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I am home making cookies for a cub scout dinner tomorrow night, and it strikes me that we have a society that doesn't always try to move children into positive activities when they are young. Is there evidence that having kids involved in cub or girl scouts, 4H, Camp Fire, etc make a difference as they get older?

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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How much of the gang violence and financial support for them comes from drug distribution and sales?

The only contact I have had with gang members was when I worked for a drug and alsohol treatment program and we sometimes made adjustments in group, during the very start of someone's program, if there were opposite gang affiliations. For the most part, our program insisted that seperation only lasted through the first phase. I don't know of any negative incidents that happened once our clients were clean and working on staying sober.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I would agree that this is a topic that needs to be discussed. I think that more diversion programs, which actually help people kick their drug habit, would be a better use of state money.

I also can't help but think that as a state we need to focus on education, to help keep people out of prison on the front end. What if we looked at education as the way to keep people productive members of society and our prison budgets low? Would we be more likely to fund it at a level that made all students more likely to engage?

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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A nonpartisan legislature would make SOOOOO much sense to me!!

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I still think about this show everytime I am driving to cub scouts. For me, the biggest moment was hearing Bill say that he hadn't thought that someone could support the troups and not the war.

It is always a struggle for me to figure out how to do it, but as the cub scouts sent off their Valentine's, and now are planning for Mother's Day and Father's Day cards and packages to send to troops who they have never met, I am glad that there are ways to keep trying to find a balance between loving and serving the men and women of the military, even when I passionately disagree with the deicsions made by their Commander in Chief.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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Thanks for the clarification, it was a confusing conversation to listen to, and not explained very well while it was on air.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I think you should invite local bands to submit their ideas, and then have a show devoted to the topic. Have the top 4-6 bands come into the studio, play their work, talk about what the Oregon music scene is like, and then let TOL fans vote for their favorite sound. I think the theme should change fairly regularly, and maybe this could become a yearly show.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I would like a discussion on bilingual education, it's benefits and drawbacks. My children attend a bilingual Spanish/English program in Oregon City, and I know some about the Portland programs. I have been told that they are a less expensive alternative for school districts than simply have ESL classrooms, and that students from both Spanish and English speaking homes benefit. For all of that, I also hear negative comments about having my children in the program, and the opinion that "I" am just making it easier for illegal immigrants. I personally don't understand the point of view, and have never had it articulated in language that did not involve profanity. I would be interested to hear what critics feel are the drawbacks, as well as what parents and students who are involved in bilingual programs, for a variety of languages, feel are the advantages.

I know a number of families and teachers who may be interested in sharing their experiences.

I am also very curious why Bend doesn't have any bilingual programs (or at least didn't as of last summer when I moved back to the Portland area) when there is a growing Hispanic population, and so few bilingual workers. When I was hiring for a bilingual position in Bend, we had to recruit from the Metro area or out of state to find qualified candidates.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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When will it be coming back? when you do, it might be good to talk about the rising out of pocket costs for those who are insured. We just finished our taxes, and we have over $16,000 in out of pocket health care costs, and that is for a family of 5 with "good" health coverage through an employer health plan. (That doesn't include the cost for health insurance premiums, which was another $4500 for the year.) We had only 2 days where anyone was in the hospital this year, compared to 5 years ago, when the twins were born and we had a total of 75 days of hospital stays (for the entire family) and only had $650 in out of pocket expenses.

I think that all too often we forget that even those with "good" insurance still have a lot more out of pocket costs that they are paying for health care.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I would really like to hear what is happening now, and what things all Oregonians need to think abotu to be ready for the next natural disaster. Maybe some emergency preparedeness tips that everyone should have. Our church encourages all its members to have 72 hour kits that are ready to go on a moment's notice, but I would be interested in finding out where in Oregon we should go if we are told to leave our homes.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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I am registered unaffliated, and have never been a member of either party. I consider myself someone who votes for the person and their beliefs and not just the party they belong to. In recent years I have not voted for many republicans, mostly because they ignore me, and those like me. I do get mailings from Democrats a good portion of the time, but it seems that the republicans have decided that if I am not in their party they are not going to give me information about their candidates, even when I call the campaign headquarters and ask for someone to talk to, or to have them send me information about specific questions. It has been several years since I have even tried, because the last 4 times I called I was told that they were concentrating on their "base" or that the party mailed out that information, so if I wanted it I would need to register as a republican.

