Price Swapping Employees -- a New Business Trend?

MSNBC--
Circuit City to fire more than 3400 workers and rehire them at a lower wage

Richmond Virginia -- Circuit City, the nation's number 2 electronics retailer, which has been facing competitors and falling sales said Wednesday that it will lay off more than 3400 store workers immediately and replace them with lower paid new hires as soon as possible.

Analysts and economists agree that the move is an uncertain experiment that could backfire for Circuit City.

“This strategy strikes me as being quite cold,” said Bernard Baumohl, executive director of The Economic Outlook Group. “I don’t think it’s in the best interest of Circuit City as a whole.”

Circuit City claims that the reason for the layoff is that these workers were earning "well above the market base salary range for the role" and that they will be replaced with employees that will be paid at the current market range.

Circuit City’s move, by contrast, “shows they’re positioning for another tough year,” said Timothy W. Allen, a Jefferies & Co. retail analyst. Not only will service levels at the store suffer, he said, but “you’ve lost 3,400 customers-slash-employees.”

The laid-off workers will get a severance package and a chance to reapply for their former jobs at a lower pay after 10 weeks from their termination.

in addition to employee swapping, some companies are laying off employees and leaving the country. For example,

Sony, {MSNBC}--which it be laying off up to 600 workers at the West Moreland County Sony plan which manufactures rear projection TVs will be moving to Mexico because of price erosion and declining sales due to the popularity of the plasma panel television sets.

Haynes, {MSNBC}--which makes underwear, announced that they will close its Stratford Road textile manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem and move production to existing lower cost plants in the Caribbean basin and Central America.

Companies like Circuit City is going to find out a very short period of time in my opinion, is that you can save money by hiring cheaper employees, however, as a saying that I like to say is "the mighty New York Times is nothing without the kid on the bicycle", e.g., it is the people who interact with the customers are the ones that make the business.

If employees do not believe in the company because the company does not believe in the employees, then it is just a job, not a career. the end result for the company is lower sales and eventual bankruptcy. In my opinion, you can make your bottom-line look better in the short run, however, in the long run... a company's bad reputation is a hard one to rebuild.

Myself, I will no longer shop at Circuit City while they hold this attitude.

Tancredo asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to clarify the extradition of bounty hunters

Congressman Tom Tancredo--

US Representative Tom Tancredo sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking her to clarify whether the US has a legal obligation to expedite bounty hunters to Mexico based on an agreement that could be considered a "wink and nod" between governments.

“News reports have come to light showing that the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Mexico may be nothing more than a wink and a nod between governments,” said Congressman Tancredo. “I hope that Secretary Rice looks into whether this agreement has the legal force before extraditing a man who put away a serial rapist.”

Tancredo pointed out that in 1992 for example, Justice William Rehnquist wrote that the treaty "says nothing about the obligations of United States and Mexico to reframe from forcible abductions of people from the territory of the other nation, or are the consequences under the treaty if such abduction occurs."

In a congressional testimony, Alan J. Kreczko, former deputy legal adviser to Secretary of State James Baker said that the US and Mexican governments had "exchange letters" classifying captures by bounty hunters as extraditable offenses.

Representative Tancredo said all of this new information begs the question, “If these changes were not formally ratified, that would raise a question about whether or not extradition proceedings should have been undertaken from the U.S. side in this case to begin with, and whether or not they should continue.”

it makes me wonder what other "exchange letters" between governments have occurred.
of course in the case of Dog Chapman, in my opinion, I think this is just Mexico's way of flexing their muscles and slapping the U. S. in the face and in a sense, advertising that Mexico really is a safe haven for criminals to run to.

House Bill 2536 would require passengers under the age of 13 to sit in the backseat

Oregon State Legislature --

A bill sponsored by Representative MACPHERSON, Senator DEVLIN;
Representative GELSER, Senator MONROE, would require children under the age of 13 to sit in the rear of a motor vehicle. This is an addition to the current law that requires persons under eight years of age or under certain heights (4'9") to use safety systems such as child seats within a motor vehicle. children who are under one year of age are required use rear facing child safety systems.

It is suggested that requiring children under 13 to ride in the backseat will reduce the number of children killed in motor vehicle accidents.

Failure to comply with a new law would be considered child endangerment and is a class D traffic violation
I guess technically, under the law, anyone who is under 4'9" is required to use a child safety seat regardless of age.

