Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jeff Eager
First and foremost, Oregon needs to repudiate the failed and duplicitous harm reduction policy that is currently impeding Oregonians' efforts to end the crises brought on by the implementation of Measure 110. Make no mistake. Behind the double talk about outreach and services, harm reduction is a dangerous ideology that inexplicably elevates the personal autonomy of addicts over the actual well being of people who have lost their autonomy to meth and opioids and the welfare of society as a whole.
Don't take my word for it. Please listen to Kris Olson's December 2, 2023, interview of Charles Lehman [1] on her podcast Rational in Portland. A fellow at the Manhattan Institute, the Yale-educated Mr. Lehman researches and publishes analyses of urban public safety. Having visited Portland numerous times, Mr. Lehman has witnessed the near-collapse (my words) of policing in Portland and the scourge of unchecked public drug use, addiction and drug dealing in the Rose City.
Being an academic not a pundit, Mr. Lehman seeks to be an objective observer and reporter who refrains from taking sides in the conflict over the future of M110. The advantage of this restrained approach is that proponents of continued decriminalization will be hard pressed to smear Mr. Lehman as a foot soldier in the war on drugs the way they do all who disagree with them. Listen as Mr. Lehman details the tragic gap between the stated aims of harm reduction and the chaos and suffering it has brought to the streets of Portland. [2]
Thanks for the great reply, Ollie. Charles and City Journal generally have been really important chroniclers of the suicide of urban areas, not least of which Portland.
Dec 14, 2023·edited Dec 14, 2023Liked by Jeff Eager
No.
Already this year the State Board of Education, whose membership is a shockingly unrepresentative 87 percent minority and female[1], has decided that proficiency testing of high school seniors in reading, writing and math (the "Three Rs" - remember them?) "harms" black students and, furthermore, that black students don't need to be proficient to succeed in the job market or in school.
As a result, no high school student of any race or ethnicity will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the subjects that are the bedrock of human society in order to earn a diploma until at least 2029. [1]
Thanks to the equity-drunk board of education, black students' proficiency will be more dubious than ever and other students will be unable to provide proof of theirs. That's the woke racist tyranny of low expectations for you.
First and foremost, Oregon needs to repudiate the failed and duplicitous harm reduction policy that is currently impeding Oregonians' efforts to end the crises brought on by the implementation of Measure 110. Make no mistake. Behind the double talk about outreach and services, harm reduction is a dangerous ideology that inexplicably elevates the personal autonomy of addicts over the actual well being of people who have lost their autonomy to meth and opioids and the welfare of society as a whole.
Don't take my word for it. Please listen to Kris Olson's December 2, 2023, interview of Charles Lehman [1] on her podcast Rational in Portland. A fellow at the Manhattan Institute, the Yale-educated Mr. Lehman researches and publishes analyses of urban public safety. Having visited Portland numerous times, Mr. Lehman has witnessed the near-collapse (my words) of policing in Portland and the scourge of unchecked public drug use, addiction and drug dealing in the Rose City.
Being an academic not a pundit, Mr. Lehman seeks to be an objective observer and reporter who refrains from taking sides in the conflict over the future of M110. The advantage of this restrained approach is that proponents of continued decriminalization will be hard pressed to smear Mr. Lehman as a foot soldier in the war on drugs the way they do all who disagree with them. Listen as Mr. Lehman details the tragic gap between the stated aims of harm reduction and the chaos and suffering it has brought to the streets of Portland. [2]
[1] Charles Fain Lehman. Manhattan Institute. https://manhattan.institute/person/charles-fain-lehman
[2] " Charles Lehman, fellow at the Manhattan Institute: This is Your City on Fentanyl." Rational in Portland. https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/charles-lehman-fellow-at-the-manhattan-institute-this/id1579198261?i=1000637293749
Thanks for the great reply, Ollie. Charles and City Journal generally have been really important chroniclers of the suicide of urban areas, not least of which Portland.
You're welcome! Thank you for staying on the anti-M110 beat.
If we repeal measure 110 does that mean we loose our standing as the nations laboratory of stupid ?
No.
Already this year the State Board of Education, whose membership is a shockingly unrepresentative 87 percent minority and female[1], has decided that proficiency testing of high school seniors in reading, writing and math (the "Three Rs" - remember them?) "harms" black students and, furthermore, that black students don't need to be proficient to succeed in the job market or in school.
As a result, no high school student of any race or ethnicity will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the subjects that are the bedrock of human society in order to earn a diploma until at least 2029. [1]
Thanks to the equity-drunk board of education, black students' proficiency will be more dubious than ever and other students will be unable to provide proof of theirs. That's the woke racist tyranny of low expectations for you.
[1] Edge, Sami. "Oregon again says students don’t need to prove mastery of reading, writing or math to graduate, citing harm to students of color." The Oregonian/ OregonLive. 19 October 2023. Updated 22 October 2023. https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2023/10/oregon-again-says-students-dont-need-to-prove-mastery-of-reading-writing-or-math-to-graduate-citing-harm-to-students-of-color.html
[2] "State Board Members." State Board of Education, Oregon Department of Education. https://www.oregon.gov/ode/about-us/stateboard/Pages/State-Board-Members.aspx
thanks for buttressing the argument against measure 110. can we get some information on how to make it go away short of an armed uprising?