Screwtape Letters in Portland Riveting with Both Fun and Serious Themes

The Screwtape Letters played at the Newmark Theater this weekend. It turned out to be 90 minutes of riveting entertainment with both fun and serious themes.

Based on C. S. Lewis' best selling book The Screwtape Letters (online version here*), the play starts with Lewis' shorter piece "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" as a prologue.

Brent Harris is superb at playing a devil tempter supervisor Screwtape who gives advice to a junior tempter on how to damn the soul of his "patient". It's basically a one man show, but Screwtape's mostly mute assistant Toadpipe gives visual comic relief.

The focus of the play is the nature of temptation and spiritual warfare from a devil's point of view.

One leaves the theater having been entertained, but also thinking about some of the issues raised. One example out of many comes in a passage from the book included in the play that hints at the humility needed to sustain close, long-term relationships.

"When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are almost unendurably irritating to the other. Work on that. Bring fully into the consciousness of your patient that particular lift of his mother's eyebrows which he learned to dislike in the nursery, and let him think how much he dislikes it. Let him assume that she knows how annoying it is and does it to annoy - if you know your job he will not notice the immense improbability of the assumption. And, of course, never let him suspect that he has tones and looks which similarly annoy her. As he cannot see or hear himself, this is easily managed."
(Letter III)

Producer and director Max McLean is known for high quality work. He received the 2009 Jeff Award for best solo performance. His next project is an adaptation of C. S. Lewis' short novel The Great Divorce also about choice, temptation and character change.
____
The Screwtape Letters was in the public domain in the 1970's in the United States.

Oregonian no longer to be a daily newspaper?

The March Alliance for Audited Media report showed that the Oregonian has fallen out of the top 25 U.S. daily newspapers in terms of circulation. Willamette Week now reports that the Oregonian may be preparing to downsize to take it completely out of the list of the nation's daily print newspapers.

There are new signs that the owners of The Oregonian are moving forward with plans to end daily publication of the state's biggest newspaper.

On May 17, the Oregonian Publishing Co. filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for protection of a new brand name: Oregonian Media Group.

For the employees of the state's biggest newspaper—and anyone concerned by the paper's already weakened state—this is an ominous move.

Advance Publications, the newspaper's owner, established a very similar sounding brand name, NOLA Media Group, in New Orleans when it took that city's once-great newspaper, the Times-Picayune, and turned it into a three-day-a-week publication.

In a telling reply to Willamette Week's question on the matter, the Oregonian's publisher, N. Christian Anderson III, did not deny that downsizing was in the works.

"We may use Oregonian Media Group in the future to reflect the growing portfolio of print and digital products we offer consumers and advertisers," Anderson writes. "I don’t have anything more definitive to share at this time."

Sarah Palin and Fox News Reignite Partnership

Tony Lee reports:

"Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is rejoining Fox News as a contributor less than five months after declining the network's offer to renew her contract.

"Palin will make her first return appearance on 'Fox & Friends' next Monday."

Lee sees this as a win-win merging "the most dominant network in cable television with the most influential figure to Tea Party conservatives--who is also a guaranteed ratings draw."

Palin didn't lose from the separation.

"According to a Politico analysis, Palin 'still garnered much of the same coverage in the first four months of this year as she did in 2012' without a Fox News contract:

'From January 2012 to May 2012, Palin received 223 mentions in newspapers; 69 in Web-based publications, such as CNN.com, Washingtonpost.com, POLITICO and USNews.com; 563 in blogs; and her name appeared in 46 news transcripts, for a total of 901 mentions. During the same period this year, in her post-Fox News life, Palin’s still very much in the conversation, with 118 mentions in newspapers, 55 in Web-based publications, 726 in blogs and 12 in news transcripts, for a total of 911 mentions, and she also wrote an op-ed for the conservative website Breitbart.'"

Rubio, Flake, Graham, McCain Vote Against Border Security Amendment

On a 57 to 43 vote to table the Grassley amendment to the immigration bill which would "prohibit the granting of registered provisional immigrant status until the Secretary has maintained effective control of the borders for 6 months", the only Republican senators voting to table the security motion were Rubio, Flake, Graham, McCain (all members of the Gang of Eight) and Murkowski (AK).

To her credit, Senator Kelly Ayotte, who recently said she would support the immigration bill, voted not to table the amendment. The only Democrats voting not to table were Manchin (WV) and Pryor (AR).

 H/T Byron York

Marco Rubio and Gang of Eight, Kelly Ayotte Sell National Security Down the River

Senator Marco Rubio

Senator Kelly Ayotte

Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, Jeff Flake and Kelly Ayotte are not requiring any new border security or enforcement before legalizing 11 million current illegal immigrants.  Other promises they previously made are also not in the current bill they support.

Byron York on Marco Rubio's change in commitment to border security:

A “Myth vs. Fact” press release from Rubio’s office shortly after the Gang of Eight bill was introduced called for “100 percent awareness and 90 percent success in apprehending those trying to cross the border.” Unless those goals are met, Rubio and other supporters have said, formerly illegal immigrants will not be permitted to move from registered provisional immigrant status to legal permanent resident status and then, later, to U.S. citizenship.

