Saturday, February 24, 2007

I'll boycott... oh wait

PGE presents Diversity Summit 2007: From Global Vision to Local Action
Join us for Diversity Summit 2007, the fourth summit presented by PGE. Business leaders and Human Resources professionals will discover new ways to better address diversity issues while networking with attendees from Oregon’s top businesses and organizations.

With important conferences like:

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Diversity in the Workplace

What It’s Like to Be Me: A Personal Perspective on Race & Culture

And of course "The Oregon State Bar has approved this summit for 4.5 Elimination of Bias CLE (Continuing Legal Education) credits for its members."

ODOT, Tri-Met and the PDC are all sponsors of this event as well. It's fine with me if Nike, Fred Meyer, etc want to do this but I am forced to get my power, and therefore give my money to, PGE. They can encourage their employees to hang out with the transgenders on their own time, don't do it with my money.

To say nothing of state agencies using tax dollars to support this...

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

PGE is a private company. They can sponsor whatever they want. The only way to boycott them is to move somewhere they don't serve. Like Clark county! LOL

Anonymous said...

It memains to be seen if its the Sunni's or the Sheiite's that will dispatch the whole lot as this crap only inspires them even more.

Daniel said...

PGE is a private company but a regulated monopoly. That's my point, I can't boycott them.

To be honest I don't really care about offending the Religion of Peace. I care about bombing the crap out of them.

Anonymous said...

What a shame that the only way to boycott a certain company is to actually move your home!

Anonymous said...

At last, a kindred spirit! I'm pretty pissed off myself about my tax dollars going to support an illegal war in Iraq, the fact that 3,000 American soldiers have died for NOTHING, to pay for operating an incarceration/torture facility in Cuba that will, even if it was closed today, leave (another) permanent stain on this country's history, to operate U.S. military bases around the world, to fly "extraordinary rendition" flights around Europe and Asia. I'm also angry that my tax dollars are used to prop up Israel's defense department. I'm also a bit bothered by the fact that the government bends over backwards to dream up tax incentives for American corporations so that a CEO who manages to scrape by on only $10 million a year gets a fighting chance to improve his lot in life by maybe another five or six million a year but hasn't done a goddamned thing to slow or -- shall I even dream? -- reverse the trend of millions of Americans sliding into poverty, or near it. I'm also pretty fucking mad about ..

Oh ... wait a minute. Never mind. Thought I was talking to someone who gives a shit about things that matter. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

So, "another taxpayer", have you always been an anti-semite?

Bobkatt said...

A judge in Massachusetts has ruled that teachers at Estabrook Elementary School have a "legitimate state interest" in teaching the homosexual lifestyle, and parents have no input into those decisions.
"Once I have elected to send my child to public school, my fundamental right does not allow me to direct what my child is exposed to in the public school," said the school's lawyer.

An ACLU lawyer, however, told the judge that "it is a tremendous bonus" for children to be given information of which their parents wouldn't approve, and that teaching children homosexuality when their parents' Biblical beliefs do not support that has nothing to do with a violation of religious freedom, according to the MassResistance.org reports.

Anonymous said...

9:13: What the hell are you talking about?

Anonymous said...

Speaking of boycotts, look at: http://www.bankofamericaboycott.com/

Call B of A and tell them this pandering to non-citizens, encouraging their lawlessness and aiding in their being here is unacceptable.

http://www.alipac.us

Kaelri said...

- "To be honest I don't really care about offending the Religion of Peace. I care about bombing the crap out of them."

That's why a lot of them care about bombing the crap out of us, you know. I would ask you if you've heard of the idea of a 'vicious cycle,' but I know full well that you have, 'cause I've tried to explain it to you here at least a dozen times.

- "9:13: What the hell are you talking about?"

He thinks that supporting the Israeli government in their fruitless and endless war against Palestinian terrorists would somehow be a more supportive gesture to the people of Israel.

Bobkatt: if you don't mind my asking, what problem do you see in public schools teaching students about the world they live in?

Anonymous said...

If that's what he means, then I need to point out that I am not one of the ignorant pussies who buys into the bullshit idea that criticizing the reactionary, militaristic policies of the Israeli government may be equated with anti-Semitism. The Israeli government is not Judaism itself, and the Israeli government is no more representative of the Jewish people than the Bush administration is of Christianity. Only a fool would accuse a critic of George W. Bush as being an "anti-Christian." Give me a break!

