No acknowledgement of GOP Gains from the Daily Astorian

It’s been over a week and still no story and no editorial comment from Steve Forrester of The Daily Astorian about the Democrats losing control of the US Senate nor of the dramatic shift in Governor’s and State Assemblies this election cycle. Instead he’s let the New York Slimes left wing editorial writers do his bidding.  

Forrester did gave the customary victory lap to all the local and state Democrats that held their seats in Oregon the day after the election but didn’t have the moral courage or honesty to admit the rest of the nation sent the Democrats packing.

With the exception of California and Oregon, no surprise there, the nation took a stunningly historic right turn. Both of these states clearly didn’t get the nationwide memo. You have to wonder when the plastic utopian bubbles they live in will burst.

For the record, since the Astorian has been shell shocked into the complete silence and denial, here are the numbers from the national election.   

Republicans gained 7 U.S. Senate seats, giving them a 52-seat majority, 2 races are still outstanding, in Louisiana and Alaska. Republicans won 12 net seats in the US House to expand their majority beyond their post-World War II record of 246 seats set in the 1946 election.

Republicans picked up Democratic-held governorships in deep blue states such as Massachusetts, Maryland and Illinois, as well as in Arkansas. The wins swell the ranks of Republican governors to at least 31, near a high water mark in the modern era. The Democrats, by contrast only control all three legs of the governing stool in 6 states.

Republican gains extended to state legislative chambers as well. Before Election Day, the GOP controlled 59 of 98 partisan legislative chambers across the country. On Tuesday, the Republicans had won control of the Nevada Assembly and Senate, the Colorado and Maine Senates and state House chambers in Minnesota, New Mexico, West Virginia and New Hampshire.

That would give the Republican Party control of 67 chambers, five more than their previous record in the modern era, set after special elections in 2011 and 2012.

The complete repudiation of Obama, the Democrats and their agenda was kicked to the curb last week. If only believers of Forrester’s rants would do the same.

Jeff Jacques, a paid Journalist for The Daily Astorian

A few weeks ago I applied to be one of new members of the Board of Contributors for The Daily Astorian and frankly didn’t expect to be picked. Steve Forrester the Publisher emailed me back today to say they wanted me to be one of the 9 contributors. It's hard to believe he chose me. I’ve been very critical of the paper’s editorial pieces and in particular Forrester’s editorials. I have to give him some credit, he’s the biggest Liberal you’d ever want to meet but if he’s willing to let me have a forum in his paper I have to show him a measure of respect.

Supposedly I’ll get to contribute one 750 word article of my choice that will be published in the Astorian over the next year. In the email I received Steve Forrester said it was possible that they may ask for more than one, so I may get to submit another. He also said that he wanted a head shot of me so when the article is published they can attach my photo to it.

The coolest part of the whole deal is that I’ll be paid $50 per article published. I know it isn’t much money but it’s the principle that matters. Getting paid to write an opinion is awesome. Jeff Jacques, the Conservative Bubba from Wyoming is now a paid Journalist, who’d of thunk it? I’m definitely going to have my wife review my articles for grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. The content of what I write I believe is good I just need to get help with editing.

It’s ironic and funny what each new day brings, this was the last thing I ever expected to happen to me, so I’ll accept it and do the best writing I can.

Fed up with The Daily Astorian Liberal Demagoguery

Have you experienced that feeling when you read the newspaper or listening to the talking heads on TV or on the radio blather on and on about something that you know isn’t the right representation of the facts and finally say enough is enough?

Well… I’m here this morning grinding my teeth after reading the column "GOP becomes the party of the 1950's" in The Daily Astorian. It’s another outrageous exercise in Liberal Demagoguery in a line long of Steve Forrester’s (Publisher of the Astorian) columns. Rather than get into all the things of what he said in his column and the countless others that I’ve disagreed with I’d like to address Steve Forrester the man instead.

First I have to say I actually have talked to him first on the phone then later met him personally over a year ago. Since then I’ve run into him 2 other times and had a brief word with him. Each time I’ve seen him I shake his hand and say that he’s doing a stalwart job with his community news sections in the Astorian but still have to civilly disagree with his liberal political columns.

The time I talked to him on the phone was when he wrote a column comparing some dink who had destroyed someone’s private property because they at one time had raised minks to Tea Party activists. I couldn’t believe he’d compare a criminal act to a group of peaceful protesters that to date have not had one single act of violence or criminal behavior. We had about a 30 minute friendly and civil conversation about his column. During that conversation not once did he ever back away from his comments or say that making that comparison was terribly wrong.

Steve is a good man but each time I’ve seen him since he seems uncomfortable, almost to the point of thinking someone like me might attack him physically or give him the plague sense he knows I don’t share his view on politics. I could see his face tighten and redden in what looked like fear doing his best to be accommodating but quickly ready to end any conversation with me.

My point here is we get bombarded with divisive and combative negative politics from both sides on the TV, Radio and the internet 24/7. Why does a small town newspaper editor feel the need to contribute to the daily diatribe we get saturated with everyday? He is entitled to his opinion but he’d be better served to tone down the over the top rhetoric and focus his op-eds to the community based issues instead of the national ones. 50% of the nation doesn’t agree with you Steve and alienation in a small town is a very tough flag to fly.

