On May 29, 1973, popular and iconic Republican Governor Tom McCall, famous for his environmental advocacy and anti-development rhetoric (“I urge them to come and come many, many times to enjoy the beauty of Oregon. But I also ask them, for heaven’s sake, don’t move here to live.”), signed into law Oregon's transformational land use legislation that made virtually every land use decision subject to review by state agencies.

In March, I reported on the first signs of new life from the National Republican Senatorial Committee after the disastrous 2012 election cycle, in which conservatives lost ground in the US Senate despite expectations of actually taking over that chamber of congress. Given the rise of new media and the stagnation of legacy media, the NRSC has taken the initiative to facilitate communications by creating a new blogger outreach position.

Last week, the collapse of the Skagit River Bridge on I-5 in Northern Washington, 40 miles south of the Canadian border, brought the national spotlight back to a perennial claim - that thousands of bridges across the nation are near collapse due to years of reduced transportation funding.

While many Americans were recognizing the solemn events of the Memorial Day Weekend, the inside the beltway Sunday news shows rolled inexorably on. One US Senator used the opportunity to call question the wisdom of one of the most sacred of all liberties that are protected by the Constitution. In a poorly timed attack on the freedoms that the soldiers we honored fought and died for, Dick Durbin questioned the First Amendment protections enjoyed by bloggers and users of social media:

At BlogCon in Dallas, many of us had the unique opportunity of being in the studio audience for two tapings of the Glenn Beck show at TheBlaze Studios. During a panel discussion on the harassment and intimidation faced by conservative bloggers, Glenn challenged us.

Many of us Oregonians never expected this, but last week a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Pacific Greens, Independents and even Pirate Party members (yes, a real political party in Oregon) came together to reject a statist mandate to add fluoride to our pristine mountain water. And the vote wasn't even close:

In my continuing series exploring the economic benefits of opening up coal export terminals in the Pacific Northwest, I've delved into many of the counter-arguments by environmentalists and found them

In the wake of allegations that the Internal Revenue Service has been extensively used as a weapon by the Obama Administration against political foes, many have reflected on the frightening notion that the IRS will soon be in charge of your health care and what serv

On the first article I posted regarding the proposed coal trains through the Pacific Northwest, I received the following thoughtful comment that got me to thinking:

In writing my recent continuing series on the proposed coal shipping terminals in the Pacific Northwest, my mind inevitably wandered to the age-old accusation that Conservatives are opposed to science and uninterested in protecting the environment. I find that personally amusing, given my Bachelor's degree in Zoology and a lifelong commitment to conservation and the outdoors, that happen to jibe perfectly with my lifelong commitment to free markets and individual liberty. But the evidence is overwhelming - Conservatives are decidedly in favor of science, human progress and conservation.