Category: Elections

13-45 Battle Lines Have Been Drawn | Oregon Censorship Lawsuit Filed

13-45 Battle Lines Have Been Drawn | Oregon Censorship Lawsuit Filed

Show 13-45 Summary: A split show this week. First up, we talk about the battle to get School Choice in Oregon on the November 2024 ballot. There’s been some confusion out there about the funding and how the typical strings-attached could impact home schoolers. Except that is not the case in this case. Find out why. But the bulk of the show is discussing the Oregon censorship lawsuit just filed this week. We bring on the lawyer in the case to discuss why it was brought. And what was so incendiary in Oregon’s “election disinformation” surveillance system. Don’t miss the state’s response to some Republican senators who dared question the state. The war is on.

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Original Air Dates: Nov 11th & 12th, 2023 | Guests: Donna Kreitzberg and Stephen Joncus

This Week – In the Trenches

There was a flurry of letters this week as opposing sides squared off over our 1st Amendment rights and, what many feel, is Oregon’s government attack on its own citizens. And from an office no less, that is the supposed to be the defender of Oregonians’ rights—the Secretary of State.

Two weeks ago, we brought you the shocking story of the Secretary of State seeking to hire an AI firm to track, monitor, and report anything the SoS Office deems “mis-, dis-, or mal-information” about the elections. (See Show 13-43, “Oregon’s New Surveillance System to Track, Censor “Election “Disinformation.”) The RFP they posted sought an Orwellian tech company that would surveil social media, websites, blogs, podcasts, and even radio broadcasts.

As we continue to cover this developing fight to protect our rights, there have been some breaking news items as the Secretary of State rightly felt the heat. Among the developments are a new lawsuit filed in federal court, thanks in large part to I Spy listeners’ multiple donations and generosity.  A big thank you to all who donated to make this legal defense of our First Amendment possible.

Also, the Republican Senators and Representatives sent a letter to the Secretary of State, admonishing the government’s actions and demanding that they stop.  But, not surprisingly, the government effectively responded with “It’s no big deal, we’re just monitoring.  And oh by the way we did the same in 2022 and see, no big deal. Plus, other states are doing it too.”

Great way to build trust, Oregon.

This week, we take a look at the legal issues behind this horrible idea.

Questions about School Choice Funding and Regulations

Map: Astounding Home Schooling Student Enrollment Increases by State, via Washington Post
Click map for full size

But first up we bring on Donna Kreitzberg to bring us a quick update on the hard work to get school choice  on the November 2024 ballot. I Spy Radio has fielded a lot of questions about the funding mechanism for this ballot initiative. Why? Because we have smart listeners. And people know that whenever there is government funding, there are strings attached. So wouldn’t that mean that stay-at-home parents who home school their children will be facing regulations tied to that funding?

The short answer is no. Not in this case.

Because we really dig deep into how Education Freedom for Oregon’s ballot initiative specifically protects against that. It will add an amendment to Oregon’s constitution that protects the choices parents make about their children’s schools.

That constitutional amendment ensures the funding attached to the children does not open the door to government regulations. This is especially true for home schooling — parents choices will be protected and puts a firewall between parents and government regulation. And that will keep government out of the classroom.

Have you signed the school choice ballot initiative petitions? You can download a single-signature petition or a petition with room for ten signatures. Head here to get your petitions and be part of the solution! Be sure to sign both of the ballot initiatives.

Note: there is a third school choice ballot initiative being floated by lobbyists that would not protect parents and home schoolers. In fact, it will almost likely inadvertently open the door to it and even religious based private schools.

Lawsuit to Block Oregon’s Free Speech Surveillance System

Then we welcome Oregon attorney Stephen Joncus, who filed the Oregon censorship lawsuit suing Governor Kotek, Secretary of State Griffen-Valade, and Elections Director, Woon. We discuss the impact the surveillance would have on Oregonians, the destruction of our privacy, and the suit’s request to put a halt to this contract.

