My name is Joseph Walsh, I represent Individuals For Justice and once again I come not to praise you, I come to petition you to do your job.

1. Your sweeps are killing people and must be stopped

2. ICE is a criminal organization and must be stopped, where is our governor, why did the mayor break his promise to stay out of the battle between a criminal organization and the people of Portland who had the courage to stand against them? Members of ICE should be arrested on sight by state officials and tried for kidnapping of children from the very arms of their parents, horrible-painful-terrible-inhuman-chaotic are just a few words we hear day in and day out by parents who came to claim asylum and were greeted by "THUGS."

Joe Walsh The Lone Vet at Million Blanket March Interview 3-30-14 - YouTube

Joe Walsh The Lone Vet at Million Blanket March Interview 3-30-14 - YouTube

Commissioner Eudaly, we thank you for going to the vigil and camp out in front of the ICE building and making your feelings known. We are not aware of any other brave action by this council. Letters, phone calls, statements are insufficient to fight against tyranny, we demand you lead us in the fight and not send in the cops to break up the very vigil you claim to support!

3. You must pull out of the Joint Terrorist Task Force. You cannot trust these feds.

4. You must say what you are willing to do to stop ICE from operating in Portland, no sugar words, real action. I am willing to go to jail, be beaten and be treated badly; what are you willing to do?

5. You must stop throwing out of your meetings people who are on the streets helping where they can and meet with them to work together and not get eaten by the feds. We must learn how to build bridges where we are very different. Stop talking to people who agree with you and debate people who you don't like. We come together or we perish separately. Something we have asked you to do over the years, hold your weekly meeting but from time to time hold your meetings so that working people can come. Hold some meetings in different parts of the city, that would be good. One of my favorite heroes John Lewis put it better than I, " Go into the streets and do/cause good trouble."

The Million Dollar Crap

I was arrested along with three other noble people who were as surprised as I was that 10 cops were outside city hall to take us into custody. I was so surprised that I needed to use the restroom and I mean now.

I have a condition called ulcerative colitis which using the short version, from the Crohn’s & Colitis Assoc. “The person holding this card has a serious condition that makes it extremely difficult to wait to use the restroom. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have painful effects, so your help and understanding are crucial to the cardholder’s well-being. Thank you.” Showed the card to the police sergeant and he said I could not go ten feet to use the city hall restroom because
I was under arrest and that would be trespassing on city property.

I tried to point out that I was only thrown out of the council chamber and not the building, but he refused any more conversation and told me I would have to wait. He then said a strange thing to me, “Do you want medical response?” I said, “if it gets me into the restroom, bring them on.” The cops called the ambulance and when the ambulance arrived and they asked me what the story was, I replied, “I have to use the restroom and the cops will not let me do it.” By this time I was afraid to move and cause a movement. The medical team asked if I wanted to go to the hospital, I said if I can use the restroom there that would be good. They asked me where I wanted to go and I said Adventist. Off we went to the ambulance and the sergeant said, “ I am going to give you a citation and after the hospital you can go home.” That sounded good and now I was in the ambulance lying down, feeling a little relaxed, waiting for the citation. The sergeant came back and said the plans were changed and he was going to follow me to the hospital and after I was released take me to jail. Off we went.

The arrival at the hospital was comical because when I got into ER and they asked me what was wrong, I said, I need to use a restroom, can you just let me do that?” The nurses, doctors and staff could not believe that I came from city hall to OHSU, just to use the restroom. Since I was there they ran a blood test, and vitals and there was some difficulty with my oxygen level and that made everyone, including me, a little nervous. This nonsense is going to cost thousands of dollars and all I wanted and needed was to use the restroom in city hall before going to jail. These are the things activists call attention to; the power of that sergeant to refuse my request under ADA to use the restroom is “mind boggling.” This was a false arrest and the person who was directing what happened was the mayor according to the G4S security guard who would not let me return to city council chambers.

So, we will have 4 trials by jury and the county and city will waste tens of thousands more all because we have a mayor who is the reincarnation of Mussolini and a police department who answers to no one. Civil suits to follow, tort claim being prepared

Joe Walsh

You Have The Power

There is a vast separation between what our government thinks and what I think. There is an ocean deeper than our trenches throughout our planet; it is not closing.

I believe in justice, our government and many other authorities believe in convenience and survival. They may say the same thing that I say, like we must solve our middle class disintegrating in front of us. They might say we must solve the problem of homelessness, rents skyrocketing, injustice when we deal with each other but they don’t care about those things, they care about survival.

