One of our Oregon Senators, Jeff Merkley, has been trying to

Pho

 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.Ecclesiastes 9:1I thought of this pass

Tom Meyer led a recent discussion at our Quaker meet

A friend recently returned

Taking a walk in the hills above my house this afternoon, I seemed part

Today I called “Tutor/Doctor’s” local franchisee, Mark Seker, to chat about the firm’s illegal signs in the right of way. I informed him that I’ve taken down more than a few of their signs.I know Mark and, despite and even because of my criticism, it was a friendly chat.Unlike JobDango’s

Yesterday I risked life and

I e-mailed the following to The Oregonian's Letters section this morning after reading that the Portland Trailblazers are in the process of selling the naming rights to the Rose Garden.Missing from the letter is mention of the irony of Billionaire Paul Allen's trying the squeeze e

I’m beginning to think that on the day the

This country is caught up in a downward spiral of fear. Fear of itself, fear of other nations, fear of the unknown, fear of "the other," and increasingly, fear of humanity itself.The more consumed we are with fear, the more we do to “protect” ourselves. And the more we do to protect ourselves, the more

Since turning 70 last February, day by day I’m living slightly askew.For instance, this afternoon I received in the mail — yes the REAL mail, the one with stamps — yet another appeal to join my alma mater’s alumni association. I have resisted all such appeals for nearly 50 years.This particul

While Oregonians celebrate the coming of "The Civil War” football game on Saturday, we will continue to blindly forget that the words "Civil War" have chilling meaning.In is now believed that some 700,000 Americans died in our American Civil War. That’s a number larger than the population

You can find all kinds of explanations for the outcome of the 2012 presidential election, but here’s one you probably haven't considered...God.Or to be more exact, some self-proclaimed Christians’ vision of God and God’s “creation” and “creations.”And so w

On this election eve, I’m thinking about “Beyond Majority Rule,” Michael Sheeran's classic about the vote-less Quaker decision-making process.Tomorro

What if this day, this Tuesday, were election day and not next Tuesday?Would voting be extended in the states affected by Sandy? In states where 7.5 million are without power.

It’s easy to find the cause of Hurricane Sandy.It’s two fold.The first is global warming. This massive storm is yet one more unprecedented catastrophic climate “event” linked to global warming.And the cause of global warming is no secret. It’s us and our compl

When I went out to my car recently I instantly saw something orange sitting on its roof.A large autumn leaf perhaps?Ah, nature’s gift!But as I got closer I could see that it was plastic bag. One of the ones The Oregonian gets delivered in.But inside, thank you very much, was

Here’s something that should be a topic during the final two presidential debates but won’t. Call it “The pledge to abide by the will of the people.”It doesn’t matter which candidate makes the proposal. I’ll leave it to you to decide who might be most likely to make it

Missing so far in October’s political commentary is an obvious question about Mitt Romney’s latest Etch-a-Sketch redrafting of his positions. (Just yesterday Romney “softened” his position on opposing abortions and repealing homeowner and charities tax deductions.)Question: At what point will the T

Suppose Presidential debate moderator Jim Lehrer were in the front of a fifth grade classroom and had asked, “Okay, students, who wants to be President of the United States for the next four years?”The Romney kid in the front row is instantly on his feet jumping up and down, waving his arm

You could feel this one coming. The Romney bit about the 47 percent delivered to fellow multimillionaires.Here’s a man who:• admits he enjoys firing people.• mysteriously refuses to make public more than two years of tax returns even as he accuses nearly half of us of not paying tax

Republican convention organizers set up a special prayer room for the delegates. Presumably they were praying for victory in November. Not to be found lacking spiritually, the Democrats set up their own small sanctuaries.As we well know, the invocation of God is standard fare in American politics.But

Of all the trans-Gulf of Mexico ironies that link the Republican convention in Tampa and Isaac’s destruction in New Orleans, one stands out and illuminates conservative myth and the plight of this nation.After the hurricane finally passes through leaving wrecked homes and devastated businesses, flooded neighbo

The birth of our first grandchild, Clara, earl

I’m looking into the future, to August 2016 to be exact.It is not a pretty picture.Sure the unexpected can happen (and likely will) but assuming the “normal” course of events given what we know, the government will either be hamstrung or following ruinous right-wing policies.The ham