Kaelri, I'd probably stop trying to explain stuff like that to Daniel. You may not have noticed, but the man is an idiot. He's the worst kind, too: he's an articulate idiot. He will not be persuaded from his idiotic conceptions of the world and his racist views of human beings by facts or rational argument; only life experience can work that kind of magic, but there's no guarantee. It remains to be seen whether he'll learn anything useful when life intervenes. I suspect not, but one can hope.

Anonymous said...

- "To be honest I don't really care about offending the Religion of Peace. I care about bombing the crap out of them."

That's why a lot of them care about bombing the crap out of us, you know. I would ask you if you've heard of the idea of a 'vicious cycle,' but I know full well that you have, 'cause I've tried to explain it to you here at least a dozen times.


WHEN YOU CAN EXPLAIN, HOW YOU GET WORLD PEACE BY TALKING TO PEOPLE THAT SWEAR THEY WANT TO KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T GO THEIR WAY 100 PERCENT. RUN FOR SOMETHING!

OTHERWISE...STFU!

Daniel said...

Kaelir: we have bigger bombs we just don't seem to have the willpower to use them at this point. It is going to take another attack on our homeland for that I'm afraid.

Scottiebill said...

Kaelri and Another Taxpayer are just showing to the rest of us that if one does not agree with them absolutely and completely, then we are childish, idiots, pro-Israeli, anti-Palestinians, anti-Christian, pro-war, anti-Iran, pro-Shiite, anti-Sunni, (or vice versa)and just about pro- or anti-anything else you can think of.

As for the Sunnis and the Shiites, there is a great article in the new issue of Time that goes a long way in explaining their long-running battle with each other. What it doesn't explain is why these two factions of Islam have not found their way into the 21st century from the 13th century.

Scottiebill said...

And Kaelri: Am I "childish" as you so inellegantly described me for writing what I did? I calls 'em as I sees 'em. If you can't handle it, that's too bad. As Popeye once said, "I yam what I yam". or is that too "childish" for you?

Kaelri said...

9:19, your courageous anonymity is almost as impressive as your mastery of the Caps Lock key. But I will run for something, I assure you, when the time comes. Until then, if you don't mind, I'm going to exercise the same right to free expression that you are.

Now, I'm not sure why, but you seem to think that I would propose "talking" to terrorists. That certainly wouldn't hurt - I mean, talking is better than not-talking, right? - but that's not really the point. Usually, if a person is so committed to their cause that they're willing to blow themselves up just to make the point, they probably can't be talked down.

What I'm trying to do is cure the disease, instead of just treating the symptoms. I want to stop people from becoming terrorists. I want to put an end to the poverty, oppression and indoctrination that make children willing to do these things. I want to put an end to the Guantánamos, Abu Ghraibs and the Hadithas that make al Qaeda's claims about the West look justified in the eyes of the people who support them.

Anything wrong with that?

And Taxpayer, I argue with Daniel for roughly the same reason. He'll never change his mind as long as he's determined not to. But convincing one Oregonian Republican is hardly worth my time, in and of itself. I do this because this is the Internet, and you'd be surprised at the size of the audience I can draw. I do this because even though Daniel has hardly any interest in what I have to say, maybe someone else does. Maybe a child in Mississippi. Maybe a child in Tehran. And to me, it's been worth it even if it just meant that Bush won in 2004 with 51% instead of 52%. But more importantly, it's worth it because changing one mind is the difference between creating the next Kennedy and creating the next Hitler.

Daniel: maybe you're not seeing the pattern. The bigger the bomb we use, the angrier it makes them. If you don't believe that, look what happened when they tried to use a bigger bomb. The one called a Boeing 747. It doesn't look to me like we backed down.

Kaelri said...

"Am I 'childish' as you so inellegantly described me for writing what I did?"

No, Scottiebill. It looks like you've stopped the ad hominem name-calling that you were using the other day. Thank you.

As for your claim: if you search my history of commenting on Daniel's blog, you'll see that I have never called someone an idiot. Nor anti-American. Nor anti-Shi'ite or anti-Sunni (more likely, I've criticized someone for being unaware of the difference). Nor anti-Palestinian, nor pro-Israel. Pro-war, maybe, if that's how the person already described himself. See, I don't really care who I'm talking to. I'm only interested in showing how my conclusions are right and others' are wrong.

