Save the Date: Rail Now! Sept. 20th, Salem Convention Center

Image via Wikipedia

You are Invited
"Rail Now!"
Monday, September 20, 2010,

8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Salem Convention Center, Salem, Oregon

"Rail Now!" will explore improving passenger travel, and freight rail, between Eugene and Portland within five years.

"Rail Now!" will continue the Oregon and national conversation about investing in America's passenger rail. The federal government is investing billions in passenger rail development for the first time in American history, moving us toward quality transportation and connectivity which much of the world's population has enjoyed for many years.

"Rail Now!" will provide high quality information and education on this very important issue.

"Rail Now!" brings together a variety of experts to talk about what is needed to improve and increase the number of passenger trains serving the Willamette Valley now, on existing tracks. Oregon must join the progress!

"Rail Now!" will explore the economic and environmental benefits of investing in both passenger and freight rail. We will look at what is happening in other parts of the country, understand how Oregon can pursue a conventional 21st Century Rail Transportation System and create jobs now and in the future.

Our Goal: September will resonate with "Rail Now!" conversations and rail ideas, encouraging new thinking with practical achievable solutions to implement immediately in 2011 !!.

Discover Salem: Come early, enjoy the weekend in Salem. Special events are planned at Willamette University and other sites.

REGISTRATION

$25.00 includes Continental Breakfast, Coffee Time, and Gala Lunch

Reservations Absolutely Required

Time for some dog-days dots connecting

The Pentagon being built in 1942; Image via Wikipedia In this strange period of Consumer Age War --- real, brutal wars and occupations being conducted by an increasingly tiny sector of society for increasingly surreal and irrational reasons, with the rest of us told to go quietly about our primary job, taking on debt to buy imported things --- Chalmers Johnson has been a unique voice of reason, pointing out that average Americans have much more reason to fear the Pentagon and CIA than we do to fear the Chinese, Russians, or even the Muslims whom we armed and tried to use against the Russians and who, as is the way of human puppet forces throughout history, turned against those who tried to keep pulling their strings a decade or two too long.

As America, Oregon, and Salem stare into the fiscal abyss of job cuts, declining tax revenues, collapsing infrastructure (Courthouse Square anyone?), and declining services, it's helpful to recall now and then why other countries are able to fund those things that America no longer manages to do: because we squander our wealth for generations on an attempt to be the first empire to buck the tide of history . . . which is, actually, of a piece with the tide of history, and has been the preferred mode of almost all empires in history -- with those that refuse to divest themselves of imperial possessions voluntarily suffering the most as a result.

In 1962, the historian Barbara Tuchman published a book about the start of World War I and called it The Guns of August. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize. She was, of course, looking back at events that had occurred almost 50 years earlier and had at her disposal documents and information not available to participants. They were acting, as Vietnam-era Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara put it, in the fog of war.

So where are we this August of 2010, with guns blazing in one war in Afghanistan even as we try to extricate ourselves from another in Iraq? Where are we, as we impose sanctions on Iran and North Korea (and threaten worse), while sending our latest wonder weapons, pilotless drones armed with bombs and missiles, into Pakistan's tribal borderlands, Yemen, and who knows where else, tasked with endless "targeted killings" which, in blunter times, used to be called assassinations? Where exactly are we, as we continue to garrison much of the globe even as our country finds itself incapable of paying for basic services?

I wish I had a crystal ball to peer into and see what historians will make of our own guns of August in 2060. The fog of war, after all, is just a stand-in for what might be called "the fog of the future," the inability of humans to peer with any accuracy far into the world to come. Let me nonetheless try to offer a few glimpses of what that foggy landscape some years ahead might reveal, and even hazard a few predictions about what possibilities await still-imperial America.

Let me begin by asking: What harm would befall the United States if we actually decided, against all odds, to close those hundreds and hundreds of bases, large and small, that we garrison around the world? What if we actually dismantled our empire, and came home? Would Genghis Khan-like hordes descend on us? Not likely. Neither a land nor a sea invasion of the U.S. is even conceivable.

Would 9/11-type attacks accelerate? It seems far likelier to me that, as our overseas profile shrank, the possibility of such attacks would shrink with it.

