TresSugar

Stranger than Fiction: School Used Lap Dance Therapy

TresSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

When you think of activities to help the emotional growth of teens with behavior troubles or special learning needs, lap dances would probably be the last thing you'd think of.

But that's exactly what the staff at Mount Bachelor Academy came up with, and they forced students to undergo lap dance therapy as a part of their "emotional growth" curriculum. The boarding school was shutdown after students accused the staff of employing this dubious therapy, and a seven-month state investigation has just confirmed the allegations.

According to the report, the school's "Lifesteps" seminars made students take on sexualized roles and perform in front of staff and students. One girl, who had been raped before going to the school, was forced to dress as a French maid and perform a lap dance. (Who thought this was a good idea?!)

Oregon's Department of Human Services says the school poses "a serious danger to child safety." Whenever I hear these horror stories about reform schools, I wonder: did anyone ever check to see if the people allowed to run them for so long needed some reform themselves?

Briefing Book! Oregon Considers 1,900 Percent Tax on Beer

LibertySugar — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 11:30:04 -0800

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Oregon's Green Idea: Taxing For Miles Driven Instead of Gas

LibertySugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:01:24 -0800

Oregon drivers may soon start limiting their joyrides. The governor has called for a highway tax based on miles driven, not gasoline purchases after gas tax revenues dropped to $4.8 million a year compared with 2006.

The idea is that a state task force would equip every new vehicle in the state with a Global Positioning System device to record every mile driven and where. Motorists would pay at the gas pump based on how much they drove, whether they drive a Prius or a clunker party bus.

Oregon is one of the first states to start talking about a mileage fee, but Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Florida, Rhode Island, Minnesota and Texas have expressed interest in dropping the gas tax and charging drivers for their mileage. The proposal has already received plenty of opposition from Oregonians who say it would discriminate against rural residents, who have to drive farther for groceries, school and work, and caused concerns about government monitoring.

Do you think it's a smart move?

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Troopers Riding in Big Rigs to Nab Drivers: Smart or Sneaky?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:30:13 -0700

Over a two days this week, Oregon State Police and sheriffs (perhaps better known by their CB radio code, "Boy Scouts") hitched a ride with big-rig truckers on the hunt for aggressive drivers who wouldn't suspect a "Smokey" ride along and wouldn't have time to "brush their teeth and comb their hair" (shout out for a radar trap ahead.)

Leaving the "bubble gum machine" (cop car) at home, the troopers were able to nab 38 drivers in just two days. From their shotgun perches, most of the drivers were ticketed for driving over a "double nickel" (55 mph) and never saw it coming.

The ODOT safety manager says "Research shows that most truck vs. car crashes could be avoided if drivers knew how to steer clear of unsafe situations. With this campaign, we hope to increase awareness, encourage safer driving practices and make a positive change in the risky driving behaviors of motorists - all of which will lead to fewer crashes, fatalities, and injuries on Oregon's roadways."

Is planting troopers in a big rig a creative solution - or a little bit like a speed trap taken too far?

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States, Provinces to Cap and Trade Sans Federal Governments

LibertySugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:00:00 -0700

Seven western US states and four Canadian provinces have agreed to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 15 percent before 2020. Proud of the Western Climate Initiative, Republican California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger asserted:

We’re sending a strong message to our federal governments that states and provinces are moving forward in the absence of federal action, and we’re setting the stage for national programs that are just as aggressive.

So how will Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec curb climate change? To find out, read more.

The states and provinces will set a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas beginning in 2012. The cap will get smaller every year. All sectors of the economies, from transportation to housing to electricity, will be expected to cut and pay for emissions. Industries, however, will receive allowances for their emissions. One allowance will cover every metric ton of emitted heat-trapping gas, and allowances can be traded on a secondary market.

Are you happy to see the states coming up with climate change alliances, or would it be better if there was a united national plan?

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Same-Sex Marriage - Native American Style

LibertySugar — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:00:36 -0700

Oregon's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage won't stop one lesbian duo from getting their marriage legally recognized in the state. After the couple asked, the Coquille Indian Tribe in southern Oregon adopted a law recognizing same-sex marriages. The Coquille is the first tribe to legalize same-sex marriage, but it isn't the the first Indian tribe to take a stance on the matter: the Navajo and Cherokee tribes both ban same-sex marriage.

The Coquille tribal leader explained:

For our tribe, we want people to walk in the shoes of other people and learn to respect differences. Through that, we think we build a stronger community.

Indian tribes have legal authority over domestic relations between members, unless Congress decides to take away that right. Nonetheless, the state of Oregon and the federal government will not recognize the unions performed by the tribe. Do you see a tidal wave of same-sex marriage legalization coming, or will this evolution of marriage stay on the reservation?

