Perusing the morning news

Thanks in part to the Oregonian's decision to drop a newspaper on my front lawn this morning (because, you know, the day after an election is a holiday):

Measure 49 passed easily. The remarkable thing was the post-election willingness of the Oregonian to truthfully describe the measure. The headline said it would end up "limiting property claims." The first paragraph said the vote would mean "rolling back the property development rights," approved in Measure 37. And inside, it said the vote "drastically scales back development" under 37. Too bad they weren't that up front before the election. Oh, and that editorial headline about how the tobacco industry spent $24 per no-vote for Measure 50? Well, first of all, according to the O's front page, it's $22 per vote -- but regardless, Phil Morris and friends put up a mint, and that was a prime reason why I voted for it. However, the pro-49 folks spent almost $5 million -- a bargain at just 40 percent of the terbacky lobby's purse, but a chunk of change nonetheless -- and outspent the anti-49 folks more than 2-to-1. So don't give me this crap about how special interest money killed Measure 50 -- it goes both ways.

Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten will give up seeking a compromise on the Interstate Avenue issue, and will vote for the change. Huh? What did I miss? Since when does an inability to reach compromise mean that you should cave in and cast a vote simply to be done with the issue? The lesson seems to be that if a group screams "racism" loud enough, they don't have to compromise.

Dennis Doyle wants to be the next mayor of Beaverton. He says his top priority is to gather city and county leaders to publicly decide the future of urban unincorporated areas. Hey Dennis, let me make it easy for you -- leave us the hell alone. As Jerry Boone said this morning, you've got enough trouble trying to convince the electorate that you're an innocent bystander in all the garbage that's happened under Mayor Rob Drake, even though you've been on the council for 14 years. Oh, and that goal of yours to broaden the council's responsibilities? To me, that sounds like a recipe for even more shenanigans.

The Hollywood writer's strike is in its second day! 'Desperate Housewives' has run out of scripts! The world is coming to an end! Maybe there are people who think this way, but as far as I'm concerned, the longer this lasts, the better.

Pat Robertson has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president. Whoopee. This shows how desperate Guiliani is for an in-road into the evangelical vote. Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post calls it a loss for Mitt Romney, but I tend toward the mindset of an e-mailer to NRO, who said: "How did Romney pull that off?" Robertson is a loose wingnut, and for every voter who thinks Robertson's endorsement is a plus, there are two more who think less of Guiliani because of it.