May 15, 2008 - Heard on the radio today that polar bears have been put on the endangered species list... well... sort of... kind of. They may not be exactly endangered since there were reported to be 5,000 polar bears in the 1970's and there are 25,000 today... but... Will get details and be back soon...

When I read about the choices for Corvallis City Council Ward 7, my humble opinion is that Jeannie Raymond couldn't be more wrong for Corvallis.

Her idea that we need to worry about Corvallis' "carbon footprint" seems entirely irrelevant given Hewlett Packard Co.'s pending layoff of 300 people.

We're all concerned about our "carbon footprint," but we need to put first things first.

The bottom line, at least to me, is that a high quality of life is not possible unless people have jobs.

In order to have a thriving arts community, a tax base that supports sustainability initiatives, clean water, paved roads, bridges that dont fall into the river, and so forth, people first have to be employed.

I appreciate Rick Schroffs more balanced approach. As a service-oriented businessman who is conscious about sustainability, I think hes going to be able to make the necessary intelligent tradeoffs that can help us retain the high quality of life that perhaps too many of us take for granted, while helping Corvallis keep and attract high-quality jobs.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Jeff Limon, Corvallis

Let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution. - Thomas Jefferson

A Republican Candidate for Attorney General After All...
Write Idea (Blog), Saturday, May 3, 2008

Those registered Republican voters in Oregon who have received their ballots may have noticed that no Republican filed to run for Attorney General.

If a candidate gets enough write-in votes in a primary election, they can still appear on the ballot in November if they are qualified and accept the nomination. Normally when no candidate from one party files to run for an office, a candidate of the other party organizes a write-in campaign to win the nomination for both parties. This year however, in the Oregon Attorney General’s race there is a tough primary between two Democrats, Greg Macpherson a far-left Legislator, and Professor John Kroger who has taken HUGE donations from unions, making it difficult to run a write-in campaign as well. Also, a lot of usual RINO's, who would typically write in one of the Democrats, will be voting in the important Democratic Presidential primary.

All this leaves an opening for a Republican candidate. Enter Ron Saxton , a former attorney and School Board Chairman who ran for Governor in 2002 and 2006, winning the nomination, but failing to win the general, in 2006.

After the 2006 election Saxton said he was unlikely to seek public office again. However, if he is nominated by write-in votes, he would likely accept the nomination. Saxton has the qualifications, high name-recognition, and fairly moderate positions on the issues that it will take to win the general election.

Republicans should consider writing-in Ron Saxton (that's R-o-n S-a-x-t-o-n) for Attorney General as they vote in the next few weeks (don't forget to fill in the bubble as well). He will need the support of many Republicans to stave off any write-in efforts by the Democratic candidates, so anybody interested in voting for him should tell all their friends, too.

CQ VP Madness (GOP edition)

Who should be Sen. John McCain's running mate? We've handicapped the races and now it's up to users to decide who will advance to face each other in the next round. The winner will be revealed on May 22, giving McCain plenty of time to consider your choice. GO make your selection!

Here's a list of possible running mates for John McCain. Some are included simply to provide the widest possible choice. Whom should McCain pick?

It's a good thing that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's U.S. visit was upstaged by the dramatic reception Americans gave Pope Benedict XVI. Brown might have been booed if he hadn't delivered what aides called his "signature" speech within the cloistered walls of Harvard's Kennedy Center. Brown's tedious, hour-long speech impudently demanded that we issue a "Declaration of Interdependence" in order to submit to global governance. That's another way of calling on us to repeal our Declaration of Independence.

No thanks for the advice, Mr. Brown. Brave Americans rose up and rejected Britain's royalist rule in 1776, and we've gotten along mighty well without transatlantic interference in our government for more than two centuries. We certainly don't want to reinstate any foreign supervision today.

The redundancy of Brown's outrageous semantics was oppressive. His speech used the word global 69 times, globalization 7 times, and interdependence 13 times. He referred to Kennedy 19 times, lavishing fulsome praise on John F. ("his influence abides everywhere"), Robert (he sent forth "ripples of hope"), and Ted ("one of the greatest Senators in more than two centuries").

Brown rejected the traditional concept of national sovereignty, which means an independent nation not subservient to any outside control, telling us to replace it with "responsible sovereignty," which he defined as accepting what he calls our global "obligations." Hold on to your pocketbook.

Brown admitted that his "main argument" is that we must accept "new global rules," "new global institutions," and "global networks." Brown's global rules include massive U.S. cash handouts and opening U.S. borders to the world.

Brown's use of well-known American political phrases was tacky. He tried to morph FDR's New Deal into a "New Global Deal," and JFK's New Frontier into "the New Frontier is that there is no frontier."

Brown even slipped in an attempt at thought control: "Americans must learn to think inter-continentally." He declaimed, "We are all internationalists now."

