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Dear Friends, Tonight I cast a historic vote to overhaul America’s failing healthcare system to improve the healthcare of all Americans. This bill prohibits exclusions based on preexisting conditions and ensures American families will no longer be one illness or job loss away from bankruptcy. It also protects America’s senior citizens by fixing the donut hole sooner and allowing more drug price-negotiation to ensure seniors are getting the best prices for their medications. For the first time in our nation’s history, we will say that every American deserves access to affordable quality healthcare. I also believe that controlling escalating healthcare...

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon police have charged a man with drunken driving after he called 911 to report his marijuana as stolen but the dispatcher couldn't understand him because he was vomiting while on the road. Marion County sheriff's deputies say 21-year-old of Salem, told dispatchers early Tuesday that someone had broken into his truck and stolen cash, a jacket and a small amount of marijuana while he was at a tavern in Salem.

Note: The following text is a quote: West Coast Man Charged with Developing and Distributing Cable Network Hacking Tools BOSTON, MA—Charges were unsealed in federal court against an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging that they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and obtain internet access without paying for it. Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer and Warren T. Bamford, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Boston Field Division, announced today that RYAN HARRIS, age 26, of San Diego,...

This part has some powerful songs

Here is the Video of Portland's TPE II I will try to have some more shots this afternoon. Pray for America and the TPE II

State officials deliberately underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big taxpayer subsidies, resulting in a program that cost 40 times more than unsuspecting lawmakers were told, an investigation by The Oregonian shows. Records also show that the program, a favorite of Kulongoski's known as the Business Energy Tax Credit, has given millions of dollars to failed companies while voters are being asked to raise income taxes because the state budget doesn't have enough to pay for schools and other programs. The incentives are now under intense scrutiny at the Oregon...

After noticing similarities between the brains of meth users and stroke victims, Portland researchers Marilyn Huckans and Jennifer Loftis theorized they could devise a more effective treatment for addicts. All they needed was a good chunk of money to prove it. And they got it -- nearly $1 million -- courtesy of the federal stimulus act, which in its first eight months has showered $1.8 billion on Oregon, according to reports released Friday. "This is our big opportunity," said Huckans, who works with Loftis at Oregon Health & Science University. The money will be used to hire support staff and...

They're back and feisty as ever. Protesters clutching anti-Barack Obama and pro-Constitution signs braved damp, chilly weather Thursday in Alba Park as they waited for the arrival of the Tea Party Express II. Two Express buses wound their way up from San Diego to Medford as part of a cross-country tour to spread the belief that the federal government has lost its way. Jeff Krump, of the Americans for Prosperity, took to the gazebo to address the 100 or so protesters. "We believe in the founding fathers' vision of a constitutionally limited government," Krump said to a round of cheers....

The Multnomah County commissioners never seem short of resolutions to pass and proclamations to make, but today's unanimous vote to support the federal Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act was particularly emotional for both the commissioners and the audience who came to support it. Known as the DREAM ACT, the legislation that would allow children brought into the country illegally to attend and pay in-state tuition at public universities, was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in March. But as it has stalled in the past year, it again has yet to be heard on...

Southern Oregon University has stopped airing the Rogue Valley Community Television show "Wilde Life" because of the indictments of its producer and host. The weekly show about issues facing gay men was suspended by SOU Associate Provost Paul Steinle because of the indictments, and it will stay off the air until the charges are resolved in court, he said. Scott Clay, 55, the show's host, and Dennis Vickoren, 62, of Eagle Point, the show's producer, both have been indicted on charges relating to child pornography. Clay was fired in August from his job with the city of Jacksonville after child...

LATEST RALLY DRAWS OVER 1,000+ IN LIBERAL SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (ON THE ROAD IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA) - Crowds continue to build as the Tea Party Express II: Countdown to Judgment Day (www.TeaPartyExpress.org) gains momentum! Yesterday in the very liberal San Francisco Bay Area, more than 1,000 people turned out to show their support for smaller government, less deficit-spending, and opposition to government-run healthcare. The rally held particular importance as a Special Election for Congress takes place on November 3rd in California's 10th Congressional District. Conservative candidate for Congress, David Harmer, spoke at the event. The Tea Party Express II...

