Over the past few days, two articles have exquisitely demonstrated what we already knew and predicted before Obamacare passed - that the health care law would be a disaster and was incapable of keeping the promises made by the Pelosi - Reid Congress that rammed it through. The signs of the collapse of this law are so obvious, even noted single payer advocate Howard Dean is noticing.

This month, Cover Oregon began an expensive ad campaign begging for signups promoting the benefits of the health care exchange system set up by the bipartisan legislature.

Many outside Oregon have written off the state as a perennial loss for conservatives, owing to its deep blue liberal reputation. This reputation is brilliantly depicted in the IFC show Portlandia, which many Oregon natives view more as a documentary than a comedy. But the politics of Oregon are a much more complex stew of several influences, including a deep libertarian streak and strong conservative values - especially outside the Portland metro area.

Last Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) demonstrated blatant hypocrisy when he stated that he is ready to invoke the "nuclear option" to ram through President Obama's nominees.

Last week, President Obama marked the next step in his second term agenda in a speech about global warming and the EPA.

It might surprise you to learn that hydroelectric power is not renewable energy. Well, it's not considered renewable in Oregon, anyway. Despite the fact that the engine of electricity production literally falls from the sky - at a higher than average rate for the United States.  Due to bureaucratic nonsense, hydroelecric power cannot be applied to the state's mandate to produce 25% of its power from renewable resources. Luckily, a plucky group of citizens has picked up on this anomaly and is attempting to correct the problem.

Last week, The Oregonian newspaper announced that it was cutting print circulation to 4 days a week, laying off most of its staff, and forming a new digital news company.  In a mostly tacit, but sometimes explicit admission that print media is facing its demise, the oldest newspaper on the West Coast confirmed that the future is in digital publishing.

In a report released Tuesday, the American Legislative Exchange Coucil (ALEC) sounded the alarm on the unchecked power grab by the federal government via the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since the beginning of President Obama's first term in 2009.

In a speech Tuesday at Georgetown University, President Obama laid out his case for immediate action on global warming climate change, announcing a broad new climate action plan.

For decades, the debate has raged over how best to manage private forestland to promote forest health while taking full economic advantage of our natural resources. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in an effort to appear to be fostering voluntary compliance, has increasingly supported Forest Certification programs. Now, I'm going to be honest with you - before I began researching this concept, I had no idea what the significance was or how it could affect the economy and consumers of wood products.