Pay-to-Play Politics
High Importance: Pay-to-Play PoliticsIt's called pay to play. It means career politicians taking huge campaign donations to fund their campaigns – and then doing huge favors for their campaign...
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The Cost of Kate
IT'S EVEN HIGHER THAN THE EXTRA $600 A YEAR THAT KATE BROWN'S $6-BILLION MEASURE 97 TAX INCREASE WILL COSTKate Brown supports the $6-billion tax increase her political allies in our government unions...
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Thanksgiving Thoughts
A rainy fall has returned to our Oregon, and we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving. Most trace America’s Thanksgiving to the harvest celebrations of early Pilgrim and Puritan settlers in the...
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The Dignity of Work and of Purpose
Thanksgiving Day found me doing what I have done on many a Thanksgiving, working. As a doctor, I am one of millions of Americans who work in a field in which service must be provided 24 hours a...
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New Year’s Thoughts
New Year is a time of reflection, a time to look at past successes and failures, a time to consider your goals for the upcoming year. Bud and Selma Pierce My 60 years of life have taught me valuable...
View ArticleThoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Holiday 2017
Thoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Holiday 2017“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the...
View ArticleWHAT IS THE ROLE OF OUR GOVERNMENT?
We have just held our elections, and our elected representatives are preparing to govern us. All Oregonians wish to have “good government.” What is “good government?” What do we wish our...
View ArticleCOMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
Thirty years ago I listened carefully as President Ronald Reagan told America’s citizens that he was preparing to sign the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The Act required that employers...
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LET’S IMPROVE OREGON’S TERM LIMITS LAW
In 1859, Oregon became America’s 33rd state. The authors of Oregon’s Constitution wisely term limited Oregon’s Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer. These founding citizens realized that...
View ArticleFormer Gubernatorial Candidate, Dr. Bud Pierce Launches Term Limits Ballot...
Measure would be on the 2018 November ballotFor Immediate ReleaseJune 6, 2017(Salem, Or) -- Dr. Bud Pierce, the Republican nominee for governor in 2016 and his wife Selma have filed an initiative...
View ArticleThe Dignity of Work
Today we are celebrating Labor Day, a day set aside to celebrate the hard work and achievements of America’s workers. We are celebrating the backbone of what makes our communities the strength of our...
View ArticleOregon Needs Term Limits for our State Legislators
Another legislative session has passed. Unfortunately, the real problems, the hard problems that face Oregon, have once again been neglected by our state legislature. Oregon needs real K-12 education...
View ArticleBurning Forests = Failing Legislature
(Photo credit: Street Roots News--photo in the public domain)Oregon’s forests burn, wildlife is destroyed, our air is polluted, and carbon is released. It’s not because of climate change, not because...
View ArticleReflections on 9/11
Early in the morning of September 11, 2001, I was at my usual early morning post in the cancer ward at Salem Hospital. I remember hearing the news headline that American Airlines Flight 11 had crashed...
View ArticleEducation Reform Lacking in Oregon
Another legislative session has ended, and Oregon’s K-12 students have once again been used as pawns to influence the political agendas of many special interest groups. K-12 education funding has been...
View ArticleOregon K-12: We Can Do Better
Oregon K-12 school test scores are headed in the wrong direction. In the 1990’s, Massachusetts also had a poorly performing K-12 education system that was failing too many of their students and their...
View ArticleOregon’s Legislature: A Family Affair
Recent revelations in the Oregonian indicate that a quarter of Oregon’s current legislators employ family members as legislative staff. Other current legislators have employed family members in the...
View ArticleThe Protest
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” said Colin Kaepernick, as he refused to stand during the playing of the national...
View ArticleMeasure 101: Stop Asking for More Money, Again
In 2014, Oregon adopted the correct public policy by expanding insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act. With this expansion, more than 95% of Oregonians now have health insurance coverage....
View ArticleFederal Tax Reform: The Rest of the Story
During the debate on Federal tax reform, we were told by many sources that Federal tax reform would only benefit large corporations. We were told that Oregonians would pay more in Federal taxes. We...
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