Tuesday, May 27, 2008

An intense week

Man, what a friggin week.

Monday last week my car broke down.

Tuesday last week I had two computers and one tv running with election results. Races either ran exactly as I predicted or better than I expected. It was a great night. I was tired as hell getting up for work the next morning (my new job starts at 5:30 AM) but elated.

Then I got a call at work on Wednesday that my Grandpa was in the hospital.

Those of you who know me have at least heard of my Grandpa. I'm definitely closer to my Grandpa than many folks are, I see him 1-2 times a week and lived with him and my Grandma for the better part of 6 months during my parents divorce. When he went in the hospital with Jaundice after experiencing rapid weight loss I knew it was something pretty bad, talking with my buddy who's a resident at med school provided further confirmation of this. It ended up being pancreatic cancer. Those unfamiliar with pancreatic cancer should know that it has a high fatality rate, a high pain rate and is extremely hard to treat. Obviously at some point you consider that the 84 year old man in your life won't be around forever but theres not really anything that can prepare you with being confronted by that fact so coldly and directly.

Since then days have been spent at the hospital or with my Grandma with the exception of parts of Sunday and Monday. I'm grateful that I can help out and besides some horrible pain after a procedure one day my Grandpa has been in pretty good spirits. I always end up thinking about my own mortality during these situations, I can't imagine what it must be like for him. His pastor has visited him a great deal when he reads passages from the bible you can literally see them resonate. Hes had a long life though, and its evident in the diverse group of folks who come to visit him that hes made a tremendous impact on his community. Its looking likely that he'll be able to come to my wedding, which will make things even more emotional (add this to the fact that my parents will see each other for the first time in seven years, yikes!) Anyway, send my family some thoughts/prayers/positive vibes and what have you if you get a chance. Hard to believe the wedding is less than a month away now. I think I'll look back at this moment in my life as a very formative one. And as always, you really find out who you're friends are in these kinds of situations, I'm lucky to have a lot of them.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Predictions for tomorrow

Short and sweet here, we'll check my accuracy tomorrow.

Democratic Presidential Primary
Obama +9

Dem Senate Primary
Novick

Dem Secretary of State
Brown

Dem Attorney General
Kroger

Portland Mayor
Adams/Dozono runoff (Adams getting in the 40's)

Commissioner Position 1
Fritz/Lewis runoff

Commissioner Position 2
Fish

Thursday, May 15, 2008

woah dude

I was just canvassing around this area on Tuesday. In fact I parked my car just two blocks away from where this happened.


Portland Tribune
Police shoot man while serving federal warrant

KPAM 860, May 15, 2008, Updated 46 minutes ago (18 Reader comments)

Portland police are investigating their second officer-involved shooting in the past 36 hours.

The latest incident is at a house near Southeast 126th and Holgate.

Just before 6 a.m., police and FBI agents were attempting to serve a federal warrant at the home.

After a search of the house was unsuccessful, officers found an armed man in an outbuilding on the property.

A Portland Police officer, who has not been identified, fired one shot, striking the man.

He died at the scene. No other details have been released.

The FBI won't comment on the specifics of the warrant, but a spokeswoman confirms the warrant was one of several being served in the Portland area.

This is the second officer involved shooting for Portland Police in the past two days. Late Tuesday night, a man with a gun died after two Portland officers opened fire near Northeast 91st and Glisan.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

State of the race(s)

For those who are curious I'll be posting a full photo-blog of my experience canvassing for Obama next Thursday.

Democratic Presidential Primary: This race may be effectively over in 6 days. Something has been bugging me these past few weeks though. The media seems fixated on Obama's "problem" among "working class whites". To get to the point, its total bullshit. The media is trying to make a regional difference between voters into a demographic gap. If Obama is doing so poorly among working class whites, why is he ahead here in Oregon by 20 points (Oregon being a poorer state than Ohio and having none of the 100 richest counties in the US)? Why did he (narrowly) win the Nebraska primary yesterday (nebraska's delegates being decided in a caucus in Feb. Looking at Senator Clinton's victories among whites, they're mostly in the Appalachians. Obama does well among working class whites in almost every other region, and it should be mentioned that they often trade working class males while she consistently wins females without college degrees who make under 40,000. Despite what our media would lead us to believe, regional differences are important. We're obviously all Americans but the culture of the Appalachians is drastically different than the Pacific Northwest, or even the Mid-West. Do your job assholes. That being said, Obama's Appalachian problem IS concerning. We need to win Ohio and Pennsylvania.

