We interrupt these political posts...

... to bring a giant WOOOOHOOOO!!! to the Corvallist blog.

Oregon State upset USC this afternoon, knocking them off their high-and-mighty pedestal.

Before this game, USC had 38 straight wins. That's right, 38. They were #1 in the Pac-10, #1 in the national polls, and would likely have gone to the BCS championship game.

Before this game, Oregon State was still praying for a winning season. This was not one of the games they were supposed to win, especially with Yvensen Bernard sitting out of the game with an injury. But they did win, so good for them! Coincidentally, I just bought my very first OSU sweatshirt this week. I only bought it because I was freezing, it was on sale and I'd forgotten my jacket, but maybe I should try it again before the Civil War!

Now watch... in fine Beaver tradition, they will probably lose to lower-than-low Stanford on November 18th. Beaver football has never been predictable.

Yay. And now we return this blog to its current preoccupation with evaluating endorsements.

Trick-or-Vote

Clinton Downs sent me an email about this upcoming Halloween event, which may just be the coolest way to spend Halloween for anyone over 15. Election Day is exactly a week after Halloween, so this is a great way to remind people to send in those ballots.

Clipped directly from the email:
If you love Halloween and/or democracy, the 31st will be your lucky day. Tuesday, October 31st, get out the vote by knocking on doors a week before the election deadline, on the one day of the year that folks are expecting a knock. Folks in Portland and Eugene are Trick-or-Voting on Sunday the 29th, but we're keeping it real here in Corvallis. Want to RSVP? More info? Costume advice? Email kriste.york@gmail.com

Details:
5:15 - 6:00 on the MU stairs at OSU for a costume contest judged by Rob Gandara and Charlie Tomlinson (our mayoral candidates), a quick training and a send-off from Congresswoman Darlene Hooley.

6:00 - 8:00 Scare up the vote in youth dense Corvallis neighborhoods.

8:00 Meet up at the Old World Deli for a few more prizes, some Cajun/Zydeco music from Corvallis' own Ron Ton Boulet, and tasty food and beverages.

Trick or Vote is a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote event. Please forward this on to anyone who thinks voting is sexy.

(As a side note, Blogger has been giving me fits all week. My gubernatorial endorsement from a couple days ago is missing. Hopefully this will be remedied shortly.)

A few more endorsements

I'll write up the measures and my endorsement for governor over the next few days. For now, a group endorsement.

County Sheriff -- Diana Simpson
You saw this one coming. In all seriousness, after the Jack Burright fiasco, I'm not going to bother writing in any blatant Burright replacements. Randy Hiner presumptiously chose the website address "sheriffhiner.com" which did make me laugh a little. Really, I'm just going to savor watching Tim Smith, founder of the anti-Simpson website, flail and writhe after Simpson wins. Heck, he still can't seem to accept the idea of a married woman retaining her maiden name, and insists on calling her Diana Simpson-Godfrey.

State Senator, 8th District - Mario Magaña
I'm tired of Frank Morse. He really loves the idea of a sales tax, something for which Oregonians have repeatedly shown disdain. Let's try someone new. Dr. Magana is a professor at Oregon State and a fairly amazing example of someone working his way up in the world. He immigrated from Mexico and worked as a farm laborer, then saw a commercial for a GED program and decided to enroll. He went all the way through graduate school and has some idea of what it's like being on the lower end of the economic scale.

Benton County Commissioner, Position 1 -- Linda Modrell
I'm not tired of Linda Modrell. She has handled the last two terms well and will continue to serve the interests of the community. Meanwhile, Ron Wright came to my door at 8:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning and completely ignored the sign over the doorbell that says, "Night shift workers, please do not disturb." Started pounding away. I'm sleep-deprived as it is! I want a commissioner that can actually read and follow directions. :P

Various Judge Positions -- Don't Care.
They're really all about the same to me. No glaring red flags anywhere. Pick names at random, if you like. A good friend of mine plans to write in "Randy Hiner" for every unopposed candidate, which makes me laugh. I might do the same. Maybe we can elect him to something like Benton Soil and Water Conservation District Director. Won't he be surprised?

