Category: Reply To

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

The School Choice movement (also widely known as school voucher or ESA programs) is a project devised and supported by members of the DeVos, Koch, and Walton families, and leaders of the Bradley Foundation among others, in an attempt to ultimately strangle public education.

I have followed an implementation by Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Legislature. The first wave hit the public schools by unpredictably lowering their funding immediately, thus making committed spending based on budgetary projections a challenge to meet. The Iowa diocesan schools didn’t allow Catholic parents to use the voucher payment to lower their tuition costs, they simply raised tuition instead. The legislature is now in disarray about how to pay for the financial peril created by their shiny new voucher program. It’s the same in several other Red states. www.bleedingheartland.com/2023/07/07/costs-soar-for-iowas-school-voucher-plan/

Oregonians should stay far away from this hobby project by far-right billionaires.

www.vox.com/politics/23689496/school-choice-education-savings-accounts-american-federation-children

www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/state-policymakers-should-reject-k-12-school-voucher-plans

time.com/6272666/school-voucher-programs-hurt-students/

www.brookings.edu/articles/research-on-school-vouchers-suggests-concerns-ahead-for-education-savings-accounts/

Gene Dieken

Submitted By: jamesk3nn3r@aol.com – Click to email about this post

It’s not about not supporting.
accountability for all

https://youtu.be/5nyFKDGOV14?si=eoEshsSp2bvjDV3q

Submitted By: jamesk3nn3r@aol.com – Click to email about this post

Your right, I did generalize, and I have probable cause in the form of a video, when you point a loaded gun at anyone in the state of oregon it is a crime.
I’d love to post the video here but the powers that be do not allow it, I am in support of veterans but they do not get the right to treat everyone like shit, stop enabling poor behavior
Good talk, with that said support your veterans ( do not enable)

Submitted By: paul@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

I don’t know where you got the idea that disabled veterans are immune from the law; read the link that you put at the end of your letter as proof.
It’s a fact that if the cops didn’t do anything it is not because of his veteran status.
I can only assume that it is because there was not enough probable cause.
Some veterans can have enough problems without generalizing statements like yours.

Submitted By: longboat6723@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Up for sale my 2010 Triumph thunderbird 1600. Respond to 503 300 9291 for more info.

Submitted By: bonniev2020@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Just want to make sure you have done all the REAL research about Vaccine Deaths and Injuries over the last 100 or so years before you really tell people to go get VACCINATED!
The VAERS REPORT Is a good place to start, keep in mind that only 1% actually gets reported to the CDC aka Vears report!

P. S
The Polio vaccine maimed and killed many people first! Prove me wrong please!!
Do YOU know how many?
Just my 2 cents for today!
Have a great day!

Submitted By: cbbcalm@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Falun Gong has a place in my heart . Thank you Dixie for your accurate report . Having lived in San Francisco for the 80 and 90 when Healthfood stores and natural remedies were so very popular and encouraged.
Qi Gong , Medical Qigong , Acupuncture, all are in the same family as Falun Dafa-Gong. It is learning our bodies , breathing fully, tracing the meridians , SEING deeply that our bodies are NOT man made.
But governments Special interests, stocks, do not want this .
Remember Peter Finch in the NETWORK movie .
This is so relevant today .
So Epoch Times is standing up for freedom to choose . It observe and sees the puppets

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Seeing the recent post by Dixie G. reminded me of the New York Times deep-dive on the movement and the media organization from 2020. This link should open the paywall: www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.fU0.jyfK.mmXUC3f1TN5u&smid=url-share

China suppresses Falun Gong as well as people in Hong Kong who value democracy because of their beliefs. It suppresses Tibetans and Uighurs because of their culture and the territory they occupy.

Here’s the TLDR of the NY Times article:

“Today, The Epoch Times and its affiliates are a force in right-wing media, with tens of millions of social media followers spread across dozens of pages and an online audience that rivals those of The Daily Caller and Breitbart News, and with a similar willingness to feed the online fever swamps of the far right.”

