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TOL has done a great job covering Obesity, I think a show focused on eating disorders would be educational and valuable to the community.  Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia impact nearly 10 million women and 1 million men in our country.  1 in 10 women have a diagnosable eating disorder and significantly more than that have “disordered eating”.  Eating disorders are not a vanity issue, even though they are often portrayed as such in the media.  Eating disorders are a result of complex psychological, family, and social issues.  The average recovery time is 6-10 years and usually involves a team including, physician, dietician, and therapist with eating disorder expertise.  Treatment is expensive and many people cannot afford it so they go untreated.  If you were to attend an eating disorder support group, I think you would be surprised at what you see: women in their 50’s, men, women with dreadlocks as well as business suits, people who are underweight and average weight, and ethnic minorities.  Eating disorders are the most deadly psychiatric disorder, yet funding for research is far less than other psychiatric illnesses. 

 

I am 25 and have suffered with Anorexia and Bulimia for 13 years, after 11 years of treatment, I entered into recovery and though I struggle everyday, I am much closer to recovery than I ever imagined I would be.

 

There is a lot of guilt and shame associated with Eating Disorders, people suffering often do not know what to do, and parents of sufferers go through hell trying to figure out how to help there children.  Resources in Portland have increased in the last decade, but they are still inaccessible to many people.  Hopefully a show would bring attention to some of these issues.

 

 

sondra.storm — Mon April 13th 11:33p.m.

HIGH SPEED RAIL SERVICE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST! ITS TIME WE BOARD THE TRAIN

President Obama and Vice President Biden are leading the Pacific Northwest into the future of transportation.  In November of last year Californian's approve prop 1A giving the go ahead on a massive infrastructure project that would develop high speed (Asian/European Style) rail service from LA to San Fransisco. I spent a year living in Tokyo and on a daily basis used their superb rail lines. They were efficient, affordable, timely, and reliable. I think California is on the right track and and am PLEASED to hear President Obama single out Oregon and Washington as the place for a new high speed rail line.  High Speed rail would be a massive infrastructure project and would create hundreds if not thousands of high paying jobs that are crucial in our region (who leads the nations in unemployment).  We have proved through MAX and other mass transit systems that we make good use of these projects! California's project is 800 miles long and projected to cost 10 billion dollars. Eugene to Seattle is half the distance, on flat terrain and has no passes to dig under or climb over. WE COULD DO THIS if enough people come together and support it!

humanprimate — Thu April 16th 7:21p.m.

Its timely to talk about the  proposal to build a Liquified  Natural Gas terminal (LNG) in Astoria. Its interesting to me that OPB has been very quiet on this subject especially because of the huge impact it would have if  it was allowed to pass, so why are we not talking about it?!!! A recent  documentary " Crossroads On the Columbia: Oregon Confronts America's Energy Future," by local  film maker Spence Palermo, chronicles a community's response to LNG's proposal to buid terminals on the lower Columbia River. This is a compeling story of America at the crossroads of fossil fuel dependence, renewable energy and decisions over who controls our air, water and economy. I would love to hear from Spence Palermo, the River Keepers who are featured in the documentary and proceeds of the DVD support them, along with a representive from LNG. Its time !! Clare

CHiggs — Fri April 24th 6:19p.m.

Portland is a leader in the nation on all things sustainable.  We even have "Vision" plans on how we can take this even further and become a sustainable city-whatever that mean! 

Personally, I would like to see Portland become the worlds first fully sustainable city in the next seven years as a profitable example of how America can prosper as leaders of the fossil free world.  A template of all things good and green. 

I think we should fund our schools, government (and we can even pay for our transportation upgrades bridges, roads, and alternatives) by turning EVERYTHING into a clean energy power plant and linking them together into a distributed clean energy grid.  This particular piece of infrastructure will enable us to deal with our waste and water issues thus becoming a sustainable lighthouse.

Fanciful dream or the future come a knocking?

Playing it safe and taking small measured steps is great in most cases.  But when you have already stepped off the ledge and are in a free fall, then you need ALL your imagination, skill, and effort to learn how to fly.

