There is a small miracle happening in the blogosphere.

After the tragic Tucson killings, there was an explosion of stories and articles on the bogosphere blaming both rightwing and leftwing vitriol for the violence. Emotions were at a fever pitch. Under this firestorm, a few blog… Read full post »

Americans United for Civility Petition

WE THE UNDERSIGNED American citizens,

Mournful of the deaths of many at the hands of one in Tucson,

Inspired by the bravery of heroes who risked their lives to save
others, and

Mindful of the present state of incivility which exists in public di/… Read full post »

On Sunday, Amir Mohammed Siala brought the healing of my small town of Corvallis, Oregon, full circle to Pioneer Square in Portland—the scene of the recently foiled Christmas Tree Lighting bomb plot.

After the candlelight vigil in Corvallis which was organized to/… Read full post »

Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley is becoming Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Senator Merkley has a plan.

On January 5, 2011, Senator Merkley and like-minded Senators will make a motion to alter the rules of filibuster.  

Under these rules if you want to filibuster a bill, you c… Read full post »

This morning, the authorities have publically identified a 24-year-old man who lives with his mom close to the Salman al-Farisi Islamic Center, as a person of interest in the Corvallis arson.

A Muslim neighbor was quoted as saying, “If that was him, it would be shocking&hel… Read full post »

There was no fear last night at the Corvallis Salman al-Farisi Islamic center.

A drenching November rain fell as hundreds of townspeople sheltered their candles against the wind, standing with our Muslim neighbors as we took back the Mosque from those who had tried to destroy this… Read full post »

As I was  reading Catherine Forsythe's post Salon.com Is A Target for Merger and Acquisition, this Depression era song kept running through my head. Intimations of Salon's sale with the possible demise of Open Salon have been circulating for weeks now. However, as designanator… Read full post »

(AP Photo/Corvallis Gazette-Times, Jesse Skoubo)

Last night, I did what women have always done in time of sorrow and trouble. I brought a salad to the barbeque at the Salman al-Farsi Islamic Center in Corvallis. They ate every speck of it.

In the women's space, I was comforted by the… Read full post »

I am hurting.

At 2:30 a.m., an arsonist set fire to the Salman al-Farsi Islamic Center. The police found “plenty of evidence” to confirm that it was arson.

This is the Masjid where my Muslim kids worshiped. This is where I visited post-9/11 for an open house. This is in… Read full post »

                         PEW Report: Middle Class Blues: 79% of all Americans feel it is "more difficult" for Middle Class people.  

The Bush tax c… Read full post »

This year, we are having a frybread Thanksgiving. Daughter mentioned frybread a few days ago and made me hungry for it. Also, I like the idea of honoring Native Americans to whom Thanksgiving has a whole different meaning. It is the Native way to give thank… Read full post »

Just when I had given up…

This particular job posting had closed six weeks ago. With no phone call, I had assumed that I had not made the cut.

Because I had no interview to wait around for, I got a plane ticket to visit a friend for ten days in Palm… Read full post »

The real "wave" this midterm election was not Republican or tea party but corporate. A tsunami of secret cash flooded our elections and swept the party responsible for the lost decade of the middle class into a position of power.

In the SCOTUS opinion, the Supreme Court legalized corporate bribes by… Read full post »

Prepare to be boarded, Mary Lin.

I am five SHEETS to the wind with a  following sea.

aarrrrggg Read full post »

I hate phone banking.

However, I saved three ballots from being lost in the Post Office. (Oregon only counts ballots received not postmarked, so late voters need to use drop boxes or go to their county election offices.)

When you phone bank, more folks than you think than… Read full post »

Well, there were a few other folks there but I was the only one with this sign:

DeFazio has been in national news because of the large amount of secret corporate money funneled into Oregon to defeat him. Peter calls his “very own” Wall Street fat cat (Robert Mercer) “Bob&rdq… Read full post »

Maybe there won't be a Republican Wave this year.

Maybe that wave will be BLUE.

The nonpartisan Pew Research Center released their October 2010 paper, Cell Phones and Election Polls: an Update in which they found that polls that contact only those with land-line phones gave R/… Read full post »

To the Corporate Right, US House Representative Peter DeFazio from Oregon is a dangerous man.

DeFazio has been targeted by the Concerned Taxpayers of America (CTA) which represents exactly two taxpayers, neither of them from Oregon.  Robert Mercer, a New York hedge fund executive, and Daniel Sch… Read full post »

According to disgruntled Progressives, Obama has done too little.

According to nervous Conservatives, Obama has done too much.

Although this is a first for me, I believe that the Conservatives are closer to the naked truth here.

According to scholars who keep track of such… Read full post »

On Open Salon, I have long had a reputation for being compassionate and fairly reasonable for the internet.

Not lately though.

I have had some serious medication issues this past month which had me questioning my sanity or, at least, my spelling.

I switched to a new medication and… Read full post »

Thinkprogress.org broke the story last week of how the Chamber of Commerce is subverting U.S. campaign laws by collecting money from foreign entities to fund anti-Democratic election ads.

Today Huffington Post provides a link to Thinkprogress.org which has published a partial list from/… Read full post »

The Atlantic magazine published this photo today of Rich Iott (AKA "Reinhardt Pferdmann"), the Ohio GOP candidate for the U.S. House under the headline:  Why is that GOP Candidate Dressed Like a Nazi? By Joshua Green.

The Faux News Show reported that the Ohio Republ/… Read full post »

The rains have begun.

Seasonal Affective Disorder  is kicking in on time.

Halloween is soon here.

The tomatoes are all but gone.

But Obama is coming…

I am a poor organizer at best but am opening the floor for discussion. New Old Lefty has offere… Read full post »

And ya’ll thought I was a hack.

Thing is, they probably want you too.

As “ostephanie”, I received an email in my non-OS email account from Chris Bowers, Daily KOS Campaign Director, with an offer to give me the know-how to get political pieces out to the folks who need t… Read full post »

Who opposes rescinding Don’t Ask Don’t Tell?

McCain drags out his “War Hero” card yet again to “defend” our troops. This is not the first time that McCain has used his military career in the service of the GOP. During the 2006 presidential election, I posted When H… Read full post »