Will Aaron Campbell's death finally bring police accountability to Portland?

A Multnomah County grand jury this week found no criminal wrongdoing by Portland police officer Ronald Frashour in the Jan. 28 fatal shooting of Aaron Campbell. The death of an unarmed young man distraught over the death of his younger brother has stoked long-burning fires in the community about the Portland Police Bureau's use of deadly force.

Our Republic is broken. A lockstep minority, cloaked in arcane rules, can bring business to a complete halt. The influence of monied interests is rampant. The social contract has been shredded, and cherished liberties erode. A yawning chasm opens between rich and poor. A bloated foreign empire bleeds the Treasury. The public discourse is controlled by a profit-driven Fourth Estate that is loath to criticize its owners. The promise of a populist president seems impotent against the entrenched forces arrayed against him.

Our Republic is broken. What is to be done? Let's call a Constitutional Convention and fix it.

Haiti, Race and International Adoption

The arrest of 10 American Baptists for attempting to take children out of Haiti without permission has rekindled the debate over international adoption. Many Americans believe the plight of Haitian children more than justifies removal of orphans to new homes abroad. Critics fear incorrect identification of Haitian children as orphans and the potential for human trafficking.

What's the State of Your Union?
Wednesday, President Obama will address the nation about the state of the Union. Among those listening to the president's speech will be nearly 210,000 unemployed Oregonians who are part of the 15 million Americans (official figures that don't include those who have just quit looking for work) out of work during this economic crisis. Will the president provide eloquent but empy rhetoric or will he step up and provide long overdue bold leadership to bring relief to those Americans most in need?
 

This week, host Dave Mazza is joined by KBOO talk radio hosts Abe Proctor and Joe Uris for a post-speech analysis that will look at what the president got right, what he got wrong and where he needs to go to bring the change he promised in 2008. Dave, Abe and Joe will also be following up on last week's Supreme Court decision that elimnated decades-old restrictions on corporate political expenditures and what that augers for moving real reform forward in the coming months. Join us in the conversation and let us know the state of your Union.