Short Read of the Week for June 10, 2021

After a wide-ranging discussion of the seven articles that were suggested this week, we agreed to shine our spotlight on an issue that will be an increasing source of partisan conflict in our region. This article in the Atlantic Monthly - our top choice - shows that there is hope, if and only if the Democratic values of good government and civic engagement prevail over the values that our political opponents extol: anti-regulation extremism and property-rights absolutism.

The West can end the water wars now
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/06/oregon-water-drought-conflict/619109/
[our copy here]

Another article that was suggested this week dealt more with the environmental urgency of the situation and the efforts to deal with it that are already underway: https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/to-free-a-river.

Our second choice was:

Democrats have a path to victory. It starts on the ground
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/06/09/democrats-have-path-victory-it-starts-ground
[our copy here]

Although we don't decide where the Party stands on policy issues in this short weekly meeting, it is where we begin to talk about those issues, and it is where our general consensus about those issues most often begins to form. Participating in it is your best shot at influencing (or just understanding) the positions that your friends in the Democratic Party will take. Will you join us next week?

Short Read of the Week for June 3, 2021

Our first recommendation in this morning’s Short Read of the Week meeting was an article which began, “It took 100 years for an American president to visit the site of the Tulsa Race Massacre to acknowledge the atrocity that America tried to forget.” After you read it, you will want also to read President Biden’s speech on the Tulsa race massacre:

To Fill the Silence
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/todays-edition-june-2-2021
[our copy here]

Our second recommendation was:

Farmworker organizing in Washington is undoing discriminatory labor policies
https://www.hcn.org/articles/north-labor-farmworker-organizing-in-washington-is-undoing-discriminatory-labor-policies
[our copy here]

We stand not only with the farmworkers but with all the working people of Tillamook County, so many of whom are faced with exactly the conditions described in this article. Will you join us next week?

Short Read of the Week for May 27, 2021

In this morning’s discussion we chose to spotlight two articles, the first of which may help explain a heartbreaking result in last week’s Tillamook School Board election:

Why Critical Race Theory Drives Right-Wingers Nuts
https://www.laprogressive.com/critical-race-theory-2/
[our copy here]

Republicans are apparently hearing a steady drumbeat of alarmist falsehoods about Critical Race Theory, so if (like most of us) you’ve barely heard of it and would like to be better prepared to talk to your conservative friends about it, this article will help. You can also listen to a short informative discussion here.

Our second choice was a letter to President Biden about the recent violence in Israel/Palestine, urging him to hold Israel accountable for its actions and to lay the groundwork for justice and lasting peace:

Dear President Biden
https://matan-aradneeman.medium.com/dear-president-biden-b19600918a67
[our copy here]

And we had a great discussion of all the articles that were submitted this week. Will you join us next time?

Short Read of the Week for May 20, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week discussion we decided to focus our spotlight on one article that clearly stood out above all others that had been suggested. It makes a persuasive case that Democratic policies and priorities are what family farms need the most. So, if you don’t read anything else this week, at least read this:

Family farms are struggling with two hidden challenges: health insurance and child care
https://theconversation.com/family-farms-are-struggling-with-two-hidden-challenges-health-insurance-and-child-care-159542
[our copy here]

And if you know anyone (especially anyone trying to provide for a family) on a small farm, would you forward this article to them and let us know whether they agree with what it says?

Short Read of the Week for May 13, 2021

Our first-choice article in this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting was about bitter divisions arising in a Bend school board race that resemble divisions now becoming apparent in Tillamook County:

Race, politics, partisanship: Bend school board race sees unusual division
https://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/race-politics-partisanship-bend-school-board-race-sees-unusual-division/article_86794bdc-af54-11eb-b5a2-e7102dfc4089.html
[our copy here]

Our second choice was about an astonishing attack on democracy that would once have been inconceivable anywhere in the United States, but now seems like something that could easily happen here:

Arizona Review of 2020 Vote Is Riddled With Flaws, Says Secretary of State
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/arizona-vote-count-republicans.html
[our copy here]

Both articles reflect a theme that is becoming increasingly clear: political activism at the local level is so much more important than most people realize. You can start by joining us next week.

