First

[ChompySnack]

Ha ha (said like Simpsons bully)

[stevedeshazer]

1. How Nelson Muntz of you!

:hi:

[ChompySnack]

2. I always forget that guys name

By the way "Springfield" in The Simpsons is Portland, OR. That is where Groening is from, the power plant is the (now defunct) Trojan plant.

[stevedeshazer]

3. Oh yeah

I grew up in Columbia County, where Trojan is. It was my first protest back in about 1972.

Met Matt Groening once, he's a friend of a friend (went to Lincoln H.S.).

Woo-hoo!

[mouse7]

4. Can't be.

Moe's would have microbrews. Springfield has no pro athletes on trial. Bart, Lisa, and Maggie would already be drinking coffee.

Also, I've seen sunshine in Simpson's episodes as well. That NEVER happens in Portland.

[nosmokes]

5. yeah, get real

springfield is springfield. p'land. d'oh.

[rucky]

9. Duff is kinda sorta like a microbrew

in a Rainier sort of way.

SW PDX, checking in.

[TakebackAmerica]

6. Washington County, here!

Were a swing county in a swing state. Boo yah!

[stevedeshazer]

10. Your county...

...nearly always decides Oregon elections. Vote early and vote often, as the saying goes!

I'm in Multnomah where the outcome is certain, lots of lefties here. Unless you live in Gresham.

[0rganism]

12. Not so certain when the P.U.D. came up for a vote

Multnomah voters may have a definite initial orientation, but we're as susceptible to propaganda as the next bunch.

Hate to say it, but I think bush is going to win Oregon this year.

[stevedeshazer]

14. Dammit

I think you are right about Bush. The Repubs will spend a ton of money here.

It also means Bush and Cheney will visit Little Beirut over the summer. Traffic's gonna be a mess.

[0rganism]

24. more bush-cheney visits. yuk.

That also means more logging deregulation and resource-extraction tax breaks, to pump up the pocketbooks of potential donors.

I sense "summer from hell" coming down the pike.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

27. Here's a wet dream for you.

Dumbya & gordo-of-the-perfect-hair visit little beirut just before the election. Thousands & thousands of commuters are stuck downtown. As soon as they get home they race to find their ballots. Ballots in hand, they quickly fill them out for Kerry!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

19. Remember,

Nader probably won't be a factor. In 2000, he got, what? 5% of the vote? He couldn't even get 1000 people to show up at his rally to qualify for the ballot. He said it was because of the NCAA playoffs, which turned out to have the lowest viewership in years, so that obviously wasn't it. I've several friends who voted for Nader (I still get furious when I think about it) & they won't be voting for him again. I have lots of other anectdotal evidence that nobody probably wants to hear, but I have great hopes Oregon will go for Kerry.

[0rganism]

21. The rightwing is mobilized around here like I've never seen before

Reason? Gay marriage in Multnomah.

Every damn one of them and their sister-wives are going to vote twice, because their revrund tells 'em so.

Kerry's going to need that extra 5% just to keep it close.

[West Coast Democrat]

22. But the Left's hatred of Bush is just as strong a sentiment..........

in Oregon, especially Multnomah County. I think the turnout to kickout Bush will be a record.

[0rganism]

23. Multnomah usually has ~70% turnout already -- heck, all of Oregon does

The statewide absentee ballot system really did some good, in that respect. So if we're looking for increases in turnout, we need to examine who still doesn't vote.

I suspect a large portion of those who haven't been voting are the religiously insane, who feel "underrepresented" by our only somewhat insane legislature. Eastern Oregon is packed (albeit sparsely) with 'em. Gay marriage, and bush's push for an anti-civil-rights constitutional ammendment, is just what they need for motivation. Any potential abortion bans are icing on the cake. The rural churches are lobbying directly for bush this time around, no question about it.

Conversely, we're relying mostly on disaffected 18-24yo college students to push back and remember to turn in their ballots along with their term papers. Their major issues will be avoiding a draft and having some kind of job-growth economy underway when they graduate. Sen. Kerry can make headway here, but he has to get them to pay attention first.

This is going to be another nail-biter, and I'm giving the edge to bush. However, if Kerry can reel in Ohio and Pennsylvania by ignoring Oregon, it may be worth the shame.

[West Coast Democrat]

25. I don't know about your idea, but it's what the Bushies hope for

I have to say that I live in an area with a lot of former Naderites who have no intention of making that mistake again. That's a big chunk of voters.

[lupita]

37. Washington County Democrat signing in!

Don't miss our Precinct Leader training!

