Democrats in Oregon Legislature Vote to Make Public Education a Farce

From the Oregonian:

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to reporter Betsy Hammond, the vote was mostly along party lines. Democrats want no standards. Republicans want basic education standards.

“A bill that prohibits Oregon schools from requiring students to show they can read, write and do math at basic high school level is headed to Gov. Kate Brown after lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday.”
. . .
“The decision to remove the skills requirement was largely but not entirely a party-line one, with Democrats staunchly opposing the proficiency rules and Republicans decrying what they see as a lowering of academic standards.” 

While shoveling a new high of $9.3 billion into state public education, Oregon Democrats are prohibiting public schools from requiring that students get a basic level of education to graduate. This is the sort of entrenched racism that Black, Hispanic and Native American students commonly face when entering the public school system. There are no institutional expectations of them succeeding. And the same holds for children of lower income families.

It's no wonder that homeschooling has had it's fastest growth among Black and Hispanic families according to census.gov.

The public schools are failing children and families, and the Democrats in the Oregon legislature just voted to ensure that continues.

Oregonian Headlines that State the Obvious Long After It Has Become Obvious

Portland’s mayor and City Council please almost no one with their leadership on homelessness, protests

Downtown in distress: Portland’s core is unsafe and uninviting, residents say in new poll, threatening city’s recovery

After 3 Portland homicides in 1 week, officials sound alarm: ‘There’s a cycle of violence here we’re trying to break’

Travelers slow to return to downtown Portland hotels amid pandemic; concerns linger over city’s reputation

Protesters shatter downtown Portland windows; police declare riot

The only real question is why it has taken the Oregonian and other supposed City leaders this long to recognize the crisis has been poorly handled. 

Headlines like this a year after continuing riots and shootings began is clear indication that the Mayor and City Council have been negligent in carrying out basic governmental responsibilities. That the Oregonian hasn't been on this from month 1, let alone week 1, says something about their political stance blinding their common sense. 

Anyone who has gone downtown or knows someone who goes downtown realizes that things are even worse than the Oregonian lets on. Same with gun violence. Just in my little circle I am told that residents commonly hear gun shots at night in neighborhoods that used to be peaceful. One gets better news from friends and acquaintances than from the Oregonian. This is one reason, Oregon subscriptions keep plummeting.

Words That Strike Fear: PBOT Is Installing "Safety and Pedestrian Upgrades" on a Nearby Street

We received notification that PBOT (Portland Bureau of Transportation) is installing "Safety and Pedestrian Upgrades" on a street near us. Why should that strike fear? 

The last nearby safety and pedestrian upgrades forced all users of mass transit to cross a lane of traffic to get to the transit stop. Before the "upgrades" all they had to do was stand on the sidewalk. Now they have to cross a lane of bicycle traffic. It's normally very sparse, but cyclists that do use it often speed along in their lane and, unlike motor vehicles, never stop for pedestrians. 

Why PBOT thinks it is safer for pedestrians to get on an island in the middle of two lanes of traffic to board the bus rather than merely stand on the sidewalk is beyond me. Of course, people with disabilities are really at a disadvantage as they can't move as fast in the face of oncoming cyclist traffic.

Here's a photo of the PBOT "improvement". The white X in the upper middle of the picture is over the old bus stop shelter. You can see that bus riders did not have to cross a lane of traffic to catch the bus. They merely had to stand on the sidewalk. Now they have to cross the green bicycle lane to enter the bus. The bus has to stop in the middle of the motor vehicle lane to pick up passengers, and those waiting for the bus have to stand on an island with motor vehicles whizzing by a foot or two from them in front and bicycles swishing by within inches of them in the back. What is safer about this arrangement for pedestrians?

Pedestrians are supposed to have priority for PBOT because walking is the most basic mode of transportation. But, here, PBOT has improved nothing for pedestrians in general and made life much more dangerous for pedestrians seeking bus transportation.

Uncommon Knowledge: The Impeachment of a Former President, with Richard Epstein, Andrew McCarthy, and John Yoo

This is a rarity: a rational, intelligent discussion on Trump and the impeachment trial in the Senate. Well worth the 80 minutes. 

It was a balm to my soul after the constant barrage of hysterics from Trump supporters and Trump opponents in the conservative movement. I was beginning to fear that the entire conservative movement had lost its head.

