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Archive for the 'Northwest' Category

Cheba Hut Block Party Jan. 30th

January 28th, 2010 by Sudsy

Full Disclosure: Unfortunately the OC had a problem with our printer and our issue won’t be out until tomorrow morning. In the meantime, since Cheba Hut paid for an ad for their event on Saturday, we figured we’d throw them a little plug here on the ol’ blog since we’re not well-acquainted enough with this fancy-pants Internet to figure out how to put it on the sidebar.

Cheba Hut, over on 11th and High, is having a big block party type of affair this Saturday the 30th. They’re going to have a raffle and live music, including local Ninkasi-sponsored act Cambio alongside two other bands. The music starts sometime around mid-day, and there will also be a Ranch Dressing-chugging contest to win $100 and free subs for a year.

Sudsy will be there, that’s for sure.

The Deadliest Catch

January 4th, 2010 by Drew Cattermole

The recent string of Bank Robberies in Eugene finally have a suspect, and he’s a star. Joshua Tel Warner of the hit reality show “Deadliest Catch” has been named the suspect in the case.  I have always wondered what crab fishermen do when they are not aboard the fishing boats and now I finally have my answer, they rob banks. 

Eugene Police detectives have identified a suspect in three Eugene Bank Robberies and surprisingly the suspect has been on national television.

Joshua Tel Warner, age 23, who appeared as a crewmember aboard the “Wizard” on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” is wanted for the October 19, 2007 robbery of Washington Mutual Bank at 2840 Willamette Street, the April 3, 2009, robbery of Pacific Continental bank at 1450 High Street, and the August 28, 2009, robbery of the same Pacific Continental Bank.

Warner’s date of birth is June 29, 1986. He is a white male, 6’1″, weighing approximately 185-195 pounds. He has an unknown tattoo on his right thigh.

Warner was accompanied by a second male during the most recent robbery. Police have identified the second suspect but an arrest warrant is being sought prior to publicly naming him.

Warner, a former Oakridge resident, is aware that police are looking for him. He has likely fled the local area and may have gone to the east coast. There are also concerns he may try to flee to Canada or Mexico.

Warner came to national attention during the 2008-2009 Alaskan King Crab season featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch.” He was a “green-horn” deckhand aboard the “Wizard” where his actions and confrontations with deckhands and the captain made him well known to the show’s followers.

Prior to fishing in Alaska, Warner was a Dungeness Crab fisherman on the Oregon coast and a wildland firefighter.
Anyone with information about Warner’s whereabouts is asked to contact their local police department or Detective Jeff Donaca of the Eugene Oregon Police Department at (541) 682-5193. Also, anyone with additional information about the robberies or other crimes involving Warner and his accomplice is asked to contact Detective Donaca.

Well

Happy New Term!

I’ll Just Have Water, Thanks

December 27th, 2009 by D

simpsons

“Note to self: Stop. Doing. Anything.”

As a lover of all things “jerky” I find vegetarians and vegans impossibly difficult to understand. Lucky for me, there’s some sane people still out there who console my straying conscious back into the right.

In a particularly interesting article written a few days ago, science columnist Natalie Angier wrote about the viability of ethics-based veganism – a topic I’m sure we’re all familiar with given our own geographical location. In her article, Angier noted that vegans often argue the ethical way of consumption is choosing not to eat meat. In the opinion of Angier (and myself), the choice hits a few snags. Angier highlighted the more ridiculous points of the argument:

“Before we cede the entire moral penthouse to “committed vegetarians” and “strong ethical vegans,” we might consider that plants no more aspire to being stir-fried in a wok than a hog aspires to being peppercorn-studded in my Christmas clay pot.”

(more…)

By the Barrel now in the UO Bookstore

November 18th, 2009 by D

by the barrel on a tableby the barrel on the shelf

By the Barrel: 25 Years of the Oregon Commentator is now available for $10 in the UO Bookstore on 13th and Kincaid! The book is featured on a table as you walk up the stairs and also in the “University” section (go straight after the stairs, right corner).

The book sells for $10 in the store or you can order it online through the UO Bookstore’s website (www.uoduckstore.com) for $16 shipped to your door. (The book will be added to the site either today or tomorrow).

