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roboturkey's comments:
on The Slow Path to Adulthood
Looking for video jobs in Oregon is like looking for trees at the North Pole. Go where the jobs are. Video production = NYC , LA, Shanghai, London....elsewhere.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Slow Path to Adulthood
The house rule here was "18 and out", which was communicated to our sons from an early age. Our emphasis was on the the adventure of young adulthood and the wide world of fun options available to a young unattached adult, whether that is a good collegiate program or anything else they wanted to do.
This, plus the fact that our sons are healthy, physically vigorous, intellectually accomplished and motivated young men made the 18-and-out "rule" one that they enjoyed following.
If any of them needs a home "port" to wait out a transition or go through a job search, they are more than welcome to live here with no real "deadline", and to come and visit any time for as long as they want. So far, a two month job search (with a good result finding a great job in California) has been the longest return interval.
The TV show Portlandia has a great line: "Portland is a place where young people go to retire". No young retirement! Move out of the house and get busy with life and figure out how to make one's own way. It's all a reasonable part of "launching".
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Football!
of course, that "important and tragic news" is being covered without reflection or contemplation of the larger issues of gun control and the real impact of right wing media.
Why not have a day of fun football talk here? You know TOL will have some very good shows related to the AZ shooting topics, probably worth waiting for.
go duckies
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Football!
The greatest challenges our earth faces tonight is making sure LaMarcus James has adequate running room and refreshing sports drinks.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Football!
go duckies.
However... keep some mental energy in reserve to maintain your composure if Cam Newton brings his "A" game and things just don't work out. Either of these teams can engineer a blow-out. Tonight sure looks like a potential classic.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
If hetero marriage is so important to raising biological children, would you advocate banning divorce for biological parents until their children reach the age of independence?
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
Now that paternity can be reliably established without needing to lean on the patriarchal trappings of a mythical "chaste" marriage framework, how are Ms. Gallagher's arguments supportable?
I found the comments on the show of the father in the committed long term relationship, regarding the intentional and complicated process whereby a gay couple can adopt a child, very compelling. Obviously he and his partner gave much more thought to becoming parents than many (including Ms. Gallagher); and probably intelligently appreciated the obligations they were taking on. Testimony such as his addresses the asserted need for a child to have two parents, one of each gender.
Whose child would you rather be? Elton John's or Maggie Gallagher's. Does it matter?
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
Good point. You get a license from the state, but a preacher does the ceremony. Just eliminate the need for a license and change it to a notice registry after the fact.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
"Biblical" references to marriage should be fair to note the many wives and extra women (concubines, slaves, so forth) that old testament guys had. "Biblical based marriage" is probably more complicated than folks think. Even in the first centuries of the Christian era multiple wives were pretty common. ANd, of course, "Biblical marriage" can be used as a code for treating women as chattle property. Not so good.
"King David and King Solomon led merry merry lives
With many many concubines and many many wives.
But when old age crept upon them with infirmities and qualms
King Solomon worte the Proverbs and David wrote the Psalms."
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
Of course, it is rather pinched and bigotted to assert that two committed gay partners in a happy long term relationship somehow have less of a right to the benefits of marriage than an easily found screaming abusive alcoholic half-accidental hetero marriage.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
well said.
As to relationships, Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
(yes, a blatant grab from Star Trek's Vulcans, in my opinion the first gay TV characters))
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on The Meaning of Marriage
Welcome back Dave!
Good topic. As a person who has been married since 1976 to the same person, I have come to realize that each marriage is unique. I am often humbled by the relationships and marriages around me that I see. Long term couples tend to develop "rules" and a normalcy in their relationships that are unique. I think it is healthy for society to have a wide range of models for marriage.
Within successful marriages, folks deal with personal health issues, personal tragedies and successes, and the trials of raising children and coping with the economy in ways that they develop over time. I see no reason why two people of any gender combination cannot have long term intimate relationships.