Using the rhetorical device of inevitability, Brown warned us that his vision of the globalist future is "irreversible transformation." He wants to "transcend states" and "transcend borders" as he builds the "architecture of a global society."

Brown peddled the nonsense that the peoples of the world "subscribe to similar ideals." He tried to tell us that all religions (Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists) have "common values" and "similar ideals." No, they certainly do not.

Brown wants to increase the power of the United Nations to become the source of "an international stand-by capacity of trained civilian experts, ready to go anywhere at any time," and even be able to exercise "military force." Americans do not intend to cede such authority to the corrupt UN.

The silliest part of Brown's ponderous speech was his claim that "a global society" is "advancing democracy widely across the world." In fact, he doesn't even practice democracy in his own country.

Brown refused to allow the British people to vote on whether or not they want to accept the European Union (EU) constitution. He acquiesced in the plot of the constitution's author, Valery Giscard d'Estaing, to put the EU constitution into effect by calling it a treaty so it did not have to be voted on by the people.

Brown was chicken about the treaty subterfuge and did not permit a photographic record of his participation. He sent his Foreign Secretary to perform the official treaty signing in front of cameras.

The EU constitution, now called the Treaty of Lisbon, requires all signers to surrender their sovereignty and democracy to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels and judges in Strasbourg. The EU constitution takes away England's right to pass its own laws, forces England to surrender more than 60 UK vetoes of EU decisions, and gives the EU bureaucracy and tribunals total control over England's immigration policy.

Instead of a self-governing nation whose democratic system was developed over centuries, England is now ruled by what Margaret Thatcher called "the paper pushers in Brussels."

Brown made his globalism speech emphatic by repeatedly invoking the words "New World Order." The New World Order Brown tries to con the United States into accepting would mean taxing Americans for foreign handouts so immense they would make the Marshall Plan look puny, global warming rules to drastically reduce our standard of living, and putting American workers in a common labor pool with the world's billions who subsist on less than $2 a day.

Gordon Brown invited us to march forward to globalism "where there is no path." He's correct that there is no path on which we can expect globalism to lead us to a better world; in fact every path toward global government is a surrender of our liberty and our prosperity.

Gordon Brown should go back home and study up on how Americans refused to accept orders from King George III.

As of January 1:

Total: 44,873
Democrat: 18,259
Republican: 14,650
Non-Affiliated: 10,673

Total: 47.145
Democrats: 21,357
Republicans: 14,511
Non-Affiliated: 9,926

Oregon House Republicans Review 2007 "By the Numbers"
Issued December 27, 2007 - (A report on these figures was given to the BCRW by Rep. Linda Flores on Monday, March 24th)

SALEM - The Oregon Legislature broke the bank in 2007, increasing government spending by 20 percent and saddling Oregonians with $923 million in new state debt. Here's a look at 2007 state government spending, by the numbers:

• 20 Percent - Increase in state government spending
• $620 Million - New taxes and fees (despite record state revenue)
• $923 Million - New state debt (again, despite record state revenue)
• 1,178 - New state employees added to state payroll
• $12 Million - Pay reises to Gov. Kulongoski's political appointees
• $20 Million - Pay raises to appease the unions-- who were upset about the political appointees' pay raises
• 30 - Number of House Democrats who opposed HB2550, the plan to hire a legislative auditor to review the performance of state agencies and increase fiscal responsibility in state government.

It's no surprise a majority of Oregonians polled rated the Legislature's performance as "unfavorable." (Governor, Lawmaker's Get Their Lumps in New Poll, The Oregonian, 12/8/07)

After the 1994 election was over, the decline of Republican party in Oregon had started. Even though they had shockingly won a majority in both houses of the legislature, a parade of clueless legislative leaders failed to take charge. They left Democrats in important posts which should have been filled by Republicans and worse, they failed to enact Republican principles when they had the chance.

The ‘94 election marked another shift in power in Salem and while not as remarkable, at the time, has since proven at least as damaging to the conservative cause. From that point on, no Republicans have been elected to the principle executive offices of Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer or Secretary of State! Well, now, that could change and Republicans can begin the long-march back with the election of the two fine men who will be our featured special guests.

[Allen Alley (R) for State Treasurer]
A lot of eyebrows were raised when the deputy chief of staff for Gov Ted Kulongoski filed to run for State Treasurer as a Republican! A closer look, however, makes it easier to understand. Allen Alley was asked by the Governor in 2007 to keep the state aware of the concerns of Oregon businesses. Alley has a tremendous experience in business and engineering, at Ford and Boeing and a in a joint venture with Motorola. He has been a part of growing international multi-million dollar companies, including being the lead investor at In Focus Systems and was a co-founder of the semi-conductor company, Pixelworks, which has offices in Portland, San Jose, Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai. Alley’s incredible résumé in engineering, marketing, venture capital, entrepreneurship and now, public service should make him a formidable candidate for the role as Oregon’s top investment officer.

