A Quiet Giant

Another giant of the local church has been promoted to glory, Don Bubna. Don was the senior pastor at Salem Alliance for 23 years and saw the congregation through sustained growth during his tenure and, by picking good people, positioned SAC for further growth after his departure. More importantly, he imparted an ethic at SAC that can be be described as a "culture of grace." He knew that life beats up on lots of people, so a person's background wasn't of much concern to him. No, what he really cared about was dusting them off, getting them back on their feet, and walking with them toward Christ.

Don was a kind man and ever ready to talk. I am not the only one who found him that way. As I have traveled, one of the things that has struck me is the number of people all over the world whose lives he touched, and not just those in his own denomination. Person after person has recounted a Don Bubna story and asked me to send their greetings. Amazing. What a great way to be remembered. 

So thank you Don for your service and for the legacy that you left behind. I am sure, though, that you have been told this face-to-face by Someone well over my pay grade.


www.legacy.com/obituaries/statesmanjournal/obituary.aspx?n=donald-bubna&pid=153856729&fhid=8598

In Business to Spend Money

The Oregonian's Steve Duin posts a telling story today. Some folks in a nice Portland neighborhood wanted to get the alley running through their area paved with an asphalt overlay. The alley was in rough shape and occasionally ate cars that braved running through it. The City of Portland's response? For a mere $525,000 it can be yours! Which brought a look of total incredulity to the neighbors' faces because they had gotten a bid from a private paving contractor to do the work and it had come in at only $54,600. Part of the difference was the $250,000 that the city proposed to spend on "engineering." Right. How much engineering does it take to put on an asphalt overlay? The private contractor summed it up best when he related what a city inspector once told him: "You're in business to make money. We're in business to spend money." Indeed.

 www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2011/09/portland_the_city_that_spares.html

Doubling Down

This chart is produced by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). It shows that tax rates would double by 2050 for everybody to cover just the deficits in entitlement spending through income taxes. Remember, this does not include spending for defense, roads, etc. and it is also before the additional burdens of state income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, government "fees", etc. are added to the pile. The Emperor has no clothes. It's time for the Feds to enter the 12-step program Spender's Anonymous. Now.

Righting a Wrong

I read Ambrose's Undaunted Courage about Lewis & Clark's expedition to the Pacific Northwest and liked it. I do not recall, though, that it covered the fact that they apparently swiped a canoe from the Clatsop Indians when they left. This was most ungracious since it was the largesse of the Clatsops that kept them alive during the winter in Oregon before they headed home. That wrong has now been made right by the descendants of Lewis & Clark.

A handcrafted replica canoe that was built in Veneta, Oregon was recently presented to the Chinook Nation, a consortium of tribes including the Clatsops. The canoe was paid for by the explorer's heirs and some other donors. The presentation ceremony was held in Long Beach, WA and included tribal members and several of the explorer's descendants. Case closed. It's never too late to say you are sorry.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44658752/ns/us_news/#.ToB-0E-SdJJ

Bullets from Space!

We successfully dodged the remains of NASA's UARS satellite that splashed down in the Pacific last night. My confidence level in NASA's ability wasn't raised by its frequent updates on where and when the thing was going to crash back to earth - which amounted to a tacit admission of "Darned if we know!" and which definitely makes me nervous when we get our next brush with big space debris at the end of October.

That's right, this time a big German satellite will come blasting back in through the atmosphere and land who knows where. It's 2.4 tons of German engineering and we all know that whatever other deficiencies the Germans suffer from, they make great machinery. As much as 532 Kg or about 1170 lbs will hit Mother Earth somewhere, hopefully not in the middle of some local movie theater or McDonald's. Maybe the Germans are better at calculating these things than NASA. If not, I guess we should just start a betting pool as to where (or who) this celestial trash will hit and then duck and cover on the appointed day.

www.newscientist.com/article/dn20955-second-big-satellite-set-to-resist-reentry-burnup.html

Broke and Broker

Whether it's the WESD sending people to Denver on a $17,000 junket to avoid having to give back money at the end of the fiscal year, $16 muffins at Federal conferences, or a "Sustainability Center" for paltry $62 million, it's clear that government has not gotten the message about the economic morass that this country is in. These boondoggles have long since gone beyond amusing and represent financial blood hemorrhaging from the body politic to the point that the nation's life is in peril. A look at the Sustainability Center for Higher Ed illustrates the problem.

