Back in the seventies when I first came to Oregon Rust was a Lane County Commissioner and the bane of my father’s existence. As a small businessman the policies put forth by the commission made his planned improvements to his water system, his land, his business expensive and highly difficult to attain. Now Rust is back and he is singing a different tune, one I agree with, but he’s still Jerry Rust (a nice guy I see frequently) but I remember his past. Made worse is that his opponent; I have no argument against him siding with big timber, I am a firm believer timber is a valuable, renewable resource and Oregon is jam packed with trees that need to be harvested. We’re also jam packed with loggers who need employment. What I can’t abide is Mr. Bozievich’s adamant belief that we need to get rid of the minimum wage, let the employer decide how much (under the minimum wage and yes over it too) their employees should be paid. Note his only employee is his wife, they own a craft magazine publishing company. Plus his record as a Lane Community College Board of Directors member sucks!
Abolishment of Oregon’s minimum wage is bandied around a lot this political season. Chris Dudley, Republican candidate for governor, believes waitresses are being over paid because they make tips. Have you ever been a waitress or waitperson? Having been proven to be the world’s worst waitress let me tell you what a friggin’ hard job it is. Worse, what a thankless, back breaking, friggin’ hard job it is. Drop the minimum wage my ass, they get taxed on those tips, even when they don't get tipped. Oh wait a second, Chris Dudley, the former NBA center for the Portland Trail Blazers who now makes his living as a wealth management advisor. Excuse me, what does he know about living on a minimum wage? Granted Oregon’s is one of the highest in the nation, but crap it’s not that good of a wage? Could he live on $8.40 an hour without benefits? I hardly think so.
I am leaning towards Kitzhaber, and I’m going to base this on a few things. One my belief in the right to pay people at least a minimum wage. Two, I can remember him being a fine governor, he believes in saving Oregon’s farmlands (he’s Democrat so I imagine he’s anti logging), but beyond that I’m at a loss. I have shaken Kitzhaber’s hand before when he address the Lane Press Club during his first and second gubernatorial campaigns. He has a good shake – I guess (gosh what a sad comment on my intelligence) I’m going to have to settle on that.
Florence is small town Oregon, crap Lane County is small town Oregon. I am on a first name basis with every mayor we’ve had for probably the last thirty years. I know three of the current Lane County Commissioners, several past commissioners (one thought that I was a former crush of his from back in his Northern California teenage years – that was quite the conversation). I’ve met Peter DeFazio several times at my girl friend’s deli (he loved her Italian saugage and pepper sandwiches and pasta salad) he always has a ready smile and firm handshake, but then so do former Senator Gordon Smith and current Senator Ron Wyden (who still reminds me of a weasel in a suit, but he’s a pretty good Senator.) I have met four of the last six governors (Vic Atiyeh’s hand shake made my skin crawl – gads, and I did Neil Goldschmidt’s mother’s hair when I was in beauty college – he was really good with his mother .) And for all the media insights, hand shaking, too long news bites, and cold chicken circuit dinners I still have no clue as to how a pick a candidate, except for which one pisses me off the least.
Totally off topic, it dropped to 60 degrees this evening inside the house so I built my first fire of the season. Grab the chestnuts Christmas is just around the corner – more on that topic later.
Sith,
Cele
PS Psam, Mrs. Klosterman was named Oregon’s History Teacher of the Year.
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3 comments:
Ah, election season. Makes me wonder why we can't shoot them.
That aside, though: Here in Dallas there's been a big wrangle about whether or not to increase city taxes. I've been writing religiously to my councilperson, asking him to get behind the raise taxes faction because A. my house has fallen so far in value that even the highest tax increase they've talked about will still have me paying about 2/3 of last year, and B. I like my paved roads, my fire department, my library, my aminal control and my police who come when called. Well, anyway, he won't. Get on the side, that is. After a while he quit even answering my emails. At least when I wrote to President Obama, one of his staffers sent me a "thank you for your email" thingy.
In the end, the tax increase passed without my guy. Hooray, there will be paved streets. And a library. And this should scare you: NOT A SINGLE WHITE PERSON ON THE COUNCIL VOTED IN FAVOR OF THE TAX INCREASE. It was all the African-American and Hispanic folks. You know, the ones who like paved streets. And libraries. Anyway, that just goes to show something or other. Like don't vote for my guy again.
Yay Mrs Klosterman. She was an incredible 6th grade teacher.....
Wait...Ever notice how we have these ideas? I remember I liked her, but I can't remember why. I can't remember anything she ever taught me. That year is overshadowed by several deaths. Ben Jensen, the boy who sat next to me, hung himself.. Gabe, the boy who sat behind me, left class one day, and never came back.. we found out later that his mom had been stabbed to death by her boyfriend as his little sister hid behind the sofa... and the day we left for Outdoor Ed, we found out that Steven Woods and his pregnant mother had died the night before in a car accident.
I read The Little Women for my first book report that year.... and that's all I've got.
I feel bad. I feel that she was a great teacher. I just don't remember.
Jen, I live where taxes are reasonably low and yet I still hear people bitch about how high taxes are. We are now losing certain services because voters won't approve specifically levied tax measures for the jail or rural patrols. Ridiculous... and yet those same people get mad when budgets are slashed.
Psam, I remember Mrs. Klosterman being one of your favorite teachers. Maybe some times it's not specific things a teacher teaches but the listening that they offered, the respect they instilled, and the value that gave you. I remember Mr. McKibbon being one of those teachers. That and he kept me from drowning you.
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