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Opinion

Opinion

Get rich, get fit

New incentives for police to stay in shape

When one thinks of the police, images of strapping young men are often the first things to leap into one’s mind. Gender biases aside, the Portland Police Association is considering offering police officers cash incentives to keep that “strapping young lad” image active in the Bridge City.

While this ideal may seem foreign to some, it has been considered by police forces throughout the country. Police forces in Texas, New York and other states are following the same plan: more cash for more fitness.

Attention deficit drug abuse

Students turn to ADD and ADHD prescription drugs in times of stress

Have you ever had difficulty concentrating on homework? What about refraining from spacing out during class or on a test? This is perfectly normal, and you are not alone. A lot of students like you are suffering from an inability to concentrate on the task at hand, which of course impairs academic achievement.

Disturbingly enough, however, many of your classmates are enlisting the help of prescription drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Locked in the looney bin

A new state hospital brings ethical and financial issues to the table

When one thinks of a state-funded psychiatric hospital, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest might just be the first thing that comes to mind.

Oregon legislature is currently going over plans to open a new state hospital to house the mentally ill in Junction City, Ore. While it is comforting to know that our state government cares (although “cares” might not be the right word) for the mentally ill residing in Oregon, is another hospital a necessity?

Hobo Prince scam

Portlanders should take heed of local scam artist

If a complete stranger promises to give you over $300,000 in exchange for just $25 up front, one or more gigantic red flags should go up in your head. But apparently that doesn’t always happen.

Washington resident and author Shelby Bell is the founder of the so-called “Hobo Prince Economic Project.” He claims to have access to over $350 billion, and he wants to share it with seven million people by paying them $900 a week for the next seven years. The first 10,000 people to sign up will even be rewarded with a free computer! There is just one catch: participants are required to pay a one-time, $25 “administrative fee” when they sign their contracts.

The $2.5 million question

Oregon judge’s ruling in blogger case clarifies what a journalist is—and isn’t.

The media was in a defensive frenzy when Crystal Cox, a Montana blogger, was fined $2.5 million for defamation in early December.

That is, until they checked out her blogs.

Cox, a self proclaimed “investigative blogger,” proposed many accounts of fraud perpetrated by Kevin Padrick, a lawyer for the investment firm Obsidian Financial Group, in her blogs. Padrick sued Cox for her multiple accusations of the company’s financial corruption which spread over 500 separate URL’s and which now plague Google searches of his name.

A dilemma for the city’s youth

Gang violence plagues Portland

When one thinks of Portland, gang violence is not often the first image to come to mind.

Though people may be unaware, there have been several gang-related deaths in recent years. In 2011 alone, there were eight gang-related deaths. The young people that have been found dead should serve as a wake up call and remind people of what is really going on in one of Oregon’s most beloved cities.

Tolerance not required

Philosophy professor’s challenge sparks discussion

Peter Boghossian, a philosophy professor at Portland State, ruffled quite a few feathers last year with his arguments that college instructors should not be afraid to correct a student’s beliefs in things like creationism in the classroom.

His article “Should We Challenge Student Beliefs?” in Inside Higher Ed, an online educational journal, was followed by a lecture open to the public on campus titled “Faith, Belief and Hope: From Cognitive Sickness to Moral Value and Back Again,” which was covered by The Oregonian and various online news outlets.

SOPA sucks

If bill passes, long-term consequences could change internet use in America

Ah, the Internet. Gigabytes, megabytes, even terabytes worth of free information readily available at one’s convenience—but not for long, if a new bill currently undergoing review in Congress has anything to say about it.

The Stop Online Piracy Act, also known as SOPA, is a bill written mostly to protect against the growing problem (if you want to call it a problem) of Internet piracy.

Bridge over troubled water

Pollution and a high price tag make the Morrison Bridge remodel a nightmare

The Morrison Bridge remodel was set to be finished by November 2011. Yet on Jan 3, 2012, construction was just resuming on a project less than half-way complete at this point.

Between a poor contracting choice, pollution violations during construction and constant delays, commuters and city officials alike have a massive headache instead of a functional bridge.

2011: The year of protest?

Time magazine decision unfocused but correct

In 2008, the bubble bursts, and the world’s mightiest economic giant stumbles. The full extent of the ramifications remains contested, and the recovery continues to slog on at an abysmally slow pace. As the details come to light, and the world bears witness to an infuriating trend—one of greed, disparity and double-dealing—the first of the Occupy movements takes place in Zucotti Park, on Sept. 17, 2011.

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