Politicians are not known for ever making apologies. Independent State Senator Avel Gordly is an exception, and a noble one at that. Senator Gordly issued an apology for speaking inappropriately in regards to Shawna Hill's son who was lost in the Iraq war. To understand the context Senator Gordly's original letter can be found here. Shawna Hill was also featured in a letter by Rep. Kim Thatcher in regards to her support for the troops.

The war brings out a collision of passions, politics, pacifism, patriotism and powerful emotions. In this case, cooler heads prevailed. Our thanks to Senator Gordly for her honesty and humility. We need more of it.

Here is Rep. Gordly's apology letter:

From State Rep. Kim Thatcher Press Release 2-26-06:

(Salem) Representative Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer) and Shawna Hill testified before the House Elections, Ethics and Rules Committee on House Joint Memorial 9 this morning. The Memorial encourages Congress and the President not to increase troop strength in Iraq. Thatcher and Hill urged the Committee to reject the Memorial and show support for the troops.

Hill is from Keizer and is a constituent of Representative Thatcher. Her son, Army Private First Class Ryan Hill, was killed January 20th when an improvised explosive devise went off under his Humvee while on patrol in Northeast Baghdad. Hill told the Committee, “there is nothing that I wouldn’t give to hold my son in my arms. Yet I know that freedom is not free, and others will have a better opportunity because he paid the ultimate price. But this will only happen if we demand that our leaders do whatever it takes to win this war and create a lasting peace.”

Here is an idea for funding the Oregon State Police.

I am reacting to the lunatic idea of raising beer taxes in Oregon by 120% to provide a dedicated stream of income to fund the Oregon State Police. Now as far as I am concerned the Oregon State Police are critically under funded. Who did that? Democrat Governors and both Republican/Democrat Legislatures. The problem is that the Legislature right now has plenty of money to fund the state Police, Heck, they are looking at a 20% increase in most state agencies, and yet they have no money for the state cops.

Here is excerpts from a press release from Moore Information 2-22-2007 on Bush Tax Cuts. We encourage you to read the whole report HERE.

The 2001 federal tax cuts supported by President Bush and passed by Congress are set to expire in 2010. We asked voters in our recent nationwide poll what they thought about that, here is what we found.

A majority (52%) of Americans today would like to see the tax cuts made permanent. However, 38% would prefer to let the tax cuts expire and the remaining 10% have no opinion. The intensity of this debate is tilted toward the “make them permanent” side – fully 38% feel “strongly” that the tax cuts should be permanent, while only 22% feel “strongly” that they should be allowed to expire.

Press Release from Rep. Linda Flores & Rep. Kim Thatcher, February 15, 2007

“I believe new immigrants are good for America…but mark my words, unless we handle this well, immigration of this sweep and scope can threaten our union.” Those are the words of former President Bill Clinton speaking at a commencement ceremony at Portland State University.

The need for enforced and updated immigration laws isn’t just an Oregon phenomena, and it’s surely not a partisan issue. Last year a total of 84 new immigration laws were enacted in 32 states across the country, more than double the number from the year before.

While immigration is a federal issue, states like Oregon play a critical role because they implement and manage many of the programs handed down by the feds. In Oregon, the Governor and all the agencies he oversees have systematically created loopholes allowing illegal immigrants access to our state programs. As a result, we really have no idea how many illegals are receiving taxpayer-funded services. In some cases, it is against the law for us to even ask if someone is in Oregon legally or not!

Senator Gordon Smith held a joint press conference with Gov. Ted Kulongoski to support the big cigarette tax increase to pay for the Governor's Healthy Kids Plan. See description here of the flawed plan.

The press conference brought immediate reaction from both House leaders -- Speaker Merkely and House Republican Leader Wayne Scott.

Here is House Speaker Jeff Merkely's Press Release (D-Portland)

“Our children’s health is everyone’s concern and is way too important for partisanship” Merkley said. “I appreciate Senator Smith’s recognition of the wisdom in caring for all Oregon kids.”...“Senator Smith’s support makes very clear what we all understand – that fighting for Oregon’s kids is not a Republican or a Democratic issue,” Merkley said. “We should all join together to invest in the health of our children.” The bill, HB 2201, has been approved by the House Health Care and Revenue Committees. It is currently under consideration by the Joint Ways and Means Committee and is expected to be debated on the House floor during the first week of March."

Moore Information has a new national poll on the Iraq war. Poll details here. Here are some of the results:

“In your opinion, has the U.S. done a good job or bad job in dealing with the situation in Iraq?”

Good Job 32%
Bad Job 59%

“Do you feel strongly about that?”

Strongly-Good 15%
Strongly Bad 45%