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When I went to confirmation classes as a teenager, I found that no one wanted to engage with the creed and core teachings of the church, but rather to have us memorize key statements, which were to remain unquestioned. I've examined a number of world religions, but am an atheist. The following quotation from database architect Stephen Roberts explains why: "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

posted 2 years, 7 months ago
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After using a mix of banks and credit unions, I closed our last bank account years ago, and have no regrets. I'm excited about my CU's "rewards" program, which encourages me to spend them as donations to local service and charitable groups. Periodically, when I've accumulated enough credits to give a $25 or $50 donation, it's just a mouse-click and I'm done. I don't want or need the typical rewards-program offerings, but donating extra cash to my favorite local groups makes me feel good about my credit union and strengthens my commitment to making my community a better place for all its citizens. 

posted 3 years, 2 months ago
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While I agree with those who feel this is a terrible time for rate increases, given the high unemployment and other decreases in income, I do feel that this is a good time for all of us to take personal and corporate responsibility for conservation.  Whether or not rates increase, we can all cut our usage significantly (and I don't mean cooking over a candle).  How about a show about doing more with less? That said, I feel strongly that we need to invest in renewable sources of energy, and I understand that this evolution will be expensive.

posted 4 years, 1 month ago
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We live on a farm eight miles from Salem, but until recently worked in information technology. We both needed the ability to connect with critical systems (one at a hospital, the other at a high-profile state agency), to solve problems which didn't respect our work week.  It was an enormous struggle to finally get DSL to our house, but it's been great most of the time. We're uneasy, however. When we changed phone carriers a couple of years ago, we didn't specify to keep the DSL, and when we called to be reconnected, we were told we didn't qualify for service because our address was too far from the nearest hub. Now, our house hadn't moved, so we were baffled at that response.  Long story short ... we called every day for a month, getting a different customer service representative each time, and finally were reconnected!

posted 4 years, 3 months ago
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