WMD Stockpiles: The Swiftboaters' Swiftboaters

(September 8, 2004)
The "Swiftboat Veterans for Truth" took out John Kerry with a factually challenged but pernicious campaign to impugn his integrity by questioning his purple-heart service in Vietnam.

MSM Notices Merkley's Shifting Rhetoric

The mainstream media has taken notice of U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Merkley's evolving position on the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Register-Guard reporter David Steves points out that Merkley's open letter last week calling for the "full-scale overhaul" of NCLB, and his charge at the University of Oregon that the law "needs to be thrown out," are different from the position he articulated just days before.

That seems to be a less kind and less gentle approach than the one Merkley took on Jan. 8, when he vowed in a press release to "Improve No Child Left Behind."

That same day, his chief Democratic rival, Steve Novick, called for the repeal of NCLB.

It's apparent that the Merkley camp figured out fairly quickly that Novick's bolder call to abolish the bad law was resonating better with voters than did Merkley's watered-down plan for a fix. So give Merkley credit for understanding the old maxim that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em (or at least co-opt their ideas).

On a side note: I find this incident of Merkley "borrowing" Novick's rhetoric especially ironic, given the recent embarrassingly mismanaged attempt by blogger Senate Guru 2008 to paint Novick as a campaign copycat. Seems it's Merkley who's the more deserving target of the Guru's plagiarism scrutiny.

Montana News: There Was a Mad Moose On the Loose, So They Cooked Its Goose

News out of Montana this week proves the old adage that it doesn't pay to be a blind bull moose that's starving, tired and getting buzzed by snowmobiles. (OK, I can't really vouch for how old that adage actually is, but it's no less true).

State wildlife officials killed a bull moose blinded by eye disease that was gaining a reputation for attacking skiers and snowmobilers on a groomed trail near Big Mountain.

From The Missoulian:

Just ask the guy who grooms the snowmobile trails between Canyon Creek and the summit of Big Mountain. He encountered the moose back on Dec. 27, and reported it had attacked his grooming machine.

A couple days later, the moose kicked a snowmobile, ripping the hood right off. Later that same day, it kicked in the side of yet another machine.

...on Jan. 9, two groups of skiers - seeking quiet on the northern side of Big Mountain - startled the moose in two separate encounters.

One described the moose as "a big animal, and it's angry."

The other was forced to smack it in the nose with a ski pole to drive it off.

Still, the moose "came at me about 10 more times," said skier Kevin Green. "It was just mad and coming right at me. I just kept backing my way up the hill into the trees."

A moose unable to see would be unable to forage, and weakened by the lack of food, would be more likely to stick to the easygoing groomed trails rather than the deep woods. But that, of course, would put it into contact with skiers and snowmobilers, and they would have seemed a threat to the blinded animal, perhaps causing it to charge aggressively

...Still, officials noted that wildlife and recreationists have been co-existing in the Canyon Creek drainage for years, and officials were reluctant to kill the animal.

"We dispatch an animal only as a last resort," said Jim Satterfield, FWP's regional supervisor. "In this case, this was the only responsible course of action, given the incident with the skiers and the condition of the moose."

Did he say they dispatched the moose to a resort? Well that's nice. I wonder if that resort is anywhere near the farm my parents said they sent our German shepherd to when he started biting people?

The WMD Stockpiles: It Just keeps Going and Going

(Feb. 21, 2004)


(April 14, 2004)
A little spin on Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack," which claimed to tell the insider's story of the Raaahpublican (as Woodward likes to pronounce it) Bush Administration's reality-defying march to war.

Oregon Senate Fundraising News: Smith On Top; Merkley's Mythical 'Record'

Fourth-quarter fund-raising news for Oregon's U.S. Senate race is in, and as expected, Republican incumbent Gordon Smith pulled further away from his potential Democratic opponents, reporting in with a whopping $900,000 for the last quarter. Smith has raised $7 million so far in the campaign and has $4.5 million cash on hand.

Old-guard Democratic establishment candidate Jeff Merkley raised $619,000 from October through December. That brings his campaign total to $913,000, with $528,000 cash on hand.

Underdog wunderkind Steve Novick raised $219,000 in the last quarter. His campaign has raised $541,000 since entering the race and has $292,000 cash on hand.

As per the usual, Register-Guard reporter David Steves chimes in on his blog with some of the best coverage, including reactions from all the campaigns.

Steves' report puts more focus on the Democrats in the contested primary fight, and he does a pretty good job of putting into proper perspective the Merkley camp's "record-breaking" claims:

Merkley’s campaign says its fourth-quarter figure, combined with its third-quarter numbers, push him to a record start in raising cash in an Oregon Senate challenger’s first two quarters. That’s a stat that even a baseball stat freak would struggle to love - from the mid-60s to the 1990s, Oregon’s two senators didn’t draw serious opposition. And since Gordon Smith and Ron Wyden entered the Senate in 1996, only once had either faced a full-fledged challenger. That was Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, who lost to Smith in 2002. Bradbury raised $562,000 in his first two quarters. Hence the claim of a record.

