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mers's comments:
on Primary Conversations: Washington's 3rd
Climate Change science is "HOKEY????" Obviously these candidates are blatently ignorant of the fact that some of the LEADING climate change science is coming from Washington and Oregon institutions. Way to turn off a considerable number of OR and WA citizens.
posted 2 years, 9 months ago
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on Local Library
"The painful thing I see at my rural library is fines. Folks run them up and because of hard times, can't pay, so stay away form the library in droves."
-- This I just don't understand. Isn't the solution well within the destiny of the borrower -i.e. return or renew the checked-out items in a timely manner, thus incurring no fine?
Poverty by library fines seems self-induced.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Local Library
Although I am a fan of free, city-wide WiFi access, I also appreciate that in order to use that service, one has to be able to afford the techno-gadgets that can access it.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Local Library
I have always felt a deep reverence for libraries --they feel like churches of learning to me. I am part of the OSU community and currently have access to the Valley Library in Corvallis and all of its satellite locations and ILL services. I absolutely can't imagine my life (or indeed, my job) without the library. I also appreciate the services that the library provides to the public, including computer and internet access for those who don't have those conveniences at home.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on As We Are: Child Free
I am really over people thinking that I'm selfish because I don't want (or even like) children. On the contrary. Because I know my priority is career related, I think I'm the opposite of selfish. I see children born for all the wrong reasons. Its not all about YOU and your wants and needs. Your children are their own people. When you bring them into this world --it's all about THEM. That's the choice you made. That's true selflessness.
posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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on Future of Public Higher Ed
On the surface this might seem reasonable, but in practice it can't possibly work. What about students that transfer in or out? exchange students? students who are foreign nationals? students who are US citizens but not Oregonians? Students with advanced degrees? Must their incomes be penalized by two to three times the amount of those who choose to receive only a bachelor's?
posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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on Future of Public Higher Ed
I'm a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University *hopefully* nearing the completion of my degree. What I have witnessed since matriculating in 2005 is a constant increase in student fees. This term they add up to about $1000. The fees are increased in order to keep the rise in tuition in check. The rub with this is that student fees are not covered by assistantships or fellowships. This is rapidly making graduate school unaffordable for the majority of students.
posted 3 years, 7 months ago
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on The Curse of the Good Girl
Isn't the Virgin Mary symbolic of the ultimate "good girl?" She embodies the idea of the soft, fertile, and nurturing mother-figure without being sullied by the sordidness of conventional sex.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on The Curse of the Good Girl
I think that we need to find a middle ground, where we can strike a balance in our behavior. It is okay to stand up for ourselves while being humane at the same time. The women who acheive in my line of work (physical sciences) are often very harsh, aggressive and sometimes cruel because that is how they have behaved to survive in this traditionally male-dominated occupation. I reject the notion, however, that "You won't get anywhere by being nice" --actual words spoken to me by my female mentor. I plan to celebrate my ability to contribute instructively and intelligently to my field, and to do so while preserving my female compassion.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on Rx: Responding to Obama
The problem is that in our capitalist society "health care" has become synonymus with "insurance." They need to be disentagled so one does not benefit directly by the other.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on New Genetic Therapy
My ethical objections lie not with the science, but with the abuse of animals for human gain.
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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