You’ve always wanted to do this, so here is your chance. Wind that leg up and blast me off from Eugene to Portland!

Now, if you REALLY want to help out, BUY YOUR OWN TICKET! When you factor in the free Bus Ride and the privilege of hanging out with such cool Bus people, it’s almost like you are getting paid to go!  If you don’t know what the Wheelies are, keep scrolling down!

The Wheelies: Awards for Stuff That Matters

It’s an awards show for people and ideas that are changing Oregon for the better—only it’s way more hilarious. (Think bunny suits.)

It’s a swanky attire affair at the hottest (and most sustainable) new venue in Portland—only it’s for those of us who might not usually be able to afford swanky affairs at hot new venues.

And it’s a Bus Project party, only…it’s a Bus Project party.

Red carpet interviews. Live music and video. Fancy clothes. Milling political figures. Rousing speechifying. An intriguing after party. And the Bus Project. All under one roof for one night.

Main event featuring Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and Lander.

Afterparty featuring Minmae, The Liv Warfield Project, Ohmega Watts and Copacrescent.

You can’t afford to miss this one because THE BUS will be doing the Eugene-Portland commute with the crazy Lane Bus Crew and their guests.  Those kids know how to party!

Oh—and did we mention The Wheelies will be carbon neutral?

Where & When

Saturday June 9, 2007. Portland Armory (a.k.a. Gerding Theatre a.k.a. Portland Center Stage), 128 NW 11th Avenue.
VIP Party at 6:30 PM, doors at 6 PM. Main Event at 8 PM, doors at 7 PM.

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE NOW!

You think you are pretty cool, don’t you? Well, I guess you’ll be needing a VIP ticket then!

It seems that the Environment has been the most popular “E” to talk about lately here on lanebus.org!

I could not pass up posting this awesome idea used on a World Wildlife Fund billboard. If you have to have a billboard, at least have it for a good cause.

Want to find out your carbon footprint and ways to reduce it? EnergyRace is a cool site that you can trace your impact and then find simple ways to reduce it.Small goals relating to vehicle use, home efficiency, recycling and electrical use can greatly lower your personal co2 emissions.

It tells me that I produce 6.4 tons of co2 per year. (a few NY plane trips doesn’t help)

After setting some easily achievable goals, my “impact tree” says I’ll reduce my footprint by 33%!

GO CHECK IT OUT HERE

If you sign up, in the referral line, tell them CamDogg sent you.

Congratulations to Rose Wilde, newly elected Lane Bus Project Steering Board Chair!

At a packed house board meeting down at the Lane Bus office many beers were drank, many ideas and updates shared, but the main reason for the gathering was to usher out James and welcome in Rose as our fearless leader of the Board in Lane County.

I am torn on this. If having a steering chair election means we always get beer and cake, we should have them more often. But since I think Rose will do a great job for a long time to come, let’s just not have one for a while. The beer and cake can stay though.

Moments after her unanimous election, Rose (left) takes a moment to ponder.  Meanwhile, Dan sniffs the clipboard pen.  Linda, Quinn and Ashley find something very interesting going on off camera.

Just posted at Digg based on this waterboarding article.

I’m sure most of you have seen the fox news reporter getting water boarded. His conclusion was that it was bad but that he had no lasting harm — so how bad is it really.

He failed to point out that (1) he got to choose when it stopped (2) he knew they would stop when he asked (3) he knew they would not kill him. I can only imagine what his reaction would have been if he had thought they were willing to kill him. Would he have flashbacks from that trauma for the rest of his life? What kind of hatred would he have for those people and everything they stand for?

When US agencies torture, they are doing it in the name of America. And the vast majority of Americans have made it clear that we think it is wrong.

This might not be news to anyone reading this blog, but we have a big problem with healthcare ‘round these parts.

Too many people are without any coverage, costs are sky rocketing, and businesses are having trouble staying competitive while offering healthcare to their employees.

