MaxRedline

The Blind Painter

This man is amazing, as due to a genetic condition, he was born with no eyes.

Yet he paints, and with greter skill than many of his sighted bretheren. 

Well Now, Boys - Where You Goin' With All Them Biotech Jobs?

Yep, we'd be seeing millions of dollars pour in as ten thousand brand-new biotech jobs were created in Portland - if we only built the tram.

Kind of sounds like the promise of 72 virgins to any Islamonut who "martyrs" himself while killing a bunch of innocent bystanders in a shopping center, doesn't it?

The tram may not be as bloody, but both the virgins and the biotech jobs are based upon a promise of greater glory and good times for all if - and only if - the condition is met.

In the case of the tram, biotech jobs would surely follow - but only if the tram was built.  In other words, it's nothing more than a religious icon - and as is so often the case, a failed icon.  The Portland Tribune today describes the future of bioscience in the region as "hazy".  Sounds like something one might expect a seer to exclaim as she gazes into her crystal ball.

In point of fact, there's nothing "hazy" about it.  The only haze involved emanates from the ears of the Usual Suspects at Portland City Council, casting about as usual for a "linchpin" project while letting critical infrastructure maintenance slide.

They Will Stop At Nothing

Speaking at the Campus Progress journalism conference earlier this month, Seymour Hersh — a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist for The New Yorker — revealed that Bush administration officials held a meeting recently in the Vice President’s office to discuss ways to provoke a war with Iran.

They claim that among the ideas was the construction of several watercraft designed to resemble Iranian PT boats, put heavily-armed Navy seals on them (dressed as Iranians), and begin shooting back and forth (American vs. American, in other words).

There was a dozen ideas proffered about how to trigger a war.

It's simply amazing that because a Leftist was awarded a prize by a bunch of other Leftists - much like AlGore and his "Nobel" - people are somehow more willing to believe the absolute gibberish uttered by the prize "winner".

Best Wishes For A Full Recovery, If Not A Speedy One

Oregon state Senator Jason Atkinson was accidentally shot in the knee as he worked on a friend's bicycle in his garage.  It appears that a small bag attached to the bike contained a gun, which discharged when Atkinson dropped it.  The .38 caliber bullet hit his right knee, and Atkinson is in serious condition at last report.  At this time, no updates seem to be available, although I suggest that Gully, over at Resistance Is Futile! may be able to post updates regarding the Senator's condition as they become available.  Note, please, that I don't presume to speak for Gully, but he may find time to update you on the condition of his friend.

As you may know, COBRA was initially founded as a venue by which conservative bloggers who supported Atkinson's candidacy in the last Oregon gubernatorial contest could keep in touch with one another.  Following the primary, the name was changed to reflect our conservative position and to include other conservative bloggers.  The candidacy of Jason Atkinson, however, was the initial coalescing force, and Gully was the force behind the blogroll.

Jason's recovery will surely not be speedy, but I hope that it will be complete.

By Any Means Necessary

The undercutting of actual democracy in the USA is proceeding at a sobering clip, particularly where the initiative process is involved.  Coyote, over at NW Republican, has experienced first-hand the Voter Education Project, an AFL-CIO offshoot that specializes in harassing signature drives.  He doesn't delve into that particular set of fun and games, but provides some great insight in relation to a story published by The Wall Street Journal, to which he links.

This is highly recommended reading; you'll find that it very closely describes the sort of patterns we've all witnessed in Oregon.

Is Embedding Infringement? MPAA Seems To Think So.

And to prove their point, they're suing two sites that don't host material - they simply provide links and embedded material:  They merely point people to various movies that are publicly available online.  While it's obviously too soon to tell what the legal outcome will be, it's rather a chilling approach in and of itself.  MPAA knows full well that the site owners will have no way to match the money and legal resources that they can bring to bear; the only hope here is that other organizations will intercede to offer assistance to the defendant parties.

The "Church of Scientology": Under Assault In Germany

Germany knows a thing or two about cults, having experienced the Nazis.  Understandably, they have little patience with cults today.  And that is precisely how they regard the so-called "Church of Scientology", which they regard as actively working against free democratic order.  So they're taking the "Scientologists" on; rather than passively hanging about and allowing the cult to work unfettered, Germany is producing films with the aim of shining a bright light upon them.

It's nice to see someone taking a stand.

Oregon Health Care Plan - A Classic Failure

This is why you really need to get some education and do some thinking before you go for any "national health plan".While the "ad" may be a slap at "big oil", it nonetheless reflects the attitude of Oregon Health Plan - and that of any government health plan in general.  After her oncologist prescribed a cancer drug that would cost $4,000 a month, the newspaper reported, "Wagner was notified that the Oregon Health Plan wouldn't cover the treatment, but that it would cover palliative, or comfort, care, including, if she chose, doctor-assisted suicide."

Your government.  Here for you.

A Vancouver View Of Global Warming

When you get done splitting your summer firewood, you can get started on your winter firewood.

A link well worth a few seconds of your time, unless you're one of those religious nuts.

It Figures

While on vacation, I've done very little fishing because all of the streams, it seems, that I used to enjoy fly-casting on have been closed down.  Salmonberry River?  Closed.  Cummins Creek?  Off limits.  West Fork of the Hood River?  Forget it, pal.  In the closer-in Portland area, there's nothing.  Or so I thought.

While perusing some material today, I discovered that a large stream that runs right through Portland is in fact open for trout, so I decided to check it out, since I'm not familiar with it.  No, I didn't toss the fly-rod into the car and dash out; I wanted to see how it looks and how to access it.  Enter Google.

Once I found the stream, I went to satellite imagery and found that I could see likely-looking trout areas - and the closest means for accessing them.  I've just taken notes regarding these access points, and in the next few days will compare on-the-ground, streamside observations with the expectations derived from following the system by satellite.  If this works out, I've got a tool for mapping further fishing adventures.  It's an angle (sorry, couldn't resist) that hadn't occurred to me before.