President Obama to head to Oregon to support John Kitzhaber and friends Do you really care?

The Statesman Journal --

October 20, 2010 President Obama is scheduled to come to Oregon on behalf of Dr. John Kitzhaber and other Democratic candidates.

and did you notice that Vice President Joe Biden was also a recent visitor to Portland on July 8 for a fundraiser.


I don't know about you, but I think if I was as John Kitzhaber that I would ask the president to stay home.

However, I am pretty certain that President Obama's visit to Oregon will be quite memorable, in fact, he might even join our last sitting president whose visit was so memorable, that he gave Portland a nickname to remember us by.

Although, I'm still a little confused on how being known as "Little Beirut" was a compliment...

And as far as Obama's visit... I wonder if he's coming here to congratulate us on our efforts of being a "green state"? After all, we are recycling our candidates this year.

1 thousand postings!!!

POSTING #1000 -- WOW!!


it's hard to believe that this is posting #1000 and it all started in June of 2005 about the state wanting to put GPSs in cars and the registered guard felt that my letters to the editors regarding this issue was less important then articles about left-handed golfers and whatever religious save the world message that somebody sent in today.

To the register guard... I say thank you for snubbing me.

as for my readers... I wanted to say thank you for making this blog what it is today and I'm hoping and praying that SOMETIME in the near future that the job situation will become more stable and I can get back to doing daily postings again.

Trust me, it is very frustrating with everything that's been going on with EmX and west Eugene and I haven't had time to jump on the bandwagon as my regular readers know exactly how I feel about the project. (sigh!)

so again I just want to say thank you for your comments and your participation on this momentous occasion.

-- Robin

PS -- I apologize for the word verification system being turned back on again in the comments section, but apparently there are some spammers who really feel that my sex life needs improvement. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Stephen J. Cannell dies at 69

la times--Stephen J. Cannell, the prolific television writer and producer who co-created "The Rockford Files" and "The A-Team" Cannell also created or co-created more than 40 TV shows, including "Baa Baa Black Sheep," "Baretta," "The Greatest American Hero" and "21 Jump Street.and later became a bestselling novelist, has died. He was 69.

while the name to me is not all that familiar, his shows are.

What is really going to be missed is ORIGINAL programming versus re-cycling of old shows as an excuse to make a totally different show to attract any audience.

as an example the remake of the 1965 Get Smart TV show totally bombed because the only thing that they used that was even close to the shows original concept was the name of the characters, a few thrown in well known catch lines and a cameo appearance Bernie Kopell who played Kaos Agent Siegfried.

Even Kopells name sake in the new movie (2008)played by Terence Stamp was not even close to the original as Kopells character spoke with a fake German accent.

The list goes on of "copied" shows and movies, but it takes real talent to make an original.

Defazio campaign versus Robinson

Robin's commentary --

One thing I can definitely say about the elections this year is that they are very entertaining.

Once I particularly enjoyed are the ones from Peter DeFazio against Independent Art Robinson. For example at the following website "who is Art Robertson?",

"I think public schools should be abolished... "

Public education is "child abuse" and should be abolished...

Doesn't like plans to reform Wall Street...

People calling for financial reform are "making a mistake"

What I think is funny... is that everything that the DeFazio campaign is trying to put down regarding Art Robinson, I totally agree with.

"I don't think public schools should be abolished"... I think they should be overhauled and that there should be an audit of their finances because they never seem to have enough money and quite frankly, I don't think were getting our money's worth.

"Education is child abuse"... yes in a way it is. If you read the report by 20/20 and if you look at what is being offered in schools and how many students are dropping out... then yes, I would say that instead of preparing the student for the future, then yes I would say very much so that it would be child abuse. While it is exactly been a while since I've been in public schools, if I compare them to my recent experience at Lane community college, then yes I would have to agree that it is child abuse because they are definitely doing a disservice.

"Doesn't like plans to reform Wall Street" well, neither do I. There are systems in place (or least there were) to prevent the Dow from crashing known as circuit breakers. The economic meltdown in which they are blaming on Wall Street is simply because the price of futures raised fuel costs so high that it triggered a series of events that were just waiting to be triggered.

The government was continually raising the interest rates in addition to high taxes and unemployment and the catalysts that broke the camel's back was when gasoline was five dollars a gallon for some people to decide between food and putting gas in their cars to go to work. But that didn't stop the cities from continuing to raise the gas tax either such as what is happening in January in Oregon when gas tax goes up six cents a gallon.

So is financial reform "a mistake?" Time will tell... but from what I have seen of it, personally I think it is.