Just wait; next, they will require everybody in a motor vehicle under a certain age to wear a helmet because helmets have been proven to reduce injuries.

Retired Nevada Sheriff's Officer Moves to Eugene to Retire and Falls into the Building Permit Nightmare

Register Guard editorial --

a Nevada Sheriff's Department retiree and his wife, looking for a place to live in Oregon where they could raise horses, and build the workshop of their dreams on 46 acres in the Mohawk Valley, figure that Oregon would really be laid-back and after building their home, adding a workshop would not be all that big of a deal.

Welcome to Eugene!

The workshop was just a simple outbuilding, a place where he wanted to restore to 68 Dodge Charger and several vintage motorcycles. The workshop would have no running water or bathroom facilities.

The nightmare started when the 62 year-old retiree started to apply for the permits to build the workshop.

It started with a plot plan to show where the property of the shop would be, along with structural drawings in addition to a $300 fee to start the application process.

The permit itself was $517, but that was just the beginning. Plan check was $336, staff surcharge $36, new technology fee $10, administrative fee $272, planning sign-off $200, planning sign-off flood plan $660, planning sign-off wetlands $60, long-range planning surcharge $91, and sanitation permit review $43 (remember, the shop had no plumbing).

Additionally, the shop floor would have to be 488.7 feet above sea level in anticipation for the hundred-year flood. This meant an additional $275 surveyor fee, 200 feet of reinforcing steel bar, spaced 10 inches apart, 16 loads of backfill to raise the shop floor by 4 feet adding an extra $4200.

The permit was applied on January 12, 2004 with final inspection on November 22, 2006.

Lane County personal income tax -- tax estimator

Lane County Oregon--

Have you ever wondered how much the 1.1% Lane County personal income tax, which was recently enacted by the Lane County commissioners, would actually cost us?

Well the good folks at Lane County have put together this little handy dandy "Lane County Personal Income Tax Estimator” to give us all a basic idea.

Although the tax estimator was designed to be a rough guide only and is based on 2006 federal and state forms, I highly recommend giving it a try at the above link.

For me, it would be an extra $270 + that I would have to pay on my taxes each year.
After running the calculations for the 1.1% tax, I got to thinking about how much the 5% personal income tax would add to my yearly taxes.

Let's just say that I reserved comment to maintain my GP rating of this blog.

I'm not a tax professional, however, my first impressions when I ran the numbers, was that I could just kiss what ever little refund that I would get at the end of the year goodbye.

Photo radar nabs on duty Beaverton police officer for speeding

KATU--

Beaverton Oregon -- Officer Jessica hall, 29 of the Beaverton police department was cited by photo radar for speeding while on patrol and issued $125 fine for doing 40 miles an hour in a 30 mile an hour zone last April.

Typically, officials dismiss photo radar citations in the cases of on-duty police officers, however, city AttorneyAlan Rappleyea said Hull had no reason to break the speed limit.

"Just because you're a police officer, you don't get special treatment," Rappleyea said. "We don't want the public to think we don't prosecute our own people."

the photo radar program is opposed by police union leaders because drivers are ticketed without contact from an officer, which according to Mark Makler, an attorney who represents the Beaverton Police Association, the system eliminates the discretion of officer to issue a warning and the radar vans are typically staffed by retired police officers, not sworn police.

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 810.438 - .439 photo radar can only be used by authorized cities, it is not allowed to stay in the one location for more than four hours a day, cannot be used on controlled access highways and cities must post signs notifying drivers a potential photo enforcement on major routes entering the cities. Additionally, photo radar units must be operated out of a marked police vehicle by trained police officers.

In 2006, the city of Beaverton issued 6,820 photo radar citations with a conviction rate of 74%
Cities that are authorized to use photo radar include Albany, Beaverton, Bend, Eugene, Medford, Portland, and Tigard.{Oregon vehicle code}--

the only use for photo radar in my opinion is revenue enhancement, not law enforcement. As my father, who used to work for the Oregon State attorney's office used to say, "you cannot catch people with an outstanding warrant or a felon with photo radar."

President Calderon -- intends to "keep Mexicans at home"

Tancredo press release--

Tancredo, who represents the sixth District of Colorado and leader of the Congressional immigration Reform movement, congratulated Mexican President Felipe Calderon and offered his support in his push to improve his country's economic situation.

