on HB 3486.

As parents we have a duty to protect our children. A sex offender website that shows us where these predators live will help us to make informed decisions on where to live, where to let our kids play and who they must avoid.

Thanks to Rep Krummel for pushing this!

Why business goes to China

Kids' lemonade stand shut down after competitor complains
Police shut down the lemonade stand on Salem Common after the sausage man complained that the boys didn't have a permit and were taking customers away from him.

Lieutenant Scott Englehart says police had no choice but to enforce the rules. But he says it's "ridiculous that little kids can't sell lemonade."

These kids got a real life lesson on the way that government works with business. Pointless rules, constant regulations and random enforcement. This is a microcosm of the problem of government involving itself in every facet of the free market.

Why would little kids need a permit to sell lemonade? Does government want their application fee? Do they want to tax them? This is ruining America. The parents of these kids are probably trying to teach them cost/profit and general capitalist principles but government stepped in and said NO.

I for one always make a point to buy lemonade/water/cookies from the stand that the neighborhood kids put up. The kids get excited and I know they are learning something.

Reading, writing and arithmatic take back stage

educational excellence for our diverse community conference
Special thanks to our partner, NABE
National Association for Bilingual Education
Join NABE today! www.nabe.org

With speeches titled: "The Illusion of Inclusion" and "Cultural Transformation" this seems like a conference that is more about "cultural diversity" rather than teaching English language learners quickly and effectively.


A Course for Educators Working with Latino Youth
The goal of this course is to provide an introduction to Latinos in education. The Latino community is growing by leaps and bounds. Latino students possess rich cultural, linguistic and experiential resources that often go untapped. This workshop will focus on the learning styles of Latino youth, and off er hints as to how best to tap into their intellectual abilities.
I would submit that we should teach all kids the same way, regardless of their race.

Advanced Spanish for Spanish Speakers
Course conducted in Spanish using a Spanish immersion approach. Intended for staff who speak Spanish as a second language who instruct Spanish-speaking students and work with their families. This strand will develop participants’ Spanish language profi ciency. The main focus will be on the structures of formal Spanish language to improve participants’ Spanish language skills in speaking, reading and writing. Topics will include: Spanish development (reading/writing), research on eff ective classroom practices and assessment.
So using a full immersion approach is effective to teach Spanish speakers more Spanish but not to teach them English, is that it?

Important Phyllis Schlafly column

What's Behind a Phone Call From Newt Gingrich?
The message was skillfully designed to appeal to Americans who are outraged at our government's failure to protect us from the invasion of illegals. But slyly buried in the middle of Newt's message was an endorsement of a "guest worker" plan to invite even more aliens to take U.S. jobs.

The politicians and business executives, who are determined to continue bringing in foreigners to work for lower wages than Americans expect, have gotten smart. The plan to import "willing workers" from other countries is now being packaged in the language of concern about border security.

The comprehensive Cornyn-Kyl bill contains dozens of excellent and necessary proposals that should have been ordered years ago, such as eliminating the Diversity Visa Program.

But buried in the middle of this vast bill is Title V, which creates a "Nonimmigrant Temporary Worker Category." That's the euphemism for giving amnesty to some ten million illegal aliens already in the United States, plus creating "guest worker" status for them and for millions more aliens who will be invited into our country to take U.S. jobs.

I don't trust any national politician other than Tancredo and Sensenbrenner on the issue of illegal aliens. It seems that everyone else is willing to capitulate to the White House or other illegal alien apologist group.

All we can do is refuse to compromise, keep up the pressure, and send a strong message in the primaries that this single issue can be sink or swim for any candidate.

A real "heartwarming" tale

From NARAL Oregon's website we have a "personal story" submitted by anonymous.

Ten percent of Cannon Beach’s population is originally from Mexico. To many, they are invisible. However, Cannon Beach could not function without its Mexican workers...

I teach English to Spanish speakers here....

Last year, a student approached me to help him find an abortion provider for his wife...

My student and his wife took time off work the next week for the procedure. Unfortunately, they have doctored papers and is unable to become legal despite being here, working and paying taxes for 10 years. As a result, my student had to pay out of pocket without the benefits of the Oregon Health Plan...

A teacher, someone who we trust with our kids, thinks that illegal aliens with "doctored papers" need help killing their babies. Not only that but this "teacher" (English) doesn't even use proper grammar. "they have doctored papers and is unable" is incorrect stupid.

I don't know about you but I'm scared silly that one of these left-wing moonbats could be teaching my child in school. It's not just their political ideology, this woman is actively aiding and abetting known criminals. She knows that they are guilty of immigration violations, labor violations, and fraud yet thinks that her responsibility is to find them an abortion provider rather than turn them in.

Money well spent

Multnomah County has released their new budget and here are some interesting line items.

Program #25027 - African American Youth A&D Treatment
Leo Ni Leo is the only African-American culturally specific A&D adolescent program in Multnomah County. The Leo Ni Leo (“Time Is Now” in Swahili) program directly impacts the integration of the physical health, mental health, and behavioral health (addictions) needs of African-American adolescent males who have become involved with alcohol and drugs and are in danger of or have become involved with the criminal justice system.

At least 54 youth will receive Leo Ni Leo services in FY05.
Program Total: $577,564 (FY 2006)
Pretend that this program has the same "success" in '06 that it did in '05 and what you get is a cost of $10695.62 per youth (of a certain skin color only) served. What a bargain. But thankfully "Less than 20% of the youth in the program will report arrests while in treatment." The keyword there is report.

Program #40026A - Healthy Birth and Early Childhood Services (Part A)
The general fund is used to provide a broad umbrella of services for pregnant women and their children who are poor but ineligible for the Oregon Health plan. Typically these are undocumented residents, teenage mothers, or working poor who do not have sufficient insurance to cover a medically needy child.

