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I support wind energy here and am swayed by none of the opposition arguments. They are not thinking ahead and are a big part of the problem rather than the solution. People are indeed partying like it is 1999!

posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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I believe that there are just as many foreigners in this country legally but whose visas have expired and remain in the country. What is being done about that? Little, if anything and there are just as many of them. There is no way that illegal immigrants are taking jobs away from Americans because the majority of us are "above that" concerning the jobs usually taken. Laws regarding employment have changed so that it should be very difficult for an undocumented worker to get hired unless the employer is breaking the rules or law. Further, we do not read about kidnappings and murders taking place in Arizona on a daily basis. All of the people I personally know who support this legislation are bigots/racists to begin with and they have NO personal experience regarding this issue whatsoever. It does not affect their daily lives. And whenever they see a Mexican or other foreigner they often automatically believe they are illegal. Americans of this type are sad. This legislation is nothing more than racism. And Arizona has no authority to make this law.

posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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We are already paying the price of not fully funding higher education and it will only get worse. Taxpayers do not want to pay for it and legislators are too meek to stand up and fund it. Period! It has been this way for decades. But if people think it is bad now, just wait. Here is my solution and it is easy: FUND IT! It ultimately benefits all so I won't mind paying a bit more to see it funded. Big corporations can pay more, too, and it does not bother me one bit if they go elsewhere, at least we will know why. Someone will recognize the bigger picture for what it is and locate here. People will see that we are not just blowing smoke. If we are out to do the right thing here then we need to stand up and insist that it happen.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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Vaccinations are worth the risk and I do believe that the majority of dissenting people who are "well read" on the topic cannot be convinced otherwise. Fine. However, I would not raise my children in Ashland or in any area with a large unvaccinated population. It is foolish. Children simply cannot be safeguarded completely from exposure to other humans. Not vaccinating your children now may not be a problem but it invites problems down the road that we will not be around to witness. Most of my Native America ancestors are not here now because of simple contagion. Indeed the government on numerous occasions condoned the murder of our people simply by gifting us blankets that had been used on people with contagious disease. In this age of global travel it seems more important, not less, to be fully vaccinated. One can survive today after contracting whooping cough, measles, mumps, rubella, or even polio but there are potential consequences down the road that your children may not thank you for later. Ben Franklin himself immunized all of his children against smallpox as they were born. My bet is that his only regret was immunizing the one child that later became Colonial Governor and voted against rejecting loyalty to Britain! And by the way, Hepatitis B is NOT just a sexually transmitted infection, it can also be transmitted IV which means that people who are injured together and whose blood or body fluids co-mingle during an accidental injury can also be exposed. IV infection does not necessarily mean via needle. I didn't hear anybody clarify that during the program. People who claim a religious exemption should be required to prove it because I believe there are many in that growing unvaccinated percentage who are not being truthful.

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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Our system of voting is GREAT! I think that one who does not intend to vote must have a difficult time of it here because as election day approaches it seems like no one is talking about anything else! It gives me a great sense of pride and independence to complete my ballot, then walk to the county office building and turn it in myself (I have only rarely mailed mine in). I believe it has proven to be very efficient and probably increases the number of voters who participate due to its sheer convenience. If you are forgetful about these things have someone remind you. Have a party and do them together. But everyone please VOTE!

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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I have always been a cemetery fan and rarely pass up the chance to wander through one. One Saturday back in the 70's two friends and I went on a backroad drive and much later during a quick "pit stop" at a lone intersection out in the wilderness I tripped over some bushes and came face to face with a wooden gravestone! We discovered an abandoned cemetery by accident. Most of the gravestones were wooden. I was not yet a graveyard fan and we forget about this one for years. Then, later on when we remembered it we have never been able to relocate it. I am surprised you didn't mention any Native American cemeteries. There is lots of history there not to mention beauty.

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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I think that the argument about depression is a no-brainer. Have you ever known a terminally ill patient that did NOT have depression? How many patients routinely see an oncologist (or other specialist) unless they have an appropriate diagnosis? NONE. Of course these specialists will not know their patients as thoroughly as the primary provider. Psychiatry and psychotropics cannot change the inevitable but if charts were reviewed you will likely see that the majority of terminally ill patients are on an antidepressants and/or anxiolytic. The bottom line is that opponents minds cannot be changed no matter how many studies are conducted. What studies can prove definitively the religious side of the argument?

posted 4 years, 7 months ago
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I consider this measure to be nothing more than bigotry and not even in disguise! That it is so poorly worded is no surprise. What I think is that we should pass a measure inviting Sizemore to BUTT OUT. Oregonians don't want to pay for anything and Oregon Legislators are too fearful to fund even the basics. It has been this way decades or longer. Education is a joke and we deserve every consequence of this failure to fully fund education. So even if this measure does pass how will it be paid for and how will schools demonstrate that these students are achieving?

posted 4 years, 7 months ago
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The circle of life is not really a continuum. It begins with birth and ends with death yet most people have no concrete plan for death, especially when it is foreseeable as in the case of terminal illness. As a nurse with many years of experience dealing with the dying I believe there is no greater loss of dignity and independence than not having the ability to say "enough" and being able to end ones own life on their own terms. Whenever this issue arises I think of one woman in particular who begged and pleaded for me to give her an overdose. Her exact words were: can you PLEASE give me something to take me out? She did not die for weeks and nothing we gave her could control her pain. Hers is a request made to me many times over the years. If medicine or technology could save these people we would not need to have this law. Since Oregon passed the Death With Dignity Act we have not become a mecca for the dying and terminally ill people have not flocked to this state as many opponents predicted. Furthermore, one of the first reviews of the use of the law revealed that a good number of these patients never even exercised the option after qualifying. It has not been demonstrated that anyone was forced to use it or that it has been used improperly. I reject religious arguments as interference with individual choice and responsibility. In my opinion one day people will look back and accuse us of having committed abuse toward the terminally ill before these laws came into being.

posted 4 years, 7 months ago
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Time and again we read and hear in the news that there is NO expectation of privacy when in public. Using the Oregon law against audio recording is lame and a stretch. When privacy is required during a police interaction they can arrange to make that happen. Privacy cannot be assured when in a public area anyway so what is the point of their objecting? Furthermore, take note that when a police officer begins these interactions and told they are being recorded one is not given a choice in that matter. Police should not have a choice, either. Considering how often the Portland Police Bureau has used deadly force on the citizenry one would think they would embrace being recorded to dispell this fear. What do they have to fear, anyway?

posted 4 years, 8 months ago
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