Category Opinion

One is silver, one is gold

They say nostalgia is what it used to be; I’m sorry, but nostaglia hasn’t changed one wit in milienia. I often think of time, as in years or eras. Living in my sixth decade, I can remember easily what came 50 years before. The world…

LETTER: Thank you from MCFD1

To the Editor: Marion County Fire District #1 wants to say “Thank you.” We recently completed our budget process for the next fiscal year. We had strong participation with staff, our Citizen Budget Committee and community during our public meetings. Our fire district is owned…

LETTER: Sage Grouse and open land

To the Editor: The Trump Administration, via the U.S. Forest Service, is rolling back five years of regional and local planning designed to save the Western Sage Grouse from likely extinction.  They also are rolling back protections at the Bears Ears National Monument which will…

Naming names by Rep. Castro

By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS You could be next. That’s really the message that Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, was sending to any potential donors of President Donald Trump’s campaign—or to any Republicans, for that matter—when he tweeted the names and occupations of 44 San Antonians who…

The elusive ornithorhynchus anatinus

By ANDREW J. JACKSON Don’t ask me how to pronounce “ornithorhynchus anatinus.” That tongue-twister is the scientific name for the platypus — a duck-billed, semiaquatic egg-laying mammal.  It looks like a sort of duck-beaver hybrid. Something all sports-enthused native Oregonians should strive to be –…

Domestic terrorism takes center stage

The current crisis over domestic terrorists with no statute to address more murderous actions has become an enlarged swamp. President Trump blames the latest “swamp” on the media while a mirror into which he should look would see his own reflection and what he has exasperated,…

There is no single solution

After a mass shooting there are the inevitable calls for stricter gun control laws or the banning of assault weapons. Some say that such demands are made for political gain. Still others say that the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting is no time to…

Portland State leadership is costly

The ‘one percenters’ in America are those who possess most of the wealth and power. They have the financial means for their daughters and sons to attend a college or university of their choice. Of course other Americans with children who recognize the importance of continuing education…

One side is right, one side is wrong

When one side proposes solution after solution to contain gun violence—and offers compromise after compromise to get something done —while the other side blocks action every time, you know which side is right. When one side brushes aside the dangers of racist and white nationalist…