That brings me to another point. According to q Quinnipac poll over 60% of democrats want an Obama/Clinton ticket. Three words: fuck that shit. The Clintons would totally undermine Obama's message of change and cause horrible infighting in an Obama administration. My pick for VP: Ted Strickland. He'd have great appeal in the Appalachians and might be able to deliver Ohio for the dems. Hes also a Clinton supporter and may be able to heal the rift in the party without actually picking Hilary as veep. There is no lack of good candidates though. The Obama campaigns huge announcement at 7 PM EST should be interesting to say the least.

Statewide Races: Oregon democrats: we are divided. According to a recent poll the Secretary of State race is tied between Metzger and Brown, Novick is slightly ahead and the attorney general race is effectively tied as well. Each race also has a shitload of undecideds which leads me to ask: what is wrong with you people? Get out and vote. Check out the Willamette Week's endorsement interviews, read endorsements (especially mine) and get those ballots in!

PS: GO SAM ADAMS~!!!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Pretty stark contrast

From Sam's site:

Democratic Party endorses Adams; Republican Party endorses Dozono

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | May 8, 2008
Democratic Party endorses Adams; Republican Party endorses Dozono
Mayoral candidate Sho Dozono receives sole endorsement of the Republican Party.

Portland, OR | Creating another clear contrast in the race for Portland Mayor, the Republican Party of Multnomah County has endorsed Sho Dozono. Sam Adams has the sole endorsement of the Democratic Party of Multnomah County.

In their endorsement of Dozono, the Republican Party criticized Sam Adams for not interviewing for their endorsement. While many individual Republicans appreciate Sam Adams' leadership and support him even though he is strong and proud Democrat, Sam declined an interview because he could not in good conscience solicit support from an organization that subscribes to a platform that includes in part:

-Opposition to civil unions and basic rights for same-sex couples;
-Opposition to a woman's right to choose;
-And it supports numerous positions that breach the separation of church and state;

For more on the Republican Party Platform, see this link.

The Republican Party's endorsement of Sho Dozono comes on the heels of the Democratic Party's endorsement of Sam Adams for Mayor.

"In every neighborhood, Democrats are passing out their party's endorsement literature to voters, and at the top of the ticket is their sole endorsement of Sam Adams for Mayor," said Jennifer Yocom, Adams' campaign manager. "I believe that sole endorsement of Sho Dozono by the Republican Party – and his solicitation of that endorsement – shows a clear contrast between Mr. Dozono and Sam."

"Oregon used to have a strong tradition of progressive Republicans and I'm proud to have the support of icons of that age like Norma Paulus," Sam Adams stated. "Sadly, today, this state's Republican Party is controlled by the right wing. I'm proud to have the Democratic Party's endorsement—the endorsement is recognition of the work that I've done in the progressive community and their support of my vision for Portland's future for all people. "

Sam Adams has also been endorsed by the following organizations and media entities:
Stand for Children
AFSCME local 189
ATU Local 757
Basic Rights Oregon Equality PAC
Bike. Walk. Vote.
CWA 7901
Democratic Party (Multnomah County)
Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland
Laborers - Oregon, Southern Idaho District Council of Laborers
Laborers 296 & 320
Just Out
NARAL - Green light
National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch 82
NW Examiner
Oregon Building Trades Council
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
ONRC PAC (Oregon Wild)
The Oregonian
Portland Association of Teachers
Portland Business Alliance - Dual Endorsement
Portland Metropolitan Association of Building Owners
The Portland Mercury
The Portland Observer
NW Oregon Labor Council
Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens (OSCRC-PAC)
The Sierra Club
SEIU Local 49 & Local 503
Joint Council of Teamsters 37
UFCW 555
The Victory Fund
Willamette Week
*Winner of YouthVOTE!: A local event organized by high school students to give people under the age of 21 a chance to vote for their favorite candidate.*

