Weekend Open Thread, Broken Window Edition 7/26/08-7/27/08Submitted by LynnS on Sat, 07/26/2008 - 11:08pm.
Someone just chucked a piece of wood through one of my side windows. We're fine, but we're confused as to who broke it and why. We're thinking it was random, but it always does make one wonder. Hope your weekend is better, at least window-wise. ETA: Cablenut thinks it was a burglary attempt; our neighbor's recycle bin was moved near the broken window. Lovely. ( topics: General Media )
Check for a brand name on that piece of wood. KPTV will show it during the broadcast. Has anyone noticed how radio anchoring has gone downhill in this town? That new lady on KEX always sounds annoyed or mad about something. A couple weeks ago, I even heard her snap at Paul Linnman on the air because she didn't have something ready when he threw it to her. She can't ad lib that's for sure. Then I switch over to KXL and Lacy Evans was anchoring. Her voice is just awful, like nails on a chalkboard! Longtime KPAM reporter Frank Lenzi is leaving for Seattle's all-news KOMO. No replacement will be hired, meaning KPAM now has no full-time street reporters at all. (Nice way for management to reward the news dept. for all those AP awards it won last winter!) KPAM also recently laid off receptionist Mara Carter (the Tribune's receptionist now does double duty) and morning show producer Dan Clark (I'm not sure who's doing his job). What happened to 'The Morning Sports Page w/ Kenny and Katy" this morning? I really enjoyed listening to local morning sports talk show. I turn it on this AM and hear an L.A. based show? What the hell? No longer on the website, a Fox Sports Radio show aired in the 6-9 slot this morning and it looks like Gavin Dawson will be taking that slot soon. Looks like 95.5's "Morning Sports Page" with Katie Brown and Kenny Vance has been canned. Anyone know what went down? Gavin Dawson looks to take over starting August 4th. If you've listened to the show over the past several weeks, Kenny has been heard making several sexual/inappropriate comments towards Katie and other people. I wonder if that had anything to do with it. Did every single proofreader at the Oregonian decide to go on vacation at the same time? Their usual trickle of published errors has turned into a certfiable flood as of late. The most embarassing error was found in the Living (sorry, I just can't stand the title "How We Live") section last week when they ran the same tv listings page two Wednesdays in a row. Coverage of the Portland to Milwaukie light rail project has been weak, incomplete, and inaccurate as well. This is one of the most expensive transportation project in the region's history, and they seldom even mention it. This past month has been a critical time for the project, and there has been only three very short articles about it. In two of these articles, the information about the proposed alignment was out of date and must have been cobbled together from notes that were at least a year old. and normally used as a "chock" underneath my neighbor's boat. If it's any help, in a few weeks I'll have something in common with Lars; I'll have my CCH. Cablenut already has his. ----- Lynn, I just found out from a friend of mine that some businesses on Division had their windows kicked in this past weekend. Portland Police said it has been happening around SE Portland for the last week or so. They think it is a bunch of ‘young adults’. Lynn, I just found out from a friend of mine that some businesses on Division had their windows kicked in this past weekend. Portland Police said it has been happening around SE Portland for the last week or so. They think it is a bunch of ‘young adults’.
