Story (after the jump) is about a crook who skimmed campaign money after getting elected to the Oregon State House of Representatives a couple times; naturally, he’s now bankrupt, and the state has taken his law license (!) so he can’t earn much money, so there doesn’t seem to be a very high probability [...]

Story in the P-I about our insane practices with respect to energy and materials; we make mountains of waste, some biodegradable and most not, but all representing a huge energy investment.  Then we put it trains and burn diesel fuel to send it “away” (to Oregon!), where the biodegradable part makes methane (23x as [...]

There’s little time to spare if you haven’t already visited the Campaign to Save the Net and told the FCC to ensure Net Neutrality.  Without it, you are going to find that the Net you know is not the one that survives, because the Telcos will be free to start cutting deals with providers based [...]

A couple of things this time. The first is an idea that is causing a stir, the second a continuation of the discussion of “Crude,” including the introduction of new information.
Political Reality
The “idea” is contained in a new book by psychology researcher Drew Westen of Emory University, called “The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion [...]

In debate, it is not uncommon for arguments to break down due to weakness in the reasoning process. These false arguments may be due to ignorance or may be intentional. Indeed, the Latin word fallere, from which fallacy is taken, means to deceive. Intelligent readers learn to recognize these arguments, and conscientious writers should avoid [...]

The one place Oregon has acted to tart itself up and throw itself at any stinking smokestack is in biofuels production.  Check out this tremendous summary of just how staggeringly costly and counterproductive ethanol is — JUST at the federal level … (editorial emphasis added):

Oregon’s 2007 Legislative session was remarkable in the number and quality of environmental bills that were passed, recalling the era of the iconic Tom McCall.
In some way, he must be smiling down upon us, pleased that his legacy has returned to the forefront. I need not remind you that it was Tom McCall who defined [...]

Over at BlueOregon, Chuck Sheketoff wrote about the ethanomania boom pushing up the price of beer (the horror!), leading to a weird parallel discussion by some of us about biofuels and others about beer …   It’s here if you want to check it out.
Thinking about the session, I’d have to say the Governor’s failure to [...]

Oregon League of Conservation Voters has a blog where they have asked for your ideas for the next Legislative session — so dream big!   The only stupid ideas are the ones that no one ever expresses, because all the rest can spark something better, even if it’s not such a hot idea in itself.
So hit [...]

We have two groups that meet outside Astoria City Hall at 5 p.m. Fridays, on either side of the busiest street in Astoria, about 50 feet apart so they don`t have to actually look at each other across the road. On one side stand the older guys waving huge flags and signs that say, “SUPPORT [...]