The Lighter Side of Salem

Jon Bartholomew

We've heard a lot about the bipartisan collaboration at the capitol this year. And we've heard rumblings about where that seems to be falling apart and things are going back to typical partisan posturing.

But one thing that is happening that I haven't heard a lot about is the lighter side of Salem.

By now, many of you I am sure have seen the creative YouTube video about legislators "Never giving up on" Oregon released on April 1st. If you don't understand it, you don't spend enough time on the internet.

We also know that pets help lessen stress, so it's too bad there really isn't a Capitol Cat. It would be so nice to have that kitty curl up in my lap while sitting in those cozy chairs outside the House chamber. My favorite post so far was that Capitol Cat "has emergency claws". heh.

Then of course there's the cat's nemesis - Capitol Canary. Where is the Capitol Canine?!

This all reminds us not to take everything as seriously as we sometimes do. Yes, there are really important things at stake, but if we don't give ourselves a little time to relax and joke about what we're doing, we'll burn out and not be helpful to anyone.

If anyone knows of anything else humorous going on this session, please share! And if you have stories of things that happened in past sessions, please regale us with your stories. :)

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    Thanks for the reminder, Jon - you're right. It's easy to get too wrapped up in the serious issues the legislature - and therefore all of us - are grappling with!

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    A few sessions ago I, under the name "Joint Committee on Kum By Yah," produced a "Separated at Birth" poster featuring legislators/lobbyists and their celebrity look-a-likes. It was a pretty popular item at the time. I've been asked to do another one this session and I am looking for suggested pairings. If you have any recommendations, send them to [email protected].

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    Let's not forget the biennial Sine Die skits... http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=oregon+sine+die

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    UPDATE!! There is now a Capitol Canine. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002239702062

    :)

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      FWIW, whoever is spending their time setting up these fake profiles is going to be terribly disappointed when Facebook yanks them for not representing a real person.

      Much better to set 'em up as Facebook Pages, which can be imaginary creatures (or politicians or brands or whatever), rather than as Profiles (which must be human.)

      Fortunately, Facebook offers a solution to folks who've accidentally done it the wrong way.

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