Feedback welcome

Robert Shields

503 875 5590

robert@arkpdx.org

specialmaggic — Fri April 24th 7:09p.m.

I volunteer for a nonprofit organization on NE Alberta Street called Art on Alberta.  In a few weeks, we're going to present the 10th Annual Art Hop, a day long, family friendly event that always features the work of an artists whose story is (hopefully) inspiring to the residents of this neighborhood and the people who love to visit.  This year, also inspired by Oregon's sesquicentennial, we're honoring an artist whose name is unfortunately not more familiar: Thelma Johnson Streat.  She attended Pacific Northwest College of Art, then known as the "Museum School" because of its affiliation with the Portland Art Museum, in the 1930's and went on to international recognition.  Her African American and Native American heritage led her to proclaim a "one people in one world" philosophy in her artwork, dance, and educational philosophy.  Streat was the first African American woman to have her artwork purchased for the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, painted murals in San Francisco with Diego Rivera, and was known internationally in her day, yet she is still unknown to most Oregonians due to her gender and race.

Art on Alberta is working with her family to present the largest show of Thelma Johnson Streat's work ever mounted.  Streat's family still lives in Oregon, and they are loaning their personal collection of almost 50 of her works.  It will be on display at four venues on Alberta Street during our Art Hop celebration.  Historical articles, photographs, and letters will also be on display during the event.

As a "Think Out Loud" listener, I would love to tell your audience about this amazing woman to bring a new perspective to Oregon's history.

tooldiva — Fri April 24th 8:37p.m.

I would love you to do a show about mental illness and homelessness. Both groups of people are enormously stigmatized and so when people have both conditions, they are even more stigmatized.

A great guest for this would be Craig Rennebohm. He is a Seattle United Church of Christ minister who has written a book about his outreach work with people who have a mental illness and are living on the street. He has written a book called Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, that is just out in paperback. He will be coming to Portland the first weekend in June to do a workshop at the First Unitarian Church.

martha — Mon April 27th 3:32p.m.

Naysayers be damned! Methinks the TARP plan is already started having an effect on Main Street, Oregon.

On March 17th, Pres. Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geitner told America, through CNN et al, that the Treasury was buying up $15 billion of toxic assets to free banks to reopen credit lines in SBA lending. Oregon is 90% small buisiness.

Later that morning, my business partner and I walked into Bank of the Cascades in Bend with our businss plan, financials and a sense of hope and entitlement. Three weeks later, our SBA loan had funded and Deschutes Media was born and, with it, the flagship publication, 1859 Oregon's Magazine.

Full disclosure, my creation Bend Business Review, which had a small but important life under a different publisher, was mentioned as an up-and-comer in the Oregon media scene in a prior Think Out Loud.

If your're interested in doing a larger piece on credit markets and Oregon, I used to be a financial reporter for The New York Times and am fairly conversant on the topic. After my own SBA loan came through, it's now a personal matter too.

calmax — Mon April 27th 9:17p.m.

I suggested a show at the end of last month.  I am still interested hearing the Cesar Chavez street renaming effort discussed as it seems that only a few special interests want this to take place.  Please refer to my post last month.

Thanks.

Cubilist — Tue April 28th 9:59a.m.

In June, I will be moving into a brand new, income-restricted building at the corner of NE MLK and NE Shaver called Shaver Green.  A unique side of the story is that this building also holds a LEED Gold rating.  It's also minutes from downtown, Lloyd Center, the max, and Mississippi neighborhood shopping district.

It would be great if you did a story on projects like this, projects that benefit our city socially - through lower income accessible housing located in work and play urban centers, economically - by helping a vital component of the work force to be near the city center, help redevelop a neighborhood, and do so in an environmentally responsible way.  How great is that?

OregonSean — Wed April 29th 11:12a.m.

Last Sunday, I attended a "constituent coffee" meeting at my local library with my state representative and state senator.  I've been to a few these before, but it'd been a while and I found that it didn't go as well as I'd hoped.  Afterward, I wrote both of them to suggest ways to make the forum more conversation oriented and customer service friendly (something you don't hear in the same sentence with government very much).  Also, to recommend that they look into ways to improve education about the importance of participation and possibly make the event more "fun" to draw in more constituents, particularly the hard to reach younger demographic (think of the types of distractions and entertainment that our elected officials have to compete with today).  There were probably less than 20 people present and I may have been the only one under 40.

