Suggest a Topic
RECENTLY ON TOL:
TOL Our Town
- A tumblr site dedicated to the people and places that make up Oregon and Southwest Washington.
TAGS:
2012 conventions
2012 election
2013 session
2013 special election
arts
arts and culture
author
ballot measures
basketball
bomb
books
boy scouts
budget
bullying
business
charlie hales
children
clackamas
climate change
coal
college
courts
crime
culture
culture club
democrats
drugs
economy
education
environment
family
film
fluoride
food
gay rights
guns
handguns
health
health care
health insurance
high school
history
housing
immigration
international
internet
kitzhaber
law
legislature
lgbt
literary arts
living
marijuana
marriage
media
medicine
mental health
military
minor parties
mohamed mohamud
movies
music
native americans
news
newspaper
obama
olympics
oregon
our town
parenting
pers
photography
police
politcs
politics
port
portland
portland business journal
president
prevention
public safety
religion
republicans
rnc
romney
rural
salem
sam adams
sandy hook
schools
science
shooting
sports
suicide
supreme court
taxes
technology
television
terrorism
theater
third parties
transportation
union
university of oregon
washington
wildfire
women
see all tags >>
Tom D Ford's comments:
on One Billion Served?
Hmm, why not get your self regruntled and set your alarm one or two minutes later ?
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on Of Prayer and Penicillin
"3. Cults and many other organizations operate through a system of fear and control."
Over the past twenty years or so I?ve come to realize that King Solomon was a genius with his ?spare the rod and spoil the child? attitudes. Remember, a king has to keep control of his subjects through fear, intimidation, and beatings. The genius of Solomon was in getting parents to turn against their own children and do the evil work for the king. The kids are beaten down into fearful submission before they even have a chance to learn and know about personal responsibility and freedom.
A more modern version of this was when Jay Gould, an early twentieth century industrialist, said ?I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half?. Or Bush/Cheney now paying some Iraqis to kill the other Iraqis who oppose Bush/Cheney.
King Solomon perpetrated what is probably the greatest and most monstrous ongoing child abuse in history, turning parents against their own babies! And his teachings still hold sway in the world today.
I suspect that an awful lot of peoples psychological dysfunction can be traced back to a childhood influenced by the attitudes represented by ?spare the rod and spoil the child? and ?put the fear in them early?. Depression, giving up, sneakiness, etc.
And that version of religion is completely unsuitable for a democracy of ?government of the people, by the people, and for the people?, in which the people need courage to speak their piece and demand their rights as part of the process of governing themselves.
Babies are born with incredible courage and I think it is right to try and preserve and encourage that little light of courage into adulthood.
Over the past twenty years or so I?ve come to realize that King Solomon was a genius with his ?spare the rod and spoil the child? attitudes. Remember, a king has to keep control of his subjects through fear, intimidation, and beatings. The genius of Solomon was in getting parents to turn against their own children and do the evil work for the king. The kids are beaten down into fearful submission before they even have a chance to learn and know about personal responsibility and freedom.
A more modern version of this was when Jay Gould, an early twentieth century industrialist, said ?I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half?. Or Bush/Cheney now paying some Iraqis to kill the other Iraqis who oppose Bush/Cheney.
King Solomon perpetrated what is probably the greatest and most monstrous ongoing child abuse in history, turning parents against their own babies! And his teachings still hold sway in the world today.
I suspect that an awful lot of peoples psychological dysfunction can be traced back to a childhood influenced by the attitudes represented by ?spare the rod and spoil the child? and ?put the fear in them early?. Depression, giving up, sneakiness, etc.
And that version of religion is completely unsuitable for a democracy of ?government of the people, by the people, and for the people?, in which the people need courage to speak their piece and demand their rights as part of the process of governing themselves.
Babies are born with incredible courage and I think it is right to try and preserve and encourage that little light of courage into adulthood.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on Of Prayer and Penicillin
It seems to me that while the parents have religious freedom, the child does not. Religion is imposed on the child before she is old enough to use informed consent and judge for herself.
After a child reaches some suitable age like 18 or 21, he could be considered open to being preyed upon by religionists but before that the child ought to be given protection by the Grownups of the society.
I define Grownups as people old enough and mature enough that they no longer believe in imaginary supernatural beings, they have put aside their childish imaginary friends. Grownups have respect for human life and are really the only protection that children can depend on from the many predators trying to prey and/or pray on what Jesus called ?the least of these?.
