The Fog Makes Everything Quiet..

Macy's is finally a local store, local to Portland. While we could lament the loss of Meier and Frank, it is the way the world is today - all industries trend toward consolidation. So Macy's has finally gotten a clue, more than one in fact. From the original dowdy clothes they thought we wore here in Oregon country (did they know we've been a state since 1859?), they finally have clothes that real people wear. And cute ceramic pots for cooking, someday, when I feel like spending that kind of money. And of course the ipod vending machine at Washington Square really makes me feel 1st World.

The parade can now be called Macy's holiday parade. At first they didn't understand how middle school bands could participate in this event. Did they think this was the Rose Parade or something? Do they want middle schoolers to become hoodlums and be deprived of one of the only events they can participate in at a community level? I was really really happy to see at least a couple middle school bands in this year's holiday parade. Rah!

And Franklin H.S. had their own band this year too! I seem to recall in past parades the various high schools from Portland had to grab a few people from each school - not sure where they got the different uniforms from, maybe from Portland's past days of high school glory. But this year standing on their own was Franklin H.S. Go for it! I hope to see you in the Rose Parade! And many other Portland high school marching bands too! Of course, Century will still outshine any of you, but competition is healthy.

If life can be measured in 12-hour increments, which I sometimes think, it didn't even take that long after the parade ended and the masses gathered at Pioneer Square for the tree lighting. Eighteen minutes before the tree lighting (or maybe 1 hour and 18 mins) a 19-year old kid was nabbed for an attempt to blow up the crowd.

Shouldn't terrorist attacks happen in foreign cities? But not the ones my kids go to. Or shouldn't they happen on east coast cities? But again, not the ones my kids go to. Or shouldn't we be "fighting the terrorists over there, so that we don't have to fight them here?"

Don't believe any of that. They are here among us. Two words come to mind:
"entrapment". This is what happens when the FBI give you the tools, encouragement, and opportunity to commit an act which will land you in jail forever. Or it could be the police. From my knowledge of this case, news stories, I don't see how this kid would have followed the garden path on his own. Granted he got the bomb making supplies from Radio Shack. Must be the one in Corvallis cause the one here in Hillsboro doesn't stock C-4. As a naturalized citizen he should have the same rights as me or any other citizen, right?

So he rails on Islamic sites exercising his free speech. But wait. He was advocating treason against the U.S., which blowing up the tree-goers at Pioneer Square certainly is. So you can draw that line. Which leads me to the next word:

"integration": I can't help wondering about why this kid didn't become integrated to: his community, his school, American society. Maybe this is white middle class guilt or something. But why didn't he go out for band and end up marching in the parade? Or why didn't he sign up for the chess club, or just find some friends to go party with? How has the community failed to integrate this child?

Last thought of the day - Safeway has it right. For a little over $6 you can buy a bag of groceries for people without, and I checked the label - this is staple stuff like beans and rice. Yes, you do not need to eat confined animal farm chickens to get protein, as 400 of the world's 436 countries have figured out, despite our propagating Western ways to the rest of the world. In a time of corporate strip malls looking the same from here to Tigard to Framingham, Mass, our local Safeway is there In the Community. This month it is a pitch to buy food bags along with your groceries. Last month it was a book sale to raise money. They have it right. Rah and aloha for the Aloha Safeway.

As darkness descends two days after the parade, after the tree lighting, the fog makes everything quiet..

15 Minutes at the Hollywood Farmer's Market

Last day of the season..

It was balmy at first..









The band was playing old Emmy Lou Harris tunes, a good twang, a strong female voice (Sandy Saunders)


The clouds moved in, my fingers turned yellow..

















Sigh, till next spring then..

What is Legal, What is Ilegal?

.. and in-between..