Tune in to hear about the Oregon censorship lawsuit, why it was filed, what was so wrong with the State’s RFP for

To nutshell things, the entire problem is the State operates behind closed doors and is doing its best to keep it that way. They sue people who want to look. Or ask for access to public databases. They keep things behind a wall of secrecy, and now they want to block and control communication and discussion about a situation they have kept hidden. And then wonder why people question the integrity of the elections. And will attack anyone who does questions — to paint them with the Yellow Star of “disinformation.”

Read the Oregon censorship lawsuit, Thielman, et al. v. Kotek, the letter from GOP legislators demanding the SoS cease and desist, and the Secretary of State’s response to the legislators about their Orwellian RFP. As we predicted, it’s “Oh, we’re not really stopping free speech.” Sure. Threats don’t have a chilling effect on speech, does it Oregon?

Where are the democrats in all this? U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is against the government monitoring its citizens. So where are other democrats? Unless you speak out against censorship, you’re for it.

And, oh, by the way, it turns out there’s already another surveillance system already in place. That was news to us too. Don’t miss this important show!

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

School Choice Segments

Oregon Censorship Lawsuit Segments

13-43 Oregon’s New Surveillance System to Track, Censor “Election Disinformation”

13-43 Oregon’s New Surveillance System to Track, Censor “Election Disinformation”

Show 13-43 Summary: Oregon has now hired a surveillance partner to monitor, track, flag, report, and censor what the State deems election misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation. This Orwellian surveillance system will monitor social media posts, websites, blogs, YouTube videos, podcasts and even radio broadcasts. This is a war on Free Speech. And we know this is just the first step on a very slippery slope. Where is this headed? And what you can do to stop it.

Don’t be silent! Click here to jump down to contact info for the Secretary of State and your county elections to tell them what you think of their reporting system.

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: October 28th & 29th, 2023 | Guest: Marc Thielman

This Week – Oregon’s Election Disinformation Monitoring System

We had a last-minute guest cancellation and were all set to air a best-of this weekend. But then, out of the blue, we found out late Thursday that Oregon’s Secretary of State had put out a RFP for vendors, looking for a surveillance system to spy on its citizens. Oregon wanted someone with a surveillance system that had the capabilities to monitor, track, flag, and report back to bureaucrats whatever the State deems to be election “misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation.”

That’s right. Welcome to Oregon’s War on Free Speech.

Want to read Oregon’s censorship RFP for yourself? Scroll down to the Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info section

This tracking system has massive tracking capabilities. Oregon’s RFP stated it wanted a provider to monitor all social media, websites, blogs, videos, podcasts — even radio broadcasts. All to hunt down whatever it determines to be “election disinformation.” Even whatever it deems to be misinformation or malinformation.

The stated goal is to give the State a free speech early warning system. To identify trends. And allow election officials to dispute, respond, and even censor any information that the state doesn’t like.

Oregon’s War on Free Speech

We welcome back Marc Thielman who is the lead plaintiff in an election integrity lawsuit,which is currently before the 9th Circuit. Marc and others wanted to help the state prove there was no election fraud. But the State sued to stop them, thank you very much. Now why would the State stop someone from helping them prove the elections can be trusted?

Censoring "election disinformation"? Tucker Carlson nails it: "Anything you're not allowed to ask questions about is something you should be asking more questions about."
Censoring “election disinformation”? Tucker nails it. (Click for full image)

Because the State tells you not to ask questions. You’re not allowed to ask questions. Do not question your betters. The State telling you, “Trust us” should be enough when it comes to questions about election integrity.

Nothing says “trust” like suing people who want to trust you.

But now, the State has gone off the deep end. It wants to proactively hunt down what it, in its sole discretion, deems to be election disinformation. No questioning the elections.

Marc and Mark go through this chilling and blatant attack on free speech. With this RFP, Oregon’s Secretary of State has effectively announced the State will now monitor everything people say online or over the air about elections so they can be alerted to it. And yes. They will undoubtedly seek to censor differing opinions. And even report “evildoers” spreading “election disinformation” to the FBI. And we know where that will head.

