Story by Pete Shaw Since declaring himself a candidate for the presidency of the United States, Republican Donald Trump has made clear his disdain for migrants. On the day he announced his candidacy, Trump declared that all Mexicans were criminals, particularly inclined toward rape and drug dealing. Trump quickly followed this by saying he assumed…
Story by Pete Shaw Photos by K. Kendall This Summer, Portland kicked off a nationwide series of protests against Republican Donald Trump’s orders that tore apart families at the Mexico-US border. Responding to the horrific sight of children being separated from their relatives and incarcerated, large numbers of people around the country followed Portland’s lead…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw National Cheeseburger Day, while not an official holiday, is doubtless an important one to the restaurant industry. Anything to get customers to spend their money on your product, and it is fair to assume that most restaurants serving burgers had Tuesday September 19 circled on their calendars. But as…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw Riverside Drive in Denville, NJ runs no more than a half mile, following the course of the Rockaway River between Diamond Spring Road and Gardner Field. On a mailbox outside of one house along the road is an inscription reading, “Seek Ye The Lord Now.” I am not a religious…
Story by Pete Shaw One of the many great works of art to come out of the Civil Rights Movement was the Billy Taylor and Dick Dallas song “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free,” its best-known version performed by the late, great Nina Simone. Its most poignant line, “I wish…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw “We will always see ourselves as a sanctuary city and we will continue to be welcome to everyone,” said Ted Wheeler after he was elected mayor. His words were given official imprimatur in late March when the City Council declared Portland a sanctuary city. It was a symbolic gesture,…
Story by Pete Shaw Approaching Shemanski Park, once again the sight of Portland’s May Day rally, I had the feeling there would be trouble with the police. I ran into a Friend across the street from the park. It was not yet noon, but a large crowd had already gathered for the 2 PM rally…
Story and photos by John G. Mellor In a shocking turn of events late yesterday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced that he would be taking steps to abolish the Portland Police Bureau and called upon Portland’s citizens of conscience to burn down the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prison on Southwest Macadam Avenue. Speaking before…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw In the days following Republican Donald Trump’s inauguration, many US cities and states–including Portland and Oregon–declared themselves to be sanctuaries. The term was meant to imply safety for people without documentation. However, it is one thing to make a declaration and something else entirely to enforce it. This…
Story and photos by Pete Shaw When a politician says he is going to do awful things, it is worth believing him. And when that politician is a bully like Donald Trump who seemingly possesses no moral compass, it is reasonable to be afraid. Therefore, it should have come as no surprise when his administration…
