Dear Cher,

Dear Cher, I heard you don't like Donald Trump for President. Well, you get one vote, like the rest of us. You can grab a microphone and reach thousands of people, but when we step into the box, my vote counts as much as yours. I appreciate you sharing your opinion, but no offense, I'm not sure that working in Hollywood has prepared you to have an informed opinion on his qualifications for a run at the oval office. He meets the payrolls for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of workers every month. That's a pretty good credential. He's a little better qualified than you to hold the office. He's got a degree in economics from one of the finest universities in the country, Wharton. And you? Oh, that's right. You dropped out of high school. I'll take you to task for one more thing. You tweeted that you'll leave the planet for Jupiter if he wins. Excuse me? If you can't have what you want, you pack up and leave? You have no commitment to change, no willingness to fight for what you believe that America is all about? Nope, you just want to run. Contrast that with our founding fathers, who pledged "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" for what they believed in. And many of them gave full measure for their commitment to the American dream. You and I will disagree about many things, but there's a chance that we might agree about one thing: You, ma'am, are no patriot. Patriot's don't run. You know what would grab my attention and respect? Someday an actor will announce his unhappiness with our political situation, and follow that with a commitment to spend a year working for change - no movies, no tv shows, just working for change. But that day won't come. Best regards, Bill Leslie

Portland's Homeless: Let's not pretend that this has a simple solution.

There's been a lot written lately about solving the problem of Portland's homeless. Some might say that it's simple: Just rent an apartment for each homeless person. It’s a lot more complicated than that. A friend of mine explained that his wife had moved out of the house, propelled by mental illness, to live under a tarp. She couldn't take living with other people. He rented her an apartment, so that she could live by herself. She rejected it, and went back to a tent. She tried to come back home. It did not work well. I don't know what percentage of the homeless are facing mental illness. One study says 30% to 40% of homeless single adults are facing serious mental illness. We will never stop homelessness completely. Solving homelessness is not as simple as renting an apartment. How much is fair rent to pay to compensate landlord for a tenant with serious mental illness, or someone who is doing drugs? The company that I work for owns several apartment buildings, and a “bad tenant,” one who is battling drugs or alcohol or mental illness, can cost a landlord a fortune. Actual expenses due to a) loss of other tenants, b) out of pocket costs associated with responding to problems, and c) cleanup when a tenant leaves, can cost $20,000 a year. And I don’t think it’s fair for one private party to carry the expense that is more properly a public cause. Is that a lot of money? A landlord might net (after expenses) 5 % on his investment. That means one bad tenant can kill the profit on five units. We had one public assistance tenant who was facing eviction. She punched holes in the walls and tore down part of the ceiling to support a claim that we were bad landlords, to help her fight the eviction. Fortunately, we had photos. Another tenant brought a legal action against us because we wouldn’t let her friend move in with her, in a small studio. (325 s.f. That’s a bit small for two.) We had to pay to fight her lawsuit. Why would she want a friend to live with her? The government pays the rent to the landlord. To get cash, the tenant shares the unit, and pockets the rent that is received from the second party. Sometimes the tenant even moves out, and lives somewhere else, and subleases the unit to someone else, often for money that goes to drugs. In that case, the person living in the unit isn’t even on the lease. This is how public assistance for rent can turn into cash for drugs. Are these problems common? I'm not sure, but from my experience, they aren’t rare. I’m all for compassion, but this is not a simple problems, and let's not pretend that there are simple solutions. But treating everyone like human beings is a good start. And you don't lose your constitutional rights to due process just because you are homeless. Bill

Goodbye, Old Mustang... but wait!

In October, 2014 we sold our 70 Mustang, which we'd owned for 24 years. We sold it to a dealer, who was buying for a collector car lot somewhere in Germany. We were ready for it to have a new owner. It was time.

On a lark, I tucked my name and phone number and a note with a little history of the car into the back of the owner's manual, thinking that perhaps some day I might learn what happened to it.

I got an email from them today! Below are some photos. It has landed in good hands, apparently an American couple. Fun to know what happened to it. It looks wonderful. It's been repainted to its original color, and it's now a Boss 302 clone. Looks very nice. Thanks to Michael & Lynn, of Munich, for their thoughtfulness in telling us about the next step in its life.

