Friday, June 28, 2019

Friday, sweet Friday! Welcome to June 28, 2019, the front door of a holiday week when half a million Oregonians will hit the road to celebrate our freedom to do so. Portland’s weather is on the upswing: following a minimally bombastic evening, today offers leftover showers mixed with fresh sunshine and highs of 75. Sunrise 5:24 AM, sunset 9:03 PM.
So…Day Nine…Any Senate Republicans in the house? Let’s call roll…Baertschiger Jr…? Bentz…? Boquist…? Girod…? Hansel…? Heard…? Knopp…? Linthicum…? Olsen…? Thatcher…? Thomsen…? **crickets** OK. We’ll try again later. Meantime, news coverage spread to Rolling Stone, with a long piece headlined, “Runaway Senators, Militias and Koch Money: What the Hell Just Happened in Oregon?” I think tomorrow morning I’ll drive down there and wander around that building and say hello to some friends and see if I can find out.
Keep your wits about you this weekend–Police are expecting dueling right/left demonstrations involving the “Proud Boys” and the “Him Too Movement,” with Antifa on the other side. They all seem to be itching for a street fight. Likely locations are Pioneer Courthouse Square. Chapman Square, and Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
Today, though, there’s World Cup Soccer! At twelve noon…on your local Fox affiliate, Channel 12 in Portland…it’s the USA Women in the quarterfinals against the French! They’ve been warned: you mess with America…and you get Thorns!
****
The comment lamp is now lit for last night’s Democratic presidential debate, Round Deux. Tell us what you thought. I can tell you this: following the debate, Kamala Harris was the most-Googled topic; she had a breakout performance, with her prosecutorial skills on full display. She had Joe Biden on the ropes, at one point, with questions about his opposition to federally-mandatory busing while she was a child in a segregated school; and she alone was able to control the gabble when NBC’s moderators were unable to prevent all ten candidates from claiming the floor.
****
Homeless camp sweeps are underway…in McMinnville. People seem to think it’s a Portlandia phenomenon. Not so.
Good news for Drip readers who grew up in the northeastern corner of our state and were aghast to learn that barrels marked as having the components of Agent Orange were found at the bottom of their drinking water supply…lab tests show the water in Wallowa Lake is contaminant-free.
You know how some people stash stuff on their car’s sun visor? My wife does that all–the–time. It’s her filing system and it works for her. Jose Martinez of Beaverton does that too, and when his spouse pulled the visor down, a bunch of lottery tickets came fluttering out. She grabbed them before they could blow away. Good move! One of them was a Mega Millions ticket worth a million bucks.
If you see smoke on the water, and Deep Purple begins playing in your head, fear not…lower-Columbia firefighters plan a 35-acre prescribed burn in St. Helens Saturday and Sunday as a way to remove invasive species, and also as firefighting training.
On June 28, 1919–100 years ago today—the Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, ending the war to end all wars. Such optimism.
Fifty years ago today, as clouds settled from the police raid on the Stonewall Inn in New York, the struggle for gay rights in the US took its first steps with two days of protests that galvanized LGBTQ+ activism across the country.
Also fifty years ago today Crosby, Stills & Nash released their first and (IMHO) best album, creatively titled “Crosby, Stills & Nash.”
ELO is at the Moda Center tomorrow night…Santana and the Doobie Brothers are at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater on Sunday night…but the really big show is Saturday night’s Garth Brooks epic concert at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. It sold out in two hours. Garth says these concerts are easy for him: he strums the first four notes of “Low Places”…and the audience belts it out from there.
Ah, the World Naked Bike Ride, I see you’re back! And everything else! Saturday night, starting at Laurelhurst Park.
*******
Something good?
–“Hopes raised of cervical cancer eradication”
–“After a Facebook post shamed a man for sleeping in McDonald’s, people helped him get back on his feet”
–“Video captures moment ‘hero’ teenager saves baby falling from apartment in Turkey”
–“Target bringing back teacher discount on school supplies, clothing”
–“This Blind Golden Retriever And His Guide Dog Best Friend Are Warming People’s Hearts”
***
Linx in the Coffee Cup. Thanx for clicking. Like a lot of folks, I’ll be away next week, checking in here periodically to facilitate Driplandian interactions. Have a most excellent weekend!