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scottmil's comments:
on The Yellow Starthistles Are Coming!
Yes. Evolution also alters the planet. Invasive species are also part of a natural process. The planet isn't fine china. Many people have actually thought about all this and then some and are still not sure that the justification of a wax museum makes sense. Sure it is sad for sentimentalists and elementary school kids when things go extinct, but isn't extinction part of the process? The dinosaurs went bye, bye without our help or harm!
I am partially kidding, but I am also being serious. Philosophically, yes, I am uncertain any of this makes sense, yet in a practical way I am doing an above average job of saving the planet---perhaps as a just-in-case.
I am partially kidding, but I am also being serious. Philosophically, yes, I am uncertain any of this makes sense, yet in a practical way I am doing an above average job of saving the planet---perhaps as a just-in-case.
posted 5 years ago
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on The Yellow Starthistles Are Coming!
Xenophobia, definitely. Humans go all over the planet, perhaps we should restrict them also. This ability to move a species is natural. Humans are nature. It may not be smart nature, but it is certainly natural.
-Portland, Oregon
-Portland, Oregon
posted 5 years ago
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on Classy Politics
We're the johns who created the market. The problem is not overseas, its right here. It's a slippery slope to regulate others when we can't reign in our own industry or consumers. We already display enough hypocrisy to the world--do we need more? I am not suggesting we throw up our hands, but perhaps in this case we should clean house first.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Classy Politics
Nice work!
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Classy Politics
Politicians effect on the economy is minimal at best. Generally if a politician is in office and the economy does well they were just in the right place at the right time. Our economists can't even predicate with any reliable certainty what will happen with the economy do we really believe the less informed politicians can?
Most of the effects politicians have on the economy seem to be negative and byproducts of bad PR, such as the negative view the world has about the USA, which is not the result of economic policy, but the result of a wider policy and style. I am not so sure democratic economic policy will fix this when Clinton or Obama are in office, but perhaps it will be the result of a general feeling of good will because the country is going in the right direction.
-Portland, Oregon
Most of the effects politicians have on the economy seem to be negative and byproducts of bad PR, such as the negative view the world has about the USA, which is not the result of economic policy, but the result of a wider policy and style. I am not so sure democratic economic policy will fix this when Clinton or Obama are in office, but perhaps it will be the result of a general feeling of good will because the country is going in the right direction.
-Portland, Oregon
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Classy Politics
I don't identify with any class, nor do I wish to. But I often find myself defending the rich even though I am not rich. Particularly in Portland progressives repeatedly discriminate against the rich. For example something as simple as the east versus the west, I have heard so many people say how they love the east-side but hate the west-side, yet I have never heard a single person say they hate the east-side that lives on the west-side. The motivation is they view the west-side as "wealthy." Many progressives have become the people they hate with irrational and subjective thinking. I know this may not seem to relate to politics but it does, its the mindset that pervades the culture in Portland.
Another example, bars - few in Portland like a nice bar, only the dive bar. People are that shortsighted that they actually believe because something is aesthetically pleasing it must be evil. They believe the beat up and decayed are the only things authentic. The motivation for this is also that if something is well-designed people assume it is "by rich people."
If the majority of locals can't even be objective about east/west and bars, I hardly think they have the ability to be objective about politicians and issues. I very much consider myself excessively progressive and liberal however I realize many of us think subjectively and are involved in the same acts we detest in others.
-Portland, Oregon
Another example, bars - few in Portland like a nice bar, only the dive bar. People are that shortsighted that they actually believe because something is aesthetically pleasing it must be evil. They believe the beat up and decayed are the only things authentic. The motivation for this is also that if something is well-designed people assume it is "by rich people."
If the majority of locals can't even be objective about east/west and bars, I hardly think they have the ability to be objective about politicians and issues. I very much consider myself excessively progressive and liberal however I realize many of us think subjectively and are involved in the same acts we detest in others.
-Portland, Oregon
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Politics for the Under 35 Set
I'm excited there are more youths in politics, because there should be, everyone should be represented. However, younger people are so often presented in a simple and saintly fashion, not just by you, but in general. Young people are not sacred or noble, they are no cure-all. Yes, young people are sometimes more liberal but this usually changes with age. Look around at popular culture its hardly a place of optimism, good will and philanthropy. There really isn't as much substantive disparity between the old and the young, most is cultural and superficial.
This relates to a view I have of the elderly: just because they seem old and fragile doesn't mean they are good people. The mean and the nice grow old too!
-Portland, Oregon
This relates to a view I have of the elderly: just because they seem old and fragile doesn't mean they are good people. The mean and the nice grow old too!
-Portland, Oregon
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Are You Gonna Eat That?
