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bimmerboomer's comments:
on Public Transit
I use the MAX line because it is closest to my house and gets me to downtown Portland, my usual stop. TriMet can't do anything about the types of riders who are noisy or rude, but I wish they could remove the Spanish announcements to cut down on the noise factor. There are plenty of people who speak Spanish and English and can translate for those who MIGHT need help with where the doors will open or what the name of the stop is. Why do all of the rest of us have to suffer with the endless Spanish announcements? I've heard TriMet say that they are required by Federal rules to provide the announcements in Spanish because of the large number of Hispanics that ride, but how do other cities in this country avoid doing that? I will choose my car over MAX as long as those announcements are recorded in languages other than English.
posted 2 years, 6 months ago
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on Equal Protection for Sexual Minorities?
Exactly.
posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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on Equal Protection for Sexual Minorities?
I was a long-time teacher in Oregon and would never have gone into the detail this student teacher went into if I had been asked the same question of a fourth grader. The issue is the AGE of the student, not the answer. This student teacher definitely had an agenda or is very naive about how protective parents are about what is or is not said to their children. Overprotective parents cause all sorts of grief for regular classroom teachers, substitute teachers, and volunteers as well. The only group that has protection from parents complaints are the certified and classified teachers who have a union contract. I was recently a substitute teacher and left because of the lack of respect from all sides (parents, other teachers, students, and administrators). This student teacher should have known better. Keep private information to yourself when you're working with young kids!
posted 2 years, 8 months ago
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on The "P" Word and Climate Change
My parents had 13 children and the problem with population growth became apparent during their 50th wedding anniversary celebration. I wrote a narrative about their married life and had each child go up to the stage as I mentioned their birth. After all 13 children (or representatives of the children who had already died) had gone , I stated "and then their children had children." By the time those children were on the stage I was amazed at how many people were created on this Earth by just two individuals. I very much believe that all the good toward reducing use of resources, taking public transit, recycling, or anything else will not do a thing to protect this Earth people who overpopulate it. People who think that the number of children they have is no one else's business are dead wrong. It affects all of us.
posted 3 years, 5 months ago
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on Class Size
I am currently a substitute teacher and I work because teachers have to attend workshops related to "No Child Left Behind". They also miss work due to illness, deaths in their families, car accidents, and impassable roads. (Not all problems happen between June 20 and August 15.) It would be really helpful if the bad behavior of students toward substitutes would disappear so continuity of their learning could continue even when the regular teacher is away. Parents should teach children to respect substitutes instead of treating them as if they are lesser teachers, which they are not. Many time they have more years of experience than the regular teacher and feel frustrated that the children's behavior prevents them from teaching. We're all in this together.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on As We Are: Obese People
I am tired of obese people making excuses for themselves. Keeping weight off is HARD WORK. I make choices every day to not overeat (and fail quite often), but extra calories in the mouth translates into fat being stored on the body. People who are overweight or obese in most cases consume more calories than they burn. End of story. Stop making excuses and watch what you eat and how many calories you burn. At the very least, stop making the rest of us look at you in your low-cut pants, tops, and tight-fitting clothing. (...and I don't like that type of dress on skinny people either).
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on As We Are: Child Free
I am so glad someone else out there thinks like me. I'm saddened to see so many people following ancient dictates by their respective religions to "go forth and multiply" despite the fact that the world's current state won't survive with this attitude. I can't believe that large families are being glorified on television (and I grew up in a family of 13 kids--which is where my zero population growth attitude came from). I am so depressed by people who have lots of kids, then don't teach them to be decent human beings. I don't feel like recycling because what good will it do if people keep reproducing at the current rate? I'm now sixty and am caring less and less about what happens to the Earth because I won't be around when it implodes. I do, however, feel sad for my sons (in their late twenties) and my granddaughter who is only 8. I don't talk about my fears with them.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on As We Are: Child Free
I was one of 13 kids in my family and helped raise my younger siblings. After my marriage to a 2nd generation Chinese man, I didn't plan on having kids since I was worried about their treatment in a society that frowned upon interracial marriages. (I'm a third generation Danish-American). I took a chance, though, and had two boys who are now successful, well-adjusted young men, but who have had many racist comments thrown their way. Unfortunately, even though the Chinese value family, my husband turned out to be a very poor father, unfaithful husband, and a deadbeat dad. Based on how my marriage turned out (and how my retirement funds were depleted), I still consider having my boys the best thing I ever did.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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