Is Peace President Obama America's Newest War Criminal?

[Edited 12/22/09 & link to Greenwald's award winning post on civil liberties added.]

Some may have cheered at the news that Peace President Obama may have ordered the air strike on alleged Al Qaeda camps in Yemen last Friday, December 18th. At least two reports have indicated that Peace President Obama ordered the cruise missile attacks. Others indicate that Yemen is taking responsibility. Given history, I tend to believe the former.

In any event, below are a few articles concerning the episode that involved the killing of something in the range of 49 to 120 people. primarily civilians, which may have included 17 women and twenty-three children.

Back in September of 2008, I wrote a progressive friend who supported then candidate Obama a note of caution:

He said: "Did you see Melissa Etheridge perform at the Democratic Convention? I liked it. She's playing a 12 string Ovation. I was moved by the medley she put together." [Dylan's "the Times They Are A Changing,'" "Give Peace A Chance," ad nauseem]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNgxdQkDcu8

I responded:

"I remember thinking after the "Reagan Revolution" and etc., that Dylan's song, "The Times They Are A Changin," a favorite of mine, was thinking something different from where we actually began heading. It was nice that she brought it up, but frankly, I don't think Obama is a change agent, what with his fealty to the Israel lobby, support for the war in Afghanistan, usual suspects advisors, etc. I realize it made everybody feel good, but.... And the Born In the USA part, devoid of any of Springsteen's original context, left me cold. More nationalistic nonsense. Great convention rhetoric though.

Sorry--that's where I'm at."

On November 9.2008, I also told him:

"We can hope that he doesn't "reach accross the aisle" too much to allow those neanderthals too much influence and that he will reverse all the negative Bush actions on the environment. . . . .

Sorry if I seem too cynical, but right now I'm afraid he is on track to become another war criminal, a la Bill Clinton."

Oh well . . . .

I think Obama ok'd it, as is stated by ABC:

Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists
Cruise Missiles Launched Thursday Hit Two Suspected al Qaeda Sites; Major Escalation of US Efforts Against Terrorists

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=9375236
__

We reap what we sow, and Glenn Greenwald reinforces that view:

Cruise missile attacks in Yemen

The widely recognized causes of the 9/11 attacks seem stronger and more alive than ever

Glenn Greenwald

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/12/21/terrorism/print.html
Also reproduced at: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24232.htm
And: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/21-3

Dec. 21, 2009 |

(updated below)

Given what a prominent role "Terrorism" plays in our political discourse, it's striking how little attention is paid to American actions which have the most significant impact on that problem. In addition to our occupation of Iraq, war escalation in Afghanistan, and secret bombings in Pakistan, President Obama late last week ordered cruise missile attacks on two locations in Yemen, which "U.S. officials" say were "suspected Al Qaeda hideouts." The main target of the attacks, Al Qaeda member Qasim al Rim, was not among those killed, but: "a local Yemeni official said on Sunday that 49 civilians, among them 23 children and 17 women, were killed in air strikes against Al-Qaeda, which he said were carried out 'indiscriminately'." Media reports across the Muslim world -- though, not of course, within the U.S. -- are highlighting the dead civilians from the U.S. strike (one account from an official Iranian outlet began: "U.S. Nobel Peace Prize laureate President Barack Obama has signed the order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which scores of civilians, including children, have been killed, a report says").

For many people, the mere assertion by anonymous U.S. Government officials that these attacks targeted "suspected al-Qaeda sites" will be sufficient to deem them justified. All credible reports confirm that there is indeed a not insignificant Al Qaeda presence in Southern Yemen, so that claim, at least, seems at least grounded in reality. Yet arguments about justification to the side for the moment, here we have yet another violent attack by the U.S. which -- even under the best-case scenario -- has killed more Muslim civilians than it did "Al Qaeda fighters," and failed to kill the main target of the attack. When it comes to undermining Al Qaeda -- both in Yemen and generally -- isn't it painfully obvious that the images of dead Muslim women and children which we constantly create -- and which we again just created in Yemen -- will fuel that movement better than anything else we can do?

Consider what else is happening around the Muslim world that is quite consistent with all of that yet receiving virtually no attention in the West (though receiving plenty of attention there). Pakistani lawyers -- many of the same ones who protested the tyrannical practices of General Musharraf -- held a large protest in Islamabad this weekend objecting to the presence of "notorious" Blackwater agents in their country. Palestinians are consumed with a recent incident in which West Bank settlers torched one of their mosques, burning holy books and leaving threatening messages; that was preceded by the Israeli Justice Minister proclaiming that "step by step, Torah law will become the binding law in the State of Israel." And perhaps most significantly of all, while reports have focused on alleged tension between the Obama administration and Israel over the latter's uncooperative conduct, this is what is actually happening:

Behind the scenes, strategic security relations between the two countries are flourishing. Israeli officials have been singing the praises of President Obama for his willingness to address their defense concerns and for actions taken by his administration to bolster Israel’s qualitative military edge -- an edge eroded, according to Israel, during the final year of the George W. Bush presidency.

Among the new initiatives taken by the administration, the Forward has learned, are adjustments in a massive arms deal the Bush administration made with Arab Gulf states in response to Israeli concerns. There have also been upgrades in U.S.-Israeli military cooperation on missile defense. And a deal is expected next year that will see one of the United States’ most advanced fighter jets go to Israel with some of America’s most sensitive new technology.

Amid the cacophony of U.S.-Israel clashes on the diplomatic front, public attention given to this intensified strategic cooperation has been scant. But in a rare public comment in October, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren praised the Obama administration’s response to complaints about lost ground during the close of the Bush years as "warm and immediate."

"We came to the Obama administration and said, ‘Listen, we have a problem here,'" Oren, told a gathering of the National Jewish Democratic Council. "The administration’s reaction was immediate: we are going to address this issue, we are going to make sure that we maintain your QME [qualitative military edge]."

All of this is being done pursuant to this:

America’s commitment to maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge was codified directly into U.S. law via 2008 legislation backed by AIPAC. This legislation requires the president to report to Congress periodically on actions taken by the administration to ensure Israel’s advantage.

I have to confess that I didn't realize that a law was enacted last year making it a legal requirement for America to maintain "Israel’s qualitative military edge," and -- even more amazingly -- that the President of the U.S. is required to report regularly to the U.S. Congress on the steps he's taking to ensure Israel's superiority. That's a rather extraordinary law, and the administration seems to be fulfilling its requirements faithfully.

Whatever else is true, and even if one believes it's justified to lob cruise missiles into more countries where we claim "suspected Al Qaeda sites" are located, one thing seems clear: all of the causes widely recognized as having led to 9/11 -- excessive American interference in the Muslim world, our alliance with their most oppressive leaders, our responsibility for Israel's military conflicts with its Muslim neighbors, and our own military attacks on Muslims -- seem stronger than ever. As we take more actions of this sort, we will create more Terrorists, which will in turn cause us to take more actions of this sort in a never-ending, self-perpetuating cycle. The U.S. military, and the intelligence community, and its partners in the private contractor world will certainly remain busy, empowered, and well-funded in the extreme.

* * * * *

The excellent academic and political website, 3quarksdaily, gave out prizes this weekend for the best articles of the year in politics, philosophy, science and other categories. The prizes for politics were judged by historian and scholar Tariq Ali. This post of mine (http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2009/11/24/civil_liberties/index.html) on Obama's civil liberties record and the multi-tiered system of justice being created for "War on Terror" detainees was chosen as the top prize winner, which includes a $1,000 award. Thank you to 3quarksdaily and Ali for this selection.

UPDATE: For those struggling to understand the basic point here, there are two primary issues I'm examining with regard to the strike in Yemen: (1) what happened and (2) how it's being depicted in various parts of the Muslim world. The citation to the "official Iranian outlet" pertains to number (2), not to number (1) -- as I made explicitly clear.
____________________

Report: Obama Ordered US Military Strike on Yemen
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/12/21/headlines

ABC News is reporting the US military bombed two sites in the Middle Eastern nation of Yemen on Thursday on direct orders from President Obama. The strikes are seen as a major escalation of the Obama administration’s campaign against al-Qaeda. US officials told ABC the target of the strikes was a pair of suspected al-Qaeda training camps. A human rights activist in Yemen said twenty-three children and seventeen women were among the sixty-four people killed. Earlier this month, President Obama hinted that Yemen could soon be attacked. [See article]
_____________________

US Attacking Yemen After All
Posted By Jason Ditz On December 18, 2009 @ 4:08 pm
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/12/18/us-attacking-yemen-after-all/print/

Just one day after a very public denial that American forces were in the process of attacking sites in Northern Yemen, President Barack Obama ordered multiple cruise missile attacks on sites across the tiny, coastal nation.
[See article
_____________________

Looking for Tourism, Growth & Development to Save Us?

