I get all kinds of stuff in the mail these days. An alert, anonymous reader here in Portland forwarded to my office over the holiday break this postcard that he or she had received:
I couldn't figure out what it was about until I flipped it over. And I can't know for sure whether the reader loved it or hated it. Anyhow, the reverse side is here.
Comments (21)
Amazing, isn't it? An entire city scene and it's all government.
Sad because the clowns who mailed it out used $ 0.41 in postage through a postage meter for each card.
Post card postage, domestcally, is $ 0.26.
Someone working on Cogan's behalf wasted $ 0.15 per card mailed.
The postage meter number on the card appears to be 0014219447. That number is a bit blurry on my screen, and perhaps Jack will correct the meter number if my reading of the meter number is incorrect.
Any body want to bet it was NOT a county postage meter?
Maybe Multnomah County Commissioner Cogan will tell us what postage meter was used and was it or was it not a county postage meter?
I'm not holding my breath waiting to hear from Jeff Cogan.
It would be shocking if the postage meter belonged to a friend, reletive or donor of Cogan's. I think.
But the mailing served such a valuable public need. I'm sure,,,,, I just can't think of it.
I remember when empowerment was the rage back in the early 1990s in the bureaucracy I worked. I find it difficult to get behind the current green and sustainable rage when all I see it for is an excuse for local and regional governments to stiffen regulation and increase taxes. Bring back empowerment. It's the one rage I can get behind.
p.s. is it really all that energy efficient to haul sod & dirt up a skyscapper and maintain it up there? The same could be said about the biofuels craze where you haul corn from the U.S midwest to Oregon, where it is distilled into a nascar like high burn fuel?
We really don't know what the total mailing cost was. Since it came in from a reader who got one, and nobody else seems to be recognizing it, it certainly doesn't appear to be a mass mailing. Rather, perhaps, a selective list at county expense, which, if so, raises other questions.
I wonder if Paul Allen might be able to ransom PDX by threatening to sell naming rights to the Rose Garden to the likes of Walmart? This would truly be hilarious. But probably won't get any such laughs as "you can't fight city hall."
Steve is on to something. Perhaps there is an artist lurking about that could draw a cityscape including:
1. A sparkling new jail, replete with a million dollars in public art. Empty.
2. A bridge falling into the water, with PFB engines looking across, wishing they could drive across.
3. A Sheriff in a black cowboy hat, riding on Neil's coattails, with three married women walking alongside, looking forlorn.
4. A Bureau of Environmental Services truck being lifted out of the sinkhole (technically, a CoP embarrasment, but given all the T.I.F. dollars siphoned away from MultCo, very illusrative)
5. The county courthouse with a basement full of sewage.
6. Tim Boyle (Columbia Sportwear's CEO) driving a Freightliner moving truck out of the county.
7. A friend of Maria Rojo de Steffey, holding a bag of cash in one hand and a smiley face IOU in the other.
Amazing, isn't it? An entire city scene and it's all government.
Yes, a grim scene indeed. With government now firmly entrenched in the business of doing absurd things like operating schools, libraries and "supporting returning veterans" (#8 on the postcard), what will they dream up next? Putting up more traffic lights and hiring more cops so they can infringe on my inalienable rights to speed like a lunatic?
Charamba, Douro 2008
Horse Heaven Hills, Cabernet 2010
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills Pinot Grigio 2011
Avignonesi, Montepulciano 2004
Lorelle, Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2011
Villa Antinori, Toscana 2007
Mercedes Eguren, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Lorelle, Columbia Valley Cabernet 2011
Purple Moon, Merlot 2011
Purple Moon, Chardonnnay 2011
Abacela, Vintner's Blend No. 12
Opula Red Blend 2010
Liberte, Pinot Noir 2010
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Indian Wells Red Blend 2010
Woodbridge, Chardonnay 2011
King Estate, Pinot Noir 2011
Famille Perrin, Cotes du Rhone Villages 2010
Columbia Crest, Les Chevaux Red 2010
14 Hands, Hot to Trot White Blend
Familia Bianchi, Malbec 2009
Terrapin Cellars, Pinot Gris 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2009
Campo Viejo, Rioja, Termpranillo 2010
Ravenswood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2010
Waterbrook, Reserve Merlot 2009
Lorelle, Horse Heaven Hills, Pinot Grigio 2011
Tarantas, Rose
Chateau Lajarre, Bordeaux 2009
La Vielle Ferme, Rose 2011
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio 2011
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir 2009
Lello, Douro Tinto 2009
Quinson Fils, Cotes de Provence Rose 2011
Anindor, Pinot Gris 2010