[Rick Dancer (R) for Secretary of State]
After many years as a popular reporter and news anchor for KEZI-TV in Eugene, Rick Dancer has decided to leave the bright lights to run as a Republican for Secretary of State. Ironically, it was his work that led him to miking the change. Time after time as a reporter he kept hearing how Oregonians felt disconnected from the government and eventually, he put together a 1/2-hour special on political apathy. That’s when he started to think about running for public office.

Rick wants to be a force for openness and fairness in government, and there couldn’t be an office that needs those principles more than Secretary of State. Dancer, naturally, is very comfortable in the public eye and has a style that will make him a serious contender to put the first Republican in the office since Norma Paulus!

"What we want to hear." Go see... I think you'll like what you read on this list.

Another reader wondered whether the United States is now in irrevocable decline, while India, Russia, China, Japan, and Europe reemerge to assume our once global prominence. I doubt it. All of those countries have far more fundamental problems that we do. India is mired in poverty and overpopulation, prone to religious violence and burdened by a caste system. Russia is a neo-Czarist thugocracy, a $100-a-barrel oil price plastering over the otherwise corrupt and inefficient Russian economy, and a shrinking Russian population. China has not yet come to grips with class strife and unionism, suburban malaise, and must spend hundreds of billions in infrastructure. Its environmental degradation will take years and trillions to repair.

Europe is shrinking, as its socialist/secular/pacifist/heaven-on-earth creed has brought short-term prosperity and stability, but also millions of unassimilated Muslims, no defenses in the face of rising jihadism, possible rogue nuclear states like Iran and North Korea, and a bullying Russia, and a sybarite culture founded on the premise that the here and now is all there is.

In short, America’s natural wealth, its meritocracy and legions of different races, religions and tribes that are united under meritocratic values, its superb military, its past avoidance of doctrinaire political extremism, whether fascism, militarism, Nazism, communism, or jihadism, and its ability to react and galvanize almost overnight, all suggest we can rather quickly, should we wish, defeat any foreign enemy, get off our costly dependence on foreign oil, close our borders and end illegal immigration, begin to spend less federal money, promote more individual savings, balance budgets, pay off foreign debt, and restore our financial preeminence—if we get honest charismatic and competent candidates who can appeal to the better angels of our nature.

Welfare State

14 May 2007 16:04:32, Message 11138
From Stuart Wershow (Ward 6) to Mike Beilstein (Ward 5): Re: Sanctuary City?

Mike,
I have read about sanctuary cities. Did you want to ask the council if we wanted to become one? If yes, we might want to put it on the agenda for the next work session in June. Or, we could ask a group like NAACP to make a proposal. What do you want to do?
Stewart

[Article from Washington Post.com, April 10, 2007 included in full: Looking the Other Way on Immigrants Some Cities Buck Federal Policies]

15 May 2007 15:28:22, Message 11148
E-mail response from Mike Beilstein to Stuart Wershow: Re: Sanctuary City?

Hello Stewart-
I don't intend to make any proposal to the city council. What I would like to do is to have a public forum on the issue, with input from CPD about current policy on immigration issues. For example, under what circumstances would the department notify Immigration enforcement of a person's undocumented status? Does the CPD ever detain suspects on immigration violation charges? Would Immigration (used to be INS, I think it's ICE now.) be informed if a person presented a fake or fraudulently obtained driver's licence in a traffic stop?

I think CAD, CPF, NAACP, or the Multicultural Literacy Center, or gteh Bill of Rights Defence Committee, or ACLU would be potential sponsors for the forum. The target audience would be both the hispanic community and the "civil rights" advocacy community, in addition to policy makers like city council.

We might eventually want to be a "sanctuary city," but there are probably other less radical steps we could take. Before we do anything we need to examine what the need is. The forum would be a way to start assessing the situation.

Thanks for your intetrest.
Mike Beilstein

15 May 2007 18:57:48, Message 11150
Stuart Wershow to Mike Beilstein: Re: Sanctuary City?

Mike,
Thanks for the feedback. The Forum will be soon making plans for its next year schedule and I will bring this topic up. Another group to have a involved would be the Cesar Chavez Center on campus. The forum has met with them in the past and I have wanted to go back. I believe CPD will be coming to NAACP in July. We could start the conversation with that meeting.
Stewart

24 Sep 2007 07:09:35 -0700, Message 12164
Enquiry email from Angelo to War 6: Re: (web)What?

Why in the hell would you openy advocate making Corvallis a sanctuary city? First off, it's wrong on so many moral and ethical levels it's not funny, and secondly..you are asking that Corvallis become a haven and a magnet for people who have no problem breaking laws.