The Last Resort
Don Henley
"The Eagles", from "Hell Freezes Over" album, 1994
Go to this link to View:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlszpoz6O-Y

City Manager Candidates and Hiring Process

Newly obtained information added on Hulse and Johnson on 11/11/09.

While the search for a new City Manager has been going on for a few months, the citizens of Baker City have been pretty much in the dark about the people being considered. The Baker City Herald has been attempting to provide information, bless their hearts, but until their Friday article (http://www.bakercityherald.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79915&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=31 ), we have known little.

The Herald gave their opinion in an editorial over three weeks ago on October 14, 2009--"City should name manager finalists" (http://www.bakercityherald.com/Editorials/City-should-name-manager-finalists ).

Their opinion was "Yet although the Council, as it should, solicits the public’s opinions about all sorts of topics before councilors vote, ranging from water and sewer rates to a monthly fee to pay for new sidewalks, residents are in effect excluded from the similarly vital choice of selecting a city manager. . . . . The bottom line here is that if the choice [about whether to inform Baker City Citizens about the Candidates and finalists] comes down to either sparing a candidate a possible hassle with his or her current boss, or ensuring that Baker City residents have a chance to participate, in a limited way, in the hiring of the person who runs their city and spends their property tax dollars, we side with the residents."

Bravo! The Herald sides with an informed citizenry and a more participatory democracy!

Apparently some cities, like Menominee, Michigan, where candidate Strahl served, hold their interviews in public meetings, so it is not that there is unanimous agreement for the practice of holding them in secret, or for protecting candidates to the detriment of citizens. Further, the city of Menominee has open interviews, where the citizens are given a chance to offer questions that are moderated by the city attorney.

But until this last Friday's Herald article briefly identifying the finalists, we have heard essentially nothing.
"City Council to interview four city manager finalists next week" (http://www.bakercityherald.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79915&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=31 )

That’s too bad, given the glowing reports about the former city manager at the time of his hiring. We now have a short period to consider their choices, even if they are already close to making up their minds. If we remember, former city manager Brocato was hired without a lot of serious research being done. In part, much of the information seems to have been either ignored or not looked for, and in part, it is because Mr. Brocato didn’t have the kind of public record that is available for some of the current candidates.

Unfortunately, in an apparently rushed decision having only some Council input, Mayor Dorrah and City Manager Collins decided on Friday to have the “meet and greet” events described in Monday’s Herald (See “City manager applicants plan visits around Baker” at http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/City-manager-applicants-plan-visits-around-Baker ).

The headline is a little misleading, as it wasn’t the candidates that did the planning. If you read the article, you will also notice that, even though the Herald printed the article on Monday, the “meet and greet” events started on Sunday. There was no schedule of events released on the city website, and the “schedule of events” was apparently “released” to only a few people. My feeling is that all interested citizens should have been invited from the get-go, and I don’t have much interest in going because such events are not likely to reveal much relevant information. Publicly announced public forums open to all citizens are a better way to get to know candidates, if people have some information about the candidates prior to the forums being held.

I am told by a person who should know that Councilor Andrew Bryan released the names to the Herald without conferring with the whole council, but if you read the article, you might see some of the names who belong to a group that Milo Pope once referred to as “the people that matter” in Baker City. Despite whatever differences I may have with Councilor Bryan, I commend him for making the information available. One wonders whether the list of invitees would have come to light if he had not informed the Herald.

I was told by one Councilor that the reason for the “meet & greet” was to have people tell the candidates why they came and how they got to Baker City, and etc. My understanding is that Dorrah communicated with Collins to get invitations out to people. (last sentence changed -clarification 11/11/09) Another Councilor this late afternoon/early evening, just prior to the Sunridge “Meet & Greet,” told me that anyone, including myself, could attend and ask them questions. The problem to me is that most people were not informed at all, or were not informed in a timely fashion, including some Councilors. (last sentence changed -clarification 11/11/09) The invitations were extended to a select few. Reasons offered were that the candidates couldn’t all be here on a single day and that it was sort of rushed and spontaneous. None-the-less, the list appears to be a bit selective, and the venues where the events are being held would normally exclude lower income people who don’t often frequent the places chosen because of financial and other issues. (Oh, that’s right, they don’t matter anyway!) The one exception is the Tuesday event at Inland Café, but the time for that one is not listed. (Why not use the public facilities available like Council Chamber, the High School, extension offices, the Armory, or the library?????) In addition to the statement in the article concerning arrangements for city staff to meet with the candidates on Monday, I am told that they were all issued invites to the Monday evening get-together at the Sunridge.

You may be well acquainted with the folks on the list (I confess, I’ve only been her a little over five years), but here is a brief run down on their positions in the community.

Guests officially invited, according to the Herald article:
City Staff: “Teresa can arrange transportation and/or facilitate meetings.”
Kathleen Chaves: Crossroads Art Center Advisory Committee, co-owner of Chaves Consulting, Inc.; ’08 Chamber of Commerce “Woman of the Year.”
Amy Dunkak: Supported recall, director of communications at St. Elizabeth’s, moved up from Chamber of Commerce (AKA Church of Commerce, or COC)
Ginger Savage: Chair of BAKER SCHOOL DISTRICT 5J; Crossroads; Chamber of Commerce supporter; Formerly of US Bank.
Mary Jo Carpenter: Heads up what may be the most valuable Baker City enterprise--Community Connection
Karen Yeakley: County resident, former mayor of Baker City
Karen Woolard: 1992 Chamber of Commerce “Woman of the Year’ award, Former city employee and city manager
Sheryl Blankenship: Former Oregon “Optometrist of the Year,” Former Baker County “Woman of the Year,” and former board member of the Chamber of Commerce.
Larry Pearson: Former Mayor of Baker City
Joe and Sharon Rudi: Broker/Realtors/Developers, Baker City Planning Commission; Son Mike: Chairmanships--Baker City Planning Commission, Chamber of Commerce, Transient Lodging Tax Committee
Fred Warner: County Commissioner, and more.
Jerry Peacock: Baker High School Principal
Peggi Timm: Committee to Defeat the Inappropriate Recalls, former Councilor; Led effort to create OTEC; former member DNC.
Troy Woydziak: Owner of Baker Aircraft. Flight instructor; Manager, Baker City Municipal Airport; has been on Airport Commission.
Brian Olson: HBC Business of the Year, 2009, CLARK & COMPANY HOME
Matthew Clark: HBC Business of the Year, 2009, CLARK & COMPANY HOME
Ann Mehaffy: Program Director, Historic Baker City (HBC); Currently on Board of Directors, Crossroads Art Center; Class of ’64, Verde Valley High School in Sedona, AZ.
Brian Olson: Again
Debi Bainter: Executive Director, Baker County Chamber of Commerce
Mayor Dennis Dorrah (and of course other Councilors)
Dr. Charles Hofmann: former Mayor
Peggi Timm: Again
Fred Warner: Again
Francis Langrell: Daughter of Rich Langrell. He is the former Councilor who is on the Board of the Baker County Chamber of Commerce.
Mike Nelson: Owner/broker of Nelson Real Estate, Commissioner, Oregon Transportation Commission and a Democratic Party political operator.
Troy Woydziak: Again
Brian Olson: Again!!!!
Matthew Clark: Again
spouses, partners and guests of invited guests

If one take’s a look at the list, and assumes that many of the people that Mr. Pope refers to as “the people that matter” are there, then one begins to understand what Bill Moyers was getting at on his TV show “Bill Moyers Journal” a year or so back, when he said: “We appear to have a government run by remote control from the . . . Chamber of Commerce . . . . To hell with everyone else.”

For the record and your review:

Elitism is defined by the Free Online Dictionary as:
1. The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.
2.
a. The sense of entitlement enjoyed by such a group or class.
b. Control, rule, or domination by such a group or class.

Oligarchy is defined by the Free Online Dictionary as:
1.
a. Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families.
b. Those making up such a government.
2. A state governed by a few persons.

Plutocracy is defined by the Free Online Dictionary as:
1. Government by the wealthy.
2. A wealthy class that controls a government.
3. A government or state in which the wealthy rule.

Democracy is defined by the same source as:
1. Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.
2. A political or social unit that has such a government.
3. The common people, considered as the primary source of political power.
4. Majority rule.
5. The principles of social equality and respect for the individual within a community.