The Oregon Sustainability Center is "... a proposed $62 million showcase for environmental design, construction and technology." Boy, I'm glad that's settled! I have no idea what that means, but it must be a great idea because it's green. The city wants to tap the state for $37 million in bond funding to build it. Of course, today the state found out that it kind of missed in its calculations on the new contract with state employees and has to scrounge up another $42 million for that. Aw, what the hey - it's a green project after all.

In the meantime, Oregon unemployment is up to 9.6%, we have had our fourth consecutive month of declining gross state product, and Gov. Cowboy is gallivanting around Asia begging for dollars. Green should clearly be our highest priority. Right. Green in the form of all the greenbacks the government is burning on projects that while perhaps nice, are anything but necessary at this point in time.

blog.oregonlive.com/portlandcityhall/2011/09/examining_the_cost_to_portland.html

Riffing on a Theme

Riffing on the theme of taxing the rich, some perspective may be useful. According to the IRS, the 400 richest people averaged $263 million in annual income and collectively had total income in 2006 of $105 billion.  We can probably all agree that these folks are rich. The interesting point, though, is that if you taxed them all at 100% - took away all their money - it would pay for less than 10% of this year's $1.3 trillion deficit, never mind each of the next 9 years which are projected to be in the same range. The problem is not income. The problem is spending. It is so much more fun, however, to deflect blame and ignore the cure.

 www.forbes.com/2009/01/29/irs-high-income-personal-finance-taxes_0129_wealthy_americans.html

Heard It on the Grapevine

Some people sing in a monotone and it can get boring quickly. Take our President, for example. Whatever the economic malady his refrain is always, "Raise taxes on the rich!" You can probably turn this into a nice Motown number with background singers and all - think "Heard It on the Grapevine" or similar hits. But when one of the great Motown groups finished a chart, they would move on to another number. Not so this President. Nope, the melody is always the same, "Raise taxes on the rich!" I heard it on the grapevine, Mr. President, it's time to change your tune. Please.

We Salute You

I don't know if you saw this story from last week, but this is the USS New York passing the site of the WTC memorial in New York during the official observance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. What is especially poignant is that the ship contains 7.5 tons of steel recycled from the wreckage of the WTC towers. Note the large American flag flown in the middle of the vessel. Never forget!

The Poor Will Always Be With You. Unions Too.

The Obama Stimulus Jr. package is dead on arrival, so I probably shouldn't waste my time, but did you know that one of the key ways the President was going to pay for it was by limiting the charitable deduction for "rich" people? Let's first define "rich people."

The President is wont to talk about "millionaires and billionaires" getting away with murder when comes to taxes. Reading the fine print, though, yields the fact that the term really means adjusted gross income of $250,000/year for a couple or $200,000 for an individual. Now this income level is nothing to sneeze at but it is hardly the "millionaires and billionaires" that the President constantly refers to with a sneer.

Secondly, folks at this income level give a lot to charity. At the $250,000/year level a lot of giving is local - churches, UGN, and other worthy local charities. Losing this income would hurt. Sandra Swirski, executive director for the Alliance for Charitable Reform, said:

"... it goes against another goal Mr. Obama outlined when he spoke to Congress last week. He said that policy makers need to make sure the neediest are not neglected ... And at the end of the day, limiting the charitable deduction is going to hurt those folks the most.”

Trust me Ms. Swirski, if it comes to plumping up his union political contributors with fat "jobs" contracts vs. serving the neediest in our society, this President knows which side his bread is buttered on. Can you say Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. pass the Wonderbread please?


philanthropy.com/article/Jobs-Bill-Would-Limit-Charity/128966/

FLASH TRAFFIC: FIVE GUYS TO OPEN TOMORROW

Commercial St SE
Friday 09/16/11

Bad Theology; Bad Consequences

Here is another case out of Oregon City with Christian parents in criminal court for allegedly failing to treat a sick infant who died. This is a troubling issue for Christians and for Constitutional law - where is the line drawn under First Amendment law between the religious beliefs of the parent and the state's interest in the safety of children? A lot of ink has been used on this subject, but it's also important to look at the underlying faith issue as well.

