Teabaggers trying to bag Sen. Jeff Merkley

Judging by a story in the local daily newspaper, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., should have few problems getting reelected to a second term this year.

Five mainstream Republicans are vying for Merkley's seat and they revealed that they are out of touch with reality.

How so?

Well, Jo Rae Perkins, a former Linn County Republican County chairwoman, compared the Common Core educational curriculum standards to communism. "This is what we saw happen under Mao. This is what we saw happen with Stalin. We've got to stop this."

That seems a tad "off message."

The bogeyman is no longer a communist, he's an Islamist, according to Republican orthodoxy.

And, to these folks, President Obama is an Islamist and he must be stopped. In fact, a Republican hopeful in Florida called for Obama's execution.


But, that's the Sunshine State, a far cry from the Beaver State.

Here, we have the catastrophe of the Cover Oregon health insurance website, the worst in the nation.

Naturally, the Merkley challengers jumped all over "Obamacare."

But, just as there is anecdotal evidence that the Affordable Care Act is one big headache, there is also anecdotal evidence that, hey, it's pretty good.

In fact, I've heard from some folks, who've actually called Cover Oregon on the phone, that it's a far better experience than they've heard about in the press.

Typically, the GOP senatorial candidates railed against federal regulations on anything in Oregon.

Thankfully, we have common sense leaders in this state, unlike in West Virginia, Texas and Florida to name just a few, that believe oversight of chemical companies, clear-cutters and air polluters is in the best interest of the state's residents.

And, social issues such as opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage are bedrock conservative principles. Nevermind, that these positions are out of step with the majority of Americans.

That's not what matters to teabaggers. What matters is standing up for principles that the majority of Oregonians do not share.

In other words, the GOP candidates embrace defeat at the polls.

Thank god.

2014 a far cry from 1964

The Fab Four that threatened America. Wow.

As we get ready to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' historic appearance on the Ed Sullivan show along with the British musical invasion, it's worth noting that life is a lot better for most Americans today, but dreadful for many.

Racially, we are better off. It helps having an African-American president elected not once, but twice.

The jobless rate remains high as more workers quit looking for work. An estimated 40 percent of the workforce has opted out even looking for work.

No surprise since we are enduring at least the fourth jobless recovery in the past 25 years.

Compare that with 1964, a Leap Year when the jobless rate would be at its highest that decade, at 5.2 percent, before falling to its last historic low of 3.5 percent in 1969. We will likely never see jobless numbers so low again.

Back in the Sixties, Americans made most of the products they consumed, even the toy bobble-head dolls of The Beatles. In 2014, most American flags are made in China, along with almost everything else we consume.

Yes, the government learned then, as it did during the two world wars, that foreign conflicts are good for the economy.

But, the war then was in Vietnam, which set the standard for abject failure for America.

Today, we have Afghanistan, another never-ending conflict that won't end well for the U.S., much like our invasion of Iraq. And yet, the economy cratered to Depression-era depths in spite of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Unlike Vietnam, which never attacked America or was ever a threat to this country, Afghanistan did harbor the folks who hijacked our planes on 9/11 and killed nearly 3,000 innocent people. Iraq, of course, is considered the greatest foreign policy blunder in American history.

In 1964, we were still fighting the Cold War with the Soviets. And, unlike today, we had the draft.

In 2014, the Soviet Union hasn't existed for more than 20 years, yet we're fighting a hot war with Islamic terrorists. Ironic that an atheistic foe gave way to a rabidly religious adversary.

And, we thought in 1964, that atheism was the greatest threat ever to this country.

We had a presidential election in 1964, unlike this year. Republican nominee Barry Goldwater, who inspired the modern conservative movement, proposed in his platform that Social Security be voluntary. This was nearly 30 years after it became the law of the land. It's safe to say that "Obamacare" will still be contested until at least 2044. By the way, Goldwater, due to his extremist rhetoric in regards to the Communist "threat," not to mention his vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, suffered the worst defeat by a Republican in the past 50 years.

1964 was also an Olympic year for the Summer games in Tokyo, a country trying to rebound from its horrific crimes of World War II. Innsbruck, Austria, hosted the Winter Games.

In 2014, we have the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, which, if regional terrorists succeed, could be the beginning of World War III between western Christian countries and mid-eastern Muslim nations.

As a recent PBS documentary noted, the Sixties, a decade that was the best and worst of times, really began in 1964. We had the space race on one end of the spectrum and race riots on the other. We had widespread prosperity along with a "war on poverty."

Of course, the assassination of JFK in late 1963 was the prelude to all the angst that the decade would entail.

Cassius Clay, the original trash talker in sports, became the undisputed champion of boxing in 1964. He promptly denounced his "slave name" and became Muhammad Ali. That action may seem tame by today's standards, but Ali represented a serious threat to the white status quo. There was Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Ali. Wasn't that a time.

The Beatles look innocuous, by today standards. Their mop-tops, though, upended an American culture that featured only white boys with crew-cuts. Long hair became the symbol of rebellion.