But where is this headed? What lies further down the censorship slippery slope? If the goal is to censor election disinformation, what’s next? We know the Oregon and the Biden administration worked with Big Tech to censor important information about covid and the vaccines. Information that could have saved lives. And even before that, the Biden campaign and his Deep State allies blocked and censored information about the 2020 election that would have cost Biden the election. The Hunter laptop and Joe’s corruption schemes.

Fighting Back Against Oregon’s Surveillance

If Oregon is allowed to monitor, profile, track and spy on you, with the goal of censoring or even reporting you — for your opinion — they will not stop here. You know they won’t. So, Marc Thielman has announced he will once again sue the State to stop them. And they absolutely need to stop.

Fighting back isn’t cheap. It costs $5,000 just for the filing fee. Head to Marc’s Battleground Oregon website to donate and to help him fight this attack on your right to free speech. It’s your right. Your opinion. Your right to say whatever you want to say. And the State should not be allowed to prevent you.

That’s the point of free speech.

And a reminder for Big Brother Oregon: it is the government’s job to protect free speech. Not censor or it.

What You Can DO About Oregon’s Election Censorship

We know from last week’s show about fighting offshore wind farms that public outcry is a huge part of stopping government’s plans and overreach. That’s why it is critical that you speak up. You cannot be silent on this. Or before long, you won’t have any choice but to be silent.

How? By contacting election officials and — politely but firmly —tell them you are opposed to this monitoring of free speech. Here are Marc’s suggestions for an effective email: keep it simple. Tell them you just found out about this election disinformation monitoring system, ask if they know about it (some county clerks may not have been told yet), and tell them it should not be implemented and needs to stop immediately.

Contact Information for Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division

Email – elections.sos@sos.oregon.gov​

Secretary of State
​​Public Service Building Suite 126
255 Capitol St. NE
Salem OR 97310
503-986-1518
Fax 503-373-7414

Contact Information for Oregon County Elections Officials

Here is a convenient list to contact your county clerks: Connect with County Clerks

Don’t be silent—or you will be silenced!

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Read the documents! Oregon’s Election Disinformation Monitoring & Censorship RFP and its four attachments (all files are PDFs):

The RFP, S‐16500‐00007470, “MDM (Misinformation, Disinformation, and Mal-information) Analysis Platform Services
Attachment A – “Solution Requirements
Attachment B – “[Sample] Information Technology Services Contract
Attachment C – “Administrative Proposal Form
Attachment D – “OregonBuys Vendor How-to Guides

 

 

13-40 Can We Trust Our Elections Again? Election Solutions To Do Just That

13-40 Can We Trust Our Elections Again? Election Solutions To Do Just That

Show 13-40 Summary: Nothing breaks trust quite like the way government does. It’s one thing when someone close to you lies. It’s quite another when government lies and then sues you if you dare question them. And this after telling you “trust us, there’s nothing to see here.” Really? So why not let people look. Trust in government is at an all-time low. (Perhaps it has something to do with threatening and jailing people who dare question them.) But elections absolutely should be something we can all trust. Including, and especially, the losing side. So why is government trying so hard to not build trust? But there are election solutions to rebuild trust. Listen to find out why a return to hand counting can rebuild trust in our elections. And help restore (a little) trust in government.

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Original Air Dates: October 7, 2023 | Guest: Marc Thielman

This Week – Election Solutions

Trust in government is at an all time low. Perhaps because it is now suing, fining, and/or arresting their political opponents. And threatening people who dare question them. But elections absolutely should be something we can all trust. Even the losing side. Especially the losing side. Shouldn’t they have faith that they may have lost but it was fair, open, and trustworthy?

So why is government trying so hard not to build trust? Especially trust in our elections.

But there are election solutions. And one of the biggest is also a simple one: return to hand counting.