For more on the Republican Party Platform, see this link.
Multnomah County Republican Party Newsletter

For more on the Democratic Party Platform, see these links: Platform-Resolutions-Endorsements and 2005_platform.
Multnomah County Democratic Party Newsletter.

Posted on May 8, 2008.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

From the vault

I'm about to do the dishes (on 1.5 feet I might add) and decided to put this on:

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band
1988-05-10, Met Center, Bloomington, MN
Tunnel of Love
Boom Boom
Adam Raised a Cain
Two Faces
All That Heaven Will Allow
Seeds
Cover Me
Brilliant Disguise
Cautious Man
Spare Parts
War
Born in the USA
Tougher Than the Rest
Ain't Got You
She's the One
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I'm a Coward
I'm on Fire
One Step Up
Part Man, Part Monkey
Backstreets
Dancing in the Dark
Light of Day
Born to Run
Hungry Heart
Glory Days
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Have Love, Will Travel
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Sweet Soul Music
Raise Your Hand
Twist and Shout


A great recording of a great show from an odd tour. After BITUSA Bruce decided to scale things back with Tunnel of Love (1988) a record recorded mostly solo in his garage with e-street members doing overdubs. The tour itself was a big departure from the BITUSA tour with a horn section (the members of which would later become the Max Wineberg 7) a pretty static setlist and a ton of interplay between him and future wife Patti Scalfia. The highlight of these shows for me is the stunning acoustic version of "Born to Run", check it out:



Always interesting to watch an artist reconsider their work.

Remember when the Clintons cared about economists?

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Blake's endorsements

Well, I finally received my ballot in the mail yesterday which means its time for me to lay out my endorsements for our May 20th Primary Election.

Random races that I can't vote it, but still care about:

Beaverton Mayoral Election: Denny Doyle. Yeah, thats right, I care about the Beaverton mayoral election. Residents of Beaverton: Did you know that the mayor of beaverton is the highest paid statewide public official in Oregon? How do you feel about that? Well, thats what you get when a strong mayor (not an adjective, a system of city governance) thats a 16 year incumbent. Beaverton might become the 2nd largest city in our state and I feel its important that people like Bob Drake are kept away from the levers of power.

5th Congressional District Primary: Steve Marks. I haven't been particularly impressed with Kurt Schrader as ways and means committee chairman. As Kitzhaber's chief of staff Steve Marks has worked on some important issues and would bring a more progressive voice to congress, as well as bring a more effective challenge to Mike Erickson or Kevin Mannix (that race will be pretty interesting to say the least).

Races I vote in:

US DEM Presidential Primary: Barack Obama. I've written pretty extensively about my support for Senator Obama. It is both an affirmation of his character and a repudiation of the Clintons and the DLC wing of the Democratic party. Rather than rehash myself I'll refer you to Andrew Sullivan's landmark article "Why Obama Matters" . The guiding principles for me as a primary voter are: Can they win? Can they be effective? Do they share my values? The answer for all three here is YES! Watching him tonight at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in IN only proved this further. YES WE CAN!

US DEM Senate Primary: Jeff Merkley. Its taken me a long time to reach my decision and I find myself at odds with several people whose opinion I deeply respect. But going back to my three questions: Can he win? Yes, I feel Merkley can paint a compelling narrative against Gordon Smith in a general election. Can he be effective? Look no further to his tenure as speaker for proof of that. Does he share my values? I've been pretty disappointed at both Merkley and Novick's senate campaign, but on a host of important issues like predatory lending, the death penalty and education Merkley and I stand united. Do I think Novick could win too? Absolutely, and I will work my ass off at some point as a volunteer to put either of these great candidates in a plane to Washington.

