Oregon was a proud, early leader in direct democracy. By 1904 it had elected a Populist governor and adopted the "Oregon System" of Initiative and Referendum. (See the above map, where blue shows states where citizens have full I&R and the right to amend their Constitutions). But it's all under attack.

They took all our rights and put ‘em in a museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got till it's gone

(With props to Joni Mitchell and Counting Crows)

According to a June 23 Survey USA poll of Oregon voters, Barack Obama has a 3 point lead over John McCain (48% to 45%) for President, down from many of the recent Oregon polls giving Obama a much greater lead and out of synch with Washington State polling.

Lost in the punditry about Barak Obama’s decision to opt-out of public funding for the general election is Thursday’s United States Supreme Court ruling eviscerating part of the McCain-Feingold federal election reforms, and giving the wealthiest another tool with which to dominate federal politics. In Davis v. FEC

Opponents of all casino gambling may finally have their day in court. This week the Oregon Court of Appeals revived a lawsuit challenging a gaming compact for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians which allowed siting of the Three Rivers Casino.

Tomorrow marks the 74th anniversary of the Communications Act of 1934, the framework for federal regulation of the then "new media" and communications through the Federal Communications Commission. The Act secured the airwaves as public resources, with modest public service requirements for licensing parts of the broadcast spectrum. The New Deal ideal of public service has eroded, especially in the past 25 years.

We’re finally getting some summer weather in Oregon, with sunshine and warmer temperatures. Bad news? If you think gas is expensive now, it's even more expensive on hot summer days. Gasoline expands as temperatures rise. That means motorists get less energy from a gallon of so-called "hot gas" than from one at the "standard" 68 degrees. Most storage tanks do not protect the stored fuel from heating and expanding in warm weather.