The non-profits are constantly fighting for survival, every day they worry about how much money the federal government will give them or the state, or the city. They have special people to monitor how they are doing with grants from government and the private funding, (ex) corporations, groups, and associations. The non-profits who have been in existence for more than a few years are probably corrupt. This is a very hard concept to get your head around, but it is the simplest explanation to why we are in the terrible phase of our evolution. Our one time champions have sold out, been infiltrated, directed from within to do nothing but make it look like they exist to help the less fortunate. We have been “SKUNKED.”

Often you will wonder why a government agency does something so stupid, you want to scream at them and wake them up; they know exactly what they are doing and it ain’t good. First, you have to stop saying the government is stupid, they are not and will bury you if you take that path. The system is working fine for the 1% so my friend, who is the stupid one, the person making all the money and power or the people who think they are stupid?

We, the other 99% keep voting in candidates who represent the status quo because the TV or radio tells us they are the people who can solve our problems. Those adds are paid for by the corporations who want to control you, what part of that do you not get?

The corporations pay the networks, who they own, and the networks put the adds on so you can say, well if CBS, MSNBC, CNN says they are good for “What Ails ya” then we should vote for that person. We must stop this now or the planet will suffer even more destruction. We do have a choice, and we do not use it.

In Portland, Oregon we have good candidates running for office, we also have two corporate shills. Ted Wheeler and Jules Bailey are the reps for developers, corporations, the Business Alliance. You have more votes than they do, use your vote to look at the other candidates who have good ideas, want to help and will leave after a few terms and think they have served their community instead of living off it. You have the power, will you use it or just wimp out again? Those of us who are activists need your help, will you vote and say no to big money? Many good and noble people are fighting to get money out of politics, a long fight but you can say something now, vote for a person whom you like, win or lose at the very least you get to sleep better at night. So, I am asking you to help those who are trying to completely change the system not improve the system, but to change it!

HOUSING REPORT CARD-----F

I attended the city council meeting today, 3/16/2016 and thought it was going to be a day of joy, there was an item that the City Attorney and Individuals For Justice was going to be on the same page. This was the first time, and may be the last time--but boy! was I going to enjoy it. The item was #257 to “Authorize the City Attorney to take legal action against Monsanto Company and its successor entities to recover public funds………..” We concurred with a big smile and the motion passed. I think the City Attorney was surprised we supported her. We like saying good things about staff and departments when we can. The mood in the council was now festive but not for long. I thought I would leave soon because I was getting a bit tired. Item # 258 was a surprise to us.

We listened to the presentation by the mayor’s chief of staff and was instantly concerned, this was more than a routine budget item and we wondered why there were no homeless advocates invited to present their position on the “Emergency Housing” budget. So we went up and offered our position on this item and asked again for a number of things, first take the homeless question away from housing, second stop doing the same things over and over, third create a real committee including homeless/houseless people. We finished by asking the council to be creative, try different things, look at what is working in other cities. One of the figures that floored us was 14,000 people hanging by their fingertips in danger of falling out of their friends places onto the streets. These are their numbers and not ours. Two thousand is the number one hears about people on the streets but the 14,000 rattled even me. Fish was out and about and I don’t know if he knew where that number came from because when I finished speaking and he got a chance to vote he blasted me for using or mentioning that figure of 14, 000. They are their figures not ours! The lack of housing for the homeless/houseless citizens will never be resolved by housing, it will be resolved by people of good will, expertise, and people who know what it is like to be kicked by some cop who is bored at 3:00 AM and told to move on. Other cities have discovered it is a fact that to remove a person from sleeping on the street and get them indoors is cheaper than leaving them out in the cold and rain. If that is so, why do we not just do it; why indeed!

There is a move to let the county become the lead agency/department dealing with the solutions for housing. It seems there is resistance by the homeless advocates and that will be a problem; it would seem that more work would have to be done to get the advocates on board. More talk is good in this case.

Fish is a person who only sees his own image when he looks in the mirror, there is more but he cannot see, there is sadness but he cannot feel, there is despair but he cannot hear the cries of the thousands who are on the streets, many more trying to stay off the streets. Try something different Mayor Hales, try something creative Chair Kafoury, take housing out of the leadership role, they have failed year after year. The Commissioner of Housing was not even in the Chambers when this discussion was happening; Sad!

