This is the next in a line of posts to introduce candidates that I support and why, to bring them to readers' attention and to get their name out there.
Michael Dembrow is a Democrat running for the Oregon House of Representatives, District 45, in Portland. I met Michael while I was a student at Portland Community College. Michael has been not only an amazing instructor at PCC for 25+ years, but also very successfully serves as president of the Faculty Federation union there. Not only that. He co-founded (and continues to help coordinate) Portland's highly regarded African Film Festival, almost 20 years ago.
In doing my job to represent Oregon's college students down in Salem, I saw Michael putting in just as much effort, if not more, to fight for students and for higher education, as a whole. There are many reasons that I support Michael for Representative.Michael is the epitome of what a true "progressive" is all about. He is a staunch supporter of working families, education at all levels, full healthcare, and having a true voice for the people in decision-making positions. Michael is an incredibly ethical person who doesn't use subterfuge or political game-playing to get things done. He is exactly who he appears to be.
Now, all of the things I've mentioned are more than enough reason for nme to support him, and I really hadn't gone searching for more reasons to support him. I already had enough. Then Michael asked me to say a few words at his official campaign kick-off tonight. Now, I am not a natural public speaker so I always put way too much effort into trying to figure out what it is that I want to say. I know my tendency to go off on tangents quite well!. Anyhow, as I was trying to figure out how to explain my support for someone that was so automatic, it came to me. One of the greatest things about Michael Dembrow and why he has so much of my respect is this: Michael is one of those rare individuals that are, unfortunately really few and far between. Michael isn't simply "tolerant" or "accepting" of cultures and ways of life that are different from his own. He doesn't just pay lip service to diversity and compassion. He LIVES those things. He celebrates the uniqueness of people without an ounce of judgement on his part. Now, this part of Michael's personality, by itself doesn't neccessarily scream Legislator!...until you take a look at Oregon's changing demographics. Take Portland, for example. One in seven couples there are same sex, and while Portland is not the end all of what's what in Oregon, it IS still our largest city and economic center. Add to that the fact that 60+ percent of people moving to our state is a person of color, and all of a sudden, Michael's knowledge and experience become important. When I look at how Oregon is growing and changing almost daily, it is Michael's leadership in this area that I think will be absolutely crucial to our state's ability to successfully adapt to and continue to grow with those changes. Coming to that conclusion was just icing on the cake for me, but it really allows me to know something that is rare to know in this politically cynical age. I support Michael Dembrow and I'm really excited by the fact that I can support him with absolutely no reservations. That is a first for me.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Pretty Bird Woman House
For the most part, I try to focus on information or goings-on that are Oregon based. I want to share a diary post that is being highlighted by Daily Kos. If you have any doubt that we, as a people, haven't progressed further than our noses in terms of justice and equality, this article will quickly rid you of that notion.
Origins of Pretty Bird Woman House
In October of 2001 a monster in the body of a fifteen-year-old boy stalked the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota. Since his tenth birthday he had racked up twenty-five separate criminal charges, included among them was torturing a kitten to death. Another incident involved his shattering a beer bottle over the head of an eight year old. Thirty one year old Ivy Archambault had the misfortune of being home asleep when he broke into her house intent on burglary. Before the night ended he kidnapped, raped and beat her to death. In the six years since this crime was committed, he has never been charged with the murder despite eyewitnesses willing to testify, thanks to a nightmarish maze of confusing tribal, federal, state and local jurisdictions and laws.
Ivy Archambault's murder might well have passed from memory without any impact. But Jackie Brown Otter, her sister, had other ideas; she envisioned a shelter, a place where threatened women could go. A base for the fight to prevent these crimes and when they occur, seek justice on behalf of the victim. She wanted to name this place with her sister's Lakota name: Pretty Bird Woman. Over the course of three years she and a small group of women struggled to make this happen. Then, in late 2004, the South Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence came through with a grant and hired Georgia Little Shield, a nurse with ten years experience in the domestic violence as Director of Pretty Bird Woman House.
