Wilsonville Mayor Charlotte Lehan appears to be a breath-taking idiot:

"We could become a lot bigger," she said. "We're not effectively using our land. The idea that the population is going to double, so we have to double the UGB (urban growth boundary) is just absurd. We can become more dense."

Sprawling suburbs such as Wilsonville, with a population of 17,000, could pack in more people by developing taller buildings -- even five or six stories would do, Lehan said.

"Wilsonville could be 30,000 easily, or 40,000 or 50,000, probably, and hardly notice itself," she said.

Such a reckless statement ignores a part of the Oregonian article that seems not to matter to the mayor:

A Metro analysis estimated the Portland area alone will require $27 billion to $41 billion in infrastructure improvements to accommodate population growth. That means new or improved sewage treatment and water distribution systems, roads, schools, public buildings, energy plants and parks.

Yes, there is plenty of room for growth in Oregon, and we can do a lot of it vertically. We do have plenty of water — as the article notes, the Columbia and Willamette are largely untapped sources — but when the full range of needs are examined, doubling of the Portland Metro area, as is predicted to happen by at least 2060, will have severe affects we will not be ready for.

No one is ever ready for the world changing.

We have arrived at a critical juncture in the 2008 campaign. With so many huge issues suddenly arriving in the same time and space — war, economy, politics — it’s possible they may all collapse and create a black hole that swallows up the entire galaxy.

At least the super-collider did not destroy the planet.

Or did it?

The possibility, which I happily steal from the great Douglas Adams’ “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe,” is that what some people feared about the super-collider actually did occur. The fear was that starting it would result in a cataclysmic physical event that would destroy the world, and possibly beyond.

here is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.

Can we say that did not happen? To use Adams’ whimsical idea, I think it’s possible that the super-collider did indeed end the world as we knew it. What we now inhabit is an alternate universe in which the super-collider did not break the world.

It just bent it.

In the aftermath of the meltdown of financial markets, as the media has called it, progressives and even some conservatives are putting the blame on the banks, mortgage developers and other speculators. No question: Those who sought to make billions in profits by gaming the system deserve the bulk of blame. They tried to get something for less than nothing, and now they are trying to increase their profits even further via a $700 billion bailout. This can’t be allowed, of course, but progressives have to demand that their partners in this crime be held accountable as well: the public, people who sought to get more than they could afford.

The American public can be blamed for much that has gone wrong in our country over the years. Let’s begin with the basics: They are stupid and proud of it. How many people educate themselves about the issues affecting their lives? How many listen to a balanced set of news sources, if they listen to any news at all? How many study an issue, just one single issue, in order to vote for the candidate who actually does represent their view on that issue and not the one with the most persuasive ads? Since we know that few in this country can raise their hand in the affirmative to these questions, we have to accept that sad, horrifying fact: Our country’s leaders are elected by stupid people.

Of whom, we also know, only a minority vote. Yes, we’ll have a large turn-out for the presidential race, but for all the other races? The “down-ticket” races, from Congress to state legislature all the way to local water district? The further down the ballot you go, the fewer voters you’ll find. And yet so many of these races have a tangible impact on people’s lives. School boards and even water districts make decisions that affect people in ways they can identify on a daily basis (or could identify if they were not so stupid).

How amazing, two decades after we crushed the USSR into oblivion with the simple and very American tactic of out-spending them, we are now faced with having to nationalize the foundations of our financial system in order to avoid joining the Soviet Union on history's dust heap.

This is an actual case of irony, by the way, unlike so much else that is merely coincidence or just goofy-wierd.

This is also deja vu of the worst kind. We've been down this road plenty of times before. Huge corporations run amok, the federal government "regulates" wth a wink and a nod — or in the case of the Bushies, with as much assistance to the corporates as possible — and it all falls apart. Straight to hell in a golden handbasket. Now, under the rules of capitalism, to which corporations give the greatest of lip service and little else, these businesses should die off and be replaced by others more fit to be part of the great enterprise. Given that we do not, in fact, live in a capitalist society, this is not possible.

If the banks and financial institutions fail, there is nothing else to take their place. And in the same the sinking Titanic sucked under anyone too near it as it went under, the banks will destroy far too many innocent people. Not to mention lead to a global depression that would dwarf the 1930s and possibly lead to World War IV.

So we have, sad to say, no choice but to bail out the fuckers. We do have options within that sad circumstance, however: No golden parachutes. Severe limits on CEO compensation. More help for homeowners and small businesses. Strict regulations that force these businesses to serve and devour customers.

We have, for all intents and purposes, nationalized these industries. Regulation could have made that unnecessary, but the hard-right idealogues won those battles. Too bad for us all. Now let's use the opportunity to not merely fix the immediate crisis, but fix the whole mess for the long-term.

For the citizens of this country who are picking up the tab. And under Bush, of course, that means: not the rich. Let's fix that, too.

I respect the right of voters to choose to support who they will. I’m ok with losing an election based on the will of the voters. What I’m not ok with, besides stolen elections, is the when the will of the voters is based, as far as I can tell, on substance as solid as runny oatmeal. The same substance that has replaced many voters’ brains.

Explain to me how an indefensibly unworthy person is named McCain’s running mate and he suddenly becomes a better candidate in many voter’s eyes. He hadn’t been stupid enough yet? Willful enough? All they were waiting for was to make sure he wouldn’t pick Romney or the Jew? The one thing a potential president actually does prior to taking office, and McCain gets it this wrong — and prospers?

