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Submitted by Rick on Fri, 12/07/2007 - 6:24pm.
Maybe it's my imagination or wishful thinking, but I'm getting the definite impression that there are more productive, respectful, and edifying conversations taking place on the blog of late (like this one). People with really different viewpoints were able to say what they thought, back away when it became too intense, point out insensitive language, and move the ball forward. Good work! I think there is something that I'm realizing about what blogging can actually achieve. It doesn't change people's minds that often, but just the ability to put out the information, a court ruling in the example above, allowing people to look at it carefully, and then move forward. Too often we get stuck, thinking the goal is to change minds. We change our own minds -- no one else can really do that.
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OlyBlog.net OlyBlog is devoted to hyperlocal news and discussion specifically about Olympia, Washington. Contributors to OlyBlog are citizen journalists who care about their community and are tired of corporate media. If you'd like to contribute, please register for an account. Here is a list of local news beats that need to be covered. You can post your news as a personal blog entry, and it will be reviewed (and possibly edited) for promotion to the front page. You can also send news via email. All members of OlyBlog agree to abide by our Social Contract. You should also look at our comment and fair use policies. If you are frustrated about something said in a comment thread, go here. Olyblogger of the Month: Docents are fellow citizen journalists who volunteer to be at your service in order to help with any blog-related issues. They are: Rob RichardsInterests: community building; participatory art, democracy and economics; local politics; citizen journalism. emmettoconnell Interests: City Council, developing a local issues forum. enpen Interests: OlyBlog poster calendar, Olympia public art, local artist interviews, his family, poetry and stuff. Robert Whitlock Interests: peace, justice, nature, nonviolence, media, environment Rick Interests: citizen journalism, hyperlocal media, the knowledge commons. Docent email list Latest Classified Ads Books & Collections ›Blog Local 
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Well
Submitted by security_six on Fri, 12/07/2007 - 6:37pm.A month
Submitted by emmettoconnell on Sat, 12/08/2007 - 8:12am.Its been about a month since the port protests started/ended. That brought a lot of new folks over the Olyblog, some of whom have stuck around since then. I guess it was a matter of time before they got used to being around.
The protests also seemed to have inspired some good changes over here (the social contract and bylaws). Next seminar for the Olyblog father: how community controversy drives the nature of your hyperlocal online community.
Yay! Differing opinions
Submitted by smws on Sat, 12/08/2007 - 3:13pm.In the beginning...Of
Submitted by The Fire Inside on Sun, 12/09/2007 - 1:24am.In the beginning...
Of OlyBlog there were a lot of good, in-depth discussions. Very few had any impact on our day-to-day life. In fact, I found the conversation here the same as any university lecture. I know people put a lot of research into supporting their view, too.
Most everyone would put either a link to a (credible) source on the internet or cite a book or paper article.
But when people are discussing an event or situation that's going to have a tangible effect when they wake up in the morning, there's a lot more emotion.
The port protesting was also about an entity of which there is only one. Second to the port protesting threads in terms of emotion were - I believe - about Ralph's. Much of the Ralph's discussion fell into the philosophical arena of whether an individual store could refuse to offer a product.
The port protesting was largely about whether the police can respond in a certain manner. There are a lot of pharmacies in a city; there's only one police department in each city.
So while debating a single pharmacy really doesn't impact an entire city, debating law enforcement and how it should be carried out does.
I think that's why the port protesting threads were so emotional. When you're talking about an organization of which there is only one, it's pretty important to be in the driver seat of how it is going to execute business.
One bad cop can have an impact, and so can one bad pharmacy
Submitted by jlw on Sun, 12/09/2007 - 6:41pm.As a male, you will never know the anxiety and humiliation of being unable to obtain birth control at the pharmacy you patronize. However, some of the people who post on olyblog have experienced exactly that. At Ralph's. So, for some of us, it's not merely a philosophical matter of a store's right to choose. You might want to bear that in mind when you characterize the debate.
Peace became pizza. -- Guglielmo
One good cop can have an impact
Submitted by security_six on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 4:04pm.And one good store can too. I just had a horrible encounter with the OPD, but it is being mitigated by the actions of a good cop.
I fail to see the humiliation of not being able to find something stocked in a store. Having a gun pulled on you in public when no laws have been broken is humiliating. Having to go to another store is not. Not all stores stock the same things for various economic or even moral reasons. I can't get some things at Ralphs that I can get elsewhere. It is called free enterprise. If you want stores to stock according to the whim of the government, well I understand there are nations that do that. Some will even force birth control on you as well.
If you don't like the cops, there are solutions. If you don't like a store, go somewhere else. Or keep a bottle of the damn pills around, and buy them at your convience, rather than as a last minute emergency.
Regulation
Submitted by Ehver Green on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 4:23pm.You're about to get the regulation argument. While a private business (no external stock ownership, thus no shareholder pressure) can stock what they'd like, a pharmacy is regulated by the state Pharmacy Board, and continued licensing is tied to following the Pharmacy Boards rules.
This is not my argument but the basis for asking Ralph's to carry Plan B. The language in the Pharmacy Board regulations needs some lawyering otherwise Ralph's lawyers are going to walk all over it. The language is not specific, at best, and quite vague at it's worst points. Not sure if they discuss markets and what constitutes a market.
The board recently passed a ruling and if I remember correctly the term in the ruling was "good faith." Fitting that they used the word faith...
To date I believe 21 or so complaints have been filed with the board as a result of Ralph's not carrying Plan B. 9 of those were dismissed because they were filed prior to the pharm board's ruling mentioned above. That leaves quite a few outstanding and their outcome will be determined by litigation. In my opinion, 21 complaints in over 12 months is hardly a market. I'm also curious to know how many of those 21 complaints were actually in need of Plan B (I guess 9 of them are no longer relevant). Of the remaining complaints, how many actually needed Plan B and obtained it elsewhere? This would show the true number of complaints to base the market upon.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with an organized religion or Ralph's. These are my personal views.
Yeah
Submitted by security_six on Mon, 12/10/2007 - 4:25pm.The regulation issue is sticky. I still think a business should Choose what it wants to sell... at any rate, don't want to hijack this thread, and am pretty shaky and angry right now....