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The INDEPENDENT, October 18, 2007
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Assoc. Editor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
Things to do this season
Everyone knows how Halloween is traditionally cel-
ebrated. Here is a list of other events coming up that
celebrate Fall and the Harvest season.
Community Harvest Party, Vernonia Community
Church, State Ave., October 28, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Carnival-style games and prizes.
Open House and Harvest Carnival, Banks Christian
Academy in Buxton, October 26, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Games, prizes, food (benefiting the Jr. High Washing-
ton, D.C. trip).
Fall Carnival at Vernonia First Christian Church, 410
North St., October 31, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Games,
refreshments, gold fish, face painting, etc.
Mist-Birkenfeld Fall Festival, Mist gymnasium, No-
vember 3, at 6:00 p.m. Hot dogs, homemade pies, auc-
tions and door prizes, quilt raffle and entertainment.
Grab-bags for kids.
Harvest Festival at Portland Community College
Rock Creek Campus, 17705 NW Springville Rd., Octo-
ber 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. A free pumpkin
(while supplies last) plus free admission to the Histori-
cal Society Museum. Hay rides, petting zoo, face
painting, music, worm composting demonstration, and
more. Suggested donation of $5.
Scappoose Senior Center Holiday Bazaar, 33342
SW Meadow Dr., October 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. Lunch, snacks and drinks available in addition to
handcrafted items and collectibles.
Some quotes to end with:
The press is free to do battle against secrecy and de-
ception in government. But the press cannot expect
from the Constitution any guarantee it will succeed.
Potter Stewart (1915-1985)
Associate justice, U.S. Supreme Court, 1958-1981
Journalism could be described as turning one’s ene-
mies into money.
Craig Brown
A British journalist
September 28, 1990
Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of
them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing
ever happened.
Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 - 1965)
Out of my Mind
by Noni Andersen
Wow, I guess everyone in Oregon Congress-
man Greg Walden’s 2nd district is either healthy
or has health insurance. Poor people are helped
by Medicaid, and senior citizens get help from
Medicare.
There must not be any working people in
Walden’s district whose jobs don’t provide health
insurance, or any of those pesky self-employed
folks who can’t afford monthly premiums of $1,000
or so. There must not be more than one or two
families in his district whose health insurance
won’t cover major health problems like, perhaps,
a newborn with a heart malfunction, or an injured
child who needs lengthy rehab services.
Otherwise, he surely would have voted to
overturn the President’s veto of the State Chil-
dren’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
It isn’t that Walden is a fiscal conservative, af-
ter all, he has no problem with funding the war in
Iraq, which costs as much in 41 days as a whole
year of healthcare for 10 million children. No, it
must be that the people in his district are unusu-
ally fortunate and just won’t need the SCHIP cov-
erage for an additional 36,000 Oregon children.
How fortunate for Congressman Walden, too,
who already has federal health care benefits.
Speaking of Senior Citizens: in 2008, Social
Security benefits will increase by 2.3%, a monthly
average of $24 per retiree. The increase in Me-
dicare will be 3.1%, raising monthly premiums to
$96.40 regardless of whether the retiree’s income
is average, above average or below average.
Other odds and ends tumbling about in my
thoughts are trying to get out. So, call this…
Remember the Bottom Line:
Why would anyone think that a tobacco com-
pany’s ads have something to do with “fair-
ness”? Aren’t these the people who swore to tell
the truth before Congress then solemnly testified
that cigarettes contain nothing harmful or addic-
tive?
Why would anyone think that timber compa-
nies are NOT going to develop their lands if they
can make more money that way? Isn’t that why
they filed Measure 37 claims?
Why would anyone support a Congressman
who opposes government health care while that
same Congressman is benefiting from govern-
ment health care?
If the economy keeps expanding, as we are
told over and over, why aren’t we taking care of
our citizens? Could it be because the top one
percent (1%) of our population controls 25% of
our economy, while the bottom 25% of our pop-
ulation controls 12% of our economy?
No drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamen-
tal ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our
troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we
should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and
love of power.
—P.J. O’Rourke (1947 - )
The men the American public admire most extrav-
agantly are the most daring liars; the men they detest
most violently are those who try to tell them the truth.
— H. L. Mencken (1880-1956)