Yet like all collectivists, there is always a government agency (ODOT comes quickly to mind) or bureaucracy that needs your money to keep Gov. Kotek's socialist fantasies alive. Gov. Kotek and her Democrat allies in the Legislature are desperate to sustain the unsustainable by increasing hardworking families already needlessly high taxes.
The political elites imagine, "this is what the people wanted!" Yet, there are very few people who are in favor of having their taxes raised. They can only be convinced to vote for tax increasing bonds and ballot measures through incessant ad campaigns and political strategies that push the narrative that "the sky is falling or will fall" if we don't fund this or that proposal. Think of the mindless global warming scare tactics.
Lastly, call your City-council members, Commissioners, Representatives and Senators and share with them how proud you would feel if they were to exercise true, compassionate economy to save people, families and lives.
In 2021, Oregon's Democrat majority passed Senate Bill 762, with a handful of bipartisan supporters, as a comprehensive wildfire management bill, also known as the Fire Maps bill. This bill was introduced to forestall future outcry that might erupt as details about negligence swirled in the news following the devastating Paradise, CA wildfire.
The truth is, our twelve Republican Senators cannot stop a bad bill like SB 916 if the Democrat majority wants it to pass. But, Republicans have the opportunity to stop a bad bill if enough citizens testify in person, submit written testimony or contact the Senators on the Committee to voice their opposition to this bill.
I’d like to express my heart-felt "Welcome" to the Trump administration because I believe that Trump and his no-nonsense team will bring much-needed common-sense solutions that work to Make America Great and Healthy Again.
As the your newly elected state Senator for District 28, I predict, we will see more problems arise because of a failed mindset that places too much faith in government. I’ve been involved at the capitol long enough to know that political players tell stories.
And, while my last electoral effort didn't pan out as hoped, I look forward to staying engaged with other freedom advocates and individuals who recognize the beauty of our constitutionally federated republican form of government.
This election is an important and pertinent decision for every Oregonian. It is particularly relevant with regards to our understanding of our American heritage and ideals.
Why did the governor go through the charade of having both the DMV and outside auditors wasting time and money trying to investigate data-entry errors when almost anything is valid? Why the pretense of a drivers' license or the final-four digits of a “valid” SSN? Why call for an outside audit? Because this is a “limited hang-out” part of a grand charade.
With only a handful of investigative journalists available to dig through the legislative dumpster, this item has remained buried and has not yet received prime-time notice. Today's example is a law, HB 4133 - passed in 2022, that created a fourth option for identifying oneself as a valid voter in the registration process.
Over the next several newsletters I will highlight numerous instances where the majority party, in Oregon, has purposefully defrauded and disenfranchised the public by undermining the integrity of our elections.
Remember, our constitutions are supposed to define the narrow pathway for government actors. The Bill of Rights for example, tells us what government cannot do. The notion was that the people shall remain free while the government will be bound with constitutional shackles to protect our freedom.
I am running for the office of Oregon's Secretary of State because our state is at a crossroads. My wife, Diane, and I have had the privilege of living in Klamath County for over 3 decades. As we celebrate 44 years of marriage, our roots in Oregon run deep, with our children building their lives and families here in the Pacific Northwest, as well.
Our constitutionally federated Republic is facing difficult days. It seems there is a lack of faith in government and the very people involved in representing us, as their so-called constituencies. This is understandable.
The media likes to tell us that the Harris team has it all wrapped up. But this too is puffery. Unfortunately, the majority party here in Oregon always falls for fake media news and think the same way. But they are all struggling against reality; they can't defeat truth.
So, I encourage you, rather than being disheartened by the current dismal state of affairs, let us draw courage and resolve like our forebears who overcame their conflicts. We too can be victorious and change the course of our government. It has fallen to us to be the generation that turns Oregon and America back to its foundational first principles.
Holding state level agencies accountable will be a major priority at the Secretary of States office. Conducting comprehensive reviews is essential to ensure that agencies and executive offices are operating efficiently, delivering services effectively, and adhering to the statutory limits set by the legislature.
On June 18, 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the British - House of Commons with one of his most famous speeches, the legendary "Finest Hour" speech. It is one of the most inspiring and uplifting speeches of our modern era. Churchill made the claim that,
This is what Make America Great Again means. It means, as Jefferson added, that the vast majority of our country's inhabitants are too "enlightened, too well experienced in the blessings of freedom and undisturbed industry, to tolerate long a contrary state of things.”
We have a lot of work ahead of us because today’s ideological battles are part of a modern war. The battles we face are much more than meaningless skirmishes. The far-left has crafted their one-sided story under a false narrative of oppression and victimhood. The vast majority of Oregonians, left, right, and center know something is wrong with this picture.
If you are still wondering about who you might vote for in the Secretary of State's race, let me help. I've got some notions that will be worth your time. This Secretary of State's (SOS) office is an executive position and it is entirely partisan.