Essentially what such Christian parents are saying by failing to seek medical treatment for a sick child because of supposed religious reasons is that God can't heal through doctors. This is not an expression of faith but rather quite the opposite. Taking it to the hyperbolic extreme, God has shown that he can use a jackass for His purposes, so most assuredly He can use doctors. God does heal directly and miraculously - I have seen it. But He also uses the many fine and skilled Christian doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel all the time. Should Christian parents seek out such practitioners to treat their children? Absolutely. But to limit God by refusing to take their sick children to such a physician? Never! It is not our prerogative to tell God how to do His work.

oregonlive.com/oregon-city/index.ssf/2011/09/followers_of_christ_manslaughter_trial_starts_today_as_prosecutors_present_the_case_against_dale_and.html

The Times They Are a'Changin

The New York 9th Congressional District elected a Republican yesterday. This district has elected Democrats for 90 years, including the likes of Geraldine Ferraro, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, and Anthony Weiner. The district also has a large number of Jewish voters and the election became the focus of a backlash against President Obama's Israel (as in anti-Israel) policy, with former Democratic Mayor of New York Ed Koch endorsing the Republican candidate. Hmm, I wonder if this means anything for 2012?

news.yahoo.com/republicans-score-upset-win-york-special-election-115000872.html

Oregon Economic Update

In other economic news, Gov. John's Oregon Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) moves boldly ahead with a fourth consecutive month of decreased economic activity. The Guv was last seen leaving for Japan to convince them to send some money here since apparently nobody else is.
 
www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/09/university_of_oregon_economic_2.html

Al's 24-Hour Climate Marathon

Al Gore is going to hold a 24-hour television marathon to eradicate disbelief in global warming. OK Al - we're ready. We hear and will obey!

www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/09/12/inconvenient-day-al-gore-preps-24-hour-global-warming-broadcast/

Never Forget!

When I think about the events 10 years ago, my memories are amazingly clear. Apparently there is some truth to the theory that some events are so traumatic that they are burned into our memory circuits. I remember shock that quickly gravitated to white hot anger that over time has morphed into cold resolve: Never Forget! Do not talk to me about supposed American overreaction to 9/11; do not minimize the intentions of our enemies; do not cut corners with worn out equipment or subpar training when we send our young men and women in harm's way to take care of business. Never forget!

Part of cold resolve is learning all we can about how 9/11 happened and taking appropriate responses to make sure it never happens again.  Along these lines is an article that I came across this morning that details the alleged active role of Iran in the atrocities of that September morning. I have never seen this information before. It appears to be credible information. The source is an NSA summary of 9/11 intelligence regarding Iran's help to the 9/11 hijackers that was given to the 9/11 Commission at the very end of its existence. The Commission labelled the information "explosive." The fact that the intelligence community later tried to suppress the information is additional evidence that this is indeed accurate information.

The attorneys representing the 9/11 victims obtained the document in discovery and realized its import. Based on the information, the lead attorney summarizes what we know:

• The Islamic Republic of Iran helped design the 9/11 plot; 
• provided intelligence support to identify and train the operatives who carried it out;
• allowed the future hijackers to evade U.S. and Pakistani surveillance on key trips to Afghanistan where they received the final order of mission from Osama bin Laden, by escorting them through Iranian borders without passport stamps;
• evacuated hundreds of top al Qaeda operatives from Afghanistan to Iran after the 9/11 just as U.S. forces launched their offensive;
• provided safe haven and continued financial support to al Qaeda cadres for years after 9/11;
• allowed al Qaeda to use Iran as an operational base for additional terror attacks, in particular the May 2003 bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

If the above is true, then the gloves need to come of with the Iranian mullahs. We have put up with 288 Marines killed in 1983 in Beirut, miscellaneous terrorist actions around the world since then, and now this. Cold resolve. They are done. I harbor no ill will against the people of Iran. They are under the yoke of these evil men and have shown repeatedly over the last several years that they too have had enough. We need to destabilize, eliminate - do whatever is required, but the mullahs are done. We need to elect people who will make sure this happens. Never forget!

frontpagemag.com/2011/09/09/iran%E2%80%99s-dirty-911-secrets/

I'm Shocked, Shocked!

