California youth whose employers do not pay their healthcare are in for a rude shock. Under Obamacare their monthly medical premiums are in line to double.For Forbes,

April 23 - They died in Pul-E-Alam, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered from enemy indirect fire. Killed were:- 1st Lt. Robert J. Hess, 26, of Fairfax, Va, and-

In a low key editorial on the importance of a free press, the Oregonian tepidly calls on President Obama to "clear up the AP mess".

Another glitch has occurred, and there is more egg on face for the Portland Arts Tax and the City of Portland. "No payments will be accepted online until further notice. . . . A new deadline will be announced in coming days." Clarity and competence are not a part of either this tax or the City of Portland. From the

Google Earth has a neat presentation showing time lapse images by year from 1984 to 2012 of any area in the world. Here are images from 1984, 1997 and 2012 for the Portland area.

It looks like people who get most of their income from Social Security, PERS and state non-taxable sources do not have to pay the new Arts Tax if their other income is under $1,000 per year.J

The Oregon Conservative Party has a list of candidates they recommend in the May 21st election for Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas and Marion counties.www.conservativepartyor.orgIt is helpful for local races where candidate

The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) figures show a 7.64% loss in Oregonian circulation from March 2012 to March 20

The Oregonian is no longer ranked among the top 25 U.S. newspapers. The Alliance for Audited Media (AAM) stats for March 31, 2013, do not list the Oregon newspaper that has been a long time member of the top 2

I compare the following with Shep Smith's inept put down of Tim Tebow on his afternoon news show. Shep disdainfully asked why wouldn't the Jets get rid of someone who did nothing on the field last year. Maybe he missed the 2011 season when Tebow was a starting quarterback and managed a lot more than the Jets in 2012 (with

March 21 - Sgt. 1st Class James F. Grissom, 31, of Hayward, Calif., died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds suffered from small arms fire March 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan.March 22 -

The legacy of Margaret Thatcher speaks for itself. She took Britain from a time of decline and looming bankruptcy to being a strong, world leader again. She did it by holding firmly to common sense, conservative principles. In

This weekend Oregonian editors noted that Oregon's liberal arts graduates not only earn less than other college graduates, but earn less in Oregon than liberal arts graduates earn in other states.

Oregon has one of the highest percentage of seniors on Medicare Advantage (42%) of any state, and the Obama administration wants to cut those benefits. From the Wall Street Journal:

January 20 - Sgt. Mark H. Schoonhoven, 38, of Plainwell, Mich., died at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas from wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device on

Here are the top YouTube viewing numbers for CPAC 2013:200,931 - Sarah Palin

You can't make this up, folks.Mayor Charlie Hales is proposing an "emergency ordinance" to be passed by Portland's City Council on March 27. Portland's Arts Tax, passed by voters and supported by the City Club's majo

From a recent Kaiser Permanente e-mail touting the benefits of the Affordable Care Act:Expanded no-cost preventive care, including immunizations, diabetes and cancer screenings, cou

Oregon's Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) has a real dilemma. After switching from fining people who don't participate in their wellness program ($17.50/mo for individuals and $35/mo for couples) to rewarding people who participate the same amount, they now have to decide what to do about activities of young adults 18

For the Oregonian all public promises are equal but some are more equal than others.In an editorial yesterday, the Oregonian urged Clackamas County Commissioners to carry through on $20 million to fund plans already made with TriMet for light rail lines even though voters clearly said (

This should be called the "voter e

I liked Jim Geraghty's take:

I've just been reading in G. K. Chesterton's Charles Dickens the Last of the Great Men. One of the points Chesterton makes is about the equality of men in dignity and humor.

Want to do encrypted searching easily? Google's encrypted search engine (or any other search engine) can be added to the Firefox search box via an Add to Search Bar extension. Add to

The Oregonian editorial "Big PERS benefits, small state economy" presents the case that Oregon is overspending for PERS retirement benefits. The editors note: "In Oregon, a Prius economy is towing a PE

The editors of the Oregonian seem to think popularity is a more important political strategy than having real political views and principles. Their advice in yesterday's editorial "Gay marriage a golden

One of our greatest presidents.