Information About the City Manager Candidates:

So, with limited information available from the Council, the Baker County Blog, with a little help from contributors, has compiled web links and other information, in what is admittedly an incomplete and insufficient record, to help provide Baker City residents with at least some information about the four finalists. Because of the lack of information--the incomplete names, little history on the former positions held by some of the finalists--it has not been easy to gather information on all of them. Unfortunately, in a way, those candidates with more experience as a city manager have more information publicly available on Google. Additionally, because City Managers are usually in a tenuous and insecure position, subject to changing political winds, and because they are easily used as fall guys for poor Council decisions, they tend to get terminated a lot-- every two to five years. One article I read put it this way: “There’re two types — those who have been fired or those who will be fired. That’s the nature of this
Game.” (See Sharon PA Herald: http://www.sharon-herald.com/local/local_story_299220343.html )

On the other hand, those who serve in less political positions, may not suffer from the same inherent professional malady, so their record may look better, independent of how well they do. Also, unless you can afford to purchase LexisNexis, or other sources of information, it is more difficult to find information over about 8-9 years old.

It is apparent then, at least to me, that some are at a disadvantage, because more potentially damaging or negative information is likely to turn up on Mr. Patrick and Mr. Strahl, because both served previously as city managers. Mr. Patrick appears to suffer the disadvantage to the greater degree. Those who have not actually served as city managers, i.e., Hulse and Johnson, will likely not have the search exposure of those that do, so one is still left to wonder who they are, given the lack of transparency of the current process. If anything, it gives one a healthy respect for the difficulty of knowing everything one might want to reasonably know about a candidate.

This is what we have found out in an admittedly brief period. More will likely become available if the council decides to release adequate information, which they might do tonight (11/10/09) at the Council meeting. Of course, I would not advise anyone to make decisions solely on the information provided below, and I’m sure you wouldn’t, but I hope that if the Council does not already have it, that they will consider the information in making their decision. It is provided primarily to inform residents of information that has been, thus far, hard for them to come by. You can find more information by using Google or other search engines, and by searching the newspapers whose links have been provided.

Jim Patrick

Jim Patrick was the city manager of Kalispell, Montana, population estimated to be over 17,000. As I mentioned earlier, one of the hurdles Mr. Patrick has, that most of the others do not, is that there is a lot of information available. For example, “Jim Patrick City Manager Kalispell” returns perhaps fewer, but much more specific hits to investigate, than Tim Johnson, Portland or San Diego, where he was reported to have worked for some time as an assistant to the city manager. Patrick has also been applying for a lot of city manager jobs so there are numerous newspaper articles to be found.

Patrick Resumes

Storm Lake City Manager Finalists: Meet the Candidates. Mon., Nov. 9, 2009
http://www.stormlakepilottribune.com/story/1585575.html

* Jim Patrick has served as the City Manager for Kalispell, MT; Vermillion, SD; Plum, PA, Lebanon, OH and New London, WI. Patrick graduated from Wheaten College in Illinois with a degree in Biology. He entered the army after college and retired after 20 years as a Lieutenant Colonel, towards the end of the military career he worked with base operations and base management. After retiring he said it was a natural fit to get into city management.

During his tenure he says the town grew at about six percent a year. The biggest challenge for the City of Kalispel (Sic) was keeping up with the growth and helping the infrastructure grow. The town is a tourist town and sees about 1.8 million tourists a year, he says. The City kept busy trying to keep up with the tourists and accomodating (sic) their needs. "A lot of retail came to the area," he says.

Patrick says he has a very open personality and works well with community and staff and likes to partner with neighbors and the community to get the job done. He says he sees a lot of similarities between the City of Kalispell and CIty of Storm Lake. "The community (of SL) seems to want to grow. Storm Lake is doing a lot of really neat things and is really progressive, it'd be nice to be part of that," he says. Patrick says he really likes the quality of life and the values of the midwest states.
He and his wife Anita have five children.

You can find an earlier resume for Mr. Patrick (photo included), when he had just started working for the city of Kalispell in the following article:
Jim Patrick — Kalispell’s New City Manager (Jan. '05)
http://www.kalispell.com/downloads/newsletter/Vol2Iss4.pdf

While the earlier resume states above that “Patrick says he has a very open personality and works well with community and staff", the next article explains how his stint as Kalispell City Manager ended, and raises some possible red flags.

"Since Patrick took the helm in Kalispell, the city has experienced "phenomenal growth," both in terms of population and business, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President Joe Unterreiner said.
"Probably the last five-year period has been the highest-growth period perhaps in the entire history of the city," Unterreiner said. "That brings with it both benefits and challenges."

Also, déjà vu?:

"Patrick has been present at closed meetings on transportation impact fees - meetings that, because they are of public significance, should have been open to the public, Flowers said.
"It's very important that the city have a city manager who works well with the public," she said. "We look forward to an open-door, friendly policy with a new city manager."

See Kalispell council, mayor fire city manager:
http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_d3959f58-7215-50d0-98a0-a9da1e447cf7.html?mode=print

Another local paper, The Flathead Beacon, has run several articles about Kalispell's problems and Patrick's removal. In an October 17, 2008 article, they had this to say about the termination:

"While Patrick has presided over enormous economic growth and development in his four years as city manager, over the last year and a half he has also had to deal with a number of tough issues, including: moving the city government into a new facility after a renovation project that ran significantly over budget; bitter aggravation in the city fire department between the firefighters' union and former chief Randy Brodehl prior to Brodehl's eventual departure; a city budget shortfall for the current fiscal year that resulted in the elimination of several city positions; acrimonious negotiations with the city employees union over an employment contract that led to picketing outside city hall last year by union members; and difficulty implementing transportation impact fees amid the strenuous objections of Kalispell's business community."
See Breaking News: Kalispell City Manager Fired:
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/kalispell_city_manager_fired/6126/

One Kalispell respondent to my inquiries, who has been an observer to Kalispell government processes during Mr. Patrick's tenure, said that some of the problems were:

"it appears his problems here stemmed from poor communication between him and the city council / city staff, and a sense that he had the right to make decisions to spend city money without consulting the council,

- Overruns in the fire department budget came on his watch. Apparently firefighters who were unhappy with their pay started taking advantage of a provision that allowed them to put in overtime at will, and it basically bankrupted that budget.

- He also made agreements with local artists and a bronze-casting studio for four wildlife statues at Kalispell's primary intersection (U.S. 2 and U.S. 93). One was completed and still is stored in an unused hangar at the city airport. I'm pretty sure that artist has been fully paid. No others have been finished, but I don't know if they received any advance money. None of the statues has been erected at the intersection.

- The city went through a building boom during 2005, '06, '07 and ended up with a pretty healthy budget. But a $1.5 million cash reserve in the FY2007 general fund in 2007 evaporated to what initially was projected to be $130,000. That happened under Mr. Patrick's watch. It now stands to end 2009-10 at $309,000 because the interim city manager and council put in a hiring freeze and drastically cut department budgets.."

A "non-partisan" business oriented organization also raised questions regarding the handling of the remodeling of the building the city had purchased for a new city hall. Due to significant cost overruns for the remodel amounting, according to press reports, to between $400,000 and $500,000 dollars, the city ended up having to arrange a lease/purchase agreement with an out of state financial firm. The agreement turned over actual control of city hall to the out of state firm, but sources indicate that the city will once-again own the building in 20 years if the contract is fulfilled according to plan. Similar criticisms were levied against the former Mayor in the recent Mayoral election campaign that was won by a lawyer and representative of many business interests.

Regarding the city hall remodel, an article in the Flathead Beacon from March of 2008, not to long before he was terminated, stated: “The project’s current price tag, roughly $1.7 million, is $500,000 more than Oswood’s original contract and double the original estimate, which Oswood called “overly optimistic.”

See: Construction ‘Crisis’ Inflates Price Tags
http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/main/print/construction_crisis_inflates_price_tags/

Someone close to and well acquainted with the process in Kalispell told me that they “Probably wouldn’t hire him again because he laid back too much” when certain things needed to be taken care of more quickly. One example given was that the Fire Chief didn’t get along well with some local people as well as some around the state, and that the Council had to ask Patrick to fire the Chief because Patrick laid back and wouldn’t do it on his own. It was also noted that the newly elected Mayor blew some of the issues facing the city out of proportion during her campaign and that nothing “underhanded” was done by Mr. Patrick. An important issue seemed to be that Mr. Patrick “didn’t keep the Council in the loop,” but not intentionally. It was apparently his style that got him into trouble.

As for the depletion of the budget during Patrick’s tenure, the source said that part of the problem was that the economy turned bad in the last part of his relationship with the city. He was said to be “honest” but “got caught up in things that were beyond his control.”

One example given was that the lead architect died in the middle of the remodel for city hall, so change orders were implemented by the new project leader that would not have been implemented if the original architect had not passed away.