Ben Sasse - Acting Like a Radical Not a Conservative

I used to like Ben Sasse a lot. But, his latest attempt to evade a censure for his vote that the Senate should try Trump on impeachment articles even though Trump is no longer president is somewhat disingenuous. First, he doesn't even mention that his view of what impeachment is for is a central issue--not his disagreements with Trump's words and actions.

Second, he is setting a horrible constitutional precedent that is in no way conservative. And, he is stoking the fires that "rule of law" means punishing those you disagree with. There's not a more sure fire way to destroy our Republic than that.

That he is trying to change the rules is clear from the threat of impeachment that caused Richard Nixon to resign. Everyone knew that if Nixon resigned (and was out of office), he wouldn't be impeached. That was in the 1970's when politics were about as ugly as at any time in my life except today.

Sasse and the Democrats believe impeachment should be a kind of censure rather than a tool in which  "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office" if found guilty of committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" (see Article II, Section 4). [emphasis added]

If you can use impeachment as a public punishment to those you disagree with, or who have been the author of policies that have caused grief irrespective of if they hold office or not, where will you stop? Impeach Franklin Roosevelt for interning 120,000 Japanese Americans? How about George W. Bush for the big lie that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and we should go to war? Of course, Bush's friends, including me, think he honestly believed they did have such weapons. But, unless you can read men's hearts, there's no way to say for sure. 

In light of his vote, I can't see how Sasse could make a credible case that Roosevelt, Nixon, Bush, Cheney, Reagan should not be impeached and judged guilty by the Senate irrespective of the fact that they cannot be removed from office since they hold no office. I know, there's the phrase that impeachment includes "disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States" as well as removal from office. (Article 1, Section 3, Clause 7) That couldn't apply to Franklin Roosevelt or Nixon, but could apply to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and every other living President, Vice President or civil officer.

None of this stretching of impeachment beyond any way it has been used in the past 200 years of the country's history is conservative or conducive of a peaceful, democratic society in which the rights of the minority are protected. 

Senator Sasse should be ashamed of himself for voting to rip up constitutional precedent just because he is incensed by Donald Trump's antics. Put that up against tearing away the property and interning 120,000 innocent American Japanese or the impact on thousands of US military men killed or maimed in the Iraq war. It kind of pales into insignificance.

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Apparently Has Bad Side Effects for Younger Adults

I hear from a friend with a 30 something niece who cares for the elderly that she experienced bad flu like symptoms of diarrhea, nausea, extreme fatigue for two days after receiving the second Pfizer shot. She compared notes with other younger co-workers. A significant number of them got the same flu-like side effects about 16 hours after getting the shot. 

Interesting that no one is monitoring the shots or their after effects. One would think the medical profession would be interested in getting feedback on the new vaccine in order to give all the millions yet to take the shot a heads up on what they might encounter.  

Though, of course, bad side effect reports would not go along with the narrative the "experts" and "officials" give that the vaccination is almost totally good. Which is why one is always skeptical of their claims. They talk with complete authority until one of their claims is proved false. Then, and only then, do they fall back on the line that this is a new thing and they are learning too. But, they don't say that up front when trying to influence people and policies.

My friend who did a little research says that some have suggested that the vaccine is much harsher on younger people with strong immune systems than with older people. My friend who is 70 something and does volunteer help for older people with financial needs got the first shot yesterday. If there are bad side effects to report, I'll post on it.

A Blast from the Past: Tik-Tok Menu and Scotty's Ad

Just recently I was looking at my dad's Benson High School yearbook. Inserted in the front cover was the Tik-Tok menu below:

We never went to the Tik Tok that I remember, but my dad and mom dated while she was a carhop there in 1943-1944. So, we have heard about it all our lives.

The menu is one half page (front and back). Interesting that you could get a burger, fries and milkshake there in 1943-1944 for 55 cents with an extra 5 cent charge to have it taken to your car. Kind of neat to see what the full menu was.

Awhile back I found a Scotty's ad from a 1955 Oregonian. When I was a kid my parents would take me and my older brother to Scotty's for a special treat of hamburger and french fries. It was more a McDonald's sized burger and fries. We never got the milkshake. But, my dad would order a number of hamburgers, and he would eat enough of them to fill him up. My mom, older brother and I were usually satisfied with one hamburger and fries. It was a fun time.

Later, when McDonald's came to Portland, I remember you could get a hamburger (15 cents) and fries (10 cents) for a quarter. I don't remember how much a milkshake was. It wasn't a special family place though we did go there, but I went with my teenage friends there quite often for a cheap outing.