So basically my point is, every time I hear a DeFazio attack at against Art Robinson, it just makes me more in favor of Robinson.

But just remember folks... even though Peter Defazio for years has done Oregon well, HE DID VOTE IN FAVOR OF OBAMACARE which for me, is enough not to give him my vote.

Chris Dudley and John Kitzhaber -- what I'm really getting a kick out of them, is the "dueling point plan" that they are bouncing off each other.

Chris Dudley has a 20 point plan

John Kitzhaber has a 26 point plan

Personally, I don't think we need any more recycled candidates, in fact for that matter, I think it's time to just "kick the bums out" and start over.

This has nothing to do with bipartisanship... it had more to do with "taking back America" and reminding OUR EMPLOYEES that they are there to represent us, and to work in our best interest... not the other way around.

Mexico -- doing the jobs that Americans won't do

Fox news --

Mexico has started construction of its own fence on its southern border to try and reduce or stop illegal immigration from Guatemala.

"According to the head of customs for Mexico’s tax administration, Raul Diaz, the Mexican border state of Chiapas is constructing a wall along the country’s southern border with Guatemala, along the river Suchiate which divides the countries. Diaz says the purpose of the wall is to prevent the passage of contraband, but admits, "It could also prevent the free passage of illegal immigrants."

Mexican President Calderon recently stood before Congress and called us a bunch of racists for wanting to construct a fence along our southern border and to increase enforcement against illegal immigration, because his people are coming here to seek a better life.

However, now Mexico is constructing a fence along their southern border in order to keep Guatemalans from entering their country even though they are crossing their border for the exact same reason.

Gosh Mr. Calderon, I don't understand it. You criticize us for not welcoming criminal aliens with open arms, and now you're doing the exact same thing?

So how does it feel to have the shoe on the other foot Mr. hypocrite?

is Congress supposed to be dealing with civil penalties?

Robin's commentary --

now I am no expert on the Constitution, but for some reason I kind of thought that it was Congress's job to... oh, I don't know... run the country?

So why is Congress spending our tax dollars and their limited time holding congressional hearings whether or not a a baseball player took performance-enhancing drugs.

I mean, wouldn't that be more of a Justice Department inquiry instead of Congress?

I was really shocked the other morning when I was listening to Glenn Beck when he mentioned that one of the sponsors, Gold line international was being called before a congressional hearing.

"Goldline rips off consumers, uses misleading and possibly illegal sales tactics, and deliberately manipulates public fears of an impending government takeover,"

Isn't that what just about every candidate says to get elected?

like I said... I'm not an expert on every government function, but on the surface it just seems that there are a lot of things that Congress is having hearings about that really should be left to the lower courts.

Just my opinion

Chris Dudley and the 20 point plan to create jobs

Robin's commentary --the Oregonian --


Chris Dudley and the 20 point plan to create jobs [sounds like a Disney movie]


The short story is, Chris Dudley would like to cut capital gains taxes, give businesses tax credits for hiring unemployed, promote the state's natural resources and overhaul schools and universities.


Sounds good doesn't it?


Well it's the same old bullshit that we've been hearing every election.


Now to be honest, given the choice between John Kitzhaber and Chris Dudley, I'll take Chris Dudley.


Either way, the governor is only just a small part of the problem.


Here is my suggestion for how to get the economy back on its feet...


#1 -- lower taxes. For the government, it will be painful at first. They'll cry and moan and threatened to cut essential services and tell you that, "it's for the children" however, if you make it less expensive for businesses to operate and place more money in the consumer's hands, the end result would be more money flowing in the system and therefore generating more government revenue. E.g. simple economics.

#2 -- freeze school funding at current levels. Schools will NEVER have enough money. So if you freeze the funding at the current levels and tell them to live within the budget, which they would be easily able to do if they know that they have a stable income source.

#3 -- PRIORITIZE -- we have to make a decision, especially in a RECESSION, what is more important to the infrastructure. Going out and spending enormous amounts of money on Art and other feel-good projects when our streets are falling apart and we are cutting essential services such as police and fire? They tell you that it's all in the budget, or required by the city charter. BS. It is still right pocket, left pocket, it's all the same pair of pants. The feel-good projects can wait until we financially recover.

I don't run my household that way. We are running on a very reduced budget and sure, it would be nice to be able to go to the movies or eat out once in a while. But we don't. sure, I can say that I could budget entertainment all I want... but the reality is, we prioritize our spending. For example, we are saving every penny just so we can pay property taxes this year.

