Direct anger at Wall Street, upper class

With unemployment at about 10 percent nationally, 15 percent here in Deschutes County, with foreclosures continuing at record levels despite the banks' inability to even read the paperwork and with the recovery looking more like recession 2.0, Wall Street firms will bestow a record $144 billion in bonuses on their employees.

Where is this money coming from?

This is one of the great conundrums of our time.

With teabaggers railing against government at all levels and with corporate media slamming government workers for their health and retirement benefits, the people most responsible for our economic collapse are laughing all the way to the bank, most likely a bank in Switzerland.

During these brutal economic times, corporate media focuses on the lower elements of our economy. We hear plenty of stories about how awful public education is in America and that this is due solely to the fact that most teachers belong to unions.

Really?

Instead of focusing attention on the rats on Wall Street, the corporate media picks on the 12 percent of Americans who belong to unions.

What about the other 88 percent of Americans who do not belong to unions?

Corporate media also tries to point out that the Supreme Court's ruling on election donations results in equal donations between unions and corporations.

That is false.

Currently, corporations are outspending unions 7 to 1.

What the media does so successfully is not point out these inequities, but to distort reality.

The media gets the middle class to fight with others in the middle class and also with those in the lower classes.

Meanwhile, the upper class is rewarding itself with $144 billion of money stolen form the middle and lower classes.

The upper class turns around and donates money to causes to further crush the middle and lower classes.

If teabaggers had any brains, they would be targeting Wall Streeters and their obscene bonuses rather than the government or unions.

But, the middle and lower classes are middle and lower classes precisely because they can't see that the upper class gets them to fight among themselves for the scraps they leave behind.

What the middle and lower classes should be doing, take note teabaggers, is divert their anger towards Wall Street and the upper class.

If they did, they wouldn't care if terrorists attacked lower Manhattan again.

In fact, they would be grateful.

Ballots arrive this weekend; Kitzhaber leading?

A poll out this week shows John Kitzhaber with a 2-point lead over his Republican gubernatorial rival Chris Dudley.

The other good news is that the poll was from Rasmussen, which skews towards Republicans.

Also a report out this week shows that polls, in general, favor Republicans because those without land phone lines are not heard from.

And, the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is no longer certain of a Republican takeover of the house.

All goods news to be sure, but Nov. 2 is still a daunting date for rational Americans to reject the teabagging wing of the Republican Party.

For Oregonians, though, our election starts this weekend when ballots arrive in the mailbox.

Naturally, most voters now wait until the end of the two-week voting period to get their ballots in.

So, as they say, voter early and often.

Last weekend in the mail, we got a 108-page booklet filled with the usual candidate profiles, arguments for and against seven statewide measures and not much insight.

That is how it is with democracy, we leave it all up to television ads to inform us about candidates and measures. Which means, of course, we know little about what we're voting on.

Yes, we are hip in Oregon, though, because we have a medical marijuana measure on the ballot. It could pass, if stoners vote. On one hand, it makes sense to legalize marijuana because the prohibition of it has failed as badly as it did for alcohol. Then again, do we need more "impaired" drivers? Do the problems of prohibition outweigh the problems of legalization? The answer could be "yes."

The big news for Oregon, though, is that the governor's office could house a Republican for the first time in a quarter-century. (The letter "R" behind a candidate's name in a statewide election stands for "Rejected.")

The reason is that Republicans in this state decided to nominate a nobody or "stealth" candidate to steal the election from the unsuspecting, but riled electorate.

Ex-NBA backup player Dudley has got a fortune to spend on TV advertising and he's doing it with largely effective hits on his opponent Kitzhaber, our former Democratic governor.

What could help Kitzhaber is that two other candidates in the voters' pamphlet represent the right-wing fringe in the Constitution and Libertarian parties. In this "Tea Party" era, many voters appear to align with the sentiments that these right-wing kooks espouse. These candidates could pull enough votes from Dudley to hand Kitzhaber a third term. I hope that is the case, because Dudley sure sounds like a dumb jock whenever he gives an unscripted answer.

The local daily paper is filled with rambling, incoherent "screeds" against Democrats, in general, and against Sen. Ron Wyden, in particular.

Wyden is one of the best senators this state has ever produced and he should win easily over Republican/Libertarian Jim Huffman, another neophyte like Dudley, who doesn't know his politics from a hole in the ground.

That can't be said for Chris Telfer, a former city councilor and now state senator, who is running for state treasurer. Telfer, though, smells like a RINO (Republican in Name Only) to the diehards, mainly because she is a former Democrat, who couldn't possibly agree with the extreme positions the GOP takes on social issues.

Telfer is your typical politician. She served on the city council and made decisions that benefited her property holdings in downtown Bend. Telfer wants to outsource government services to the private sector, which means she ultimately favors shipping these American jobs overseas. Telfer is bitterly hostile to anyone who may disagree with her and that makes her unfit for higher political office. She's already risen to her level of incompetence.

Deschutes County is reliably Republican, but Bend is slightly more blue than red, in terms of registration. Independents, those who lack much passion for politics, make up a third of our voters and will decide the House District 54 race.