Short Read of the Week for May 6, 2021

Our first-choice article in this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting was on a theme we first noticed this week in Edward Stratton’s excellent May 3 article on the North Coast labor shortage in the Daily Astorian, but we ultimately chose to recommend an article by our State Representative David Gomberg in The Lincoln City News Guard as the one thing every Tillamook County Democrat should read if you don’t read anything else this week:

Gomberg: Help Wanted Hurts Everyone
https://www.thenewsguard.com/opinion/gomberg-help-wanted-hurts-everyone/article_dd3522aa-ac54-11eb-a6b8-7f80fea2e01b.html
[our copy here]

Our second choice was the May 3rd edition of Robert Hubbell’s daily newsletter, which forcefully explains why county party organizations like ours must take every election seriously, never to sit on the sidelines:

Slouching Toward Authoritarianism
https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/todays-edition-may-3-2021
[our copy here]

Please share these articles widely. And please join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for April 29, 2021

Our first-choice article in this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting was, oddly enough, based on JP Morgan’s most recent message to its clients, which effectively counters the right-wing narrative about the negative economic effects of Biden’s presidency. JP Morgan says that Biden's proposed tax increases will not drive a big dip in earnings, and notes that in the last 75 years Democratic presidents' average S&P 500 return was more than double the average return of Republican presidents. Biden is leading even that pack.

Better stock-market returns in Biden's first 100 days than any president in 75 years
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/the-us-stock-market-has-seen-better-returns-in-joe-bidens-first-100-days-than-under-any-president-in-the-past-75-years/ar-BB1g4xem
[our copy here]

Our second choice was based in part on the strange absence of this disturbing story in local media outlets:

Far-Right Patriot Prayer Plans Oregon Return Alongside GOP Rep. Mike Nearman
https://www.newsweek.com/patriot-prayer-salem-mike-nearman-1587037
[our copy here]

Please share these articles widely. And please join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for April 22, 2021

Our first choice in this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting was appropriate for Earth Day, although we didn’t choose if for that reason. This review of a documentary about the long term effects of Agent Orange connects that environmental disaster with present-day issues and people on the Oregon Coast:

Chemical Carnage: From Vietnam to Oregon …. the destructive legacy of Agent Orange
https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/chemical-carnage
[our copy here]

And our second choice was a very helpful report on the corporations that have honored (or in some cases, dishonored) their pledge not to donate to seditionists:

What we learned from the first major FEC deadline after the insurrection
https://popular.info/p/what-we-learned-from-the-first-major
[our copy here]

Please be on the lookout for next week’s Short Read of the Week, post your suggestions at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads, and join us next Thursday!

Short Read of the Week for April 15, 2021

In this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting, we chose to highlight two recent articles from The Tillamook County Pioneer. The first made all of us proud to be Democrats, especially in comparison to a parallel article about the Tillamook County Republicans:

Keeping Up To Date With the Tillamook County Democrats
https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/keeping-up-to-date-with-the-tillamook-democrats/
[our copy here]

And because it was so positive and educational, on a subject so close to home, we also chose an article by the Tillamook County Pioneer Editor, Laura Swanson:

Salmon Super Highway Connecting Communities, One Stream, One Fish at a time
https://www.tillamookcountypioneer.net/salmon-superhwy-connecting-communities-one-stream-one-fish-at-a-time/
[our copy here]

We also had a great discussion of McMinnville resident Nicholas Kristof’s most recent article in the New York Times about dialog and cooperation between timber-industry and environmental-protection communities in John Day; more on that subject in the weeks and months to come.

Will you join us next week?

Short Read of the Week for April 8, 2021

In this morning's Short Read of the Week meeting, we chose to highlight the opening paragraph of Robert Hubbell's daily newsletter for April 7th, along with an article from The Rolling Stone (https://www.rollingstone.com/.../georgia-voting-bill.../) that nicely explains why the law really is "as bad as it seems, and worse."

The most powerful criticism of Georgia’s voter suppression law is this: It is predicated on the lie that Trump lost the 2020 election because of massive voter fraud. Indeed, the very existence of S.B. 202 validates the Big Lie and undermines trust in the American electoral system. The Georgia legislation posits that “If Republicans lose at the ballot box, it is because Democrats cheated and, therefore, we must reform the system to prevent future cheating by Democrats.” Those falsehoods will dissolve the sinew of our nation if left unchecked. Even if every provision of S.B. 202 protected and expanded voting rights (which they do not), the timing of the bill is intended to send the message that Joe Biden is president only because of massive fraud in the 2020 election. The insufferable breast-beating and eye-squinting rationalizations by the bill’s defenders must be met with fact-based, vigorous rebuttals. We cannot allow ourselves to be distracted, fooled, or exhausted by claims that “The bill is not really as bad as it seems . . . .” It is as bad as it seems, and worse.

And because it made us so grateful for President Biden's good judgment in choosing his running mate, and gave us hope for future Democratic administrations, we also chose to highlight this article about the husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris:

Doug Emhoff: 'charming' second gentleman embraces supporting role
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/28/doug-emhoff-second-gentleman-kamala-harris
[our copy here]

And we had a great conversation about bans on homeless camping and how that might affect the political situation in Tillamook County. One of the reasons we talk about these issues in person is that it avoids the divisiveness, misunderstanding, and hurt feelings that often result from hashing them out on social media.

