Daily Blues & Views

We've been in the fog for the last few days. Reminds me of my years by the Bay. The Portland fog can be equally as cold at the San Francisco fog. Only difference is that in S.F. it continues throughout the summer. The fog reminds me of how some folk seem to be continually lost in it. Not the Rush Limbaughs, who would spout their vile vomit regardless of who was in the Oval Office. Contraries need to be contrary or they don't exist. No, I'm thinking more about those that know something's wrong with the economy and just seem to be waiting around for it to get better. Not gonna happen for a good while. When it does it'll only happen when we figure out how to be a nation of consumers AND producers, again. We no longer produce much. Ironic that the Steelers are in, and probably will win, tomorrow's Super Bowl. It's an accurate comment on how much we've come undone. Most of the steel we use is consumed, not produced here any more. The baseballs a...

We've got ourselves one hell of a moral dilemma up here in Portland. Our very popular young mayor, Sam Adams, was caught in a lie and refuses to step down. It's complicated. As a gay man, politician, and mentor, he's in deep yogurt, over his relationship with a 17 year old "intern" by the name of (are you sitting down?) Beau Breedlove. For most folks in this town, it's understandable that he chose to keep their brief kissing, and then (after Beau turned 18) their brief dalliance private. It's just that when asked about it before his election, he got indignant, accused his accusers of the most heinous kind of attack on a gay, male, politician. Call it Hubris, call it fear, call it pragmatic, call it arrogant, any way you slice it...big mistake. "It's not about the sex," some say. "He represents us, therefore he's held to a higher standard," say others. It's about his credibility, it's about his fear of homophob...

I wonder all the time about people's perceptions of public schools. There is still a strong belief in the myth of private schools being "better" than public schools. That, and the fact that public schools are in decline...always in decline. I suppose if one perceives a school as a tidy place where kids sit in tight little rows, rarely speak, and take multiple choice tests, or live, play, move, run, hide, eat, sleep, and learn in a world where everyone looks the same, then many private schools will do just fine. Maybe I'm just bitter when people give up on public schools. I know a few folks who recently decided to send their non-Catholic kids to Catholic schools. They believe the schools are safer, more orderly, probably better places to educate their kids. These decisions don't always involve, nor can they involve the kids themselves. They often don't take into consideration the curriculum each school offers. Sadly, many folks are turning their backs o...

I wish I could say that today marks Dr. King's dream realized. I keep hearing that said, but it's hardly the case. I sure don't want to minimize Obama's election, but the fact is that, as a nation, we have so much more to do. Like many, I wasn't quite sure I would see a black president in my lifetime. When Barack gave his Demo keynote address it was clear that he could go all the way. Of course, it did help that the country has endured what surely must be one of the worst administrations ever. I can't speak about Harding, Grant, Coolidge, or even Milliard Fillmore, but my sense of history tells me W wins the prize. I love that people are energized, that many now get that community service is about much more than volunteering time, and that a sense of hope is beginning to replace the cynicism and despair we've endured for the last eight years. When we stop congratulating ourselves, and realize that MLK's dream is about much more than a black presi...

Yesterday, while skimming through Parade magazine I noticed something fascinating. Parade, I would remind you is the insert in most Sunday papers not particularly noted for it's literary prowess. I have developed a new respect for Parade e magazine after reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen. After Parade ran an article about his institute in Bozeman, Montana, they got more contributions in one week than in the previous five years. It's still Parade with the tabloid look and content, but I give them credit for running some articles that reach millions of people. That's why I wanted to read Barack Obama's letter to his kids in the magazine. With a stunning family picture on the cover, the magazine asked Obama to write to his daughters and let that letter go public. A very thoughtful letter it was, but in my view nowhere near the real letter he has probably written them. But no matter, people, many people will read his thoughts. Given that half the coun...

This morning as I watched a bit of Barak Obama's historical train ride to the Capital, and listened to the pundits filling time, exchanging observations and generally jaw-jackin,'I was struck by two conflicting notions. The prevailing thought they presented was that for the first time in almost 40 years, many people feel the call to service. Further, they feel part of something bigger, much like young people in the late 60s and early 70s. Even this year's celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday is a call to community service with organizations actually doing everything from physical labor to providing workshops for undocumented workers to learn job resume skills or other valuable information. One of the CNN pundits, an African American man who is about to turn 40, was very excited to see his generation finally stop complaining and start to actually move their asses and volunteer or, dare I say follow direction and be willing participants. I was reminded of a con...

No wonder it was unsettling. The sound was formidable. Yet I couldn't keep from looking up. What I thought was an unusually loud group of crows gathering in the trees at around 4:00 p.m. this afternoon turned out to be a rather large flock. First I saw two trees full then extended my gaze and took in three more trees, all topped with gathering crows. Hard not to think of Hitchcock's "The Birds" when earshot of large groups flying overhead. And do you know what the proper term is for an unusually large bunch of crows? No not a flock, or even a gaggle; it's a murder of crows. Apparently, in large groups, crows will turn on one of their own and kill it if need be. Very human-like aren't they? I tried counting these crows, but gave up because I didn't want to be underneath them for too long. You understand the danger there. I know it's supposed to be good luck to be shat upon, but I'll just leave the luck collection to my truck. All birds...