Democrat Judy Stiegler won the seat in 2008 when the Obama tide swept through Bend. She was the first Democrat elected from these parts in two decades.

She's likely to lose her seat this time, though, because Republicans have again downplayed the extreme social positions of her GOP opponent Jason Conger, who has attracted the sizable Christian fundamentalist faction in Bend.

What could save Stiegler, whose husband lost his DA job in May, is that former city councilor/Realtor Mike Kozak is running as an Independent, with a capital "I."

Kozak could siphon votes away from Conger, but he's also likely to pull critical votes from Stiegler, who supported the statewide vote to raise taxes on the rich, which irked her rich Democratic base on the west side.

Still, Conger has less ties to Bend than Stiegler does and she has much more practical experience in legislating than he does. Here's hoping that Conger and Kozak split the misogynist vote and hand the victory to Stiegler.

Another state House Seat, the 53rd District, pits one of the more useless officeholders we've had over here, Republican Gene Whisnant, against an unknown named John Huddle, representing the Democratic and Independent parties. Whisnant should win easily, which is sad because he doesn't do anything but take up space better occupied by someone willing to put in the time to legislate. Whisnant whines about all the time he devotes to being a state representative and it's a plaint that falls on deaf ears during these high-unemployment times.

Finally, the Deschutes County supervisor's race pit a 25-year-old Democrat against a businessman from La Pine, the south county's teabagging turf.

Should Dallas Brown win, it would be a major shock in these parts because the letter "D" after your name in county-wide races stands for "Defeated."

The media and polls suggest a wipeout for the Democrats in November. Let's hope that Democrats wake up and prevent the complete corporate takeover of government.

Republicans run on a platform of less government as if this results in more private sector employment. It doesn't. GOP candidates run for government office by being against government.

If they don't like government, then don't run.

Bend ends Reed Market Road fixes

Bend also scuttles all road improvements to the Murphy Road corridor.

In fact, the city has decided to forego all desperately needed road improvements so that all available money goes into Juniper Ridge.

The daily paper reports that the city and the state have reached an agreement on traffic problems at Cooley Road and Highway 97 that allows the city to continue developing its Juniper Ridge business park on Bend's north end.

The city, though, must cough up $30 million in phases and the city is $17 million in debt.

Do the math.

Also, the city continues to deplete its coffers while giving fee breaks to builders and developers. Better get out the calculator to total up the debts.

Of course, Bend had no intention of ever fixing Reed Market. They just held focus group meetings to come up with plans that will always remain mere plans. The city sends hapless engineers to neighborhood association meetings to explain the plans knowing full well there is no money to ever improve the roadway.

Same thing for Murphy Road. All talk, no action.

The city's solutions to these road crises is to approve more development in these areas.

Not much of a solution.

In fact, as the city sinks more money into Juniper Ridge it is making the rest of Bend less livable.

Bend tries to attract businesses by touting its livability. Well, city officials are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. (Actually, it's the park district that's gassing geese, but that's another story.)

The only saving grace to all of this is that the housing slump will continue here for quite some time. Also, businesses won't be moving to Juniper Ridge, but rather to China or India.

Meanwhile, drivers on Reed Market have to dodge potholes all along the route.

The city can't even patch potholes, meaning that it can't do much of anything for its citizens.

Oregon - where most schools are above average

Oregon released its report card on the state of public education across the state, and true to form, the more affluent the area, the better the schools did.

Conversely, the poorer areas in the state were below average. In Central Oregon, that meant schools in Madras, which has a large Hispanic population, and Warm Springs, which is an Indian reservation, failed to make the grade.

I think what results like this show is that schools reflect their communities.

Why is it always the school's fault if the community is faltering?

Because they have union teachers and, well, we all know what that means.

Actually, it means nothing.

Communities that have many low-income, single-parent households will always struggle in a variety of ways, including at their public schools.

Before education reform in Oregon got hot and heavy about 15 years ago, this state always ranked No. 1 in the country for highest average SAT score. After the legislature eliminated tenure and tiered the retirement system for new teachers, Oregon hasn't been No. 1 on the SAT, but rather No. 2 behind Washington state, or No. 3 behind Vermont.

There probably isn't any correlation between the two, but public schools in Oregon aren't failing their students or their communities.

In fact, it is communities that are failing their public schools.

During this Great Recession, as instructional days get cut, as teachers get laid off and as programs get slashed, it is amazing how well the schools are doing.

Also, enrollments at University of Oregon, Oregon State and at community colleges are at record highs. Yes, higher ed is a safe haven when there are no jobs around, but still this is a positive sign for education in the state.

The hand-wringers and union-bashers, though, will find a way to read something negative into a positive report on education in Oregon.

I'd say if you can't lend a hand, then get out of the way.

DMV driving Bend crazy

It makes sense, in the driving sense, that the new DMV location in southwest Bend is so far from most people who would ever use it.

I mean, it is called the Dept. of Motor Vehicles for this very reason: People should drive, and drive, to get there.

Actually, the DMV is already in southwest Bend, in the Shevlin Center, where it's been for about two decades.