Therefore, the Fab Four were deemed a threat to the American way of life.

The Beatles' songs, though, are still the standard by which all pop music is measured in 2014.

We are far better off as a culture because of The Beatles.

Let it be.

Warmest January on record?

And food doesn't grow where water doesn't flow

With high temperatures in the 50s this week and the same forecast for next week, along with clear and sunny skies, January is shaping up to be Central Oregon's warmest such month in history.

Of course, our history only goes back about 100 years. Still, this should be the warmest and driest January since at least 1976.

This is not good news for Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort which already was reeling from a non-existent holiday ski season all the way back to Thanksgiving.

Cities in the region, along with ODOT, though, are saving on snow-removal costs.

My aching back is grateful that I haven't had to shovel the full driveway in 2014.

Unlike California, which formally declared a drought today, Oregon doesn't need to worry so much about water, yet.

The aquifer under Central Oregon is so large it has yet to be fully quantified.

But, if we can be the Saudi Arabia of water to California's thirsty citizens, I'd welcome the fiscal windfall.

Let's see, would $100 a barrel be too much for Cascade cool-ade?

As they're learning in the Great Plains, water is the dominant issue in the west so far this millennium.

The southwest, particularly, is poorly prepared to deal with this looming catastrophe.

Of course, as the climate change naysayers say, this is all part of the normal weather cycle of the planet.

Humans, even though they've expanded in numbers from 1 billion 160 years ago to more than 7 billion today, have had absolutely no effect on the climate of the world, the global warming critics claim.

Okay.

Those in California, Arizona and Nevada that like to dismiss all those who live in the Northwest as rain masochists, well, your pain is just beginning.

You have our sympathy.

But not much else.

OSU-Pumice Pit sinks deeper

New signage for OSU-Pumice Pit

Now that the first report is out that says the land for the future OSU branch campus in Bend is likely unsuitable for erecting university-type buildings, the OSU brain trust sees this as proof to build the school on a former pumice pit.

Well, they've already paid $12 million for the land that no one else would buy at any price.

OSU-Pumice Pit is almost a certainty.

But, the hope of welcoming its first class by 2015 at the westside campus is a bit premature.

They'll be busy repairing any buildings by then.

In fact, OSU-Pumice Pit could be an ongoing engineering experiment to show how constructing classrooms on unstable land leads to unusable buildings.

The problem is that they've only budgeted about $8 million to prep the site for buildings when it will need that and more on a yearly basis.

Taxpayers statewide are now saddled with a project that was designed to enrich a handful of landowners while providing construction jobs in perpetuity for a handful of construction companies.

It's a sweet gig for the powers that be in Bend.

In fact, these powers should teach a course at OSU-Pumice Pit titled "How to rip off the government and be considered pillars of the community."

Of course, these same folks will also demand a course be taught on how pension plans of public employees are destroying our economy and depleting our public coffers.

Since most citizens in Bend do not want OSU to build on a pumice pit, the fledgling school will have a tough time reaching out to the broader community for continuing economic support.

Afterall, if those that sold the pumice pit to OSU really cared about  higher education in Bend, they would have donated the land.

But, they didn't because that is no longer the American way.

The mantra now is: Ask not what you can do for your government, ask how your government can take money from the many to give to the few.

That's something you don't need a university education to grasp.

Yo, Pope Frankie

Is this the face that launched a thousand quips?

Pope Francis, consistent with his breakout name, knows how to push the right buttons in the American culture wars.

Essentially, he said that the Catholic Church is "obsessed" with abortion, gay marriage and contraception to the exclusion of other critical issues including the poor and the marginalized.

Gee, ya think?

He refuses to condemn homosexuals, claiming, who is he to judge them.

He also may not be opposed to priests being married.

Atheists, he said, could make their way to heaven.

Wow.

And, he's just getting warmed up.

The new pope chastised capitalism for its "idol called money."

Of course, this brought the wrath of Rush Limbaugh who called the pope a Marxist.

Showing his wit, the pontiff responded that while he was no Marxist nor care for its ideology, he did say, "I have known many Marxists who are good people."

So far, the Pontiff Frank, if I can be so bold, is a breath of fresh air.

No wonder Time magazine named him the Person of the Year.

 He is down to earth in a most refreshing way.

So far, he gets it.

What he gets is that the Catholic Church's membership is declining, particularly in the Catholic strongholds of Central and South America.

If the Catholic Church is fading there, it must be fading everywhere.

In the developed worlds of Europe and North America, the Catholic Church no longer holds the center of modern life.

It's hard to attract new members or retain current Catholics when the church practices a policy of exclusion rather than inclusion.

Pope Frankie understands simple math.

One of the claims of modern Catholicism is that it never changes. The times change to meet with it.

Well, that is completely bogus.

It's changed plenty over the past 2,000 years.

Which brings us to the modern conundrums that the pope referenced.

Instead of focusing on American political wedge issues, the pope is reaffirming the church's position on human rights, both male and female.

