Today in Oregon

Nocturnal Wildlife

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Franken Leading Polls In Minnesota Senate Race

From The Nation:

(T)wo new polls have confirmed Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate Al Franken's status as a narrow-but-consistent leader in the race with Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley, who briefly held the seat as an appointee after the death of U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone in 2002.

A Rasmussen Poll has Franken at 43 percent, Coleman at 37 and Barkley at 17.

A University of Minnesota survey puts Franken at 41, Coleman at 37, Barkley at 14.

PDX Council Candidates Discuss Racial Profiling

Portland city council candidates Amanda Fritz and Charles Lewis discussed the sensitive issue of racial profiling recently at a debate in Northeast Portland:

From The Portland Observer:

Both candidates acknowledged in last week's forum that racial profiling is a real problem, one that must be addressed.

Lewis, the founder of Ethos, Inc., a provider of music education to minority and disadvantaged populations, said being singled out and discriminated against are "hard on a person's spirit."

Although he did not believe the vast majority of Portland's police officers were involved in racial profiling, he said there were definitely a few bad apples out there.

Fritz, a registered nurse, volunteer leader and public schools activist, said the city was very good about studying things and making committees, but that the time has come to implement recommendations to curb racial profiling.

Read the rest HERE.

Salem Earns Bike-Friendly Honor

From the Associated Press:

The League of American Bicyclists has declared Salem a bike-friendly city, one of 10 cities across the country to receive the designation this year.

Census figures show the number of people who ride their bikes to work in Salem is triple the national average.

Obama Gets Quadruped Nod

As previously noted, The Great Alaskan Red Squirrel doesn't seem too impressed with Sarah Palin, but I'm not sure how he feels about Obama-Biden.

This squirrel in Seattle, however, leaves no doubt.

And Obama's apparently also doing very well with motorcycle-loving basset hounds.

Parrots, however, seem certain for Ralph Nader, especially after this "innovative" ad.

That's a good start, but we might need a modern-day Dr. Doolittle to sew up the rest of the animal kingdom endorsements before Election Day in four short weeks.

Montana Judge Blasts GOP Voter "Chicanery"

Republicans must be getting worried in red-trending-blue Montana, where their recent challenges to the eligibility of 6,000 voters in Democratic-leaning Missoula and Lewis and Clark counties brought down the wrath of one obviously irked U.S. District judge.

From The Missoulian:

U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy...stopped short of an actual ruling in the case.

However, the judge left little doubt about his thoughts on the voter challenges.

"The timing of these challenges is so transparent that it defies common sense to believe the purpose is anything but political chicanery," Molloy wrote.

The Montana Democratic Party and the Barack Obama presidential campaign in Montana charged that the challenges were a transparent effort at suppressing voter turnout in predominantly Democratic areas. Had the challenges gone forward, all these voters would have received a letter in the weeks before Election Day asking that they provide notarized proof of their current address.

Although the state GOP has since withdrawn all of its voter challenges and vigorously denied that they were politically motivated, Art Noonan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party, told reporters Wednesday he was pressing forward with the lawsuit.

"I'm a Butte boy," he said. "They taught us a long time ago that if you want to stop bullying on the playground, you stand up to the bully."

Judge Molloy was pretty clear about what he thought of "the bully":

"One can imagine the mischief an immature political operative could inject into an election cycle were he to use the statutes, not for their intended purpose of protecting the integrity of the people's democracy, but rather to execute a tawdry political ploy."

A spokesman for the Obama presidential campaign in Montana, which is assisting the state party in the suit, told The Missoulian that the party may seek punitive damages or its legal fees, if they succeed in court.

"All options are on the table," he said.

Great Alaskan Squirrelly About Palin

The Great Alaskan Red Squirrel, a sage of the last frontier, is at least one rural Alaskan who didn't seem too impressed with home-girl Gov. Sarah Palin's forced-folksy performance. But maybe he's prejudiced because of her penchant for bragging about shooting his furry brethren.

Check out his HOME and his live web cams HERE and HERE.

Tuesday Tune: O.J., Where Ya Goin' With That Gun In Your Hand?

Ohhh J, where ya goin' with that gun in your hand?
ba boom ba boom boom
Ohhh J, I said where ya goin' with that gun in your hand?
ba boom ba boom boom

I'm goin' down to get my memorabilia. Ya know I found it in another man's hands.
ba boom ba boom boom
I'm goin' down to get my memorabilia. Ya know I found it in another man's hands.
ba boom ba boom boom
And that ain't too cool ...



Ohhh J, Where you gonna run to now?
ba boom ba boom boom

Nader's Late Night Triumph

...or not so much.

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog interviews presidential candidate Ralph Nader:

WMD Stockpiles: GOP Debate Training Video

Wondering where you've seen a communicator who could match Sarah Palin's talents? You don't have to look far...


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The Conservatives' Viagra ... Ewwww

For the male conservative columnists who've lately revealed their schoolboy crushes on Sarah Barracuda, this clip might be better than Viagra ...

Rich and Sarah, Sitting In a Tree ...

From National Review Editor Rich Lowry:

"I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me."
And her smile. By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it."

There's been a lot of debate about Sarah Palin's debate performance and the so-called wink, but the most obvious fact that can be gleaned from this entire "winking" incident is that Rich Lowry needs to get out more. A lot more.

Tap Dancing Around Voter Racism

"We can't tap dance around the fact that there are a lot of folks out there ... and a lot of them're good union people, they just can't get past the idea that there's something wrong with voting for a black man. Well those of us who know better can't afford to sit silently and look the other way while it's happening."

AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Richard Trumka blasts racism and underlines why workers should vote for Obama in 2008. This is an excerpt from speech at the Steelworkers convention July 1, 2008. Watch the entire speech HERE.

Football's Ultimate Fashion Faux Pas

Now that the financial implosion is bringing about new calls for sensible regulation, would it be possible to do something about THIS? ...



Limiting stadiums to a pre-approved selection of green turfs is reasonable if it means saving just one more school from embarrassing itself with something similar to Boise State's "Smurf Turf."

I understand the school is desperate to bring attention to itself if it wants to compete with the well-established coastal, southern and mid-west teams, but just like Oregon's never-ending costume change, it's a little too much. Besides, the best attention-getter is (and always will be) simply going out every week and winning games, especially the big ones.

Today In Oregon

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