On a more personal level, the weight of the project hasn’t hit me until today after I saw it on the shelves with a UPC and everything. I’d like to thank everyone again for helping me out with special recognition to Guy, CJ, Owen, Scott, Bill, Fritz, Dane, Richard, Tom, Ossie, Tim, Olly, Drew, Dan, Ed, Mark, Bob, Chuck, Jon, Ian, Tyler, Ted and even the folks at the Emerald.

As always, you are also welcome to come down to room 319 in the EMU and purchase a copy from us as well.

Cheers.

Keeping it Classy at Reed

October 19th, 2009 by Vincent

Reedies have never exactly been renowned for anything at all except for being rich, pompous and insufferable. Sadly, they can now add to that list “have a worse student publication than the Comic Press.” For a long time, I was convinced that student-run publications couldn’t get any worse than the UO’s own Student Insurgent. Then the Comic Press (neè The Weekly Enema) started putting out issues and the bar was really and truly lowered.* Alas, my attention has now been drawn to “The Pamphlette“,  a student publication at Reed College that has been embroiled in controversy after running an article charmingly entitled “LC  [Lewis & Clark -ed.] students kill Jewish people” after swastika graffiti was discovered in Lewis and Clark’s library.

(more…)

Pot Progress

October 19th, 2009 by Vincent

Reversing the Bush Administration’s absurd policy of prosecuting users of medical marijana, regardless of individual state laws, the Obama Administration has announced that it

will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws…

Two Justice Department officials described the new policy to The Associated Press, saying prosecutors will be told it is not a good use of their time to arrest people who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state laws.

Score one for states rights.

(Via Instapundit)

Stereotyping Blues

September 15th, 2009 by Vincent

Reason’s Jesse Walker discusses at length some of the ideas I’ve been trying to get at recently:

When mainstream commentators treat a small group of unconnected crimes as a grand, malevolent movement, they unwittingly echo the very conspiracy theories they denounce. Both brands of connect-the-dots fantasy reflect the tellers’ anxieties much more than any order actually emerging in the world. When such a story is directed at those who oppose the politicians in power, it has an additional effect. The list of dangerous forces that need to be marginalized inevitably expands to include peaceful, legitimate critics.

[…]

The killers, they acknowledge, aren’t taking their marching orders directly from Fox News and AM radio. But by giving serious attention to theories associated with the fringe right—that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing concentration camps, that Barack Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen—Glenn Beck and other broadcasters are validating the grievances of potential killers, giving them the impression that they aren’t alone.

[…]

The first is that it ignores the autonomy of people on the fringe. Not just the radicals who commit the crimes, but the radicals who don’t commit crimes. There’s a complex ecology at work here.. Words have influence, but they influence different people in different ways; you can’t reduce media effects to simple push-pull reactions. Accusing Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly of validating right-wing violence isn’t so different from accusing pornography of validating rape, Ozzy Osbourne of validating teen suicide, or Marilyn Manson of validating school massacres.

Think about that. Then go back and read Blue Oregon’s Carla Axtman’s comments on this blog attempting to link mainstream Republicans (and conservatives in general) with “wildly fringe conservative organizations” listening to “eliminationist rhetoric” “within [the] context of guns and stoked-up town halls.”

Axtman (among others) is engaging in the Team-Red vs. Team blue equivalent of blaming Marilyn Manson for Columbine.

"I'm calling you OUT, you eliminationist racist!"

"You're the Republican Ernst Röhm!"

"What... is it the hat??"

"Is it the hat?"

——
Speaking of “have you no shame!?” posturing…

Wait, I wasn’t speaking of that at all. Whatever.

On Failure

June 9th, 2009 by Vincent

In case you’re interested, Ben Cannon (D-Portland), the guy who wanted to raise Oregon’s beer tax by ~1600%, has a piece over at Blue Oregon in which he tries to “aw, shucks!” his way out of legislative embarrassment:

There is no training manual for being a legislator. You don’t have a boss, you have 60,000 voters. Heck, you don’t even have an official job description to fall back on.

Like many jobs, this is one you learn by doing.
As my second legislative session draws to a close, I can assure you that I am still learning.

Well, golly. It’s nice to know Ben’s learned something from this massive waste of taxpayer dollars. I guess now that he’s got a little experience under his belt, he realizes what a terrible idea his proposal was, and has abandoned any illusions of trying to resurrect it, right?

