Yes, reader comments will be interesting....be sure and stop by and add your own comments from time to time.

Their motto: "We're not all as crazy as Kevin Mannix, even though he is the party chair, and will be our nominee for governor."

I think they may eventually prove to be even crazier than Kevin.

It can be mind-boggling, but now and then the public - even in MultCo - actually demonstrates agreement with Red Oregon when voting on issues such as ... rejecting state sales tax, light rail, state income tax surcharges ... or ... approving compensation for regulatory takings, legislative term limits.

But whenever this rises to the level of real disturbance, our Indelible Blue Oregon court system takes care of 'em, as needed.

Well said, Ramon!

I don't mind having another place that will pick up my work. With or without my name and credit.
The local issues I research and write are much less about Red-Blue dynamics than they are on the legitimacy or illegitimacy of our local government agency activities.

I'm not sure who "they" are or how crazy "they" may be but I know for sure this new OregonCatalyst blog will resemble Jacks far more than it will be the opposite of BlueOregon.

In fact I expect much of the discussion will be
not unlike bojack.org which has been the place of open and frank discussion of key local issues with a tattering of BlueOregon type threads and comments.

BlueOregon is full time in that regard with defense of the indefensible on local issues and
near total omission of all the most egregious programs, projects and criticism.

I've added OregonCatalyst to my e-mail list.
If they use some of my stuff along with bojack, ww/Jaquiss or the Trib great.

The Oregonian sure won't.

Funny you should mention comments.

I guarantee that Oregon Catalyst will tolerate actual debate and criticism unlike BlueOregon which consistently bars posts from commentors who originate outside of their mainstream perspective. The posters may be conservative but this is a nearly unheard perspective in Oregon's mainstream media.

As for the blogosphere-

I remember being barred for posting an answer to the question "name one example of government waste in Oregon." After about a dozen specific initiatives and mistakes pinned directly to Portland and Multnomah County leaders the entire thread was removed and I was barred from posting. (Still am, no allowance for DarePDX or the blog I contribute to).

Oregon Catalyst will actual allow a real intelectual debate to take place. And while I'm at it - the religous right gets blasted all the time on BlueOregon but I find them waaaaay friendlier to a pro-life light or pro-choice Republican than the local D's treat an even conflicted pro-choice liberal).

It will be interesting to read Blue Oregon and "Red Oregon's" different views on current issues. I'm VERY interested to see how the Republicans in Oregon are divided on the issue of immigration. Do they believe in a 2,000 mile state-of-the-art border fence ? A moat? Do they dare to support the Minutemen in Oregon?

Okay, maybe I'm being too harsh. Let's see if "Red Oregon" lasts beyond the hype.

About time, I'm sooooo tired of reading all the "Blue" nonsense. Thanks for the link Jack, I don't bother with the "Blue Oregon" junk because it's merely socialism lite.

Software for managing idea-clutter . . . (note Child Boards).

I think that example, including notes on Kill Bill, would be Over Kill for Blue/Red Oregon. A MagentaOregon might make fuller use of that software to accommodate a fleshier variety of ideas and speakers . . . . but then there is a marketing problem associated with having too little shrill to spill out hair balls like clockwork (like clockwork Orange).

BO is "socialism lite"?

What's LITE about it? ;-)

I must say, while others report being banned from the site and having posts removed, I never experienced that at BO. But it was made very clear many months ago that they were not interested in actual debate on the issues they raised, unless it was a debate on exactly how "progressive" the answer to every problem should be. So I stopped contributing on my own. Of course, the really annoying trolls didn't go away, so they ended up with even worse comment threads than before. Ah well.

As to Oregon Catalyst, what I've read so far of the articles is quite interesting. Not entirely loony on every issue.

The comments, however (what few there have been) are pretty useless. And I predict that unless they do get a community of decent commenters, they won't "last beyond the hype".

I'm curious how DarePDX "guarantees" that this new site will tolerate open debate, as it appears their comments are moderated before posting, unlike BO (though pulling comments after the fact isn't any better).

Anyhow, thanks for the link, Jack.

Speaking of being banned, myself and others we're banned from posting on PortlandTransport.com. We continually won the arguments concerning Smart Growth, MAX and the Streetcar. Chris Smith didn't like that.

