That sixth paragraph may be the most precious thing you've ever written.

Dear gods, am I actually going to end up respecting Sam???
The sun has risen in the west.

These fascist uber-capitalists are happy to have their City Hall lackeys continue to spend your tax money defending lawsuits against unconstitutional ordinances drafted by the PBA's C-student MBAs.

The best part of the Oregon Live website is towards the bottom on the left hand side.
A section called
"OUTLOOK 2008 Challenging, yet promising"

The second best part of Oregon Live is "the new elephant" on the editor's pick section every single damn day since that poor beast was born.

JFC, did you read the article that Matt posted? I don't think you did.

Sit/Lie is deader than your reading comprehension.

"Central precinct commander Mike Reese showed the group charts showing that downtown crime has actually reduced 34 percent over the last five years. "For a city to [do that] is remarkable," said Reese."

Disingenuous at best. Major crime is sharply down nationwide, and it has nothing to do with policing. It's a simple function of an aging population. 50 yr olds do a lot less stupid shit than 20 yr olds. (a verifiable, world-wide fact)

"Excellent reporting.
The Oregonian ledes this afternoon with, Gresham May Reconsider Rule Against Backyard Chickens."
rotflmaopimp!

@pdx97217

While the noun can indeed be spelled "lede" (for stoopid archaic reasons) I'm almost certain that the verb is always "lead"

i.e. "The Oregonian's lede story" and "The Oregonian leads with"

but who gives a rat's fart about the O, anyway???

@rabblevox

"50 yr olds do a lot less stupid shit than 20 yr olds. (a verifiable, world-wide fact)", I disagree. What's the average age of investment bankers and politicians? The impact of the stupidity must be factored in to how stupid the act is.

@Graham. Investment bankers and pols are evil, not stupid. (for the most part) They have created exactly the world that they want.

I stand by my statement.

A lede is the top of a story — the first sentence or the first few paragraphs. Or, grafs, as it were. I've never heard of a lede story, or a newspaper that ledes with one.

Thanks for clearing that up, oregonmedi! I've been calling 1.1 the "lede" ever since I got to this country and heard other people doing it.

Matt, even if it's technically correct, it sounds pretentious.

btw, great f*ing reporting

from wikipedia:
"The most important structural element of a story is the lead or "intro" (in the UK) —the story's first, or leading, sentence. (Some American English speakers use the spelling lede (pronounced /ˈliːd/), from the archaic English, used to avoid confusion with the printing press type formerly made from lead or the related typographical term leading.[2]"

So, lede is both archaic and confusing. The Merc staff is allowed to be confusing, but shouldn't be archaic. Ban the word!

Nice reporting, Davis. You've dogged this story since before it was a story and your good work is paying off.

Have to say, I said it here before that I knew Fish would come out and give PBA the finger regarding Sit n' Lie. Fish suffers no fools and he isn't afraid of weenie, but entirely too bloated, business associations. Adams, grew a spine? Amazing!

Awesome!

8 years homeless, 3 years organizing around homelessness, 3 different non profits worked for around homelessness... never once have I heard someone refer to themselves as a "Road Warrior"... (the O/I program is a different issue all together, and is not how the police are using the term as explained by Mike Reese) since when is it OK for the police to decide what derogatory term to call people?
the other day I started asking people who the police would classify as "Road Warriors"... none of them had ever heard the term, and most thought it insulting or funny. most wondering if that meant they were supposed to act like the characters from the mad max movies.
thanks
Patrick

The mayor has made a video of the whole meeting available at http://vimeo.com/channels/mayorsamadams#65…

@ Number Six
You beat me to it. ( I've got an excuse, I was at a Dr. John concert at the Roseland)

I encourage everyone to watch.
http://vimeo.com/channels/mayorsamadams#65…

The basic beauty of English is we create, add and misuse words to improve meaning, message and verity. Don't like it? Move to France.

Over the decades cops have used a variety of terms to distinguish homeless youth from homeless adults, and sociologically both groups have transformed significantly over the decades, matching both their various addictions and the culture their vertical madness is responding to.

Perhaps the cops get the terms from talking to kids; I doubt it. Sounds like some senior police admin went to a seminar and came back with some new consultant-driven lingo, probably in a three-ring binder.

Oh well, that's English for you.

Je suis un mobile et je bois de votre milkshake. Je le bois vers le haut !

@pdx97217: You might be right on the declension. But I tell you true that a large number of street youth have adopted "road warrior" as a badge of honor.

@ Patrick: Dude, you are flat wrong on this one.

@Matt: Even milkshakes "on the run" have got to mess with your 3% bodyfat goals.

Rab,
I am not seeing people take it as a badge of honor... most people I have talked to (down on the street around the square) are not even aware they are being called it... and when they find out, there are those that take it as a badge of honor, to be called something derogatory by those they don't like, but also those that wonder about the name and its implications.
you guys hearing about it more up at your end of things?
you are definitely one of the people I would think would "get" the reason why its not ok to use this kind of language... it would be like calling the cops pigs, or any other derogatory word, it solves nothing and just alienates people.
thanks
Patrick

The only douchebags are people who think they're above dealing with others because they aren't in the same income bracket, aren't in/on the same type of vehicle, or don't eat the same food they do. This is definitely a positive. Nick Fish for mayor.

Patrick--the "Road Warrior" term is one that's really come into its own in the past couple months (locally, at least), and is generally used as a broad term to describe a large group of young(ish) "homeless by choice" people who travel around the West Coast, migrating here and there as weather dictates. They are viewed as criminals who happen to be homeless rather than homeless people who need services. Hence the "we want to serve homeless people, not the Road Warriors" attitude you hear expressed.