An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on Oregon voters pushing for state budget cuts. AuCoin ponders the potential consequences of such budget cuts, including a mass exodus from public schools. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired between 2002-2004.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on proposed tax cuts demanded by President Bush in the name of stimulating a "weak economy." However, AuCoin states that no matter the state of the economy or whether the government is running on a surplus or a deficit, tax cuts will always be pushed for by the Bush administration. AuCoin condemns what he calls "deficits of mass destruction." There is no telling what Bush’s demand for tax cuts is spent on. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2002-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) stopping Norwegian resident alien Karri Reen (perhaps misspelled) at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport during a background check, 10 years after her and her husband James Youngworth were convicted for illegally growing marijuana for personal use in 1993. After their settled 1993 conviction, the couple received probation and community service orders, but the INS deemed Reen an "aggravated felon" in 2003, threatened to deport her, and arrested her with "post-9/11 zeal." AuCoin deems the situation a case of douple jeopardy: the INS applied a current law to a past conviction. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on former National Security Council member Paul H. O’Neill's accusations against the Bush administration. AuCoin states that, according to O'Neill, "the effort to overthrow Suddam Hussein was actively discussed from the very first days of the administration." This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode probably aired in January, 2004.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin commenting on a proposal by the Oregon Forestry Department to "clear cut" previously approved logging sections in the Tillamook State Forest and Clatsop State Forest. AuCoin specifically calls out Oregon State Senator Joan Dukes of Astoria for her support of clear cut logging on the basis of how it would hypothetically benefit the economy. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2002.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin commenting on the manner in which Oregon House Republicans addressed the issue of tax reform in a then recent session. Republican House Speaker Karen Minnis tried to suggest a partisan alternative to the issue of tax reform by enacting a "hastily crafted spending cap," ignoring the fact that the state of Oregon already had spending limits in place. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2002-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin in which he highlights the importance and value of public libraries in communities, specifically pointing out the one in Ashland, Oregon. AuCoin advocates for libraries, stating that no matter one’s background, everyone has equal access to knowledge. In a library, AuCoin argues, nobody is treated as a commercial functionary. He condemns a recent law that Ashland library had to overcome that nullified a majority vote on spending levies if voter turnout was less than 50%. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode probably aired between 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin condemning a proposal to ship large amounts of nuclear waste to the Hanford Nuclear Site. Weeks prior to the proposal, the U.S. Department of Energy won the right to designate Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the national nuclear repository. AuCoin states the Hanford Site is amongst one the most polluted sites in the world, and while some radioactive materials had already seeped through into the ground and the Columbia River, the Department of Energy was planning to expand the site. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events or personal life updates, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2002.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin recounting having a tire blowout on Montana State Highway 43. With a tire on the loose and no lug wrench, strangers, including some from Roseburg, Oregon (who AuCoin refers to as his "fellow residents of the state of Jefferson") stopped by to help out, and AuCoin expresses his gratitude of the persistent benevolence of the strangers. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired between 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on a new addition to his family, a year-old dog named Rascal from the Jackson County Animal Shelter. AuCoin recalls taking Rascal, his new fishing companion, to Dailey (or Daley) Creek with him. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired between 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin reflecting on how Americans were coping following the 9/11 attacks, including the topic of national solidarity and the potential sacrifices Americans were likely to make. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired on September 26, 2001.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin criticizing Bush's proposed national missile defense system, deeming it useless against "rogue" terrorist attacks who avoid using missiles and cooperation in the first place. On the other hand, AuCoin asserts that access to plutonium is indeed a real concern: "according to Sam Nunn... 60% of the former Soviet Union’s plutonium stocks are lying around Russia in unsecured storage. Think of it as terrorist theft waiting to happen." This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2001.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the decrease in consumer spending in 2002 and the subsequent fears of a potential recession. AuCoin critcizes how U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Paul H. O’Neill was "urging Americans to patriotically flock back to the shopping mall," as this "diminishes us as citizens...[as] mere economic units." Instead, AuCoin advocates for protecting one's money, civic virtues, and acts of goodwill in order to lift the national spirit. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2002.