Once again I came away tired and sad; the sulfur was leaking through the ground again!

Federal judge finds Portland mayor, Charlie Hales, and the City of
Portland violated local activist Joseph Walsh's First Amendment rights

Joe Walsh, a local activist who frequently attends Portland City Council meetings, took the City of Portland and Mayor Charlie Hales to federal court, alleging that the city's practice of excluding him from City Hall and council sessions for 30- to 60-days at a time violated his First Amendment rights. A judge ruled in his favor Thursday. Here, he's being removed from a 2012 City Council session where they say he interrupted a vote on adding fluoride to the Portland water supply. (The Oregonian)

A federal judge Thursday ruled that Portland Mayor Charlie Hales violated a local activist's First Amendment rights by barring him from City Council meetings for months at a time and ordered the city to halt all prospective exclusions.

"Like judges in their courtrooms, Mayor Hales has the continuing ability to maintain decorum in council meetings by ordering (a) disruptive individual immediately to leave the City Council Chambers,'' U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon wrote in a 28-page ruling. "Maintaining decorum does not, however, require prolonged and prospective exclusions from a forum intended for public discourse and debate.''

Joe Walsh has had three lengthy exclusions from council meetings since September 2014 – two that lasted 30 days and the most recent for 60 days – for yelling and interrupting the proceedings. He filed the claim himself against the city of Portland and the mayor. He argued his case before Judge Simon in federal court on Dec. 21, going up against two deputy city attorneys.

Walsh, 73, said he had no problem with being excluded from a meeting if the mayor found him disruptive. What he can't accept is the mayor or any city official ordering him to stay out of the building or not attend future council sessions, based on his past behavior. He estimated that he had been forced to miss about 17 council meetings. He cited his First Amendment rights to free speech, assemble or petition the government to seek a redress of grievances.

Judge Simon agreed with Walsh. He noted that no federal appellate court opinion ever held that the First Amendment permitted such exclusions for City Council sessions.

Simon said Portland could not "direct or enforce any prospective exclusions'' that are based solely on past incidents of disruption during council meetings. He found that the city code, which allows for a complete and indefinite ban of an individual from council meetings or City Hall, was unconstitutional.

"A permanent injunction will protect the First Amendment rights of Walsh and other similarly-situated individuals without unduly burdening defendants,'' Simon wrote.

"A contrary holding might lead to officials shutting the government's doors to those whose viewpoints the government finds annoying, distasteful, or unpopular. Permanent or even lengthy exclusions for past disruptive conduct could become a convenient guise for censoring criticisms directed toward the powerful,'' the ruling read.

On Thursday morning, Walsh demonstrated outside City Hall, protesting a state appellate court decision this week that ordered the city to reinstate a fired police officer who had shot an unarmed African-American man in the back and killed him in 2010.

When Walsh returned home, he said his wife had two glasses of wine set on a table, and informed him that he had won his case.

"Is this a good way to start the New Year or what?'' Walsh said Thursday afternoon. "I'm delighted.''

He said he thought he might prevail, but seeing it in writing is remarkably satisfying. "I think people need to fight against those who are violating their rights,'' Walsh added.

Local activist challenges Portland mayor and the city...
He questions their "right"
to exclude him from attending future council meetings and visiting City Hall

If you've attended a Portland City Council meeting in the last several years, you no doubt have heard local activist Joe Walsh speak up, bluntly telling commissioners or the mayor what he thinks of them and their policies.

Walsh can handle that. But what he refuses to accept is the mayor's and city of Portland's move to exclude him from council sessions and City Hall for 30 – to 60-days at a time.

Last week, Walsh urged U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon to issue a restraining order against the city of Portland to prevent the mayor or another city official from excluding activists who the city considers have been "acting inappropriately.''

Walsh is also seeking a permanent injunction against future exclusions, citing his First Amendment rights to free speech, assemble or petition the government to seek a redress of grievances.

In a July 15 notice, the city excluded Walsh from City Hall for 60 days, citing his "pattern of purposeful disruption and interference with the normal operation and administration of City Council meetings.'' Bryant Enge, director of the city's Internal Business Services signed the exclusion notice. It marked the third time he'd been excluded from council meetings since Sept. 17, 2014. The two prior ones lasted 30 days.

City attorneys cited the city's right as a property owner to exclude him from its properties as a result of his disruptive activities.

