A group of protesters in Salem this morning fled from police after abandoning several old Christmas trees at the gates of Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s home. The move, claimed by Eugene activist group Cascadia Forest Defenders, was intended to draw attention to the governor’s policies around land use and timber management in Elliott State Forest.
John Zatkowsky, of Eugene, was the sole member of the group arrested by police officers working as security detail for the mansion, which was unoccupied at the time. Zatkowsky was released later the same day.
The group has been actively protesting government environmental policies for years. With only one member being arrested for the stunt, the group plans to reorganize and continue staging stupid, shitty protests.
National breast cancer charity Susan G Komen For the Cure has announced they will amend a policy that led to them pulling a reported $650,000 in donations to Planned Parenthood, which was to be used for breast cancer screening for poor and uninsured women. The charity has come under savage attack recently through social media after announcing the withdrawal in funding. They stated the reason for the withdrawal was due to a policy that prevented Komen from funding organizations that are currently under Federal investigation. Planned parenthood is currently under investigation by Republican congressman Cliff Stearns for misusing taxpayer dollars for abortions, though many people have decried the investigation as a political ploy designed to create exactly this kind of problem for Planned Parenthood.
Komen’s new policy makes clear that donations to an organization will only be suspended if an investigation has concluded criminal activities took place within the organization.
While Planned Parenthood received enough private donations during the protest to cover the shortfall from Komen’s decision, sources say your weird liberal sister could still be making a huge deal out of this for the next six months at family dinners.
The Nasdaq jumped to an eleven year high today on a shockingly strong employment report this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A national survey shows that the unemployment rate has fallen to 8.3%, which is the lowest point since 2008, and the lowest of any time during President Obama’s administration.
The report has thrown a monkey wrench into the campaigns of politicians, congressional and presidential, who have been saying the blame for our economy rests squarely at Obama’s feet. They are now faced with the challenge of spinning what is clearly seen as good economic news into a political attack that ensures Obama still gets the blame for the past poor performance of the economy, but none of the credit for the steady increase in employment in the last six months.
No jokes for this. We’re sure what the candidates say will be funnier than anything we could manage.