Why would you even suggest this? At the very least, it's a career killer for you and anyone who supports the idea. Think of all of the negative media conerage. Is there anything POSITIVE about being a sanctuary city? I can't think of one.

24 Sep 2007 13:24:59 -0700, Message 12169
Enquiry email from: Gary to Ward 6: Re: (web)Sanctuary city?

Hi, it's a bad idea. Would one make their house a sanctuary house for criminals? Haven't you seen what happens as a result of sanctuary policies?
Thanks.

May 5, 2008 - Wal-Mart offers 90-day prescriptions for $10, cuts other medicine prices; Target follows suit

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, announced Monday it would expand its discounted prescription drug program to offer 90-day supplies for $10 and add several women's medications at a discount. It also said it would lower the price of more than 1,000 over-the-counter drugs.

Target Corp. said late Monday it would match the major elements of Wal-Mart's program. Continued...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - After three months of feeling lethargic with bouts of blurred vision, 65-year-old Jim Einsweiler walked into a clinic in his local Walgreens pharmacy, mostly, he said, to appease his wife.

Hours later, he was in a cardiac care unit at a nearby hospital. He stayed for eight days and received three stents to prop open his arteries. "I was a walking time bomb," he said.

The Take Care Health Clinic he visited in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, one of 21 in the Chicago area, is part of a major push by retailers like Walgreen Co, CVS Caremark, Target Corp and Wal-Mart Stores Inc to add basic health services to their stores. They plan 700 U.S. clinics by year-end and as many as 2,000 by 2008.

While Einsweiler's story ended well, doctors groups are wary of the clinics, saying their reliance on family nurse practitioners could threaten patient safety and come between doctors and their patients.

And the American Medical Association passed a resolution in June asking state and federal authorities to investigate whether there was a conflict of interest in drug-store chains that both write and fill prescriptions.

Michael Howe, chief executive of MinuteClinic, which runs clinics in CVS stores, said many of the concerns will die down as doctors become more acquainted with the clinic concept. He rejected conflict-of-interest concerns.

"We make it very clear to the patients they have a right to go where they want," he said.

Acquired by CVS last year, MinuteClinic expects to have 400 locations by year end and ultimately as many as 2,500 locations.

Howe said the chain is focused on offering high-quality care. "We're fully accredited for all of the services we provide. We meet the same standards that other healthcare organizations meet."

Devon Herrick of the National Center for Policy Analysis sees the AMA's objections as an attempt to stifle competition.

He said the clinics bring another option for patients, noting their longer hours, shorter wait times and posted prices.

So far, about 7 percent of Americans have visited one of the estimated 500 retail clinics, according to the Convenient Care Association, a group representing the clinics.

POINT OF ACCESS
The growth of clinics in retail stores comes amid a shortage of family physicians that only promises to worsen.

Medical groups predict a shortage of 200,000 doctors in the United States by 2020. About 20 percent of Americans live in areas with a shortage of primary medical care, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Wal-Mart operates 78 in-store clinics in 13 states, where the cost of a "get well" visit ranges between $40 and $65.

About half of those surveyed who visit Wal-Mart clinics have no insurance, according to spokeswoman Deisha Galberth. Another 15 percent said if there had not been a clinic, they would have gone to an emergency room instead.

Dr. Rick Kellerman, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, said the clinics have risen out of a broken health care system.

"The clinics are one response. They are not an answer," he said in a telephone interview. He advises members who are unhappy with the clinics to examine their own practices.

"We have to look at what is the driving force," he said.

Sandy Ryan, Take Care Health's chief nurse practitioner officer, said about 30 percent of patients who visit a Take Care clinic do not have a regular doctor. Another 30 percent are uninsured. And 15 to 20 percent of patients seen at the clinics are referred elsewhere for additional care.

"What we are doing is providing an access point that doesn't exist," Ryan said.

She believes the clinics offer a door into the health system for patients like Einsweiler, who hadn't seen a doctor for 20 years.

"They told me my blood pressure was 220 over 110," said Einsweiler, who was seen by two family nurse practitioners -- both trained nurses with master's degrees, extra training and special board certification.

Einsweiler, who now has both a cardiologist and an internist, said he would go to his new doctors for most medical care, but he is grateful the clinic was there.

"Quite frankly, I think they saved my life."

Previous related articles
June 26, 2007 - AMA to seek probe of US retail health clinics
June 25, 2007 - AMA to seek regulation of retail health clinics
April 3, 1007 - CNN Money.com, Wal-Mart's Rx for Health Care , The retailer is opening cheap, convenient clinics in its superstores -- and calling on Washington to fix the really big problems.

Race and Republicans From William Lloyd Garrison to Trent Lott.

This 1999 article by Alvin S. Felzenberg describes how the stellar history of the Republican Partys' committment to civil rights has been lost over time through factual omissions by liberal historians. Posted at Weekly Standard, December 17, 2002.

Big Brother?