Do you know what the McKenzie River Reflections weekly paper has, besides the delight of being located in McKenzie Bridge, some ways inland from Eugene, OR, right in the middle of the Willamette National Forest? Yup, a really awesome crime blotter. READ MORE

In light of Barack Obama's pretty bullshit spending freeze scheme-you know, the one that affects programs like "air traffic control, farm subsidies, education, nutrition and national parks"-the success of two ballot initiatives in Oregon yesterday are fascinating! The state will raise, by nearly two whopping percentage points, taxes on households that earn more than $250,000 a year (which, in Oregon, is basically the equivalent of three miiilllllion New York City dollars) and will also raise the state's minimum corporate income tax. How radical! No wait, let's take a closer look at that one. Since 1931, all businesses in Oregon have been required to pay a minimum of $10 a year in tax. (TEN DOLLARS.) That minimum tax amount, for corporations making up to half a million a year, will now be $150. It also increases very minimally the filing fees for businesses, and increases, very slightly, tax rates on large and profitable companies. And all of this excludes sole proprietors. How did a crummy state like Oregon come up with such a mind-blowing idea? Maybe other people will try this so that "air traffic controllers" and "nutrition" can continue to exist.

The University of Oregon is considering not allowing the Pacifica Forum to meet in the student union. That group, to be fair, hosts all manner of speakers, not just "legitimate historians" who don't believe the Holocaust happened. And then there's this. READ MORE