USA = Babylon!

My ballot came in the mail already, so I will finish up commenting on the other races and measures over the next couple of days. But first, an interlude from our buddy, the Beastmaster:

You'll note that he posted this message on a telephone pole. Should we be concerned that he has access to tools and sharp objects? To what degree?

Peter DeFazio for 4th Congressional District and NO on Measure 45

Back in February, I wrote an article about Jim Feldkamp and queried whether it was too early to endorse Peter DeFazio. Well it ain't too early to endorse him now.

DeFazio was first elected to Congress 20 years ago, and he has represented Oregon beautifully. He still comes home to Oregon almost every other week and often holds a town meeting or two while he is here. He manages to avoid scandal and refuses to accept congressional pay raises. Even when the Oregon vote for president is narrowly split between Democrat and Republican, DeFazio wins by wide margins, showing that he manages to keep people on both sides of the political fence pretty happy. He's beaten Feldkamp before, and I'm fairly sure he'll have no trouble doing it again.

By the way, Peter DeFazio is an excellent example of why you should laugh as you vote No on Measure 45, the term limits measure sponsored by a Chicago Term Limits PAC who shelled out half a million dollars to put this measure on our ballot. We already have term limits. They're called elections. Forcing candidates out of office as they gain experience is ridiculous, especially since we already have the constitutional right to vote as we see fit. This measure applies only to the Oregon House and Senate, but the principle remains the same. If term limits were in place nationally, Peter DeFazio would've been forced out of office a decade ago.

Corvallist Endorsement: Sara Gelser for District 16 House Rep

Remember Kelly Wirth? Neither do I. At least, I don't think of her anymore. Not since Sara Gelser was appointed to take Wirth's place as our representative in the Oregon House of Representatives. Previously, Gelser spent five years on the Corvallis School Board and served as president of the ARC of Benton County.

This week, in the mail, I received a postcard from Gelser's challenger, Robin Brown. I was getting ready to toss it on the never-ending pile of election spam, when I caught a comment on the postcard about how Gelser wasn't a bad representative; she just wasn't a great one. Meanwhile, Ms. Gelser's mailer, which arrived today, didn't mention Brown at all. Let's award a big fat point to Gelser for taking the high road. That was the first I had heard of Robin Brown, and the initial impression was certainly lousy.

Ms. Brown is a relative newcomer to Oregon, and glancing at her platform page, I'm not sure she knows Corvallis very well at all. She stresses that she is committed to getting the criminals, especially meth addicts, off our streets. Hello, this is Corvallis... our crime rate is pretty darn low. Maybe she's thinking of Albany? She also claims that the Corvallis Police Department has the smallest force per capita in all of Oregon. While that is technically true, it completely ignores the fact that we also have the Oregon State Police centered on campus and the Benton County Sheriff's office, giving us plenty of uniformed officers around town most of the time. Counting the addition of these other two forces, our per capita protection is just dandy.

She is also stressing the importance of education, which would normally be a safe bet, except that Gelser actually spent five years on a school board. Our school board. Plus, Brown wants to mess with the finer details of the school budget, creating policy that would force 65 cents of each dollar to be used for classroom purposes. I guess the money for infrastructure, extracurriculars and administration is supposed to be plucked out of thin air.

My biggest peeve is that Brown is championing health care savings accounts, which are lousy for anyone with a lower-than-average income. When people need to go to the doctor, they need money to pay for the visit. With the health care savings plan, money is pulled from your paycheck and you claim it after the fact. That doesn't help a low-income mom take her kids to the doctor if she can't come up with the $80 or more to pay for a check-up.

This may be my easiest decision in November. Sara Gelser is already doing a great job. I'd like to see her be given the chance to serve a full term. Plus, did you see her election mailer? She's rockin' the dimples, baby. YES, her experience, communication skills and overall competence are far more important, but that's just icing on the cake.

I mean it...

That's right, kids. Tuesday is the very last day to register for the coming election. Please, please go do so if you haven't already. If you don't participate in our democracy, your interests aren't represented. Well, maybe your particular interests aren't represented, but if you don't at least try to change the status quo (or support the status quo, if it makes you happy!), then you have no real right to complain about it. And we all know how much fun complaining can be.