Election Solutions that Would Restore Trust

We welcome back Marc Thielman, a former Republican candidate for Oregon’s governor, and current political activist. Marc was also the superintendent for the Alsea School District during Covid, which the State of Oregon tried desperately to close down but Marc stood firm against their mandates. During that time, Alsea saw their enrollment swell by 500%. And they also never had a case of covid be traced back to their school. Funny that.

As a political activists, Marc is currently involved with getting real school choice on the 2024 ballot and is one of the lead plaintiffs in an election integrity case against Oregon and which is currently in front of the 9th Circuit.

But this week, we’re talking about trust and election solutions. And how those two intermingle.

Return to Hand Counting Ballots

On Sunday, October 1st, I Spy Radio host, Mark Anderson, attended a hand count training with Linda Rantz, who spearheaded a real hand count in Osage County, Missouri. He was able to see first hand how hand counting not only can be done but should be done. On this week’s show, Mark walks people through the process, how efficient it is, and how this election solution has trust designed right into it. Yes, there are potentials for human error. Just like there are potentials for human-caused errors in machine counts. But this hand-counting system is designed for transparency and trust. Because it recognizes the potential problems and makes it easier for many eyes on them to prevent them.

Which is entirely different than what blue states do. Hide the errors and attack people who dare question them. States like Oregon and California. The latter of which just passed a law to block hand counting. Now, why would you do that unless you want to make it easier for the state to cheat and keep things hidden?

Hand Counting Demonstration

Election Solutions: Ballot hand counting demonstraiton and luncheon. Hosted by Clean Voter Rolls and Oregon People's Vote
Click for full size

If you’d like to see how hand counting ballots would work and could restore trust in the elections, Marc Thielman will be co-hosting an event in Salem on Saturday, Oct 14th, from 10am to 2 pm. The cost is $13 for the spaghetti luncheon. See flyer at right for more information.

Marc will be joined by election integrity expert, Joe Oltmann, from Colorado.

Please RSVP at 503-757-0670 or www.CleanVoterRolls.com.

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13-39 Marxism in America | Cultural Marxism in our Schools and Spending

13-39 Marxism in America | Cultural Marxism in our Schools and Spending

Show 13-39 Summary: Thanks to Joe Biden and the party formerly known as “democrats,” Marxism in America is on the rise. In our economy and in our society. We see it in our schools, as states push woke ideology on our children. And now, Marxism is a a core part of teacher hiring practices. We see it in government regulation. And a key element of Marxism is to break a country so it can be refashioned into a socialist utopia. Except they don’t exist and have never existed. But with our out-of-control government spending, we’re about to go broke.

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Original Air Dates: September 30th & October 1st, 2023 | Guests: James Hirsen and Joe Penland, Sr.

This Week – Cultural Marxism

In the wake of World War 1 and the disaster of Russia’s Marxist revolution, which left millions of dead Russians, Marxists the world over began to realize Marx focused too much on economics and not enough on culture. So they began infusing Marxism into culture, like how it was “greedy” to be successful. Or that the family unit needed to be attacked and torn down. So people would turn to the State as their family. And on and on it went. Until we arrive at today’s situation. Where Marxism in America is everywhere, even if you don’t know it.

But cultural Marxism isn’t just in Hollywood films and classrooms. Now it’s a hiring criteria for teachers. We check in with best-selling author, James Hirsen, about yet another new Marxist attack on our country: “Cultural Marxism Being Used in Teacher Hiring.”

That’s the title of James’s terrific new article—among many others. Check out all of his brilliant and insightful commentary on his website, JamesHirsen.com.

Marxism in Our Government

Thanks to FDR, who flooded the federal government with socialists, and to Harry Truman, who flooded the federal government with National Socialists (a.k.a., “Nazis”), our federal government — wait for it — is flooded with Marxists. Socialists, communists, and full-blown Marxists.

As a result, the conversion of our one-time-American government to Marxism is nearly complete. And we’re quickly speeding down the tracks to the last stop on the line.