...Walsh, in court records, wrote that he's not challenging the mayor's authority to order him out of a meeting. What he's challenging is the mayor's ability to exclude him or others from future meetings.

"There seems to be no limit to what Mayor Hales thinks he can do. That is not democracy; It is dictatorship,'' Walsh wrote in court records. "Government officials cannot ban or exclude citizens from meetings because they might be disruptive or may act out in ways that annoy the officials. The chilling effect on other activists is immense."

Walsh, 73, was a chief union steward for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 229. He retired in 1995 as a utility supervisor at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard.

The city stands by its exclusions, saying Walsh was not thrown out because of any point of view or opinion expressed, but because he was disruptive repeatedly. Since early 2014, Hales has reminded the public to use "basic decorum'' in council chambers just prior to the public testimony portion of the meeting.

Deputy city attorneys argued that during the exclusions, Walsh still could watch council proceedings by live video online and submit written testimony to the council clerk ahead of time.

"The City welcomes diverse viewpoints at Council meetings. However, attendance at Council meetings requires attendees to follow the rules of order and the limitations that the Council imposes so that meetings can run efficiently and orderly,'' the city's exclusion notices read.

The city further argued that Walsh will be subject to future exclusions only if he violates the city's rules of conduct.

Lastly, the city asked the court to throw out Walsh's federal claim, calling it moot since his latest 60-day exclusion ran out on Sept. 15.

Portland City Hall
1221 SW 4th Ave, Portland, Oregon 97204

Each Wednesday during city council meetings we will be outside and spray holy water around the building in the hopes of removing the devils dwelling within its walls. We are not sure how the devils will react so be alert if you are near this infested place. Can't make it to the confrontations, no problem just call charlie hales at 503-823-4120 and ask him why he steals blankets from the poor.

There are times one remembers for the rest of their lives, wonderful but often sad. This last week I had lots of fun and many people had their mouths wide open; it was a time. Let me go back starting with last night, 4/10/2014 at the County where we had the Buckman Community Association holding a forum on the upcoming initiative that would take the water department and the Bureau of Environmental Services, (BES) away from our 5 shits. They’ve screwed up so badly this damn thing may pass. It would set up 7 individual districts that would run our water and sewers, raise or lower rates and boy, the rhetoric is getting nasty. I have not publicly supported this on the streets but there is part of me that is so angry that I have to calm down and think about this damn dilemma that the 5 shits have put me in and try to make a decision that is best for Portland and the water users. Last night did not help, I got into some negative feelings with Commissioner Fritz who had the courage to show up and listen. I like that about her; she does have guts, no support on the council but from time to time will fight for something she believes in like “Sick Leave.” We spoke for a few minutes and that did not go well, she is one politician who confuses me, one week I want to sing her praises and the next week want to run her off the council. She and Steve Novick have a shot at doing some good things if they would get one more shit to become human, but I don’t see that happening in the near future. Floy Jones and Kent Craford were good and Bob came across to me as a bit arrogant or off the wall a few times. I need more into before I join 99% of my friends and say no to the initiative. I had an argument with Bob Sallinger about this and I don’t like his approach to what Floy Jones is trying to do. Guilt by association never works for me because I and you hang with some shady characters. For some more info on this go here:

http://southeastexaminer.com/2014/04/facts-about-the-ppwd/

Thursdays are our good days because we go to the Multnomah County meeting and get to hang out with Steve, Lightning, Kathy, Sara, Malcolm, Charles and the five women on the board whom I like. Even the staff is noble, this is 180 degrees from our experience with the city council, which is one reason I will not go inside of city hall, the sulfur smell overwhelms me and I start to choke. We spoke on two topics, one during communications we spoke on civil rights and how we must celebrate but understand we are being attacked from many quarters and we must not think the battle is over. We activists did just that in 1975, thought we had beaten the corruption with the resignation of Nixon; we were terribly wrong. The other topic was an agreement between government entities, Portland, Gresham and the county to end homelessness or try to make it better. I don’t know much about the city of Gresham but Portland is corrupt. We all got to say our piece and we shall see, there was one part of the presentation that recommends putting the houseless/homeless on the committee that will work to help those in need. This was/is something we have been yelling about from the sidelines for years. That one item gave me hope. Wednesday was a fun day, we exorcised city hall.

