Politics

More on the Pig Manure Pollution Controversy, by Mark Erickson

The Chicago Tribune has printed a four-part series on a subject I wrote about last year: https://www.eastportlandblog.com/2015/09/22/the-pope-pig-manure-and-minnesota-water-quality-by-mark-erickson/ Here’s one Tribune article regarding pig polluters: http://digitaledition.chicagotribune.com/launch.aspx?pbid=3e7227b1-e3b7-4fac-aa07-5f943e58b4c5 As I read the article that landed on my doorstep today I recall the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, which exposed the production and sale of meat and the …

Cleveland Rocks! by Vino Knight-Trané

Norm Ornstein’s one of my favorite political writers, even though the think tank he belongs to, the American Enterprise Institute, leans right. His most recent piece in the Atlantic addresses the images of 1968 that are in a lot of people’s minds nowadays (bold type mine). http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/03/the-grim-reality-of-american-politics/474198/ I found this passage particularly interesting: “Some prominent …

Election 2016: The Path to Statesmanship, by Vino Knight-Trané

Recent coverage of the U.S. Presidential campaign has been interesting in its perspective. After a 5% loss in Nevada, all of the prognosticators suggest that Sanders is done–one article suggesting that he’ll be at a disadvantage because his twenty-something army will be on spring break during upcoming primaries. This seems very premature. On the Republican …

Nixon’s attorney: GOP obstructionists ‘near treasonous’, by Randy Rendfeld

Nixon’s attorney John Dean calls today’s tea party, specifically the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, “near treasonous” and says their actions might be unconstitutional with “criminal implications.” Robert Scheer has a new podcast on KCRW. In it, he talks to Dean, former White House Counsel under Richard Nixon, who served during the Watergate scandal. In the …

Greg Graffin – Faith Alone – Will Appear at Hawthorne Theater, Portland 9/23

Author and Bad Religion member Greg Graffin has shared “Faith Alone”, one of his own songs that thematically inspired his new book, Population Wars. The full series including “My Poor Friend Me”, “The Answer”, “Changing Tide” are available on an limited edition exclusive 7-inch available for pre-order with Population Wars at kingsroadmerch.com/badreligion. With his new …

Labor Sponsored Social Security Rally Is Rudely Interrupted As Bernie Sanders Is About to Speak, by Holly Homan

Saturday afternoon on August 8 I headed to downtown Seattle for a rally for social security. The guest speaker of note was to be democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The event was held in the Westlake Plaza, the traditional gathering place for political rallies and gatherings in Seattle. A half an hour before the event …

Ministry rocked my world last weekend… by Mark Erickson

As an opponent of the militarization of American society, I always oppose the Pentagon’s continuous bloated budget and wasteful spending. In December 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2013, “the Pentagon’s top 85 major-defense acquisition programs experienced overruns of nearly $411 billion.” According to the same WSJ article, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter …

Thousands Rally and March In Seattle To Protest the Decision To Turn Seattle’s Waterways Into an Artic Oil Super Highway For Shell, by Holly Homan

Last January, the Port of Seattle irresponsibly gave Shell the go-ahead to use Seattle as home base for its Arctic drilling operations. They ignored Shell’s terrible safety record, the very high risk of a major Arctic oil spill, and devastating impacts to our climate. The Port Commissioners hoped the deal would go unnoticed. The non-profit …

For A Saturday Morning Meeting on Funding For Public Education, It’s Standing Room Only In North Seattle, by Holly Homan

Saturday morning, March 21, 2015, I attended one of seven gatherings around Washington state to address K through eight funding. The event I attended was standing room only at Nathan Hale HS in north Seattle. There had to be at least four thousand educators and parents in attendance who are fed up with lack of …

Hundreds Gather Outside Seattle’s Federal Building To Protest the Keystone Pipeline, by Holly Homan

On Tuesday night, January 13 I joined hundreds of others outside Seattle’s Federal Building to join hands and surround the building in protest of the Keystone Pipeline that was recently passed by the new republican controlled congress. President Obama has said he will veto the bill, but this protest was enacted to make sure he …