Patrick’s final salary was $93,000 plus $400/mo vehicle allowance. His severance package amounted to about $75,000. (http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/kalispells_severance_strains/7224/)

Eric Strahl

Strahl, like many city managers, including Patrick, had been asked to leave his position in Menominee, Michigan, a town of about 9,000 people. For story and photo, see: Strahl out as city manager, 4/17/09, http://ehextra.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=4594&SectionID=12&SubSectionID=35&S=1

also:
http://ehextra.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=5812&SectionID=12&SubSectionID=35&S=1

In the article about his termination, no substantive reasons were given for his termination. A person I spoke with in Menominee, who follows city politics fairly closely, stated that they never had heard or experienced anything with or about Eric that would have raised a red flag, but that due to closed sessions the council held regarding the termination, the specific reasons for it remain secret. In contrast to charges made about our former city manager, the source indicated that it wasn't because he had difficulties in his relationships with citizens or had any openness issues. He was described as open, accessible, polite, professional, and as a person who doesn't dodge questions--whether from the Council or the public. According to the article:

"[Mayor] Krah said he has worked closely with Strahl since he was hired in June of 2006. 'I think we had a good relationship,' he said. 'There were things that it just didn't seem we could get on the same page as a council and as a manager. Those things were discussed in his reviews. I think it's just as well those things stay there. Overall it was just time for a change.'"

Not everyone was in agreement. Council members Don Hudon, Don Mick, Ernie Pintarelli and Arnie Organ were opposed to letting Strahl go.

"We have no cause to get rid of him," said Organ. "He's done the job, he's balanced the budget every year. The one major thing he's done is he's cut our medical costs way down. And he's eliminated personnel and still runs the city." The decision required just a majority vote.

In a prepared written statement Strahl said, 'Throughout these discussions the employment relationship has remained cordial and professional and will continue to remain so...'".

Mr. Strahl did not sue the city. He made $74,970 a year and was given six months salary and benefits after termination. My view, from the information gathered, is that Mr. Strahl is the antithesis of Baker City’s former city manager because he let the Council lead and he just implemented their policy (source: “he followed Council’s decisions” and he was accessible and polite to all—both business interests and common citizens.

My assessment: Not flashy, no "Rock Star," not an “economic developer," not an overly assertive personality, just a professional public servant who knows his job , balances budgets, and does what the Council wants him to do, despite what he might think personally.

Clarence Hulse

I was unable during the last few days to accumulate much information about Mr. Hulse. The following article provides some information from May, 2001, with a photograph.

As the article states, he was then the new Assistant City Manager of Cocoa, Florida. He, like two other candidates, has an economic development background, and in 1988, he moved from Belize, South America, to the U.S. For a resume at that time, see: A Warm Welcome to Cocoa’s New Assistant City Manager, p. 2 at http://fl-cocoa2.civicplus.com/DocumentView.aspx?DID=107.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude (“with great honor”) with a B.A. in Public Administration from Harding University. He has a masters in Economic Development from the University of Southern Mississippi as well. He was the national 1999 recipient of the prestigious “Outstanding New Developer of the Year” Award presented by the American Economic Development Council.”

New information received after the original article was posted states that Mr. Hulse was business development manager for Pinellas County, FL from 1994 to 2000 and was deputy city manager of Cocoa, FL, where he managed more than 400 employees, from 2000 to 2004. (Added 11/11/09)

His business contact page is here: http://resources.imreintel.com/emails/fiberon/2008_show_list.xls

It is pretty extensive and shows that his interest is definitely in the business world.

A search on Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC, with which he is said to be associated, turns up:
"Incorporated by Clarence L Hulse, Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC is located at 11558 Thurston Way Orlando, FL 32837. Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC was incorporated on Friday, June 08, 2007 in the State of FL and is currently active. Dwight Hulse represents Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC as their registered agent." See: http://www.corporationwiki.com/Florida/Orlando/belize-real-estate-development-group-llc-5173855.aspx

It also turns up the pages of Hulse Apartments, in Belize, (http://hulseapartments.yolasite.com/ ) and many pages concerning real estate and resort investors.

He is also associated with Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC:
"Incorporated by Clarence L Hulse, Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC is located at 11558 Thurston Way Orlando, FL 32837. Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC was incorporated on Friday, June 08, 2007 in the State of FL and is currently active. Dwight Hulse represents Belize Real Estate Development Group, LLC as their registered agent." See: http://www.corporationwiki.com/Florida/Orlando/belize-real-estate-development-group-llc-5173855.aspx


It appears that Mr. Hulse, like candidates Johnson and Patrick, would fit right in with the Chamber of Commerce and development interests. (Changed--new info 11/11/09)

Timothy Johnson

Initially, it was difficult to get any information about Tim Johnson, because the information released by the Herald simply said, “Timothy Johnson of Portland,” and “Johnson is a consultant and assistant to the city manager of San Diego.” San Diego is estimated to have a population of around 1.3 million people.

Well, the job in San Diego was prior to sometime in 1999, when he went to work for the Yuba-Sutter Economic Development Corporation (YSEDC) in Yuba City, California, several miles north of Sacramento. Yuba City is estimated to have a population of around 43,000. Johnson was in the Yuba City area during a period of increasing population growth and median income, but, there are many factors involved in that growth, as it occurred during the economic/housing bubble.

Information on his tenure in San Diego prior to mid 1999 is difficult to find although it may yet turn up. From 1999 to December 29, 2006, he worked as Executive Director of the development corporation. According to what information I have been able to turn up, he decided for his own reasons to leave that position.

See: Johnson to find own replacement, http://www.appeal-democrat.com/common/printer/view.php?db=marysville&id=7350

New information I just received fills in some of the blanks prior to 1999. Mr. Johnson received a BA in economics and business at the University of Oregon and Portland State University and did post-graduate work in economics and international affairs at Stanford University.

I was told that from 1983 to 1986 he also served as Executive Director of Bend Incorporated, "the original program to redevelop Bend when it was on it's knees with 23% unemployment,[but] he is the first to say that they 'lost the vision', lost their authenticity and sold their soul to big box development."

Additionally, from 1998 to 1994, he was the Director of Economic Development for the city of Sacramento, California, where he "establish a sustainable economies agenda, and used 'smart growth' polices to preserve and enhance the neighborhoods / commercial districts." (Last three paragraphs added 11/11/09--New info)

Thus far, all indications are that he is a bright and competent economic development specialist, so he will join a growing crowd of this sort, perhaps the most experienced in Baker County, if he is hired. (I wonder if he would have applied for Andrew Bryan’s job, if it had actually been put out to bid.)

A person who had a working relationship with Mr. Johnson during the time he was there, confirmed to me today that Johnson, with others, helped attract the Global Hawk project, an emerging manufacturing autonomous remotely controlled technology to the Yuba-Sutter area in the mid 1990’s.

See: Building on Beale victory, http://www.bakercityherald.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79915&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=31

My source also said that the Mr. Johnson helped with the attempt to develop the California Innovation Center Initiative of Beale Air Force Base, which is still partnering with Yuba County to bring the initiative to fruition. The source indicated that Mr. Johnson has a house in Elk Grove, California, and has been a consultant in the area after he left YSEDC. The 35 member multi-jurisdictional board of YSEDC was said to appreciate his leadership. In common with our former city manager, the commenter said that “He has a very strong personality, and if you can live with a very strong personality, he’s your guy.”

(Clarification & Editorial Comment --no shortage of the latter here, 11-11-09) Living with a strong personality can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending upon what you would like to accomplish. If, for example, your goal is to tame a strong-willed city administrative staff and employee unions, an equally strong, intellectually talented personality in the city manager, might be just what the doctor ordered, to the extent that the city manager kept those attributes in line with the wishes of the Council, which hopefully is doing things in the best interests of, and in accord with the desires of, the citizens. On the other hand, a more accommodating personality might be run over by the will of city staff. One of the problems we face in our city administration is that "term limits" for Council members often gives the advantage in administrative experience to city administrators, because the elected representatives are changing so often, with steep learning curves for the uninitiated. Staff can then use their experience, even if unintended, to control the agenda, out-maneuver, or in some cases, "hoodwink" the Council, as I personally think has been done far to often here in Baker City.

Conclusion:

City Council will chose someone that they think will fulfill their agenda, which for the most part, is an economic development agenda. There are many in Baker City, not particularly well represented, who, although they would like to see some limited growth, think that economic development promoters are but another name for snake oil salesmen. For me, my fear is that they will be too successful, and all of the benefits we now enjoy with our quality of life here in Baker City will be destroyed. If I was a little more disappointed and vindictive, I might tell the growth folks “May you find what you are looking for.”

Obama and Health Care, etc., plus Edward Abbey Tidbit on Growth & Population

Curb Your Enthusiasm for Obama

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20080831_curb_your_enthusiasm_for_obama/

Aug 31, 2008

By Chris Hedges

Barack Obama’s health care plan coddles the corporations that profit from the misery and illnesses of tens of millions of Americans. The plan is naive, at best, and probably disingenuous when it insists that we can coax these corporations, which are listed on the stock exchange and exist to maximize profit, to transform themselves into social service agencies that will provide adequate health care for all Americans. I wish we lived in such a rosy world. I know, and I suspect Obama knows, that we do not.