Secretary of State: Kate Brown. As a Brad Avakian supporter it took me a long time to decide between Kate Brown and Vicki Walker. The clincher for me was WWeek's endorsment interview. Kate Brown has command and composure I'd like the person who may end up redistricting our state to have. I think she'll also make an honest effort to keep out of state money from funding so many of our ballot initiatives.

Attorney General: John Kroger, or as I like to call him: J-keezey fo Sheezy. Okay, so I would never really call him that, but I'm sure he'd be down. This cat wrote the book on how to be an effective prosecutor and would expand the role of this already important office in a way that would benefit all Oregonians. This primary is especially important because whoever wins will run unopposed in the general election, unless that Saxton write-in actually takes off.

Portland Mayor: Sam Adams. This comes as no surprise to anyone that knows me well. Back to those three questions, more than any other person listed on my ballot Sam embodies the values I like to see govern public policy, especially in my city. The belief that government CAN be used as an effective tool to make our communities more livable, the belief that we should all benefit from the strength of our community and the belief that we should constantly move forward as a community. I've watched Sam in several debates and read several interviews and I have no doubt that he will be one of the greatest mayors in the history of our city and he may represent the future of our state and our nation. Needless to say: I'm with Sam.

Quick n' Dirty

PDX Commish 1: Amanda Fritz

PDX Commish 2: Jim Middaugh

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Oregon News

Survey USA (This survey includes little ol' me!)

DEM Presidential Primary:

50% Barack Obama
44% Hillary Clinton
2% Other
4% Undecided

Changes within margin of error there. Crosstabs show that Hilary has lost support among women and Obama has lost support among Men. Good luck figuring that one out. Clinton leads narrowly on Voters focused on the economy and healthcare, Obama leads voters focused on Iraq and the environment. Obama leads EVERY DEMOGRAPHIC EXCEPT THOSE OVER 65!!! Booyah~!!!

DEM Senate Primary

The latest numbers

30% Steve Novick
28% Jeff Merkley
8% Candy Neville
4% Roger Obrist
2% David Loera
2% Pavel Goberman
26% Other/Undecided

Three weeks ago

23% Steve Novick
12% Candy Neville
11% Jeff Merkley
4% Roger Obrist
2% David Loera
2% Pavel Goberman
40% Other/Undecided

SurveyUSA's summary:

Oregon U.S. Senate Primary: Merkley Support Nearly Triples, Now Tied with Novick -- In a Democratic Primary in Oregon for United States Senate today, 05/01/2008, three weeks till votes are counted, attorney Steve Novick and state House Speaker Jeff Merkley tie, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for KATU-TV Portland. Novick today gets 30%, Merkley 28%, within the survey's 3.9 percentage point margin of sampling error. 4 other candidates in single digits. 26% of voters say they are undecided, or will vote for some other unnamed candidate. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released 04/07/08, Novick is up 7 points, Merkley is up 16 points. Among women, Merkley's support has tripled and he now leads Novick 30% to 25%. Among men, Novick is up 7, Merkley is up 8. Among Pro-Life voters, Merkely's support has quadrupled. Among voters age 50+, Merkley had trailed Novick by 12, now tied. As evidence of how closely matched and fiercely fought the contest now is: Among Conservatives, the two are tied. Among Moderates, the two are tied. Among Liberals, the two are tied.

Thats a HUGE gain for merkley, and a notable strength among women. This race just got interesting.

And finally: http://wweek.com/wwire/?p=11783

It looks like we may have an anti-domestic partnership initiative on our ballots this fall. WHAT. THE. FUCK???????? They didn't gather enough signatures, but homophobia pushes on. It was bad enough that we have a gay marriage ban, theres no way this shit is gonna fly.

I remember being asked my opinion on the mayoral race but I can't seem to find a link to a Mayoral poll. Its a great time to be an Oregonian.....as always!

PS: Mayoral Doughnut Eating Contest Friday at 12 AM~!!!