Marxism in America isn’t always hidden. Sometimes, it’s right in our faces. Like our spending on socialized giveaways.

Our federal government has been spending trillions outside of its budget. Whenever you spend more than you budgeted, you have a deficit. And we’ve been spending about 20-30% beyond our budget every year for decades. Our national debt, which stands at $33 trillion (and growing fast), is the accumulation of all those years of spending more than our income.

We welcome first-time guest Joe Penland Sr., a successful businessman who also has over 26 years of banking experience. For the last year, he has been trying to wake Americans up to the tipping point of debt we are fast approaching.

All that debt and for what? When a business borrows, it’s typically to buy land or equipment. Hard assets. Which they will then use to generate more money. Effectively, they are borrowing the means to pay off the money they are borrowing. Not so with government. We are giving money away and getting no assets in exchange for those giveaways. (Unless you consider votes for more giveaways to be an asset.)

We talk to Joe about the hard decisions ahead.

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Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Joe Penland’s Segments

Related Marxism in America Info

  • The Deep State Behind the Deep State (Liberty Sentinel, Sept 26, 2023)
  • Marxism hates the family structure. Check out this article: “AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men” (The Hill, Sept 26, 2023)
    • It’s the statistics here that are so troubling: “America desperately needs people to have more babies, but all the signs are pointing toward fewer relationships, fewer marriages and fewer babies. There have been 600,000 fewer births in 2023 in the U.S. relative to 15 years ago. The number of children per woman has decreased by more than 50 percent in the last 60 years.”
    • “In 1940, there were 42 workers per beneficiary of Social Security. Today, there are only 2.8 workers per beneficiary, and that number is getting smaller.”

 

 

13-37 Fraud, Fraud, Fraud | How Judges Often Enable It

13-37 Fraud, Fraud, Fraud | How Judges Often Enable It

Show 13-37 Summary: This week, it’s all about fraud. Election fraud. And the lawsuit to get Joe Biden’s emails where he used fraudulent names to conduct his “business.” Elections matter. Not only because you are giving someone else legal authority over you. But because trillions of dollars are at stake. If absolute power corrupts, how much corruption will 100 trillion buy? Could Joe Biden’s fraud emails crack open the door to his corruption business? And will the 9th Circuit finally be the first to take election fraud seriously? And when it comes to fraud, all too often it’s judges who are enabling it. It’s yet more evidence of our two-tiered justice system. Imagine if Trump was emailing his kids with government information to profit the family.

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Original Air Dates: September 16th & 17th, 2023 | Guests: Chuck Wiese and Kimberly Hermann

This Week – Fraud and More Fraud

It’s all about fraud this week. We usually have Chuck Wiese, a scientist and meteorologist, on to talk about the fraud of Global Warming. Which has become a multi-trillion dollar fraud scheme. But what’s another trillion to the debt when it’s among co-conspirators, right? But this week, we have him on to talk about their election integrity case, which is currently before the 9th Circuit. Why there? Because the Oregon judge didn’t have the backbone to look at it and denied it on “lack of standing.”

What a cop out.

Think about that. The Left shrieks about every single vote must be counted. But why is it when any one voter has their vote devalued through fraud, somehow that single vote no longer matters. But there’s even more to it. Weak judges claim there’s no evidence of voter fraud. How do they know when they keep denying appellates the chance to look? There may be tens of thousands of fraudulent votes. But we’ll never know because they never actually look.

For an election system that claims there is no fraud, isn’t refusing to let people look just a little telling?

Wow, check this out! Feedspot, with over 4 million users, ranked I Spy Radio among the 30 Best Conservative Talk Shows!

Joe’s Fraudulent Email Aliases

Then we talk to General Counsel, Kimberly Hermann of Southeastern Legal Foundation. Her client is John Solomon, Executive Editor, of Just the News.

After years of hearing about secretive emails between Hunter and Joe Biden, and their potential content revealing fraudulent and corrupt money schemes, Southeastern Legal sued the National Archives to release those emails. Kimberly discusses how they knew about them in the first place and what they suspect the emails reveal.