“Obama offers a false hope,” said Dr. John Geyman, the former chair of family medicine at the University of Washington and author of “Do Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry Is Dying, and How We Must Replace It.” “We cannot build on or tweak the present system. Different states have tried this. The problem is the private insurance industry itself. It is not as efficient as a publicly financed system. It fragments risk pools, skimming off the healthier part of the population and leaving the rest uninsured or underinsured. Its administrative and overhead costs are five to eight times higher than public financing through Medicare. It cares more about its shareholders than its enrollees or patients. A family of four now pays about $12,000 a year just in premiums, which have gone up by 87 percent from 2000 to 2006. The insurance industry is pricing itself out of the market for an ever larger part of the population. The industry resists regulation. It is unsustainable by present trends.”

We face a health crisis. The Democratic and Republican parties, awash in campaign contributions from the beasts they should be slaying on our behalf, have no interest in addressing it. A report in the journal Health Affairs estimates that, if the system is left unchanged, one of every five dollars spent by Americans in 2017 will go to health coverage. Half of all bankruptcies in America are because families are unable to pay their medical bills. There are some 46 million Americans without coverage and tens of millions more with inadequate policies that severely limit what kinds of procedures and treatments they can receive.

“There are at least 25 million Americans who are underinsured,” said Dr. Geyman. “Whatever coverage they have does not come close to covering the actual cost of a major illness or accident.”

Obama, like John McCain, did not support HR 676, the single-payer legislation. The corporations that run our for-profit health care industry, which would be shut down if the bill was enacted, have vigorously fought it through campaign contributions and armies of lobbyists. A study by Harvard Medical School found that national health insurance would save the country $350 billion a year. But Medicare does not make campaign contributions. The private health care industries do. They have lavished money on Obama. He received $708,000 from medical and insurance interests between 2001 and 2006, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. And Michelle Obama is a vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals, a position that paid her $316,962 annually.

“The private health insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry completely and totally oppose national health insurance,” said Dr. Stephanie Woolhandler, one of the founders of Physicians for a National Health Program. “The private health insurance companies would go out of business. The pharmaceutical companies are afraid that a national health program will, as in Canada, be able to negotiate lower drug prices. Canadians pay 40 percent less for their drugs. We see this on a smaller scale in the United States, where the Department of Defense is able to negotiate pharmaceutical prices that are 40 percent lower.”

Sen. Obama argues that we can improve the system by expanding government oversight. The government, he says, should require doctors and hospitals to prove they provide quality care. His plan links payment with reported quality. This would mean that health care providers would have to hire even larger staffs to collect and report this data to the government. There would be a $10-billion federal investment in health care information technology over five years under the Obama plan, in essence turning record keeping from paper to electronic data.

Obama’s plan, said Dr. Don McCanne, who writes on health care issues, would actually make health plans “more expensive, which compounds the problem.”

Obama says he would require insurance companies to use more income from premiums for patient care.

“There isn’t an enforcement mechanism,” Geyman said bluntly. “Most states have been unable to control rates or set a cap on rates.”

Obama’s plan would also not cover all Americans. Unlike in Canada, citizens would not be enrolled in a plan automatically. Americans would have to go looking for one they could afford. And if they could not find one they would remain uninsured. Dr. Woolhandler, who is also a professor at Harvard Medical School, estimates that “tens of millions” of Americans would remain uninsured under Obama’s plan. These numbers would swell as employers, who provide plans for 59 percent of those who are employed, continue to reduce coverage.

“The only way everyone will get insurance is with national health insurance,” she said from Boston in a phone interview. “There is nothing in the Obama plan that will change the bitter reality that working-class families face when their breadwinner gets sick. People with catastrophic illnesses usually lose their jobs and lose their insurance. They often cannot afford the high premiums for the insurance they can get when they are unable to work. Most families that file for bankruptcy because of medical costs had insurance before they got sick. They either lost the insurance because they lost their jobs or faced gaps in coverage that meant they could not afford medical care.”

Obama has borrowed John Kerry’s idea to have the government absorb certain severe costs, although again the details are not spelled out. Insurers, he says, would no longer be able to discriminate based on preexisting conditions. All children would have health coverage. He would, he says, expand Medicare and Medicare-like coverage to protect the very young and the elderly. This is laudable, if he can make it happen. But the fundamental problem is a health industry run for profit. Our health system costs nearly twice as much as national programs in countries such as Switzerland. The overhead for traditional Medicare is 3 percent, and the overhead for the investment-owned companies is 26.5 percent. A staggering 31 percent of our health care expenditures is spent on administrative costs. Look what we get in return.

We on the left, those who should be out there fighting for universal health care and total and immediate withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, sit like lap dogs on the short leashes of our Democratic (read corporate) masters. We yap now and then, but we have forgotten how to snarl and bite. We have been domesticated. And until we punish the two main parties the way big corporations do, by withdrawing support and funding when our issues are ignored, we will remain irrelevant and impotent. I detest Bill O’Reilly, but he is right on one thing—we liberals are a spineless lot.

Labor unions don’t negotiate with corporations on the basis of good will. They negotiate carrying the threat of a strike. What power do we have as long as we cave on every issue we stand for, from opposition to the death penalty to battling back against the military-industrial complex?

It is not about liking or not liking Obama. It is not about race or class or gender. It is not about growing up poor or a member of the working class. There is no shortage of greasy politicians who, once in power, sold out their own. Look at Bill Clinton. It is about fighting back. It is about confronting a system that belittles us, what we stand for and what is best for the majority of Americans. We need to throw our support behind alternative candidates who champion what we care about, whether Cynthia McKinney or Ralph Nader. Bob Barr’s health care plan, like John McCain’s, is even worse than Obama’s tepid proposal. We need to begin to actively and militantly defy the corporate state, and this means stepping outside of the two-party system. Universal health insurance is one issue. There are others. Nothing we care about will change until we do.

The Democrats, who promise to end the war in Iraq, create jobs and provide universal health care, ignore these promises once election cycles are over. And we never make them pay. They gave us NAFTA, the destruction of welfare and increased military spending, and we gave them our vote. This is the party that took back Congress in 2006 on an anti-war platform and then increased troop levels and funding for the Iraq war. This is a party that talks about the crushing weight of debt carried by Americans and then refuses to cap predatory interest rates as high as 30 percent imposed by credit card companies. This is a party that promises to protect our constitutional rights and then passes the FISA bill to protect the telecommunications companies. The list goes on. These politicians, including Obama, must begin to feel heat. They must learn that there is a cost to be paid for working on behalf of corporations and disempowering citizens.
_____________________________

The following is a 1982 interview with environmentalist and author Edward Abbey:
http://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/oldzephyr/archives/abbey-interview.html

AN INTERVIEW WITH EDWARD ABBEY...

What follows is the transcript of an interview conducted by Eric Temple with Ed Abbey in December 1982. The interview took place in the cabin behind Abbey's Tucson home and was videotaped for a program produced by KAET-TV in Phoenix, Arizona. Portions of the interview were made into a half hour program called "Edward Abbey's Road" which aired in Arizona and many PBS stations nationwide in 1983. Thanks to Clarke Abbey for permission to print this excerpt.
ET) What do you see as the major environmental problem in Arizona right now?

EA) Progress. Development, Growth, Industry--everything that the politicians and the chamber of commerce loves, I'm against. I think it's gradually destroying Arizona, and I don't think it will survive--I think we're using up our resource base, especially water, much faster than it can ever be replaced. Therefore, unless some sort of technological miracle saves us, I imagine that Phoenix and Tucson will be small towns again, and probably very nice places to live.

I was just reading a very good book by Charles Bowden, "Killing the Hidden Waters" which goes into this subject in great detail, historical and geological. He describes how the Papago Indians survived out here simply by living off the land, mainly hunting and gathering. Surviving on surface water--a few springs and flash floods for farming, and they got by for 10, maybe 20 thousand years. 'Course they didn't create what most of us would consider a very brilliant civilization, but they had a satisfying way of life and were probably as happy as most modern Americans.

ET) What would be the final straw that would make the politicians curtail the growth, or attempt to curtail it?

EA) I don't think they will, they're in the grip of a kind of ideology of growth, the politicians, the chamber of commerce, most business people in the state. They seem to really believe that growth is a good in itself and more growth is better, so I doubt if this expansion will be curtailed until something very unpleasant happens. Probably we'll discover more pollution in our ground water supplies. The wells for example, some of them, dozens I guess have already been closed in this area and other Arizona towns. And the river water they're hoping to import from the Colorado river is very low quality water, high salt content and god knows what other junk is in it from all of those uranium mills upstream- So at enormous cost they're pumping that dirty river water out of the mountains and into the central valley in hopes of keeping the expansion of Phoenix and Tucson continuing for maybe a few more decades. It might work--and it might not, and even it it does work, I think it does more harm than good.

