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echolynch's comments:
on The Garbage Business
I am from Hawaii originally and even as a teenager I understood the problem and encouraged recycling, but Hawaii is FAR behind the curve in recycling. The other problem is the migration of mainlanders to Hawaii without restriction. One cannot address the problem of the amount of waste produced in Hawaii without addressing the problem of people moving from the mainland to Hawaii. Until that flow is stemmed, the amount of waste will continue to grow. So the real long term resolution must be a combination:
- Slow down migration of mainlanders to Hawaii
- Increase recycling, composting and reusing in Hawaii
- Education of adults, most of the kids get it
- Financial penalties for those who exceed limits
- Financial rewards for those who reduce trash
- Incinerator for proper materials
- Since the vast majority of the goods used in Hawaii is imported, there must be some reciprocity to take back the waste generated by the product imported, from where it was imported
- Change the attitudes of many in Hawaii to one of more sustainability
It is a major problem and must be addressed at some point, on a major scale.
posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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on Classes To Cut
How much has things like textbooks been reviewed? I know that every couple of years we used to get new textbooks, without any real need for new ones. Where I grew up the school district had a contract to purchase new textbooks every two or three years and it was insane how much they paid per textbook. I cringe when I see the "new" additions into textbooks, especially now that the Texas school board has forced unfounded and disproven ideas into textbooks. So, have these things been looked at? Do schools really need principals? Or can regional principals serve the same function? How much leverage are the schools doing? If ALL, every single school district in the state combined their resources and purchased all consumables together, what effect would the economies of scale have? And of course as so many others have said, the entire funding model is flawed and needs to be completely changed. Also as others have mentioned, the teachers (and most public employees in Oregon) don't pay much if anything for health insurance. Most private employees do. I think it would be fair to ask those public employees to pitch in and pay some of the health care premiums.
In the end, there is no good answer. Maybe the way to get attention to the problem and force the State Legislature to review the fundemental problem with the financial model is to cut English, Science and Math. One year, completely from ALL schools in Oregon. I think schools may get some attention then.
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on Classes To Cut
How about cutting math? Or better yet, English. Have you seen how kids today write? Text speak has long replaced English, so why bother?
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on The Face of Race
Thanks for proving my point for me. So basically what you are saying is you are like all other Scotts, no different because we work in generalizations. And that all white people are better equipped to fit in here in Portland and it is the FAULT of the minorities to even try and fit into such an advanced culture. The problem with your point is that people are individuals. In my whole life I have never met two people exactly alike. And therein lies the fundamental problem. If one is incapable of seeing past superficial differences, then we are condemned to repeat the mistakes of the past.
posted 3 years ago
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on The Face of Race
As you are clearly doing now. Should government only serve one group of its constituents? Are you afraid of racial equity? Should not government serve all of the people?
posted 3 years ago
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on The Face of Race
There are actually two discussion here, and Emily it would be a good idea to split them up into two shows. The oppression of poor Americans is its own whole show and deserves its own discussion.
Having been born and raised in Hawaii, where there is NO majority race and moving to Portland after serving in the USAF I was surprised to find much more racism here than in Texas or the South. And there it was open and overtly obvious when it occurred. Here it is much more dangerous, many who are racist here refuse to accept or believe they are racist.
Portland history is littered with a shameful past that Portlandites now believe to be false and disregard with ease. Portland has limited geographical areas where non-whites could live and own homes, the university system in Oregon is incredibly racist and white dominated. Does anyone remember Vanport City and the flood? Why was the one of the only places African-Americans allowed to live in a flood zone? Why was the response so slow, so bad and terribly costly to the families impacted by the flood? To get the residents, almost all minorities to LEAVE Oregon, and it worked. The participation in hate groups like the KKK was extremely high in Oregon and many of those sentiments are still here, under the calm surface running as deep as ever. Maybe if Oregonians stepped up and acknowledges the problems, we can begin moving to solving the problems.
posted 3 years ago
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on The Face of Race
Scott,
This is the first time I think I have disagreed with one of your posts. Your post IS racism, defined. People of color - meaning you are now lumping everyone of color into a group, and inferring that the other side of the spectrum, or whites will do well. Have you MET some of the white people in Portland? No, Portland isn't too modern or sophisticated, just the opposite. Portland is STILL rife with latent and deep racism. Anyone who has lived else where in America quickly realizes Portland is a deeply racist city in a deeply racist state, with a false idea that we are not. It is this true belief that the city suffers from a very strong racist but fails to recognize it that is inherently more dangerous than being openly racist.
posted 3 years ago
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on Unpacking Heat
Then leave my country.
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Unpacking Heat
who could NOT legally possess a firearm, by the way. So more gun laws would help how? How about addressing the Lakewood shooting by speaking to the problem - the "corrrections" system in America.
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Unpacking Heat
Police officers in Oregon have training all right. Enough to shoot unarmed citizens, or kick and beat to death a mentally ill citizen. Yeah, I feel safer if they had firearms and the rest of us didn't.
