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textchampion's comments:

on Digging Into the Farm Bill

Oil extracted from hemp (also not trying to sound like a hippie) has more energy potential than corn does, it also grows much faster and requires less, if any, fertilizers than does corn. But energy corporations know these facts, and it's pretty safe to say that they will never allow the American public to receive the benefits of this possible ethanol source.

posted 5 years ago
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on Digging Into the Farm Bill

Score another victory for ethanol scammer Archer Daniels Midland.

posted 5 years ago
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on Primary Conversations: 5th Congressional District (D)

I am 27 years old. I would vote for a 25 year old for Congress, but only if I felt they had enough experience to bring to the table. I don't know if I would consider Andy Foster, as I feel he would need to start out at a lower office first to gain more experience. But then again if he has profound ideas that are better then everyone else's, I would consider changing my mind.

I am worried about younger candidates for a few reasons. Number one, I think that they lack the ability to be taken seriously by seasoned political veterans (I'm not saying that's right, but I feel it's true none the less). I also don't know if they are fully aware what they are getting into. I always think of what a disaster Billy Dalto was for Oregon, as he was in way over his head. Luckily he was voted out, oddly enough by another young politician Brian Clem, who I feel is doing a better job.

I think that experience is the biggest asset you have as a politician, as you need to build coalitions, which require experience. You also need experience to determine when you need to break away from the coalition. I feel that if you are too young, you will simply do what older politicians tell you to do (such as Billy Dalto) regardless if it's right or if you really know what is going on. On the other hand as an inexperienced politician, you may break away from the pack when it is completely unreasonable (such as Billy Dalto).

posted 5 years ago
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on Primary Conversations: 5th Congressional District (D)

I would like to know who these people think is most suited for President of the United States. I think their choice of the leadership of our nation reflects what type of politician they are.

I would like to ask Andy Foster, with so little political experience, why he thinks he can fill such a huge position in Oregon politics.

I would like to ask all three candidates how they feel about Kevin Mannix.

posted 5 years ago
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on Stranded in Oregon

Many people that become homeless, a vast majority in my area, don't become homeless overnight. They don't lose their house overnight. They have more then enough time to save enough gas money or money for a bus ticket in order to get to an area that has free services. I do not live in the Portland area. But if I was losing my house and job, I would prepare for this in some way and get to a larger area that has services and a larger job market. No, homeless people can't surf the web, but they sure can locate a phone book at any phone booth and look up a phone number or address for services. If my back was against the wall, I was on the verge of being homeless or actually was homeless, my primary goal everyday I woke up would be to seek out services to help get me back on my feet. Resources are only as hard to find as the effort, or lack there of, the homeless person is willing to put in to find those services. In the rare event that a homeless person is out in the middle of nowhere homeless, I have to ask the question 'how did you get to the middle of nowhere? Couldn't you have used the money and resources that got you to nowhere to get to a city that has services to help you?' I volunteered for a long time at the Salvation Army and Union Gospel Mission in Salem, and I know for a fact that once you get to an area that has either of these two organizations, which is every medium to large city in Oregon, it's not hard at all to get services from them, as long as you are willing to abide by the rules; no drugs, no alcohol, put in effort to get back on your feet. These organizations do TB tests for free, and yes you have to go on the street for a few days until the test comes back, but if people were only on the street for days only, we wouldn't have the homeless epidemic we are currently in. People are homeless for a lot longer then days, they are homeless for months, sometimes years. These are the people that are addicts and don't want to change, they just want to stand at a busy intersection with a cardboard sign, looking for free money from people that think the sign holder is homeless for reasons totally beyond their control, which is not true, at least not entirely.

posted 5 years ago
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on Stranded in Oregon

It's not suprising to me that homelessness is on the rise in central Oregon. With the price of housing over there, you'd have to be rich to not be homeless.

I don't think that there are any barriers between the services and the people who need them when it comes to being homeless. The people simply just don't want to put forth the effort to seek out those services if they are not taking advantage of them. Most of those services require that you stay away from drugs and alcohol, and those addicted homeless people are not willing to do that. I am not categorizing all homeless people as being addicts, however those that don't pursue the services provided for them are addicts. Homeless families without addiction seek services such as the Salvation Army and Union Gospel Mission. Those that stand on the side of the road with a cardboard sign, in an area that has services, are just too addicted and lazy to pursue services. They'd rather look for a handout that doesn't require changing their lifestyle.

posted 5 years ago
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on Mannix: "That's a predatory situation"

Kevin Mannix is a predator on citizen's rights, is a predator on the lower and middle class of Oregon, and is a predator when it comes to the political process. I sure hope the Oregon voters realize this. When 33% of Lars Larson listeners say he's a dirty politician, that speaks volumes.

posted 5 years ago
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on Primary Conversations: 5th Congressional District (R)

I couldn't agree more. If Kevin Mannix gets elected, not only will I move out of the district, I will move out of the state.

posted 5 years ago
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on Primary Conversations: 5th Congressional District (R)

Mandatory minimum sentencing is RIDICULOUS. It takes all discretion away from judges, who are the truly educated decision makers when it comes to a fitting sentence for the crime. It will also bankrupt our jail system in Oregon, as there are not enough beds to house our current inmates. Kevin Mannix's mandatory sentencing legislation is also a backdoor deal to abolish the Medical Marijuana Program in Oregon, which voters have approved not once but twice in this state. Kevin Mannix doesn't support the will of the voters of Oregon, he is merely an extension of Bush's neo-conservative administration. WHOEVER YOU VOTE FOR, MAKE SURE IT'S NOT KEVIN MANNIX.