Will you join us next week?

Short Read of the Week for April 1, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week meeting we discussed five articles shown here and at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads. Our first choice, based on our desire to promote unified support for President Biden’s agenda among those who share our values but may not agree with our tactics, was:

Joe Biden is giving left parties the world over a masterclass in how to use power https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/26/joe-biden-left-parties-power-radical-winning
[our copy here]

And because it is so urgent that we respond effectively to Republican efforts to suppress Democratic votes, we also chose:

Corporations Will Oppose Voting Rights Unless Consumers Act https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/03/30/corporations-will-oppose-voting-rights-unless-consumers-act/
[our copy here]

Remember that these short Thursday-morning meetings are your best way of influencing (or just understanding) the thinking of your fellow Tillamook County Democrats on civic and political matters. We do them on Zoom partly to save time, partly to cultivate community and conversation, and partly to have fun. So the meeting itself, really, is more important than the articles we talk about or the decisions we make. Please join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for March 25, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week meeting we discussed five articles shown here and at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads. In part because this is Women’s History Month, but primarily because it is so well done and so educational, we chose to spotlight this article in the Washington Post:

Women's History Month - Celebrating Female Leaders https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/women-history-month-leaders-2021/
[our copy here]

We also chose an article that should help everyone in Tillamook county understand how much good our own Senator Ron Wyden has done and is now positioned to do for the economic interests of all Oregonians:

Senate's new finance cop, Oregon's Wyden, holds keys to Biden trade agenda
https://news.yahoo.com/senates-finance-cop-oregons-wyden-110559604.html
[our copy here]

Both of these articles help dispel myths about Democrats and help communicate the value of progressive leadership. But because they aren’t explicitly political, both of these articles should also be easy for you to share with your conservative friends and family members via social media or email. Please do. And please join us for next week’s meeting!

Short Read of the Week for March 18, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week meeting, we discussed five articles, shown here and at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads. We chose to spotlight an article in McClatchy that is unusually short and unusually helpful in understanding the divisions in our country today:

The Confederacy Was a Con Job on Whites. And Still Is.
https://www.mcclatchydc.com/opinion/article136803208.html
[our copy here]

We also chose a pair of articles by the same author, one in the New Yorker and one in Counterpunch, on a little-known part of President Biden’s stimulus plan that is a Very Big Deal:

The Stockton Experiment: How a Guaranteed Income Can Actually Solve Inequality
https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/15/the-stockton-experiment-how-a-guaranteed-income-can-actually-solve-inequality/
[our copy here]

Biden’s Stimulus Plan Contains an Experiment in Universal Basic Income
https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/joe-bidens-stimulus-plan-contains-an-experiment-in-universal-basic-income
[our copy here]

As more people become aware of this provision of the stimulus plan, it is going to elicit anger that is grounded in ideology, not facts. These articles will help us educate our conservative friends about how it helps all of us.

Submit your article suggestions at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads and join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for March 11, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week meeting, we discussed five articles, shown here and at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads. We chose to spotlight the March 8, 2021 edition of Robert Hubbell’s daily newsletter for its clear and compelling explanation of why it is a strength, not a weakness, that Democrats do not march in lockstep:

In Praise of Coalition Politics
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XtNfCe9aMbcx6Eh79_uMz2VV_OrabGa8/view

We also discussed several articles that highlighted little-known but incredibly positive aspects of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The best of them was this article about provisions that Republicans are now castigating as “reparations:”

Bill is most significant legislation for Black farmers since Civil Rights Act, experts say
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/bill-is-most-significant-legislation-for-black-farmers-since-civil-rights-act-experts-say/
[our copy here]

It dawned on several of us during the discussion, actually, that passage of the American Rescue Plan was a watershed moment in American history. We will likely have more to say about that in the weeks and months to come.

Please join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for March 4, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week meeting, we discussed six articles, shown here and at https://tinyurl.com/TillcoDems-short-reads, three of which had to do with recently intensifying Republican efforts to make voting more difficult for traditional Democratic constituencies. We chose to spotlight this edition of Robert Hubbell’s daily newsletter for its incisive comments on that subject:

Today’s Edition: Voting Rights Under Attack
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YgQu3fBnOyL-t5nXkZl5kNM8JbcG1ABc/view?usp=sharing

Be sure to read all the way through it. Hubbell’s words at the end about the value of supporting the DNC are particularly valuable.

Our second choice was this NBC News report on President Biden’s progress in undoing one of the most horrifying and immoral acts of the Trump administration:

Biden administration will let migrant families separated under Trump reunite inside U.S.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-expected-let-migrant-families-separated-under-trump-reunite-n1259141
[our copy here]

Good news is so often underreported. Let’s do what we can to get the word out about this!

