Citizen Speaking

Observations about politics and society from a citizen who still thinks citizens matter.

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Are You for Sale?

February 19, 2012

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I'm a White Rural American. Nobody Left Me Behind.

I live in southwestern Oregon, eight miles from the nearest town and a five hour drive from the nearest sizable city. I have lived here for forty-two years. My county votes Republican regularly. I choose to live here because I love living in the woods, I like to let my dogs roam free, and because I don't feel crowded or have to deal with traffic. On a moonless night, I can see the Milky Way clearly. The bees have adopted a knothole in an oak and swallows inhabit an old rickety birdhouse my daughter made in elementary school. I can walk every day along a canopy-covered gravel road, past the log in the creek where the turtles line up, to get my mail. I can ride my bicycle on a twelve mile loop where the challenge is to count more deer than cars. I can hire a band to play on my lawn and invite my friends to come dance. I can float the river in an inflatable tahiti for no cost. I can chase the shy woodpeckers around my yard with my camera. I accepted having to commute an hour...

Specific Steps to Address Gun Violence

249 people in the US were shot today . Over 95,000 were shot so far this year. ( Source ) Finally there seems to some measure of political will to address the problem, at least to begin talking about it. Sure, there are still those who oppose any limitations on weapons ownership. And there are those who want all firearms banned. But between those extremes lie the rest of America. Senator Feinstein said today she will introduce a bill restoring the expired ban on assault weapons and limiting clips to 10 rounds maximum. Other than that, I'm hearing very few specifics. Well, I'm hardly a weapons expert but someone has to put forward some proposals. Humbly I stepped into the breach. (Okay, line stolen from the Limeliters .) Here's what I would do: 1. Legislation or voluntary action by the media to control coverage, beginning with leaving the perpetrators anonymous . The glorification of mass murder encourages copy-cat...

Meet Low Taxes, Small Government

For those who dream of a Utopia where taxes are low and government puny, I know just the place. In fact, it's the county where I've worked and volunteered for the past 30 years. Welcome to Josephine County, Oregon! Josephine County in southern Oregon has 83,000 people, 41% of whom live in the city of Grants Pass. Those in the city limits pay for city services. The 59% in the rural areas have low taxes and meager county services. Voters in the county haven't fallen for a Democrat since FDR. The state of Oregon is a low tax state overall, ranking 40th of the 50 states in overall tax burden. There are no sales taxes and property taxes are kept low by a ballot measure passed by voters 20 years ago. But each county has a different situation and rural Josephine County's property taxes (the primary funding source for local government) are the second lowest in the state at just under $6.00 per $1000 of assessed value (about half of actual ...

What the $10.10 Minimum Wage Would Buy

I was curious how well a single parent might manage on the new proposed minimum wage of $10.10 per hour. This is $2.85 higher than the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 and $1.00 more than Oregon's minimum of $9.10. I'm assuming full-time employment for a single adult with two children, one in public school and one in daycare. I've used Oregon averages for housing and utility costs and assumed no employer-provided health plan. This is likely since full-time employment at minimum wage typically requires multiple part-time jobs. I've also assumed an average commute of ten miles each way to work with an average mileage car. Gross Pay per month: $1,616 Monthly Subtractions: Social Security contribution: $100 Medicare contribution: $23 Federal Tax Withholding: $0 State Tax Withholding: $90 Net Pay per month: $1,403 Net Pay per year: $16,836 Basic no-frills expenses for Oregon : Rent for 2-bedroom apartment or house: $880 Utilities (Power...

If only...

There were warnings, warnings I didn't heed. And I of all people, I should have responded. I just scrolled on past. Her October 20th Facebook post : "Well, the day wouldn't be complete without at least one 2-minute-long psychotic voice mail from an ex. That's a wrap." She was clever and sarcastic like that. Witty, smart, impressive. I saw the post. I smiled and moved on to whatever appeared below her post. Some friends responded though. And she added later " I will be eternally grateful that I don't have to negotiate the house-of-horrors that is co-parenting with an ex." Then a few minutes later, " Oh good, another 2-minute psychotic voice mail. Actually, no, I apologize to schizophrenics. I meant sociopathic voice mail. Apparently the "auto reject" option on Androids still lets them leave messages ." The discussion from friends was about how to block voice mail on your phone. I should have -- could have ...