Sounds like progress? Sounds like things are turning around? It is,until some bigoted, hateful dimwits decided to destroy the place. Read the rest of the article and contribute if you can, or even better yet brainstorm some of the ideas that the author is asking for, so that we can insure that there is a permanent and safe place for the victimized women of this reservation to go.
Origins of Pretty Bird Woman House
In October of 2001 a monster in the body of a fifteen-year-old boy stalked the Standing Rock reservation in South Dakota. Since his tenth birthday he had racked up twenty-five separate criminal charges, included among them was torturing a kitten to death. Another incident involved his shattering a beer bottle over the head of an eight year old. Thirty one year old Ivy Archambault had the misfortune of being home asleep when he broke into her house intent on burglary. Before the night ended he kidnapped, raped and beat her to death. In the six years since this crime was committed, he has never been charged with the murder despite eyewitnesses willing to testify, thanks to a nightmarish maze of confusing tribal, federal, state and local jurisdictions and laws.
Ivy Archambault's murder might well have passed from memory without any impact. But Jackie Brown Otter, her sister, had other ideas; she envisioned a shelter, a place where threatened women could go. A base for the fight to prevent these crimes and when they occur, seek justice on behalf of the victim. She wanted to name this place with her sister's Lakota name: Pretty Bird Woman. Over the course of three years she and a small group of women struggled to make this happen. Then, in late 2004, the South Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence came through with a grant and hired Georgia Little Shield, a nurse with ten years experience in the domestic violence as Director of Pretty Bird Woman House.
Sounds like progress? Sounds like things are turning around? It is,until some bigoted, hateful dimwits decided to destroy the place. Read the rest of the article and contribute if you can, or even better yet brainstorm some of the ideas that the author is asking for, so that we can insure that there is a permanent and safe place for the victimized women of this reservation to go.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Sean Cruz, Senate District 23
This is the first installment in a series of posts introducing candidates that I support, why I support them, and to get their names out there. I welcome other candidates to introduce themselves here so that readers can compare.
Sean Cruz is a Democratic candidate for Oregon Senate District 23, the seat now held by Avel Gordly. He has been Senator Gordly's current Chief of Staff since January of 2003 which has given him a solid foundation for intimately understanding how the Oregon Legislature works. Sean has been out front on many issues including pointing to the impact of the Iraq War on Oregon families (he has a son there, himself), demanding quality care for returning and injured veterans, supporting proper application of Oregon's land use policies by supporting Measure 49, to name a few issues.
In the time that I've been following Mr. Cruz' efforts, he has been passionate, articulate and consistent in his views and work on many issues. On Iraq he says:
For me, the occupation of Iraq is not about campaigning, it is about life and death, it is about living daily with the consequences of the Bush Administration’s catastrophic failure to act in the best interests of the nation and of the citizens of the State of Oregon.I worry about the same issues that our veterans and their families face, the acute shortage of services across the entire spectrum of need, PTSD, IEDs, Traumatic Brain Injury (the signature injury of this war), stop-loss, multiple deployments, traumatic amputations, unemployment, homelessness…, because I am one of them, citizen father of two citizen soldiers.
This month marks four full years since both of my sons were ordered to Iraq with their Utah Army National Guard unit, after having been held on alert since the spring of 2002, four full years of unceasing worry, with no end in sight, not for years to come.I have fought to bring the issue of the war, and of the needs of our troops, our veterans and their families to the Senate floor for three sessions, one of the few people in the Capitol with a personal stake.
Like Amanda Fritz (whom I support for City Commissioner) Mr. Cruz maintains a personal blog where you can get an in-depth view of what is important to him and how he approaches the issues.
I believe that Sean Cruz would be a worthy successor to Senator Gordly, whom I hold in the highest esteem of most any elected official in this state.
Sean Cruz is a Democratic candidate for Oregon Senate District 23, the seat now held by Avel Gordly. He has been Senator Gordly's current Chief of Staff since January of 2003 which has given him a solid foundation for intimately understanding how the Oregon Legislature works. Sean has been out front on many issues including pointing to the impact of the Iraq War on Oregon families (he has a son there, himself), demanding quality care for returning and injured veterans, supporting proper application of Oregon's land use policies by supporting Measure 49, to name a few issues.