Planned Parenthood and the other plaintiffs sued the American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) and others for alleged violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Specifically, the plaintiffs objected to the creation of "wanted" posters that listed the names and contact information of various abortion providers and the Nuremberg Files website, which contained anti-abortion advocacy and the names and addresses of over 200 abortion providers, who the site characterized as "war criminals." The website said that this information would be used in future war crimes trials in...

Earth First! made headlines with its tree-spiking in the 1980s, but the guy who helped make the anti-logging tactic famous didn't invent it. Mike Roselle even titled one chapter of his new book "Why I Quit Spiking Trees." In it, the co-founder of Earth First!, the Rainforest Action Network and the Ruckus Society described how the practice brought old-growth timber cutting to national awareness, but became a public relations disaster for the protesters. "I think the Wobblies can take credit for it if they want, but it's been around as long as logging," Roselle said, referring to the Industrial Workers...

Tremayne Durham still wants his money back. Three years ago Durham killed one man and held another hostage in an unsuccessful attempt to get back $18,000 he thought he was due. He is now serving a life sentence in the Oregon State Penitentiary, but he hasn't given up trying to collect. Today, he's using the courts instead of a .357 magnum -- and so far, he's having more success. Durham has filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Rob Chambers, whom he paid nearly $18,000 to build a soft-serve ice-cream truck in December 2005. Durham changed his mind a...

A Multnomah County jury Monday ordered the city of Portland to pay three men a total of $175,000 for a 2007 encounter with police at a downtown parking garage in which the men accused officers of battery, assault and false arrest. The jurors found the testimony of two independent witnesses especially compelling. The witnesses, a young college couple, saw the entire episode and corroborated the stories of the three men: Harold Hammick, Ri'Chard Booth and Alex Clay. "Justice does work," Clay said after the verdict. "The system does work." A city attorney had argued last week during the trial that...

A Brownsville man convicted of violating his lifetime hunting suspension has been sentenced to 10 months in the Linn County Jail. Sgt. Mari Chambers of the Oregon State Police says 58-year-old Raymond Hillsman was caught trespassing on private land while retrieving beagles he used to hunt rabbits. Hillsman has not been allowed to hunt since a 1999 racketeering conviction. In that case, he was convicted of killing bears illegally and selling their gall bladders. According to police, Chambers got a six-month sentence for violating the suspension, three months on a charge of criminal trespass with a firearm and another 30...

Does human activity affect Earth's climate? A simple question, no? It's been settled with a ringing "yes" among the scientific community. Yet, the so-called "climate debate" still pops up on editorial pages, political blogs and television talk shows. Apparently, we scientists have failed to explain to the entire public how we have come to understand the climate system. For this we owe another attempt to engage readers who still feel there is some doubt about the role of human activity in Earth's climate. What follows is a no-frills, nonpartisan explanation of how a group of scientists working on a particular...

ASHLAND — Mayor John Stromberg has called for a city ordinance prohibiting nudity around schools after a naked man was seen walking near school grounds several times in recent days. Stromberg previously voted against banning nudity around schools, but said he changed his mind because of the new episode of nudity. A man who told police he hails from Minnesota has been spotted at different times exposing his genitals near Ashland High School, Ashland Middle School and Walker Elementary School, according to a flurry of e-mails between city officials, school staff and police. "I'm changing my position because this latest...

An Oregon apartment complex reversed its ban prohibiting residents from flying American flags from dwellings and parked vehicles after the property manager decided she didn't have the legal standing to do so, KATU in Portland reported Wednesday. The American Civil Liberties Union said that Barb Holcomb's ban at Oaks Apartments did not violate any laws, but Holcomb said her legal cousel led her to believe otherwise so she reversed the decision. "If people want to fly any flag of any nationality, it's their right," she told KATU. "When a tenant rents the unit, the inside of the unit belongs to...

An Oregon apartment complex is banning its residents from flying American flags, not only from their dwellings but also their vehicles, KATU in Portland reported. Residents' outrage started when Jim Clausen, whose son is in the military and on his way back to Iraq, was told he couldn't fly an American flag from the back of his motorcycle. If he didn't take the flag down, he was told he'd face eviction, the station reported. "It floored me," Clausen told the station. "I can't believe she was saying what she was saying. It [the flag] stands for the people that can...

