Blum and Gloom XIV

Week 14

[video h/t Joe Anybody]

[Week 13 / Week 15]

Blum and Gloom XIII

Week 13

[video h/t Joe Anybody]

[Week 12 / Week 14]

Silencing Speech

Once again, i have been banned from "Oregon's biggest blog." Kari Chisholm accused me of making an ad hominem attack. And while making his accusation public, he deleted from public view the "offending" comment in question. Furthermore, i am no longer allowed to comment on Blue Oregon.

Set you irony meters on "stunning" as i lay out the facts.

Kari is well known for not playing well with others as he throws his weight around on Blue0. He also gets pretty mouthy (which would give me pause if he were on my payroll as he is for much of Oregon's top Dems - Gov. Kulongoski, US Sen. Wyden, US Rep. Blumenauer, Councilman Adams, Senator Brown, etc.).

"Don't be an asshole, [Stephanie]" - K. Chisholm

And here was the context...

Posted by: Stephanie V | Oct 2, 2007 2:07:29 PM [...] My only advice to Jeff: better hire Mandate Media to do your website, so you can keep getting some good pixels over here. %^> ------------------------------- Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Oct 3, 2007 1:45:03 AM My only advice to Jeff: better hire Mandate Media to do your website, so you can keep getting some good pixels over here. Don't be an asshole. That's not how it works and you know it.

Classy way to overreact. And so i thought it curious when Kari made the following comment:

Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Oct 14, 2007 8:44:05 PM Stephanie V wrote... Kari, I didn't say you were hopelessly biased or an unethical asshole...

To which i responded:

Posted by: East Bank Thom | Oct 14, 2007 10:13:10 PM [Stephanie V] - Kari, I didn't say you were hopelessly biased or an unethical asshole Stephanie, the first phrase roughly paraphrases what Kari admitted about himself. The latter insult (minus the adjective) was slung against you by Jeff Merkley's paid media consultant. Money well spent indeed.

Something about my comment really pissed off Kari. He deleted it and replace it with this message:

Posted by: East Bank Thom | Oct 14, 2007 10:13:10 PM [Ad hominem attack deleted. -editor.]

I tried to get a bit of clarification...

Dear Editor,
How can it be considered an "ad hominem" attack, when i simply hotlinked to two quotes from Blue0's editor? I didn't even requote his admission that he is not only biased, but "very biased" nor did i requote his characterization of Stephanie V as "an asshole." Perhaps it was that i noted how the editor is Jeff Merkley's paid media consultant? Seeing that the editor has admitted as much, i don't understand how this could be considered an "ad hominem attack."

signed,
Curious in SE Portland

But alas...

An error occurred...
Your comment has not been posted because we think it might be comment spam. If you believe you have received this message in error, please contact the author of this weblog.

There's nothing quite as patriotic as silencing free speech. Jeff Merkley, I salute you.

Blum and Gloom XII

[Week 11 /Week 12 / Week 13]

[video h/t Joe Anybody]






[Week 11 / Week 13]

Why I distrust the DSCC

The above is reposted with apologies to and in homage of Rob Tornoe, one of my favorite political cartoonists. I first read it on PolitickerOR. Do click on the image above for my adaptation!

Drinking Liberally

This was week two for "Drinking Liberally" at their new digs upstairs at Madison's Bar and Grill. They sport enough brews on tap to please most PDX armchair politicians and the service was top notch.

<<THIS JUST IN...>>

A Merkley staffer close to the campaign was asked, "Will Merkley ever debate Novick?" And the reply?

"Um, yeah. They'll be having a joint appearance this weekend."

Ok, so this isn't breaking news. It seems whenever the Merkley Machine is asked (or even the man himself), the response is to point to (even accidental) "joint appearances." Is this a winning strategy or just politicians as usual? I'd say "You decide," but it appears the Party in DC has already chosen for us.

Craig goes, comes...

Once out, the "never been gay" Idaho senator says he staying in and intends to continue servicing his constituents.

Sen. Craig not resigning despite judge's ruling

(CNN) -- Sen. Larry Craig on Thursday said he was not resigning from the Senate despite a Minnesota judge denying his request to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his arrest in a sex sting at an airport men's room. [more...]

Blum and Gloom XI

[Week 10 / Week 11 / Week 12]
See also: Impeachment and City Hall

[video h/t Joe Anybody]

[Week 10 / Week 12]







































[Week 10 / Week 12]
See also: Impeachment and City Hall

Sam Adams

.
It's official. Sam Adams, unabashedly out Portland City Councilman is in the race for Puddletown's Mayor.