Absolutely not… I have tried to apply the above lessons to a new version of the tax.

The first thing on his list of reasons why we need to increase the tax?

Oregon hasn’t raised its beer tax in more than 30 years.

One of the posts in the comments section put it nicely:

I love the rationalization the just because a tax hasn’t been raised in awhile it is your profound duty to see that it be raised.

Indeed.

The End of Education

June 8th, 2009 by Vincent

California set to abandon the use of textbooks in schools in favor of “internet aids”:

Gov Schwarzenegger believes internet activities such as Facebook, Twitter and downloading to iPods show that young people are the first to adopt new online technologies, and so the internet is also the best way to learn in classrooms.

I think there may be a logical fallacy skulking around in there somewhere.

How can the world’s fifth largest economy not have enough money to be able to outfit schools with textbooks? I’m sure it has nothing to do with out of control entitlements spending. Nope. Nothing to see here. It’s a revenue problem, you see.

No. [updated 06/11/09]

June 4th, 2009 by Vincent

I’ll confess: until a few days ago, I’d never heard of Dr. George Tiller. I’m basically pro-choice, but the abortion issue is just not one that I follow particularly closely. While I’ve heard of (and very much dislike) some of the more notorious anti-abortion groups like “Operation Rescue”, my general sense is that most people on the pro-life side of the debate are fundamentally good people who simply have different values (on this question, at least), than I do.

But my intent is not for this post to muse over whether abortion is right or wrong — so please keep your comments on that issue to yourself; no one here cares what you think about it, so I’ll just delete those that try to turn the comments section into an abortion screaming match.

What I want to talk about instead is identity politics, the flawed notion of collective responsibility, and attempts to shape the narrative by seizing on events like the murder of George Tiller and using them for political gain.

(more…)

Strange goings on around campus…

April 29th, 2009 by Ross Coyle

Well it seems that campus had that special visitor, I think his name was Rob? Lets call him LTD Shouter. He rides down 13th now and then yelling some random thing about LTD. Well good ol’ polecat CJ happened to get a word in with him. Turns out that he hates LTD because they kicked him off the bus and then banned him for life. He claimed it was because of a disability, but I have a hunch it’s because he’s nuttier then a peanut factory.


The LTD Shouter

CJ conducts a thrilling on-street interview

Take Those Kulaks Down a Peg or Two!

November 20th, 2008 by Vincent

Over at Blue Oregon, Chuck Sheketoff joins the “spread the wealth” chorus:

Today’s revenue forecast shows that Oregon is in a revenue crisis, not a spending crisis. The Governor and legislators should address it with revenue solutions.

[…]

Oregon should turn first to its reserves, but these reserves will not be adequate… the state would still be far from having enough money to provide the services Oregonians demand and need. [emphasis added]

So… the state is far from having enough money to provide the services it’s promised to citizens, but somehow the problem is not that the state is spending too much, it’s that it’s not taking enough money from taxpayers.

Times are tough, though. The economy’s not doing so well at the moment, so squeezing  the regular guy probably won’t be popular. Thankfully, Oregon has an under-utilized resource that it can exploit: rich people!

The most effective policy for raising revenue in this recessionary context is get revenue from those with the greatest ability to pay — both wealthy individuals and large, profitable corporations. That’s where the money is.

A tax increase on very wealthy individuals, who are best able to ride out the economic storm, would tap money that would more likely be saved rather than spent.

Another good option is to raise revenue from those profitable, large corporations, most of which are located out of state, who today escape paying their fair share of Oregon’s taxes. [emphasis added]

(more…)

Selling Water to Fund State Programs

August 4th, 2008 by Vincent

Kari Chisholm at Blue Oregon is expressing shock! and indignation! at a new plan floated by Oregon Republicans: selling water to water-starved states like Nevada and California (though interestingly, his link to the Republicans’ “Leadership Fund” doesn’t mention the plan at all). He quotes Jeff Mapes at the OregonLive blogs:

David Nelson, R-Pendleton, who convinced the Senate R caucus to take up this idea, insists that times have changed and that Oregon could be a Saudi Arabia of water. “We wouldn’t allow them to take it,” he says of other regions. “We would sell it to them.” And he adds that it could make the kind of profits that will help support a level of state services that the taxpayers aren’t willing to fund.