Shevlin Center is owned by Brooks Resources the former lumber company that now makes a killing selling off, or managing, all that land it owns in Bend. Mike Hollern, the head of Brooks Resources, was able to get the DMV in Shevlin Center when few other private firms would pay the high price to move there. The DMV settled in Shevlin Center when Hollern was the chairman of the transportation commission that oversees the DMV. How convenient.

Well, the DMV's Shevlin Center lease expired and since we live in the anti-government era where cutting costs trumps all other concerns, the DMV found the best deal it could.

It just so happens that it is even more inconvenient than the current location.

The future DMV office will be in the Brookswood Meadow Plaza, about 3 miles southwest of the Shevlin Center, or about 100 feet from the city limits.

Understandably, the good folks who bought new homes in the adjacent RiverRim development are upset that the DMV, which they consider a huge traffic magnet, will turn their quiet subdivision into another Los Angeles, complete with illegal aliens lining up for fake driver's licenses to go with their voter registration in the Democratic Party.

The residents of RiverRim are so upset that they have boycotted the plaza, which has driven the plaza's coffee shop out of business. The plaza's other major tenant, Brookswood Market, could be the next to go.

Wouldn't that be ironic. RiverRim residents will have to drive 2 to 3 miles just to get a cup of coffee or a bag of groceries. Here's hoping they don't get in any accidents with drivers trying to find the damn DMV office.

Well, not to pour cold water on this gripping saga, I'll just throw some ice cubes at it. Mini-cubes.

This is what we want from government: Out of sight and cheaper, too.

As a letter writer to the local weekly noted, this is the price we pay for wanting less government and lower taxes.

It makes no sense for the DMV to be so far from the people it is supposed to serve, but then again, who really goes to the DMV anymore. Any business with the DMV is best done online.

Also, the DMV schedules seven driving exams a day, which isn't likely to greatly affect local residents of kids at Elk Meadow Elementary, a mere 1/4-mile away.

What really galls the good folks on Bend's southwest side is that the DMV didn't set up shop on the east side of town. If it had, there would be no controversy because no one cares about Bend's east side.

People move to places like RiverRim to get away from places like the DMV.

And people move to Bend to flee urban woes.

Unfortunately, you can run, but you can't hide.

Bend is still the middle of nowhere, but even nowhere has problems, too.

Bend doesn't know its limitations

To paraphrase Dirty Harry, a city's got to know its limitations.

The city of Bend does not.

Bend wants to dramatically increase the size of the city limits, but the state, which approves such plans, says not so fast, punk.

Currently, Bend cannot offer sewer service to more than half of the households within the urban growth boundary.

Also, the city cannot handle the traffic generated within its limits right now. There are about $200 million in projects needed yesterday and, with the city $17 million in debt, it has no feasible plan in place to ever address these road problems.

And, not that anyone's noticing, but Bend needs between $17 million and $73 million in upgrades to its water system.

So, the question the state should ask: Why does Bend need to expand to almost double its size when it cannot provide basic services to the city as it is?

Well, city planners are adopting the builders' union mantra that a limited urban growth boundary increases the cost of land which, in turn, makes homes, and business expansion, less affordable.

Of course, home prices in Bend have been plummeting for more than two years now and further declines into next year are forecast. In fact, defaults are on another record pace this year.

The office and retail vacancy rate shows little sign of abating anytime soon.

With this backdrop, city planners should know that a drastic expansion of the city will not improve the situation, but likely make it much worse.

Bend's limitations are obvious. The city needs to accept them. It then needs to solve its shortcomings (water, sewer and roads) instead of extending these deficiencies further into the High Desert.

The state should continue to prevent Bend from destroying itself because city and business leaders here are incapable of doing so.

Bend bike rack threatens car culture

Like the Chinese, people in Bend like to ride bicycles, even on roadways where cars, trucks and buses dodge them daily.

Unlike cars, though, there aren't many places to park bikes in Bend, unless you're in grade school.

Last month, the city made a major effort to rectify this problem. It took a single parking place downtown and converted it into a corral for 12 bicycles.

Naturally, the daily paper's editorialists considered this a crime against the auto's humanity.

Nevermind that a multi-level parking garage is 50 feet from this bicycle hitching post.

To lose one single parking space is but a slippery slope to forcing people to pedal Schwinn's, even when it's snowing outside. It could be considered a Communist plot by the same people opposed to fluoridated water.

It doesn't matter that the $13 million parking garage is mostly vacant throughout the week.

No, this $3,500 bike corral sacrificed the freedom of a downtown driver from parking in this spot.

Where are the protests?

We're losing more of our freedoms every day. Can't drive without strapping on a seat belt. Can't drive while texting. Now, can't park in front of Thump Coffee in downtown Bend.

And, if 12 more people ride bikes instead of drive cars, are we now going to take up another critical parking space to provide showers for sweaty cyclists?

While it is true that a bicycle costs less to purchase than a car, it's also true that a bike doesn't use any gas. This means we don't collect any gas taxes from bicycle riders, which means we won't have enough money to build more parking garages.

It's a vicious cycle.

Bicycles may not pollute the atmosphere or contribute to global warming or cause traffic jams.

They do, however, command a single bike rack in Bend, which is the beginning of the end, as we know it.