Since we work from home, and are always here, we know a lot of the folks that are out on the street, although I see fewer at night since I quit smoking. I'll have to keep my eyes open and be out on the porch more. ------------------------------------------- Concealed Carry Handgun? Cablenut has one and has been urging me to get mine. The general tenor of the world at present and the attack on the UU church for being "librul" were deciding factors, as was an attempted home invasion of our house a few years ago that's pressed on my mind for some time. This time, I was alone with the girls in the house and I felt stupid because I didn't have a sidearm on me and didn't have the keys available. It took the cops a long time to get here as it was, and if someone had actually come through that window, I would have been in a pretty vulnerable state with no help coming. I don't need a CCH to carry at home. ----- Sounds like a little overreaction to me. Might as well put up bars on your windows, install an alarm system, and perimeter fencing while you're at it. a very good friend of mine suggested the bars on the windows strategy. I declined his generous offer to assist. This isn't a dangerous neighborhood, and even if it was, I don't think I would put bars on my windows. Neither Lynn nor I like what that represents. It is because we don't have bars on the windows that we use our brains and have the ability to carry firearms. If a modern American isn't going to live in a fortress, that person has to be prepared to respond to bad people doing bad things, without assuming that everyone out there is bad...cuz they aren't. Far easier to meet people on their own level and be friendly, but be prepared for the worst. Its actually not unlike the fire extinguisher theory: because I have 1 extinguisher for every floor + one in the kitchen and one in the shop (where I often temper aluminum bar stock for bicycle parts) does that make me expect the house to catch fire? No. What that would tell a non-paranoid person is that I want to respond quickly to a fire, were one to occur, and I don't want to run from the basement to the 3rd floor to find an extinguisher were something to catch fire in my shop. Likewise, if someone wants to come into the house, a firearm on one's person, when used defensively, is going to stand a far better chance of dissuading that person from doing bad things than a puppy dog (Henry is great for cleaning up left-overs, but not so viscious), a phone-a-friend (The police take 15 mins or so), or a can of concentrated chili seasoning (which, btw, is GREAT to repel bears, but not so great to repel humans.) Now, that isn't to say that EVERYONE should have a firearm. Some people just plain aren't up to the task of being on the ball enough to carry and not overreact. In fact, judging from your tone, rifleman69, you might just be one of those people. Lastly, who says we don't already have an alarm system, or a perimeter fence? An alarm system isn't unusual at all. Although you would laugh at it, our "perimeter fence" appears rather imposing from the street level. In reality, our house is elevated 5' from the street behind a 4' concrete retaining wall, and there is a 4' fence on top of that to keep our doggie from running out into the street. From the street, it looks like a 9' tall fence if you look through the hedge at the front of the house to the fence behind and above. Amusing really, but the only reason we got it was to keep our late puppers, Kayla under wraps. She was a sweetheart but looked scary, and would freak folks out, thus the fence. ------------------------------------------- Alarm system would have had someone there faster than calling 911. Nice to hear that I somehow struck a nerve. Perimeter fence went over your head obviously, but to be expected. NRA NRA! "I don't support the NRA. Never have, and I don't think I ever will." Why not? It's largely because of me and 4-million other NRA members that you still can exercise your right to own a firearm in this country. We need more citizens to jump off the wagon and help push. Lemme make it very blunt: I am a member of the Pink Pistols. the NRA supports, almost exclusively,) candidates that would have my friends, neighbors and relatives disenfranchised (at best) for who they are. The NRA has done some great things, and I respect that. I will not, however, give them my money to have it go to candidates that I would ultimately be working against. I cannot support such a group, regardless of my prediliction toward things that go bang. BTW: I DO donate to the cause, just not to the NRA. ------------------------------------------- Perimeter fence is not just a wood fence, watch some L&O or CSI or something similar. Glad to hear you're a pink pistols man, but it's still the NRA under a different cloak. I watch very little of television as a medium (mostly news,) and I am just not getting that reference. Sorry. If you want to explain it, you are welcome to, but I have now asked 4 people and no one is getting your reference. Are you talking about razor wire? Electricity? Maybe broken glass on the top of concrete? ::confused:: Pink Pistols is the polar opposite of the NRA, in terms of it's legislative and lobbying wing: They collect no dues. Indeed, its in their charter: No dues. No membership list. You can print your own membership card, if you need to prove club affiliation for some reason -- Some ranges require club affiliation as a condition of membership. The brief filed in support of Heller was an all volunteer effort. No money was collected from the rank and file. We had a booth at Pride, as well as marched in the Parade. Contributions were voluntary to that end. Per discussions with the National Communications Director: I am welcome, as a "participant," to lobby the legislature on any issue, and am welcome to mention my club affiliation, but cannot claim to represent the Pink Pistols in that lobbying effort. Amusingly: I have still managed to uphold the words of Groucho: "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." ------------------------------------------- Concealed Carry Handgun?
