Oregon Elephant

Michael Cannon offers a great analysis at National Review online of the experiment Oregon undertook in 2008 to provide a lottery-picked group of Oregonians with Medicaid coverage.  Some of the interesting tidbits: "medical consumption was no higher in the first half of the year, suggesting there was no “pent-up demand” for medical care." "Though President Obama has claimed that broader health-insurance coverage and consumption of preventive care would lead to a reduction in emergency-room visits, the OHIE found no discernible difference in ER use between Medicaid enrollees and the control group." " Though the president has claimed his health-care law will “save lives,” the OHIE detected no evidence that extending Medicaid to 10,000 adults did so in the first year. " There was an improvement in patient's own assessment of their health.  However, "two-thirds of the improvement in self-reported health occurred almost immediately after enrollmen...

Governor Ted is assembling a team to ask the feds for stimulus money to rebuild a school in Vernonia, damaged by the flooding in 2007. I think this is great - schools are a good thing to spend stimulus money on. But...then his train goes off the tracks... He wants to make the main thrust of the request that we will build a "green school"...now, I'm not opposed to doing responsible things to care for the environment, but I'm guessing doing extra stuff out of the ordinary, would make it much more expensive. With our economy the way it is, I just think that the people in charge of giving the money out are going to look at what can be done in a state, and how cost-effectively it can be done. If Oregon wants $5 million (I'm just making these numbers up) for a school to teach 1000 students, and Arizona will build a school, with the same facilities, same everything else, except they can do it for $3 million becuase it isn't a "green" school, and that m...

At Oregon Catalyst, Lars goes off on Brandon Mayfield , the incorrectly-apprehended Portland lawyer who was subjected to surveillance, then apprehended for two weeks before being released. He won a $2 million settlement and an apology from the DOJ, but apparently Lars is not in much of an apologizing mood: A finger print was found on a bag of detonators, confirmed to be Mayfield’s fingerprint even by a fingerprint expert hired by Mayfield’s lawyer. Lars goes on to then take him on for using his newfound money to go after the Patriot Act: In the meantime, his work financed with our money, is gutting the Patriot Act that has saved American lives. Brandon Mayfield, not a terrorist, but definitely a threat to my country. Wow, where do we start. OK, to begin with, this is what Wikipedia has to say about the fingerprint issue: As was discovered during the court case, even the FBI's own records show that this finger print, despite the sworn testimony of FBI and DOJ agents, was in all rea...

MaxRedline had some thoughts on Sam Adam's comments that he is staying on as Mayor because he wants to help the city. Here's a tidbit: This is not a gay issue or a sex issue, this is an honesty issue…or that’s what we were saying before it was confirmed that the boy was seventeen. People feel violated, and don’t think they can ever trust Sam Adams again. How can the city stand behind some one who would lie like this? My thoughts: I agree, it's ultimately an honesty and ethics issue. The problem for liberals is that when you sacrifice your sense of right and wrong for some other benefit, you start down the road of political destruction. It, of course, has happened to Republicans...every day, Sam looks more and more like Richard Nixon. Maybe to understand Sam...we should go see Frost/Nixon.

The unemployment rate isn't good (and if you just lost your job, it doesn't matter at all)...but it IS interesting to look at how it fits into the last 40 years or so. Here is a graph from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows the rate since 1970: As you can see, the rate is somewhat high, but not unprecedented. As Clueless Emma notes, one-third of the months since 1970 have been worse than now. Moral of the story: let's all just take a breath.

The Oregonian is reporting that Oregon GOP Chairman Bob Tiernan is filing a complaint against Senate President Peter Courtney: Tiernan has filed an ethics complaint against Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, and says that he thinks there should be an investigation of Courtney's handling of a $175 million public works package . That bill, which calls for the state to borrow money to quickly begin work on a series of job-producing maintenance and repair projects, includes $30 million for Courtney's employer, Western Oregon University. What's amazing to me (although maybe it shouldn't be) is some of the comments on the article: Posted by jppatches on 02/03/09 at 10:34PM Here we go - Tiernan AGAIN. This is the best possible thing that can happen for the Democrats and moderates - Tiernan's mean, angry approach will help to keep the conservatives on the same track they've been on for a long time. Interesting to see Tiernan's early actions as leader of the R...

Recently, BlueOregon’s Carla Axtman took Oregon GOP Party Chair Bob Tiernan to task for saying that government should be run like a business: Ummm...okay Bob. You guys have been telling us that you're "running the country (state) like a business" for years. Our government isn't a business or any other for-profit enterprise. Its a structure that's supposed to protect the rights of the people. Y'know..that whole life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness thing. I realize that there's going to be an ideological divide on how to repair the mess we're in. But its going to be tough to get started if only one of us (not you) understands the basic premise of government. My take: I think she entirely misses the point, and then arrogantly attacks Tiernan’s statement by accusing him of not understanding the basic premise of government. When a conservative says that a government should be run like a business, they mean that there should be some sense of accounta...

I'll have a longer post later tonight, but here are some quick thoughts: Barack Obama : Congrats to the new President. I hope he governs from the center - I guess we'll see. At any rate, we can all be even more proud today of our country. Obama's first primary victory was in Iowa, which is mostly white. Last night, he won Virginia, which was the cradle of the old confederacy. It's an amazing thought. John McCain : Maybe one of the best concession speeches I've ever heard. It was gracious, warm, and truly heartfelt. And anyone could see that John McCain's deep love for America is no act. He is a true hero, a true patriot, and will be a great asset in the Senate. California's gay marriage ban : Fascinating that the state that voted for Obama by double-digits also voted to ban gay marriage. It shows that the country truly is center-right. I was very happy to see this pass, especially after the vicious anti-Mormon ads the other side ran the day bef...

