Recent Posts: Transformational Citizenship
Author Archives: Bennett Minton
Lobbyists parachute into Portland to protect federal tax break
Text of my letter published in the August 30 Tax Notes Federal, a policy journal that covers Congress. (I was a congressional correspondent and later news editor in the 1990s.) Portland, Oregon, is a continent away from the backroom deals … Continue reading
After watering our parched gardens, we offered an accounting
Dear Tax Fairness Oregon Supporters: We have been remiss in our correspondence with you. As our steering committee spent the legislative session plowing through bills and testifying on 41 of them (some more than once), we didn’t set aside time … Continue reading
Posted in Oregon taxes, taxes, Uncategorized
Tagged mortgage interest deduction, Tax Fairness Oregon, taxes, timber taxes
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Penance for a former influence peddler
The national news is depressing, with one party—and its Supreme Court majority—determined to prevent voters it doesn’t like (and doesn’t want) from participating in democracy. So I bang my head against the wall (on Zoom) in Salem, my state capital, … Continue reading
Posted in Tax, Uncategorized
Tagged CARES Act, COVID response, Oregon Legislature
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Advice to a (small ‘d’) democrat
A friend asks for facts about Joe Biden, without mentioning Donald Trump, to help her decide. Not comprehensive, but this is what I wrote her after spending 15 minutes on the question (and a few more refining for this post): … Continue reading
Posted in election campaign, Joe Biden, presidential election 2020, Uncategorized, Voting Rights Act
Tagged Donald Trump, Joe Biden
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The lies our textbooks told us
A link to The Washington Post version of my post on the Virginia government’s effort to rewrite history. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/slavery-history-virginia-textbook/2020/07/31/d8571eda-d1f0-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html. Published in the Sunday opinion section on August 2, it drew more than 1900 comments. My sampling suggests people were inspired … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War, slavery, Uncategorized
Tagged Adam Wesley Dean, Brown v Board, Civil War, Donald Trump, Dorothy Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward, Francis B. Simkins, J. Lindsey Almond Jr., James J. Kilpatrick, Lewis F. Powell, Massive Resistance, Spotswood Hunnicutt Jones, Voting Rights Act
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Exhuming history, exposing lies
As I watched Richmond city workers, surrounded by cheering protestors, remove a hundred-year-old towering bronze of Stonewall Jackson on horseback from its base on Monument Avenue, tears streamed down my face. On the 157th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, … Continue reading
Posted in Civil War, slavery, Uncategorized
Tagged Adam Wesley Dean, Brown v Board, C. Vann Woodward, David Brion Davis, Donald Trump, Dorothy Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward, Francis B. Simkins, Harry Flood Byrd Sr., Heather Heyer, J. Lindsey Almond Jr., James J. Kilpatrick, Lewis F. Powell, Massive Resistance, Spotswood Hunnicutt Jones
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On becoming a nearly-senior citizen
Today I turn 62. A birthday is a moment for reflection, especially when on this one the government asks, “Would you like a smaller pension now, or a bigger pension later?” And I mull: How much longer is Social Security … Continue reading
Posted in climate change, Uncategorized
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Snapshots of a myth
Defenders of statues of Confederate generals and soldiers contend these monuments should not be removed, ever, because they are “history.” Monuments have nothing to do with history. They are snapshots of a narrative. My favorite monument-narrative is the Lincoln Memorial. … Continue reading
Posted in Abraham Lincoln, Uncategorized
Tagged Civil War, Lincoln Second Inaugural Address, Robert E. Lee, slavery
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The twilight of LGBT discrimination
The June 15 Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (Georgia) has a sweeping logic that, if applied to other areas of law, will mean the end of legal discrimination against people who identify as LGBTQ. Justice Neil Gorsuch, … Continue reading
Posted in civil rights, LGBT rights, Supreme Court, Uncategorized
Tagged Howard W. Smith, LGBT, Neil Gorsuch, Robert Kennedy
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Will Florida end this battle against voting?
The saga of the restoration of the voting rights of Florida ex-felons continues, but it may be nearing an end. The crux of Federal District Judge Robert Hinkle’s May 24 opinion in Jones v. DeSantis, about the legislature’s attempts to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized, voter suppression, Voting
Tagged Amendment 4, Due Process, Equal Protection, Jones v. DeSantis, Judge Robert Hinkle, Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis, SB7066
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