A 2018 gathering in Taiwan for practitioners of Falun Gong, which backs The Epoch Times:

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Seeing the recent post by Dixie G. reminded me of the New York Times deep-dive on the movement and the media organization from 2020. This link should open the paywall: www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.fU0.jyfK.mmXUC3f1TN5u&smid=url-share
China suppresses Falun Gong as well as people in Hong Kong who value democracy because of their beliefs. It suppresses Tibetans and Uighurs because of their culture and the territory they occupy.
Here’s the TLDR of the NY Times article:
“Today, The Epoch Times and its affiliates are a force in right-wing media, with tens of millions of social media followers spread across dozens of pages and an online audience that rivals those of The Daily Caller and Breitbart News, and with a similar willingness to feed the online fever swamps of the far right.”
A 2018 gathering in Taiwan for practitioners of Falun Gong, which backs The Epoch Times:

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Seeing the recent post by Dixie G. reminded me of the New York Times deep-dive on the movement and the media organization from 2020. This link should open the paywall: www.nytimes.com/2020/10/24/technology/epoch-times-influence-falun-gong.html?ugrp=m&unlocked_article_code=1.fU0.jyfK.mmXUC3f1TN5u&smid=url-share
China suppresses Falun Gong as well as people in Hong Kong who value democracy because of their beliefs. It suppresses Tibetans and Uighurs because of their culture and the territory they occupy.
Here’s the TLDR of the NY Times article:
“Today, The Epoch Times and its affiliates are a force in right-wing media, with tens of millions of social media followers spread across dozens of pages and an online audience that rivals those of The Daily Caller and Breitbart News, and with a similar willingness to feed the online fever swamps of the far right.”
A 2018 gathering in Taiwan for practitioners of Falun Gong, which backs The Epoch Times:

Submitted By: babbles@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

once again i find myself strongly agreeing with mark kuestner’s bbq post.

i agree with his assessment of those who serve the city of manzanita, whether they be volunteers (city council) or paid staff that do the nuts and bolts of work that keeps the city running.

i agree that it’s a great idea to “go straight to the horse’s mouth,” as old timers like to say, if you want to know more about what’s going on. that expression means you are getting information from the person who has direct personal knowledge of it.

and i do know that mark kuestner does NOT sit on manzanita’s city council!

i have copied and pasted his post here below, to be clear in your minds that which i am addressing.

i live in nehalem, and am an interested observer, sometimes participant, in changes and happenings in north tillamook county.

om peace namaste

lucy brook

Neighbors helping Neighbors
Posted on March 13, 2024 by North Coast BBQ

Submitted By: mkuestner10@gmail.com
Our Neighbors.
Manzanita has a hard-working bunch of talented volunteers looking after our interests in city government and getting lots of important work done every week.
Tom Campbell was just newly appointed to City Council, Brad Hart as well a few months ago. We got a great new Mayor when Kathryn Stock stepped up to the plate and agreed to serve. Linda Kozlowski has been a true stalwart on council for many years, and 2024 marks the fourth year in Jerry Spegman’s first term on City Council: a good mix of the old and the new.
The Council has been ably supported for years now by city staff, led by City Manager, Leila Aman. Other city staff keeping the lights on in Manzanita: Dan Weitzel, Scott Gebhart, Nancy Jones, Nina Crist, Police Chief Erik Harth and Sergeant Mike Sims among others.
They and their families make up a large part of our community.
City Council recently created a single email address we can use to contact all five of them in one fell swoop: citycouncil@ci.manzanita.or.us
Next time an issue comes up that you’re curious about, a procedure that you think needs some tweaking, let them know your thoughts,
Mark Kuestner

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

The Tale of City Hallenstein is certainly a traditional European-style tale used to warn children not to engage in certain behavior lest they be molested by a monster.

If I were a real estate agent selling property north or south of Manzanita, I’d hand potential buyers a copy of the Tale of City Hallenstein and ask them if they seriously want to drop their three-quarter million to live in such a place. Here Be Dragons!

Using a faux fairy tale as a tool to say hurtful things; make statements but provide no facts; call names; step away from my own professional ethics; and just generally grind axes already ground down to the handle, seems not the most helpful, courageous or adult way to proceed.

Gene Dieken

Submitted By: cbbcalm@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

we just participated to the first ZOOM of this North Coast E.O.L. Collective. Seeing how all have waited in silence for a long time to talk and bring out those deep lingering questions and worries.
After participating we did not feel isolated or alone anymore
See the N.C.E.O.L. Collective Library books and Podcasts
as they say Let s bring light to the invisible

corinna & Daniel

Submitted By: babbles@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

Kudos to Manzanita city councilor Mark Kuestner for reaching out to the public to talk about whatever might be on your mind, what might be bothering you, or to what you might be taking exception.

What a great idea, instead of complaining vociferously and perhaps publicly with partial information, you contact a city councilor and have a conversation. After all, they’re steeped in the details of city government and can likely answer your questions and concerns better than anyone else. Especially if the “anyone else” is using partial or biased information. Which does happen from time to time, not?

And, as Jim Heffernan posted on the Tillamook County Pioneer, let’s use a Civility Pledge in talking to each other about issues where we have differences.