I think that the all or nothing thinking displayed by those candidates, and the party in general is a HUGE problem in a state that has a large percentage of independents. With closed primaries and no regard for people outside the party I am left with the choice to be largely disenfranchised, or to compromise and go with a party, none of which I believe serves my interests well enough to earn my allegiance. So far I have chosen to vote for the candidates who will at least talk to me and give me the information I need, about their opinions and stands, which have been pretty exclusively democrats.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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It seems there are a lot of people with contact info. Does this allow you to contact us, or is there a specific place you would like us to contact you?

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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My other question in all of this is what happens with the delegates that Edwards won?

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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In so many ways it seems ironic that in a state with so many "nonaffiliated" voters who are not allowed to vote in the primaries, that party questions are so dominate yet again. That said, I think that superdelegates have the right to vote their conscious, just as much as anyone else entering the voting booth does.

If we as a population want superdelegates who will vote in accordance with the state voting percentages, then we need to make it a litmus test in our voting. What is this candidates stand on superdelegate voting? Did any one of Oregon's superdelegates get asked that when they were running for office? There are many things that come up during a public servant's term that were not covered during their campaigning, or that no one anticipated when they started their time in a particular position. If we can't trush them to make a good decision, with or without polling or voting information from their constituency, then maybe we need to elect someone else. We are after all a representative democracy, not a direct democracy.

I think that the two party system with "winner take all" has made us focus on winning, rather than the people we are electing. So, if you care about how Oregon's superdelegates may vote next time this happens, then make sure to ask them when they are campaigning for your vote.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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I agree about turning it off, when it comes on. My kids know that from 10-11 am we will be listening to country music. As someone who is an avid OPB listener and involved in supporting OPB in a number of ways, I find it sad that we still have "World Have you Say" on when there continue to be so many problems. The last time I tried listening I was offended for the people calling in. The host "paraphrased" for several callers and totally changed the meaning of what they had just said. That did it for me. What is the point of asking people to share their point of view if you are going to totally ignore it?

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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I agree. As someone passionately opposed to war, I still feel that I need to do what I can to support the troops. So, I write letters, help my cub scouts send packages to the soldiers at Ghazni base, and try to say thank you to all the vets and current soldiers I know.

I do wish there were more organizations that had ways for those of us who are opposed to war but want to support the soldiers in ways that do not include supporting the war.

I recently called an organization that was looking for volunteers to pack up supplies to send to the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was told that the first thing they had everyone do was sign a petition for congress in support of the war and soldiers. When I said I wasn't interested in goign ot their website and signing it, that I only wanted to come help, the lady called me a traitor and hung up on me.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
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Is there a sense from your guests that the military did right by them, or was there more that they would have wanted from the military?

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
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I think it may be time to admit that we need to rethink the entire tax structure here in Oregon. Property tax limits hurt rural and urban areas, and without another tax source, like a sales tax (which by being more of a burden on the poor make it a bad choice in my opinion), we need to relook at how we are paying for the services we need. Otherwise, I think we will have to give up services that it is important to me that we keep available. Healthy school systems, good higher education options, health care for all of Oregon's children, good public transportation and road systems; all have to be funded.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
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I have a brother-in-law who was in the military in Iraq. He was home for about a year, after retiring, before he signed up as a contractor in Afghanistan. I often times wonder what the parts of combat make some people go back, while others find the phsyical or psychological injuries as their main experience.

I sometimes wonder if we let him down in reintegrating him back into the stateside cultural, and what we can do when he comes home in a year to help better reintegrate him this time.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
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For pledge week, how about a show that lets people share their funny, life changing, etc. experiences with OPB and NPR?

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
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