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aaghzl's comments:

on Candidate Conversations: Secretary of State

I would like to point out to Rick Dancer that not everyone holding a driver's license is a U.S. citizen, so this is not proof of citizenship. Any person who is legally permitted to live in the United States because they have a legal student visa or green card can legally obtain a driver's license. Thus, my cousin's Canadian spouse can get a license and even a Soc Sec card when she works legally in our country.

posted 4 years, 6 months ago
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on Unschool

I understand that there is an opportunity for bright, highly-motivated parents who homeschool to provide their children with an excellent education, and I do not want to imply in any way that my own experiences reflect the entirety of the homeschooling community.

However, I do wonder who should be responsible when it isn't working? As mentioned, no information has been gathered about what these children end up doing later in life. This movement is just in it's beginnings and we have very few examples of adults today who grew up in such an environment. Yes, I do believe that it is worth worrying about our children's future.

My cousins were homeschooled - unsuccessfully. Why do I say unsuccessfully? My cousins are 29 and 20 years old now. Neither have the skills that would allow them to live as independent adults, or support themselves. They live at home with their parents. They cannot drive. Neither has ever worked a paid job. The older cousin has taken a handful of community college courses, but she drops out of any course she does not like, or any course where she doesn't like what the instructor asks of her. My cousins have little tolerance for adapting themselves to social situations, so that even extended family gatherings are "too much" for them to handle.

Now, you might think that we could have seen this coming all along. But, for the first several years, they sounded just like any of the homeschooling parents who spoke on the show today. They talked about all the wonderful interests that their children were pursuing. They talked about how they were going on field trips with other homeschooled children. They talked about how the children were up-to-grade-level on the state tests. Our whole family held our breaths and waited to see what would happen when they turned 18. The answer was nothing.

It is with deep caring and concern for my family members that I wonder aloud - what is going to happen to them when the parents are no longer able to support them?

Should someone have intervened? if so, when? and who?

YES, we must consider what will happen to the homeschooled children when they grow up.

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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on

To Jeff Merkley - Congratulations on your win! I voted for Novick yesterday, but I want you to know that you can count on my vote in November.

Amy in Corvallis

posted 4 years, 12 months ago
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on Clinton and the Generational Gender Divide

I am a 35-year-old white woman, a Feminist, and an MBA running my own small corporation now. I feel very strongly that we need to judge people based on their merits rather than their gender or race. America and the world are absolutely ready for a woman President. We are also ready for a black President. I don't feel that either would pose a problem with credibility at home or abroad. There is simply no evidence to suggest otherwise.

I have looked at both candidates very carefully and based on both words and deeds, I have chosen to support Barack Obama. I reject that idea promoted by some that we should vote for Hillary Clinton because she's a woman. Inherent in their arguments, often expressly stated, are gender-based assumptions about her personality and what kind of leader she would be. Isn't true Feminism the fight against prejudging people based on their gender?

Of the two candidates, I have found it is Obama who believes in bringing all stakeholders to the table when it comes to developing solutions. This is a best practice of leadership that I learned in business school. Clinton has displayed a much more closed-door, top-down style of leadership. We saw this in her first, failed attempt to drive health care reform and many more examples since. I prefer Obama's consensus-building, bottom-up style of leadership.

I'm distressed to hear arguments about whether women or blacks have had the greatest barriers in life. Yes, these discussions are important when we approach solutions to these problems in our society. Yes, black voters had right before women voters. On the other hand, fewer black politicians have ever been elected to high offices such governorships or senate seats. What I want to know is, why should this make a difference in my decision of who to support for President? We should be voting on the qualities and merits of these two individuals. This is not "the person whose face looks like the most historically repressed group" contest, this is a contest for the leader of our country. May the best person win.

I worked at HP when Carly Fiorina was CEO. At the time, she was called the most powerful woman in America. Sometimes women asked me if I was proud to be working under her. The problem was, I had to say that she wasn't the best leader for the company. She was headstrong, power-hungry and believed in herself to a fault. (She was later ousted by the board for leading the company in wrong direction and not listening to voices that would have helped her correct the course.)

So, I say, yes, I want a woman to be President of the United States. However, I'm willing to wait until the right woman comes along. This year, I will be supporting the candidate that I feel listens best, builds coalitions best, and stays true to what he stands for best - Barack Obama.

posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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