Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Day: June 20, 2007”

Un-uniform

June 20, 2007

Culture battle commentary of the week turns up in the Ontario Argus Journal, where a story on the Fruitland School District's decision to adopt a dress code and school uniform has drawn a mob of responses.

The most immediate trigger seems to have been this quote from a parent, Terence Eastburn, a recent immigrant from California: “They’re (the students) not able to express their individuality except through their clothing while they’re at school, and they’re trying to take that away. It’s against our children’s civil rights under the 14th amendment, called freedom of individuality. That’s what this is about."

Yes, we're tempted to jump in on that, but we'll refer you instead to the comment section in the link above; the argument there will not bore.

Considering higher

June 20, 2007

Before leaving behind this year's edition of the Willamette Week's legislator review, we thought one mostly unexamined aspect of it should be noted: The frequent references to interest (by legislators) in running for higher, or at least other, office. (And note here too: The WW survey covered only lawmakers from the three-county Portland metro area.)

The article noted, in the case of one reputedly ambitious lawmakers, that he is interested in stepping up, just "like about half his colleagues." So who was noted as on the bench, waiting for the call (or opportunity)?

bullet Senator Kate Brown, D-Portland, Senate majority leader. Was thought to be interested in the 3rd district U.S. House seat, but not now since incumbent Earl Blumenauer seems to be headed nowhere else. WW: "Her next move is up in the air."

bullet Senator Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton. Said to be "pondering a run" for state treasurer. (So, word has it, is Senator Ben Westlund, D-Tumalo.)

bullet Senator Rick Metsger, D-Welches. Thought to be considering a run for secretary of state, when incumbent Bill Bradbury is term-limited.

bullet Representative Jeff Merkley, D-Portland, House speaker. Considered a prospect for a wide range of possibilities, including governor.

bullet Representative Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, House majority leader. Interested, WW said, in the U.S. House 5th district come the day incumbent Democrat Darlene Hooley retires.

bullet Representative Greg McPherson, D-Lake Oswego. Said to be interested in attorney general.

There are of course fewer Republicans than Democrats in the Portland metro. But still: WW mentioned not a one as interested in moving on.

The way to Klamath policy

June 20, 2007
On the Klamath River

On the Klamath River

As we keep learning about federal policymaking in recent years, the picture consistently darkens, sometimes just by shades at a time. In point, a 2002 decision of consequence for the Northwest, and its origins.

The decision concerned water flows on the Klamath River, in southwestern Oregon and far northern California. The aridity was damaging the farm economy in the region centered on Klamath Falls. It also was damaging prospects for the area's environment, and especially the region's Coho salmon. The Bush Administration ordered the water given to the farmers, a locally popular decision and one you might expect the administration - given its philosophical stance - to make.

What emerged a while later was something suspected by the administration's critics, that White House political director Karl Rove had intervened in the policy decision. More has been emerging since.

The subject of the Klamath policymaking came up in a deposition, released Monday, by former Department of the Interior official Susan Ralston, to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It is best seen in context of the testimony developed from a number of angles. In a piece on line today, reporter Jason Leopold summed:

According to Congressional investigators Rove used the PowerPoint presentation at the West Virginia retreat to solicit Republican donors. But Rove's priority was to ensure that farmers in Oregon got the additional water they wanted from the Klamath River, so Senator [Gordon] Smith would be reelected. President Bush lost Oregon by less than one percent in the 2000 presidential election to Al Gore, according to polling results from the Associated Press.

Laying the groundwork to get Smith reelected, Rove set up a cabinet-level task force on Klamath River issues to specifically study whether diverting water from Klamath River to farmers would hurt the endangered Coho salmon population. The task force Rove set up gave the impression that the administration was going to take an unbiased look at the situation.

According to Michael Kelly, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist, that wasn't the case. Kelly spoke out publicly in 2003 alleging that he was subjected to political pressure and ordered to ignore scientific evidence that said the plan would likely kill off tens of thousands of Coho salmon, and to support the Klamath River low-water plan Rove wanted enacted to help farmers, who Rove saw as a crucial part of the Republican constituency in the state.

In March 2002, in a sudden reversal of a long standing policy, then Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Senator Smith held a joint press conference in Klamath Falls and opened up the irrigation system releasing thousands of gallons of water to 220,000 acres of farmland.

Connecting the dots.