It just doesn't seem that there is any substantive evidence to supporting a local small farm versus any other small farm irrespective of environmental impacts. I think the motivation at its root has little difference then supporting a sports team because they are in your city or you went to college there. It just seems sentimental and emotional to me. If you are talking about small business then that is a different thing, but then again it doesn't matter to me whether the small business is local.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Trauma Lessons
Clearly the atrocities of war have forced and spurred super amazing medical solutions which we should all be excited about. But the cherry on a rancid sundae hardly makes up for the rest. There are better ways to spark solutions. Or are the soldiers the new lab rats?
-Portland, Oregon
-Portland, Oregon
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Are You Gonna Eat That?
Thanks for the information. It is helpful!
-Regards, Scott
-Regards, Scott
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Are You Gonna Eat That?
Yes, I certainly have no evidence to support the lack of Hermes bag sightings at farmers markets. But there also isn't much evidence to say that FM shoppers are advocates of quality no matter the cost in other areas of life. This is one area of commerce that FM shoppers have deemed important enough to pay an increased cost. This quality could be in terms of health, taste or environmental impact.
There is just something that irritates me regarding the local food movement even though I myself support it. I think it lies in this sense of moral high ground people take on the issue and they use it to judge others for a lack of interest in it. Its almost like this natural repulsion I have toward the religious. I guess considering most of the world is religious and watches American Idol it is hard to care that much about local food or spend time worrying that other people aren't interested in it, when I'm made to feel guilty because I enjoy the garden burger at Red Robin as much as the veggie burger at Farm.
My point must be this: there is more then just quality motivating people to advocate for local food, its been turned into a lifestyle, a heaven or hell, and its advocates are often self-righteous and militant. I remain agnostic, there are so many other issues I can't figure out and I don't want to be labeled a heretic just because I am not certain of the level of efficacy of the local food contingent. At the same time I support it because there certainly is no harm in it!
There is just something that irritates me regarding the local food movement even though I myself support it. I think it lies in this sense of moral high ground people take on the issue and they use it to judge others for a lack of interest in it. Its almost like this natural repulsion I have toward the religious. I guess considering most of the world is religious and watches American Idol it is hard to care that much about local food or spend time worrying that other people aren't interested in it, when I'm made to feel guilty because I enjoy the garden burger at Red Robin as much as the veggie burger at Farm.
My point must be this: there is more then just quality motivating people to advocate for local food, its been turned into a lifestyle, a heaven or hell, and its advocates are often self-righteous and militant. I remain agnostic, there are so many other issues I can't figure out and I don't want to be labeled a heretic just because I am not certain of the level of efficacy of the local food contingent. At the same time I support it because there certainly is no harm in it!
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Are You Gonna Eat That?
There is something fishy about "the connection between buying locally and improving the local economy." Doesn't this average out anyway in a free market? If I buy oranges from Florida and Florida buys hazelnuts from Oregon?
What is the fundamental benefit of the supporting only the local economy? If everyone did this wouldn't we be in the same position? Its a global world. Isn't buying local for economic reasons jingoism?
Supporting small businesses in general could be a good idea but I don't think they have to be local.
What is the fundamental benefit of the supporting only the local economy? If everyone did this wouldn't we be in the same position? Its a global world. Isn't buying local for economic reasons jingoism?
Supporting small businesses in general could be a good idea but I don't think they have to be local.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Are You Gonna Eat That?
The funny thing is that many people who support local food penny pinch on many other things. I highly doubt the average farmers market shopper is out buying Hermes bags and Miele vacuums for the great quality regardless of the price. Price is relevant for everything!
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on Are You Gonna Eat That?
The food industry seems to get a disproportionate amount of attention, which many people have alluded to here. It would certainly be preferable for much of our food to be "local," but this clearly depends on how efficient it is to grow in the climate of your area, what can be grown and how much.
I have a certain repulsion to the trendiness of this however. I am a vegetarian and eat mostly organic and generally find myself in restaurants that support local farms, but I find it disturbing when people announce this to the world as if it was a badge of honor. I also find militant vegetarians uninteresting.
It is a tad ironic to be sitting at a local local-restaurant on a chair from IKEA. At the local local-restaurant Bijou, the owner no longer allows straws because they are bad for the environment. Clearly this type of thinking is irrational, it would be better to close the restaurant down entirely to stop the pollution of people getting there. If these half-baked lopsided ideas put people like me off, I can hardly imagine what they must do to people who are already disinterested. At the same time I appreciate that people are trying to make a difference.
-Portland, Oregon
I have a certain repulsion to the trendiness of this however. I am a vegetarian and eat mostly organic and generally find myself in restaurants that support local farms, but I find it disturbing when people announce this to the world as if it was a badge of honor. I also find militant vegetarians uninteresting.
