Category Archives: Uncategorized

Lobbyists parachute into Portland to protect federal tax break

Posted on August 31, 2021 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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After watering our parched gardens, we offered an accounting

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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Penance for a former influence peddler

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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Advice to a (small ‘d’) democrat

Posted on October 4, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 , | 1 Comment

The lies our textbooks told us

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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Exhuming history, exposing lies

Posted on July 4, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On becoming a nearly-senior citizen

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 | 5 Comments

Snapshots of a myth

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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The twilight of LGBT discrimination

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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Will Florida end this battle against voting?

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Bennett Minton

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 →

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