I made up a costume that looks like a bishop or guy that would drive devils out of a building, and we did. About 0930, just as the council meeting began, (not a coincidence) I was in full dress, with my new bullhorn, we even had a special delivery of holy water from Tessa Roberts which we placed upon the ground--in front of the den of devils. We called on Mayor Charlie Hales, Dan Saltzman, and Nick the Fish to release the souls trapped inside of the building who reside at 1221 SW Fourth Ave. We tried to offer our blessing upon those wretched souls who have been known to steal blankets, medicines, and backpacks from the poor. We failed and must go back next Wednesday. The resurrection is on the 20th of April and we fear that we are not strong enough to fight the corruption that is called city hall. Will you come and join us, we try to laugh but be aware these devils are unpredictable. Mark, a noble friend, took some wonderful pictures that show we do have fun but tell all who would listen that there are problems afoot and we must take strong action.
https://www.facebook.com/lonevet?ref=tn_tnmn

We need citizen representatives to watch over us and our property, not steal it and laugh. We had high hopes that we could move over to the “Injustice Center” but we must return one more time. On May 20th you will cast your ballots for two city commissioners, fish and saltzman must go. Sharon Maxwell and Nicholas Caleb have decided to run and we will vote for them. Roberto and I went to the Eastside Democrats for a candidate forum and hated it. There were too many candidates and not enough time. We were not allowed to ask questions if the candidate did not have enough time left. I was not happy and told David Delk that the meeting could have been something special but ended up a very limited engagement. I will not return until there is some type of apology about the way that meeting was run.

Today I get ready to go to Chapman with hot chocolate and some snacks. I can’t bring clothes today because I am on the bus and train. We will be there about 2 and share what we can, I enjoy these meetings of activists and houseless people, it is a good way to exchange stories and info. Come and join us if you can, we do love our *HC and the laughter that is always present.
Joe, IFJ
*(Hot Chocolate)

Joseph Walsh-Lone Vet March 15 at 3:09pm

There was a problem, one man wanted to be emperor, the Roman Senate was terrified and death was in the air. The members of the inner circle like Brutus, Cassius, Casca and others plotted to save the Republic by murder. It never works and our city council is not above doing the same. Julius Caesar was stabbed 22 times; Keaton Otis was shot and hit by our police 22 times, “Beware the Ides of March.”

The five members of the council have and will continue to be co-conspirators in the killing of the houseless by neglect and their terrible decisions. They spend our money like drunken sailors, with total disregard of the welfare of the city. They think that the Bureau of Environmental Services is a piggy-bank for them to raid at will; they are corrupt. The reports by news Channel 6, KOIN states that our city council has used BES money for things like campaigns, loos, trips, camps and other things that have nothing to do with Environmental Services.

http://koin.com/2014/03/11/judge-city-pay-1m-water-lawsuit/

http://koin.com/2014/03/12/leonard-defends-loos-pwb-spending/

The third story is even more disturbing, what the hell is going on and why are they not resigning?

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/03/portland_commissioner_dan_salt_12.html#incart_river_default

This one above got me thrown out of the council chambers on Wednesday 3/12/2014 at about 1:00 PM because the five jerks were openly moving money from one program to another, and who benefits? “Their buddies.” Here’s how it worked: Hacienda wants a new office building and they neeWords from the Lone Vetd some loot from the city. They asked and after Commissioner *saltzman looked at their request and conferred with the city attorney, said no. From the reports Hacienda went ballistic and *saltzman changed his mind and now they will get access to 2.4 million bucks from the city. Where and how can the city come up with the loot, read the article above and let me say: “If I did not get thrown out of this den of corruption I would be ashamed.” I will not return to City Council, I just can’t stand it anymore and I will end up being excluded or arrested if I keep going back and enter that sulfur filled room. I will be outside with my protest signs; I do not understand how these organizations can worry about new offices when we have people dying on our streets? These nonprofits need a kick in the ass from time to time. One person of the five I dislike the most is Nick Fish. He went on and on how he wanted to have a conversation about this and he could not do that with people who yell out and behave in a manner that does not lend itself to normal debate or communication. He is a liar, and does not know what the hell he is talking about. The item in question, #232, was part of the Consent Agenda and he knows there is no discussion on these items unless some pain-the-ass comes along and tells the council clerk to pull the item and then and only then will there be a 3 minute argument against the items. The only legitimate reason to put an item on the Consent Agenda is because it is so routine that no discussion is expected. This procedure is used by these shits to hide items they do not want to talk about like spending 2.4 million bucks to build new offices when we have 2-4 thousand human beings sleeping and dying on our streets. They got caught and put it off until almost 1:00 PM so that most people had to leave. This is your city council at work; wonderful isn’t it! Someone needs to step up and replace me; the smell of sulfur, the presence of evil is just too much for this old guy. Kathy has, on occasion, replaced me-Donna and Jose have also. We need people to go and report what these monsters are doing. They will only get away with things that we allow them to get away with, and you can stop this crap. I will be outside and hoping someone is kicking ass inside the temple of corruption known as Portland *city hall.