Three Stories about Why I May Give Up On Brick & Mortar Bookstores?

What's Wrong with Bookstores?

I checked out a local bookstore online and saw that they had a first edition of The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The price was out of my range, but I wanted to at least examine it, so I drove across town. They couldn't find it. The man offered to check with his father and get back to me. (I completely understand. I misplace two thousand dollar books all the time, too.) I left my business card, but I never heard from them. I went back a month later and he told me that he'd lost my card. And they hadn't found the book, either.

I asked about a particular type of map that I was looking for, but the man told me that he didn't have any of those. I browsed for about a half an hour, and found six of them.

"Say, I found some of those maps. See? How much are they?"

"Oh, we have those? I didn't know. Are they priced?"

If they were priced, I wouldn't be asking.

"No, they aren't marked."

"Well, then I don't know. I'd have to ask my Dad."

"Could you call him for me? You see, I live about 20 miles from here. I don't get back here often."

"No."

"Could I leave you my card, and you could have him call me or email me with his prices?"

Him: "Sure."

I left my card. You guessed it. They never called.

Another Store:

I'd been looking for a particular book about Portland's great flood of 1894. After more than a year of looking, I found one online.

"Hi, I'm calling about your book about the Portland flood of 1894."

"Is that online?"

"Yes. Is there a place I can pick it up, or do you only ship?"

"We don't have a storefront. We only sell online."

"Okay. Can I give you my credit card over the phone?"

"Well, it's not really for sale."

"It's not for sale? But it's on your website."

"Yeah, well. It was for sale. I think I'm going to keep it."

"Ahhh."

"I'm probably going to make copies and sell them. If you leave your name, I'll call you when it comes out."

I did.

He didn't.

I stumbled into a new bookstore in Portland. It was located in the basement of the Old Church. The electric sign over the door said "Open." I greeted the man behind the desk and offered to check my briefcase. (Some stores prefer this.)

"Sure. I guess. If you want to."

I looked around and found several items of interest. I mentally marked where they were, but didn't pack them around. It was a fascinating mix of things, not like things that I see in most bookstores. He liked the same sort of ephemera that I like. I knew I'd leave with several items.

After I'd been there three minutes, he spoke.

"Can I help you find something?"

"You have a great assortment of things here. I like a lot of your stuff. For the moment, I'd rather just look around."

"Cuz you see, I don't really like customers in here."

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't have come in, but your sign said open."

"Yes, well, I didn't really mean it. Actually, I prefer to sell online."

"So, even though the sign says "open," you don't want customers?"

"Exactly."

"Would you like me to leave?"

"Yes, please."

I left. What's wrong with bookstores? It seems that they don't like their customers, they don't know their inventory, and they really aren't interested in selling. And if they do sell, they want to do it online.

No wonder we're going online.

On Hunting, and Cougar Populations

Last year a hunter shot and killed a momma cougar in Oregon. The State spent thousands to feed and care for 3 baby cougars and then sent them to live in a North Carolina zoo. Not sure that I understand that use of funds.

1) Cougar populations continue to climb. Estimates are that we now have around 5,700 in Oregon, probably up 10x what we had 20 or 30 years ago.

2) I've never understood why cougar hunters who paid the state for the privilege of hunting cougars with dogs were replaced with professional, public payroll hunters who hunt cougars with dogs. Excuse me? Why is it okay for the taxpayer to pay for a public employee to hunt cougars with dogs, but it is not okay for private citizens to pay into the public coffers for the same privilege? If the act is wrong, is it better for us to pay someone to do it?

3) To increase the number of cougars killed, ODFW dropped the price for cougar tags from $50 to $10. Why did ODFW drop the price? Because we have too many cougars for the terrain to support. This pushes cougars into neighborhoods and increases predation on stock such as sheep and cattle. Despite this change, just 275 cougars are killed each year, less than 1 for every 100 tags sold. That means that $1,000 goes into state coffers for each animal taken. The money is used for wildlife management.

4) Frequently, when cougars are killed in neighborhoods, they are skinny, even starving. Yet it seems to me that some people would rather have cougars die of starvation, or 1,000 deer die to feed cougars, than for one person to legally take a cougar with a rifle. Don't understand that one.