As much as I believe in democracy, I am that cynical about the people upon whom democracy depends. Even here in Oregon, there’s been a “Palin Bounce.” I do think that Oregon has a more civil political climate than most places, but we don’t necessarily have fewer voters incapable of having their preferences yanked around by superficial political stunts. Last year, the tobacco industry bought an election by spending millions. Voters knew the ads were pure propaganda, but they still let themselves be deceived. Not the first time; won’t be the last.
But honestly. Sarah Palin?

I spent this weekend at Detroit Lake State Park with a group of friends from work. We have a small department, just nine of us at this point, and we’ve been doing a number of things together. We’ve gone bowling, we’re walking in the “Race for the Cure” next weekend, but this weekend it was camping — and wave runners.

And noise.

We did not plan on there being so much noise, but we did not realize that the state park was right on the highway from Salem to Bend. The day traffic was non-stop, cars and big trucks roaring by at 60 mph; the night traffic was more intermittent but seemingly louder. Not exactly what any of us pictured as camping in the woods, but it was good to be out, so we just took it in stride.
And then there was the noise of motorized boats and jet skis, or wave runners depending on the brand you prefer. Detroit Lake is pretty much given over to motorized vehicles, so there was no point getting upset about the din. People appear to go there for two reasons: it’s an easy place to camp with the family (which means bring everything under the sun so it differs from home in as few ways as possible) and it’s a big lake for getting out on your motor boat or wave runner.

We had four of the latter beasts, and here’s the thing about them: I hate them. Along with snowmobiles and ATVs, they are among the most evil of “recreation” inventions. They could have a useful quality in the way snowmobiles do in the Antarctic or ATVs on a farm, but as a toy for weekend playtime: sweet jesus. Noise, pollution, waste. The carbon footprint of those suckers has to be immense.

One thing we Americans are very good at is triviallizing the extraordinary. Life itself, and all the many facets of being a human being: relationships, personal abilities, life choices, etc. And what do we do with all that amazing options and choices that face us in life? Reality tv.

Politics, of course, is the epitome of this trivializing process. In all complex matters, some form of simplification is necessary so that non-experts can have some understanding. Simplification is a far different matter, however. It’s one thing to put, for example, national economic policy into terms a layperson can understand. It’s quite another to say Obama’s critique of McCain’s approach to the economy is a sexist slur against Palin.

Trivializing is done by those who do not want a real debate about or examination of the issues. John McCain made it very clear he has but the slightest understanding of economic issues; as Pat Buchanan pointed out, he’s a “war president.” He has stated that he believes, contrary to all facts and the opinions of economists of every political persuasion, that the economy is sound. Very few Americans agree with him. So what can he do to protect himself on the economy, which is the number one issue on voters’ minds?

He takes the economy off the table by slamming Obama, the media and the voters with a range of nonsense that overwhelms all opposition. The economy is not what’s being discussed right now; the major topic of discussion is an idiot merry-go-round about a common folk saying. Trivia. Petty nonsense. Sleight-of-hand.

There are now less than 8 weeks until Election Day. Those weeks will be a time of strong emotion and, for a lot of people, dramatic mood swings. So much is at stake, and so much has gone wrong since Election Day 2000, many Americans simply cannot bear the thought of any kind of continuation of the Bush years. Many other Americans cannot fathom the possibility of an Obama presidency. Emotions will not merely run high: they will dominate everything.
Except, thankfully, the campaign run by Plouffe and Axelrod.

Emotion is such a central part in all human affairs that to discuss its mere presence feels obvious: Well, duh, yes people are going to be emotional. But the nature of the emotions at play in these last two months of the campaign deserves comment because, despite the theme on which Obama has built so much — hope we can believe in — the two dominant emotions that we are seeing expressed are fear and anger.

These emotions share something in common: Both kill hope.

Fear is easy to understand. We saw the Supreme Court overthrow the will of the American voters, five justices deciding that not every vote had to be counted. In 2004, the irregularities in Ohio gave the appearance of another stolen election. In 2008, we know that voting machines are not safe; the ability to steal yet another election is very real.

The media is giving the GOP candidate yet another free ride. In 2000, blatant lies about Gore were repeated endlessly, undermining his legitimacy while Bush’s record and suitability for office went unexamined. In 2004, the mainstream media abetted the swiftboating of John Kerry and, for a second time, did no serious reporting on how Bush avoided service himself in Vietnam.

This time, McCain’s pathetic self-labeling as a maverick receives virtually no scrutiny from the MSM. His actual record of voting with Bush 90% of the time is reported only by liberal and progressive reporters and bloggers, and the former are vastly outweighed on cable and the networks by corporation-owned mouthpieces. His temper, his horrific dumping of his first wife, his Keating Five past, nothing gets the kind of journalist vetting the next president deserves.

The kind of media beat-down Obama has taken. That he survived the orgy of Rev Wright “reporting” is testament to the skill of his campaign and the amazing speech he gave in Philadelphia. Currently, the media is concentrating on the polls and how day-to-day tracking shows Obama to be in big trouble, even when a simply examination of how he is doing state-by-state — the way we actually vote — shows him on the brink of an easy electoral college victory.