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Unpacking Heat
First off, I will NEVER vote for Ginny Burdick EVER after hearing her sillyness on this program. In fact, I will support ANYONE from any party running against her in the next campaign and will donate money to that opposition. Please inform her of that, when she says that Starbucks is making a poor business decision by allowing what is a legal right and allowed by law.
Fear mongering and misinformation is not needed in this debate. If you are going to make statements like the reference just seeing a gun is inherently concerning how about some proof? How does she know? I don't know anyone who inherently is afraid.
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Women in the Military
I served from 1991-1994 until my base was closed. I was in the medical field and in the USAF, so women in my career field actually outnumbered us men. This wasn’t a bad thing from my perspective, being an 18 year old male. However, even back then there were changes afoot in the AF, more focus on training and identifying sexual harassment and abuse. Most of my close friends that worked with me were women, and none of them would ever admit when it happens, to keep a tough front. And likely because I could not sit idly by and they knew that. These are my sisters, you mess with them, you mess with me.
But even in this much different environment with a large number of women than the rest of the military, it happens. I know that RHIP and many people firmly believe that, no matter what. The unquestioned authority of the military is the main reason this continues and has continued for so long. BTW – I am sure women aren’t the only ones that experience sexual harassment and abuse. I am glad to hear that reporting rates are on the increase.
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Women in the Military
Because that is a topic for a different show. Which would be good too, I think but this is an important and valuable topic today.
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Women in the Military
+1
posted 3 years, 1 month ago
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on Homeless Man Shot to Death by Portland Police
Curt - so there are NO vital organs in the center mass of the "chest area"? And how many shots were fired? Enough to stop the subject, clearly. Reports say 4, all in the torso, and I believe the ME just confirmed that on this show.
posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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on Homeless Man Shot to Death by Portland Police
How can your guest from the union defend a situation where he was not present? Please ask him. This behavior from the union where the officer is ALWAYS right no matter what cannot be condoned. I would accept if he came on and said the investigation is ongoing, etc and cannot comment but this immediate defense of officer actions is unbelivable.
Also, we all know law enforcement is taught to shoot to kill if lethal force is used. We know this is not because of concern of continued advancement, rather this is because then there is always only one side of the argument. The officers.
posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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on Police Oversight
Portland police has gone so far overboard that the only fix is to defeat the union, and the citizen review board should have hiring, firing and disciplinary authority over the entire bureau, in conjunction with the bureau administration. There must be accountability for officers and their superiors, as well as both positive and negative feedback and review during officer’s performance reviews. Officers continued employment and compensation increases should be tied to professionalism and customer satisfaction, not the current “cuff and stuff” mentality prevalent in the force today. It is time to weed out the bad apples, hold them accountable – which in the Chasse case should include prison time, and begin the long arduous process of repairing the relationship between the citizens and their employees – the Bureau.
posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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on Going to School Online
Preston,
That’s a good point. My high school job was on the radio, so I have a jaded perception and no fear of public speaking, on the air or otherwise. As I said above, I never said my assessment was correct; it was just my opinion after hearing him on the radio. It took courage for him to come on the show at the very least. It is also possible I am holding him to a higher standard because yesterday’s guest was so good at not answering the question on purpose.
posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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on Going to School Online
gchaix,
This is one of the better ideas in this topic. How can the process be modified to blend various learning/teaching styles and still offer economies of scale and address the whole child? How can we as parents help improve "traditional" schools to embrace some of the concepts parents of the virtual schools believe are helpful and working?
Someone else posted above why does it need to be and either or? Does it?
posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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on Going to School Online
Mmbm1970,
I think my experience has made me more aware of the expectation placed on the work force. Obviously if you or someone in your family were having a medical emergency, you would want me to show up on time to work so we can be there, both when I was in the ER and when I was an EMT working in ambulances. So in that role long shifts and getting in early and leaving late was the norm. However, when I moved from that to more of an office job, I didn’t treat punctuality as imperative. I was not fired, but I did quit and find another job because the start time of one position. As with anyone in life, we all make mistakes. I decided I would find a position that had a start time I could reliably meet, and did. My point in this is more that at some point Buddy will get a job, after college whenever, and he will be expected to report at some specified time, in most cases. I am speaking from experience; I didn’t think making it to high school on time was important, as long as I got my work done. This made it much more difficult in the long run to prepare myself for the working world. As youths everything one does and doesn’t do can impact the type of adult one becomes, even unknowingly sometimes. I hear that same kind of cavalier attitude I had in Buddy and I think there may be impact later in his life, and there may not be. We are all individuals, and one thing virtual or online learning at ANY level allows is more individualized learning.
BTW – I completed several on line courses in college and enjoyed them very much. I am not against virtual learning, I am concerned with the overall shaping of youth and how the current flood of virtual schools plan to address the areas they are deficient. I also want to know how traditional schools plan to address their deficiencies.
There are clearly some passionate beliefs on this subject, as Dave pointed out. I am interested, as a parent, but I hold no position other that education of children is extremely important and is certainly not limited to only what is commonly referred to as “book learning” but rather includes the whole child – emotional, social, mental and physical development. Don’t all parents want a healthy, happy, well educated child that can interact with others? If yes, how can we help provide that for ALL our kids?
posted 3 years, 3 months ago
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