<p>PORTLAND, Ore. – A Portland man who attacked his ex-girlfriend and impaled her pet fish this summer has been sentenced to two years probation, a psychological evaluation and community service. Donald Earl Fite III, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to animal abuse and domestic violence assault.</p>

At the Oaks Apartments in Albany, the management can fly their own flag advertising one and two bedroom apartments - but residents have been told they can't fly any flags at all. Jim Clausen flies the American flag from the back of his motorcycle. He has a son in the military heading back to Iraq, and the flag - he said - is his way of showing support. "This flag stands for all those people," said Clausen, an Oaks Apartment resident. "It stands for the people that can no longer stand - who died in wars. That's why I fly...

Kevin's homebuilding business collapsed in the recession, and they couldn't pay the mortgage. Their bank, JPMorgan Chase, rejected the Martins' request for a mortgage modification and took legal possession of the house Aug. 19. On their anniversary two days later, the Martins and their two young children moved in with Kevin's aunt in her small condominium in Charbonneau. They're broke, unemployed and visibly stunned at their rapid plunge from the middle class to the newly poor. A bomb of debt vaporized the Martins' once-comfortable life. The heavy load of leverage they had assumed in hopes of grabbing their piece of...

A STRONG PACIFIC STORM MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN AND CENTRALCALIFORNIA LATE TUESDAY THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY WILL BRING SOMEIMPACTS TO EXTREME SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA. THE STORM WILL GENERATE A LARGE WEST SWELL WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGHTHE COASTAL WATERS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY BRINGING HIGH SURF TOEXPOSED WEST FACING BEACHES WITH SOME BREAKERS EXCEEDING 10 FEETPOSSIBLE. THIS SURF WILL CAUSE DANGEROUS RIP CURRENTS. OTHER IMPACTS MAY EXTEND INTO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHERNCALIFORNIA WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE AS FAR SOUTHAS THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS AND STRONG...GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLEIN MOUNTAIN AND DESERT AREAS OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY. ANYMODERATE TO HEAVY RAINFALL COULD CAUSE MUD AND...

They became good buddies during the war, the young American soldier and his invaluable Iraqi translator, an easygoing guy who could spot dangers in the shadows and calm jittery nerves in the streets. When it was time to go home, Joey Coon, then an Army National Guard sergeant, set up an e-mail account for Bandar Hasan. He gave his friend a quick lesson on how to use it so they could stay in touch. Joey didn't expect much; Bandar wasn't familiar with computers. But he did call on occasion, and the two joked about him coming to America one day,...

The federal and state governments have Web sites to with lots of data and cool interactive charts and graphs. Unfortunately, actual expenditure data is thin. But Saturday is the first major deadline for states to report, so perhaps President Barack Obama's promised "unprecedented transparency and accountability" is around the corner. Brian Shipley, chief of the Governor's Economic Recovery Team, sounded upbeat in a Monday interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting. He didn't reveal all of his cards, but Shipley did state that 4,600 transportation jobs will be created by the end of next year. Let's hope that's not the best news...

Nature has recently published an interesting paper which places severe limits on Darwinian evolution...

GLENDALE, Ore. (AP) - The Douglas County Sheriff's Office says the shooting death of a 93-year-old man in southwest Oregon appears to have been in self-defense. Spokeswoman Andrea Zielinski said detectives learned Clarence Hartley had been pointing a gun before he was shot by 75-year-old Clement Dewart on Friday. She says Hartley was a relative of the Dewart family and lived on their property in Glendale. Zielinski says the investigation remains active. When it's finished, the results will be forwarded to a grand jury for a review of any possible criminal charges.

They represent a migration that turns conventional wisdom on its head. Urban planners have until now proceeded on the assumption that retiring baby boomers will downsize to a high-rise and spend their days lapping lattes and taking the streetcar to the art museum. A lot of them will. But new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says baby boomers will head to the country in big numbers, in the Northwest changing the face of rural Oregon, Washington and Idaho. And it's not just because the 83 million boomer generation is the largest in U.S. history and all of their...