Short Read of the Week for February 25, 2021

In this morning’s meeting, we discussed six articles (shown here). two of which had to do with the environmental and forest-management issues that have so motivated voters on the Oregon Coast. The article that got the most first-place votes was a very short letter to the editor which references the other one: a very informative but longer article from OPB, ProPublica, and the Oregonian:

Readers Respond: Coastal Group Leads Timber Fight
https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2020/06/readers-respond-coastal-group-leads-timber-fight.html
[our copy here]

Both articles reflect the desire of Tillamook County Democrats to better understand these issues, and to find and support policies that benefit all Oregonians, present and future.

The reason for our second-place choice was well stated in the February 24th edition of Robert Hubbell’s newsletter: “An ugly stain on America’s global standing was Trump’s effort to deflect blame from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Joe Biden is about to reverse that injustice."

Biden will call Saudi king ahead of damning report
https://www.axios.com/biden-saudi-king-khashoggi-report-29272e86-a315-4d54-b37d-3a4183d178c4.html
[our copy here]

Thank you, President Biden, and thank you to everyone of you who has worked to help turn this country around. Please join us for next week’s discussion.

Short Read of the Week for February 18, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week we considered six articles (shown here) and came close to having a three-way tie for first place. But by a slim margin, our top choice was this very interesting article in The Atlantic about attitudes, strategies, and conflicts within the Oregon GOP. It makes clear that Republicans in our state have become too extreme for a large portion of our electorate, which may influence our own attitudes and strategies:

How a ‘False Flag’ Cry Has Divided Republicans in Oregon
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/02/republicans-oregon-capitol-riot-false-flag/617988/
[our copy here]

Our second-place choice also came from a national news source, but had a local focus. Nicholas Kristof’s article about a long-time friend who was homeless on the streets of McMinnville is compassionate, honest about the damaging effects of some of the policies we as Democrats have promoted, and hopeful in its realistic suggestions of ways we might begin to turn things around:

Can Biden Save Americans Like My Old Pal Mike?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/13/opinion/sunday/working-class-dignity.html
[our copy here]

Join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for February 11, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week we considered seven articles (shown here). Our top choice would barely have been newsworthy in the years before Trump’s presidency, but all of us were surprised by how good it felt to see this return to common ethical practices in the Oval Office:

Biden administration asks Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to resign — but not Durham
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/09/biden-administration-ask-trumps-u-s-attorneys-resign-doj/4448248001/
[our copy here]

“Biden kept the attorney who is investigating the Obama/Biden administration's handling of the probe into Russian support of then candidate Trump. Biden also kept the attorney who is investigating his son, Hunter Biden. He told them their work should continue.“

Our second-place choice showed that genuine advances are being made all around the world, some of them very similar to positive changes that are happening here in Oregon:

11 Better Ideas for a Country in Need of Social Change
https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/what-the-rest-of-the-world-knows/2020/11/03/better-ideas-for-a-country-in-need-of-social-change/
[our copy here]

Join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for February 4, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week we considered eight articles (shown here). Because it makes such a persuasive case that Democratic presidents have been more successful because they have been more pragmatic than their more ideologically driven Republican counterparts, the article that got the most votes was:

Why Are Republican Presidents So Bad for the Economy?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/opinion/sunday/democrats-economy.html
[our copy here]

We had a tie for our second-place choice :

Joe Biden Just Signed an Executive Order to Start Undoing the Misery Wrought by Family Separation
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/02/joe-biden-just-signed-an-executive-order-to-start-undoing-the-misery-wrought-by-family-separation/
[our copy here]

Spurred By The Capitol Riot, Thousands Of Republicans Drop Out Of GOP
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/01/962246187/spurred-by-the-capitol-riot-thousands-of-republicans-drop-their-party
[our copy here]

Join us next week!

Short Read of the Week for January 28, 2021

In this morning’s Short Read of the Week we considered seven articles (shown here). The article that got the most votes was The Oregonian’s report on the resolution passed by the Oregon Republican Party last week, making claims so bizarre that the resolution received global attention for its unhinged extremism:

Oregon Republican Party condemns impeachment, endorses conspiracy theories
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2021/01/oregon-republican-party-condemns-impeachment-aligns-itself-with-conspiracy-theories.html
[our copy here]

An attentive member of our group noted during the discussion that all 23 Republican members of the Oregon House of Representatives yesterday disavowed the position of their party’s executive committee, which we considered a noteworthy sign of integrity on the other of the aisle.

Our second-place choice was :

Could Amsterdam's New Economic Theory Replace Capitalism?
https://time.com/5930093/amsterdam-doughnut-economics/
[our copy here]

You will be surprised by the influence this theory has already had, so it is increasingly important to understand.

Join us next week!