The public still does not know. The public was essentially denied access by the exorbitant one-million-dollar fee. The rule that created this charge came from the Secretary of State not the legislature and is a policy that deserves a thorough review.
As we are learning daily, these issues are complex and finely woven traps that are difficult to recognize at first. They are baited traps none-the-less – laced with enticing incentives, coated in feel-good rhetoric, and carefully hammered through the majority party's brutally efficient committee hearings.
In the midst of this Primary season, attempting to enumerate the multitude of failures and bankrupt ideas emanating from the Democrat Party proves daunting. The sheer scale of exorbitant taxes, incessant spending, and superfluous regulations emanating from Salem (and Washington, DC), along with their lasting costs and ultimate burdens, defies measurement.
The failures of our state's executive offices have dominated the headlines, amplifying the urgency for comprehensive accountability, transparency, and ethics reform.
It hasn't taken long for death, addiction and cultural destruction to hit our streets after the implementation of Measure 110's failed policies. The writing has been on the wall and everyone has realized that the policies aimed at decriminalizing drugs and defunding police, parole and probation are disastrous ideas.
Was social distancing was effective? Is there scientific evidence that face masks can stop a respiratory virus? Were Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) performed to confirm asymptomatic transmission claims? Did plexiglass barriers, the constant washing of grocery counters, or disinfecting shopping carts handles provide any documentable benefits?
These guys can't define a woman and don't know the difference between a heifer and a bull-calf. They have totally screwed up our education and criminal justice systems, increased homelessness, poverty, and drug abuse, and put the economy into the ditch. So, why not give them control of our thoughts, speech and language too?
In general, “they” are those opposed to Liberty. They are deep-state malcontents amassing power by stripping authority and wealth from the citizenry. They are typically elites and the super wealthy using their enormous influence to steer public policy toward their own enrichment. They sway public leaders and legislators to do their bidding by using emotional stories.
Powerful men and women have long used their money and influence to engineer their own success while seeking the demise of others through indoctrination, propaganda and corruption. In Oregon we face an onslaught of pre-ordained policy decisions coming from these players as they influence municipal leaders, county commissioners, state legislators and citizens, alike.
Our representative system was designed around maximum liberty, where you are supposed to be concerned about your own life and your own choices. It's supposed to be about you minding your own business and caring for yourself. It protects your life, liberty, and your life’s just pursuits by preventing unwarranted interference from others.
Here in Oregon, we find ourselves in the midst of an enormous culture war. It’s not unlike other parts of our nation where the far-left is propagating falsehood and purposefully misguiding public opinions. On an hourly basis mainstream media and mindless twitter-bots praise what is despicable and despise what is honorable.
I need your help to mount a strategic challenge to the unconscionable assault on the rights of minorities everywhere – the right to protest government policy, to air grievances in public without persecution and the right to continue the fight for our respective liberties. This battle was brought into our front yards, now let’s muster our courageous response!
Such is the state of Oregon and the ruling majority party. Although the destructionists appear to be winning, more and more hard working, common-sense Oregonians do not agree with their agenda. In my next newsletter I will look at steps we can take to stop the socialist destruction of our American traditions.
The Democrats and their Planned Parenthood partners have put out the welcome mat for sex-traffickers in Oregon. Portland is already the number one city for trafficking on the West coast. Gender confusion will get promoted by advancing this formidable precedent for Oregon as a transgender tourist destination.
We will always face agenda-driven activists, socialists, Marxists, progressives and irresponsible pleasure-seekers who incessantly complain while believing more government is the answer. However, history coupled with reality provides a clearer warning. Therefore, our Liberty requires our involvement, boldness and diligence.
Rob Wagner has completely ignored legitimate complaints that Democrats are violating Oregon’s Constitution by simultaneously holding two lucrative government positions (Article II, section 10) and in violation of Oregon’s Constitutional separation of power (Article III, section 1).
The Senate Judiciary Committee held its first public meeting for SB 579 last Thursday and the bill was scheduled for a Committee vote on February 2, 2023, but that vote has been cancelled for the time being. Because this Bill may come back onto the schedule, it is still worth discussing.
Thomas Jefferson, the freedom-loving republican, was the man who quickly repealed these unjust laws when he became President. America’s uniquely libertarian approach to free speech has emerged from a long struggle to hear all voices and achieve civil rights and racial equality which exist in statute in America today.
In closing, free speech, a free press and the free expression of ideas shows itself most powerfully, not on Twitter, Facebook, or Google but at the polling place. This is why ensuring the voice of the citizen through Election Integrity must be our highest universal goal.
Here in Oregon, we can see the same large-scale charade taking place. Oregon's Democrat legislators are simply keeping the con alive. They have amassed expansive power while keeping the game rolling along like a roulette wheel or magic show. However, their act is fast losing its “Prestige”.