Anonymous said...

Scottie, you missed the point: I am saying that it is possible to oppose the policies of the Israeli government without being an anti-Semite, as I was was accused of being. Ridiculous and irresponsible.

Daniel: If there's another attack on our soil on the scale of 9/11, then the American experiment will be finished, because what's left of democracy will be snuffed out and we'll have a police state.

If that day comes, and I pray it never does, we'll find out what kind of "conservative" you really are. I'm not optimistic that you will turn out to be an intelligent and principled one. I suspect you've got your brownshirt in the closet, cleaned and pressed, and ready to go.

Bobkatt said...

Bobkatt: if you don't mind my asking, what problem do you see in public schools teaching students about the world they live in?
"The Youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing." Adolf Hitler-1937.

Bobkatt said...

Kaelri said-"I don't really care who I'm talking to. I'm only interested in showing how my conclusions are right and others' are wrong."
That would explain why you are not even willing to entertain anyone else's point of view. I find it hard to believe that someone of your young age would have already established such a firm allegiance to your point of view.

Kaelri said...

I take the former post to mean that you oppose public education on principle. Otherwise, you're picking and choosing from the library of academic subjects study and trying to throw out the ones you don't like. Unless, of course, you can explain how withholding the basic facts about a large, legitimate, integral aspect of society and humanity would help students in some way, rather than harm them by denying them preparation for and understanding of the world they're about to enter. Otherwise, this is a matter of intellectual honesty.

(Believe it or not, I don't have a problem with that quote you provided. Remove the references to das Drittes Reich, and it's actually an eloquent justification for public education. And if you're wondering why that doesn't bother me, it's because I'm relatively content with the fact that our schools are run by democratically-elected school boards and active PTAs, rather than the will of the Führer.)

"That would explain why you are not even willing to entertain anyone else's point of view."

I'm sorry that you think I haven't been. What I said certainly does not mean that I would be unwilling to concede defeat. On the contrary, I've done so, here, and would be willing to provide the quotes. But I will not acknowledge a change in my views without a good reason - a reason to believe that my old position was actually wrong.

This, too, is nothing more than intellectual honesty, and I'll happily demonstrate it with any and every position I've advocated. The reality is that I think a lot of people around here are simply wrong on a remarkable number of issues. And I think it's usually a matter of bad logic, bad information, or both. So I come here to change your mind, which should change the way you vote, which hopefully will make people's lives better.

Anything wrong with that?

Bobkatt said...

"German authorities who sent 15 uniformed police officers to take custody of a 15-year-old girl who committed the crime of being homeschooled now have suggested a solution that, in their minds, would "resolve" the situation: the parents should give up custody of their other five children."
"School officials then took her to court, obtaining a court order requiring she be committed to a psychiatric ward because of her "school phobia."
" The German Embassy has indicated they cannot allow 'parallel cultures.' Christian homeschooling is a 'parallel culture' that Germany does not want."
"Parental rights are more and more abolished. If you do not educate the way the state wants, the so-called Jugendamt (youth welfare office) is quick to check out if they can take away the custody of your children."

Scottiebill said...

Kaelri: I don't know how the schools are run in your area, but here in Oregon and Washington the school boards are controlled by the Teachers Unions. PTAs, whether active or just there in body only, as many are, don't even enter into the picture. The teachers unions control the curriculum and the salaries their teachers get. There is no allowance for good and excellent teachers versus the lousy teachers; they all get the same money based loosely on years of service. Performance means nothing out here. A great many teachers work for the schools for maybe 5 years, then leave the profession entirely and get a good job in a completely different sector. Most of this is disillusionment with the system, in that they are not allowed to teach the "three Rs", buit instead, are compelled by their unions to spout a bunch of ultra-libera hogwash to the kids. Al Gore's b.s. movie is almost a requirement in many schools around here, for instance. Around here Charter schools and home schooling is becoming more and more prevalent, turning out a better and more well educated student than are the mainstream government schools.

BEAR said...

hey, kaelri, PLEASE let me pay for your one way ticket to Baghdad so you can "talk" to the jihadists. That way, we can all see your face on video.......just before they separate your empty head from your girly neck. OH, and be sure to tell them how women's rights and the homosexual agenda are so very important to you! GEE, you'd have gotten your chance to actually prove your point, and there'd be one less whining mosquito (and we would mourn you, certainly) on the internet! Win-win.