The Refugee Responsibility

The discussion so far about thousands of child refugees from violence-torn Central America has failed to distinguish between refugees and undocumented (illegal) immigrants. I've seen little from the media, from Washington politicians or even from the Obama administration acknowledging there might actually be something distinct about "refugees". Lest we think of refugees merely as numbers, here are a few prominent refugees you may recognize: Madeline Albright , former US Secretary of State. Refugee from the Czech Republic in 1948. Isabel Allende , novelist. Refugee from Chile in 1973. Hannah Arendt , philosopher. Refugee from Germany in 1941. Bela Bartok , composer. Refugee from Hungary in 1940. Charlie Chaplin , actor. Refugee from US in 1952. Frederic Chopin , composer. Refugee from Poland in 1831. Marlene Dietrich , actress. Refugee from Germany in 1939. Albert Einstein , scientist. Refugee from Germany in 1932. Victor Hugo , writer. Refu...

Why People Disengage

I learned something. I am the child of a news junkie with a five-paper-a-day habit. I have always craved information about the world around me -- the good and the bad -- and valued keeping informed. I can't say I've valued what the mainstream media believes I need information about -- endless loops of footage on the latest tragedy or celebrity gossip -- but I've known that there are sources to find out what I need to know. I need to know what the new developments are in my community. I need to know how the world is changing -- socially, politically, economically, culturally, and environmentally. I need to know what my state government and federal government are up to. I need to know how special interests get their way and what their objectives are. I need to know what's coming down the pike educationally that could help or hinder children's learning. There is so much to know, very little of it available through headline-only, if-it-bleeds-it-leads television...

False Accusations do Hurt

Today was a rough day. My stomach was in knots and my anxiety showed. No, I'm fine. All is well in Oregon. Family are good. Dogs too. I was anxious for tonight's speech. I read on Twitter the BernieorBust kids intended to disrupt Hillary Clinton's big speech. I feared boos during her moment. This actually troubled me the whole day. No, I don't know Hillary. I don't think I even know anyone who does know her. We aren't linked in any particular way; I haven't been a direct beneficiary of her work. For much of her career, I've found her too hawkish, too much an opportunist. Opportunist. Now, isn't that interesting? It's another way of saying ambitious. I know some ambitious people but they have different anatomy. Why does her ambition bother people? Where I've connected with her is as a leader who faced difficult times. Being someone with a clear vision and willing to do the hard work to get things done isn't easy -- not in p...

Free Enterprise Run Amok

What do the Costa Concordia and the Deepwater Horizon have in common? This week the cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground in a well-traveled corridor of the Mediterranean Sea. The top-heavy ship capsized and the search continues for lives lost. Apparently the captain fled. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon spewed millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, destroying all life for hundreds of miles and damaging sensitive gulf coastlines and estuaries. They are one and the same story. The Costa is owned by Carnival Cruise Lines, an American company carrying mostly American passengers but Europeans as well. The CEO, Mickey Arison, is the richest man in Florida, worth many billions. Though American owned and embarking from American ports, Carnival flies the flag of Liberia. Liberia does not inspect the ships, regulate safety or environmental standards or collect taxes. For a fee to the Liberian governm...

The Social Security Quiz

Here's a little true/false quiz to see how well you understand our Social Security crisis: T F Raising the retirement age or reducing benefits would help reduce the federal deficit. T F Social Security pays out more money than it takes in every year. T F The money current workers pay into Social Security is paid out to current retirees. T F Everyone pays the same rate (percentage of income) into Social Security. T F The Baby Boomers will receive a windfall from Social Security, leaving little for their children. Social Security and the Deficit Perhaps the biggest myth is that payments from Social Security contribute to the deficit. In fact, Social Security is a creditor of our national debt. One quarter of US government debt is actually money owed to the Social Security trust fund. In the 1980s, President Reagan supported legislatio...

Linda: Citizenship is about participating. And asking questions. And reading. And engaging. And working. And speaking out. Education is about creating citizens.

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