“#Oregon Supreme Court: 10 Republican state senators who staged record-long walkout last year to stall bills on #abortion, #transgender health care & #GunRights cannot run for reelection.
..upholds sec of state’s decision to disqualify the senators from ballot under voter-approved measure aimed at stopping such boycotts. Measure ..amended state constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have more than 10 unexcused absences”
Usually I go out New Year's morning to a wetland and start my year bird list out right, but this year, between work and getting back to running, it'll be a slower start. My #birdsof2023 list starts with a quick park walk this morning:
Hey heads! I’m taking my high school senior to #eugene#oregon in a couple of weeks to check out #universityoforegon. He’s an accepted student! Please hit me with recs on:
Restaurants
Music clubs/scene
Record stores
Other heady stuff
A person driving a truck with right-wing stickers pulled a "splatter ball gun" on pro-Palestine protesters at a rally. Several armed rally goers pulled their own weapons, and forced the person to drop their weapon and also remove their mask.
"Two individuals within the march rushed to the front, drew their own handguns, and ordered the man to immediately drop his weapon and take off his mask to which he complied. After doing so, he took his mask off. As the two individuals kicked the now-unmasked man’s weapon away,"
If you're not here or don't hear about Oregon politics: It's wild. GOP lawmakers in Oregon's Senate have been on a walkout to prevent abortion protections and other Democratic priorities from passing. But Oregon voters passed a ballot measure last year making any legislator that does this ineligible to run again.
Recently I posted that some libraries in southern Oregon were under attack. Racist, bigoted fascists were trying to infiltrate their Board so they could ban books.
Well, the voters have spoken. Our candidates—kind people with integrity—won the election. They won!
Small elections are huge. They mean so very much. Just wanted to share, because these victories have been few and far between.
Ever wonder why when you were a kid in Oregon, you learned about the Iroquois and Cherokee tribes of the Eastern USA but nothing about local Native Americans? Why you learned about the pioneers crossing the plains on the Oregon Trail, but nothing about what they did once they arrived?
...Or maybe you didn't even notice how much was left out until this very moment, reading my words?
Here is the missing piece.
"Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley" by David G. Lewis.
Fair warning, this book made me so upset that I cried. Not at the author, he's done an excellent job. At the astonishing cruelty, violence, and dishonesty shown to native people by (many) white settlers. At how little they asked for, and still didn't get. At how little is left of the ecosystems that sustained people and wildlife and were carefully maintained by native people. At how much astonishing wealth has accrued to those who stole from natives, even to the modern day.
Land acknowledgement statements are not enough! If you are a white person in Oregon, you need to read this.
Watching the latest "The Logistics of" video which covers Depoe Bay and Sam pronounces it as "du-poe". I've always heard people say and thought it was pronounced like "dee-poe" like the word "depot".
Oregon bill would decriminalize homeless encampments and propose penalties if unhoused people are harassed or ordered to leave | This makes me very happy, as it puts the onus of dealing with the #unhoused population exactly where it should be - on society in general and local municipalities specifically. If you don’t want the #homeless in your downtown, provide them a safe space elsewhere. It’s our responsibility as a society to care for our homeless citizens, it is society that has failed them in most cases. So instead of NIMBY vigilantes at all levels punting the population from one place or another, it’s long past time to deal with the crisis head on and provide the space for their tents, tiny houses and warming centers during harsh winters, cooling centers during blazing summers, and access to service at all times. Proud of my state: #oregon and proud of our Governor, Tina Kotek, who with her first lady constitute our first same sex first couple. #LGBTQIA#LGBTQ#Governancehttps://www.cnn.com/2023/04/28/us/oregon-homeless-camp-bill/index.html
"The Oregon #MotorVoter (OMV) registration law took effect on January 1, 2016, making #Oregon the first state in the nation to implement automatic #voterRegistration [for drivers]" and then they mail you a ballot, but how do we get non-drivers to vote? #pdxBikes#ORpol
I've been out here on the #westCoast for 18 years, and I have NEVER had #friedCatfish that was done right!
I don't understand why it's always SO BAD! It always tastes like a pool. They batter it with too much crunchy cornbread, and fry it too cold so its oily too.
I'm just gonna have to start a #foodTruck and show you yankees how #catfish is supposed to be cooked!
"A woman living under the crawl space of an Airbnb that she cleaned... At what point can we say the American dream has become a nightmare?"
"It’s mathematically impossible to pull yourself out of homelessness without help... It’s not the moral failing of the people who are unhoused; it’s the moral failing of this country."
Julie Akins, senior housing director at AllCare Health, journalist, and former mayor of Ashland, #Oregon
The smoke was looking to be bad at Steven’s Pass so I hopped on the PCT at Timberline instead after work on Thursday. Hiked 4 miles and set up camp. After the PCT departs the Timberline Trail, it enters a majestic forest heading towards Timothy Lake. Just before dusk the wind picked up and I received a possible thunderstorm warning. Luckily I packed my rain jacket.
The Nobles of Iowa moved to blue Minnesota. The Huckinses of Oregon moved to red Missouri. Their separate journeys, five weeks apart, illustrate the fracturing of America.
#Oregon Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a bid to remove #Trump from the 2024 ballot based on the #14thAmendment’s “insurrectionist ban,” saying it’s waiting for the US #SupremeCourt to rule on the issue. #legal
[Analysis] Two Families Got Fed Up With Their States’ Politics. So They Moved Out. (www.nytimes.com)
The Nobles of Iowa moved to blue Minnesota. The Huckinses of Oregon moved to red Missouri. Their separate journeys, five weeks apart, illustrate the fracturing of America.