[sandnsea]

7. Cool on the Coast!

Florence here. :hi:

[roguevalley]

8. formerly from Central Point in the Rogue Valley. Currently in Soldotna,

Alaska, change of scenary courtesy of Phase Four ala Nixon.

[stevedeshazer]

13. Always wondered if that's what your name meant

Central Point's not exactly a hotbed of liberalism, is it? :hi:

What about Soldotna?

[sandnsea]

17. John McColgan, Dem House Candidate

He lives in Talent and taught at Central Point. Maybe he's an Ashland type who moved to the country. I guess Talent is still country, haven't been there in years. He looks like a great alternative to Walden though.

http://www.mccolganforcongress.com

[stevedeshazer]

18. Looks good

The 2nd District is tough. Peter Buckley (who very occasionally posts on DU) ran against Walden for that seat in 2002 as a Dem.

Having grown up in rural Oregon myself, I think there is a misconception among urban Oregonians that everyone who doesn't live in Portland, Eugene, Ashland etc. is an ignorant gap-toothed hick who drives a beater and slobbers tobacco juice. While there are plenty of this stereotype around the state (including the larger cities), I know personally and have talked to many, many progressive folks everywhere in the state.

[roguevalley]

26. Soldotna is an odd mix. Sort of Hell in some ways, cool in others.

we had some wanker who had a kid in Iraq throw water on two eighty
year old anti-war ladies at a street corner and film it, setting it to music. The state went after him as well as local police and he was charged with a hate crime I believe. I was totally glad. Made me feel better.

[stevedeshazer]

11. Lane County - cool

Howdy-do! :hi:

[dawn]

15. I used to live in Portland...I'm in CA now.

I miss Oregon, though!

[Nostradammit]

16. Greetings from Eugene!!!

A little blue oasis in a heaving sea of red!

[MissB]

20. Southwest Portland, here!

Good to see you all!

[neverforget]

28. Lake Oswego here

:hi:

[doubleplusgood]

30. "Fake" Oswego here (West Linn)

...Lake Oswego wannabe's

[TriMetFan]

29. Hi from South Madison/Gateway

I have been living here in Oregon for 16 yrs. What a Great State.

[RichardRay]

31. Living in Wyoming, but I'd move home in a heart beat

if there were any IT jobs in Oregon :-). Still have family in LO and Eugene, long time close friends in Phoenix, Merlin and Ashland.

I spend vacation in the spring on the coast (Cape Lookout, Pacific City, Cannon Beach) and down by Jacksonville. Mostly I fly paragliders. When I fly cross country it's never quite certain where I'll come down, so I often land in people's backyards and horse pastures without warning. (Imagine a thirty foot wide multicolored wing gliding silently into your backyard while your cooking outside. The glider collapses into a ball and the portly 60 yar old pilot greets you politely and apologizes for dropping in unexpectedly :-) With one exception I have been greeted with courtesy and curiousity, beer and pretzels or lemonade and cookies - in several case invitations to stay for dinner. It's quite refreshing compared to other parts of the country where I've been threatened and chased!

[stevedeshazer]

35. So YOU are that guy

That guy who dropped into my yard uninvited! (Just kidding)

No IT jobs here, that's for sure. Actually no jobs period.

When Oregon Summer arrives (July 5 through the day before Labor Day) I might just end up selling beer, pretzels, cookies and lemonade to make ends meet.

I'll pump your gas for you, too. And I won't charge sales tax. :)

[leftbend]

32. Hello from the center of Oregon

Hello to everyone. I'm in Bend now but soon moving to Portland, got to get out of the "red" part of the state. It's a bit strange here, beautiful scenery, clean water and air, etc. but the political and cultural climate are rural Republican conservative, the freepers were in heaven when *bush visited here last summer. It's hard to grow a garden here too.:-( On the plus side the small group of Deschutes County Democrats are active and involved, Dennis Kucinich was here Monday night and was very warmly welcomed by s relatively large and loud crowd. Anyway I'm looking forward to joining the liberal crowd in Portland area soon(and growing an organic garden).
Peace

[kaitykaity]

33. Nice to know who's who.

Hi All!! :hi:

[0rganism]

34. a couple years back we had PDX DU meetups at the Blue Moon

Maybe we start again this year?

[democracyindanger]

36. Hey from SF

Born and raised in Portland, moved to SF 5 years ago. Used to want to move back someday, but the longer I'm away the harder it is to imagine. So how about moving Portland down here? Lots of empty space between Redding and SF...