Here’s one example of a Civility Pledge:
In the interest of civility, I pledge to promote civility by listening, being respectful of others, acknowledging that we are all striving to support and improve our community and understanding that we each may have different ideas for achieving that objective.

Here’s Mark’s simple, direct BBQ post.
“Have a question about Manzanita City issues? Ask a councilor.”
Posted on February 18, 2024
Submitted By: mkuestner10@gmail.com
ci.manzanita.or.us/city-council/

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

I read through the article by David Stockman (former Reagan director of OMB) Tevis flagged. It’s hard not to agree with some of Stockman’s points. Why should we care about a Ukraine that isn’t totally ethnic Ukranian?

Here’s a timelapse animation of European borders from 400 BCE to the present: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1i1e6h. And just for context, modern Russia has over 190 ethnic groups.

It seems a bit specious to say that borders have all that much relevance to the U.S. supporting Ukraine at this moment in history.

The main reason we have an obligation to Ukraine is that we guaranteed them a security umbrella if, after the dissolution of the USSR, they would give up and destroy the nuclear weapons remaining on their territory. They agreed and the weapons were gone by 1996. Note that Ukraine was the heart of the Soviet aerospace sector. Nukes and aerospace are never a good mix. Here’s a short history from Brookings: www.brookings.edu/articles/the-trilateral-process-the-united-states-ukraine-russia-and-nuclear-weapons/

Lastly, during Vladimir Putin’s recent “interview” with Tucker Carlson, Putin mentioned Poland 30 times and capped off his remarks by accusing that country of forcing Nazi Germany to invade Poland. Are we going to be soon saying that we should not help defend Poland because its borders fluctuated and even periodically disappeared in the last 1000 years?

Just for bonus points, you can read through the Wikipedia articles on the First and Second Chechen Wars. These wars became the model for how Russia would conduct future wars in Syria, Mariupol, and now throughout Ukraine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Chechen_War
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Chechen_War

Gene Dieken

Submitted By: dixiegainer@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

It is interesting to note that measure 110 decriminalizing drugs by amount was passed in 2020 – looking at a map produced by the CDC showing a map of the states. It shows that 2020 is the first year that mortality from drugs jumped to a new high in Oregon. See link at bottom.

But who cares? I can find states that have a higher mortality from drugs. So there! Just ignore it. It’s not that hard to step over a body – I can still do it and I am in my late 80’s. CRIME? I have a gun and a compost heap – perfect place for hiding a body. I am not worried.

And most of us know that Trump and Russia are responsible for this anyway – Don’t embarrass the Democrats – they already have so much more to be embarrassed about

www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/drug_poisoning_mortality/drug_poisoning.htm

Submitted By: yuiqwe1@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Although Norris states “And who knows how many thousands of pounds of the Chinese Communist Party’s fentanyl, the cartels’ meth and the cartels’ heroin were simply walked over and brought straight to Oregon thanks to the dipsh*ts running the DPO and the worst federal administration in American history.” a quote from an immigration report reads “The data indicates most smuggling of illicit drug substances into the U.S. happens at ports of entry, not between. Hidden in compartments in vehicles and cargo, smuggling is often quicker and more expedient at POEs compared to traveling through rough terrain between ports.” (immigrationforum.org/article/illicit-fentanyl-and-drug-smuggling-at-the-u-s-mexico-border-an-overview/#:~:text=This%20data%20indicates%20most%20smuggling,through%20rough%20terrain%20between%20ports.)

Although the poster would like to blame Oregon Democrats for the drug epidemic, thirty states, many of them red, have a higher fentanyl death rate per capita than Oregon. usafacts.org/articles/are-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-rising-in-the-us/#:~:text=2022%20data%20is%20provisional%20and%20subject%20to%20change.,-Source%3A%20Centers%20for&text=California%20had%20the%20m….

The bottom line is that as long as we create demand for drugs someone will supply it. Our drug problem is ours, not Mexico’s, not the Chinese Communist Party’s, not south or central America’s. As for border security it has very recently become abundantly clear it is the Republican Party directed by Trump that only cares about it when they think they can use it as a campaign issue in their favor. Remember “I will build a wall and make Mexico will pay for it”?

Ted Chu

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Dixie Gainer’s assertion that Oregon has the 6th highest taxes in the country is true as far as she goes. The 6th highest personal income tax.

When you calculate the total tax burden of property tax, individual income tax, sales & excise tax, Oregon falls to 31st.

And don’t forget the 5.6 billion dollar kicker going back to taxpayers this spring.

