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Everything that was here is now moved over. The Bus is quick, the Bus is agile, the Bus already outgrew this space! Join us at the new one and keep on coming back!

This story from Wired reports that a cat in England has memorized one of the bus routes and hops on the bus to travel to his favorite fish and chips place. 

Travelingcatnti_468x376

In reality, I think this cat is just trying to demonstrate his desire for a progressive government by “Getting on the Bus!”  Also, just like our very own James, the cat is a big fan of British Parliamentary Procedure.  HERE HERE!

As reported on TechCrunch…Some clever hacker got into John McCain’s MySpace page and inserted a special little message from John to his visitors.  OOOPS!

I have pretty much spent my entire life trying to find ways to get out of bed on time.  Nothing has ever worked. 

Finally a device comes along that I shouldn’t dare try out.  It’s the SnūzNLūz!

Set the clock with the embedded secure browser to donate money from your bank account to your most hated charity every time you hit snooze!

Are you a butcher? Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to PETA
Are you a republican? Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to the ACLU!
Are you a land developer? Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to the Wilderness Society!
Enjoy your freedom? (Blue state version) Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to the GOP. or
Enjoy your freedom? (Red state version) Set your SnūzNLūz to donate to MoveOn.Org

Snuznluz

Now, if only we could register lazy sleepers to vote with this thing!

I wouldn’t say that the Lane Bus crew is full of sports fanatics, so I was very surprised to hear that our very own Dan Flanagan got a $500 donation related to Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas and the Portland Trailblazers.

I did some deep research on the matter and here is the short version of how that came to pass:

Gilbert was talking some major trash about how he was going to drop 50 points on the Trailblazers to get back at one of the coaches who didn’t give him playing time on the USA team last summer. In one of the Blazer forums, some guy was backing this up, offering up $500 to charity if he didn’t pull it off. Well, Gilbert totally bombed and scored 9 points. I could score 9 points! OK, well, not against the Blazers, but against a mediocre Eugene City League team.

When the guy was ready to pay up, Dan swooped in, mentioned the Bus Project and BAM!, the cash is ours. I hear rumors that he is going to try to follow up with Mr. Arenas to see if he might want to match that amount for a good cause…US! Gilbert went to the University of Arizona, so he might be into giving us some love. For all of those times he torched the Ducks, it is the least he could do.

Way to support the Bus, Gilbert!

We have a problem in our quiet town.

McShane’s Bar and Grill (see unreadable MySpace page here) is famous for tricycle racing, yet on the one night that the Lane Bus members planned to go enjoy some tricycle racing to celebrate Lynn’s birthday, we were informed that it was the FINALS and that no amateur racers would be allowed.

I call elitism and charge them with pandering to the right-wing pro-tricycle gestapo. I for one am sick and tired of McShane’s having no checks and balances as they blatantly push their three-wheel agenda. Write your representatives. As an act of defiance, all tricycle racks will be removed from the Bus!

Lately, when I get bored with my Netflix queue and the random movies that I don’t even remember choosing, I have gotten in the habit of finding documentaries to break up the rotation.  Here are some that I have seen recently with a political leaning to them.  You may have already seen many of them, but I bet not all!  Click the title to see the full description and if you are a Netflix member, throw it on your queue while you wait for Borat to come out.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon
No one would argue that John Lennon was one of the most influential musicians of all time, but I never realized how much influence his activism had over the people, forcing governments to react.

This Film is Not Yet Rated
The bureaucracy and secrecy of the MPAA.

An Inconvenient Truth
If you haven’t seen this, where have you been?

Who Killed the Electric Car?
This one is just sad.

Howard Zinn: You can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train
Should have been titled “you can’t be Neutral on a Moving BUS!” Zinn is an Anti-war activist and author of A People’s History of the United States
 
Why We Fight
The U.S. obsession with war.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
A bit dated now, but still an amazing account of greed gone bad.

Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices
Don’t get me started…Don’t EVEN get me started!

Unconstitutional

How sweet is the Patriot Act?  This movie will tell you.  Some great cameos by our own Peter DeFazio!

Updated recommendations from James:

Dixie Chicks-Shut up and Sing


The Agronomist

French presidential candidate takes one out of the Bus Project with his 6 E’s platform:


His programme is designed to appeal across the political
spectrum, focusing on what he calls the “six Es” – employment, the
environment, education, the economy, exclusion and Europe.


Well, I guess they weren’t clever enough to come up with “‘Ealth care”, but the way they spell “programme” makes up for it.

Exclusion sounds pretty bad.  I’m sure the Bus is against that!

-thanks to Timothy Sutton for the tip.

Change a bulb.  Change Everything.

This is a nice thought and more true than you might think!

Yahoo has started up a tracking system
for the energy efficient light bulbs and how they are having an impact.

I just got my first 8 pack at Costco and can’t wait for my old bulbs to burn out.  Heck with it!  They’re going away anyway!

I first heard about this a while back when bloggers started a push for this. Some friends of mine joined in!

I wonder what Sarah Silverman would say on the subject?

Check out the stats for Eugene, OR here!

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It seems like just yesterday when I was up in the woods behind Laurelwood golf course, hearing paintballs whizzing past my head, only to look up in a tree and see Chris Edwards picking off my teammates with his slingshot. I hope that he hasn’t changed now that he has entered the world of State politics. 

It is a refreshing sight to see the young blood taking over up in Salem…look out, because The Lane Bus Project is about to start releasing press…

The Lane Bus Project

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2007

NEWS RELEASE

“Chris Edwards and the Oregon House bring much-needed youthfulness to politics”

    Oregon House district 14, which comprises West Eugene, Santa Clara, Junction City, Cheshire, and Alvadore, has a new representative. Chris Edwards, a Democrat and fifth-generation Oregonian, is one of five members of the Oregon House of Representatives under the age of 35 elected last November.

    With some of the highest youth voter turnout levels in the nation in the 2004 and 2006 elections, it may not be a surprise that Oregon has one of the youngest legislative bodies in the nation. The Edwards campaign was supported at a grassroots level by the Bus Project, a local organization looking to make Oregon a progressive model for the rest of the country.

    Before beginning his political career, Edwards received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Oregon State University, where he served in student government. After graduation he spent time managing his family’s forest products business where he learned firsthand about the struggle of Oregon’s working families.

    Edwards serves on three legislative committees: Business and Labor, the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government, and is the vice chair of Government Accountability and Information Technology. His top legislative priorities include maximizing government efficiency and accountability, implementing pragmatic healthcare solutions, and improving public schools for all of Oregon’s children.

    Edwards is currently working to address the needs of Oregon’s senior citizens, fighting forced annexation, and advocating for mobile home residents. In January Edwards called on his fellow representatives to pass House Bill 2096, which would protect the state’s 1,300 manufactured home parks and their residents from displacement and competition with developers.

    Born in Roseburg, Edwards spent several years in Bandon before his family moved to Eugene, where he attended middle and high school. He and his wife of eight years, Ali, have a son, Simon, and a dog, Lily.

Contact: Branden Johnson
Lane Bus Public Relations Intern
branden.johnson@busproject.org
(541) 954-9533

Don’t miss Chris at his townhall meeting at the Irving Grange this Saturday to find out more.