But the bill as written includes no such requirement; immigrants can be awarded legal permanent resident status even if the security goals have not been met.
[emphasis added]

On the requirement to learn English:

. . . both Democrats and Republicans have claimed that the bill requires formerly-illegal immigrants to learn English as a condition of acquiring legal permanent resident status.
. . .
But the bill does not require any immigrant to demonstrate any level of proficiency in English as a condition of earning a green card. While the bill says immigrants must meet a standard laid out in the Immigration and Nationality Act that they “demonstrate an understanding of the English language,” it then adds that those immigrants who don’t understand English should be “satisfactorily pursuing a course of study…to achieve an understanding of English.” There’s no requirement that they actually achieve that understanding as a condition of earning legal permanent resident status.
[emphasis added]

On empowering border states to ensure border security:

When the bill was first introduced, Rubio and others claimed that if the Department of Homeland Security did not achieve border security, then a commission, made up of border-state governors, would have the authority to do the job itself. “If, in five years, the plan has not reached 100 percent awareness and 90 percent apprehension, the Department of Homeland Security will lose control of the issue and it will be turned over to the border governors to finish the job,” Rubio told radio host Mark Levin shortly after the bill was introduced.

But there are no such provisions in the bill. In the legislation, the Border Commission’s purpose would be to make “recommendations to the President, the Secretary, and Congress on policies to achieve and maintain the border security goal.” The commission would have six months to write a report “setting forth specific recommendations.” And then, when the report is finished, the commission “shall terminate 30 days after the date on which the report is submitted.” That’s all it does. There’s nothing in the bill requiring the commission to finish the job of border security, and indeed it would have no authority to do so.
[emphasis added]

Marco Rubio on legalization coming before border security:

“Let’s be clear,” Rubio said. “Nobody is talking about preventing the legalization. The legalization is going to happen. That means the following will happen: First comes the legalization. Then come the measures to secure the border. And then comes the process of permanent residence.”
[emphasis added]

As Byron York notes, Rubio is in effect supporting legalization of the "estimated 11 million illegal immigrants . . . before any new border security or internal enforcement measures are in place, and will in no way be conditional on any security requirements."

Senators Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Jeff Flake as members of the Gang of Eight have demonstrated legislative and political incompetence that endangers the nation. Senator Kelly Ayotte recently joined them, reversing her campaign position of a tough border security stance.

Oregon House Democrats Block $67 Million in Healthcare Savings for Oregon University Students

The Oregon University System (OUS) wants to leave the Oregon Public Employees' Benefits Board (PEBB). Oregon University System members see separating from PEBB and self-insuring as the road to saving tens of millions of dollars for Oregon university students. Oregon Republican house members support the $67 million saving, but Democrats in control of the Oregon House of Representatives refused to even allow a floor vote.

Hannah Hoffman of the Statesman Journal reports:

The House Republicans today requested a floor vote on House Bill 3508, a bill that would allow the Oregon University System to withdraw from the Public Employees' Benefits Board. It wasn't granted a vote, but this idea is likely not going away
. . . .
The OUS did a study last year on its options and found it could save $67 million if it opted for its own plan instead of PEBB, which is self-insured.

The Republicans are on board with this idea.

“We need to give our universities every tool we can to curb the ever-rising costs associated with higher education,” Rep. Bruce Hanna, R – Roseburg said in a written statement. “I can’t understand why the legislature wouldn’t want to pass a bill that would allow our public universities to save an estimated $67 million. How can we tell students, parents and faculty with a straight face that we are ‘doing everything we can to support education’ when a simple administrative cost-saving measure does not even get consideration?
[emphasis added]

It turns out that student tuition subsidizes other state employee PEBB costs because OUS healthcare costs are much lower. The OUS 2012 Health and Welfare Plans Report notes:

The university system’s distinguishing concern is that health insurance costs are significant drivers of tuition increases. By OUS’ analysis, in 2011-12 each 1% increase in the cost of group health insurance contributed a 0.63% increase to undergraduate resident tuition, and an increase of 0.24% to all tuition that includes graduate and non-resident students. With health insurance costs rising at rates of 5%-10% each year this is a significant driver of tuition.
. . .
Because tuition is such a significant revenue source for OUS, students and parents are primary payers of any increases in PEBB costs. (pp. 6-7) [emphasis added]

Oregon House Democrats seem unconcerned that Oregon university students are being saddled with $67 million in unnecessary tuition costs. These higher tuition costs put college education further and further out of reach of poor and middle class Oregon students, and result in significantly more student debt for those who do manage to enroll.

Church Bells Ringing 69 Years Ago for D-Day

Portland church bells were ringing 69 years ago today to celebrate the Allied invasion of Europe. D-Day was a wonderful and sad day all at once.

It heralded the beginning of the end for the Nazis and Axis powers. But, also resulted in about 4,500 American and Allied killed out of about 160,000 in the invading force.

It was a major turning point for the War in Europe, and became another image of valor in war time that stamped America's "greatest generation".

World War II cadets - Stockton, California