Isn't that overreacting? It was just a piece of wood. Two incidents: The first was an attempted (aborted?) home invasion circa 1999 or so. The folks were caught about 3 weeks after we refused entry to a petite, very pretty young woman who said that men were following her. She was the decoy. They were driving a white van or suv, if anyone remembers that incident. They were staging really, really violent home invasion robberies. Fast forward a few years: http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=27698 The victim in this shooting was a mentally ill man who had chased me for four blocks through Old Town, at night, about a week before this fatal incident. After I reached my vehicle, he moved on and started screaming at other folks further up the street, calling them the same names, and chasing after them. As I sat breathing heavily in my car, I realized that I didn't have anything to defend myself with other than a pen and a pair of fast legs. I hadn't even brought my cell phone down with me. I was as defenseless as could be, but my lovely wife would have been even more so: she can't run. At that point, I vowed to acquire tools. Cell phone: check. Exercise so I can run faster: check. Skilz to avoid putting myself in that position again: check. Firearm training, use, and practice: check. I am not out to hurt anyone. Our neighborhood is very very quiet. I have gotten the gun out ONCE for something stupid happening outside our house, and even then, it just sat next to me while I watched the person in question argue with the police over whether or not he was drunk (He was, and I have seen him get very very violent in the past.) We are extremely realistic about firearms: they are tools. Nothing more, nothing less. Like a hammer, they do one thing very well, and that thing is to stop bad people from doing bad things. They won't make a person safer, and they won't make a person omnipotent. They will give a disabled woman an equal footing against a larger agressor. Firearms help do one other thing very useful: They can help bridge the gap between the time the police are called and the time the police arrive. Saturday night, it was 15 minutes from the time the police were called til the time the police arrived. In the past, it has been upwards of 20 mins (tho that was for a drunk driver that wrecked out front of the house.) A lot can happen in 15 mins to a disabled person with two kids in a house. We are members of the Pink Pistols GLTB shooting group, and all of us except the 7 year old have taken the requisite safety courses. The youngest will get to go when she turns 8. We enjoy getting together with friends and family, taking the kids out to the woods for a day of target shooting and picnicking. In fact, I will open this up to the board: We are firm believers in safety, and are more than happy to teach anyone who wants to learn how to shoot. Families are welcome :-) Email Lynn and we'll set it up. I know that this might seem unpopular in certain urban circles, but we are Americans, and we are guaranteed access to firearms for defense as well as recreation. At OMI, we firmly and unwaveringly believe in the Constitution, including ALL the Amendments to it, not just the First :-) ------------------------------------------- I say good for you. My father-in-law's boss and his wife (also members of our church) were victims of a home invasion many years ago by three men who were high on meth. They were tied up and beaten while the men threatened to kill them, although thankfully they were not seriously injured from it. This happened in the midde of the afternoon. They have since gotten personal protection in the form of firearms. Because of that story, my husband and I have done the same. You are right. It's a tool. You don't have to shoot it in order for it to be effective at protecting your family. When was the last time a "conceal carry" person went homicidal through a public place? Never. When was the last time a "conceal carry" person went homicidal through a public place? Never.
This actually points to a BIG flaw in the arguements expressed by folks concerned about CHL holders: That we are more dangerous. There *are* crimes committed by those holding CHLs. Nationwide, tho, the incidence of unlawful behaviour is under that of Law Enforcement. In other words: cops commit crimes more often than those who legally conceal a firearm. The rate of VIOLENT crime perpetrated by those who lawfully carry a firearm concealed is so low as to be measure under a dozen a year. These MAKE the news due to their unusual circumstance, and as yet, there has been no mass shooting by a CHL holder. Indeed, in some events, it has been a CHL holder that stopped (or slowed) a mass shooting (Thinking of SLC, Tacoma Mall.) No one in their right mind wants to shoot someone. No one. By definition, WANTING to shoot someone makes you crazy in my book. Would I do so to defend myself or my family? Absolutely. I would venture that the vast majority of folks would join me in the affirmation of those statements above: no wants to, but they would in order to defend themselves or their loved ones. The only difference is that we realized a long time ago that in order to have the tool on hand to effectively defend ourselves, we needed to take some action: training, education, means. Time to sell the shack and move to the burbs. We don't have those problems out here much. I still carry.. just in case. I will NOT be a victim for some tweaker who needs $10 for a fix. BTW, I love posters who say you're overreacting after feeling your life was threatened. That is not a feeling I want to ever have again and until it happens to you.. you can't possibly understand. We belong here. How could we leave?!?!? The OMI Caffeine Bureau is only 3 blocks away, and the OMI Sustenance and Resupply Vendor (New Seasons) is 13 blocks away. There are more bikes than cars that run down the hill in front of our house, and we have a bombshelter dug into the backyard of OMI central ;-) Seriously, we are considering selling, but only to move onto our vacant lot and build a smaller house for our old age :-) ------------------------------------------- Smart man, nothing wrong with downsizing. I do think the suburb guy has good options for you two as well. Not everyone needs a firearm to defend themselves. Not everyone needs a firearm to defend themselves.