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Awaiting Results: Double-O! Obama Snaps Up Oregon

CitizenSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:21:01 -0700

CNN has just projected that Barack Obama will walk away with a win in Oregon. The state has 52 pledged delegates to award, almost the same as Kentucky.

Speaking in Iowa, where this whole primary season began, Obama said:

In spite of all the doubt and disappointment - or perhaps because of it - you came out on a cold winter's night in numbers that this country has never seen, and you stood for change. And because you did, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And tonight, in the fullness of spring, with the help of those who stood up from Portland to Louisville, we have returned to Iowa with a majority of delegates elected by the American people, and you have put us within reach of the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.

On a side note, the long Democratic race has meant one other bonus: Oregon matters! My home state, the vote-by-mail only, late-in-the-primary game Beaver State has finally made more than a faint ripple in the pre-game show. I'm just delighted. Where do the Democrats go from here?

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Front Page: Iraqi Troops Enter Sadr City, Oregon and Kentucky, French Workweek

CitizenSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:00:02 -0700

Iraqi Troops Enter Sadr City: Iraqi troops, unaccompanied by American ground forces, delved deep into Sadr City today as part of a mission by the Iraqi government to establish control over the densely populated Shia area. The long-planned operation was the first key push by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to assert control over the area full of support for Muqtada al-Sadr. Six Iraqi battalions advanced north. The forces quickly assumed positions at a main thoroughfare and near major hospitals and police stations. At full strength, an Iraqi battalion numbers about 700 troops.

Oregon and Kentucky: Two more primaries today, in Oregon and Kentucky, have Barack Obama set to reach a milestone in the presidential race, perhaps amassing a majority of pledged delegates. Regardless of results, Obama has said he would not declare victory against Sen. Clinton or suggest the Democratic primary should end before the last primaries on June 3. Obama has said, “We still have a number of contests, including Montana, before we’re able to secure the nomination. Senator Clinton has run a magnificent race, and she is still working hard, as am I, for all of these last primary contests.” Clinton's view, “This is nowhere near over. None of us is going to have the number of delegates we’re going to need to get to the nomination." Check back here for results as soon as they're called tonight.

French Workweek: Calls to expand the French 35-hour workweek have been squashed. Though the leader of France’s governing party called yesterday for a definitive end to France’s 35-hour workweek, he was almost immediatley contradicted by other party figures and by President Nicolas Sarkozy. The decision to shorten the workweek is ten years old, and expected to stay put for the present.

Should Parenting Require Education, Licensing Like Driving?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:04:06 -0700

The news is filled with stories of parenting gone awry - this is just the most recent story that grabbed my attention. A school in Oregon has just had to send a letter home to parents asking them not to allow their children to drink energy drinks (Red Bull, Rock Star and the like) at school!

The teachers say they've seen kids drink as many as five cans of the potent elixer per day resulting in, as you can imagine, unruly behavior, caffeine crashes, and addled attention-spans.

If we're to the point where a school has to dictate to parents how to provide proper food and drink to their children, should we be offering and requiring education before people become parents? Before someone is charged with caring for a life - which is arguable akin in responsibility to driving a car - should we require similar levels of education and testing? Would a government-issued license to dad (or mom) help give kids a better start?

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Oregon's Health Care Lottery and Desperation for Doctors

CitizenSugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:00:20 -0800

This week Oregon is holding a lottery for the remaining 3,000 slots in their state health care system. That's right: a lottery. While the health care story dominating the headlines recently is the Hillary/Barack mandate debate, far more shocking stories just like this are plaguing the U.S. medical scene. The diagnosis is grim.

In Oregon, more than 80,000 people have signed up for the chance to win access to a health insurance plan designed for those who don't qualify for Medicaid, but are too poor to buy their own coverage. The Oregon Department of Human Services estimates that 600,000 Oregonians are currently without insurance.

But wait. There's more. The buried story on 60 Minutes (behind the flashier Clinton/Obama frenzy) was about a group called Remote Area Medical (RAM). The group was designed to parachute triage care into remote areas like the Amazon. Now, they're doing almost 60 percent of their work within the United States. In one mission - to Knoxville - the group saw 920 patients and had to turn 400 away.

With news like this, one wonders if any health care solution can possibly be a salve at this point. Debating the finer points of a mandate seems futile. Is the real problem not with price of health care, but the insurance system itself? What if instead of trying to buy people insurance we concentrated on making trips to the doctor affordable? And does holding a lottery for a life-saving service seem below an allegedly civilized society?

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