In what is being touted as the world's biggest dam-removal project, an agreement was reached Tuesday to remove four dams on the Klamath River and restore a 300-mile migratory route for California's beleaguered salmon. The tentative agreement was reached after a decade of negotiations among 28 parties, including American Indian tribes, farmers, fishermen and the hydroelectric company that operates the dams and distributes the water. The plan would set in motion one of the most ambitious efforts in U.S. history to restore the habitat of a federally protected species if it receives final approval by the parties in December, as...

...A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER... RECOMMENDED ACTIONS A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED WHICH COULD IMPACT THE ADVISORY REGIONS LISTED IN THE HEADLINE. PERSONS IN LOW-LYING COASTAL AREAS SHOULD BE ALERT TO INSTRUCTIONS FROM THEIR LOCAL EMERGENCY OFFICIALS. EVACUATIONS ARE ONLY ORDERED BY EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCIES. - PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS. FORECASTS INDICATE THAT A TSUNAMI WITH AMPLITUDES IN THE RANGE OF 20 TO 65CM IS EXPECTED...

Video story at link

Vicky* remembers the moment she first held her adopted baby in her arms. "He was destined for us. There was never a doubt in my mind that he wasn't mine," says Vicky, who, along with her partner, Beth*, is raising a 6-year-old boy they adopted from Guatemala. Parenthood didn't come easily for the couple. They struggled with infertility problems and then took a tremendous risk by adopting internationally, which is illegal for an openly gay couple. But once the tumultuous adoption process was finalized, this non-traditional family continued living a very ordinary, suburban life. "It's just like any other family...

A Loveland man was arrested Thursday for the attack on two women ... Larimer County sheriff's spokeswoman Eloise Campanella named the suspect as James Bondsteel, 38, of Loveland. He was booked into the Larimer County Jail on charges of kidnapping, attempted sexual assault, first and second-degree assault and menacing with a deadly weapon. The attack occurred on Sunday, Sept. 13, when the two women were confronted by a man with a knife on the Signal Mountain Trail in Poudre Canyon. He apparently tried to sexually assault them, but the women fought him off with a hiking stick...

Policymaking: If the stimulus isn't working, perhaps it's because it was largely written by a collection of leftist interest groups called the Apollo Alliance that counts among its directors a co-founder of the Weather Underground.The Labor Department reported Friday that 42 states lost more jobs than they gained in August, and that 14 plus Washington, D.C., reported unemployment rates of 10% or more. Michigan's rate rose to 15.2%, highest in the nation. Nevada, represented by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is second with 13.2%. California, home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is tied for fourth with Oregon at 12.2%. Clearly,...

WILSONVILLE, Ore.) - Police say ten motorcyclists traveling together as part of the Brothers Speed Motorcycle Club were injured, two critically, Friday afternoon in a multi-vehicle traffic crash south of Wilsonville on Interstate 5. Oregon State Police Lieutenant Gregg Hastings, says Friday, September 18, 2009, at approximately 2:45 p.m., approximately 26 motorcycles were traveling northbound in the left inside lane near milepost 282 in a formation of two columns when traffic ahead began to come to a stop.

WILSONVILLE -- Members of the Brother Speed outlaw motorcycle club rolled into a bloody 26-bike crash on Interstate 5 north Friday afternoon, south of Wilsonville. "When we arrived on scene, it was ordered mayhem," said Lt. Mike Towner of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. "There were ... two dozen motorcycles scattered across the freeway." Two bikers with critical injuries were flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center and OHSU Hospital in Portland. Seven other crash victims with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance. Northbound lanes at Milepost 282, near the Baldock Rest Area, were shut...

The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a decision this week by a controversial Clackamas County judge whose rulings prompted Attorney General John Kroger to block her from handling child-welfare cases. The appeals court said Circuit Judge Deanne Darling erred when she ordered an infant, who Department of Human Services claimed was physically abused, returned to the mother. It is not clear whether the appeals court case was among those that led to Kroger's extraordinary action. Darling came under fire earlier this year when she ordered DHS to help seek the release of a man accused of having sex with underage...

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- Police say a man shot an intruder who was armed with a baseball bat Tuesday night. Mark Farrell, 24, of Beatty, entered Jim Westman's house armed with a wooden baseball bat, said Klamath Falls Sheriff Timothy Evinger in a news release. Farrell attempted to assault Westman with the bat and Westman fired one round from a .22-caliber rifle, which hit Farrell in the right forearm. Farrell continued to assault Westman after he was shot, Evinger said. Roxann Klobucar, Westman's mother, was able to wrestle the bat from Farrell. Klobucar hit Farrell several times in the head...

