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Penny_From_Eugene's comments:
on Strategic Default
Thank you, Dave. I wrote to the general TOL Staff email address (thinkoutloud@opb.org) over the weekend to let you guys know about the proliferation of ad hominem attacks. I usually enjoy coming to the blog and reading, and contributing to a lively, thoughtful exchange of ideas, but the spate of personal attacks made me begin to think about leaving and not coming back. I would not have liked to do that.
I, for one, try to make thoughtful comments that add to the discussion, even if they are occassionally slightly tangentially off-topic. Sometimes my comments are a bit tongue-in-cheek (like the "Voldemort" comment in the International Students thread), but I try to keep them respectful and well-thought out. When I am responding to another poster's comment directly, I usually quote and give credit for the comment I am responding to. I hope that TOL has a long and thought-provoking life on OPB.
Courteously,
Penelope McKibben
(AKA Penny_From_Eugene)
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Food Access
You're right, Tom, that was the model until pioneering men like Fred Meyer (he wasn't the only one, though) got into the grocery business, and created a need for things like shopping baskets and grocery carts.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Food Access
That sounds just like the primary thrust of Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" initiative. Getting local school children involved with planting, harvesting and enjoying the White House Kitchen Garden (and gardens like it at their schools), and encouraging kids to ask mom and/or dad for good food, rather than cheap, mediocre quality foods (yes, I'm talking about you McD's, BK, KFC, etc.).
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Food Access
True -- labour is often one of the biggest operating expenses that a business can have.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Food Access
A significant portion of the (adult-onset) diabetes epidemic is attributable to the heavy dependence we as a society have on processed foods. Foods that have added sugar and carbohydrates and fats. And other so-called "foods" like soda that have no redeeming nutritional value, but are priced more cheaply than the healthier alternatives, junk foods (like chips) that are cheaper than healthy snacks (like a nice, crisp apple, or a sweet, juicy orange).
I don't honestly believe that it has anything to do with GMOs or 'franken-foods,' and I come by this knowledge and belief as a result of personal experience. My doctor had my blood sugar tested (fasting glucose) last summer, and I was borderline pre-diabetic. I've changed my eating habits, and my blood sugar is down and so is my weight, so I speak from experience.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on International Students in Oregon
which completely discredits you except in the eyes of the ummmm...NUT-CASES and those who would defend ummm... HITLER, MUSSOLINI, LEX LUTHER, the ROMULANS and the GRINCH WHO STOLE XMAS -- Iolo — Fri March 11th 2:23p.m.
You forgot Voldemort....
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Tsunami
Oh, the blessings of living in the Willamette Valley -- protected from tsunamis by the Coast Range, no evacuation calls when a quake hits Japan. (Of course, we still are at risk of other seismic and volcanic events within the valley, and there's alsway the possibility of the rivers bursting their banks if it rains too much too fast.)
>
P.S. I love the picture -- put your head between your legs and kiss your butt goodbye!
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Strategic Default
so, you agree that bakers are and should be the despots? -- Iolo — Wed March 9th 4:24p.m.
NO!!! I don't wanna be a despot! But I really like baking! The scent of fresh bread, the taste of warm chocolate chip cookies -- it's all so irresistible! I wanna bake, but I don't want to be a despot!
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Spotted in Salem
Judging by the architecture of the building and the shape of the donut shop's sign, that used to be a Winchell's Donuts shop.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on An Other Emily Harris
Emily, do you mean the Symbionese Liberation Army?
Also, did your time at KCRW (Santa Monica) overlap with Harry Shearer's time at "The Home of the Homeless," "The Edge of America," "Outside the Bubble?"
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Wes Moore
on The Role of Unions
One last generalization to add to the mix:
"No generalization is any damn good, and that includes this one." -- Mark Twain
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on The Culture of Pimping
I guess the most we can hope for, lolo, is for Dfund's keyboard to freeze up, so that he can't submit any more incoherent all-caps comments.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on The Role of Unions
Actually, it was Abraham Lincoln who said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
The Second Continental Congress did, however, resolve that no one could sit in the Committee of the Whole without signing the Declaration of Independence. (Ironically, King George III wrote in his diary on July 4, 1776, "Nothing of Importance happened today.")
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on The Role of Unions
Yah but, the bankers collude as a group, AKA collectively. -- Tom D Ford
As do the oil companies, though you'll never get them to admit it, of course.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on The Role of Unions
What about the new teachers who show great potential? Do they ever get a chance? What about the teachers who are given a chance, but blow it in the classroom? Do we change when a teacher is considered for tenure? Do we periodically re-evaluate teachers for continued tenure? Maybe that's the answer...
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on The Role of Unions
Let's remember a few of the things that we do have, thanks to organized labour (unions):
+The Fair Labor Standards Act, which gave us:
* the minimum wage law;
* a defined work-week;
* a uniform threshold for determining overtime pay;
* weekends.
+Occupational Safety and Health Administration:
* safer workplaces;
* the right not to be dismissed due to a workplace injury.
Of course, some will argue that with unions we also get:
* higher prices (due to often higher union wages);
* entrenched workers who fail to perform up to standards;
* and the most famous down-side of unions: three public works shovel-leaners for each actual laborer. (Some call this a myth -- is it?)
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Sealing the Cracks in Foster Care
Then again, people who become parents in the "conventional" manner, (AKA Breeders) don't have to take parenting classes, either, and look what happens to some of the children from these families. I call your attention to the case of Jeanette Maples, who died a year or two ago, and her mother was recently convicted for her death.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Sealing the Cracks in Foster Care
40%?? - that would be what pharma wants us to think - now that's american incentive - 3 out of 5 are nut-cases amongst us?? Wow! and not PC either -- Iolo — Thu March 3rd 6:37p.m.
Oops...I think you got your ratio wrong -- 40% is 2 out of 5. (3 of 5 would be 60%.)
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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on Wes Moore
It may no longer be available for download directly. I get it via iTunes. You might try contacting the station via their "Contact Us" link (most Public Broadcasters have one on their website) and asking if it is available.
I think I found it: here's a link:
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-05-19/wes-moore-other-wes-moore
If you are unable to download the show, they do also offer a way to order a CD of the show (not sure what the cost involved is). There is also a link to listen directly.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago
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