“Vote for Nick Fish or Danny Saltzman and lose your soul.”
*Will not cap due to disrespect/disgust

Many have and will continue to come before you and beg you to do something outside of the box, this is just one project that shows human compassion with a way to end homelessness/houselessness as we know it. I hear the statement that we can't be too good to Portland's homeless because we will just invite more and more so we have to hold off solving this problem that causes many of us to stay awake at night. Let me reassure you politicians, Portland has lost the opportunity to be a leader, you can only join the parade of people who want some real reforms in funding and a new way of doing things. I sent you info on what others are doing, now look at you next door neighbors are doing.

Sent to me by my brother and friend Roberto

http://www.theolympian.com/2013/12/24/2901222/a-christmas-eve-to-remember-as.html
For Justice,Peace and *Laughter,
Joe Walsh-Lone Vet
Individuals for Justice http://individualsforjustice.com
Proud member of Oregon Progressive Party,http://progparty.org/

Here are Joe's thoughts on Armistice Day

NEXT YEAR ON NOVEMBER 11, 2014

Each year for the last few years we have attended a gathering of
Veterans For Peace that always caused me to ask the question, “Why is this such a small event?”

Europe celebrates Armistice Day with the ringing of church bells or a few moments of silence
to remember the end of the war to end all wars; WW1. Why do we here in Portland not do the same?

So, let’s see how far we can move people to do something great for the thought of peace.
Will you get your organization to sign on, in the year 2014, on November 11,
when we request the churches ring their bells th

roughout the city, and have a moment to
remember the end of that terrible war and those who fought to end it and all wars since.

Will you send a staffer or member to listen to a presentation of why we should take a few moments away from looking for mattress
or car sale, and actually think about what it would be like if we never went to war again, and could really spend a peace dividend?
The first thing to do is get your organization to endorse the concept and if we get enough endorsements the next step would be to
approach the Churches and the City Council and the County and even that guy in Salem. We would have to build support.

I know you are busy but we have some time to do this one, and can you just picture the city of Portland leading the way
for the nation to think about peace for a few moments; it would be wonderful.

For Justice,Peace and *Laughter,
Joe Walsh-Lone Vet
Individuals for Justice http://individualsforjustice.com/
Proud member of Oregon Progressive Party,http://progparty.org/

War is failure, occupation a disgrace!

“Funding these wars is killing our troops”
http://www.mfso.org/

* Why laughter?? Because without it I would have gone insane years ago.

Sen. ** harry reid must be replaced as Majority Leader, call me when you agree or just go away!

An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.
Mohandas Gandhi

Thoreau may have also brooded over the reaction of Emerson, who criticized the imprisonment as pointless.
According to some accounts, Emerson visited Thoreau in jail and asked, “Henry, what are you doing in there?”
Thoreau replied, “Waldo, the question is what are you doing out there?”