Would various countries we've invaded, sometimes occupied, and tried to set on the path of righteousness and democracy decline into "failed states?" Probably some would, and preventing or controlling this should be the function of the United Nations or of neighboring states. (It is well to remember that the murderous Cambodian regime of Pol Pot was finally brought to an end not by us, but by neighboring Vietnam.)

Sagging Empire

In other words, the main fears you might hear in Washington -- if anyone even bothered to wonder what would happen, should we begin to dismantle our empire -- would prove but chimeras. They would, in fact, be remarkably similar to Washington's dire predictions in the 1970s about states all over Asia, then Africa, and beyond falling, like so many dominoes, to communist domination if we did not win the war in Vietnam.

What, then, would the world be like if the U.S. lost control globally -- Washington's greatest fear and deepest reflection of its own overblown sense of self-worth -- as is in fact happening now despite our best efforts? What would that world be like if the U.S. just gave it all up? What would happen to us if we were no longer the "sole superpower" or the world's self-appointed policeman?

In fact, we would still be a large and powerful nation-state with a host of internal and external problems. An immigration and drug crisis on our southern border, soaring health-care costs, a weakening education system, an aging population, an aging infrastructure, an unending recession -- none of these are likely to go away soon, nor are any of them likely to be tackled in a serious or successful way as long as we continue to spend our wealth on armies, weapons, wars, global garrisons, and bribes for petty dictators.

Even without our interference, the Middle East would continue to export oil, and if China has been buying up an ever larger share of what remains underground in those lands, perhaps that should spur us into conserving more and moving more rapidly into the field of alternative energies. . . .

UPDATE: Watch and/or listen to some amazing interviews with Chalmers Johnson here.

Capitol Chess Club -- new night/location

Image by Marcelo Munhoz via FlickrSalem's newer chess club, the Capitol Chess Club, now meets at Borderlands Games (next to the Willamette Humane Society) at 546 High St. NE, Salem OR 97301.

We will meet starting at 6 p.m. on TUESDAY nights.

We have enjoyed meeting at the IKE BOX and wish to sincerely thank Mark and Tiffany Bulgin and the crew at the IKE BOX for graciously welcoming us for our first year of chess. However, it's time to move to a location where we are more likely to encounter more chessplayers or people who want to learn how to play.

Pass the word to anyone you know who plays chess in or near Salem.

Hope to see you at Borderlands on Tuesday nights. And for you parents of kids who might benefit -- which is just about every kid -- there's this at A.C. Gilbert Discovery Village:

Chess Rules!
Starts Saturday, September 25
10 a.m. – noon
Any child who can be taught the alphabet can learn to play chess. In this class, kids will learn game strategies as well as hone their problem-solving and critical thinking skills. Class runs: 9/25, 10/2, 10/16, 10/30, 11/6 and 11/20. Ages 6-12. $42 members / $60 nonmembers.

KMUZ benefit -- August 28

SALEM HOUSE CONCERTS 2010
Presents

Second Annual
KMUZ 88.5 Backyard Bash Fundraiser

Featuring
Local/regional surprises and, straight from Austin, Texas… award winning
BETTY SOO

Dinner by Marc and Concert; Only $25 -- dinner and show (advance purchase advised)

Saturday, August 28, 2010
Garden opens 4:00 – Music 5 - 8 p.m.
A word from the host:

You have all told me how much fun the Backyard Bash is, and this last minute opportunity to create one opened up when I started listening to Betty Soo’s wonderful songwriting and delivery.

Her schedule allowed one date to have a show, and I thought I’d create an event, not just so Salem could get introduced to another fantastic songwriter, but also to raise money for KMUZ 88.5 Community radio, a unique resource that could help change the face of Salem in terms of both entertainment and public affairs!

The station is in its home stretch of fundraising to get a signal on the air by August 2011, and I think once they are on the air, everyone will see what a fantastic opportunity it is to share, promote, and create community over the airwaves, available to all, run by who care. Everyone, including Betty Soo involved with this event is kicking in something back to KMUZ, so join the community and thank Betty for taking less so that more can go to getting KMUZ on the air!!

