quote:

Originally posted by 2PAK:
Straws out. Needles (laying around everywhere) are okay. I think needles are handed out free as part of the City Of Seattle Homeless Welcome Wagon Kit.

Good comparison.

A double ding, outlawing straws will not help the environment, but supplying needles to addicts will harm society.

quote:

Originally posted by 383stroker:
I found some larger diameter color anodized ones that I use. One in my 40 oz Rtic tumbler for work and another in my home drinking cup.

Where did you find (buy) them?

quote:

Originally posted by FN in MT:
Surprised they haven't started a multi million dollar campaign to educate sea life to NOT eat plastic.

The insanity amongst the Lib's REALLY is strong.

Sorry, but I have to disagree. That is not insanity, it is inbred STUPIDITY. Welcome to the world of uneducated people who are now educating our children, and have been for about 3 or 4 decades.

WTF. Just need a tactical, titanium straw from Snow Peak. It can be part of your carry setup. And unlike a normal straw you may be able to use it for self defense.

Seattle police union says many officers leaving the force frustrated over city politics

https://q13fox.com/2018/06/28/...-over-city-politics/

SEATTLE -- While Seattle's population is skyrocketing, the number of police officers has practically stayed the same as it was in the 1970s, according to the Seattle Police Guild.

But now, a union leader says, there is a bigger problem.

“I have never seen the number of officers who are leaving and the way they are leaving,” Seattle Police Guild Vice President Rich O’Neill said.

The Seattle Police Department says 41 officers have left the force, something that's not unusual due to retirements, but another source within the department told Q13 News that 20 of those officers left Seattle for other city and county law enforcement agencies.

The source says the number of younger officers leaving the force and frustrated over city politics is higher than usual.

“Worker bees on the street, they don't feel appreciated. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” said the source.

The union calls what’s happening a mass exodus -- something it says will have a direct impact on public safety.

“Less officers on the streets, less safe for the citizens -- and when you have all these officers you have invested all this money in and they are leaving for Tacoma, Olympia, Pierce County and Snohomish County,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill says many officers are afraid to do their jobs.

“It's just depressing to serve in a place where many City Council members who are coming out at times with negative comments about the police,” O’Neill said.

The union says Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Kshama Sawant have been very critical of the police department. They say Sawant calling two officers murderers quickly after an officer-involved shooting was inappropriate.

O’Neill also says there are not enough officers to respond to all the calls, especially for low-level offenses. But he also says politics is playing a role when it comes to going after those low-level crimes.

“It’s told from the start it's not a priority, homeless issues also bring with it car prowls, break-ins, open-air drug market, needles all over the ground, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen it,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill says city leaders are sending the message that officers cannot be proactive about policing and that they are allowing certain crimes to go on without accountability.

The union has been in contract negotiations for the last three and half years and officers have not received a pay increase during that time. It’s certainly a point of contention but O’Neill says many officers are walking away from Seattle not necessarily because of pay but because of city politics.

“I’ve been here since 1980, I’ve never seen the city in the condition it is in. It’s because it’s been allowed on many levels,” O’Neill said.

O'Neill also said many officers are still upset over Interim Police Chief Carmen Best not being considered to become the new police chief.

"When comments are made that the reason we need an outside chief is to change the culture, that is insulting and that's a slap in the face of each and every officer who serves," O'Neill said.

The Seattle Police Department says it would not call what is happening a mass exodus. Officials say they are not seeing a huge spike in officers leaving so far compared to previous years.

And, they say, they continue to recruit officers. In fact, over the last several years they have managed to recruit more officers than those who have left. In 2017, 79 officers left the force but they recruited 102 new people. They also said that they are recruiting more women and minorities into the department.

Q13 News did not hear back from Mike O Brien or Kshama Sawant as of Thursday evening on what the union said about them but the mayor’s office released this statement.

“Few issues are more important than public safety and keeping our families safe, and our officers are being asked to do more in our rapidly changing community. As the fastest growing City in our country, Seattle faces many new challenges at a time that our City needs additional resources from our state and federal government – not less. As a former federal law enforcement official, Mayor Durkan knows the work of our officers is complex and dangerous and that they are often on the frontlines of assisting people experiencing homelessness and people in crisis. She is very proud of the work they do and knows nationally SPD is rightfully viewed as one of the best police departments in the country. The Mayor will continue to work closely with SPD and our officers to ensure they have the resources necessary to maintain their safety and the safety of our community.”

Kshama Sawant (/ʃɑːmə sɑːˈwʌnt/; born October 17, 1973)[2] is a socialist politician, economist, and a member of Socialist Alternative who sits on the Seattle City Council.[3][4] A former software engineer, Sawant became a part-time economics instructor in Seattle[5] after immigrating to the United States. Sawant ran unsuccessfully for the Washington House of Representatives before winning her seat on the Seattle City Council. Sawant was the first socialist to win a citywide election in Seattle since Anna Louise Strong was elected to the School Board in 1916.[4][6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kshama_Sawant

quote:

They also said that they are recruiting more women and minorities into the department.

Aaaand, that's what really matters...