President Calderon in an {AP article}-- said that he would not be advocating immigration reform when he meets with President Bush, however, will discuss on what he intends to do to "keep Mexicans at home" and to "cure" Mexico's long tradition of the illegal immigration by focusing more on Mexico's economy and living standards.

President Calderon has presented a plan, which he calls "Platform Mexico" that will link 200 police stations initially and help federal, state and local police exchange information to build an intelligence database on drug gangs.

Tancredo quipped, “I find it particularly interesting that when President’s Bush and Calderon meet next week, one of them will be pushing for amnesty. Oddly enough it won’t be the Mexican president.”

President Calderon speech {The White House}--
interesting point of views. On one side, one proposal is changing or ignoring our laws to take advantage of cheap labor while the other side... proposes making things better at home so they're people don't have to leave in the first place.

State of Oregon: Join us or pay

KEZI--

a bill in the Oregon Legislature designed to rid stray shopping carts from the landscape sponsored by state Sen. Laurie Monnes Anderson, D-Gresham, and proposed by the Northwest Grocery Association would require grocers to post a sign on each shopping cart identifying the store, its address and a toll-free number that it belongs to so that the public could report the abandoned carts, and to participate along with municipalities to collectively fund retrieval services.
Grocers who have chosen to off out of the plan would be fined $50 for carts that are called in and not picked up.
Joe Gilliam, president of the Northwest Grocery Association, says the legislation would save grocers money by getting stray carts back which ranges from $100 -- $300.

Advocates for the homeless caution that the bill should not be used to commandeer shopping carts away from homeless people.
"A shopping cart to a homeless person is like a Cadillac," said Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless. "It's really helpful to you when you are on the street."

major pet food manufacturer recalls pet food due to probable kidney failure

KATU--

Menu Foods, which makes pet food for 17 of the top 20 North American retailers is recalling 46 brands of dog food and 37 brands of cat food distribute throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico and sold through major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kroger and Safeway until the company can determine what cause kidney failure and some deaths of dogs and cats.

"At this juncture, we're not 100 percent sure what's happened," said Paul Henderson, the company's president and chief executive officer. However, the recalled products were made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, spokeswoman Sarah Tuite said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

Procter & Gamble, another company which some of its foods are manufactured by Menu Foods announced on Friday they are recalling specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz., and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz., and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog with food products sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands.

For a list of recalled cat and dog food, click on the following links.
{Cat food}—
{Dog Food}--
For recall information, you can call the company at 1-866-895-2708

Layoffs Begin As Symantec Cuts $200 Million In Costs

infomationweek--

Symantec on Thursday began a series of layoffs, which had first been announced in January to reduce its structure costs by $200 million.

"With a disappointing quarter behind us, we are moving to better align our costs with our new revenue expectations," CEO John Thompson said in a January conference call. "I am confident that we have the right strategy in place. However, we must sharpen our execution."

A company spokesman did confirm that the layoffs began on Thursday however, did not specify how many people would be let go.

8 former Swift & Co. employees plead guilty

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement--

News release -- AMARILLO, Texas
Eight people pleaded guilty on felony charges at Swift & Co. meat processing plant in Cactus Texas after an investigation by the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

One person was charged with illegally reentering the United States after having been deported, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine

Two people were found guilty of falsely representing a Social Security number which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Five people pled guilty to using fraudulently obtained identity documents including a Social Security card to make it appear that they were legally authorized to live and work in the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

"The ICE investigation conducted around the Swift & Company plants discovered a number of cases of suspected identity theft," said John Chakwin, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Dallas. "The ICE investigation has shown how individual U.S. citizens are tragically affected when aliens steal identities to obtain work. The aliens who pleaded guilty today will first serve their sentences before they're removed to their countries of origin."

45 cases remain pending against other defendants.

Voters will get to decide on the recently enacted income tax (again)

KMTR--

With a vote of 3-2 on Wednesday, Lane County commissioners "decided" (after there was enough signatures collected, and that we might be slightly upset over the issue) that the voters should make a decision in May whether to approve the 1.1% income tax.

“Well, we still are facing very uncertain times in terms as far as the federal money coming and I don't believe the citizens realize the services we are going to loose and how dire it really is for lane county public safety system here,” said Commissioner Faye Stewart when asked why he voted in support of adding the charter amendment to the May ballot.