Shoo! Go register!

Rock on, Avalon!

This is the most exciting news I've heard all week. The lovely little Avalon Cinema, closed for several months now, will be reopening this week as a theater pub. Woohoo!

They won't be serving beer and wine until the cranky ol' Oregon Liquor Control Commission grants them a liquor license, but after that, oh yes, they will. Beer and wine, pizza, coffee, and I'll bet we can still get popcorn. Who knew life could be this good?

Avalon will be reopening on October 20th, showing the local documentary "Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon," times yet to be announced. Director Peter Richardson will be at the theater talking about the movie, but really, you want to go just to show your support for our wonderful independent theater and to flip the bird to the giant cineplex, because they don't serve booze.

The Next Mayor

Whether we like it or not, Corvallis will be getting a new mayor in November. Mayor Helen Berg has decided to retire after three successful terms. Honestly, if I could personally convince her to stick around, I would. Ms. Berg has been a fantastic mayor. She is straightforward, intelligent, and an excellent mediator and facilitator during the sometimes contentious city council meetings. But hey, she's 74. If she wants a break, she's earned it.

So, who will be our next mayor? A damned liberal, no matter what happens. (Hear that sound? That's most of Corvallis, sighing with relief.) Our two choices -- Rob Gandara (left) and Charlie Tomlinson (right) -- are current city council representatives, both church-going, business-owning Democrats, both with similar visions of where Corvallis should be headed in the future.

It's a bit of a coin flip, really. My personal impression was that Tomlinson is more of a button-down business guy, while Gandara is a mildly flaky musician. However, looking over their credentials, Gandara did graduate as an engineer from MIT before starting his own company making bagpipes. (Yup, bagpipes.) Tomlinson's website has an honest-to-goodness action plan for Corvallis, which explains why he is now working in consulting. I can't be 100% sure, but glancing at the voting record, it seems Gandara has skipped more city council meetings than Tomlinson has, but Tomlinson has voted conservatively on a few issues, notably the infamous Earth Charter. Gandara skipped that meeting entirely. But both voted in favor of the resolution to bring the troops back from Iraq. Tomlinson's website is more professional, but Gandara's is more personal, complete with a little smiley face in the title. (Note to Rob: Please, take the music off your website. It's a rare website that can have music and not be annoying, but no website could handle that particular music.)

The Gazette-Times has a brief compare-and-contrast article about the two candidates, but it is definitely lacking in substance. It does show which organizations each has been involved with in the past, and touches on their plans for Corvallis, but eh... I'm giving this race a big shrug. Corvallis is headed in the same general direction with either Rob Gandara or Charlie Tomlinson, so flip a coin or just write "Helen Berg" on the ballot to see if we can convince her to give us another four years.

Two brief messages

The first one is to all potential voters who have not yet registered or who have moved since the last election: Go register! As of Monday, you will have a mere 8 days to register or you will not be able to vote in the very important election coming up in November. Please head down to the Benton County Elections Office in the courthouse basement to pick up a new voter registration card. The deadline is Tuesday, October 17th. Go! Shoo!

The second message is to the Montclairist. I no longer have a valid email address for you. I've tried a few, and none of them seems to work. Could you please drop me a line? Gracias.

OSU Now vs. Then

After surviving my first two weeks as a returning college student, I'm amazed at how different campus is compared to 15 years ago. Some of it can be attributed to the fact that I'm simply older and my perceptions have changed.

For example, I know that the students aren't really younger than they used to be; they just seem like kids because I'm technically old enough to be mom to a few of them. Some of them stop talking when I approach, which could make me feel ancient; I choose instead to feel all-powerful. I stop speech with a single glance! But overall, most of the kids are friendly and polite. A few even seem to think I have all the answers, being older. Won't they be surprised!

The biggest changes all fall under the umbrella category of technology. It seems every student on campus is glued to a cell phone, an iPod, or both. They whip the phones out as soon as class ends and furtively text message while walking around haphazardly. A few of the ruder ones actually take calls in class. (I love my professor who gives pop quizzes for every cell phone interruption.) Walking across campus is an exercise in dodging the oblivious phone junkies. Dodging skateboards, too, but I remember a few of those from my first collegiate attempt.

