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Good morning, Portland! Man, Mondays really hit harder when they’re actually Tuesdays, huh? Hope everyone is feeling rested after the long weekend, if you got the day off yesterday. Enjoy the balmy weather (high 60s) today, before it starts heating up again midweek. Now, the news.
IN LOCAL NEWS:
• There’s a small amount of funding (a little more than $1 million) available for Oregon’s rooftop solar panels/battery storage system rebate program this year. And it’s likely to go fast. Interested homeowners can apply for the rebates, which max out at $5,000 for solar panels and $2,500 for battery storage, starting (and most likely ending) June 15. The program, run by the Oregon Department of Energy, could easily exhaust its resources the first day, showing there’s a major appetite for renewable energy here. Unfortunately, the funding available is woefully inadequate, especially considering how beneficial these resources are to individuals (huge cost savings) and society in general.
Related:
• It’s a Memorial Day blowout sale! Oregon is currently running some surprisingly affordable deals on…islands. That’s right, you can buy three small islands (only 20 acres total) in southern Oregon’s Lower Umpqua River for as little as $24,500. What can you do with the islands? Well, you can’t built on them, except maybe a small fishing cabin, but even that might get flooded during high water years. So, I don’t know. Maybe the islands are better left to the Umpqua River fish.
• The Portland Fire, our new WNBA team, won two games this weekend, against the New York Liberty and Toronto Tempo. (Unrelated: Isn’t it odd that women’s basketball teams seem to have singular team names, compared to the plural ones in other sports?) The team found itself in some controversy last week when it waived (AKA, booted) three Black players in a row. The team’s roster is now noticeably white. Even if the decisions about the players were completely unrelated to that fact, I think concerns aren’t unwarranted. It’s worth thinking about, at least. Anyway, they’re playing again at the Moda Center tomorrow, against the Connecticut Sun.
• It’s the Mercury‘s Highball Week, AKA the time when you can go to a bar and know EXACTLY what to order because you went there specifically to get their highball cocktail. Plus, you know it’ll be $10, which may not feel like a huge steal but some cocktails are honestly like $15 nowadays. Anyway, some suggestions: Fire on the Mountain’s “Midnight on the Mountain” (Jim Beam Bourbon, house-made Electric Mud Stout reduction, lemon, lime & cherry), Gift Public House’s “Effervescent Flamingo” (Cruzan light rum, gin, midori, coconut, lemon, soda), and this truly inventive pick from King Tide Fish & Shell (it features Roku Gin, yuzu, bergamot tea, egg white, cream, and soda). Drink responsibly!
IN NATIONAL/WORLD NEWS:
• Are President Trump and members of his administration still maintaining they have a “cease-fire” with Iran? After the US struck Iranian boats and missile launch sites yesterday, it’s unclear how the administration can maintain that message. Actually, the US military is saying the strikes were in “self-defense,” but given that’s how they’ve justified this entire bombardment, we should not be inclined to believe that. Trump spent the weekend posting various things about the war on Truth Social, saying that “negotiations…are proceeding nicely” but also implied the parties are not THAT close to an understanding. Yeah, we know.
• LOL.
• The media is beginning to ramp up its speculation about Donald Trump’s health, which seems only fair even if hysteria isn’t currently warranted. (To be sure, he’s absolutely not well, mentally or physically. But it’s unclear if the mere fact that he has a doctor’s appointment today is actually indicative of much.) Regardless of what happens at his doctor’s appointment, Trump is unlikely to share anything real with the American people, and his puppets/goons in the administration will continue to talk him up in quite ridiculous ways. Good example: According to RFK Jr., Dr. Oz said Trump has the “highest testosterone level he’s ever seen for an individual over 70 years old.” OBJECTION! Hearsay. We are not in good hands, regardless of the guy’s health.
• Yesterday, Pope Leo released a 42,300 word encyclical (an authoritative document meant to offer guidance and shape Catholic thought) on artificial intelligence. TL;DR: It’s a warning. Slightly longer summary: The pope urged “clarity of thought and responsibility” about AI. He expressed particular concern over its use in warfare, writing about the risk that “technology, detached from ethics and responsibility, will render decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, and will present the use of force as an immediate and viable option.” He also implored state leaders to regulate the technology, as it’s “no longer possible to rely solely on the ‘invisible hand’ of the market.” To me, one of the most meaningful parts of the text is Pope Leo’s description of “safeguarding our humanity.” He wrote “the pervasive technocratic paradigm in which we are immersed, and that is amplified by the digital revolution and AI, threatens to normalize an anti-human vision. In that vision, the fullness of life is equated with having more, reducing weakness, eliminating uncertainty and exerting total control. When efficiency becomes the ultimate measure of value, human beings are tempted to see themselves as a project to be optimized rather than as persons called to relationship and communion.” (Emphasis my own.) Food for thought!
• On a related note…
• Brilliant jazz saxophone player Sonny Rollins died yesterday at the age of 95. He had a long life and was highly praised throughout his career, winning numerous impressive awards—but Rollins said he didn’t go crazy about the prizes, because “you have to do your work whether you’re recognized or not. The real deal is doing it the best you can do it and that’s it. That’s its own reward.” Very wise words. And listen to him play! It’s quite miraculous.
• Worth the read, especially as summer begins far too early around the world, with heatwaves currently scorching Europe and India:
• Finally, some positive news: Beavers are saving London from floods! I knew I liked those guys. Happy Tuesday (even though it feels like a Monday). Have a good day, all.