Commissioners Pete Sorenson and Bill Fleenor both stated that it would cost between $50-75,000 to put the issue to the voters.
1. We would not have to spend an extra $50,000 plus if the commissioners did not go against the will of the people in the first place and act on their own, telling the voters once again just how important that OUR vote isn't.

2. Commissioner Faye Stewart's concern that people really do not realize the services that we will lose... is wrong. We do realize which services we will lose, and yes, people really are concerned. However, what we are tired of is that it seems like there is always FUNDING when it comes to feel-good projects such as building parks, bike paths, etc. yet, when it comes to basic services such as public safety... suddenly, the money is not there.

3. As some will argue, bike paths and parks have nothing to do with the public safety budget... however, what those people keep forgetting is, whether it is state or federal money... is still comes from the same source... US, THE TAXPAYER!

Dwyer:in a representative democracy, it is well within the bounds of elected officials to enact a tax if they deem it necessary.

KVAL 13--

Saturday’s petition drive to place the newly enacted income tax on the ballot has collected 800 signatures more the 5,577 needed. "Our goal is to get this on the September ballot so that people can choose whether or not they want to pass the tax, (again)" said petition organizer Lauren Later

"The people of Lane County have spoken here, and the biggest asked question off all the signing locations on Saturday was 'where's the recall?'" said tax opponent Bob Hooker.

for commissioners to be eligible for recall, a commissioner must be six months into his or her term before recall effort can be initiated. Currently, Bobby Green is the only commissioner who is eligible to for recall at this time. Commissioner Faye Stewart and Bill Dwyer would not be eligible for recall until July.

Dwyer says he isn't worried about a recall. He dismissed the petitioner's claims that it was undemocratic for the commissioner to enact the tax, arguing that in a representative democracy, it is well within the bounds of elected officials to enact a tax if they deem it necessary.

it would require 4,274 signatures to initiate a recall and would cost the county as much as $50,000.
okay, is it just me, or is Bill Dwyer's comments smug. He argues that in a representative democracy, that it is well within the bounds of elected officials to act if THEY deem it necessary... think about that statement for a minute.

"We want to give a message to our county government that no, is no, is no,"

Registerguard--

"Where’s the recall?"
Thousands of people upset over the recently enacted income tax by Lane County commissioners turned out to the "we said no" partition drive in efforts to bring the tax to the voters (again).

"Everybody has wanted to sign a recall," said Mary Pooler, wife of chief petitioner Ben Pooler, as she helped run a petition site underneath tents outside Graffiti Alley on River Road. "I've had people from all parties talk to me ... the public is more upset than even I realized."

Bob Hooker, chief petitioner said he believes that his committee easily cleared the 5,577 valid signatures required to bring the tax to a vote as early as September or November.

"We want to give a message to our county government that no, is no, is no," John Corliss of Springfield said. "It's a message when a lot of us come out on a rainy day like this to sign our concerns about the state."

As the people of Oregon well know from experience, this is not the first time that we voted on a particular subject, only to have our votes ignored and overturned for various reasons or deemed "unconstitutional."
I cannot think of anything more "unconstitutional" then government overriding the democratic process and the will of the people through majority rule.
and they wonder why voter turnout is low.

Eugene School District 4J: Language Immersion Program --

4J - Buena Vista Elementary School--
Buena Vista Elementary School Spanish immersion school is one of the alternative schools in the Eugene 4J school district, were students learn a second language by immersion in programs such as French, Spanish and Japanese.

Buena Vista Elementary is designed for families who want the children to become by literate in Spanish and English and become familiar with the Hispanic/Latino cultures.

Enrollment for Buena Vista Elementary is by lottery due to limited space.

The district's alternative schools development programs were built on a particular theme or approach to education preparing students to be productive members of a global society..

Other alternative programs include...

Buena Vista -- Spanish immersion school
Charlemagne at Fox Hollow -- The French Immersion Program at Roosevelt is a "school within a school."
Yujin Gakuen -- Japanese language immersion elementary school
Willagillespie ELL Program--incorporates both elements of "Structured English Immersion" and "Content - Based ESL"
Alternative school programs, Eugene school district 4J--

Lane County commissioners: Hummmm should we not steal their money?

Registerguard--

Lane County commissioners are split over whether to repeal the recently enacted income tax or refer it to the voters, a day after getting the word that the federal government MIGHT come through with critical timber payments.