I wouldn't dream of telling folks that they need to own a firearm. You can defend yourself with anything you want to use, within legal limits, of course: pointy sticks, magic beans, knives, cans of concentrated chili seasoning, hula hoops going really, really fast. I choose to use a device that is designed for the task, projects force from a distance, and can be used by the disabled members of our household: Lynn would have trouble hula hooping fast enough to defend herself. If your answer to my snark is "the police," I urge you to look up Castle Rock V Gonzales. ------------------------------------------- To each their own, moving would be a better choice IMO, but if you're fine where you're at then CCH is where it's at. I like it here. I am not sure that there is any "Safe" place, outside of certain gated communities. Some are less safeR than others, but this isn't one of them. Stupid things happen in every neighborhood. Once again, tho: we come to the concept of walling oneself inside to wall out the rest of the world. Instead of that, why don't we focus on making sure that OTHERS are brought up to our level of economic standing and opportunity. Isolationism is all fine and dandy, but ends up as us vs. them. ------------------------------------------- Here's another example of crime and the subsequent lack of proper police response. This involves the Gresham police. The police response was fine. Oh, sure, I would like my own personal cop here at OMI central, but that isn't realistic. The PPB does a great job with what they have. Their response time is excellent, they have been consistently professional to me and to Lynn and they have been extremely responsive to our concerns. Maybe Gresham has a problem, but the PPB has fine as far as we've seen. Of course, we aren't drug dealers or drunks, and we happen to be anglo. Things might be different if either of those circumstances were to change, but I never feel as tho the police are a waste of space. Here's another example of crime and the subsequent lack of proper police response. This involves the Gresham police.]d of "policing" is this?
------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: my opinions are my own, not those of OMI or any employer. I am fairly new to the OMI experience...and what an experience it is, what with all the whiners, complainers, backstabbers and the rest of the usual suspects that haunt the media outlets of the Pacific Northwest as well as everywhere else. However, as I was reading some of the more egregious posts (if you can call them that) I was aghast at the personal attacks against KEZI GM, Mark Hatfield. To whomever posted this trash - your character assasination of Mr. Hatfield is unwarranted. Mr. Hatfield has been, and continues to be, one of the nation's premiere broadcasters in a period when broadcasting is under fire from every angle. His single-minded dedication to integrity and fair play in the News product is remarkable in an era when Happy news and Twinkie Anchors are the norm. His gentle, persuasive managerial style and dedication to mentoring upcoming talent are the true earmarks of a broadcasting pro. His plain-spokenness and kind-heartedness can only be described as inspirational, as nearly all those who have the pleasure of working with him will attest. He is destined for bigger and better things and was simply languishing away in Medford, a place where languishing is a way of life. Finally, wiser heads in the benevolent Chambers family prevailed. In a flash of insight, Scott Chambers plucked Mr. Hatfield from the deadening obscurity of Medford. Scott Chambers, who will one day be recognized for broadcast excellence and innovation, placed Mr. Hatfield at the pinnacle of the Chambers Broadcast Empire. Seated there on his well-deserved throne, Mr. Hatfield will quickly right the floundering KEZI ship and create an Oregon empire dedicated to the art of quality broadcasting. Mr. Hatfield is the High Definition answer to KEZI's challenges. Those who think otherwise are sadly mistaken. Post new comment |
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it happened in your neighborhood? Then call KPTV and get your shocked response on the air! Don't forget to tell them how terrorized you now feel.