But technology is a huge boon to the classes themselves. More than half of my professors use Power Point slides during their lectures; some then post the lecture notes online. A decade ago, I had a history professor who spent the first 20 minutes of every class painstakingly writing lecture notes in cursive on the blackboard. We were supposed to copy them all down during this time. He would erase the notes after every class, even if he had the same exact class immediately following. It seemed a bit bizarre. He may still be doing that, but odds are that he has found the joys of Power Point animations and just pop those sentences onto the screen as needed.

Also, in the days of yore, trying to talk to a professor was nearly impossible. You fought the crowds gathered around in the brief interlude after class, before rushing to the next class, or you waded through the group of students who all showed up during office hours. Now? Email. It's brilliant. The students taking notes on laptops in class? Not so much. The clicking of frantic typing can be irritating. But hey, I can't fault them for seeking convenience.

Sometimes, on the other hand, it seems like I never left. Books are still ridiculously overpriced, students still show up for class with obvious hangovers, and someone is always tossing a Frisbee on one of the lawns. I've survived my first couple of quizzes and a paper already and I'm more and more confident that I can get through the next couple of years. I don't procrastinate the way I used to, which is a plus. I used to save all the reading until the night before a test and stay up all night. Now, I'm actually caught up. That never happened when I was younger. I'm already tired, but I am loving this.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled Corvallist...

A Raw Deal

Since 1879, Albright and Raw Rexall Drugs has been the drugstore for downtown Corvallis. As the town grew and other pharmacies moved into the region, Albright and Raw still offered something the chains couldn't -- service straight out of an earlier era, with just the right amount of friendly chitchat, gifts to browse while your prescriptions were being filled (okay, so you have to like all things Precious Moments), and even a miniature post office substation right there in the store, a convenient way to avoid the ever-present line at the main post office a few blocks away.

But thanks to typical government efficiency (insert sarcastic sneer), Albright and Raw will be dropping the "Drugs" from its name and its practice. The pharmacy portion of the business has been sold to the downtown Safeway, where, I suppose, you can browse rows of Twinkies and Doritos while waiting for your meds.

It seems this wonderful new Medicare D benefit that so traumatized senior citizens during the initial implementation is now traumatizing small mom-and-pop pharmacies who can't front thousands of dollars of medications to customers without going out of business. With the government taking a whopping three months to reimburse the pharmacy for prescriptions already sold, the owners had no choice but to stop offering us that wonderful, small town service.

Fortunately, the store will still exist as a gift shop, and the new 50's style soda counter is a fun stop for kids too young to remember what real cherry Cokes tasted like. But this trend will likely continue. Will Rice's Pharmacy be next? I hope not. Recently, a friend of mine found a prescription at Rice's that cost half as much as the same prescription cost at Rite-Aid, another monolithic concrete cube full of employees more dour than the DMV.

Confession Time

I have just started taking a full load of classes at OSU after oh... a long absence. Nearly half my life ago, it seems. As I will still be working full-time and parenting as full-time as the Corvallist offspring will allow, my blog postings will probably be more sporadic. However, my intention is to still keep the blog rolling, so we'll see how it goes.

But the real confession? I was very, very happy about the outcome of the football game this past weekend. This may make me a traitor to my town and my university. But I love Cal. I used to have season tickets just to watch them lose. And they lost horribly, year after year. It was fun rooting for the lowest of the low, the underdog to beat all underdogs, even when they couldn't beat Oregon State at their worst. There was a real camaraderie in watching them blow every lead, fumble at the last minute, and the collective sigh of the alumni section as they watched the Bears hang their heads and schlump out of the stadium, week after week.

Then both teams started winning, and lo, being a die-hard fan has more than paid off this past few years. So I cheer on the Beavers for every game except this one game per year, and boy was it a glorious win for the Bears. Now the Beavers have my permission to win every other game this season... but next week, I hope to see the Cal Bears slaughter the Ducks. Quack this!