The Oregon Compromise of 2021

June 2, 2021

This month, voters in five counties of eastern Oregon voted to instruct local officials to take action to secede from Oregon, and join Idaho instead. Separatist movements are not especially uncommon in the West – several have sprouted in Colorado over the years – but it is rare that voters actually have a chance to […]

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How Much We Care

May 7, 2021

A common adage, repeated by political consultants for 30 years, advises candidates seeking to broaden their base that “nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.” It may seem trite, but it is extraordinarily apt when describing today’s environmental disputes. Those disputes are heightened by an Administration pushing an environmental […]

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What Would Harry Say Now?

April 30, 2021

I couldn’t help thinking about my friend, the late Harry Talbott, this week when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) designated nearly 300,000 acres as critical habitat for the yellow-billed cuckoo. Harry was a conservation icon, not only because of his leadership in preserving Palisade’s orchards and open space throughout the region, nor just […]

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Never Waste a Good Crisis

April 22, 2021
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Every politician now knows the famous advice of then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel: “Never allow a good crisis go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do the things you once thought were impossible.” It may be a sad commentary on the state of modern politics, but tactically shrewd. In fact, it works for both sides, whether the […]

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Return of the Living Dead

April 16, 2021

A 1985 comedy/horror film called “Return of the Living Dead” became a cult classic, redefining zombies as brain-eating creatures who can run and talk, survive bullets, and terrorize the city of Louisville. That is, until they encounter a group of punk teenagers – always the heroes of such films. The movie was called a “mordant punk […]

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Who Could Do a Better Job?

April 9, 2021
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A headline in last month’s Evergreen Magazine asked, “Could FEMA do a better job with our wildfire pandemic?” The article traced the history of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the catastrophic wildfires of recent years, and the mismanagement that causes them, asking whether a different federal agency might do a better job. I was reminded […]

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Why Must We Keep Talking About This?

April 2, 2021
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“Why does she keep bringing that up?” “Why won’t he just let it go?” Studies show those are among the most common questions people ask therapists. Therapists respond with impressive words that cost several hundred dollars an hour. I am no doctor, but the simple answer is: because you haven’t fixed the problem yet. I […]

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Picking Losers, and More Losers

March 26, 2021

With another federal oil and gas drilling moratorium looming, fewer pundits are accusing the government of picking winners and losers – because it’s difficult to see any winners. It seems more like the old grade school trick of “heads I win, tails you lose.” The larger question should be, how in the world did the […]

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Hopping Mad About Kangaroos

March 19, 2021

In Australia, hunters kill kangaroos for their hides, which are used to make athletic shoes, especially soccer shoes. At least two American congressmen are hopping mad about it, and aim to put a stop to it. Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced a bill called the Kangaroo Protection Act, which would ban […]

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Should I Stay or Should I Go?

March 13, 2021

In the 1980s, when the Clash sang “Should I stay or should I go,” its lyrics include the no-win scenario, “If I go there will be trouble, An’ if I stay it will be double.” That damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t dilemma is a perfect description of the current debate about the headquarters of the U.S. Bureau of […]

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