Betty Soo is a rarity indeed. This second generation Korean-American born with a classic Southern name has taken it to heart and is turning heads and rising to the top of that amazing musical treasure trove that is Austin, winning songwriting awards in places like Kerrville New Folk, Wildflower Festival, and the Chautauqua Big Top songwriter of the year.

Her vocals are clear, pure, and artfully explore many of life’s questions and experiences. Sometimes there are no answers, but there sure are feelings and Betty Soo will bring you to that “ah ha!” moment over and over again, finding yourself thinking, “yes, I was there once.. “ or “I wondered the same thing about my last partner..." (hah!). She takes a look at what makes us tick, both in self discovery and in relationships, and presents her poetry in many accessible forms. She can alternatively rock it, have a bit of twang, deliver a sensitive emotional ballad, or create an edgy almost gritty atmosphere.. That her last album, “Heat, Sin, Water, Skin” was produced by Austin icon Gurf Morlix (Lucinda Williams, etc) speaks volumes. I think she will surprise and delight us all, and I am simply tickled that we will have a chance to hear her amongst the sunflowers, zinnia, allysum, cosmos, leeks and that from-scratch home cookin’ that Marc and some other chefs will dream up for you!!

DON’T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT!

“Singer/songwriter BettySoo adds sweat-stained confidence to "Heat Sin Water Skin." You’re quickly reminded of the old “book jacket judgment” cliché when you first encounter BettySoo. The petite Korean-American erases any preconceptions the moment she opens her mouth. Her voice is big and expressionistic, sauntering across country-folk arrangements with beauty and wisdom that’s often breathtaking… she explores an earthy, sweat-stained style that recalls onetime Morlix protégé Lucinda Williams. The songs are accompanied by a raw, soul-baring honesty that’s quickly becoming BettySoo’s trademark.” – Chris Parker, Oklahoma Gazette

“If ‘Never the Pretty Girl’ isn’t already an anthem, it should be … Betty Soo isn’t likely to stay confined to a musical style. You can hear sprinklings of blues, soul, gospel and country topping her clear, melodic compositions. She’s already dispelled a few stereotypes. She might as well keep going.” - Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News.

“On her 2009 album Heat Sin Water Skin, Austin singer-songwriter Betty Soo has crafted beautiful, heart-wrenching songs that are also edgy and unwavering. That compelling voice sometimes comes as a surprise to Soo’s audiences. On stage, they see a tiny, five-foot frame from which emerges some powerful singing that’s gotten her comparisons to Joan Baez and Ruthie Foster. - Laurie Gallardo, Texas Music Matters.

“I first became privy to BettySoo at the Folk Alliance conference back in 2008, but her recent release Heat Sin Water Skin has been taking great strides to earn her air time on ever more speakers. Considering the amount of attention and praise the disc has earned for this Austin, Tex.-based singer-songwriter, she's likely to be a force in 2010.” - Kim Ruehl, About.com

Folkmusic (#2, Up-and-coming Folk and Americana Artists to Watch in 2010)
“… almost instantly, I was captivated by the voice and accompanying music emitting from my speakers. “Who was this woman?” … I was done for. She had lured me into her clutches with her silky smooth and seductive voice on the very first track, “Never Knew No Love” ... Great lyrics sung by a great vocalist accompanied by great musicians… You can tell after listening to this record that there was a lot of heart and soul poured into the production values. It shows on every track and why wouldn’t it? Gurf Morlix wasn’t just one of the musicians on the record, he also produced it… He takes it to a completely new level… he may have believed in this record almost as much as the artist…This is truly a great record… - Rod Ames, No Depression, the Roots Music Authority

Please join me for an afternoon of great food, community, and ACOUSTIC MAGIC!:

Who: Betty Soo and some LOCALS! – original contemporary music played with passion and beauty.
When: Saturday, August 28 Garden Opens 4:00pm music 5pm-ish to 8pm-ish
Where: Salem House Concerts - 468 21st NE Salem, OR 97301
Cost: $25.00 in advance for dinner and show OR $20.00 for the show only. Same Day show tickets will be available
TICKETS: Checks/cash can be mailed (to Mark Nassar) or dropped off at the address above, or PAY PAL payments can be made to "blueman@teleport.com." Pay Pal payments must add $1.00/ticket service charge.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Marc Nassar 503-378-7704 blueman@teleport.com
BETTY SOO’s website: http://www.bettysoo.com
BETTY SOO’s music: http://bettysoo.bandcamp.com
SALEM HOUSE CONCERT WEBSITE: http://home.teleport.com/~blueman

The gourmet buffet will be available to advance ticket buyers, and to others if we have any left!!