After a child reaches some suitable age like 18 or 21, he could be considered open to being preyed upon by religionists but before that the child ought to be given protection by the Grownups of the society.
I define Grownups as people old enough and mature enough that they no longer believe in imaginary supernatural beings, they have put aside their childish imaginary friends. Grownups have respect for human life and are really the only protection that children can depend on from the many predators trying to prey and/or pray on what Jesus called ?the least of these?.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on Housing Ripples
I heartily recommend that people join their local Credit Union as members. As members you pay one to two percent lower interest rates on every financial product, including credit cards. And since you are an owner of your CU it is in your interest to only loan to realistic homebuyers, including hopefully, yourself.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on Housing Ripples
Conservative Republicans De-Regulated the home loan industries and suckered people into home loans they could not afford, now the home buyers are losing their homes to foreclosures and Conservative Republicans can use their ?Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy? to buy up the foreclosed homes for cents on the dollar.
Conservative Republicans win both ways, they acquire the homes at fire sale prices and then because the people who lost everything still need someplace to live, the Conservative Republicans rent those homes back to the people made victims by the De-Regulation of the home loan industries.
Conservatism has always created poverty, privatizing the profits and then socializing the risks onto the public. As historical examples, let?s remember Reagans De-Regulation and subsequent looting of the US Savings & Loans and of course the Great Depression.
The public needs well crafted and enforced Regulations to protect themselves from the predations of Conservative Republicans.
De-Regulation hurts the realtors, the builders, the building craftsmen, building suppliers, material manufacturers, the homebuyers, and the honest bankers.
Conservative Republicans win both ways, they acquire the homes at fire sale prices and then because the people who lost everything still need someplace to live, the Conservative Republicans rent those homes back to the people made victims by the De-Regulation of the home loan industries.
Conservatism has always created poverty, privatizing the profits and then socializing the risks onto the public. As historical examples, let?s remember Reagans De-Regulation and subsequent looting of the US Savings & Loans and of course the Great Depression.
The public needs well crafted and enforced Regulations to protect themselves from the predations of Conservative Republicans.
De-Regulation hurts the realtors, the builders, the building craftsmen, building suppliers, material manufacturers, the homebuyers, and the honest bankers.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on An Internet Speed Limit?
"We are rapidly approaching a point at which the line between the Government and Major Corporate Interests is indistinguishable."
Benito Mussolini said that Fascism really is the Corporative State, and the Conservatives in current Executive power in the US have made giant strides in making the dream of a Corporative State a reality.
Benito Mussolini said that Fascism really is the Corporative State, and the Conservatives in current Executive power in the US have made giant strides in making the dream of a Corporative State a reality.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on An Internet Speed Limit?
I am remembering back to when the internet was first privatized and all the warnings about what would happen when the privateers took over from the public, so this is no surprise.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on An Internet Speed Limit?
This is interesting. I have been experiencing what the C-net guest described and I'm on Earthlink via Qwest.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on The Governor of Washington Takes Your Questions
I agree with President Dwight Eisenhowers idea of building the interstates like I-5 as being in the national interest for many reasons including commerce and moving the military around and so I wonder what has happened to Federal funding?
Isn't it still in our national interest?
Isn't it still in our national interest?
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on The Governor of Washington Takes Your Questions
Normally I ignore spelling but what a delightful image this brings to my imagination:
From
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuet
"A minuet is a dance which was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in France. It was danced by the aristocracy, especially at the court of King Louis XIV."
From
http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuet
"A minuet is a dance which was popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in France. It was danced by the aristocracy, especially at the court of King Louis XIV."
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on The Legality of Homelessness
"money doesn't buy you happiness"
"It just rents it for a while", is the clever response I've heard to that old saying.
We are all participants in a game with the rules made by the wealthy, nobody gets to not-participate. If you are alive you will in some way contribute to the transfer of wealth upwards to the very rich. But some resist the rules as much as they can and some give up the competition or are incapable of competing.
I think there should be some bottom under which a human being will not be pushed or reduced.
"It just rents it for a while", is the clever response I've heard to that old saying.
We are all participants in a game with the rules made by the wealthy, nobody gets to not-participate. If you are alive you will in some way contribute to the transfer of wealth upwards to the very rich. But some resist the rules as much as they can and some give up the competition or are incapable of competing.