We need to do something now – and luckily there are three great bills in the legislature aimed at just that. The Bus is supporting several approaches to making sure that Oregonians are healthy, including the Health Kids Plan (HB 2201), the Health Oregon Act (SB 329), and the Oregon Better Health Act (SB 27).

Some Bus volunteers have concerns about a particular provision of SB 27, and rightfully so. It seems like this is a good space to discuss how we go about talking about what we choose to work on, and why. A really good description of this stuff can be found on the Bus website, but I copied it here. Get ready… it is kinda long

“A Vehicle for Hands on Democracy

The Bus Project exists as a vehicle for regular Oregonians to give some precious time towards the public interest. Rather than offering endorsements of a candidate, policy, or event – The Bus drives volunteers towards opportunities to make a substantive impact on the things we choose to support. We have never wanted to spend all of our time at meetings as a debating society, but rather doing work.

Each election year BusPAC volunteers gather to discuss which legislative races are in most need of some grassroots loving. In considering races, volunteers weigh a number of concerns and hopes – including (1) where or not our feet on the street could have a determinative impact, (2) how dedicated the candidates are to the 6 E’s, and (3) a candidate’s commitment to grassroots and the public interest. And in this analysis we don’t, of course, purport to support everything that all of those candidates do. Similarly, the Bus Project facilitates volunteers to engage in 6 E issues that they care about. We don’t claim to support every provision within that legislation.

For example, two of the most important bills this legislative session contain provisions we have serious concerns about. Senate Bill 27, the Oregon Better Health Act, is a bill that takes exciting and important first steps towards fixing our broken health care system. Section 11 sets up a number of committees, including “a subcommittee to make recommendations concerning how to address the issue of medical liability….” While the provision itself does not implement any tort reform, some friends of ours criticize it on the grounds that the ensuing conversation could open the door to limits on access to civil justice. A majority of our convened policy volunteers would prefer the legislation without that provision, and we offer no particular support for that part of the bill.

HB 3540 removes the worst abuses of Measure 37 and ensures fairness for communities, for small landowners, and for Oregon’s taxpayers. The reform package also clears up the valuation confusion by introducing a universal methodology and asking large claimants to prove claims are justified. Unfortunately, claimants can build up to three homes without proving a loss in value, and they can also transfer their rights to new owners, and mot of our volunteers who have weighed in don’t like those portions. But it is clear that we cannot let Measure 37 stand as is, and on balance the Measure 37 reform is worth fighting for.

Quoting Donald Rumsfeld and our affiliate Onward Oregon “We take the bills that we have, not the bills that we might want to or wish to have at a later time.” In supporting candidates and legislation, BusPAC and Bus Project volunteers devote their time with the hope of making Oregon a model to the nation. In doing so, we recognize that the public interest will not often not be best served by the amalgamation of single-issue politics – we may disagree with a candidate’s view on a particular issue or a bill’s particular provision. At the same time, we will work tirelessly to facilitate volunteer-action and a 60% progressive coalition to move Oregon forward.

And we thank you so much for your support on that front.”

And there you have it.
We didn’t write this bill - and like so many bills, we aren’t sure we love everything in it. We really do think it is important we start doing something on health care right now. The legislature is a great place to do it. It gives so many people an opportunity to weigh in so we can get the right bill for all of us.

All we want, is for all Oregonians to be happy and healthy. Kinda like this guy. Well, maybe not exactly like that guy, but you get the idea.

Daily Women’s Health Policy

National Politics & Policy | Democratic Leaders Say They Will Not Reauthorize Title V Abstinence Education Program
[May 17, 2007]
Congressional Democratic leaders on Wednesday said they will not reauthorize the Title V abstinence education program, which expires June 30, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) — chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Title V — said the program has not proven to be effective. Dingell cited a study, commissioned by Congress and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, that found abstinence-only sex education programs are not effective in preventing or delaying teenagers from having sexual intercourse (Freking, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/16).