Mapes points out that there are several problems with the plan, not the least of which is that Oregon is already embroiled in all sorts of water-rights litigation involving Native tribes, farmers, and fishermen. Such criticisms are certainly fair and, as the continuing controversies surrounding the Columbia and Klamath flows illustrate, the issues involved are delicate and often intractable.

Chisholm, on the other hand, seems to feel that the idea itself is beyond comprehension, having little to add aside from

Seriously.

You can’t make this stuff up.

Perhaps Kari Chisholm is unaware that the Bonneville Power Administration already sells massive amounts of hydroelectric power from the Columbia to neighboring states and that California already gets huge amounts of water from sources like the Colorado River, which has experienced increasingly smaller flows as places like Arizona, Nevada, and Mexico (which is legally entitled to part of the Colorado River flow), to say nothing of California itself, require increasingly large amounts of water to sustain growth.

Or perhaps he does know that electricity generated by the BPA is consumed in other parts of the country and is simply under the same misapprehension as one of the people posting in his comments section and believes that BPA power is simply given away free to people outside the Pacific Northwest rather than being put to good use near where the power is generated.

Either way, and admitting that there are some real potential issues that arise if we start selling water to California and elsewhere, why does Chisholm think that the plan is so utterly beyond the pale? If the water can be spared without endangering fish runs and Tribal fishing rights, etc., one fails to see how making up for budget shortfalls by selling water is supposedly so outrageous.

After all, we all know that the budget isn’t going to shrink itself since taxpayers aren’t terribly excited about taking even more money out of their pockets and the government isn’t willing to alienate interest groups by cutting programs. It’s clear we can’t rely forever on Band-Aid measures like Federal timber payments, so if a profit can be made using some of Oregon’s natural resources, and it can be done without endangering other interests that Oregonians have decided are important (fish runs, etc.), it seems incredibly short-sighted to pass up that opportunity.

[EDIT]

Then again, maybe Kari Chisholm was too caught up in basically calling Gordon Smith a fatty poo-poo head to be bothered to write anything more substantial about potential plans to exploit Oregon’s natural resources.

Sometimes I Wish Sea Monsters Were Real

June 29th, 2008 by CJ Ciaramella

Via the always entertaining Portland Indymedia comes news of a soon-t0-be pirate utopia raft community out by Ilwaco:

There, [a bunch of crazy-ass hippies] are laying the groundwork for a community on the water, centered around activism, anti capitalism, egalitarianism, hard work, and fun. Lots and lots of fun. As noted above, they are building a pirate raft (perhaps even a whole flotilla, depending on how many people answer their call), and both the raft and the village project will run on the power of kites, wind, sun, sweat, water, and imagination. Seriously, if you’ve been feeling called to a new life lately, maybe it’s the ocean wind that is calling you.

I’m pretty sure it’s another robo-caller, but that’s beside the point. Anyways, just to bring the point home: a bunch of hippies living on improvised rafts trying to float up and down the Columbia. I don’t see what could possibly go wrong in this situation! Even better, according to the article the whole project is being started by a fellow named Tiny Neutrino. Priceless.

These floating gypsies plan to create a whole community on the water. People who are homeless, or people who want a new life, are welcome to come out and help convert “anything that floats” into a home on the water. They will travel up and down the river, stopping to play music, perform, and talk to people about sea lions, LNGs, and the river ecology in little ports and towns along the way. They have plans to convert old, abandoned boats into a flotilla for those who want a place to live independently.

What, no monkey knife fights? Count me out.

WVMF 2008

May 19th, 2008 by Amy

The Ol’ Dirty did a sufficient job of covering this year’s Willamette Valley Music Fest’, but, as a Cultural Forum employee I feel I experience the festival differently.

As with any traditional Eugene event there was a multitude of nude, unsupervised children, and sagging, unclothed breasts, both burning in the sun. But, I think this year’s real treat was this Bill Murray (well at least his character, Ernie McCrackin, in the 1996 movie Kingpin) look-a-like.

Bill Murray

Bill Murray Dancing

Unfortunately, I was working when he asked me to dance, but I assure you, beholding his presence and scent in real life was simply enough.