In the time that I've been following Mr. Cruz' efforts, he has been passionate, articulate and consistent in his views and work on many issues. On Iraq he says:
For me, the occupation of Iraq is not about campaigning, it is about life and death, it is about living daily with the consequences of the Bush Administration’s catastrophic failure to act in the best interests of the nation and of the citizens of the State of Oregon.I worry about the same issues that our veterans and their families face, the acute shortage of services across the entire spectrum of need, PTSD, IEDs, Traumatic Brain Injury (the signature injury of this war), stop-loss, multiple deployments, traumatic amputations, unemployment, homelessness…, because I am one of them, citizen father of two citizen soldiers.
This month marks four full years since both of my sons were ordered to Iraq with their Utah Army National Guard unit, after having been held on alert since the spring of 2002, four full years of unceasing worry, with no end in sight, not for years to come.I have fought to bring the issue of the war, and of the needs of our troops, our veterans and their families to the Senate floor for three sessions, one of the few people in the Capitol with a personal stake.
Like Amanda Fritz (whom I support for City Commissioner) Mr. Cruz maintains a personal blog where you can get an in-depth view of what is important to him and how he approaches the issues.
I believe that Sean Cruz would be a worthy successor to Senator Gordly, whom I hold in the highest esteem of most any elected official in this state.
Amanda Fritz-On the Road Again!
Amanda Fritz, candidate for city commissioner (Sam Adams' spot) is out and about in the community again this weekend, meeting Portlanders and collecting for her clean money campign. Here are the times and locations:
Saturday, November 10, 8:30 - 10 a.m.
Espresso Classico,
11136 SW Capitol Highway, at Pomona near PCC Sylvania
Saturday, November 10, noon - 1:30 p.m.
Burgerville, NE 82nd and Glisan
(Near the Montavilla Community Center)
Sunday, November 11, 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Dragonfly Coffee House, 2387 NW Thurman
Sunday, November 11, 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Twin Paradox, 8609 SE 17th Avenue
I also wanted to share her answer when asked why she is not mailing donation forms to folks. It speaks right to one of the primary reasons that I support her in this campaign to help lead our city.
"Some folks have asked me to mail forms. My volunteers and I are collecting my donations face-to-face, for several reasons:
* I believe Public Campaign Financing is about citizens' active participation making more difference than writing a check.
* We're having fun knocking on our neighbors' doors and chatting about issues as well as collecting donations.
* I want my donors to be thanked in person.
* I'm aiming for 100% accuracy in filling out the forms.
* It doesn't make sense to me for the sender of a mailed contribution to sign both as donor and recipient of the $5 contribution, even though it's allowed with the new triplicate form under the revised rules. I want my donors to have a receipt signed by someone I've authorized to collect on my behalf.
* Portlanders should have absolutely no room for doubt that anyone qualifying for Public Campaign Financing this cycle did indeed receive 1000 donations of $5, freely given and properly documented. By collecting in person with trusted authorized solicitors, I will know for sure that each donation is valid.
I held my campaign to higher than the minimum standards last time. Even though the bar for all has already been raised substantially, I intend to do so again this cycle."
Amanda has an incredibly high level of integrity...and it shows. Get out there this weekend and meet her for yourself.
Saturday, November 10, 8:30 - 10 a.m.
Espresso Classico,
11136 SW Capitol Highway, at Pomona near PCC Sylvania
Saturday, November 10, noon - 1:30 p.m.
Burgerville, NE 82nd and Glisan
(Near the Montavilla Community Center)
Sunday, November 11, 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Dragonfly Coffee House, 2387 NW Thurman
Sunday, November 11, 4 - 5:30 p.m.
Twin Paradox, 8609 SE 17th Avenue
I also wanted to share her answer when asked why she is not mailing donation forms to folks. It speaks right to one of the primary reasons that I support her in this campaign to help lead our city.
"Some folks have asked me to mail forms. My volunteers and I are collecting my donations face-to-face, for several reasons:
* I believe Public Campaign Financing is about citizens' active participation making more difference than writing a check.
* We're having fun knocking on our neighbors' doors and chatting about issues as well as collecting donations.