[DiverDave]

38. I want to go home

I'm in Delaware, and it doesn't look as if I will be moving back soon.
My wife is from here and been at her job for 15 years, there is no IT work there for me.
God, I miss the fishing, the clean air...the everything.
Don't move to DE., you don't get to see the Ducks or the Seahawks.
Sigh...

[rhite5]

39. Hello from the south end of Lane County!

It is good to figure out who the other Oregonians at DU are.
I grew up in Oregon, spent most of my working life in the SF Bay area in CA, came back here to retire almost 20 years ago.

Busy right now with the East Lane Commissioner race. My candidate is the incumbant, but he has a lot of challengers. It's a non-partisan race, but I think all of his challengers are Republicans. He's a Democrat. There is only a very slim chance he can win outright in the Primary. Mostly, I hope he survives among the top two for a runoff in November.

It is a huge, almost all rural, district. I've got responsibility for 3 of the 14 precincts involved. (Before consolidation, my 3 pcts used to be 10 precincts, all different.) The race is a vital one for liberal-progressives to hang on to the balance in the 5-person Lane County Commission. Land-Use issues, corporate greed, a dishonest sheriff, and tough budget choices are top of the agenda this year.

To the person from Bend: I was delighted that Dennis Kucinich decided to get over to Bend. I knew he would be well received. People remember when Jerry Brown was a candidate for the Dem nomination for Prez and how he made one appearance in Bend and ended up winning the Primary in Deschutes County ! It was good for Dennis to get out of the I-5 corridor. I also wish he would spend a bit more time over on the coast.

I agree with what someone else said about how Portlanders and Eugene people have a lot to learn about what rural Oregonians are really like. I learned a long time ago that we should NOT use city people to run political campaigns in rural Oregon. Too many stereotypes and clichès that just do not fit everywhere.

[OregonHippie]

40. Clackamas Country here

Yes, republican stronghold Clackamas :( But I live close enough to Portland that I can get a breath of fresh air every once in a while :D.

[HornBuckler]

41. Here In Washington County

Howdy Fellow Oregonians...

[Snazzy]

42. Any Reedies?

The school ('88)

I'm in NY for no good reason, need some wilderness and microbrew (probably not in that order).

[ChompySnack]

43. I'm an '89 physics major

Still in Portland (city of rock, in case you forgot).

Renn Fayre starts today, I don't go anymore, they are way too young now.
They are getting the mythical "Renn Fayre without rain." It happened for me once.

A Slack show would be nice, but I don't think they are playing... :-(

Go check out the live meat smoke webcam at:
http://www.mlhp.net/alum/RF04/MeatsmokeCam.html

[Snazzy]

45. Alright! Meat smoke cam!

Knew it--there had to be Reedies on DU.

Was trying to get slack mp3's when I was on the Cafe Utne thing. Somewhere there's tapes. Maybe some Sheila and Boogeymen is easier to track down. (Pretty sure she moved on from the Boogeymen, come to think of it).

Wow, Renn Fayre. I want some Widmer hefe, damn it.

:toast:

[0rganism]

47. Slack is hard to come by. You may have some luck getting Tone Dogs, tho

I went searching for Slack albums a year or two back, there's some rare record collectors online who will burn you a CD from the vinyl for about $50. I gave a tape of "Bigger Than Breakfast" to my brother in 1990 or thereabouts, but I doubt he still has it.

The band name "Slack" has been usurped by a ska group from the midwest, IIRC, so even if you find "Slack MP3s" on one of those file-sharing services, it may not be the right one.

If you want Tone Dogs MP3s, I'll rip a couple for you and e-mail 'em. Both Tone Dogs albums I have are out of print, AFAIK, so I don't think Amy or Fred would mind.

[0rganism]

44. Went there from '87-'91, didn't graduate tho

Hell, 2/3 of us don't graduate.

This is Renn Fayre weekend, didja know?

[Snazzy]

46. I was on sort of a seven year plan

Psychology (minor in Beer Security and marijuana legalization). I moved out of PDX around '92.

Renn Fayre! Arg, was going to do work this weekend, feel like goofing off sympathetically now.

[huellewig]

48. Hello from Oregon..

Springfield-->Eugene-->Bend-->Portland-->Eugene

And in about a month I move to Ashland to go back to school. That should be interesting. The boredom should be great for my grades.

[SuffragetteSal]

49. checking in - Washington County

Hopefully liberal 52 year old female voter. Stubborn like a mule!