I think there should be some bottom under which a human being will not be pushed or reduced.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on The Legality of Homelessness
Yeppers, poor people sure are a nuisance.
I note that Conservatism always creates poverty and that there are other forms of politics which try to alleviate poverty; we're currently experiencing the results of decades of politics descending into Conservatism, worse and worse extremes of poverty and degradation of human beings.
I note that Conservatism always creates poverty and that there are other forms of politics which try to alleviate poverty; we're currently experiencing the results of decades of politics descending into Conservatism, worse and worse extremes of poverty and degradation of human beings.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on Obama and Race in Oregon
The Ku Klux Klan was very big and influential in Oregon and Oregon is still very Conservative, rightwingers using fear and hate mongering to keep people divided.
Education, education, education is the best answer.
Education, education, education is the best answer.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on The Iraq Generation
The Vietnam era draftees also kept the military somewhat honest by exposing the lies about body counts, exposing massacres like Mai Lai, writing letters home telling the truth, etc. Our current professional soldiers have no incentive to risk their job by exposing lies and criminal activities by their superior officers.
And worst of all in my view, they have no incentive to refuse an illegal order to commit a War Crime, like the War of Aggression against Iraq. It's just "go along to get along", and keep their professional job.
As much as I hated the draft and being drafted, the draftees kept the nation and the military somewhat honest, so I would rather have the draft than the current all professional and therefore mercenary military.
Erin Watada is really the only "Army of One" and the only "Army Strong" because he refused to commit that War Crime; Watada is the only real American Hero of the Iraq War era.
And worst of all in my view, they have no incentive to refuse an illegal order to commit a War Crime, like the War of Aggression against Iraq. It's just "go along to get along", and keep their professional job.
As much as I hated the draft and being drafted, the draftees kept the nation and the military somewhat honest, so I would rather have the draft than the current all professional and therefore mercenary military.
Erin Watada is really the only "Army of One" and the only "Army Strong" because he refused to commit that War Crime; Watada is the only real American Hero of the Iraq War era.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on The Iraq Generation
"although I am personally unscathed by war."
Wait till you see what you will pay in taxes over your lifetime for the Bush/Cheney war against Iraq, you should feel violated.
Wait till you see what you will pay in taxes over your lifetime for the Bush/Cheney war against Iraq, you should feel violated.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on The Iraq Generation
If the real cost of the War against Iraq is three trillion dollars then Bush/Cheney have spent one hundred and thirty thousand four hundred thirty four dollars and eighty cents on each one of the original twenty three million Iraqi citizens.
($3,000,000,000,000.00 divided by 23,000,000 = $130,434.80)
In doing so Bush/Cheney and their conservative base have financially raped Americas children for generations in order to pay the taxes needed to pay off the bills Bush/Cheney Left Behind.
The kids ought to be outraged, I sure am.
($3,000,000,000,000.00 divided by 23,000,000 = $130,434.80)
In doing so Bush/Cheney and their conservative base have financially raped Americas children for generations in order to pay the taxes needed to pay off the bills Bush/Cheney Left Behind.
The kids ought to be outraged, I sure am.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on Salmon Shutdown?
Unregulated fishing and Dams, dams, dams, dams, dams, dams!
Oh, and by the way, did I forget to mention dams?
Oh, and by the way, did I forget to mention dams?
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
on Salmon Shutdown?
Aren't you guys just quibbling over the leftover crumbs of wild fish stocks? A decade or so ago the Bonneville Power Administration ran ads in The Oregonian that said the Columbia fish runs around the year 1900 ran around 300,000,000, that's three hundred million! And now you're happy to call a run good when it hits 750,000 or so? What happened to the other two hundred and ninety nine or so million?
I suggest there is an elephant in the room going unnoticed!
Time shift! It is now Wednesday, 30 July 2008 and I have since been presented with several credible sources that say the historic runs were estimated to be about 11 to 16 million fish. So I stand corrected, I believe that my 300 million figure was wrong. I don't know if the ad was wrong, a typo, or my memory was wrong but either way it was wrong.
I suggest there is an elephant in the room going unnoticed!
Time shift! It is now Wednesday, 30 July 2008 and I have since been presented with several credible sources that say the historic runs were estimated to be about 11 to 16 million fish. So I stand corrected, I believe that my 300 million figure was wrong. I don't know if the ad was wrong, a typo, or my memory was wrong but either way it was wrong.
posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context
