I believe in the freedom to choose what you wish to do with your life. I only ask that you not force me to pay for the able-bodied to sit on their ass and do nothing. However, if charities wish to help them, then I have no beef. Homelessness isn't a path I would choose, but I have a few old friends who are vagrants. They work just enough to eat and take care of themselves. Otherwise, they sleep outside and travel around the country.
Huh, sorry I was just making a vague statement about the original post. Didn't even really read much of it. Anyhow, my girlfriend used to always want to give homeless people money. I said no. She said I was heartless. I told her that if we got home and she looked up a place to take the homeless people to that I would drive any one of them there directly. She never followed through with it, but now I don't have to listen to her whine about nobody helping them. I would have actually went through with it, maybe she didn't think I was serious.
I've oscillated between two extremes, only giving to charitable organizations and not giving money directly to people, or just giving them money. I now carry around at least $20 in $1 bills as a matter of habit. If someone asks for money I'll give them a buck. I've decided I never know if they really need it. If I help one times in 500, that's good enough for me.
The last one I gave money to was a woman who was standing by the Orchards off ramp by what was at the time the new Wal Mart in Vancouver Wa. She had one arm that was so disfigured it looked like the one guy in the movie Total Recall. It looked to have open sores from what I thought were burns. It had to hurt. I didn't feel bad giving her money, food or drugs or booze...whatever helped. In Vegas they run up on you and are pretty aggressive. I don't take kindly to that. We pulled into a restaurant parking lot a few months ago and one of them snuck up to my door and almost got smacked with the door before I noticed him. That really pissed me off so I got out and screamed at him. Which I shouldn't have but I couldn't help myself.
http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=24731&c=27928 This looks like a scene straight out of an old Popeye cartoon!
If we want to beautify the city, maybe we should spend 133 million to bring more beautiful women here...... just saying
I suppose the bottom has dropped (but not drooped) out of that market too. If we bought them wholesale, how many could we get for $133 million? barfo
Well, it's like the cash for clunkers program - they have to rate a notch or two higher than the ones you currently have, or there isn't any gain. barfo
That's a good point.... Maybe we should pitch this to Obama.... Moneys for Honeys I think it will be a big success.
I agree with the painting of the Fremont. It's the first thing you see coming into town from I5 and it looks like crap when you drive under it. Probably a huge amount of money to clean it up at it's current stage though. I kinda' like the grain mills, personally.
Isn't this the same building? EDIT: I can't seem to get the picture to post? Here's the link: http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?&a=24853&c=27928