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin expressing his gratitude for the heroic government employees who provided aid during 9/11 (listing firefighters, postal workers, police officers, and emergency medical personnel), as well as the other public employees who provide essential services daily. AuCoin describes how these government employees have face being defunded and demoralized in the "rabidly anti-governmental age." On the other hand, AuCoin comments on how national crises bring people together and highlight the importance of the workers in the public sector. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired on November 21, 2001.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin expressing his concern regarding Attorney General John Ashcroft 's support of military tribunals post-9/11. According to AuCoin, Ashcroft, a supposed conservative, had promoted "sweeping prosecutorial powers," shocking civil libertarians, prominent conservatives, and law enforcement experts. Former director of the FBI and CIA William H. Webster had expressed his concerns with these new military tribunals set up to judge people suspected of terrorism. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in December 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the early 2000s. AuCoin discusses the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas; sharing his opinion that Yasser Arafat should not be the only one held accountable (by whom is unclear), but Ariel Sharon as well. He states "the bottom line is, of course we can't absolve Yasser Arafat of all responsibility for this crisis; at the same time, it's dangerous to condone Sharon." This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in 2001.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on a conservative bill that plans to stimulate the economy through tax breaks for wealthy corporations and individuals. AuCoin asserts that this bill would do nothing to increase demand in the economy, and would only enrich Americans at the top economic tier at expense of middle class and unemployed Americans, who he argues should be the ones to receive potential tax cuts. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired from December 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the topic of reflection during the holiday season and counting one's blessings. AuCoin references an essay by an unknown author on the global ratios of poverty, ethnicity, religion, wealth, and education. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired from December 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on steering clear of shibboleths with a new election year approaching. AuCoin defines a shibboleth as a "lazily arrived at opinion, usually false, that a person hasn't bothered to examine critically or doesn't want you to." A shibboleth "peddled for years by the political right," according to Senator Bill Bradley, is the way that "extreme conservative groups, whose survival depends on keeping citizens perpetually irate with authority, discourage people from accepting that they might be in the minority on a particular issue." AuCoin states that this shibboleth claims "that choices that appear to be made democratically are in fact the authoritarian will of [the] government." This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired from December 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the topic of wildfire management and unrestrained logging in the early 2000s. AuCoin states that "greedy" legislators connected to the timber industry will likely blame recent wildfires fires on environmentalists and advocate for unrestrained logging. He brings up a recently proposed bill by Montana Representative Dennis Rehberg. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in between 2001-2003.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin regarding the first anniversary of 9/11. Reflecting on the first year post-9/11, AuCoin points out how journalism had transformed "from a profession into a commodity producer...garnished with a dose of American jingoism." For the first anniversary, AuCoin advocates for simplicity, reflection, remembrance and embracing silence, because “silence is golden." This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in September 2002.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the topic of social security earnings. AuCoin discusses how President Bush wanted younger workers to fund their social security benefits through the policy of privatization and the stock market. Had social security been privatized, AuCoin argues, Americans would be in a “lose-lose economics” situation. For example, according to AuCoin, Willshire 5000 had lost 50% of its value, while social security did not lose any value in a recent year. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in August 2002.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository dispute between the White House and nuclear industry. A recent bill had overrode the state of Nevada's veto on hosting "the nation's first radioactive garbage dump." A key fault of the Yucca Mountain location, according to AuCoin, was the fact that the area was not large enough to hold all of the nation's nuclear waste. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature features his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired in July 2002.
An audio recording by Oregon Congressman Les AuCoin on President Bush’s visit to Oregon and his approach to preventing future wildfires by loosening regulations and allowing commercial loggers to thin fire prone, old growth forests. According to AuCoin, Bush's Assistant Secretary for Agriculture (responsible for national forest policy) and former timber lobbyist Mark Rey had helped to pass the "notorious" timber salvage rider policy of 1995. The policy had destroyed the trust between the industry and the environmental conservation community. This is one episode from AuCoin's biweekly radio show on Jefferson Public Radio (JPR), which ran after he had retired from office. The majority of episodes feature his commentary on current political events, often focusing on issues important to southern Oregon where JPR is based. This episode aired from August- September 2002.