Gene Dieken

Submitted By: brh7926@charter.net – Click to email about this post

Thank you, Randy Kugler, for calling out the lies and corruption in the Manzanita City government. Obviously, it doesn’t matter whether the corruption is big government, ie, US federal, Oregon State, or tiny, small town communities. I guess people have to feel powerful, no matter what. Certainly says a lot about their own insecurities, which of course they will never admit. Anyway, thank you so much! I appreciate you!

Submitted By: genedieken@yahoo.com – Click to email about this post

Dixie Gainer’s recent BBQ post discounting the reality of climate change began with the assertion that the World Economic Forum advocates dispatching pets as a mitigation tactic. Of course, this is easily checked and isn’t true. Here’s Reuters Fact Check:
December 16, 2022. The World Economic Forum (WEF) did not issue advice to slaughter millions of pets to curb climate change. Online reports that it did are false.
Reuters found no evidence that the organization suggested slaughtering pets, and searches through the WEF website did not reveal any such guidance (archive.vn/wip/UgC3L). The claims appear to stem from an article published by the website NewsPunch, which has posted false news in the past. It is viewable (archive.vn/1IDuQ)…
Me personally, I’d have a hard time believing anything from a TwitterX feed calling itself “Illuminatibot.” The NewsPunch talking head in the linked video is a short silent clip repeating every few seconds and the audio is from a speech generator.
Many climate predictions certainly have been laughable. Modeling complex non-linear systems like climate is among things we don’t really have well-enough developed science, math, or computation for.
Nonetheless, certain things about climate change fall well within common actuarial math: If you live in Florida your homeowner’s insurance is now unaffordable if you can get it. If you live in Portland your electricity rate just went up by double digits partially to pay for undergrounding more than 100 miles of new distribution powerlines to prevent sparking of catastrophic wildland fires. Hurricanes and fires do not care about your politics.

Submitted By: skylaureate@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Hi. The post said Hydrangers and curly willow. I have
been longing to obtain some curly willow. I love to do weavings among the branches. Would that be possible with what you have?
Thanks.
Patricia Hampton.
760-331-9262
I live in Tillamook.

Submitted By: cbbcalm@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

LANGUAGE MINDFULNESS again Animals are used to describe horrific Human behaviors such as WAR PIGS here
90 000 00 Pigs are slaughtered EACH day in the USA NINETY THOUSAND each day
Animals don’t drop bombs,
Animals don’t do what human do to each other

Submitted By: cbbcalm@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Reply to Toddler Nation 2

Better than a thousand words
Is One Useful Word
Hearing Which One Attains Peace

Dhammapada 8 100

cbbcalm@gmail.com

Submitted By: cbbcalm@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

I agree, 100 % with Kaleen Wineinger letter.
The police Station, and some of the Officers have expressed, they would be contented to stay in the heart town with yes some improvements upgrades to their quarters.
To hear watch and see the dismissive ,adult bullying
around our Respectable Mayor Deb Simons is unbelievable . A lack of grace dignity .
I too say NO to city hall

Submitted By: cbbcalm@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

I too want to commend Deb Simmons , our Mayor of Manzanita , for exemplifying the role of City Councilor. She is intelligent, extremely caring & respectful towards other. She listens , researches for solutions, to make things work bette ; She collaborates and listens again…She will make time for you. our Mayor , Deb has been unjustly attacked, by a pack of hungry , unhappy campers. It takes a lot courage, strength , guts, to be a leader. She has all that. I too look forward to the day we can all work together for the common goal ,,our Village , City of Manzanita. ! corinna Beuchet

Submitted By: dixiegainer@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Recently I was criticized by using the word Nazi in a post about our government’s response to a recent health crises. The following video is by Vera Sharav who was both a witness and victim
to this time in history. She shows parallels. The video is 34 minutes long.
It is on Rumble.The title is “Vera Sharav’s historic Nuremberg Speech – Eugenics Then and Now.”

Never again?

Submitted By: mjsommers7@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

This is a response to Dixie Gainer’s post “How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times”. I have so disagreed with so many of Dixie’s posts that I stopped reading anything she posted. But then I saw this one. The title drew me in. As I read on, I realized I agreed with EVERYTHING she wrote there. My reaction exemplified the text of her message. We are so divided as a nation that the only way back is by having civil discourse with those with whom we disagree. I am neither a Democrat nor Republican but I align more with the liberal agenda. My news feeds are varied; including CNN, NY Times, NY Post, Washington Post, The Guardian, FOX, BBC, etc. My news motto would probably be “Don’t try to convince me, inform me”. I applaud Dixie’s attempt to bridge the gap between “us and them”. There is no other way I see us coming together without “Feerlessly Curious Conversations”.
Hopefully yours, michael sommers