[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by Flint

I remember what it was like. I was young and full of ideas--I knew the right answer for everything. There were policies that I believed would be best for the country, and for the human race. Many people didn't agree with these ideas, but that was because, you see, they were stupid. You know, studid, racist, Bible-thumpers.

And if they didn't want to go along with the progress of humanity, they would have to be dragged along kicking and screaming. And once all the obsolete oldtimers passed away, the rest of us could really get on with it. It was importnat to stand for things that needed to change. Old-fashioned ideas that weren't needed anymore.

I believed, at that time (although I never would have admitted to it in these terms, but the concept is unavoidable), that a legitimate use of the government would be to impose ideas on some people "for their own good" simply because the rest of us were so convinced that we had all the answers.

I don't believe that anymore.

I'm still a believer... and much of what you said above is true in PDX.
We are still dragging them kicking and screaming....


Portland Enacts Plastic Bag Ban
By Sophia Bennett
August 24, 2011

Portland is the most recent city to ban plastic bags from many retail stores.

On July 28, 2011, the Portland City Council passed a resolution stating that,
as of October 15, 2011, large grocery stores and various big-box stores cannot
distribute plastic carryout bags to their customers.

“We really wanted to try to reach the biggest generators of plastic bags first,”
says Lisa Libby, Planning and Sustainability Director for Portland Mayor Sam Adams.
That’s why the City Council targeted the stores where people make the most frequent trips.
<snip>

Senate Bill 536 would have banned single-use plastic bags “except in certain cases,”
such as seafood retailers that pack fish on ice.
The bill was approved by the [Oregon] Senate, but ultimately did not pass in the House.
With the failure of SB 536, Portland quickly went back to work finding its own solution.
Libby is still optimistic that a statewide law on plastic bags will pass at some point.
“We hope that resolutions from jurisdictions will move us toward a more comprehensive state policy,” she says.

To help local residents prepare for the bag ban, city officials have been handing out reusable shopping bags for years.