When the Catholic Church helps those who are disenfranchised within their own countries, no matter where, then the church comes closer to fulfilling its true mission.

As God (and Jesus) intended.

This is no golden age for journalism

It seems odd for an editor of the local daily newspaper to ruminate about the golden age of "muckraking" journalism from 100 years ago and then demonstrate, in a single column, how far newspapers have fallen from those progressive days.

But, that's we got Sunday as the editor grumbled about public sector unions and their ties to the Democratic Party.

Nevermind that about 11 percent of the American workforce is unionized today. Or, that unions, at their height of "power" in the mid-1950s, represented just 36 percent of the workforce.

Obviously, by sheer percentage numbers alone, unions never had monopolistic powers attributed to them and whatever clout they had is diminishing year by year.

And yet, this editor claims that unions are solely responsible for the desolation that is Detroit today.

And that this devastation will spread across the country because of unions and Democrats.

Really?

For more enlightenment on Detroit's demise, check out this concise piece in the National Journal.

The upper midwest is called the "rust belt" for a reason. The world has passed it by.

The same could be said for today's media.

What gave rise to the muckraking journalists was the desire to expose corrupt government machine politics such as Tammany Hall, and reveal the devastating effect that corporate monopolies were having on the economy.

Ida Tarbell, through her investigative pieces in McClure's Magazine, took on the greatest capitalist of all time in this country. As one writer described it, Tarbell "brought down the world's greatest tycoon and broke up the Standard Oil monopoly."

For a defense of unions, read up on the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York. The owners of the factory were not convicted of any wrongdoing in the deaths of 146 garment workers because there were no laws protecting these workers.

Flash forward to 2013 and the horrific collapse of garment factory building in Bangladesh where more than 1,000 perished. Corporations went to Bangladesh for cheaper labor and because there is little government oversight in such things as building safety. Was it good that these workers had no union to look out for their interests?

Of course, few Americans care about anything outside our borders.

So back to our problems.

As income disparity reaches levels experienced 100 years ago, the rich are engaging in "class warfare," pitting the lower and middle classes against each other.

The greatest achievement of corporations, and their supplicants in the press, is to convince millions of Americans that their diminishing incomes can be attributed to the middle class union worker next door and not to the millionaire executives taking an ever-expanding slice of the economic pie.

Here's a crucial section of that short article: 

"In May 2012, researchers from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) took a stab at calculating the overall CEO-to-worker compensation ratio with the information already available. Here’s what they found: In 2011, the average CEO’s compensation was equal to 209.4 times that of the average worker, at least when stock options were included in compensation. That was up substantially from the 18.3-to-1 ratio found in 1965, but barely half of the 411.3-to-1 found in 2000.

Nonetheless, the institute found that CEO pay had grown 725% between 1978 and 2011, while worker compensation had only increased by 5.7%. That stratospheric growth in CEO pay has correlated with an overall explosion in income inequality; whereas the top 10% of income earners in the United States controlled only about one-third of all income throughout the 1970s, they now lay claim to over half, according to a report from economist Emmanuel Saez."

Or, check out this link about how many months a typical employee must work to earn what the CEO of  his or her corporation makes in a single hour.

President Obama and Pope Francis have drawn attention to this financial imbalance that threatens the future of billions on this planet.

Unions are hardly the reason for this worldwide problem.

Republicans, except for Teddy Roosevelt, have long sided with corporations as they illegally crush competition, evade most taxes and send American jobs overseas. For decades, Republicans have extended the middle finger to the working class in this country. Bend's daily newspaper editor merely flipped off a good chunk of his readership with both hands.

By the way, I've never belonged to a union or worked in the public sector.

In praise of Nelson Mandela

He fought the power and won

As a white-bred American, I knew little of the world and the problems that existed outside our borders or even within our borders.

But then, after a bit or reading and watching the news, I picked up a few things.

I remember the time in the 1980s when the economic boycott against South Africa was the topic of the day.

I supported whatever boycotts the world deemed appropriate against the racist government of South Africa.

Naturally, many white Americans, including President Reagan and the editor of the local daily newspaper, railed against these sanctions as counter-productive.

But, guess what? The boycotts were so effective that they ushered in the end of apartheid in South Africa.

So much for the thinking of old white men in America.

They were totally wrong. And, I'm being kind here.

The hero of all this was Nelson Mandela.

Reagan and his acolytes dismissed Mandela as a terrorist because he fought for freedom for black South Africans.

Well, Reagan was a racist as were all those who opposed the economic boycott of the racist South African government.

Mandela, who became South Africa's first real president after serving 27 years in prison, had more credibility, heart and soul, than any of his predecessors or any pro-apartheid American, including Reagan.

Mandela was one of the great figures the world has ever known.

He was for reconciliation before anyone knew what the process meant.

Mandela, the founding father of the modern South Africa, proved to be an inspiration to not only South Africans, but also to freedom-loving people everywhere.

He was one of the greatest men who ever lived.

He is missed already.