I can't see that anything is gained for the people who now live in Phoenix by trying to make Phoenix another LA. And I think we in Tucson have much more to lose than to gain by trying to catch up with Phoenix. And Flagstaff wants to be another Tucson, and so on. And I think it's ridiculous. It's insane in the long run, rational point of view.

If we were content to maintain a relatively small population in this state, I don't know what the optimum would be, we've probably already passed it. But if we were content just to support the number of people we've got here now, I don't see anybody forced to leave. I don't want to leave, I still love it here. I think we could probably support the present population of Phoenix and Tucson for a long time, maybe a century or two, while slowly using up our ground water supply. But if we continue this what I consider crackpot expansion, this ideological growth, why we're going to run up against the limits much quicker, then they'll start talking about dragging icebergs up from Antarctica and up the Sea of Cortez, through Puerta Punasco, Gila Bend, towing them on giant barges.

ET) Something else that goes hand in hand with that is the generation of electricity. Coal and Nuclear seem to be the substances of choice for the utilities in Arizona. What are the pitfalls of that?

EA) Well, the disadvantages of coal are pretty obvious. The burning of coal pollutes the air, strip mining destroys a lot of good rangeland depriving ranchers and Navajos of their resource base. And coal too is just a temporary fix, even though we may have an awful lot of it in this country. It too will be used up sooner or later, but we want to create a long term civilization here in the west or in North America, and I think eventually we're going to have to rely on renewable resources, like sunlight and grass and trees, surface water, running water.

But I realize that the United States for that matter doesn't take it seriously. The people who run this country assume that technology and science will rescue us each time from our foolishness, and so far it might appear that they've been right. However, when we burn up the planet then we'll, I suppose, try to export the human species into outer space. Space colonies. Colonize the moon, Venus, Mars, and that's utopianism. And uranium, you mentioned that didn't you? When they complete the Palo Verde nuclear plant we're going to have the biggest one in the world, is that right?

ET) That's what they say.

EA) I find nuclear power very unappealing, first of all because it's undemocratic; it centralizes control. It puts our lives and livelihoods in the hands of a very few people, probably one big utility, one big public agency over which the public has very little control. And of course there are the well known dangers of it. (Editor's note: Abbey gave this interview five years before the nuclear disaster at Chernoble) There's no guarantee that these nuclear plants won't break down, melt down and maybe force the evacuation of the entire city of Phoenix someday. And it's a very expensive form of power; I don't know the economic details but it may turn out to cost more that it's worth...simply in dollars. Nuclear power has been a heavily subsidized industry so far, subsidized by us taxpayers in one way or another and that's how it has survived as long as it has. I doubt if nuclear power would last another 10 years if we had a really free market economy. It's expensive and it's dangerous and it's undemocratic, and uranium mining of course also destroys rangeland again, in some cases wilderness. And the problem of what to do with the nuclear waste has still not been solved. Nobody wants these nuclear waste dumps in their own state.

ET) What is the future of environmentalism as you see it?

EA) Well I think that it has a very good future. The worse the environment gets, the more popular environmentalism becomes. People like James Watt do us a lot of good to spur interest in environmentalism and boost membership in all sorts of conservation organizations. People always get concerned about things that they are in danger of losing...though it often comes too late. I think America has led the way in this field. We are probably the most environmentally conscious, big industrial nation on earth, getting the parks established over a century ago. First nation on earth to do that. Good thing we did too.

I'm not much of a prophet. I suppose the conflict between conservation and development will grow more intense each year with the pressure of a growing population and economic demands. That's all I can see in the future, more conflict, more arguments, more shouting. Possibly if the economy stays in a recession long enough, a majority of us will gradually adapt to a simpler, a more frugal way of life. Not make such enormous demands on the land, the air, and the water. But there's so many of us in the United States already, 240 million I guess and still growing.(Editor's note: Since this interview the U.S. population has increased by another 30 million, almost double the current population of Australia.) The rate of growth is supposed to be slowing down, but the total keeps growing. When I was a kid in school, we were taught that the population of the United States was 120 million, as if that were a fixed, permanent figure. And now it's apparently just about doubled.

And all of us want to maintain our American standards of living. We like having these nice little houses, electricity, running water, cars and pickup trucks and motor boats; its hard to give up all of these technological toys. We wouldn't have to give them up in fact, if we had a small population. I guess I'm sort of a nut on the subject of planned parenthood. I think we should plan it a lot more intensively. I'd be in favor or revising the income tax structures in such a way as to reward single people, childless couples, penalize heavy breeders. Make people that have more than say two children pay extra taxes instead of less. Make that a national public policy to encourage small families. And that means cutting off immigration too. Restricting it to a very low level. These are very delicate, touchy subjects, especially here in Arizona.

And that's why I bring it up. I don't like to talk about it. Makes me sound like a racist and an elitist. But I talk about it because apparently no one else will. The politicians won't touch the subject of course. And the chamber of commerce doesn't care, they welcome a growing population. That means more demands for more goods...more extensive exploitation of the land and water and the air. Strip mining the ranges, and clear cutting the forests, and damming the last of the free-flowing rivers. But I think if we're going to have a decent future in this country, and I'm only speaking of the United States, the rest of the world is...most of it is in much worse shape than we are. If our children and grandchildren are going to have a decent life in this country, we're going to have to reduce the total population gradually by attrition, letting old farts like me die off...cutting off immigration, especially illegal immigration, gradually adopting, adapting to a simpler lifestyle...doing without more things. Giving up all of our gadgets...or making them so expensive that you have to choose. So you could have a car or a pickup truck but not both, that's kind of ridiculous. Things like that, a gradual...I wouldn't call it a reducing of the standard of living, but a simplifying of our way of living. And I think it would be good for us...be good for us to do more walking, or to ride bicycles to school instead of driving a car.

These are old ideas of course, people have been preaching them now for ten or fifteen years. I don't have any new ideas on the subject...just repeat the old ones. I think there's a great popular support for these basic ideas...great popular support for environmentalism, all the polls, all the elections seem to suggest it. Most of the voters want their clean air, they want their clean air laws not only maintained, but strengthened. Most people seem to want our wilderness area preserved. Most people apparently would prefer to live a more outdoorsy sort of life. To get away from the big cities, and even the suburbs now. Apparently more and more people are moving back to small towns or even to farms if they can manage it. But I think environmentalism has popular support, has majority support, but we don't have the money...we don't have the power to translate that popular support into political action or have the power to translate that popular support into political action or at least not into enough political action.

Power still lies in the hands of corporations and those with lots of money to throw around.

ET) You've made some appearances for an environmental group called Earth First!, and certainly a couple of your books have talked about sort of ecological sabotage, or taking things into your own hands. Do you see that as a coming thing, or is it already here?

EA) Well I'm not going to advocate sabotage publicly on the federal airwaves here. But I think there probably will be more of it if the conflict between conservation and development becomes more intense, and it the politicians fail to follow the popular will on the matter. I think a lot of people are going to become very angry and they're going to resort to illegal methods to try to slow down the destruction of our national resources, our wilderness, our forests, mountains, deserts. What that will lead to I hate to think. If the conflict becomes violent and physical then I'm pretty sure the environmentalists will mostly end up in prison or shot dead in their tracks. So I hope we can save what's left of Arizona and the United States by legal, political means and I still think we can. I still vote in elections...even though there doesn't seem to be much to vote for or against, when there's not much choice. I think if enough people get sufficiently concerned, why we can still make changes...needed changes in this country by political methods...God, I hope so.,

ET) What does the future hold for you, what are your plans?

EA) Oh, write a few more good books and die. I've done almost everything I've ever wanted to do. Traveled over half the world, enjoyed the love of some good women, and the friendship of some good men. Had some adventures. Wrote a few books that I'm still pleased with. Had a pretty soft easy life. Most of my life I've been able to do exactly what I wanted to do. I haven't had to turn my hand at honest labor for about ten years. And I never did believe in working for more than six months our the the year at any job I didn't like. So I'll write a few more books, explore a few more places. I'd like to go to Australia again. I'd like to see something of Africa. I've got a teenaged daughter, got to get her through the agonies of adolescence before I can shunt her off to college.

I'd like to grow wise and venerable, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet.

ET) Do you see any positive thing...We've been talking about a lot of things that are pretty unpleasant. Is there something happening that you see in the world today that might be interpreted as a positive thing?

EA) Oh, the arts are thriving. Music, literature, dance, sculpture, painting, seems to me in this country and in most of the world there's a great burgeoning artistic activity. I think modern technology has created a sort of world culture which may in some ways actually be bringing people together or creating an international culture, and that may turn out to be a good thing.