Oregon's federal lawmakers on Thursday said that they were very optimistic about getting Congress to approve a one-year extension of payments to timber counties. This prompted commissioner Faye Stewart, board chairman to announce plans to begin the repeal of the county income tax that he and two other commissioners enacted two weeks ago.

The commissioners are split on whether to repeal the tax or put the income tax before the voters in May.

Commissioner Bill Dwyer (one of the three who voted in favor of enacting the tax) said he wants to get the voters a chance to decide whether to keep part of the tax even if the federal money is approved... part of the tax was meant to cover that shortfall and voters should decide whether to keep it or allow county services such as public safety [buzzword] and public health to be cut again.

Commissioner Pete Sorensen stated that it would be better to cut personnel, noting that the enactment of the tax has sparked a level of anger that he had not seen in 20 years as an elected official.
I don't know about you guys... "let's put it on the ballot and let the voters decide", but I feel insulted. We've already voted on this issue. Why should we continue to keep voting on the same thing over and over and over again for them to get the message?

Reminder: today Saturday, at various locations throughout the county is a petition drive to put the newly enacted income tax on the ballot.

Next, should be a drive ( in my opinion) to start a recall effort, and send a message to our state and local government that you work for us, the people... not the other way around.

$28 million for public works projects including parks

registerguard--

Longtime residents know that Lane County only has two seasons... Winter and construction, and of course this year will be no exception to that rule as the public Works Department has about $28 million worth of work planned.

Projects include street resurfacing (desperately needed), sewer extensions, air cargo warehouses at the airport, bike path repair and of course building a neighborhood park.

The city is planning to improve streets around the University of Oregon this year to avoid traffic congestion during the 2008 Olympic Trials at Hayward Field, said Public Works Department spokesman Eric Jones. (no surprise there)

"It’s definitely going to be another busy year," Jones added.

I just have one question...
If we do not have $20 million for public safety, where is this money coming from?

Hippity Hop Hop, Hippity Hop Hop, Here comes the Spring Bunny?

NBC5i--


Robin’s Commentary
Political correctness (PC) is a term that was originally intended to provide a minimum offense particularly to racial, cultural, or other identity groups.

Although very well intended originally to be more respectful of others, however, it seems to me like political correctness has just gotten to the point of being ridiculous and very one-sided.

For example, when the Christmas tree became the holiday tree because it was politically incorrect to call it that and somebody might be offended by it.

"oh my God, there is a Christmas tree!" I am so offended... wait a minute....did I just say God?"

Some businesses ordered their employees to wish their customers to say "happy holiday" instead of "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending their customers.

However, have you ever noticed that nobody ever complained about taking Christmas off from work and with pay?

Anyway, the political correctness people are at it again this time attacking Easter, turning Easter into spring and making the Easter bunny into the "spring bunny".

So when is enough enough?

Why don't you ever hear of any of the other non-Christian holidays and events being renamed to something more "politically correct"?

Imagine what would happen if we called Ramadan or Mawlid al-Nabi which celebrates the birth of Mohammed by another name?

The Chinese New Year sounds pretty racial to me, perhaps we should rename that.

And of course, don't even think about renaming Cinco de Mayo.

While I agree that just out of common courtesy we should try not to offend other people, however, when it comes down to a country's culture that has been around for centuries, and it does not matter which country, we should be respectable for that country's tradition.

Christmas, Easter, whether you believe in God or not is part of this country's culture and should be celebrated as such.

However, if you are going to deny one culture and replace it with something else, then you should do that for all religions in order to be "politically correct.”

"We said NO!"

KEZI--

Opponents of the Lane County income tax which was enacted recently by Lane County commissioners less than four months after voters had said no, have started a partition drive to collect more than 5500 signatures to refer the tax to a vote of the people sometime in September or November.

"This is simply a statement we're trying to make that we reserve the right to vote before an income tax is imposed on us," said Bob Hooker, one of the Petitioners.
"This is a democracy in this country. The elected officials need to understand when the people say no.. they mean no," said Ben Pooler, one of the other petitioners.

At least a hundred volunteers have been working full time to get everything organized for the official "we said no" petition signing day. the group plans to gather at least 10,000 signatures by this Saturday.