The Obama administration said Tuesday the federal government's salmon and dam plan for the Columbia and Snake rivers, with modifications, will not jeopardize endangered salmon and steelhead. A drop in the populations of the endangered salmon and steelhead in the region would trigger a new review of the recovery efforts and a consideration of alternatives including breaching four dams on the lower Snake River. But the administration said that the so called biological opinion, "combined with the implementation plan, is legally and biologically sound and based on the best available science." It would order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers...

In a warming world, scientists have told us to expect more rain and less snow in the Northwest -- but not less overall precipitation. New evidence, however, suggests that dry years are becoming more severely dry across the region. Even in the rain-drenched Northwest, the trend could escalate water conflicts if it continues. Farmers, conservationists and city water managers would face severe challenges trying to balance human needs with the survival requirements of endangered salmon that need cold, clean, rushing water. Researchers with the U.S. Forest Service looked for changes in the amount of water flowing out of mountain basins...

BJ_Covert_Action writes to let us know that an Oregon congressman has filed legislation to spend $154.5M for a research project into tracking per-vehicle mileage in the US, and asks: "Do we really want the government to track our movement and driving habits on a regular basis?" "US Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) introduced H.R. 3311 earlier this year to appropriate $154,500,000 for research and study into the transition to a per-mile vehicle tax system... Oregon has successfully tested a Vehicle Miles Traveled fee... the [Oregon] report urged a mandate for all drivers to install GPS tracking devices that would report driving...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Vandals in Portland targeted some pretty pricey cars over night, throwing acid or paint stripper all over them. No one has claimed responsibility, and there's no telling just how many people were involved. The damage to as many as 15 cars is expensive. Here's one, a Hummer from the besieged Vic Alfonso Cadillac Dealership in Northeast Portland. You can see a number of spots where the paint is now peeling off the car. A sociology professor at Portland State University said there are plenty of reasons that could have motivated the vandals to do all of...

We see the spectacle of the U.S. Congress unable to manage decent health care reform that will actually enable the American citizenry to join the rest of the industrialized world in having health care for all. The problems, it is clear, come from those who are lying. Death panels? That's true. We already have them. Insurance companies deny care to Americans who then die as a result. It happens every day, Sarah Palin. But ascribing that to the plans in Congress is untrue. In fact, those corporate death panels would be outlawed. Find the language in Obama's bill that says...

Oregon lost 6,600 jobs in August as the state unemployment rate jumped to 12.2 percent -- up from 11.8 percent in July and well above the nation's 9.7 percent level.

Veterinarian Richard Kimball of Burns has noticed a disturbing trend among some of his friends. A Rockaway Beach couple has stockpiled food and assembled survival backpacks for their three adult children in Portland and Eugene. "If chaos arises, they can put the backpacks on so they can get home," said Kimball, 72. "There is a pistol in each of the backpacks." Another longtime friend, a Harney County cattle rancher, recently bought an AK-47 assault rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition. "Does that tell you anything?" Kimball asked. "He's scared." La Grande welder and gunsmith Jim Rector, meanwhile, said he has...

Patriots speaking out against Taxes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wkf3nYRnEE

Older adults can take a college course and earn a certificate in the mastery of aging well through a new Web-based program developed by Oregon State University. Co-branded by AARP Oregon, the program developed at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point is expected to have nationwide reach, says Sharon Johnson, the OSU associate professor who designed the coursework and Web content. "This is one of the first times the university has really targeted older adult students," Johnson says. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided $300,000 for the program's development after requesting grant applications for "innovative learning...

PORTLAND, Ore. - Until this summer, salesman Jorge Ocampo had always been what he calls a W-2 man. Proof was the Mercedes he bought with cash. But he had always longed to be his own boss. "Almost every day I thought of it," the 54-year-old said. The opportunity came June 2 when he was laid off from a high-tech company. Unlike the millions of people drawing an unemployment check, he enrolled in a little-known program approved by Congress that gives the jobless the weekly cash benefit but also trains them to run their own business. And the newly minted small-business...