June 2009
50 posts
George W. Bush appointees buck Barack Obama on... →
President Barack Obama’s claims of broad executive authority to carry out the war on terror are drawing fire from an unexpected source: federal judges nominated by President George W. Bush, who asserted the sweeping powers in the first place.
Oregon House oks industrial hemp →
Labor Chief Deplores Defacing of Gay Pride Posters →
To Voters, the Affair Isn't the Real Sin →
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PLAN TO HELP HOMEOWNERS IS A... →
Can someone in the Obama administration point to a single homeowner who has received a mortgage modification and a reduced monthly payment after their income dropped? The New York Times exposes this ineffective program and the horrific oversight by the Obama administration.
As he was as a runner, Salazar is leading the pack... →
“We’re witnessing a rebirth of American distance running. Its epicenter is Portland. Its beating heart is Salazar’s.”
After Jackson, Fame May Never Be the Same →
Fame on the level that Mr. Jackson achieved is all but impossible for pop culture heroes today, and quite likely it will never be possible again.
“Well just another politician with a conservative mind and a liberal penis.”
– Jon Stewart commenting on Republican Governor Mark Sanford’s infidelity.
Jackson Estate Has Piles of Assets but Loads of... →
Mr. Jackson’s business life, like his public life, was a perplexing mass of contradictions. Unlike many performers, he was a keen negotiator and shrewd investor — in 1985 he pulled off one of the great deals in music business history when he bought the publishing rights to the Beatles catalog… But his personal finances, at least in recent years, were perpetually in tatters, as he burned...
House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate... →
The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change.
Amy Yoder Begley resets her goals after achieving... →
Update: The Portland, OR resident won the 10,000 meters in record time at the USA Track & Field Championship on Thursday.
Something for Nothing (David Brooks - NY Times) →
“Now you might think that in these circumstances someone might take a second look at the ideas incorporated in the Wyden-Bennett [Health Care] plan… If you did think that, you are mistaking the Senate for a rational organism. For while there are brewing efforts to incorporate a few Wyden-Bennett ideas, there is stiff resistance to the aspects that fundamentally change...
DeFazio's Transpo bill - coming soon or not? →
WatchDon’t know how I missed this… Blind Pilot on NBC’s “Last Call With Carson Daily” earlier this year. A great band from Portland, Oregon.
Stone Age Flutes Are Window Into Early Music →
Humans were jamming 35,000 year ago!
Bank robber hops on bus, but driver foils getaway →
Oregon DEQ Tries To Skirt Public Comment... →
“Documents seem to indicate agency staff was ‘trying to avoid public process.’ He [the Director] said the agency will conduct an investigation…”
Oregon Senate Passes Online Voter Registration →
Nice work State Reps. Jefferson Smith and Ben Cannon. Good friends and smart gents.
White House to Abandon Spy-Satellite Program →
What do you call a lawmaker, anyway? →
Reich: Obama "Over-Learned" From Clinton Health... →
Treasury's reform plan gives the credit raters a... →
Dell vs. Apple: Battle for Green Computer Crown... →
The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus… concluded that Apple can legitimately market its latest generation of MacBooks as being greener than some product lines from a given competitor… but that “world’s greenest” has “potential for overstatement.”
Will calls right-wing attacks on Obama’s Iran... →
Since turmoil broke out in Iran over the country’s disputed elections last week, conservatives have been forcefully criticizing President Obama for not doing enough to intervene on the side of those protesting. Their criticism comes despite numerous expert opinions — even from Iranian human rights activists — that the U.S. should not meddle in the situation.
A Detroit Hybrid That Hums →
The Cost Conundrum (New Yorker) →
The definitive article on why health care costs are rising.
No doubt about it, Galen Rupp is the best since... →
Less than a year ago, critics still smugly wondered whether Galen Rupp ever would win an NCAA title. He was written off then as only good enough to finish second, more pretender than contender, Alberto Salazar’s failed experiment.
City requires Facebook passwords from job... →
City has no space for food waste →
Popular composting program puts city in a bind for space.
Republicans Unveil Health Plan but Are Thin on... →
House Republicans presented a four-page outline of their health care reform plan Wednesday but said they didn’t know yet how much it would cost, how they would pay for it and how many of the nearly 50 million Americans without insurance would be covered by it.
Clinton consults predecessors on troubled world →
A spokeswoman for [Madeleine] Albright says all but one living former secretary of state attended the event to honor Clinton: Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, James Baker, Lawrence Eagleburger, Warren Christopher, Albright, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.
Obama to Extend Benefits to Gay Workers →
The move would give partners of federal employees access to health care and financial benefits such as relocation fees for moves.
Extent of E-Mail Surveillance Renews Concerns in... →
The National Security Agency is facing renewed scrutiny over the extent of its domestic surveillance program, with critics in Congress saying its recent intercepts of the private telephone calls and e-mail messages of Americans are broader than previously acknowledged, current and former officials said.
WatchConan canoes the LA River. Disgusting.
The great Oregon vote-swapping scandal →
“What Mr. Smith did so differently was to insist on a public record of his deal.”
Boy Hit by Meteorite →
Galen Rupp wins first outdoor NCAA title in 10,000... →
Miss California Finally Gets Sacked →
American Medical Association Trying To Torpedo... →
Picasso book of sketches stolen from Paris museum →
Health Care Spending Disparities Stir a Fight (NY... →
As part of the larger effort to overhaul health care, lawmakers are trying to address the problem that intrigues Mr. Obama so much — the huge geographic variations in Medicare spending per beneficiary. Two decades of research suggests that the higher spending does not produce better results for patients but may be evidence of inefficiency.
“I am a citizen of the United States because only in the United States does...”
– Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, June 5, 2009 at the “Rediscovering God in America” lecture. Is this the same Gingrich who asked his first wife for a divorce while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer? Or the same Gingrich that admitted having an affair during...
Obama to Forge a Greater Role on Health Care →
SanDisk CEO concedes that Apple's iPod has won the... →
WatchIn the limo with President Obama.
Promised Help Is Elusive for Some Homeowners →
Bill banning puppy mills clears Oregon Legislature →
“They’re cute, they’re cuddly, they’re playful, and no one wants to think about where they come from,” said Sen. Diane Rosenbaum, D-Portland.
A Primer on the G.M. Bankruptcy →