"WE SAID NO" OFFICIAL PETITION SIGNING SITES FOR MARCH 10TH:
Graffiti Alley, 675 River Road, Eugene.
Econo Lodge, 1190 W. Sixth Ave., Eugene.
Eugene Elks Lodge No. 357, 2470 W. 11th Ave., Eugene.
Immanuel Baptist Church, 3050 Game Farm Road, Springfield.
Emerald Isle Mobile Home Park, Recreation Room, 658 S. 57th St., Springfield.
Hearth & Patio Shop, 85295 Highway 101, Florence.
Ray’s Food Place, 25013 Highway 126, Veneta.
D&D Classic Automotive, 1180 Ivy St., Junction City.


{additional source=Register-Guard}--

Lane County’s Board of Commissioners took an historic and courageous step...

Lanecounty--

... by enacting the Lane County countywide income tax, to ensure the continuation of essential services for children and families. [buzzwords]

"Although reasonable minds may differ about the best way to raise needed funds for public safety, continuing to fund our already overburdened public safety system is essential for the well being of Lane County's children and families [buzzwords]
Funding for prevention services saves lives today and reduces the need for more expensive jail beds in the future," said Rob Jerome, chair of the Lane County Commission on Children and Families.
"This committee advocates for effective prevention programs and policies in Lane County that create a community where children, youth and families [buzzwords] can be safe and healthy, ready to learn and earn."

Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, a member of the Lane County Commission on Children and Families commented that surely we want a community that these care of its most vulnerable citizens, our children and families [buzzwords]

Chuck Boyer, Children and Families’ Commission member and community activist said, "We applaud this important step. Our Commission members truly appreciate the Board’s dedication to protect children, youth and families [buzzwords] , and its most vulnerable constituents. The Board made a tough decision, [to ignore the will of the voters] but it’s a decision made in the best interest of our community."

it's all about [buzzwords] , how many can you count?

Tancredo Calls on Treasury Department to Withdraw Matricula Consular Cards as a Valid ID

Tancredo--

Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO), sent a letter today about regulations issued by the Department Of Treasury regarding section 326 of the Patriot Act, to the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. asking him to reconsider the 2003 policy which allows financial institutions such as Bank of America to accept the Matricula Consular as a form of identification.

“This is particularly troubling given that the intent of this section of the Patriot Act was to help prevent money laundering, yet FBI testimony makes it clear that these regulations would actually have the opposite effect.” Said Tancredo, "

Tancredo pointed out that most adults who do not have a security number or driver's license are in this country illegally and that the implication of allowing institutions such as Bank of America to accept Matricula Consular card, would open up the financial system to exportation by illegal aliens and terrorist.

This is what the US Patriot Act was designed to prevent and what the FBI has described as a "perfect breeder document for establishing a false identity."

In 2003, an FBI official told Congress, “Federal officials have discovered individuals from many different countries in possession of the [cards]… at least one individual of Middle Eastern descent has also been arrested in possession of [a card]. The ability of foreign nationals to use the [cards] to create a well-documented, but fictitious, identity in the provides an opportunity for terrorists to move freely within the without triggering name-based watch lists that are disseminated to local police officers. It also allows them to board planes without revealing their true identity. All of these threats are in addition to the transfer of terrorist funds.”

additionally, when banks such as Bank of America, who offer loans to high risk groups such as illegal aliens risk bankruptcy for such a move, who is going to bail them out?
Please don't say "we are."

SJR 10 would call on voters to consider repealing the "double majority" rule

the Oregonian--

Senate Joint Resolution 10, would eliminate most of the double majority requirements that "plagued" Oregon's election law.
The "double majority" rule was the brainchild of Bill Sizemore, which says any property tax increase must both be approved by a 50% majority of those voting and at least 50% of those registered to vote must do so. e.g., if there's only a 49% turnout, and there's no need to even count the ballots.
"Every year, Oregon's unique double majority rule saves our taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.... knocking down tax increase after tax increase that the voters don't want." says Sizemore.

Before the Double Majority passed, city councilors, county commissioners, and school board members would say out loud in their public meetings that their strategy was to place their tax increase on the ballot in a small special election, because they knew it wouldn’t pass in a high voter turn-out general election. In other words, “We want our tax increase, even though the majority of voters don’t want to give it to us. So, let’s put it on the ballot in an election when they aren’t paying much attention and work on getting just our voters to the polls and pass it.”

[Bill Sizemore, May 24, 2006]--