Joseph Walsh-Lone VetMartha Perez

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 during a city council meeting Commissioner Steve Novick suggested that I was in the employ of the Koch Brothers. To understand how this was such a cheap shot by this sell-out, one has to know two things one, who the Koch Brothers are and two, who Joe Walsh is and what his long journey for “Justice” looks like. First, to the Brothers of Corruption.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_family
Not only would I never be associated with these monsters of industry, I believe if they were not so rich and powerful they would be in federal prison. For Brutus, AKA Comm. Novick to suggest that I am in the influence of these two political manipulators stems from his annoyance of our objection concerning agenda item #1127 which was introduced by him under the secret blanket of the consent agenda. The consent agenda is a group of proposals that are routine and do not need any discussion; so says the council. We, as the people who will be affected by this action, can do a parliamentary move and request that any item in the consent agenda be pulled out for discussion. We did that on this item because the council once again was going to rubber stamp a request to give a position of Asst. Director about a $50,000.00 per year raise. Here is what the request says:
Financial Impact
“There is no direct cost to create the new classification. One fulltime regular position will be reclassified from an Assistant to the Bureau Director with a maximum rate of $103,355 to the new classification which has a maximum rate of $151, 798-an annual increase of $48,443.”
Brutus, AKA Commissioner Novick, is defending giving the person who fills this position a $48,443 raise using your money. I think when he was looking in the mirror he saw the Koch brothers in the background and decided to use them to counter our objection to this terrible misuse of government funds. I think the Koch Brother would be on Brutus’ side and not ours; we wanted the rubber stamp gang of five to stop this but even Commissioner Fritz went with the four suits, it was disgraceful. We raised our objections to this waste of your money, will you at least call the mayor’s office and register your views on this pay raise. I remember the union going before the council and trying to break an impasse and believe me they were not asking for a $48,443 raise.
Mayor’s phone number 503-823-4120

My background, the short version:

In 1970 I was in the Navy and stationed at the Naval Amphibian Base in Coronado. After 8 years in the Navy I filed as a Conscientious Objector against the war in Vietnam; The Navy was not happy. After going to college and receiving a BA, I went to work at Long Beach Naval Shipyard as a Boilermaker. I ended up becoming a utility dispatcher which included switching electrical equipment. I was covered by the IBEW and became a local Vice President and Chief Union steward. About 4 years before retirement I finally accepted an offer to go into management and became a supervisor. I always acted in some capacity to help people. Since coming to Portland I have worked to make life a little better and speak up for people who do not have a voice in this city. So, for politicians to connect me and the Koch brothers in the same sentence are hurtful and will not go without me yelling from the high heavens. So, Commissioner Novick is back being called Brutus, who was the last person to stab Caesar, and the famous legendary line, “Et tu Brute.”
There was no meeting of the County Board because of Thanksgiving. This is a tough holiday for me; I have wonderful memories of our family getting together but am very aware what this time means to the “People.” Most of my friends are vegetarians and will not eat meat; most of my friends also struggle with this day of thanks at the expense of millions of the people who were massacred at the hands of the white settlers and occupiers. The state of Israel has learned much from our way of life and genocide is on the top of the lesson plan.
I need a positive story and I have many but let me offer these. I hope it puts a smile on your face; sometimes it is hard to remember how wonderful we can be:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/28/top-10-thankful-stories_n_4346605.html?utm_hp_ref=good-news

Friday, November 29 was a day to remember; we tried to be good and I think we succeeded in a small way. Roberto, Patty and I joined with Jose and friends at Chapman for our first meeting of people who need things and things that are lonely. We spent about 90 minutes and had a great time and the word is getting out that we will try with all our might to keep this up during the cold periods. If you want to help let us know or just stop by Chapman and have a cup of coffee with us. (Rumor has it you can get anything out of me if you give me cup of Jo.) Roberto and I went to the Hawthorne Bridge for about an hour to protest wars, NSA, and the teachers having a hard time with reasonable negotiations. We love being on the bridge and most of the regulars who pass us on Fridays are friendly. Saturday was a strange day.
We decided to go and hang out with the rich people from the Pearl. We also would do some kind of action in the face of the people who were gathered for a sing along about a homeless man who wandered around a place called Jerusalem about 2000 years ago. We had a die-in and there will be some great pictures, but my face is covered, as I volunteered to be a covered corpse.

This was a first for me, not only did I have to keep my mouth shut, (Novick & Hales would love that news) but I had to remain still. I was a dead head—ha! From all the reports it went well and to add to our joy, we had a bad Santa in the Pearl. There was this guy dressed in a Santa suit who told us to be quiet, and when the answer came back in laughter he said he called the cops. There was a young child who saw and heard the Santa telling us he called the cops and the child asked the question of the day, “Mom, why is Santa calling the cops on the homeless people?” It was a precious moment. The police did not come into to the park and all went peaceful and merry, a bad Santa in the Pearl, “fancy that.” Sunday will be a day of rest, I am tired and must rest up after my death, (make believe death.) I know I left some stuff out, but that is just me and this is now very long. The coming weeks are just as busy for us.

Local activist challenges Portland mayor and the city... He questions their "right" to exclude him from attending future council meetings and visiting City Hall

Local activist challenges Portland mayor and the city...
He questions their "right"
to exclude him from attending future council meetings and visiting City Hall