Saturday, March 15, 2003

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Here’s a few pictures of the August 22nd, 2002 protest when Bush came to Portland for a political fund-raiser. 

Here’s a few pictures of the August 22nd, 2002 protest when Bush came to Portland for a political fund-raiser. When someone requires a massive police presence for a political speech, the campaign that benefits pays nothing towards it. This expense is borne by the city with no reimbursement from the candidate. This is unfair regardless of which party benefits, it amounts to a public subsidy.

Of course, the amount of needed protection isn’t as high when the person speaking hasn’t alienated half the state. Like maybe by demanding a pre-emptive war without U.N. sanction, say. Or maybe like Bush did on this trip, proposing allowing logging in wilderness areas to “thin” the forests to prevent forest fires, his so-called “Healthy Forests" plan. I swear I’ll puke if I hear another smarmy euphemism for the latest idiocy to come out of this administration.

And many of the contributors who paid $25,000 to have their pictures taken with Bush that day were timber company executives…