SUBSCRIBE
FREE NEWSLETTER
Try "researchers"

Floyd McKay

Floyd J. McKay, emeritus professor of journalism at Western Washington University, covered Pacific Northwest politics as a reporter and opinion writer for four decades, primarily in Oregon. He was commentator/news analyst at KGW-TV (King Broadcasting) from 1970 to 1987. Previously a print reporter, he returned to print and online reporting and commentary from 2004 to 2017 with the Seattle Times Op-ed page and Crosscut.com. He is the author of Reporting the Oregon Story: How Activists and Visionaries Transformed a State (Oregon State University Press, 2016). He lives in Bellingham.
Politics

Now Is the Time For a Nonpartisan Commission to Come to the Aid of Our Elections

Much is broken. The Electoral College was another concession to slave states, abetted by concerns that some intermediary was needed between the presidency and masses of ordinary (white male) citizens. A thorough examination of the inequalities it shields and a case for repeal can only be done by a bipartisan body.
Elsewhere

Election Lessons from Portland

Portland, with 77 percent white population is one of the nation’s whitest cities, yet it will be majority-minority on the new city council. The city remains among the most liberal in terms of social policy, but the mayor’s victory plus this shift on the council may signal a police-reform agenda that would not be radical.
Final Debate

Goooooooal! (Not)

Biden talked of kids “torn from the arms” of parents; Trump went on about coyotes and cartels, murderers and rapists. Biden promised a “path to citizenship” for millions and preservation of DACA. It went downhill from there, Trump declared himself “the least racist person in the room” and appeared totally incoherent on climate change.
Politics

Republicans Smell Blood in Oregon’s Fractured 4th Congressional District

Put at its most basic, the university communities of Eugene (Oregon Ducks) and Corvallis (Oregon State Beavers) keep Democrats in power. The rest of the district votes Republican, even in areas where blue-collar workers voted Democrat at mid-century.
PrezDebate1

A Presidential “Debate” like No Other

How a decent man like Joe Biden weathered the 90 minutes deserves a medal. I felt for Chris Wallace, knowing that I would not have been able to take control of Donald Trump, either.
Health

The Coronavirus Pandemic Adds New Twists to ‘The Good Death’

Everything is being affected in wrenching ways -- telemedicine, volunteers for hospice, family conversations, overwhelmed professional services, palliative care, death-with-dignity options.
Politics

Veepstakes: Vetting the Spouses

Vetting what was surely a small pool in 1984 did not uncover problems with the business connections of John Zaccaro, Geraldine Ferraro’s husband. In time, the couple were forced to reveal their tax records, producing yet more questions and allegations and preventing Ferraro from gaining a real footing on the campaign trail.
Environment

Earth Day At 50: Present At The Creation, Anxious At The Birthday

Fifty years later, we seem to be approaching another important transition, pushed by the dual threats of a second Trump term and fear of global pandemic. Democrats have been slow to mount an aggressive climate-change agenda, and the dominance of pandemic news and fears does not bode well for climate to influence the November election.
Politics

Vote Safe: A Vote-By-Mail Presidential Election?

The proposal, popular in the Northwest, got entangled in big-money politics in the Senate. But Vote-by-Mail could still emerge as a solution to the 2020 general election.
Politics

Oregon Politics: Quorums on the Great Divide

Shared values seem to be in short supply as the urban-rural split becomes a chasm in the new century.
1234Page 2 of 4

Latest

Seattle, Washington

Contact: Editor@postalley.org