Speaking of encouraging bio solar engineers

Do you know anyone with land meeting the requirements outlined in this Craigslist ad?

Organic vegetable farmers looking to lease land (4-15 acres) with barn/shed in the Salem area. Need good soil, water rights, and area for washing/storing produce. Need at least 10x20 barn/shed with electricity and water to set up our wash station and walk-in cooler, or permission to build shed. Also need to park delivery vehicle beside wash station, store tractor, implements, irrigation pipe, etc... Able to pay monthly or yearly. Need long-term lease (5yrs). Jeff ~ 503-999-7920.

• Location: Salem Area
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Framing farming for the future

Image by moonpie dig it via FlickrIt's funny -- Americans, Oregonians not least among them, are constantly seeking (and spending billions on) new, tech ways to accomplish one thing: gathering a little of the solar energy that falls upon us, gratis, every day and converting it to a form that's useful for our needs.

At the same time, Americans are constantly told that the only way for kids to have a secure future is for them to do time in classrooms where they are inculcated with the values and skills of the "knowledge workers," not least of which is the belief that work that involves getting dirty is something best done elsewhere while we give orders, do the selling, and reap most of the rewards.

Meanwhile, right under our figurative noses, world-class, self-replicating, exquisitely complex biological solar engineering systems go right on about their business of gathering solar energy and converting it to myriad forms that are perfectly useful for our needs.

The kid at any Salem-area high school who says she wants to go study to be an engineer and work on improving the yield from thin-film solar arrays or high-efficiency concentrated solar power systems will be given accolades and encouragement, loans, grants, internships, scholarships, and fellowships. Yet if that same young woman or one of her friends says they would like to grow clean and healthy food for her friends and family here -- to learn how to improve the yield from those exquisite biological solar engineering systems we call plants -- our collective response would be to shrug and scratch our heads, wondering why a young gal with so much potential would waste it on farming.

If she's willing to undergo an apprenticeship at the school of High-Input, Fossil-Fueled Agribusiness, she might be able to get a seat in a program at an Ag school such as at Corvallis. Scholarships will be virtually nonexistent, discouragement abundant, and her school loans will leave her unable to afford any land to practice her trade, Salem having decided that pavement and condo towers are a better bet than its young people.

About a year ago, for a pittance, the Salem City Council sold away the rights to farm 200 acres of precious fertile land right here in Salem in Minto-Brown park, because nobody in City Hall had the foresight or wisdom to recognize that farmers need places to farm just as much as cars need places to park. . . . and that we need farmers a lot more than we need more condos.

I wonder if the prosaic name "farming" isn't a huge part of the problem --- kids learn about farms with their "Old MacDonald" song, and there's no glamor in it.

What if we recognized farming for what it is: solar engineering using biological systems, systems that not only harvest the sun's energy and convert it to forms we can use, but that also come with complex chemical engineering subroutines so that the energy is not just made available but also delivered in ways that further the health of energy customer.

What if we recognized that, when all is said and done, most of the energy technologies we use are only "more efficient" than plants on paper and that, when you do a total life-cycle analysis, most engineered systems still fall well below the efficiency, utility, beauty, and value of a bean plant?

Do we have the wisdom to recognize that we don't need more accountants, marketing executives, lawyers, MBAs, and computer scientists nearly as much as we need biological solar engineers? And, given that fact, shouldn't there be well-funded biological solar engineering programs in every high school, community college, and university? Shouldn't smart young people have the chance to learn these crucial skills and enter the biological solar engineering world in the same way that ROTC students get scholarships to enter the military world? Or are we just going to continue acting as if food comes from grocery stores?

How urban renewal zones screw citizens and make developers rich

Salem's bizarre lust to blow half a million bucks trying to prop up an absurdly ill-conceived real estate venture is only partly explained by the tight, almost incestuous circle of friendships between city officials, the Chamber of Commerce/SEDCOR lobbies, and their real estate cronies.