Buenas Ondas, Syrah Rose 2010
Les Fiefs d'Anglars, Malbec 2009
14 Hands, Pinot Gris 2011
Conundrum 2012
Condes de Albarei, Albariño 2011
Columbia Crest, Walter Clore Private Reserve 2007
Penelope Sanchez, Garnacha Syrah 2010
Canoe Ridge, Merlot 2007
Atalaya do Mar, Godello 2010
Vega Montan, Mencia
Benvolio, Pinot Grigio
Nobilo Icon, Pinot Noir, Marlborough 2009
Portuga, Rose 2011
Revelation, Chardonnay, Pays d'Oc 2010
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 2005
Monte Alto, Tinto Reserva 2005
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Cabernet, Indian Wells 2009
Espiral, Vinho Rose
Vin-Koru, Pinot Gris 2011
14 Hands, Hot to Trot Red 2009
Rodney Strong, Cabernet, Sonoma 2009
Abacela, Vintner's Blend #11
Portuga, White 2010
La Bourgeoisie, Red 2009
Januik, Red 2009
Three Rivers, River's Red 2008
Kirkland, Alexander Valley Merlot 2008
Muga, Rioja Rose 2010
Quinta das Amoras, Vinho Tinto 2009
Mauro Molino, Barbera d'Alba 2009
Garda Chiaretto Rose
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Vineyard 10 White
Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 2009
L'Hortus, Rose de Saignee 2010
Maculan, Pino & Toi 2008
McKinley Springs, Bombing Range Red 2008
Trader Joe's Pinot Gris 2009
Montes Alpha, Cabernet 2007
Gran Sasso, Sangiovese, Terre di Chieti 2009
Garda, Classico Chiaretto Rose
Beaulieu, Cabernet, Rutherford 1999
Picos del Montgo, Tempranillo 2008
Chateau de Montmirail, Vacqueyras 2008
La Granja 360, Syrah 2009
Montgras, Carmenere Reserva 2009
Lange, Pinot Gris 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet 2008
Kirkland, Pinot Grigio 2010
Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah 2009
Columbia Crest, Horse Heaven Hills Merlot 2008
Trader Joe's Coastal Chardonnay 2009
Vieux Papes Red
Domaine de l'Aujardiere, Chardonnay 2009
Santa Rita, Cabernet, Medalla Real 2007
Penfold's, Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008
Guild, Red, Lot #02 2008
Dievole, Dievolino Sangiovese 2008
Laforet, Burgogne Chardonnay 2009
Columbia Winery, Merlot 2007
Bonterra, Cabernet 2008
Elk Cove, Pinot Gris 2009
Maquis Lien 2006
Scott Paul, Pinot Noir, Le Paulee 2007
The Occasional Book
Hope Larson - A Wrinkle in Time, the Graphic Novel
Rudyard Kipling - Kim
Peter Ames Carlin - Bruce
Fran Cannon Slayton - When the Whistle Blows
Neil Young - Waging Heavy Peace
Mark Bego - Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul (2012 ed.)
Jenny Lawson - Let's Pretend This Never Happened
J.D. Salinger - Franny and Zooey
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Timothy Egan - The Big Burn
Deborah Eisenberg - Transactions in a Foreign Currency
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - Slaughterhouse Five
Kathryn Lance - Pandora's Genes
Cheryl Strayed - Wild
Fyodor Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov
Jack London - The House of Pride, and Other Tales of Hawaii
Jack Walker - The Extraordinary Rendition of Vincent Dellamaria
Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin
Niccolò Machiavelli - The Prince
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries
Brian Selznick - The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Sharon Creech - Walk Two Moons
Keith Richards - Life
F. Sionil Jose - Dusk
Natalie Babbitt - Tuck Everlasting
Justin Halpern - S#*t My Dad Says
Mark Herrmann - The Curmudgeon's Guide to Practicing Law
Barry Glassner - The Gospel of Food
Phil Stanford - The Peyton-Allan Files
Jesse Katz - The Opposite Field
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
David Sedaris - Holidays on Ice
Donald Miller - A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
Mitch Albom - Have a Little Faith
C.S. Lewis - The Magician's Nephew
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream
Ivan Doig - Bucking the Sun
Penda Diakité - I Lost My Tooth in Africa
Grace Lin - The Year of the Rat
Oscar Hijuelos - Mr. Ives' Christmas
Madeline L'Engle - A Wrinkle in Time
Steven Hart - The Last Three Miles
David Sedaris - Me Talk Pretty One Day
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase
Charles Larson - The Portland Murders
Adrian Wojnarowski - The Miracle of St. Anthony
William H. Colby - Long Goodbye
Steven D. Stark - Meet the Beatles
Phil Stanford - Portland Confidential
Rick Moody - Garden State
Jonathan Schwartz - All in Good Time
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
Anthony Holden - Big Deal
Robert J. Spitzer - The Spirit of Leadership
James McManus - Positively Fifth Street
Jeff Noon - Vurt
Road Work
Miles run year to date: 29
At this date last year: 66
Total run in 2012: 129
In 2011: 113
In 2010: 125
In 2009: 67
In 2008: 28
In 2007: 113
In 2006: 100
In 2005: 149
In 2004: 204
In 2003: 269
Comments (21)
Amazing, isn't it? An entire city scene and it's all government.
Posted by John Fairplay | January 14, 2008 8:05 AM
Now thats funny and incredibly sad.
Sad because the clowns who mailed it out used $ 0.41 in postage through a postage meter for each card.
Post card postage, domestcally, is $ 0.26.