The personal elements of a long term marriage form a basis for two people to face the world and support each other with lifetime love, and for many reasons should be nobody's business but their own. I see no reason why a gay or lesbian couple cannot have the same right to privacy and the benign support of a state's laws as a heterosexual couples.
If a gay couple wants to form a long-term commitment and live peacefully as neighbors, we should applaud this and allow our laws to support this, as far as not discriminating in the areas of community property, taxation, retirement benefits, "spousal rights" and other rights that heterosexual married couples take for granted.
A married couple is the basic model of for an effective support group. My wife and I take care of each other in hundreds of ways that cannot be duplicated by any other support service. This has to be a healthy thing, and their is no rational reason why a state's laws should stand in the way of a gay or lesbian couple finding lifetime happiness as married partners.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Restructuring Higher Education
good comments about student accountability. Why not give a big financial incentive for a rapid navigation of a "4-year degree" in 4 years or less time.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Restructuring Higher Education
I think it is somewhat parochial to discuss this topic as a university structure within Oregon's borders. Why can't a regional approach combine a reorganization structured over Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska to leverage resources and administration costs into a multi-state system. There is so much pure waste in maintaining separate systems in each state.
It seems that the system can have uniform regional tuition policies and allow for a blossoming of "local" policies. The real savings will be in the administrative costs that can be a fraction of the cost of maintaining 4 state systems.
Also, it seems that the speaker on right now wants the benefits of a state-funded program without having accountability back to the state for decisions made with taxpayer funds. It would be nice to give administrations autonomy, but accountability seems to be necessary.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Staff Pick: Keeping the Faith
Thanks for the re-broadcast of this show. Not for most listeners (all the God-talk, for all the personally profound and individual importance to the guests, is not engaging) but good for those of us with a faith to hear others talk about theirs.
posted 2 years, 4 months ago
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on Islam in the Northwest
Perhaps the guest can differentiate between "sensible wariness and care" from "Islamophobia". There is obviously murderous intent out there that needs to be guarded against.
That said, everyone's civil liberties need to be protected and respected.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on Islam in the Northwest
Actually I am more scared of extreme constitutionalist militia types than followers of Islam. The USA exceptionalists that somehow believe our Constitution was divinely inspired and who are constantly preparing for the "coming conflagration" are more numerous in the PAC NW.
The root problem seems to be the consistent efforts of strident Christians to "convert" everybody else to be "disciples for Christ". It just pisses everybody off and sets up a perpetual "us vs. them".
The basic cultural clash between the West and Islamic extremism is no illusion. There really is something to guard against. However, I don't think the conflict will be resolved on any sort of religious tolerance basis. Violence and conflict are secular issues and need to be addressed outside of any religious framework.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on RUT? Teens & Texting
It seems a bit strong to call it an addiction. Being tied into a network of friends and communicating frequently with them seems to be community-building rather than an addiction. THey are building their networks that for good or bad will be their support group for years. My son's use of cell phones and texting has resulted in great contacts and longtime relationships nationwide. What's wrong with that?
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on RUT? Teens & Texting
There is an obvious generational divide here. This is probably a cultural area that will develop more or less as fast as technology allows, relatively independent of any "rules" or standards that can be imposed.
The tools (phones and computers) are too easily used privately and confidentially to be subject to behavioral controls. Unless we are willing to directly control the networks with some sort of Big Brother oversight of each transmission, there is no way to regulate behavior.
Let the people using the phones most develop the protocols. The Olds (anybody over 20) may need to adapt to a new paradigm and watch how the media blossoms from high level use by the people who know best how to use it.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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on The 2010 Election Divide
Good point. Since 2000 we have generally had the popular conservative media kvetching daily on radio and TV about America going to hell in a handbasket. Everything from progressive education to perceived lax religiosity is seen as a new front in the bogus "culture war" and every development not in tune with tradition is decried as another sign of decline.
With this as background, how can conservatives be optimists? For conservative conversationalists, everything is wrong or headed for a tragic commupance unless we "return" to something or other.
posted 2 years, 5 months ago
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