* I want my donors to be thanked in person.
* I'm aiming for 100% accuracy in filling out the forms.
* It doesn't make sense to me for the sender of a mailed contribution to sign both as donor and recipient of the $5 contribution, even though it's allowed with the new triplicate form under the revised rules. I want my donors to have a receipt signed by someone I've authorized to collect on my behalf.
* Portlanders should have absolutely no room for doubt that anyone qualifying for Public Campaign Financing this cycle did indeed receive 1000 donations of $5, freely given and properly documented. By collecting in person with trusted authorized solicitors, I will know for sure that each donation is valid.
I held my campaign to higher than the minimum standards last time. Even though the bar for all has already been raised substantially, I intend to do so again this cycle."
Amanda has an incredibly high level of integrity...and it shows. Get out there this weekend and meet her for yourself.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Highjacking of California electorate not a dead issue afterall
Awhile back I posted about the efforts of a small group of "right-wing GOP donors and political consultants (several with close ties to Rudy Giuliani)" to hink around with California's electoral votes' system. Basically what they want to do is to tie electoral votes to specific districts, based on the vote outcomes in tha district. What this could in effect do is pull as many as 20 electoral votes from Democrat to republican. Currently, under California law, whoever wins the most votes in the state, get all of the electoral votes. The new Republican plan would split that.
It had been my understanding that these attempts had failed. Evidently not yet. The group that hatched this ballot idea is currently trying to gather enough signatures to qualify for the June ballot. There is alot of right-wing Republican money being poured into this effort. Those 20 electoral votes are enough to sway the presidential election. Currently, Governor Schwarzengger hasn't said whether he endorses the measure or not, but he has expressed some reservations. He doesn't like the idea of changing the rules "midgame". I would agree with that.
Throughout this whole thing it has very much smacked of gerrymandering and, in the words of Arnold, "attempting to change the rules of the game in the middle of it because you don't think you can win under the current rules". More attention needs to be paid to this whole thing. While I'm not one to buy into the whole "election cancelled/martial law" yell of doom-thinking, it is fair to say that not only are the Republicans desparate, they have, on plenty of occassions, played the rules and the game to fit their own ends, legal or not.
It had been my understanding that these attempts had failed. Evidently not yet. The group that hatched this ballot idea is currently trying to gather enough signatures to qualify for the June ballot. There is alot of right-wing Republican money being poured into this effort. Those 20 electoral votes are enough to sway the presidential election. Currently, Governor Schwarzengger hasn't said whether he endorses the measure or not, but he has expressed some reservations. He doesn't like the idea of changing the rules "midgame". I would agree with that.
Throughout this whole thing it has very much smacked of gerrymandering and, in the words of Arnold, "attempting to change the rules of the game in the middle of it because you don't think you can win under the current rules". More attention needs to be paid to this whole thing. While I'm not one to buy into the whole "election cancelled/martial law" yell of doom-thinking, it is fair to say that not only are the Republicans desparate, they have, on plenty of occassions, played the rules and the game to fit their own ends, legal or not.
Friday, November 2, 2007
FundRace 2008
The Huffington Post has an interesting page that I've just now had the opportunity to play around with. It's all about who is donating to who, except you can specify who you want to see. You can even find out who your favorite celebrities are giving to, and how much. While this is a fun and exciting thing to know(!) I'm more interested in seeing who corporate employees are giving to. For example, according to the site, employees at Microsoft have given $25,488 to Republicans and $80,064 to Democrats. It even lists each donor and what their position is.
Huffington bills the tool as a way to see if your favorite celeb or boss is "playing both sides of the fence", and before you start wondering at the cheapness of some of the richest people in the country, remember there are limits on giving. Of course, the contributions of the mega top dogs are not listed, but it is kind of interesting to wonder at the political culture of certain companies.
Huffington bills the tool as a way to see if your favorite celeb or boss is "playing both sides of the fence", and before you start wondering at the cheapness of some of the richest people in the country, remember there are limits on giving. Of course, the contributions of the mega top dogs are not listed, but it is kind of interesting to wonder at the political culture of certain companies.
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