Illegal: toner cartridges on airplanes
Legal: toner cartridges for home or office use

Illegal: energy drinks with alcohol in Washington State
Legal: rum & coke

Illegal: marijuana (at the federal level)
Decriminalized: marijuana in Oregon
Though, no dispensaries (Measure 74 went down), and it is not legal in California (their initiative went down too)
Watching 1:1 encounters at the gym - be it handball, basketball, or staring contests.. Most of them seemed pretty competitive. Maybe the world needs legal marijuana. I don't remember men fighting back-in-the-day. Cause when you're stoned you have other objectives, fighting not among them.

I am all for coherent policy. But if one person tomorrow puts a bomb that can be detonated by a bag of cheetohs in their pink wig, will we see a ban on cheetohs and pink wigs on airplanes? Did anyone besides me who saw the "breaking news" last week about toner cartridges banned on planes think it might be a joke?

No joke. Also the energy drinks in Washington State. I am not sure why it is illegal to add caffeine to an alcohol drink. The producer is saying - hey, you need to regulate bars too. So, while rum & coke is legal *today*, tomorrow may be another story.

Back to mixing your own, perhaps. Except I don't drink coke anymore. Just the rum with a bit of lime. Yes we still have some Belizian rum, a place where rum is actually cheaper than wine. I suppose in Venice box wine is easier to come by than clean water. So, when in Rome (or Venice or Belize).. I'm glad I had some cheetohs today, cause they may be on their way out...

State Foot Soldiers

State workers are not the favorites these days.. No, I would have to say, the paparrazi are not trailing me, just to get a glimpse of what exciting policy issues I am thinking about. Or what the latest forecast might be for people in Trade Act training. Darn, I would love to offer autographs.

But there are plenty of people with hatred for us, it seems. Fat and happy they think we are (sometimes I wish like Yoda I could talk, but that wouldn't satisfy the bureacracy).

OK well lets draw a comparison. When troops come back from an unpopular war - take your pick - Iraq, Afghanistan, or even wars of old like Vietnam. Its all about the individuals who sacrificed so much. People mostly get that the individual private first class or enlisted man or woman does not define policy. They go where they are deployed. They do what their mission commander tells them to do. They are issued weapons of war, and carry it out. And the individual (should be, I believe we fall short as a society) should be respected and treated with what they need on their return.

But you don't yell at the soldiers returning and say - hey, why did you do that?! Why are you accepting those VA benefits? And why are your family members getting benefits too?

But state workers seem to bear the brunt of policy decisions. As today's letter writer to the Oregonian offered, maybe just maybe they aren't overcompensated. Maybe there are too many of them. Since the state "system" has to be sustainable, in a budget sense.

I guess we don't have this problem with funding soldiers, and wars. The check is blank and any amount can be written in. Maybe there are policy objectives, maybe there aren't. Well no one holds military commanders to performance-based budgeting. Every federal appropriation for war is "supplemental", as in "lets figure out how much we need, debate it, and go for it!".

I would like people to think about the "system" that state employees are in. I did not chose Governor's Day - it is something handed out, as perhaps a weekend pass for a returning soldier. I did not chose to have more spent on prisons than on schools in this state. Those are policy issues - please contact your legislator. And maybe I will do the same.

Since some day, when the mass of state workers leave for their cars at 5pm from government plaza, we would like to be appreciated. Maybe not paparrazi, ok (don't have the dark glasses for that in any case) but some respect, appreciation for keeping the state rational and sane, as much as we are able, for another day.

the Lessons of Leaves

Usually running (or walking, or taking turns with these) around the elevated track at the gym I look to the people shooting baskets down below for the inspiration of the day.

Sometimes it is a young punk's chance to win (ah, the young will take over the world!). Othertimes a middle aged guy will score baskets (the old world can still rein!). Anyhow this time I turned my sights outside.

There are tons of trees all around, tons of windows to stare out of while listening to my legacy ipod. Fall brings all kinds of states of leaves, lets see how we can map this to politics:

* The stubborn ones hanging on to trees - like the oak leaves that have been brown. These are the old guard who still think Woodrow Wilson was the best president ever.

* Fluttering leaves - perhaps people like me who try to think independently, once a registered Democrat (forever actually), now a registered Progressive. And maybe twice in my life now I've voted for a Republican - once was Sen. Gordon Smith when I really really needed those unemployment benefits to be extended, so no use switching horses midstream..

