Keeping an eye on the legislature, I stumbled across a bill by two mid-valley legislators who are trying to keep us from slipping down another notch on the descent to a total surveillance society. Last fall, the national news started reporting that a few schools in Texas and elsewhere had begun requiring students to wear […]
(A counterpoint appears at the end.)Tax season is upon us again, and it’s time to ask: Why is the government making it harder for some people to file their returns? Until a few years ago, if you had filed a return the previous year, the IRS would mail you a packet of instructions and forms. […]
Listening to President Obama’s second inaugural address, it was easy to be carried away. Taking his theme from the Declaration of Independence, he told his fellow citizens what those hallowed words mean to him today. It was an inspiration — unless you got stuck in the details. For example, the president said: “We will respond […]
(As always, for a reaction, see below.) On the occasion of President Obama’s second inauguration, it may be fitting to call attention to House Bill 2405, introduced in the current session of the Oregon legislature by Rep. Andy Olson of Albany. Olson introduced the measure at the request of a voter in House District 15, […]
Sheriffs in Oregon and across the country have good reason to oppose any gun controls that would discourage private citizens from buying and owning firearms and learning how to use them safely. They know better than anyone that they and their deputies cannot protect people in most of rural America in an emergency. They are too […]
Here’s a word of advice for Oregon’s 2013 Legislative Asssembly, which has officially begun but won’t start work in earnest until February: Don’t create any more crimes. Don’t pass any more laws that add to the criminal code. And for every other law you enact, try to find one you can repeal. Oregon is drowning in […]
Armstrong: At least no weeping
His many critics — is there anyone NOT a critic of him? — were not impressed with Lance Armstrong’s admission that he boosted his performance with banned substances in order to win the Tour de France seven times. He did not appear to them to be contrite enough. He did not weep. He did not […]
Tags: doping, Lance Armstrong, Oprah