What about titanium straws? Those aren’t compostable, are they on the no go list?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by 383stroker:
I found some larger diameter color anodized ones that I use. One in my 40 oz Rtic tumbler for work and another in my home drinking cup.

Where did you find (buy) them?

On Amazon, They came as a 5 pack with a cleaning brush. Brand name is Youkee.

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
Seattle police union says many officers leaving the force frustrated over city politics

The people in Seattle think the police are the problem so this is a good thing.

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:

quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
Seattle police union says many officers leaving the force frustrated over city politics

The people in Seattle think the police are the problem so this is a good thing.

They aren't the only ones. Slight thread drift and I apologize. I applied for a major PD about 40 minutes from me in 2013 but didn't get in (partially due to an impending deployment). When I went to the written, I was in a room PACKED with applicants.

I just applied again about a month ago and am going through the process...I was the only one there. The proctor of the test flat out said "welcome to a city under siege."

Back on-topic:

My lobby supervisor at work is on a strict no-straw policy and has been for a few months. He's an avid diver (as am I) and was citing sealife as his main reason as well. I'm all for consciously using less, but once you start passing laws it just seems to be such a slippery slope...

https://www.nationalreview.com...ail-time-punishment/

Santa Barbara Authorizes Jail Time for Handing Out Straws

Yes, you read that right.

The city of Santa Barbara has passed an ordinance that will allow restaurant employees to be punished with up to six months of jail time or a $1,000 fine for giving plastic straws to their customers.

The bill was passed unanimously last Tuesday, and covers bars, restaurants, and other food-service businesses. Establishments will still be allowed to hand out plastic stirrers, but only if customers request them.

Santa Barbara’s ordinance “is likely the most severe straw ban in the country,” according to Reason, but it’s far from the only straw ban. Seattle banned plastic straws earlier this month, mandating a a $250 fine for violators. Santa Barbara, however, has gone much further than Seattle — even aside from the harsher punishments its law imposes. Santa Barbara has banned not only plastic straws, but also compostable straws. Oh, and each individual straw counts as a separate infraction, meaning that if someone got busted handing out straws to a table of four people, he or she could end up facing years behind bars.

Now, I’m a reasonable person. I may be a libertarian, but I’m glad that we live in a society with laws. For example: I am glad that if a person, say, murders another person, then that murderer has to go to prison. That seems totally fair to me. But six months in jail for handing a little piece of plastic to another person? I feel like you’d have to be bananas to think that’s even close to fair.

This is especially true when you consider just how small an impact these straw bans are going to have on the environment. As Reason notes, straws represent only 0.02 percent of the amount of plastic waste that is estimated to go into the ocean each year. What’s more, the United States is responsible for only about 1 percent of the total amount of plastic waste that’s in the ocean overall. All things considered, this new ordinance isn’t going to be making a real dent in the problem it’s intended to solve — but it could create some harm. As Reason explains, straw bans could end up having a negative impact on disabled people who cannot drink without them.

COMMENTS
Still, plastic-straw bans are becoming more popular. There are efforts to ban them in New York City, San Francisco, Portland, and Washington, D.C. Colleges nationwide — from Knox College in Illinois to the University of Portland to Duke University — have already banned them.

As I’ve written in the past, I have absolutely no problem with individual businesses making the decision to stop using plastic straws. But getting the government involved in what people choose to drink liquids out of seems like a bit of a stretch, and sending people to jail over it is just plain asinine.

The whole thing is a joke- A kid came up with the number 500,000,000 straws used in America per day and it became gospel. I haven't used a straw in years.

quote:

Dear, NBC: Stop repeating that stupid lie about how many straws Americans use

https://www.washingtonexaminer...straws-americans-use

I scuba dive, have 2000+ hours underwater and never saw any straws.

I'm so proud of Santa Barbara for finally getting tough on drink sippers. I would gladly authorize bookings versus citation for every straw user in the city. Never mind that there is growing gang and homeless problem. Ignore the high rate of dui and traffic collisions that far exceeds the state norms. Put all this aside and get the straws off the streets.

One can only imagine that the same type of person who would think jail time is acceptable for distributing or using a fucking straw is also the same type of person who crusades against disparate sentencing, mandatory sentencing, racial bias in the justice system, throwing non-violent drug offenders in jail for small amounts of weed, etc.

The irony is palpable.

Wanna get rid of straws in Seattle? Publish this story. Straws would be gone like yesterday. LMAO

https://www.smh.com.au/nationa...20180725-p4ztg0.html

Story starts...

"Penises are shrinking, and more boys are being born with genital defects, two Melbourne scientists claim.

They think chemicals in plastics are to blame."

Katie Pavlich two-fer troll re straw ban...

#Molon Labe

I went to Sonic two days ago. Sometimes I like to grab a large Ocean Water, easy ice to cool off after work (and they have that $2 drink deal). I went through the drive through. The girl that took my money handed me my change and a straw. Then minutes later the girl that handed me my beverge handed me another straw. As I drove away I though to myself..."Zoinks that's a year in jail in some countries"

And there is nothing wrong with Katie Pavlich...

quote:

Originally posted by mbinky:
And there is nothing wrong with Katie Pavlich...

I like her values. Seems a little heavy-handed with her trowel, though.