http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/08/night_in_topless_bar_becomes_e.html#incart_river_default

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SALEM -- With Republicans still reeling from the sex scandal involving Rep. Matt Wingard and a young female staffer, former House Republican Leader Kevin Cameron confirmed he abruptly stepped down last month, in part, because of a retaliatory threat that the public would find out about the night he and other GOP lawmakers -- including Wingard -- spent at a California topless bar.

"I am not proud personally about what I did at that point in time," Cameron, R-Salem, told The Oregonian this week.

In January, Cameron, House Co-Speaker Bruce Hanna and five other Republican House members took a three-day golfing vacation to Palm Springs, where they also visited a bar featuring topless dancers.

No state or campaign money was spent on the trip. But the embarrassing details are surfacing just as Republicans are trying to win majority control of the House, or at least maintain the 30-30 tie that granted them equal power to Democrats in the past two years.

</snip>

There's a lot more frivolity at the link.

I am a musician. And yes, I can actually play a number of instruments and I was classically trained and educated in music. I'm also a former minor punk rock singer so I think I'm qualified to post about this issue.

This asshole who decided to shoot a bunch of peaceful Sikhs does not represent the punk movement in any way. Hate rock is NOT punk.

Real punks of any age (I'm 57) do not associate nor identify with any of the hateful assholes in so-called white power movements. We have ALWAYS rejected this bullshit.

Real punks are gay, lesbian, straight, whatever. We never have judged each other. All we know is that we are disaffected and share a distrust of the establishment.

The one thing we are united about is fucking FAIRNESS.

Every single one of us has been screwed over somehow by society, from Nixon to Bush and beyond. That is precisely why we are punks. We see that we are being fucked over. And we were the first to make a big stink about it. And we were way out front, more than 30 years ago.

One night in 1978, I was chased up a blind alley and had the shit beat out of me by some small-town jackasses because they thought I was queer. I'm not. But, ever since, I've been on the side of the queers. Sure, I had gay friends but it was at that moment that I finally understood.

It seems weird to me that I must post in defense of punk rock, but please remember that the punk rock movement continues today. The whole point was to shock people into thinking.

I like that.

The guiding principles of the Sikh faith are Truth, Equality, Freedom, Justice, and Karma.

Today, we are all Sikhs.

The violence must stop.

The powerful US media is doing a piss-poor job, since they are married to advertising money.

Fellow Americans, isn't it obvious that this guy Romney is a privileged turd who has no idea what the 99% endure?

These folks have you covered.

http://bojack.org/2012/07/predicament_in_portlandia.html

Happy Independence Day.

A good chunk of voters will be really pissed. The Republicans have NO alternative.

Denial of benefits due to pre-existing conditions. Kids 26 and under kicked off their parents' health care insurance. Small businesses don't get their tax credits for insuring their employees.

Single payer is back on the table, folks. Democrats, IF they seize on this, can make some serious political hay out of this.

Am I wrong? Aren't we better off in the long run here? We might just get single payer out of this?!

That is all, fellow Earthlings.

(Son Of) Man arrested on I-5 near Roseburg after disrupting traffic wearing only his underwear and socks

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/06/man_arrested_on_interstate_5_n.html

<snip>

State police say a 26-year-old Texas man, who identified himself as Jesus Christ, has been arrested after he was discovered disrupting traffic near Roseburg wearing only his underwear and socks. A state trooper found the man, who is believed to have a history of mental illness, after 12 p.m. moving towards passing vehicles near the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near milepost 124.

The man, whose name has not been released, was able to evade arrest from the trooper for disorderly conduct, even after the trooper used a baton and pepper spray to try and subdue him.

A vacationing, off-duty Virginia police officer who was in the area and an officer from Roseburg soon joined the fray to help apprehend the man.

The Roseburg officer used a Taser on the man as the state trooper and Virginia officer put him in handcuffs.

</snip>

Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence other than what the cops might have. Kind of like the Resurrection.

Hood strawberries from Oregon and black cherries from Washington.

Damn, these are good. And my baked salmon. Sure hope it's not Fukushima'd.