The missing piece is the eternal question that echoes through City Halls all across America: "Where can we find taxpayer money to give to our friends without letting the taxpayers have a say in it, so we can make our friends happy while cutting basic services?"

Answer: urban renewal zones. The pot of gold that just keeps on giving -- if you're in the right circles -- while diverting money away from all the other taxing districts that depend on property taxes (schools, fire-fighters, county services, etc.). As Woody noted, some will rob you with a gun, others with a fountain pen.

Got too much stuff? Need storage?

You need more stuff to hold all your stuff! See this Salem Craigslist ad for info on how to get $25 off first month's storage rental at Northgate Storage (just north of Pine near Portland Rd.). We rented a unit there for two years while we searched for the perfect place to set up LOVESalem HQ and it was fine. I can't compare it to other places in Salem, but we had no problems there in two years; our 10' x 10' unit was stuffed to the gills and it was clean and dry and seemed plenty secure.

So great. Watch.

Update: Here's the kind of messages you get once you sign up to help this wonderful organization:

A crop of plums will be harvested this Saturday, August 14, at 9:00 AM (30 pickers). The plum harvest listed below includes 30 trees in Dallas, Oregon. The lowest fruit is about six feet up, but the trees are tall. They may best be picked by shaking branches so that ripe fruit falls. If you sign up for this plum harvest, bring a tarp or an old sheet to catch the fruit and a ladder if you have one. We will have some orchard ladders on the site.

1,100 plants of blueberries a few miles East of Salem will be picked in three harvests:

Friday, August 13, from 6:00PM to 8:30PM (200 pickers)

Saturday, August 14, from 8:00AM to Noon (300 pickers. This harvest is scheduled for four hours. It will help with parking logistics if pickers do not all arrive at 8:00AM. There are plenty of blueberries for those that come later.)

Monday, August 16, from 6:00PM to 8:30PM. (200 pickers)

Sign up for these harvests at: http://www.salemharvest.org/harvestlist.php

Please remember that everyone who signs up must already be a registered picker. If you are already registered then you do not need to register again. If you are signing up someone who is not registered, first go to the picker registration page at http://www.salemharvest.org/pickerinsert.php then to the harvest parties page. Pickers cannot be added to the harvest roster unless they are registered.

Neighborhood Harvest runs entirely on volunteer power. In order to host these blueberry harvests, we need 10-15 intake assistants at each harvest to help with parking, checking people in, and weighing buckets in 30-40 minute shifts. Will you help out? It's easy and you still get to pick when it isn't your turn to help. Please respond to Lisa at lclark-burnell@salemharvest.org if you'd like to help make these harvests happen by being an intake assistant; write "Intake" in the subject line. One perk of serving as an intake assistant is that we will squeeze you into a full or closed harvest as a thank you for helping out. And you get the satisfaction of knowing that you made it possible for 200 people to pick berries and that literally a ton of fresh blueberries will go to hungry families. That's a pretty great feeling.

Hens still struggling to break out of the shell in Salem

Image by terriem via FlickrFrom Barb Palermo:

The good news is …… the city is sticking to the promised timeline. Notice has been given to the state (required for pending land use changes), the First Reading of the proposed ordinance is scheduled for this Monday night (Aug 16), and city staff is recommending a public hearing (also required) be held on September 13, along with the Second Reading and final vote. If all goes well, we could be legal 30 days after that!

The not-so-good news is …… the wording of the proposed ordinance has significantly deviated from our original agreement. This Monday night I will vigorously argue for a lower fee, fewer inspections, and no distance requirement pertaining to the coop's proximity to the chicken-owner's house. I will also point out that the 120 square foot requirement should apply only to the coop, not the chicken run. You'll see what I mean by reading the latest version of the ordinance here (pdf file).

Once again, I am requesting your presence at Salem City Hall this coming Monday, August 16, at 6:30 pm (555 NE Liberty St, Room 240). In May we had a huge turnout and as a result, they voted unanimously to reconsider the issue. Let's continue to show our city councilors that public support has not dwindled. This is the night they hash out all the details and vote whether to advance the ordinance to the final step!

Please feel free to email me with any questions and/or to let me know if I can count on your attendance Monday night. Thank you!