Oregon did change the world, for some of us. Certainly for those who now have access. I would never call Oregon “irrelevant”.

Measure 58 went a long way towards ‘expanding the idea of the possible’, showing that under the right conditions change absolutely is possible- AND that those changes, far from the predictions of doom and gloom the naysayers insisted would come to pass, have instead resulted in incredibly positive outcomes for so many.

Ultimately honesty matters. Lies cannot form the basis of our lives, and measure 58 made that abundantly clear.

Since then, though industry has dug in, in no small part due to coming to the full realization of what they stand to lose. Many in the industry now understand just how much of a threat steadfast Bastards really can be to them and the corrupt practices that have become business as usual in many portions of the industry.

The external climate has changed greatly since Oregon. But NEVER underestimate the importance of what you and others did there. It has been tremendously important to many of us.

On a more personal note, thank you for the kind words. Coming from you, well, I’m honoured.

Lost Bastards welcome here! (Hell, found Bastards welcome here too!)

Thanks for the kind words, keeps me at it when the world looks way Bastard bleak.

Short version–the Sisters of Mercy sent the Irish orphans out west, to be raised by good Catholic families. And of course, who might that be, in Arizona? Yup, Mexicans.
And all hell broke loose. The white GOVERNMENT took the children away!

It’s an amazing story that has mostly been lost to history.

You bet I know for the Orphan Trains! It’s a topic I’ve been digging on for some time now. And sooner or later, it’ll become fodder for the blog. But to get there, we’re going to have to get through some basic history on the American Eugenic movement first.

For the benefit of readers who have no clue what we’re discussing the Wikipedia entry as a starting place, has an overview.

I assume you know the history of the ORPHAN TRAINS? That is considered part of “Irish-American history” as well as the American West, but certainly something you might want to look into as blog material.