I don't drink...but let's think of some debate-drinking-game-phrases anyway....such as: "Bush" "economy" "middle class" "illegal aliens" "furniture" Any others? Those are the ones I can think of. Ok...turning on KGW...

Sen. Gordon Smith and Jeff Merkley will be debating on thursday night at 7. It will be broadcast locally here in Portland at 7pm, and I'll be liveblogging it (my first debate liveblog!). Be sure to check in for updates.

He is a right-leaning centrist. He doesn't just follow the party line, but he is more conservative than not. He's not a demagogue or idealogue. He's a good family man. He's pro-life, but not rabidly so (just like me). He's willing to work on solutions to problems, not just make speeches criticizing the other side. Recently he worked with Senator Jack Reed on a bill to lengthen unemployment benefits, for example. He's a commonsense leader, in the TR mold. That's why I'm supporting him. Click on the image above to go to his campaign website.

You can read here about a massive pay raise for the Governor, judges and legislators being proposed by a state commission. Wow...and this, in the middle of economic crisis in the U.S. Jeff Kropf has an interesting idea...merit pay for public officials. I'm not against the idea...but how would you measure it? It would seem to me that any system of evaluation for politicians would inevitably become partisan (liberals might see cutting taxes as bad, if public services were reduced...conservatives might see passing a gun control law as bad, etc.). Anyway...it's an interesting idea...and certainly worth examining.

The Oregonian is reporting that unemployment in Oregon has hit 6.5 percent. That's slightly higher than the national figure of 6.1% being reported. Just a tangible, Oregon-related number to show the impact of the mess we're in... Here is a graph from the Oregonian article linked above that shows the employment trend in Oregon:

Yes, it's true...try to keep this straight...the Oregon Education Association (the teacher's union), had it's own employees go on strike, for better health-care coverage (among other things). I have to admit...it just seems to give the term "poetic justice" a whole new meaning. Here's the story in the Oregonian...

Well, it sounds like Jeff Merkley put his foot in his mouth when asked a question about Georgia recently, according to the Oregonian . Here's the gist, from the article: Merkley, in a tough election battle with Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, seemed confused during a campaign stop in The Dalles Saturday morning when a citizen asked for his opinion on what was going on in Georgia. Merkley at first thought he was being asked about the U.S. state of Georgia. Then, finally realizing he was being asked about the Russian invasion, he took a pass on the question. "I'll have to find out the details. I have been on the road the last three days," Merkley said in the video, which was shot by a Republican tracker and posted on the Internet Tuesday by Politico, a Washington, D.C.-based politics web site. My take: Wow. Where do we start? I'd guess that, to put it mildly, I expect a major-party candidate for United States Senate to read the front page of a newspaper every day ...

Oregon Catalyst is reporting on a survery recently published by FreedomWorks Oregon that has many interesting tidbits, but one stuck out for me: 70% are unwilling to permanently pay $6 or more per gallon for gasoline to protect the environment Does this mean Oregonians don't care about protecting the environment? Hardly. What it does mean is that they refuse to swallow the false choice presented to them by environmental extremists that the price of environmental responsibility is $6 gasoline. They believe in the ingenuity of Americans. They believe you can be environmentally-aware and have all the energy you need at an affordable price. They also understand that for many Americans (the low income ones liberals claim to care about), $6 gas is simply not a sustainable condition. For more information on the survey, go to www.LightsOnOregon.com .

This from a recent McCain address: There are serious issues at stake in this election, and serious differences between the candidates. And we will argue about them, as we should. But it should remain an argument among friends; each of us struggling to hear our conscience, and heed its demands; each of us, despite our differences, united in our great cause, and respectful of the goodness in each other. That is how most Americans treat each other. And it is how they want the people they elect to office to treat each other. My take: I couldn't agree more. In talking to my wife (who isn't a political junkie, but does care about the issues), it becomes apparent that the less "immersed" someone is in politics, the lower their tolerance for negative campaigning and partisanship just for the sake of getting a dig in at the other side. Hopefully the recent flamethrowing (from both sides) will take John McCain's good words to heart, and have more respectful, substantive d...

Gordon Smith was recently attacked by Jeff Merkley as playing election year politics by voting for the Lieberman-Warner Global Warming Bill. Merkley, in effect said "I agree with you, but I don't think you mean it": "This was the right vote," Merkley said, "but Oregon needs a senator who will fight global warming in Washington D.C. just like I've done in Oregon, not becasue it is an election year but because I believe in it." Smith responded by citing the many environment and energy-related bills he has supported, including higher mileage standards, tax breaks for alternative energy and funding for Portland light rail. "The science on climate change has evolved dramatically in five years," Smith spokeswoman Lindsay Gilbride said. "Sen. Smith is proud to be part of the bipartisan coalition fighting for a cleaner environment and secure energy sources." The Elephant Take: I examined Gordon Smith's environmental record at the ...

Kari Chisolm at Blue Oregon has a funny post about Gordon Smith and how the graphic design of his sites eerily match the colors for the U of Oregon...apparently he's targeting the Eugene crowd? Not likely, but whimsically entertaining nonetheless...

The Oregonian has an article about some of the problems Mike Erickson is having getting the love from many in the Oregon GOP. Here is a snippet: Even though Erickson won, some in the party thought he was too damaged to defeat his Democratic opponent, state Sen. Kurt Schrader of Canby. "Mike Erickson had serious credibility problems two years ago and has even greater credibility problems today," said Dan Lavey, a Portland GOP consultant. "I don't believe he is electable, particularly against an attractive, experienced opponent." This can't be good for Erickson...stay tuned.