Nuclear power has made war less appealing than ever. Hydrogen bombs take all of the fun out of war. I think there's an enormous amount of goodwill and good feeling being shared around the world, people visiting one another. Visiting one another's countries and lands, getting to learn something about each other. But this is in a race against the other catastrophe of overpopulation, war, hunger, civil war, revolution. Not that I'm against revolutions...I think may of them are necessary and therefore are justified. I'm not anti-technology either. I like all of our gadgets and toys, it's just the scale of them that I think is doing us harm. As I've written, I'm very much in favor of space exploration for example, I think it's a great adventure for humanity insofar as we can all share in it. But I think it should be supported by voluntary contributions only. Not by compulsory taxation under threat of prison and death. The Sierra Club gets by on voluntary contributions and so should NASA, and moon shots, and space travel. Let those things be financed by people who are willing to support them.

Good things, I'm trying to think of good things!

You can still get good cigars. I'm impressed by the young people that are growing up around us. They seem to be healthier more athletic and brighter than ever. At least the ones who haven't been lobotomized by too much television and Newsweek and Time. I suppose for every danger in the contemporary world you can find a corresponding avenue of hope, an opportunity for true progress, as opposed to mere quantitative growth. Probably never before in human history have so many been so keenly aware of what our troubles are and what causes them and what can be done about them. I think the knowledge and the goodwill is here, present in most people. Our problem is how to translate that knowledge and goodwill and technique into the creation of a true civilization, which I do not think we have.

Kurt Vonnegut says we're still living in the dark ages, I agree with that. But we're still struggling to get out of the dark ages into some kind of enlightenment, I think that's possible. Still might happen before disaster solves all our problems. If we don't solve our troubles by reason and goodwill and generosity and mutual aid and sharing, then I think our troubles, national and international, will be solved in the usual way. By catastrophe. By war, famine, plague...what was the fourth horseman? Death.

And anyway, even if the human race wipes itself off the face of the earth as Jonathan Schell thinks it might in his book, I still think that life will survive, even if only in the most rudimentary form. I'm in favor of all kinds of life, even bacteria, germs, bugs, insects, scorpions. I don't think that anything humanity can do will destroy all life on earth. And as long as there's life in any shape, why there's still hope of some kind.

In fact life is good in itself. If we humans are stupid enough to destroy our own lives, that doesn't necessarily take all of the goodness out of the lives of other creatures that might, and I hope will, survive us. I think earth would still be a decent place if there were no humans on it at all. I don't know exactly what kind of consciousness a dog has, or the wildlife or the birds we see out here, but my impression is on the whole they seem to enjoy their existence and I think it's worthwhile for its own sake. They're not dreaming of heaven or some technological utopia. They just find the ordinary daily business of life, breeding, nest building, and finding food a good in itself, and I agree with that. I think the hawks are right and the rattlesnakes. Keep going...continuity.

I don't have any hope of personal immortality, but I am glad I've had children. And that therefore I have a stake in the continuity of human life. I think it's well worthwhile just keeping the game going, whether it leads to any greater end or not. Well, enough of mesophysics. Do you have any simple, easy questions?

ET) Yeah, I've got one more. What do you see your role as, social commentator, author?

EA) My role...I see myself as an entertainer. I'm trying to write good books, make people laugh, make them cry, provoke them, make them angry, make them think if possible. To get a reaction, give pleasure. I do not see myself as a social commentator because I don't look at any of these things we've been talking about hard enough, I'm not really skilled at it.

But I like to write. I like to throw words around. And if I can give pleasure in that form I feel I'm earning my pay. I have no desire to be a leader of any kind, I dislike being called a guru. I think every man should be his own guru, and every woman her own gurette...we should all be leaders. I'm an anarchist. My father was a Wobblie. I.W.W. We should all take charge. We should all be leaders, neither followers nor rulers, make our own decisions. I'm really a democrat, small "d", I really believe in democracy. Direct democracy.

I think every issue of any importance should be decided by popular referendum. It's nice to see these petitions get on the ballot. The process should be made much easier. If we could do away with those bunch of morons and moral dwarfs up in the state legislature and decide state policy by public referendum, I would love to see that. I think the majority of the people in this state and in this country are almost always far ahead of those who call themselves the authorities, or presume to be our leaders. They're not leaders. What was the last leader we had in this country? Thomas Jefferson perhaps. Anyway, my role is just to write books. I'm not really trying to do anything more than that. Write some good books, if possible, and enjoy my life...the lives of my family and friends, and my enemies. I enjoy their problems too.

Eric Temple interviewed Ed Abbey on several occasions. His documentary, Edward Abbey: A Voice in the Wilderness is available on video at Back of Beyond Books in Moab.

Valuing Migratory Birds and Backyard Barn Owls

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Spring Things- International Migratory Bird Day
- Call Someplace Paradise and You Can Kiss It Goodbye

SPRING THINGS

This past week, a sure sign of spring migration turned up at my bird feeder. The Lazuli Bunting is one of our most beautiful western birds, with its bright blue head and back, white wing bars, cinnamon breast, and white belly. It is a summer resident of Baker County. The three males were too alert to get a good picture of, flying off at the slightest hint of the human form, but I was able to photograph at least one in the feeder. Brightens up the gloomiest rainy day. It was probably on its way to one of our local brushy riparian areas at slightly higher elevation in the foothills.


Lazuli Bunting
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

This next weekend (May 10 & 11) is the annual spring migration bird count for International Migratory Bird Day. You can learn about International Migratory Bird Day at http://www.birdday.org/ . We Baker birders split up the county and count the different bird species along our routes. The migration has been going on for well over a month, and most summer residents have returned to Baker County and NE Oregon, although some have yet to arrive due to the lingering cold weather. Others have passed through on their way north to breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska, some flying as far as the Arctic Circle. If you would like to participate in the bird count, please contact Joanne Britton at 523-5666 or by e-mail at jobr@oregontrail.net .

Below are some photos of a few birds who have already passed through or have arrived for the summer breeding season.

In March and early April, we had Tundra Swans, Snow geese and Greater White-fronted geese passing through on their way to their Arctic breeding grounds.




Tundra Swan
[Photo © Christopher Christie]


Snow Geese over Baker County
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

We've also had many other water fowl passing through or settling in, including Common Loons and over 16 species of ducks, including Mallard, Pintails, Gadwall, Widgeons, Shovelers, Teal, Scaup, Ring-Necked, Redheads, Canvasbacks, two different Goldeneyes, and the common Merganser.


Cinnamon Teal
[Photo © Christopher Christie]


Northern Shoveler
[Photo © Christopher Christie]


Redhead
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Union and Baker Counties are near the northern extreme of the range for the Great Egret, which is related to the slightly larger, and more common, Great Blue Heron. They were once threatened by over-hunting because of the value of their beautiful “plume” feathers. The photo below was taken last week at Ladd Marsh, in Union County.


Great Egret
[Photo © Christopher Christie]


Another large wading bird in the same genus as the Great Egret is the Great Blue Heron. They are quite common throughout North East Oregon in the spring and summer, with a few remaining year round. A heron rookery (group nesting site) can be seen in the Salmon Creek area near Pocahontas Road.


Great Blue Heron
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Another Baker County migrant of cat-tail marsh areas is the Virginia Rail. Due to their solitary and secretive lifestyle, this rail is not often seen, even though present nearby. This photo was taken at Ladd Marsh on May 1st.


Virginia Rail
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Right now, our three blackbirds are back at their stations, in the valley and at feeders. The yellow-headed is hanging on to the remaining small patches and threads of wetlands with cat-tail communities which are used as breeding habitat. The males are here now collecting in colonies and the females will arrive any day, if they haven’t already. To continue to have them in Baker Valley, emergent deeper water cat-tail wetlands should be preserved and expanded on public land or on conservation easements.




Yellow-headed Blackbird
[Photo © Christopher Christie]


Red-winged Blackbird
[Photo © Christopher Christie]


Brewers Blackbird
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Long-billed Curlews have made their appearance too in low grasslands and alfalfa fields. This is the largest sandpiper and one of the most imperiled shorebirds in the world. Its population has declined dramatically since the middle of the 1800s due to historic hunting and loss of both wintering and breeding habitat. It is listed as "vulnerable" in Oregon. The one below was in a short grass field near Schetky Road.


Long-billed Curlew
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

The Lincoln's Sparrow is not often seen in Baker County, but is said to be fairly common in weeds and brush during migration. It migrates from the south to southern Alaska and much of Canada, and breeds largely in the boreal forests, generally near water. It is also resident in the Cascades and possibly the Blue Mountains, as it has been heard at Anthony Lake. It looks like a delicate version of the common Song Sparrow. As with many other migrants and neo-tropical songbirds, cattle grazing along streams and rivers interferes with breeding success and destroys breeding habitat.

