Down the chimney, a news dump

The bureaucrats and politicians picked the third business day before Christmas to hold a press conference announcing the grim statistics regarding the people dying on Portland's streets.

Multnomah County reported at least 315 deaths of unhoused people in 2022 – a record 63% increase from the year prior.

The causes of death highlight the lethal consequences of a lack of easily accessible mental health care and substance use disorder services in the community....

Of the unintentional injury deaths, 85% were fatal drug overdoses. That’s 123 deaths attributed to methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, opioids and other intoxicants. People experiencing homelessness were nearly 37 times more likely to die from a drug overdose compared to the overall Multnomah County population. 

I noticed that the county chair, Jessica Chevy Vega (second from left), was hiding her face behind a mask before she dished out her usual word salad buffet. She's even more lethal than her predecessor, Deadly Deborah.

And is that a Portland cop standing next to her? Wow, haven't seen one of those in a long time, despite their all-time record high budget.

It's interesting who didn't show up for the photo op. Where was Julia Brimming With Competence? Where was Moonlight Beason? Where was Lynn Peterson, queen of the Metro tax? Where was Dud Wheeler, mayor of the county seat? They were all engaged in harm reduction, I guess – harm to their careers. Even behind a mask, it wasn't a comfy place to be in front of the cameras.

And where was Tera Hurst, head pusher of Measure 110? She's as responsible for this disaster as anyone. She deserved to take a bow.

We're now in the third year of a $350 million-a-year income tax on upper-middle- and high-income residents in the region to reduce homelessness. You have to wonder where all that money is going. Cremation isn't that expensive.

And notice, the numbers they got around to showing today are 2022 numbers. Do you think 2023's are going to be better, or worse? Like the man said, elect clowns, enjoy the circus.