Why use aliases to conduct “business”? Didn’t Joe say he never talked with Hunter about his business dealings with foreign entities wanting to buy influence. Okay. Maybe Joe didn’t talk to him. But he sure emailed a lot. More than 5,400 of them. That are known.

And where does this trail of evidence—while Joe was VP—lead? How far up does it go? What agencies knew about it? Why does the National Archives have these in the first place? Was Joe using government computers to send emails about his fraud schemes? Is this why our billions keep going to Ukraine, to keep them quiet from revealing their own evidence?

So many questions! Tune in to get the answers!

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Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Chuck Wiese (Segments 1–3)

Kim Hermann (Segments 4–6)

Related Stories

  • Wyden, Merkley press Medicaid administrator on Oregon automatic voter registration expansion (Herald News, Aug 23, 2023)
    • Because there aren’t enough opportunities for voter fraud already in Oregon?
  • Jack Smith’s DC “secret” may have just ended his classified docs case against President Trump (Revolver, Aug 22, 2023)
  • Alan Dershowitz says attempt to get Trump off 2024 ballot is a ‘grave danger’ to the Constitution (Just the News, Aug 22, 2023)
  • Giuliani tells court legal problems have taken all of his cash (Just the News, Aug 16, 2023)
13-27 Time for Justice | Oregon Election Integrity Lawsuit Heads to 9th Circuit

13-27 Time for Justice | Oregon Election Integrity Lawsuit Heads to 9th Circuit

Show 13-27 Summary: Honest people with truth on their side have nothing to hide. It’s the ones who cheat who refuse to open the books. So why does state after state, including Oregon, hide their elections — and sue anyone who dares ask questions to ensure everything is honest? It’s a good question. But they’re not being answered by Oregon. Election integrity is all about honesty. But telling people “trust us” while hiding the books is the opposite of honesty and transparency. We talk with Marc Thielman, lead plaintiff in the election integrity lawsuit that was dismissed for “lack of standing” by a magistrate judge and has been appealed to the 9th Circuit. Hear about the examples of potential fraud they cite, the reactions from the defendants, and why the judge looked so shocked.

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: July 8th & 9th, 2023 | Guest: Marc Thielman

This Week – Oregon Election Integrity Case gets Appealed

If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If the elections are “free and fair”, as Oregon (and states like it) claims, then why not open the books and let people look?

Oh, no. We can’t have that. And we’ll sue you to stop you from looking.

That’s the state’s response in a nutshell. We saw it with the Tim Sippel case in Washington County, who merely wanted to look at the public data of voters. But he was told that was “proprietary.” And the state sued him. But a new election integrity case — brought by Marc Thielman and other I Spy Radio guests — was brought to court to pry open the shady election process.

Oregon Election Integrity Case Summary

From the Northwest Observer, here’s a quick summary of the case:

“[The] lawsuit asks for a declaration that Oregon’s mail-in voting and computer tabulation of votes are unconstitutional and asks for an injunction against [the] use of those systems in elections. The lawsuit [seeks] relief from laws and policies that inflate voter rolls, use hackable tabulators, [and which] mandate mail-in ballots. The lawsuit also also seeks to untangle the web of the state’s efforts to block efforts by citizens to discover the many nefarious ways an election can be compromised.

Now, why would Oregon, or any state, seek to block efforts by their own citizens to look for potential loopholes in the voting system that could potentially exploited to commit fraud? Shouldn’t they be thanking them for finding problems? Not suing them?

Maybe this is a good place to point out the obvious: people who benefit from fraud don’t like other people examining fraud.

Oregon: A Sad State of Affairs

We welcome back Marc Thielman to discuss the election integrity case and what’s going on in Oregon. We start by talking about the Oregon Senators who inexplicably ended their walkout. Despite having assured victory over horrible bills.