So--maybe a show that includes research based solutions for how to increase civic participation in Oregon, or how our elected officials can make their interactions with us more customer service oriented.

Also, a third idea, explore the barriers that exist to average people who want to run for the state legislature.   For example, apparently, our legislatures don't make a very substantial wage, and they definitely work part-time within the bienniem.  This creates serious financial barriers to people who want to run, but aren't wealthy enough to sustain their families on a part-time, less than living-wage.

OregonSean — Wed April 29th 11:36a.m.

Your series about The Switch has been very interesting.  What continues to come to mind is the real need to live more simply.  I think a show about the simple living movement would be very interesting and engaging. For me, 'Going Green' doesn't mean 'Buying Green,' it means not buying what I don't need. I think you would find there are a lot of people in Oregon feeling the same way.

cheers,

Crystal

crystal burgoyne — Fri May 1st 9:08a.m.

I agree.  Living rationally based on our needs rather than adverstisement driven consumerism would be a wonderful thing to highlight.  Taken a step further, it would be great to explore the movement to clean up our "mental environments" through the restriction of advertising in public spaces. 

OregonSean — Fri May 1st 1:22p.m.

Are there any planned shows on the 2009 state legislative session?

OregonSean — Fri May 1st 7:14p.m.

We haven't devoted a specific hour to the session, but we've probably talked about the session (and to legislators) on at least ten different shows over the last few months.

David Miller — Thu May 21st 1:46p.m.

I'd like to suggest a show idea: Who will be Oregon's next U.S. Attorney?

After 8 years of a Bush Justice Department in Oregon and across the country, it's time for a change.  Where are our senators in the process of recommending a replacement? The longer they wait, the more opportunity there is for the facilitators of the last administration to burrow into positions in the new administration, becoming stumbling blocks to President Obama's policy of transparency.

Both our senators will vote on all the U.S. judges, U.S. Attorneys and other high officials. But Ron Wyden, who has recently joined the Judiciary Committee, has the responsibility to question the candidates and then to recommend to the full Senate the person he thinks is the proper choice.

What qualities do our senators consider important in the successful candidates for these positions? Transparency? Compassion? Integrity? etc. And why? And what is their process?  How long should it take?   Other state senators have already made their recommendations to the president (i.e., Virginia). The longer our senators wait, the longer the Bush Administration stays in place. 

We need new folks in place who can pull up the shades and let some sunlight back in.

truth1 — Sat May 2nd 6:10p.m.

We're keeping an eye on the U.S. attorney situation, and most likely will do an hour on it if/when it looks like Oregon is going to get a new one.

David Miller — Thu May 21st 1:53p.m.

FYI: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/5/3/724992/-MSM-wakes-up-to-Chevrons-Amazon-disaster:-on-60-Minutes-tonight

There's still time for redemption. Nothing personal; I'm just educating people on the idea that all politics is local.

johndenton46 — Sun May 3rd 3:08p.m.

"CDC Confirms ties to virus first discovered in US pig factories". This headline to an article authored by Michel Greger MD, director of public health and animal agriculture for the Human Society of the US goes on to relate how warning after warning has been issued by the American Public Health Association in 2005; calling for a moratorium on factory farming. The UN urged that governments be more involved in factory farming supervision. The Danish law has capped the number of pig farms and put a ceiling on the total number of pigs allowed to be raised in the country.

Why havent we heard more public discussion about the sources of these contaminations......only what to do after they arrive. IN l998 a North Carolina pig factory saw thousands of breeding sows fall ill and by the end of the year this virus had moved into about 5 other states' factories. And according to the current analysis, published in the journal of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, it is from this pool of viruses that the  current swine flu threat deriveds 3/4 of its genetic material.

Wouldn't common sense tell us that focus on these massive animal factories to ease the environmental damage and health risks associated with them be critically important at this moment in time.

Please give us a thorough discussion of the topic - no one else seems willing to touch it.