The Oregonian reported that:

"Students and parents eagerly awaiting opening day Monday at Portland's new recording arts-centered charter high school expressed astonishment Friday that the school has been shut down"

And the cause of this truly astonishing news:

"... the hip-hop-themed school is dead, felled by its planners' failure to have the minimum curriculum, materials, leaders and space ready, despite more than two years and $500,000 worth of planning."

Indeed, even Portland Public Schools, not known for its planning acumen, commented in pulling the PUBLIC money from this outfit cited:

                                                     "... an astounding lack of readiness."

My question is - why did it take 2 years for the school district to figure out that this was a con job? Hip-hop themed high school? Really?  A drop in the bucket, but this is how massive deficits start.

www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/09/hip-hop_charter_school_student.html

The Hare and the Tortoise

I’m currently a BlackBerry guy with 2 generations of them under my belt. It’s getting close to time to upgrade phones and the dilemma is BlackBerry or iPhone? Unfortunately, BlackBerry has gotten behind on its operating system and Apple and the Android phones have been eating BlackBerry’s lunch. I have had the chance to use my wife’s iPhone 3GS and evaluate it against my BlackBerry. Some winners and losers from my admittedly subjective viewpoint:

Battery Life (BB) BB routinely gets 2+ days while the IP has to hit the juice every night. BB batteries are available everywhere for $20-$30 and can easily be installed by the owner. IPs must be sent to the factory or go to an Apple store to change the battery.

E-mail  (BB) BB keeps e-mails until you delete them. You can also save individual e-mails to a separate folder that will save them indefinitely and is easily accessed. E-mail is also pushed regularly to your phone through the BB server.

Voice  (BB)  BB is generally reported to have better call quality which is probably attributable to a better antenna.

Keyboard  (BB) This is more of a personal preference. The BB physical keyboard is easier for me to use, especially for texting. The IP electronic keyboard isn’t bad but due to its small size, my fat fingers tend to slop over on to other keys.

Calendar  (BB)  The options available on the BB calendar are much more numerous and easy to use than IP. One-hand operation doesn’t hurt either.

Message Notifiers  (BB) This one is debatable. BBs have an LED message indicator at the top of the phone that can use different colors depending on the type of message received. In a meeting you can use this feature to screen for important messages/texts. There are also a lot of free custom tones available for message tones and ring tones.

Internet  (IP)  No one else is close to the IP for internet usage. Navigation is especially good.

Multimedia (IP) Music and photos are killer in the IP - quick, smooth, and easy to use.

Data Usage  (BB) In this new era of data caps, BB uses a data compression technology which uses less bandwidth to get the same amount of data to your phone. This might be significant to a heavy user, which I am not.

Conclusion: BB is a nice phone, but it is behind the times. The new iOS 5 operating system is due out any day, as is the iPhone 5, so we will need to see how these address some of the issues raised above. If it does, then…

As We Approach the 9/11 Anniversary

The national threat level was increased yesterday due to specific threats against New York and Washington. It is just days away from the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and this should be no surprise. The bad guys would love to again inflict mass American casualties on this auspicious date. A lot of intelligence, law enforcement and military people are working long hours to head them off. I want to thank them in advance for their efforts. I also want to suggest a prayer for divine Providence to cover the unknown unknowns. These are dangerous times. Hopefully we won't be asleep like last time - the consequences are too painful.

Monty Python and Un-England

John Cleese is a funny guy. He of Monty Python fame and numerous other movies and television shows said something of note the other day, though, that was distinctly unfunny. Talking about his English homeland, he said:

"I'm not sure what's going on in Britain. Let me say this, I don't know what's going on in London because London is no longer an English city...I love having different cultures around but when the parent culture kind of dissipates, you're left thinking, 'What's going on?'"

Samuel Huntington, the Harvard scholar, said much the same thing, albeit in a much more erudite way in his book Who Are We?

Take England for example. Much of the philosophical foundation for the American political and legal systems came from England. The English tradition of civility made its way across the Atlantic too, at least as the ideal in social discourse. Likewise, Adam Smith was a Brit and British economic theory was the basis for American capitalism. In contrast, many of the Muslims in England are pushing for Sharia law that dispenses with all of the above in favor of a rigorous 5th century theology-über-alles approach to life. Pretty soon you have an England that John Cleese notices really isn't England.