Someone working on Cogan's behalf wasted $ 0.15 per card mailed.
The postage meter number on the card appears to be 0014219447. That number is a bit blurry on my screen, and perhaps Jack will correct the meter number if my reading of the meter number is incorrect.
Any body want to bet it was NOT a county postage meter?
Maybe Multnomah County Commissioner Cogan will tell us what postage meter was used and was it or was it not a county postage meter?
I'm not holding my breath waiting to hear from Jeff Cogan.
Posted by Nonny Mouse | January 14, 2008 8:24 AM
Little Big Pipe is so thoughtful.....
Posted by Bark Munster | January 14, 2008 8:28 AM
It would be shocking if the postage meter belonged to a friend, reletive or donor of Cogan's. I think.
But the mailing served such a valuable public need. I'm sure,,,,, I just can't think of it.
Posted by Howard | January 14, 2008 9:01 AM
I remember when empowerment was the rage back in the early 1990s in the bureaucracy I worked. I find it difficult to get behind the current green and sustainable rage when all I see it for is an excuse for local and regional governments to stiffen regulation and increase taxes. Bring back empowerment. It's the one rage I can get behind.
p.s. is it really all that energy efficient to haul sod & dirt up a skyscapper and maintain it up there? The same could be said about the biofuels craze where you haul corn from the U.S midwest to Oregon, where it is distilled into a nascar like high burn fuel?
Posted by Bob Clark | January 14, 2008 9:20 AM
OK - So where is the Sellwood Bridge and fixing the basic infrastructure stuff at? Which one of those buildings is the closed jail?
Man, it kills these guys to do the basic and boring things we pay taxes for doesn't it?
Posted by Steve | January 14, 2008 10:13 AM
FYI, postcards greater than 6" long or 4.25" high are $0.41. Looks like this one might be longer than 6".
Posted by PMG | January 14, 2008 10:35 AM
We really don't know what the total mailing cost was. Since it came in from a reader who got one, and nobody else seems to be recognizing it, it certainly doesn't appear to be a mass mailing. Rather, perhaps, a selective list at county expense, which, if so, raises other questions.
Posted by zeb quinn | January 14, 2008 10:42 AM
I was hoping to see Fritz the Cat in the scene somewhere...
Posted by Dave | January 14, 2008 11:01 AM
"Amazing, isn't it? An entire city scene and it's all government."
You expected to see what from a politician? A scene of Walmart importing lead paint covered children's toys.
Greg C
Posted by Greg C | January 14, 2008 11:32 AM
I wonder if Paul Allen might be able to ransom PDX by threatening to sell naming rights to the Rose Garden to the likes of Walmart? This would truly be hilarious. But probably won't get any such laughs as "you can't fight city hall."
Posted by Bob Clark | January 14, 2008 12:17 PM
The only one in that photo making any money is the drug dealer...I mean coffee shop owner.
Posted by John | January 14, 2008 2:46 PM
Maybe they should have had a scene showing Sisters of the Road Cafe. A place where people atually help others.
BGTI
Posted by Better Government thru Intimidation | January 14, 2008 3:57 PM
I think it's interesting that Tim's Coffee is in a county building.
Posted by Michael | January 14, 2008 4:20 PM
Scarry. Richard Scarry?
Posted by Allan L. | January 14, 2008 4:29 PM
The actual size is 6 x 11 inches.
Posted by Jack Bog | January 14, 2008 4:45 PM
I didn't know that public schools were allowed to have wreaths anymore ...
Posted by Garage Wine | January 14, 2008 4:48 PM
Its slick and I like it. Its good advertising.
Posted by Chris Coyle | January 14, 2008 5:44 PM
Steve is on to something. Perhaps there is an artist lurking about that could draw a cityscape including:
1. A sparkling new jail, replete with a million dollars in public art. Empty.
2. A bridge falling into the water, with PFB engines looking across, wishing they could drive across.
3. A Sheriff in a black cowboy hat, riding on Neil's coattails, with three married women walking alongside, looking forlorn.
4. A Bureau of Environmental Services truck being lifted out of the sinkhole (technically, a CoP embarrasment, but given all the T.I.F. dollars siphoned away from MultCo, very illusrative)
5. The county courthouse with a basement full of sewage.
6. Tim Boyle (Columbia Sportwear's CEO) driving a Freightliner moving truck out of the county.
7. A friend of Maria Rojo de Steffey, holding a bag of cash in one hand and a smiley face IOU in the other.
Posted by Mister Tee | January 14, 2008 7:41 PM
Mister Tee:
That's brilliant and funny. Just one thing -- in item 6, you misspelled "country".
Posted by Allan L. | January 14, 2008 9:05 PM
Amazing, isn't it? An entire city scene and it's all government.
Yes, a grim scene indeed. With government now firmly entrenched in the business of doing absurd things like operating schools, libraries and "supporting returning veterans" (#8 on the postcard), what will they dream up next? Putting up more traffic lights and hiring more cops so they can infringe on my inalienable rights to speed like a lunatic?
Posted by Joe | January 15, 2008 12:51 PM