Jere

jere — Thu May 7th 1:44p.m.

WebVisions09

May 20-22 will be the 9th year for this local event exploring the future of web design, technology, and strategy. A lot of that future is being created right here in Portland, in part because of people like the creators of this event. webvisionsevent.com

katied — Thu May 7th 7:01p.m.

Show suggestion: Balancing Public Good and Private Costs

Today's show on wolves and livestock pointed up for me the importance of discussing private costs for public good.  This especially occurs for farmers, ranchers, and family owned timber growers. 

My personal background incudes growing up as an Oregon Hillbilly (half logger half farmer half rancher).  Leaving the farm for college than working in industry for 20 years before moving back to Oregon to care for aging parents. 

Currently, the family land grows timber, Christmas trees, grass for seed and hay.  My husband works as an engineer and his salary supports us not the farm / timber. 

Deer, elk, coyotes,  human vandelism, and especiall goverment regulations all cost private business.  Sometimes this cost means paying money into owning land instead of the land supporting the owner's family.

Thank you for the excellent coverage Think Out Loud provides.

Eileen

emax — Mon May 11th 1:53p.m.

It might be interesting to delve into the eccentricities of the yoga community in Oregon.  I recently returned from a weekend in Eastern Oregon at the Pendleton Yoga Roundup.   It was a fanscinating weekend with an East Indian guru (Yogi Amrit Desai), Native Americian drummers and storytellers,  cowboy bands, and yoga classes.  It was all free of charge, sponsered by Tania Wildbill and James Dewar.  Next year they want to grow with the intention of becoming the "Woodstock" of yoga seminars....now if that isn't eccentric, I don't know what is.

laurieg — Mon May 11th 7:08p.m.

I'd like to second this one as well.  I do yoga at a studio in Vancouver, and am very interested in the general yoga movement, and the attitudes and beliefs of its adherents (it seems to be about more than physical fitness for most of them).  Different studios have different "personalities" as well.

dianewills — Mon May 11th 8:57p.m.

How about a show on the Rick Emerson radio show?  It is a radio talk show that's been around for almost 10 years, until recently on small local AM stations (his show would be taken off the air by one, but then due to popular demand would re-appear on another).  The last one was KOTK.  Now he's on KUFO.

He is very funny without trying to be a comedian (he's just himself, talking like he always talks).  His two sidekicks are very good too, Tim Riley and Sarah X Dillon.  The three of them have done the show almost from the beginning (I think Sarah came on a little later). 

I'd like to see Emily Harris interview the three of them on Think Out Loud and give callers a chance to call in and talk to them.

dianewills — Mon May 11th 8:56p.m.

As a paying member, I would like a show that serves as a brainstorming session to come up with better fundraising methods for OPB. The quarterly pledge drive method is obnoxious as hell for those of us that are paying already. We want programming, not mental torture. There must be a better way. Let's discuss ideas.

Bringo — Tue May 12th 5:26p.m.

I don't think this is the best use of an hour of TOL — it's so intramural, and plenty of our listeners aren't members — but I've forwarded your idea to our membership deparment.

David Miller — Thu May 21st 1:58p.m.

I'd like to suggest credit unions vs. banks.  Both in terms of their ability to meet customer's needs, and in the context of the current economic crisis.  I've heard repeatedly that although banks are not lending very much these days, that credit unions have continued to lend without missing a beat.

OregonSean — Fri May 15th 4:14p.m.

Excellent show this am about elders and caring for this vulnerable population. I suggest offering a show with the nurses that are out in the trenches caring for them in homes, fosterhomes, ALF's, RCF's and LTF's. My specialty is COMMUNITY BASED CARE and caring for those with disabilities in the community. Both populations are vulnerable and that is what makes them targets for abuse, financial exploitation and neglect.

The state of Oregon is unique in that nurses are allowed to delegate tasks of nursing to paid care providers and their families allowing the individual to stay in their homes longer and living a more productive life. This is something that is little known and very important especially for the "baby boomers" that are worried about their care as they age.

Offer time on your show for this very important area of nursing in Oregon.

JMF — Thu May 21st 10:19a.m.

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