Arson Anyone?

Arson Anyone?

Animal Liberation Front and extreme Tea Partiers have similar delusions “The Animal Liberation Front and kookier elements of the Tea Party movement have much in common. In the first place, neither allows the facts to get in the way of their bizarre alternative realities.
 
At least the Tea Party has not stooped to firebombing barns and forklifts. Its incendiary devices are of a rhetorical nature, often consisting of thinly veiled, racially motivated attacks on immigrants and President Obama.”
 
Apparently graduating from the same fact-checking school attended by Tea Partiers who continue claiming Obama isn't a U.S. citizen, Animal Liberation last week torched a barn and equipment in Svensen months after mink-raising operations ceased there. Activists previously twice released mink at the farm. Mink-rearing operations ended in December after the Ylipelto family concluded that it wasn't worth the hassle and worry to continue producing the animals.
 
You can waste a lot of time psychoanalyzing the individuals who gravitate to fringe groups. They are a stew of persecution complexes and obsessions, overstated with self-importance and addiction to the excitement and attention that come with extremism.
 
From the standpoint of preserving a basically healthy society, our best response is to maintain a steadfast grasp on reality. To label episodes like the Svensen arson "domestic terrorism" is to grant the perpetrators far more importance and credibility than they deserve.
 
Reality is that raising mink for their pelts is no more criminal than raising cows for cheeseburgers. If someone sincerely believes in mink rights, committing arson against someone who has already left the business is 100 percent counterproductive. This was stupid anarchy committed by narcissistic dolts.
 
It is also reality that many perfectly rational people have misgivings about raising furry little predators for no reason other than eventually skinning them for conspicuous consumption. At the same time, when you live in a place with severe winter ­- such as Russia or the northern latitudes or East Coast cities - you understand the functionality of fur in a coat or hat.
 
America provides many mechanisms for political and social change. “The Tea Party fears progress on goals like universal health care, while Animal Liberation demands immediate parity between animal and human rights.”
 
Meanwhile, all we in the middle should hold them accountable and make our own decisions.

Written by Steve Forrester PUBLISHER of The Daily Astorian

MY REACTION AND PHONE CALL TO FORRESTER ABOUT THE OP-ED 

In his op-ed Forrester compares the likes of the Animal Liberation Front who recently torched some personal property of a “former” Mink rearing operator to that of the “kooky “elements in the Tea Party.

In his partisan smear Forrester claims in essence that the Tea Parties are no better than these left wing nuts who torched a man’s personal property because in so many words they’re racists, disagree with the whole fantastic idea of Obamacare and lastly that Tea Partiers don’t believe that Obama is a U.S. Citizen.

This is the worst kind of extremist divisive journalism to publish and does nothing but demonize and marginalize a group of people whose main political objective is to have the state and federal governments abide by the US Constitution and the belief that smaller government is better for America than massive centralized government.

I was so angered by this ridiculous comparison I made a personal phone call to the Astorian and believe it or not Forrester took my call.

I immediately asked Forrester why he could make such an outrageous comparison. I asked him if he had ever heard of a single violent episode during a Tea Party demonstration anywhere in the nation or did he believe the TP’s in Astoria were capable of violence.

His answer: He didn’t answer why he made the comparison nor did he back away from it or apologize for it. He said he hadn’t heard of any violence by TP’s in Astoria but said it “could” happen back East.

I asked him if he had actually attended the Tea Party event that was held in Astoria to see who these people were and why they attended.

His answer: No, but he did know some of members like the Gannaway’s who own a jewelry store in Warrenton, OR.

I asked him why he would claim that all TP’s are Birther’s when only 1/10 of 1% of the group may actually believe that.

His answer: He didn’t answer.

I asked him why does he publish only op-eds from the New York Times when most of the people of Astoria are blue collar folks who could not identify with the Times opinions even if they were Democrats. I also said that over half of the people in Astoria strongly disagree and object to the writings of Maureen Dowd, Paul Krugman, Thomas Friedman, Bob Herbert and especially the phony David Brooks who claims to be a Conservative but is far from it.

His answer: He said he pays the NYT a yearly fee for columns and that’s why he publishes them. He didn’t acknowledge nor answer that over half of the people in Astoria may disagree with the politics of the writers from the NYT.

I asked him why he didn’t publish op-eds from the other side since there are many articulate Conservative columnists all over the country who write insightful pieces.

His answer: I have to pay for columns and I like the NYT so that’s why I don’t publish other columns because they have to be paid for. He did say he “might” start publishing George Will’s column “someday.” He also claimed that he reads the Wall Street Journal which may be true but doesn’t agree enough with their views to buy any of their columns and publish them.

The conversation came to an end and it was my impression that although he was being friendly with me on the phone he had no intention of making a public apology for the Tea Party comments in his op-ed. I'm convince that as long as he has a voice in the media Forrester will continue to be a very polarizing and divisive left wing extremist making every political situation far worse with his words.