#4 -- IT'S NOW UP TO US -- we need to NOT reelect any incumbents, even if you like them and think they are doing a good job. Reelect them next time. This is the only time that we can really send a message that we are fed up with the status quo.

Because for all the BS that they say to get elected... (remember, they'll say anything to get reelected) this is REALLY the ONLY time that they really care about our opinion.

And if we don't act now, if we don't send a message, I predict that we are going to be in worse shape than we are now.

One final thing I want to mention...

EVERY REPRESENTATIVE WHO DID NOT READ THE BILLS BEFORE SIGNING DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE REELECTED.

The attitude such as Nancy Pelosi's who feels that "we need to pass the bill so that we can find out what's in it" is DEFINITELY the wrong attitude. That would be like going and buying a house and signing your mortgage contract without reading it and then being surprised about how much the payments are.

Most people that I know would not do that. They would read the contract first before signing.

We should not expect any less from our representatives.

Ray Stevens says it .

more reason why Oregon is chasing jobs out of the state

ODOT --

under DOT phase 2 plan,effective October 1, 2010 -- for trucks weighing 80,000 pounds, the weight mile taxes will increase 24.5% going from 13.16 cents per mile to 16.3 eight cents per mile.

Certain carriers may elect to pay an annual flat rate fee for reach 100 pounds of declared combined weight of of $7.59 up from $6.10.

and according to the natural resource report phase 3 adds another 25% hike on January 1, 2011 raising both fueling gas taxes about seven cents per gallon at the pump.

Oregon Department of Transportation website says that this bill is "estimated to create thousands of jobs in the next 10 years and sustain the momentum of previous funding bills known as the Oregon transportation investment act."

yes, like the way measures 66 & 67 were supposed to be the cure-all for schools...

Except they miscalculated one little minor detail...

There are so many businesses and individuals that are leaving the state... that there was not enough "sources of revenue" to generate the money that the estimated.

so why should I care if the price for operating a truck goes up?

I can tell you from my own experience that operating a commercial vehicle is not cheap. With the new regulations from the FMCSA and CSA 2010, including new "green" emissions regulations, has already forced numerous companies out of business.

The larger companies that can afford to hang on, are simply going to pass along the increased fees to the consumer.

I tell you, whoever it is that thinks that curing the recession and creating jobs by raising taxes is a complete idiot.

remembering the victims and the heroes of 9/11

KRBN Internet news talk radio --

today is a day that we should never forget.

The day that our country changed forever.

Our hearts go out to those men and women, the heroes and the victims of the terrorist attacks.

And I don't know what they're teaching in school these days regarding this event nine years ago, I would be very interested in your comments if you have school-age children and how the information of this event is being presented. Are they actually showing the videos and exactly what happened such as they are doing this weekend on the history Channel or is it some watered-down version.

I'd be very curious to know.

because I don't want to ever have somebody tell me like one of my coworkers told me regarding Labor Day, "why should I care? How does it affect me?"

the topic of my show this week was a tribute to this day. archives of the show are available to download any time at the above link.

I talk here on this blog a lot about illegal immigration and securing our borders. Remembering this day, the ninth anniversary of 9/11, should remind people just how important border security really is.

Not only just keeping the large number of invaders out, but how easy it is that a large number of ARMED invaders could come in and devastate this country.

and we would be powerless to stop them before they could do large amounts of damage.

I'm asking people to take a moment to stop for a minute and remember this day, think about what happened and what might have happened.

-- Robin

Chris Dudley understands high taxes in Oregon... he moved to Washington state to avoid them

Willamette week --

former Portland trailblazer's now candidate for governor Chris Dudley acknowledges that in 1993 to 1997 he lived in Camas, Washington to avoid paying Oregon taxes, since Oregon has the highest personal income tax in the nation.

of course the Democrats are hammering Dudley over his actions.

" His choice impacted the education and public safety of the Oregonians who paid to watch him play basketball,” said Janet Van Wess, a Hillsboro teacher who spoke at the event. [and that has what to do with this? plus, if you follow that logic... then forget about ducks games.]

The DPO also estimates that Dudley may have shielded millions in income by claiming Washington residency."

Kitzhaber released a TV commercial last week stating Dudley " has never managed anything, never tried to create jobs, and never shown much interest in Oregon because [he] lived in Washington to avoid paying Oregon taxes."

I think the fact that Chris Dudley went to Washington to avoid paying taxes in Oregon shows that he personally is well aware of Oregon's high tax issues and that should be considered a positive thing.

Versus others who have their head in the sand and think that taxes are the answer to Oregon's economic issues.