It seems even Sam's own media consultant was kept in the dark until the last moment garnering yours truly my first kudo over at Blue0 after a lengthy list of complaints (and even temporary, accidental bannination) for my critiques of another one of Mandate's client's, candidate Jeff Merkley.

Normally you wouldn't find me anywhere near Sam Adams and a pub. Traveling outside of Oregon i've asked, "Do you have any microbrews?" "We have Sam Adams lager!" No thanks. Portland's Sam Adams isn't anything like his namesake's distinctly average ale. His choice for tonight's announcement underscores this. Roots is the region's only all-organic brewery.

The event (whose hosts donated all tips and a portion of the receipts to the Leukemia Society) was a chance for normal folk to swim with the big fish in our small pond. I spotted pollster Mike Riley, who recently got a roasting for his polling tactics. In his defense, how can a guy who answers "wine" in a brewpub can't really be trusted to ask the right questions.

Also on hand were City Commissioner Randy Leonard and County Commish, Maria Rojo de Steffey. Underneath a portrait of Bob Marley, Sam gave credit to Portland's mayors present and past and went on to articulate his vision for Portland's future. [Disclaimer: I voted against Sam before i voted for him. Maybe it was simply Katz fatigue. After hearing his plan for small businesses, i was sold. As a successful small business, Roots lends Sam an important endorsement.

As Sam again steps into the media glare, he emerges perhaps scathed but strong following a failed smear campaign. That's partly why i was there, to keep good on a promise. Sam has been a good public servant. He's already earned my respect. He'll still have to earn my vote, but it was my pleasure to cheer him on in the process.

Chemical Ali not gassed

A month ago the death sentence was upheld for the cousin of Saddam Hussein, "Chemical Ali," for war crimes, including the use of chemical weapons against Kurdish civilians in 1988, killing as many as 180,000. The banned weapons were sold to Iraq by Ronald Reagan through is special envoy, Donald Rumsfeld. Current Iraqi law mandates that the death sentence be carried out within 30 days of an affirmative supreme court review. No word if the Iraqis will change the law retroactively or seek to turn back time.

City Council and impeachment

See also: Blumenauer impeachment vigil [Week 10 / Week 11]


When i heard that the City Council was hearing testimony calling for the impeachments of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, i knew i wanted to be there to show my support. The chambers were full by the time i pedaled across the Willamette. Imagine my surprise when i saw sitting among the dozen or two bright red IMPEACH T-shirts none other than Oregon's soon to be ex-Speaker of the House, Jeff Merkley.

Imagine my disappointment when i learned that he had just shown up with a few other legislators in order to receive a deserved pat on the back. Still, this is the closest Speaker Merkley has come to supporting impeachment. Well... it's the closest he's come to so many impeachment supporters. There was that other time at the recent vigil on the Hawthorne bridge. The Speaker showed up and spoke about ending the war and holding bush accountable. But then he left, leaving the protest to the actual protesters. According to Merkley's media man at Mandate Inc., "Candidate time is the scarcest resource any campaign has."

The Mayor invited the politicians to stay for the upcoming testimony urging the the Council to join other cities in saying the time for dithering is over. The time to take a stand for the Constitution is now. But Speaker Merkley (and his internet spin-mistress, Carla "raving hypocrite" Axtman) had to leave, not wanting to squander the valuable capital which is "candidate time." On the plus side, with the pols leaving, they freed up some more seats for the people; normal people who assembled peaceably to petition their City Government. Sometimes, We the People must lead, especially when our elected leaders are beating a hasty retreat.

Grant from Veterans for Peace addressed the council. (I'll come back and post some of his cogent testimony - in the meantime, we can reflect on an earlier comment he made...)

My question related to whether Sen. Wyden thought the invasion/occupation was in violation of the Constitution, specifically Article 6. I whipped out my pocket Constitution edition copy ala, Sen. Byrd, just because I like to read from it instead of relying on memory. He went on to answer that he argued this on the floor during the debate. Well that's nice but what has he done about it since then? If it was in violation of the Constitution then it still is and his first duty is to uphold his oath of office.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.[

It seems there are too many members of the House and Senate that put politics and party above their sworn obligation. They don't seem to realize they can "multi task". Did the Congress come to a screeching halt during Watergate? During Monicagate? No. Committees met, floor debate continued and bills were passed.

[video h/t Joe Anybody]
See also: Blumenauer impeachment vigil [Week 10 / Week 11]