The bird in the photo below was seen a week or so ago along Lindley Road.


Lincoln's Sparrow
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Another Sparrow that has returned in the last week or two is the White-crowned Sparrow. It is often seen scratching out a living on the ground, chicken-like, looking for seeds and small insects. This handsome and sporty sparrow is still quite common in most of its range but may be declining in some areas of the west. It breeds in boreal forest, tundra and alpine meadows in most of its breeding range, which includes western and northern Canada, Alaska, and the northern Rockies. It is a year around resident in portions of California, north eastern Oregon, and the intermountain states.


White-crowned Sparrow
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Out in the sage brush, both Brewer's Sparrows and Sage Sparrows have returned, as have the Sage Thrashers.

The Brewer's is a drab sparrow with a marvelous song. The Sage Sparrow is another somewhat inconspicuous, and often unnoticed, gray-headed sparrow of the taller sagebrush, often found on the ground seeking out seeds and insects. It is a candidate species in Washington State due to the fragmentation and destruction of its sagebrush habitat by farmers, cattle ranchers and OHV recreationists. It faces similar threats in Baker County, especially from private development of sagebrush communities and the creation of the OHV area near Virtue Flat.

The Sage Thrashers are dependent on sagebrush communities and have habitat requirements similar to the Sage Sparrow, but require more dense habitat with greater cover. It too is a candidate species in Washington, and faces the same threats in Baker County as those of the Sage Sparrow. It can sometimes be seen in the morning along the fence line on the north side of Highway 86 between the Oregon Trail Memorial and the Oregon Trail Visitors Center. According to BLM documents, the sagebrush community on the north side of the road has been protected from grazing for a number of years. It can sometimes be found elsewhere, as along the east side of Schetky Road, with Brewer's Sparrow, and the latter can be found in the sagebrush around Bowen Valley, south of Baker City.


Sage Thrasher
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

A common migratory bird of open fields and hot dry sagebrush country is the Western Kingbird. It is often seen perched on a wire or fencepost, from which it flies out to catch an insect in midair.


Western Kingbird
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

Lastly, for now, the Swainson's and Ferruginous Hawks, as well as the Osprey's (Fish Eagles) have returned to the area. Swainson's is somewhat common from portions of the city to the valley, and the Ferruginous is uncommonly found where fields meet sagebrush communities and beyond. It is more common in the southern portions of the county. The Osprey can be viewed fishing at Anthony Lakes and at the several man-made nest platforms in the valley and up around Phillips Reservoir. There are also natural nest sites in the forest, as the one close to the dam at Phillips Reservoir. A picture of the Swainson's can be seen in my 12/22/07 blog in the wolves and "death to the rodents" article. A photo of Mom & Pop Osprey is below, with little chick to left in nest. The mother is the larger bird on the right, which is always the case with Ospreys. It just goes to show you, that in nature, things don't always fit the anthropocentric or unimaginative model. Nature selects what works for survival in particular environmental conditions and periods of time.


Osprey
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I did getting out to take them. I gave the swan and the Yellow-headed Black bird photos to the Baker City Herald for free when they requested a few photos for the Baker County Travel Guide birding section, but they chose not to use them. Perhaps my politics got in the way. Compare, and then you can be the judge.


CALL SOMEPLACE PARADISE AND YOU CAN KISS IT GOODBYE

Note—I wrote the following on April 29, 2008, prior to Jayson Jacoby’s (Editor of the Baker City Herald) May 2 editorial, but haven't had time to post it. I am pleased that in some ways, i.e., enjoying the access to the natural world that is provided by a small rural town, that we have something in common.)


In Baker City or County, you may have Barn Owls visit your yard, and you can find them in some local buildings.

Barn Owl
[Photo © Christopher Christie]

"You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye."

When I was a youngster in Southern California, I could walk to the wildland interface in the washes and chaparral communities on the north end of the city in about an hour. A certain degree of wild nature was within reach and greatly appreciated by my friends and I. We especially enjoyed watching the tadpoles turn into hundreds of happily hopping toads in late spring. By the time I got out of the Army and was attending college, those valued wild places had been bulldozed over and replaced with "ticky-tacky" housing tracts, and most of the citrus groves and grape vineyards I also had known were experiencing the same fate. Smog was enveloping the once clear and beautiful valley as well as the surrounding mountains, which could only be seen clearly during "Santa Ana" winds and after winter storms. After college, I permanently left that place and sought shelter first at the ocean in San Diego, and then along a quiet country road in the peaceful foothills not far from the Mexican Border. Red-shouldered hawks inhabited the open spaces across the road from my house. Twenty plus years later my childhood home town had become almost unrecognizable and my haven in the hills had been ruined by the development of single family hotels and gated communities. Traffic congestion and smog had come to the hills and water wells were going dry. The Red-shouldered hawks were seen less frequently, and the new residents had turned the quiet country road into a raceway that I entered and exited at my own risk. By then, Joni Mitchell had written "Big Yellow Taxi" ("They paved paradise And put up a parking lot") and the Eagles had graced us with "The Last Resort:"

She came from Providence,
the one in Rhode Island
Where the old world shadows hang heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way, and how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand or a place to hide

Down in the crowded bars, out for a good time,
Can't wait to tell you all, what it's like up there
And they called it paradise
I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low while the town got high

Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
through the canyons of the coast, to the Malibu
Where the pretty people play, hungry for power
to light their neon way and give them things to do

"Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em
And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea

You can leave it all behind and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming"
Brought the white man's burden down
Brought the white man's reign

Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
'Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here

We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name of God

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about what it's like up there
They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye "

I loved that melancholy song because it told much of the sad and bitter truth that I and so many others had experienced in California. The only thing they left out was the millions of immigrants, legal and illegal, that had arrived from other states and foreign lands, mostly from Mexico and points south. The first waves during my lifetime were Americans who had come from the eastern US, from places like Chicago and Buffalo, but from about 1970 onward, the waves, more like an enduring tsunami, came primarily from south of the border.

When I was born, almost 60 years ago, there were fewer than 147 million people in the US and around 10 million in California. Now there are around 38 million people in California (almost quadrupled) and an estimated 304 million and climbing in the US (a doubling). The earth's population went from around 2.5 billion to an estimated 6.7 billion during the same period.

Is it really any wonder we are beginning to see resource scarcity all around? Paul Ehrlich's much maligned "Population Bomb" was written in 1968. I listened to him speak about the population explosion that year at my community college. The Club of Rome warnings were sounded in 1972. US population had stabilized in the mid 70's just after our oil production peaked. Immigration law changes in 1965, along with media and business promotion of the philosophies of the Cornucopians, along with fears about having sufficient numbers of folks to support the economic pyramid scheme, set the stage for massive immigration and population increases at the same time our energy supplies and other resources were declining. Instead of US population stabilizing at 250 million, followed by a slow decline, it shot up at tragically unsustainable rates.

Today, it seems like Baker County and eastern Oregon is our "paradise," and that could be a bad sign. I was driven from California to Oregon due to population pressures and associated effects, just as many of those who came to California were. Others have done the same in settling here, but we have had negligible effect on population growth because many of us were retired and we moved into existing, unoccupied housing. Here, even with the ecological transformation and habitat destruction produced by agricultural development, there is easy access to the wild and semi-wild, clean air, and clean water, just as in the Southern California of my youth. But without foresight, good fortune, and good planning, we stand to lose it all.

Our oh so wise and visionary local leaders, perhaps conflicted by their own business interests and commitment to the Church of Commerce, continue to offer up growth as the cure for economic stagnation (also known as sustainability) or decline, without fully explaining, or perhaps even understanding, what the full costs of that growth will be. The miracle of "prosperity" can be yours--just open up your hearts and pocketbooks to fee and tax increases, pay for expensive expansions to your infrastructure, improve the airport for the rich, make Baker look good to the wealthy people of Portland and San Jose, and "the good life" will be just around the corner. But more on that in a future post.

[Factoid: did you know that when the County chooses to always increase the property tax by 3% per annum, that they will in fact be doubling your tax in just 24 years?]

For myself, I prefer keeping Baker City like it is. We are fortunate to have our nearby wildflowers, local birds and other wildlife (well, it would be nice if the deer stayed off the fruit trees and out of the garden), along with our relatively clean air and water. I know what growth will bring, and it makes economic stagnation (sustainability) look pretty good when all is said and done.

Perhaps good fortune will save us the fate of other pieces of paradise—who knows? The cursedly cold winters may be a blessing in disguise in the face of peak oil and a prolonged decline in energy resources. If I believed in the efficacy of prayer to achieve an end, I would be praying for the winter to be our saving grace, but cold winters didn’t save Bend, Oregon from the ravages of development. "You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye."