Mega budget vote adds mega challenges, too

Capitol Ideas

Written by Rep. Bob Brookens Tuesday, 03 April 2012 15:24

The Legisla­ture normally passes a mega budget, an expansive budget that reconciles 2012 fiscal matters and puts together a framework for the next fiscal year. Well, we passed one, and so did the Senate.

During negotiations to reconcile 200-plus differences, three senators and three representatives met in conference and came to agreement. We were to have voted to approve the agreement Friday about 3 p.m. just before taking our April break. (The governor gets about 20 days to consider signing or vetoing the bills we’ve passed out so far.)

However, we were told the House conferees would not sign the conference report after discovering the consequences of an item they previously had agreed to pertaining to school funding.

The...

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Headed down the path to oblivion

Free Falling

Written by Hillsboro Free Press Tuesday, 12 June 2012 15:56

In the June issue of the AARP Bulletin (yes, I am old enough to get this magazine), writer Betsy Towner presents a list of fixtures of everyday life that will “go the way of the gramophone, labeled ‘quaint’ and relegated to museums—if not the trash” in the next 50 years. Some I would be prone to agree with. Others, I am not so sure.

The list is presented in no particular order, but the largest graphic on the page is a postage stamp. “Snail mail,” as Towner and many others label traditional items delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, is allegedly headed the way of the Pony Express.

“As we continue to trend toward electronic correspondence, to survive, the agency will have to scale back mail service,” Towner...

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Knowing food's origin is worth the 'ick factor'

Fearless Farm Frau

Written by Shana Thornhill Tuesday, 19 June 2012 11:35

Lots of things have been eye-openers in our first year on the farm. First off are the sheer numbers of bugs. Since we don’t use pesticides, it’s really incredible how many bites (or ticks) a person can accumulate on a routine chore round—and that happens four to five times a day. Luckily, I’ve got some guineas to help with that. Here’s hoping they stick around.

Weeds are interesting. Again, no herbicides, so we’re overrun with poison hemlock, which we’re starting to control with liberal use of machetes. At least the chickens like the fresh greens.

The amount of poo that two horses can produce is pretty impressive, too. It’s amazing how they can turn simple hay into fertilizer so quickly. I think it’s nature’s joke...

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Answers may be found within us

View from the Hill

Written by Paul Penner Tuesday, 26 June 2012 18:01

“We have met the enemy and he is us.” —Pogo

This quote, written by cartoonist Walt Kelly more than 40 years ago, is as appropriate now as it ever has been. Given our dismal state of affairs in public or private—no pun intended—whether it’s about finances or our social welfare, there’s much blame to go around.

Yet all we read in the papers and hear from pundits of all political stripes is the “other guy” is to blame for everything that is wrong with America. Could it be that we are simply reaping what we’ve already sown? Consider these facts as they are presented by a credible institution that studies these things:

A 2003 study by the Barna Group highlights the contradictory nature of American citizens. Though 83...

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