Title V, administered by HHS’ Administration for Children and Families, distributes funds based on a formula favoring states with more low-income children. To receive Title V funds, states must adhere to certain requirements, including barring teachers from discussing contraception and requiring them to say that sex within marriage is “the expected standard of sexual activity.” Many state governors have said the grants place too many restrictions on the curricula. California, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have rejected Title V funds. President Bush has asked Congress to appropriate $191 million for the program for fiscal year 2008, an increase of $28 million from FY 2007 funding levels (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 4/12).

According to CQ Today, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) in March introduced legislation (HR 1653) that would provide grants to promote “family life education,” including programs promoting abstinence and contraception to curb sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancy.

Comments
Drew Hammil, spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said, “The speaker supports funding for both abstinence and comprehensive sexuality education,” adding, “We must get at the root of the problem by reducing unintended pregnancies through sex education and access to contraception.”

According to CQ Today, conservative Republicans are in favor of extending the Title V grants. Skip Brown — spokesperson for Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.), who supports abstinence education — said, “By killing [Title V], Democrats are going against the wishes of most parents” (Allen, CQ Today, 5/15).

Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Program, said Title V provides “a public health message that offers risk-elimination for youth,” adding that the decision to stop its funding will cause supporters of the program to work harder to maintain it.

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who supported Dingell’s decision, said, “With all we know about how to prevent teen pregnancy and reduce sexually transmitted diseases, it is high time to redirect the millions of federal dollars that we squander every year on abstinence-only education to programs that actually work” (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/16).

This will be the first Eugene screening of “Decades.” The original documentary, “Firescars” produced by Trip and a few others, was aquired by the Sierra Club and they added/edited it a bit. Hope to see you all there! ps I’m sure Willamette 100 is dog friendly

WILD RIVERS & WILD FIRE FILM NIGHT

Tuesday, May 22, 7:00 pm * 100 Willamette Hall, University of Oregon

Mekong - The Mother of All Waters (45 min.) . In 2004 Portlander Brian Eustis chronicled the first-ever complete navigation of the Mekong River from its source in Tibet, to the South China Sea. The film vividly explores and celebrates the diverse cultures and environments of the Mekong valley. The story also weaves in the tapestry of the impending human-rights abuses committed throughout the region and the impact of environmental degradation on the region’s subsistence cultures. This film was a finalist at the 2006 Banff Film Festival and was chosen to be a part of the international tour! For more information visit www.mekongdescentfoundation.org .

EPICOCITY Project Presents: Decades - Born in Fire (35 min). This locally produced film seeks to find truth covered up by raging fires, black trees, green trees, and the players involved in post-fire logging sensitive burned landscapes. This film takes you on a journey down the Wild Illinois River, weaves together the stories from scientists, young and old, and the amazing live and still scenes from the Wild Siskiyou Rivers Region. From interviews with key players to live footage from Oregon’s wild backcountry, come enjoy the story that sprung forth as the last ember from the Biscuit fire cease to glow. Producers Trip Jennings, Kyle Dickman, Becky Kennedy. 35 Min.

The event is free and open to the public and is being sponsored locally by the Cascadia Wildlands Project. For more info, 434-1463; www.cascwild.org.

Every good organization needs a mascot, and although Scottie has done a good job so far, we’ve nominated Samba as our Lane Bus mascot.

Samba attended her first (and possibly last) meeting last week for the PR and Development team joint meeting.

Her first impression was not a good one, as she tore into the first available PBR.  She did however give a definitive YES vote on supporting the Dime A Drink Tax.

Samba felt that Mike was missing the point on the county income tax, so instead of debating, she bit him. 

We are happy to have Samba supporting the Bus.  She has already spent some time canvassing at the dog park promoting her “Puppies for Progress” platform.  12 sign ups already, not bad!

For more on Samba, check her Off The Island page…