Oregon L.O.W.F.I

Archive for April, 2010

And to think I missed it! Instead, was relaxing, enjoying good wine, food and company, unraveling myself from the work week. . .

Sarah Palin came to Eugene Friday night.

Eugene, Ore. — Sarah Palin could have hardly picked a more crunchy granola town to give a speech in than Eugene. Despite its pioneer and logging heritage, the town where Nike running shoes were born from a waffle iron is high on organic food, snobby about craft beers and tattoos, home to the University of Oregon and dependably votes Democratic. Last year, the mayor declared the first week in May as Medical Marijuana Awareness Week.

Yet the Lane County Republican party couldn’t be prouder of landing the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, who uses “granola” as a term of derision, as the headliner for its Lincoln Day fundraiser dinner Friday night. “She’s a pretty brave woman, I think,” said Bill Young, a Eugene veterinarian and chairman of the Lane County Republican Party.

“I think that everybody is concerned that it doesn’t seem to fit the mold,” he said. “Yet you have to realize there are a lot of Republicans and conservatives who live in this area. I’m just thankful she agreed to come, and put Eugene on the map, so to
speak.”

Oh it fits the mold all right. Despite the veneer of hippie groovy-ness in this town, which I do appreciate, no one’s fooled. (And how did I miss Medical Marijuana Awareness Week?!) This town and all the towns around this bit of alternative culture are seething with right wing types.

Plenty of people in these parts were willing to pay good money to see Palin, even if it was on a closed feed and not literally see her in person in the next room:

At $250 a head, the party has sold out the Eugene Hilton hall where Palin will speak. The hall seats about 800, and the party has also sold most of the $100 seats in an overflow room with a video feed, Young said.

Seventy people who donated $1,000 will get a photo with Palin and a signed copy of her book. Reporters can watch on video, but can’t use recording devices. In the old days, that could have drawn a crowd of angry demonstrators. Students at the university were early protesters against the Vietnam War. In 1970, the ROTC building was bombed. Eugene’s anarchist community sent protesters to the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle in 1999. And a cell of the Earth Liberation Front, calling itself The Family, was convicted of a string of arsons during the 1990s.

Whoa, that took a weird turn! Notice how the article abruptly goes from discussion of the cost of seeing Palin and the non use of recording devices, to the verbiage crafted to put Eugene hippie types in a negative light: “ROTC builidng was bombed…anarchist community …riots … convicted of arsons…” juxtaposed with solid, America lovin’ Palin.

Details are very sketchy at this point, I heard this second hand, but I hope to talk to the witnesses soon. In the North Eugene area, three witnesses had a night time sighting of a very bright “brighter than a star” round object that moved about in the sky; witnesses observed it moving around for about 45 min. The object changed color having a multi colored effect. At one point a smaller reddish-orange orb shaped object seemed to have come out of the larger multi colored one and got closer to the witnesses, zooming and dancing around near the tree lines . . . as I say, I haven’t spoken with the witnesses directly, and it’s so far just a “more lights in the sky” kind of story. But I know the witnesses, and so does the person who told me about it, and I know they’re not making anything up for funzies. I do find it interesting a smaller object came out of the larger one; which fits into other reports of a similar nature.

Most of all, for myself, I always wonder: if it’s not ET, and not some kind of paranormal-portal visiting entity, etc. then it’s ours. So if it’s man made, and ours, what’s that all about? What’s it doing up there, what’s it doing in a populated area in a smallish to medium sized city, what’s it doing there behaving both covertly (cover of night) and yet overtly (colored lights, either unaware of, or not caring about, being seen.)

Another possibility: someone’s remote controlled toy, but I don’t see why someone would be standing out there in the cold, dark drizzle playing around with something like that, and why the two objects, though anything’s possible.

Of course, the witnesses stood around for 45 min. watching the thing… so if a person is motivated enough, and an Oregonian, cool night air and some rain isn’t going to bother you.

Hopefully I can get more info soon.