It's obvious public officials like Rex Burkholder and Fred Hansen (who both contribute to portlandtransport.com) really don't care about public debate. It's disturbing to find out that heads of major public departments don't want to hear from persons who don't share their vision.

Alas, I'm not surprised.

The "vision" must be nurtured and protected from debate and the views of "contrarian louts" like us. It is interesting how "left" around here is close to becoming synonomous with "fascist". It used to be where one found the challengers.

Yes that is true.
Portlandtransport.com bans all opposition as they scheme with public officials to cram more of the same failed transporation policies down out throats.

However, I would encourage peolple to visit the site and check out the comments by Rex and other officials as they seek to do what they want and NOT what the public wants.

It's the perfect comfort zone for Rex
which then displays, for all to read, his loony tune planning world.

David-
By "guarantee" I meant that the organizers of the blog will allow critical and differing views to stay up.

Stacy-
As for the Minute Men. Many within the Republican and Democratic party support their efforts. This is an issue that crosses party lines though the most vocal activists lie on the far right.

There are many societal problems that can be laid at the mantle of weak immigration enforcement. If someone is here illegally it doesn't make sense to got out of your way to facilitate a crime. Especially when it is likely that they are contributing to an underground economy that further reinforces a host of societal ills. This is a wedge issue that will continue to grow nationally and will cross the middle of both party lines.

My comment on their Measure 37 post got past moderation and is still up 3 days later, even though I admit on my homepage that I'm in favor of trams for lesbians and such. Just as I read redstate.org and dailykos.com in equal amounts, I'll do the same with BO and OC.

I'm a day late and a dollar short on this thread, but as a clarifier, BlueOregon has only on rare occasions deleted comments. Our policy is far less restrictive than Jack's. Only obscene comments or comments that are clearly trying to stifle discussion are excluded.

As for OregonCatalyst, I welcome the discussion!

My comment that was removed and got my psuedoname blocked on Blue Oregon was not obscene nor stiffling.

It was reality, much along the same commonsense reality Mr. Bojack tends to dish out. Portland's leadership has a real problem with prioritizing the monies entrusted with them and many in the Democratic party want to bury their heads in the sand about it. When engagement on the subject is attempted fangs are shown.

Not only was my post removed but several posts after and before my comment were yanked from the thread.

I don't mind people I disagree with, I welcome them. Part of why I enjoy Portland is the ample opportunities to school up on a Chomsky-lovers. But there is an anger that runs through Portland's democratic crowd that is far worse than anything I've experienced with the mainstay far right. To point it out on BlueOregon is to be banned on BlueOregon.

I haven't any idea what you're talking about on posts being removed, but go look at my post on "Can't we do better in HD 13" if you want to see all the oppressive, anti-democratic stifling going on.

We have more open discussion on BlueOregon than in almost any other site on the web (present site excluded, natch).

Jeff, I've always appreciated and respected your writings, no matter how wrong I think you are on some issues. ;-)

The current flare-up on BO that you referred to (while it may have been different when you posted your comment here earlier today) is about 95% "Blue-on-Blue" violence... arguments over whether a particular Democratic candidate is "progressive" or "liberal" enough, and who should get to make that call (the people from her district, or the Oracles at Portland). Very few posts from self-identified Republicans. Not exactly a shining example of real inclusiveness (though I'm not saying anything has been removed or stifled in that thread, just that your example doesn't disprove the earlier point).

Ah well. At least it's nice to know that RINOs aren't the only endangered species out there, and there's at least as much infighting over party purity on the other side of the aisle. Heck, if the "pure progressives" don't like the candidate, that alone might be a good reason for moderate Republicans to support her in the primary... speaking of people sticking their noses in where they don't belong, eh? ;-)

I will add my name to the chorus of posters deemed "spam" by B.O. (hee-hee): they banned my I.P. address. Until recently, I had no ability to post on B.O. unless I went to a friend's house and logged onto their computer. B.O. now haS a work-around if you're willing to type the "hazy letters" that you see on the second attempt.

They are proud proponents of moderately free speech. "All the opinions that agree with us"...