Lest you think it can't happen here, think again. If anything, it could more easily happen here because America is a shared aspiration rather than an ethnic culture going back centuries. If America can mean anything, there are plenty of people who will be happy to impose their culture's view of things to the exclusion of what has made the United States different all these years. In our lifetime we too can have a John Cleese experience in our own country. Detroit, for example, which is more like Beirut than a Midwestern city. I for one would like to keep Detroit an isolated experience and focus instead on what made us great. There is still time, but the shadows are growing longer.

www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3791303/John-Cleese-London-is-no-longer-English-city.html

Why Your Cell Service May Suck

I always assumed that all of my dropped calls on ATT were because the company was a rapacious example of capitalist running dogdom and wasn't building cell facilities to keep pace with demand. Some of that may be true but this article says that those folks who are there to help, e.g. - the government, may also have their thumb in my eye.

Apparently cities have been very slow to authorize new cell towers or antennas and as demand has grown, this foot dragging has impaired service. I certainly agree that sticking a big cell tower isn't the best thing aesthetically in a lot of cities, but carriers have gotten creative with antennas in out of the way places and blending them into the landscape. So carriers, keep those capital improvements coming and get creative and government, get off your duff and approve these things! Can you hear me now?!

news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20102911-94/does-your-iphone-service-suck-blame-city-hall/?tag=topStories

You Are Not Free to Move About the Country

As if flying isn't difficult enough already, recent events in Libya may make it even more so. Apparently "Arab Springers" have liberated about 20,000 anti-aircraft missiles formerly belonging to Messr. Gaddafi. A large number of these were Russian shoulder-fired SA-24 missiles which can take out a jet at 11,000 feet and almost 4 miles away. These have disappeared but it is reasonable to expect that the bad guys will try to get them into the US or use them elsewhere in the world against US commercial aircraft. Great. Soft drinks, peanuts or anti-infrared flares anyone?

security.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/07/exclusive-libyan-missiles-looted/

Let's Do It Again!

On June 13, 2011, just 3 months ago, President Obama joked (ha-ha) that he had just figured out that "shovel-ready" jobs weren't really, well shovel-ready.  nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2011/06/13/obama-jokes-jobs-council-shovel-ready-was-not-shovel-ready-we-expected So what is one of the features of his new and improved economic plan to be unveiled this week? Yup - shovel-ready jobs for "infrastructure" improvements. Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. I think we're there.

The Market Responds to Energy Needs

While government-backed solar plants tank, the private sector is quietly going about its business of delivering clean energy that doesn't depend on the sun, the vagaries of the wind, or some other esoteric "green" factor. El Paso Corporation has just completed a 680-mile pipeline from Wyoming to southeastern Oregon using $3.5 billion of its own money. Imagine that! The primary market is California, but it could serve Oregon if demand here grows. Oregon gets 75% of its natural gas from Canada, so just having an alternative available will likely have a dampening effect on prices the Canadians charge. The next time it's cold outside and you turn up the heat a notch, or take a nice hot shower on a cold morning, remember who is getting the job done.

www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2011/09/el_paso_corp_launches_680-mile.html

Magic Touch!

President Obama continued his Typhoid Mary political touch this week. The President visited the California-based Solyndra in 2010 to showcase it as a shining example of his "green jobs" initiative. Well, after receiving $475 million in government money to help it glow in the marketplace, the company declared bankruptcy last week. The White House had said that this public "investment" would create 4,000 jobs. Would you believe maybe, if you stretch it, 585 jobs? I mean, what do you expect for measly half-BILLION dollars?

In other news, employment numbers were released yesterday and no - as in zip, nada - net jobs were created in the second quarter. Surprise, surprise, surprise!

abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/08/solar-energy-company-touted-by-obama-goes-bankrupt/

A Job Well Done - Salt and Light

Providence Medical Center in Portland was founded by Catholic sisters in 1941. It grew into a huge facility providing quality healthcare to thousands in Portland and now in other parts of Oregon. The last two sisters are moving from the virtually unknown convent on the 8th floor of the Medical Center to the order's retirement center in Seattle. Sister Rita Fernschweiler (93) and Sister Lenora Donovan (78) will be missed by staff who will miss their presence at the hospital. It was a job well done for these two sisters and all who went before them. You have run the race well, good and faithful servants!

www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/08/providence_medical_center_cele.html