“So, if we can reclaim the House in the election of 2014 and hold the Senate, then Harry Reid rolls back the filibuster, then we can get a lot done the last two years of the Obama presidency. That means we can’t sit around being the circular firing squad complaining about the things we don’t like. It’s fine to talk about them, but to do so in a way that causes people to become discouraged or cynical about the political process is exactly what the Republicans want us to do.”
— Thom Hartmann, “Putting corporations back in their place,” April 26
“Many people believe that because Roe has not been overturned by the Supreme Court, although it seems likely, that everything is OK. But actually, everything is very seriously not OK in most of the United States. Forty-nine out of 50 states have created laws that limit access to abortion. Forty-nine out of 50. Not a good record. (Oregon is the exception.)”
— Judith Arcana, “Portland’s Judith Arcana,” July 5
“Since I was really young, I’ve kind of been told I was crazy. And I still don’t really believe that. If I am, I’m OK with that. “The only ones for me are the mad ones.” That’s what Jack Kerouac said. And I feel closer to homeless people than I do to the people who are allowing them to remain that way. I don’t mind — especially in today’s culture — if somebody would say I was suffering from any kind of mental health issue. I would take that as a compliment.”
--Todd Snider on mental health, “Modern day troubadour,” July 19
“So I get up every day very excited about coming to work. I do wake up at 3 o’clock in the morning thinking about the budget or worrying about things occasionally. But fortunately, I think I am able to pace myself and not have the job eat me alive. I think that’s always the danger.”
— Charlie Hales on being mayor, “No one is happy with the status quo,” Feb. 15
“Hot and damp and pretty miserable. Basically, our civilization will be mostly in a kind of an emergency response mode.”
— Bill McKibben on what the future looks like in 100 years, Changing attitudes, Sept. 3
“This is a unique time in our country’s history. The merger of this extraordinary surveillance technology coupled with the executive branch’s ability to conjure up legal arguments for using them, and the most bizarre court in America, the FISA court, that really only hears one side of the case, is a prescription for trouble.”
-Ron Wyden, “The culture of misinformation,” Aug. 30
“Portland is at a defining moment in its history. There’s a choice to be made here. We live in a beautiful city. It could be a great city. I envision a Portland of the future that has decent housing for all its citizens.”
— Susan Emmons, Northwest Pilot Project, Nov. 22
“Now 40 percent of the population lives in a state where marijuana is legal in some way or another. So if you do the math and look at states that are looking at introducing medical marijuana programs or are actively working toward legalization, I think the pressure will get greater and greater on the federal government to recognize the failures and hypocrisies and get where the American people are on this issue.”
-Roy Kauffman, “Hot for pot,” Aug. 16
“I don’t think the state has really been 100 percent focused on the housing issue. A lot of that is done locally, but I understand that if individuals don’t have access to good housing, quality, affordable housing, if they’re ill they won’t get better, if they’re students and they’re homeless, they can’t learn in school. And yet we talk about health care and we talk about education, we talk about all these things and we forget housing.”
— Tina Kotek on housing issues in the Oregon State Legislature, Jan. 18
“No! I’m too old to be an anarchist. How embarrassing to be a 67-year-old anarchist that owns three homes and a summer rental. But I love anarchists! I think they are cute and I like them and they are doing the same things I was doing in anti-Vietnam marches — having fun politically and getting high and getting laid and having a good time.”
— John Waters, “A John Waters holiday,” Nov. 22