* Streaming leaves - see them racing across the parking lot. Flocking together like birds. Unlike organic birds who get minute messages that keep their flock together, I think its the prevailing wind that keeps these leaves streaming together. Or maybe they have a strong leader? This could be mapped to many different groups, from Democratic union groups, to tea party groups, to well just about any group that sticks together without too many sticking out.

* Mashed and soaked leaves in puddles. I think these are the ones left behind. Any George Bush supporters out there? Maybe they will experience some joy at his new book. But mostly they are ignored and clog drains.

* Then there's the classic - falling leaves. As they jump (if the weather is frigid) or fall (if its not) off of tree limbs, they have a chance to experience some poetry in the way they fall. Stuck for their entire life on a tree limb, they are giving up that life for a new adventure. This is their 15 seconds of fame! The brightest will get collected by schoolchildren, old ladies and old men, and other random people. As they sit along sidewalks they can beam at the joy they bring people. And no matter *where* you are, the smell of leaves is the same. These are the ones who set their own direction.

Fact, Hope, Reality

Fact: Oregon has 10.6% unemployment.
Hope: That by focusing on the deficit (nationally), we can get our fiscal house in order and create jobs
Reality: Not likely in 3 months time. What is significant about 3 months? Thats when all those tea partiers and Republican voters get disenchanted, yet again, with the folks they voted in yesterday. Thats when things start looking up for Obama in 2012..

Fact: War spending - is it up to $1 Trillion, or $3 Trillion now? Remember how many B-1 bombers that is (a lot). Someone pointed out that a 10-year old has lived in a country where we have *always* been at war in Afghanistan. Somehow the term "war" loses its meaning when it is persistent.
Hope: The limited government types, will they address this? Weird as Rand Paul is sometimes, I think I heard him say military spending was fair game.
Reality: How many jobs in your congressional district depend on the military-industrial complex. Oh they Republicans claim they want to cut out earmarks. Well, except for those that impact their own constituents.
Patty Murray case in point - she is massively inspiring and I would want her for my senator. Maybe I should move to Washington, except for my little patch of land up there is 100% Rossi territory. Well, so what, I will pay my taxes and not put my car up on cement blocks or anything, so it should be ok. But she does bring home the bacon, and Washington has like 7 military bases. Hmm, Washington and its economic base is sounding better all the time..
But the reality here is that along with earmarks, and military spending, come jobs. And I don't think anyone, however principled, has the stomach or ill will to kill jobs right now.

Fact: Business uncertainty kills expansion, hiring, innovation.
Hope: Are tax cuts enough? If the lame duck Congress extends, even for a year, those Bush tax cuts, will this be enough certainty?
Reality: Confidence begets confidence. Here is a factoid - the Intel expansion in Hillsboro, which just may be (acc to our current Gov Kulongoski) the biggest industrial investment at $several billions, in the nation for the past two years. Well - Intel is able to take advantage of some $30B in Stimulus provided low interest bonds. Think again, dear Republican friends, before you think Stimulus is a 4-letter word.

Fact: Consumer spending is down.
Hope: Everyone can get back to living their lives, but, live within their means.
Reality: The Foreclosure mess is messing up a lot of people's lives, including those evil bankers. This will either take ages to work out, or, maybe something sensible can happen. Maybe allowing court-ordered "workouts", where a judge can mandate re-setting your home to current market rates. Instead of what you paid for the house which may have been a bubble-inflated price.

Fact: The Oregon Governor's race - done. I think. Dudley conceded. The vote tally is slightly ahead for Kitzhaber. But the votes aren't all counted yet...
Hope: Change for something new (back to the future type of new? Well, I guess some can be nostalgic for those glory days). Hey, one time I rode 7 floors in an elevator with-the-man-who-is-projected-to-be-the-next-Gov. Seemed like a regular guy. That was my 15 seconds of brush with fame.
Reality: To be written, day by day. Tomorrow may be Day 1.