IntenseDebate - matthew

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Rangers shoot coyote t... · 0 replies · -2 points

Developing wild habitat is nothing new.

Humans have a 10,000 year presence here in Oregon. We've been interacting with animals like coyotes since the first humans arrived. We've been pushing them out aggressively since people of European ancestry arrived. Downtown Portland was prime coyote land only 150 years ago.

What's changed is that we've stopped killing them on sight. They're no longer afraid. I don't advocate wanton killing of them, but shooting a few keeps them afraid.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Rangers shoot coyote t... · 1 reply · +6 points

Your house used to be wildlife habitat if you go back far enough.

I vote we level your house first and turn it back into habitat.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Highway 18 closed afte... · 1 reply · +6 points

I don't like driving it at all. I'm friends with the guy that had a head on out there with 3 of the 4 in a family killed back in the 90's. Ever since then I'm uncomfortable driving 18.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Highway 18 closed afte... · 3 replies · +4 points

Not much of a "lately" for fatal accidents on 18 from Valley Junction to McMinville. They've been happening for a really long time there.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Death threats pour in ... · 0 replies · +3 points

School employees are not just "Law abiding citizens." In loco parentis applies. Students can and are punished for this. If the parents are not going to do anything, administrators can make the parents life difficult so they do at least push the kid not to behave like this.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Death threats pour in ... · 1 reply · +6 points

What could be done?

I replied exactly what happened at my kids' school on the story yesterday. The bus is turned around and goes back to the school. The principal pulls the boys off and the bus goes on its way to deliver the rest of the kids. The parents are called and told they need to come to school. The boys are suspended from school for a week and they are suspended from the bus for an additional week. The parents are informed that during that week, they are responsible to get them delivered to and picked up from school. The parents are told that if they fail to get them delivered and picked up on time, a truancy officer will be called after the second failure. BTW, in Oregon the fine is $500 if it repeats again after the truancy officer is involved. The parents are told that any further infractions will result in them being kicked off the bus for the remainder of the school year.

We don't have problems on our buses because we don't allow it to happen. It requires that the administrator has a spine, and I realize that's often rare. But if a school doesn't want this to happen, they can stop it.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Olive Garden, Red Lobs... · 0 replies · +7 points

For me the bigger issue is the drastic decrease in quality. Their meals weren't a deal at their old or their new price. If I take my family of 5 there, it's going to be at least $70. I dang better get good food for spending that much.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Justice Dept. sues Ari... · 0 replies · +1 points

I can't see any justification for laws against polygamy. We've eliminated laws against adultery. There is no crime in a man or a woman having sex on a regular basis with someone who isn't their spouse. We just won't let them marry.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Bus bullying of woman ... · 1 reply · +14 points

What isn't being addressed here is why didn't the bus get turned right around and headed back to the school because of this incident. This woman is the monitor. Her job is to report, and these events happened then that's exactly what she should have done.

We had a problem with one of the bus routes at our school and that's what we did. We put an extra staff member on the bus, and when problems cropped up they turned the bus around and headed back to school. The staff member called the administrator so he was ready. When they got back the boys involved were pulled off the bus and the bus went on the way to deliver the rest of the kids.

Parents were called and they got told that their kids were being suspended, and that when they got back they better be on the best behavior. For the parents that didn't act like they were going to come down on the kids they were additionally informed that if their kid did this again, they would be off the bus for the rest of the year and they would become responsible for getting their kid to school and picking them up. They were additionally informed that if that happened they had better get their kids dropped off and picked up on time or we would involve the truancy officers.

Since then those boys have not been a problem.

11 years ago @ KATU - Portland, OR - Debt dispute leaves Mi... · 1 reply · +3 points

I wonder how hard it is to sneak out of China into one of the SE Asia border countries?

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