posted 5 years ago
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on The Roadshow's Sideshow

If Hillary Clinton was going to run a dignified campaign, then I would say stay in it, give people an option to vote for her (much like Mike Huckabee did when it became obvious he had no chance mathematically of winning). But she is running a smear campaign against someone that is going to be representing her party in November. We have primaries for the sole goal of getting someone to represent the party in November and win the presidency. When that person has been selected or is so close to it that the primaries become pointless, the primaries become nothing more then an act of 'going through the motions.' When it became obvious that John McCain was going to be the Republican nominee, Mitt Romney dropped out to help his party and salvage his future political career, and Hillary Clinton should do the same. I know it is impossible to convince all of you Hillary fans (or any for that matter), but the writing is on the wall and you must face reality.

posted 5 years ago
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on The Roadshow's Sideshow

There are certainly strong supporters in states that haven't voted, I agree with that. However, by dragging out the inevitable the Democratic party is suffering as a result. I guarantee after all states have voted, Hillary Clinton will be in the same boat she is in currently, behind. If she truly loved her party, and wanted them to have the best chance possible in November, she would bow out. Every political analyst I've heard or seen, including some in Hillary's own camp, have stated that the math is impossible for her to catch up now. This is a moot point though, as she will be in it to the end as she has stated, so everyone will vote, Obama will still be in the same position he is now, ahead, when November gets here. I just think since Hillary basically did John McCain's job already, the Democrats will lose in November, and will have, at least in part, Hillary to blame.

posted 5 years ago
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on The Roadshow's Sideshow

Bill Clinton came to Western Oregon a couple of weeks ago, and it was a zoo on campus. One thing I want the candidates to remember is that although we vote predominantly Democrat in this state, I don't want them to take that for granted. I guarantee if we are treated as just a 'speed bump on their way to the general election' in November like tpohara said, it could result in a John McCain victory. Also, I think it is ridiculous that Hillary Clinton is dragging this out. I may get some flack for this, but by almost every account this race is over. All Hillary is doing is hurting the party for the November election, as well as hurting her future political career.

posted 5 years ago
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on Got Health Care?

I think that universal health care in other countries is hard super impose on the United States for a few reasons. The first is that countries like Cuba offer horrible health care. Yes it's free, but it's far from the standards of medicinal practice we have in the United States. I would prefer to pay for my care in the United States then going to a Cuban hospital.

Places like France and Great Britain have great health care, probably better then the United States, but they pay through the nose in taxes to make it universal. I personally would be willing to pay that rate of taxes for great universal health care, but I'm sure there's a lot of other Americans that wouldn't, namely the rich.

I certainly think in a perfect world universal health care would work, but we live in a country that is all about winners and losers, and when it comes to health care, the current winners don't care about the losers (which is wrong), and unless there's a huge shift in wealthy American opinion, it's hard to see universal health care happening in America.

posted 5 years ago
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on Got Health Care?

I have no problem with government subsidies paying for immigrant workers' health insurance, but only after every one of American born citizens' health insurance is taken care of. As long as we have American born citizens who desire health care that they can't provide on their own, they should be given top priority.

posted 5 years ago
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on Primary Conversations: U.S. Senate

I thought all elected Democrats, both House and Senate, were superdelegates. You learn something new everyday!

posted 5 years ago
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on Primary Conversations: U.S. Senate

Has Jeff Merkley committed as a superdelegate? If not, why? If yes, for who?

posted 5 years ago
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on Where Bikes and Cars Intersect

I definitely think that bicycles should be treated the same as cars, primarily for the safety of the bicyclists. If bicycles were treated differently, it would result in riders going wherever they want (of course they sometimes do anyways, regardless of how their treated by laws). Without treating them the same, it would be difficult to determine who is at fault when there is a collision between cyclists and vehicles. I think that bike lanes are very helpful when it comes to safety, as it clearly labels a lane of traffic for the cyclists. If not, the drivers could run bicyclists off the road and use the excuse that it's their road. If someone gets hit in a bike lane, it leaves no doubt that the driver was negligent.

posted 5 years ago
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on Is Stumptown a Dumptown?

I feel that statistics are what you make of them. I can gather statistics that may indicate Portland is the most toxic city in the world, and on the other hand gather statistics that show it is the cleanest city in the world. The paradigm you search under will almost certainly give you the results you desire. In my opinion, Portland is a clean city. It has a lot of natural beauty, great parks, and a population that is slanted toward environmentally friendly activities. Of course there are some ugly areas, ugly parks, and non-environmentally people as well, but taken as an average, I'd say Portland is more pro-environment.

With that said, I believe almost all of Oregon's waterways (rivers, streams, and other bodies of water) are quite poor. I live in Salem, and the Willamette River is disgusting. I will say on the other hand that it has been much worse in decades past, according to my research.

I love Kevin Emerson's comparison to college party rankings, it's so true.

posted 5 years ago
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on The Upside of a Downturn?

I am a Public Policy and Administration major with a Legal Studies minor. I have had job offers from almost every state agency in Oregon, I suspect that is due to the fact that the public sector is not as much a victim to the laws of supply and demand as the private sector. By no means am I saying it's invinsible, as recessions lead to budget cuts, but I personally feel that if you are at the top of your class in a quality program, the jobs will be there for you if you are diligent in your search. I know some 2.0 GPA English majors that have some rough futures ahead of them.

posted 5 years ago
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on The Upside of a Downturn?

Very excellent points.

posted 5 years ago
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