Ken Kesey was an Oregon original. One Flew Over the Cookoo's Nest was followed by Sometimes a Great Notion. He elevated my landscape of wigwam burners and chainsaw wielders into literature.

Lesser known is his work in experimental writing. He would have loved Open Salon because he saw g… Read full post »

Merkley      49%  793,043

Smith               46%           750,440

92% counted 

Smith i… Read full post »

Katie Couric's Presidential Questions series asked the candidates about their favorite books. Their choices were telling.(Transcript and link to video provided below)

Video

 Oregon has a long tradition of good Republican statesmen, Tom McCall being a prime example of this. Consequently, many Democratic Oregonians have voted for Gorden Smith over the past nine years. I know I have in the past. No more. He has proven himself to be a Bush Republican whic… Read full post »

 Apparently, one tried in the Chicago northern suburbs.

Princess Nudelman (of the Nudelman family) was mailed registration material. Apparently, the late Princess was added to a list when the family installed a second phone line for a computer in her name. They did not indicate if… Read full post »

And you thought Alexie only did poetry and prose!

Dan Savage writes an excellent sexual advice column for The Stranger out of Seattle. When he got a letter lamenting the dearth of Native American pornography, he went to the source and contacted Alexie who graciously weighed in on that… Read full post »

 The most inspiring book I have ever read was a two-inch thick tome containing the personal stories, and eye witness accounts, of men who have been awarded the United States Congressional Medal of Honor. Their stories revealed that all the men had certain attributes in common; they experienced a… Read full post »

The following is a list of servicemen and women who, as of 1992, were considered by the Department of Defense to have possibly survived their capture during the Vietnam War. This list is posted on the POW Network website and is from the office of Senator Bob Smith of… Read full post »

We all got them. Can't be human and not have bias of some kind or another. Take the test and see.

(As part of my plan to avoid flunking out of grad school (see earlier posting), this is posting some of my homework.)

The Implicit project of Harvard uses… Read full post »

 What if I had been able to find lifting help on January 18, 1991? What if the transport personnel had not run out of stretchers, forcing them to bring R** B****, who had quadriplegia, in a wheelchair? What if I had received proper and immediate medical care? What if? What if?… Read full post »

Okay guys.

 Cut it out.

Quit writing such compelling posts that require thoughtful reading and  comments. Quit being so damn informative and helpful.

Just knock it off.

 In order not to lose my mind, I am going to start blogging my homework when it can be considered at… Read full post »

Dear Open Salon,

I love you.

I stumbled in from Salon one day and discovered a treasure! According to this post from Kerry, we are even getting attention outside the community. For that is what it is, a community.

I love you because--with you--I have been able to break… Read full post »

President of the Senate?

Gwen Ifill asked a masterful question last night. Rather than asking how the candidates viewed Cheney's historic power grab as VP, Ifill asked in which branch of government the VP office resided. (As part of Cheney's abuse of power, our current VP has switched… Read full post »

Peter DeFazio is my representative to the US House of Representatives.

Peter voted no on the bailout.

Representative Peter DeFazio explains why in this September 29 piece in the Eugene Register Guard. I paste it here in its entirety and apologize for the length, but I think/… Read full post »

 Obama may be doing much better than the polls may suggest.

A report released today (Cell Phones and the 2008 Vote: An Update) by the nonpartisan PEW Research Center refutes an earlier finding that cell phone usage had a negligible impact on poll accuracy.

Researchers concluded th… Read full post »

 Fry bread is as quintessentially native as the buffalo used to be. I have been served fry bread in a Miccosukee village in the Everglades and also been told by my Yu'pik student that fry bread is a great favorite in Alaska. However unlike the buffalo, this Native American staple/… Read full post »

“Are you Indian?”

One by one, my at risk high school students asked me—in private—if my high cheekbones meant anything. I would answer no and launch into the history of my childhood Chippewa friend whose large extended family became mine, calling myself a “back… Read full post »

McCain needs to brush up on his US constitution. Today happens to be National US Constitution Day. A good day to begin.

The GOP congressional leadership has pointed out to McCain  that his promise to veto any bill with an earmark is threatening the constitutional power given to Co… Read full post »

My most indelible image from both conventions came during McCain's acceptance speech. Central casting could not have given us a more perfect embodiment of the anti-Iraq War movement than Iraq War veteran, Adam Kokesh. A survivor of the Faluja battle, he stood stalwart and intense, demanding an accoun/… Read full post »

 Why is everyone attacking earmarks?

Earmarks  appear to be the rare occasions when the ordinary citizen sees a return on their taxes. Earmarks are bridges to nowhere but also $25,000 for a children's hospital in Indianapolis. These appropriation bill add ons  have tended to fund infr… Read full post »

 When I phone-banked for Obama yesterday, I noticed that our target was "persuasion" so I went home and started writing letters to the editor.  I urge all the fine writers here to take time out of blogging to write to those who do not even know what Salon.com is. We need… Read full post »

I just got back from my shift at the Obama headquarters here in town.  (I call now; I walked in '04.) Altogether a good experience.

The place looks different this year. The political workers are so young. The room is all business except for one neglected vase of dead flowers… Read full post »