5) Anti-hunters, who feel that it is cruel to hunt animals, for some reason are happy to threaten hunters with violence. I've never understood why some people are anti violence against animals, but pro violence against people.

6) It would be nice if all the people who decry the "slaughter of innocent animals," were vegetarians. But I doubt if they are.

Curiosity didn't Kill the Cat - I did

Many years ago I visited a children's home in another country. I had some amazing times, and fell in love with the country and the kids. A memory-building trip, for sure. One of the kids had found a small, tired kitten and brought it home. About eight weeks old, he was dirty and skinny and spent his nights in an eight by eight garden enclosure. The kitten - he was a boy cat - had been there for a week or so. He certainly wasn't a mascot for the place. He received a little attention and little food. The only thing I saw anyone giving him was bread, but I suppose he must have received other food. There wasn't a lot of extra meat in the place. I think he was barely getting by. The staff shrugged when I asked them questions about the little guy. Don't know, don't care was how they thought of him. In short, he had a pretty low profile. My heart reached out for the little kitten, so when we next went to the grocery store I picked up a small bag of cat food. Up until this point, I think the staff could think of him as just passing through, a transient. But a bag of food meant that he was going to stay, one more resident in a crowded place. And every resident of the place meant work and expense. When I looked for him a few days later, he was gone. I found one of the staff to ask about the missing kitten. "What happened to the kitten?" "Oh, him? He's gone." "Where did he go? What happened to him?" "He's just gone. You won't see him again." Wink. "I took care of him." From his tone and demeanor, I don't think he meant that he had found a home to adopt him. I was afraid to ask for more information. And that was that. With a well-intentioned act of kindness, I think I killed the cat.

The Thought Police Have Arrived...

George Orwell's 1984 posits a world where thought police protect the country by punishing people for what they think.  Sounds pretty bizarre, doesn't it?

He was off by 30 years, but Mr. Orwell had it right:  The thought police have arrived. 

I'm thinking of Donald Sterling, of course, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, a pro basketball team.    The media and many players are abuzz with suggestions of suitable consequences for him for uttering racist comments to his girlfriend.  Or maybe his ex-girlfriend by now. 

"Make him sell his team." 

"Make him go out for counseling."

"Fine him."

"...the players trust that the new commissioner, on the job for less than three months, will find the right penalties for Sterling, who has owned the Clippers for almost 30 years"

"They don't think he's worthy to be an owner..." 

First of all, before I get hate mail, note that I find this guy to be reprehensible.  He's a fool, and an idiot, and living with racist attitudes that suggest a level of enlightenment that most of us don't run into often. He grew up in the 1940's, which may explain it, but that doesn't excuse him.

But being stupid or racist isn't a crime.  And it shouldn't be, any more than saying racist comments should be a crime - no matter what the race of the person being stupid.  Thoughts are not criminal.  And the First Amendment of the Constitution promises free speech for all of us.  Even stupid, bigoted speech.

I suppose this is a natural extension of the bizarre role to which we have elevated athletes.  They are supposed to be role models,and to stand up for all that is good and right.  Excuse me?  These are athletes.  I'll find my role models someplace else.  There are real heroes out there, some in uniform, some in public service.  Some teaching in public schools. 

So, what about this guy, running around with a girlfriend who is 49 years younger than him.  Is he "qualified" to own a basketball team?  Excuse me? Would you ask that about a stockholder of IBM or Westinghouse? 

How about Raytheon, McDonnell Douglas, or Lockheed?  Those are three of America's largest producers of munitions.  Should there be different qualifications to own stock in those companies?  Let's see, maybe only mean men should own stock in arms manufacturers, and nice ladies should own things like pet hospitals and stuffed animal companies. 

C'mon, people, he's an investor.  He's not even - or shouldn't be - the spokesman for the Clippers.

Now, what about consequences?  Leave the thought police, I mean, the NBA and the media, out of this.  If you find his speech offensive - and I do - what can you do?  I suppose you could boycott the Clippers, but be careful.  You will end up punishing innocent people, like the players, hot dog vendors, and parking attendants that are part of the Clippers machine. .  

I don't have an easy answer.  But that's okay.  This isn't my problem - or yours.  Haven't we each got enough of our own problems without wasting time on this?  By my math I may have another 262,656 hours to live, and a third of those will be spent snoring.  I won't waste another minute on this bigot.