It is a tad ironic to be sitting at a local local-restaurant on a chair from IKEA. At the local local-restaurant Bijou, the owner no longer allows straws because they are bad for the environment. Clearly this type of thinking is irrational, it would be better to close the restaurant down entirely to stop the pollution of people getting there. If these half-baked lopsided ideas put people like me off, I can hardly imagine what they must do to people who are already disinterested. At the same time I appreciate that people are trying to make a difference.
-Portland, Oregon
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on Guarding Against School Violence
That's clearly the answer. Glad you are so confident in your skills with firearms. I would feel so much safer knowing you had a gun to protect us all! Oh wait that is to protect you, I guess I will have to get my own.
Glad you also have such insight into the cause of the increase of school shootings. This kind of objectivity really makes me a believer in your right to carry a gun. How smart! How safe I feel!
Glad you also have such insight into the cause of the increase of school shootings. This kind of objectivity really makes me a believer in your right to carry a gun. How smart! How safe I feel!
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on The Employment Boom
I'm not a big fan of any generation. However, it is lunacy to say that the boomers are collectively sellouts. The current generation has hardly gotten kinder and more altruistic; even if you can argue it has, if we can blame boomers for the current state of the nation, we can also partially credit them with the possible success of the new generation. Or did they exist in a vacuum?
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on The Employment Boom
The boomer problem is overblown. There will be some minor hiccups, but this country is resilient enough to handle it. Even if it isn't, the world is becoming ever global, and hopefully along with increased globalization comes added elasticity.
It seems this "problem" is almost as overstated as the panic that is going to ensue with the switch to digital broadcasting! Wasn't Y2K enough?
It seems this "problem" is almost as overstated as the panic that is going to ensue with the switch to digital broadcasting! Wasn't Y2K enough?
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on The Employment Boom
Where do you draw the line on opportunities? You could take it global if you'd like. Americans today clearly have more opportunities then people of many other nations. I guess one thing the current generation has picked up from the past is blaming everyone else for their problems along with a profound sense of entitlement.
Neither of my boomer parents went to college, so I guess your family is notches above ours. You might want to blame yourself for lack of research into the viability of a profession then some half-baked overreaching idea that the boomers are all to blame.
Neither of my boomer parents went to college, so I guess your family is notches above ours. You might want to blame yourself for lack of research into the viability of a profession then some half-baked overreaching idea that the boomers are all to blame.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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on The Democratic Party's On
Got it the first time. Your series of choices have led to the choice of voting for the Republican party. In the same way a pro-choicer will be "forced" to vote democratic. Or perhaps your choice to be evangelical wasn't a choice either? And your choice to be "anti-choice" wasn't a choice either?
It will follow if you vote for the Republican party you are also supporting the war and capital punishment by proxy; you will have decided the "life of the unborn" is above the "sanctity" of the life of the troops and above the "sanctity" of life of those affected by capital punishment. If you really intend on practicing what you preach, don't engage in weighing the value of one life over another by casting a vote at all. If you still wish to vote and not pick and choose "lives" - you need an independent candidate to support who doesn't elicit a Sophie's Choice.
Yes being against a woman's right to choose is "anti-choice" in respect to a woman's right of choice. I am sure in many other areas you are open to choice.
Make the choice and post "what happens to a baby in an abortion" - see if it gets pulled. I can't imagine why it would.
It will follow if you vote for the Republican party you are also supporting the war and capital punishment by proxy; you will have decided the "life of the unborn" is above the "sanctity" of the life of the troops and above the "sanctity" of life of those affected by capital punishment. If you really intend on practicing what you preach, don't engage in weighing the value of one life over another by casting a vote at all. If you still wish to vote and not pick and choose "lives" - you need an independent candidate to support who doesn't elicit a Sophie's Choice.
Yes being against a woman's right to choose is "anti-choice" in respect to a woman's right of choice. I am sure in many other areas you are open to choice.
Make the choice and post "what happens to a baby in an abortion" - see if it gets pulled. I can't imagine why it would.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
view in context
on The Democratic Party's On
Actually. Wrong!
I don't have to be pro-abortion to be pro-choice. I can simply be agnostic on the issue, having not made up my mind, but willing to give people the choice to decide for themselves. How funny you have no "choice" considering religion invented "free will." You have a "choice" and you have "decided" within the scope of free will.
Let other people make choices for themselves and if you're correct in your anti-choice view then I am sure your god can take care of the baby killers. What's a "moderate evangelical" - an oxymoron apparently.
I don't have to be pro-abortion to be pro-choice. I can simply be agnostic on the issue, having not made up my mind, but willing to give people the choice to decide for themselves. How funny you have no "choice" considering religion invented "free will." You have a "choice" and you have "decided" within the scope of free will.
Let other people make choices for themselves and if you're correct in your anti-choice view then I am sure your god can take care of the baby killers. What's a "moderate evangelical" - an oxymoron apparently.
posted 5 years, 1 month ago
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