"We're doing a great thing for the environment here."

Really?

How do they know that?

By decree? Suppose they aren't doing anthing "great" at all and it's just completly made up.

Is there any validation of anything around here?

Or do they know the environmental benefits may be imaginary but the effort is worth it?
What?

Rats, thats all I keep thinking of. These little slop buckets will attract big frickin rats.

What are we in for this summer?

I mentioned before, is this supposed to be a feel good for the planet, our busy work while the big abusers of our planet escalate?

Question, is not whether city is making money on this, but whether those who benefit are campaign contributors to elected officials?

Rats.. possums... raccoon...

It's not the food slop in the green yard debris bins that's going to be the problem. It's all the people who won't food compost -- and that's probably about half -- whose slop is going to sit around for two weeks (along with dirty diapers, dog poop, and heaven knows what all else) waiting for the landfill run. That is going to be intense.

Especially the diapers!
Plague here we come!

Whining on Bojack or writing Letters to the Editor aren't going to change a thing.

City Hall believes you'll do what they tell you to do because you have always done so in the past.

Much like the boiling of a frog, you won't feel the rising temperature of public intrusion into your personal lives because it's so gradual. And Green!

You can live by their rules or you can leave. Those are the available options.

Litigation is a possible path of resistance. Some of the City Hall shenanigans are plainly illegal. The taxpayers of the city need to form a legal defense fund, and constantly fight back on several fronts at a time. Probably $2 million up front would be needed.

City charter amendments are also possible, but they also take time and money. It would be easier to move out and let the jerks have their way. But my impression of adult Portlanders is that they might be tougher than that.

In response to Put a bird on it - Yes, leaving is ideal, but many of us cannot afford that with houses underwater, etc., - the ideal response is mass civil disobedience coupled with self (actual) sustainability.

Cut your service and make a dump run every couple weeks.

Do the 'sustainable' thing and filter your rain barrel for water. Go solar and geothermal.

Starve the system and it will die.

I've lived in a lot of cities across this nation and I have seen more rats in Portland then anywhere else. I ain't talkin' about the two legged kind. This is the four legged furry kind with tails.

My cats average one adult rat outside on a weekly basis, pretty much year round.

I have two neighbors who ran up big car repair bills from vermin chewing on the wiring harnesses in their cars.

While our anointed leaders would probably swoon with delight over the big evil cars getting damaged, the rest of us in the real world pay those bills in order to work, care for families, etc.

I am happy my three cats prowled around our property, and I assume it kept me from the same fate. I predict either they will have more things to stalk.

But, it's the raccoons and the opossums that I worry about. We are creating a new food chain right here. Couple that with the coyote I saw last spring, (walking down 47th Couch behind the police station) and it'll be a matter of time before I can't let the cat out. I'm pretty sure there is more than one coyote in town.

OK, Jack, who's going to coordinate the legal defense fund? I'll contribute, but I'm not the right person to head this up. Are you???

People freak out about "blue laws" and somebody forcing their morals on somebody else, but that's exactly what's going on here. City Hall says this is The Right Thing To Do, and they're going to force us to obey.

This is all part of Sam's job plan. By next summer you'll be able to get daily garbage pickup just by calling one of the thousands of new haulers off Craigslist.

Starve the system and it will die.

Posted by Indie | October 3, 2011 11:24 PM

Thanks for the laugh! If you think the system in Portland can be starved, you're going to be mighty impressed with all of the new fees and property taxes they can find to make that issue a bit clearer for you.

Line it with newspaper? What, is the Oregonian a sponsor? Who reads a newspaper any more?

In the summer we put anything that is going to get ugly in the freezer until garbage day -- which in southern Oregon is still weekly, thank god.

Line it with newspaper?

That's what my German in-laws do. They say it helps keep the rats away from the "Bio Tonne" (food scraps) can and keeps the smell down. Of course they also still have weekly garbage collection.

While driving to physical therpay this AM, I observed 3 raccoons crossing Scholls Ferry. A short piece up the road there was a crushed raccoon in the road. Looks like we will have a whole new class of dumpster divers in the city.

Houses underwater? Has it occurred to anyone that the reason these officials have chosen now to impose all of these social re-engineering mandates on us may very well be precisely because so many residents cannot leave right now if they wanted to? They have an invisible Berlin Wall at their disposal.

Since when was it government's job to tell us to "get over it"?

In fact, since when was there a "us" versus "them" - isn't government of us, and by us, and for us? Clearly Portland city government has taken on a life of its own separate from the citizens whom are supposed to be the government...

For all those folks that love democracy and power to the people...they should be marching on City Hall demanding that "we" the people return to government. Of course, many of those folks actually like City Hall as it is...so it really shows the hypocrisy of their beliefs - "we the people" doesn't mean "we, all of the people".

Yes, Mr. Grumpy.

Many say they cannot stand the social re-engineering mandates, but it is easier said than done to just leave.
Still would like to know how many people have it at least in their mind to leave, if the number is as large as I suspect, where would we all move to? Wouldn't it be easier if we put a stop to these controls here? By making sure, that no more "insider" candidates get elected to continue the agenda. We do have an opportunity ahead of us to get a new Mayor and 2 Commissioners for those 3 votes needed for the people.

clinamen, in someways just thinking about leaving is leaving.

When you're beyond talking at the neighborhood picnic beyond just the many city issues, but about how you'd like to just get out of here, then you've left. You don't really have the desire to even do the simplest things that might make it easier for us to collectively live here. We are at this point.

Once I get my "retirement package" aka lay-off money for being too old, I will be gone. Until then I will operate as I can.

If more people joined the areas efforts against the agenda the politicians would be easily removed.

It's clear Clackastani rebellion is a major threat to Metro and even Milwaukie Light Rail despite the bridge construction etc. The feds match is under consideration and not due to be approved until March or later next year.
If Clackamsas County experiences another severe defeat this November their shady politicians and their regional pals suffer big time while the feds consider rejection of MLR local match by a central partner.

The Lake Oswego streetcar & CRC can also be stopped.

But first things first.
Stick it ot the racket by a brutal defeat of their stunts in Clackamas County.

The May primary has all sorts of opportunitie to take advantage of the aftermath of another defeat for them.

"....in someways just thinking about leaving is leaving." It's also possible to leave by spending your money outside the city limits. I used to go downtown regularly and shop in various neighborhoods around town. But for various reasons, transportation issues among them, I now shop in Clackamas County at least 90% of the time. Other than taxes (which are considerable), I spend very little money in Portland proper.

Personally, I cannot remember the last time I spent any money at a business in Portland. I live 1.5 blocks from the county line (unfortunately), but never shop in Portland.