Sixteen years ago yesterday I wrote my first blog post, opining on the then-hot controversy about the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals wanting to cut a hole in the foundation of the Pioneer Courthouse for access to secure parking. Since then the driveway onto the transit mall has become part of the background. I surmise that most of the pedestrians who walk by each day have forgotten the fight, or think of it as "just a few years ago." It really was sixteen years ago, as you can tell by the politicos whom I named: Commissioner Francesconi and Congressman Wu.
The blogging world has changed since 2004. Many of the blogs I followed then have fallen silent, often to disappear from the web altogether. Much of the sophisticated political discussion, and some of the mindless political invective, no longer appears on independent pages of opinion; now it's on Facebook. (How can you trim your Christmas card mailing list instantly? Post something political on Facebook.)
I plan to continue blogging for some years to come, even though I've acknowledged the reality of Facebook (probably how you came across this post), and to stick to four principles:
-
-
- Attack problems with logic, and ensure that percentages add up to 100.
- Meld unrelated ideas into solutions (something like recombinant DNA), particularly with the Laquedem Plans to Improve the Universe.
- Tell the stories of the Portland and the Portlanders of yesteryear.
- However much I may savage the policies of an elected official (and I sometimes do), I will be polite in referring to the official. It takes a lot of courage - maybe foolhardiness - to run for elective office. Here the incumbent president will be "the president," or "President Trump," or "Mr. Trump," or on repeated reference "Trump," and not a nickname. Besides, it's more fun to make a point with a stiletto than with a bludgeon.
-
(photo credit: Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA. Used with permission.)