Oregonian reporter Jeff Mapes also offers some interesting perspective:

What will the winner do if Smith goes on the attack with a big-dollar advertising campaign just weeks after the primary? That's just what the senator did six years ago with a series of ads that dismembered Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, who didn't have the money to respond.

It's just getting interesting, folks. Looks like it's gonna be a wild ride.

Packers' Grant Proves Persistence Pays

Packers running back Ryan Grant, who with Brett Favre and crew will face New York Sunday in the NFC Championship Game, has a long history with the Giants. In fact, he may just be the most motivated football player on the planet next week. His is a tale of how with hard work, persistence and a little God-given talent, even the most over-looked underdog can come out on top.

Grant played high school football less than 20 miles from Giants Stadium. So it was no surprise when the Giants signed him in 2005 as an undrafted free agent out of Notre Dame, where he shared the backfield with Maurice Jones-Drew. He spent the entire season on the practice squad and was listed on the injured reserve for all of 2006. (He used the free time to volunteer as a coach at Queen of Peace H.S. in North Arlington, NJ).

He was impressive in pre-season this year but was fifth on the Giants depth chart behind Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, (former Oregon Duck) Reuben Droughns and Ahmad Bradshaw. The Packers, knowing he would be cut and in need of a back-up themselves, gave the Giants a sixth-round pick for him before another team could pick him up on waivers.

As a back-up with Green Bay, he went into the Denver game on Week Eight with just six carries for 27 yards, but when starter DeShawn Wynn went down in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, Packers coach Mike McCarthy called on Grant. He responded with 104 yards on 22 carries.

Grant has been Green Bay's go-to back ever since. In Week 11 he was named as the Fed Ex Ground player of the week. He picked up 119 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, making him the first running back all season to run for 100 yards against the Vikings' second-ranked rush defense. His workhorse 201-yard performance in the snow last week against Seattle helped lead his team to the NFC Championship Game.

Now, in one of those inspiring ironic sports moments, the once-unappreciated back stands between his former New York teammates and the Super Bowl.

Novick Releases First TV Commercial

Senate candidate Steve Novick's first ad looks like a winner. It's a nice introduction to Steve with a touch of humor.

Senate Candidates Agree On Four Debates

The Register-Guard's David Steves reported Friday that the Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate have agreed on four debates. Steves lists them as Jan. 22 at Pendleton, March 7 at Eugene, April 5 at Newport and another on April 15, with the location to be announced.

Steve Novick, Jeff Merkley, Candy Neville and David Loera will attend the Jan. 22 and March 7 debates. The hosts of the two confirmed debates in April will determe who to invite. The April 5 event is sponsored by the League of Women voters. The April 15 debate is sponosred by KGW and The Oregonian.

The campaigns are still discussing the possiblity of more debates, according to Steves.

Sketchy New Bike Boxes Get Times' Attention

The New York Times took notice of the Portland cycling scene again today with a feature story about how the city is acting to protect cyclists.

..."bike boxes" will be laid out on the roadway to provide a clearly designated place for cyclists, in front of and in full view of drivers, to wait for traffic lights to change. The boxes will be marked with signs and wide stripes alerting drivers to stop behind them at red lights.

More publicity for Portland on the heels of last month's Wall Street Journal article about Rep. Earl "Bikeman" Blumenauer.

As the story notes, the bike boxes are intended chiefly to reduce the risk of "right hook" collisions, the kind most frequently reported in Portland, in which a driver makes a right turn without seeing a cyclist who often approaches from behind and moves into the driver’s path as the driver slows or is waiting to turn.

Drivers will not be allowed to pass through the bike box to turn right on a red light, although many right hooks now occur after the light has turned green.

Although the boxes are a nice try, the reality is that as long as the government continues to give cyclists the common-sense-defying message that it is safe to pass on the right a vehicle that is turning right, people are going to continue to get hurt no matter how many lines and boxes Sam Adams paints on the ground or how many colors he uses.

The person best equipped to avoid the “right hook” situation is the bicyclist.

Everything that person needs to know is literally right in front of him or right next to him, and the cyclist has the most unobstructed view. When Portland office of Transportation Bicycle Coordinator Roger Geller tells the Times that the bike boxes will be in place because “we want (drivers) to have that visual cue to take a look over their shoulder,” he’s basically admitting that fact.

Yet the law puts the burden on the driver who has to use his mirror or crane his neck through numerous blind spots. It defies reason, and because of that, if the government keeps sending people into that "right hook" maelstrom under the ruse that it's OK because it's painted lines on the road and told drivers to look out, well, people are going to continue to get smacked.