Program Total: $8,387,952
This program is to help "undocumented residents" and teenage sluts by fullfilling the nanny state obligations envisioned by Kitzhaber. Home visits and "targeted services" (cultural competency garbage) are this programs specialty.

Program #10013 - Cultural Diversity Conference
The diversity conference continues to receive excellent evaluations. we have been tracking the same data for the past 4 years and the evaluation are positive. Evaluation data shows a consistently high degree of satisfaction with and usefulness of the conference. Over 300 employees attended the conference and 91% rated it either a good or an excellent use of their time.

Program Total: $40,000
Government employees get paid to attend a conference rather than do their work, but they rate it as an "excellent" use of their time. (and tax dollars)

Program #71006A - Human Resources - Diversity, Equity and Affirmative Action
This program contributes to strengthening County workforce competencies and the environment needed to achieve quality results by developing staff competencies related to diversity and inclusion. It develops, markets, and monitors policies, programs and avenues that help create a culturally safe environment where safe communication can occur.

Program Total: $412,471
What can I say? Multnomah County is more worried about a "culturally safe" working environment than they are about safe streets that aren't filled with meth junkies.

Program #71006D - Diversity-Cultural Competency
The position requested is an existing position that has been temporarily assigned to this project from another department. That arrangement is no longer feasible. To enable implementation of the policy framework to proceed, this position needs to be moved permanently into the diversity office. In addition, funding is required to conduct organizational assessments and 360 degree evaluations to be able to respond quickly and effectively to the current climate and situations.

Program Total: $145,195
More garbage.

Program #25026 - A&D Acupuncture
Acupuncture services were delivered to approximately 700 clients in outpatient treatment and more than 500 clients in detoxification last year and this year's results should be similar.

Program Total: $89,481
For those of you who thought that the best way to stop using drugs was to just quit, you obviously don't have the wisdon of the Multnomah County acupuncture program. Next up: aromatherapy.

This is not a comprehensive list but just a few of the programs that I would gladly exchange for an increase in jail funding.

Oregon government is never boring

If only we were allowed to cut as many boards from timber...

The following are state agency boards:
Board of Accountancy
Appraiser Certification and Licensure Board
Board of Architect Examiners
Athletic Trainers, Board of
Board of Higher Education
Chiropractic Examiners Board
Clinical Social Workers Board
Construction Contractors Board
Cosmetology, Board of
Counselors And Therapists, Board Of Licensed Professional
Dentistry, Oregon Board Of
Denture Technology, Board of
Emergency Board
Employment Relations Board
Engineering And Land Surveying, Board Of Examiners For
Environmental Health Registration Board
Geologist Examiners, State Board of
Insurance Pool Governing Board
Investigators Board
Landscape Architect Board
Landscape Contractors Board
Land Use Board of Appeals
Marine Board
Massage Therapists, Board Of
Medical Examiners Board
Midwifery, Board Of Direct Entry
Mortuary And Cemetery Board
Nursing Board
Optometry, Board Of
Oregon Medical Insurance Pool Board
Parole/Post Prison Supv Board
Physical Therapist Licensing Board
Psychiatric Security Review Board
Psychologists Examiners Board
Public Employees Benefit Board
Respiratory Therapist Licensing Board
Tax Practitioners Board
Watershed Enhancement Board
Workers' Compensation Board

Can you imagine what life would be like without the Board of Architect Examiners? (est. 1918) Who would enforce the pointless regulations regarding building design?

And without a Landscape Architect board how would the state be able to charge these fees:
Application fee: $50.00 (required to sit for each exam):
Application fee for reciprocity: $100.00
Examination fee for Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE); set by CLARB; section C & section E are $235.00 each for the June 2005 administration of the examination.
Initial registration for Landscape Architect registration: $225.00
Initial registration for Landscape Architect in Training registration: $50.00
Initial certification as an Authorized Business Entity in Landscape Architecture: $225.00
Annual renewal for Landscape Architect: $225.00
Renewal fee for an Authorized Landscape Architecture Business: $225.00 every other year
Duplicate certificate: $50.00
Late renewal fee: $100.00

All that just so you can hire some illegal aliens to rake barkdust.

As far as I'm concerned the state should not be using a single dollar of tax money to buy doughnuts for these board meetings. Do we really need all this largesse? Is this yet another example of the over-regulation and fees that our state imposes on bussiness/people/anything that moves? Are there any boards that actual citizens care about or are these just places to appoint so-and-so's cousin?

New Mac Johnson column

What Would It Cost to Deport Illegal Aliens?
Imagine that you came home tomorrow and found a stranger living in your home. Would you pay $148 to have him removed, or would you instead just legally adopt him and give him the run of the place to save the $148? The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C., thinks the “practical” thing to do would be adopt the “undocumented family member” that broke into your home.

Mac Johnson looks at the numbers... and comes to the conclusion that the USA would not only save money deporting illegal aliens, we could also make a profit.

I am all for confiscating their ill-gotten gains.

Mac Johnson homepage

Looking out for the working man

AFL-CIO Calls to Legalize Workers
The United States' largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO, brought to a close its 25th annual convention with a call to legalize undocumented workers and a condemnation of the free trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic known as the CAFTA-DR.

"Undocumented workers and their families should get the opportunity to secure legal status through a new legalization program," says a resolution endorsed by the assembly.

The main organization as well as a dissident coalition formed at the Chicago convention decided to focus attention and funds on recruiting Latino workers, especially women.

Notice to all union workers: You have been sold out! The people that you pay dues to, the ones that are supposed to "protect" your job, have endorsed letting non-citizens take your job.

The union is for people who have broken the law by working here and taken a job that an American citizen could have.

Looks like they put politics before their working members.