No matter how careful drivers are, every once in a while someone's going to make a mistake. And because you've taken responsibility out of the hands of the cyclist -- the person in the best position to avoid the crash -- and put it in the hands of the driver, the person in the worst position, accidents are going to happen.

Years ago when I was a Portland bike messenger (some of my cohorts are still "on the job") before there were bike lanes and before cycling was trendy or a political movement , we avoided the "right hook" situation like the plague. I wouldn't even put myself in that position at an intersection with a car that wasn't signaling a turn. Yet it takes place everyday now in Portland, under government orders.

As long as that’s the case, every once in awhile people are going to be hurt in collisions they could have avoided.

Stop telling people it is a good idea to approach and pass a vehicle in an intersection where that vehicle has the opportunity to turn in front of their path!

One more thing, if you expect the government to guarantee your safety in an environment where you are on a 20-pound bike among 3,000-pound vehicles, you ought to hang up your pedals right now, 'cause "uncle Sam" simply cannot deliver that.

The Audacity of Hope

Notorious Hollywood conservative Bob Hope gets his political partisans confused here, but it's still a pretty funny line.

A Change Is Gonna Come (?)

One thing for sure, the Obama presidential campaign has already brought about at least one change.

In 2004, the big story after the Iowa caucus was "the scream," a negative narrative that dragged down a campaign.

In 2008, the story after the Iowa caucus is "the speech," a positive narrative that is lifting up a campaign.

Whitey On The Moon

Gil Scott-Heron's poem and song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is an instant classic -- an anthem for the turbulent '70s -- and in many ways is even more relevant today. The man's written some fantastically funky social commentary. But when I listen to this one ...



... I can't help thinking of the song Garret Morris performed for Saturday Night Live on January 24, 1976. Dressed as a convict appearing in front of the parole board, Morris breaks out this tune:

I'm gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see,
I'm gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see.
When I kill all the whities I see, then whitey he won't bother me,
I'm gonna get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see.

Then I'll get a white woman who's wearing a navy blue sweater.

Damn the persistence of memory.

The WMD Stockpiles: He Said 'Caucus' (heh, heh)

(February 17, 2004)

Bicycling Blumenauer In The WSJ

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer's love of cycling is well known in these parts, but his reputation as D.C.'s premier "bikeman" recently got the attention of the Wall Street Journal. From a Dec. 29 article:

WASHINGTON -- A little after 6:00 one morning, Earl Blumenauer emerged from his Capitol Hill row house. The temperature hovered near 40 degrees and it was really raining. The Oregon congressman hopped on his rust-colored Trek Portland, an aluminum-frame bicycle with a carbon front fork designed to absorb road shock, and pedaled to his office.

Though he was alone on the road, and despite the downpour, he stopped at every red traffic signal. At one odd-shaped intersection, Mr. Blumenauer mused aloud about all the streets jutting off at odd angles. Perfect for a traffic circle, he suggested.

Later that morning, House Minority Leader John Boehner, the Ohio Republican, was incredulous that anyone had been out in such weather. "Are you out of your mind?" he asked.

"Bikeman," a House colleague from Oregon calls him. Mr. Blumenauer owns seven bikes. His congressional office is one of the few — if not the only one — that didn’t even apply for a parking permit. On occasion, Mr. Blumenauer has cycled to the White House. On Mr. Blumenauer’s first visit, the Secret Service, more accustomed to limousines, was flummoxed at the sight of his bike.

"I leaned it up against the portico," Mr. Blumenauer says.

He launched the Congressional Bike Caucus, a bipartisan group that promotes public investment in cycling. In his early days, he tracked down Speaker Newt Gingrich in the House gym to pitch transit-fare subsidies for House workers. He got them. As the ranks of the Bicycle Caucus have grown — there are now more than 170 members — money for bike projects has grown, more than doubling during his time in office.

With Democrats in the majority for the first time since he came to Washington, Mr. Blumenauer snagged a seat on the Ways and Means Committee, and has had some success peddling a proposal to encourage bike commuting. The tax code already encourages employers to subsidize parking spots for workers who drive or fare cards for those who use mass transit. But it is silent on bikes.

"You can’t provide a benefit for people who burn calories instead of petroleum," says Mr. Blumenauer, in disbelief. "It just seemed outrageous that somebody who cycles got zip."

The provision would encourage employers to provide fringe benefits to bicycle commuters — such as for repairs and annual upkeep — at a cost to American taxpayers of $1 million a year.

(The WSJ's website is subscription only, so these excerpts will have to do until you can find a hard copy)

From the WMD Stockpiles: The Bunker Bureau

(Sept. 25, 2004 / redone in color 2006)