Did you know? Oregon’s governor is asking people to weigh in on over 300 bills she has on her desk right now and get feedback on which ones she should veto. YOU can let her know what you think. Especially horrible bills like the anti-parents’ rights bill, HB2002. See our Take Action page for more information, a quick list of some of the worst bills, and a link to the contact form to let her know. Already know? Jump right to the contact form for the governor.

But our main focus is the election integrity lawsuit. We discuss what they are seeking to do, some examples of the fraud they’ve uncovered, the magistrate judge’s cop out and dismissal for “lack of standing,” and the appeal to the 9th circuit.

Plus, don’t miss the discussion on the huge win for free speech. A judge granted an injunction to stop the Biden administration colluding with Big Tech to censor Americans.

One would think the Biden administration would be embarrassed they got caught violating the First Amendment. But no. They have appealed the ruling. Admitting they were censoring Americans and demanding the ability to continue doing it.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Take Action! We won’t get to a bright future if conservatives don’t take action. Here are three things you can do right now:

  1. Sign the petition to stop Oregon Department of Forestry’s disastrous plan to abandon forests for 70 years. It takes 30 seconds to do. Go to OregonStrongerTogether.com and sign! Why? It will take state forests offline from timber harvests, removing 10s of millions of dollars every year from beneficiaries that depend on those timber harvests. Where will the state make up that money? More taxes, more fees. And don’ think the Leftist democrats aren’t eyeing ways to tax churches.
  2. Download and sign the petition to get the school choice initiatives on the 2024 ballot. Give parents the option to take their child out of woke, anti-Christian, anti-American schools. Woke teachers can’t indoctrinate kids who aren’t there. Head to EducationFreedomforOregon.com. These petition sheets must be printed and mailed back, because these are ballot initiatives. We need hundreds of thousands of signatures. You can even be a signature gatherer! See website for details. And to volunteer!
  3. Oregon’s governor has asked for public input on over 300 bills on her desk and wants to know which ones she should veto. Don’t miss this opportunity. Go here for the contact form to comment on bills like HB2002, the anti-parent-rights bill. Or go to our Take Action page for more information and a list of some of the worst bills she needs to veto.

Mentioned During the Show

Related Info

 

13-25 Education & Capitulation | The One Thing Oregon Parents Have Right Now

13-25 Education & Capitulation | The One Thing Oregon Parents Have Right Now

Show 13-25 Summary: Conservative Oregonians once again are disappointed by the “republicans” in the senate. With victory assured and merely needing to coast down hill to kill off HB2002, the anti-parental-rights bill, they instead managed to steer into a ditch. Now, HB2002 is law. And the Oregon republican party is celebrating this as a victory? We interview Sen. Dennis Linthicum about what happened and why. But first, we speak with Donna Kreitzberg about education freedom for Oregon: school choice. Since we clearly cannot depend on elected officials to defend parents’ rights, school choice in Oregon is the one thing parents can grab hold of. It’s up to us now.

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: June 24th & 25th, 2023 | Guests: Donna Kreitzberg & Dennis Linthicum

This Week – Republican Capitulation

Two weeks ago, we interviewed republican Senator Dennis Linthicum. And it was exciting. Republican had won. Their walkout had worked. They had killed off HB2002, the democrats’ anti-parental-rights bill. The bill that would allow the state to indoctrinate kids with leftist propaganda, permanently mutilate children to fulfill the weird sex fantasies of the adults in their lives, and punish people who did not bow to their extremism. It was dead. All hail the republicans!

And it wasn’t just HB2002. Horrible gun bills. Ranked choice voting. The republicans had stopped hundreds of far left bills in their tracks. All they had to do was stay out of the building and the bills were dead. All of them.

But then, less than one week later, the republicans inexplicably gave it all back. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

What on Earth happened? We talk with Senator Linthicum again this week to try to make sense of the mess.

Also This Week: Parents Rights and School Choice

Republicans claim to be for parents’ rights. They claim they want to stop radical far-left woke ideology, especially in schools. But we just witnessed them capitulate on HB2002, which puts the state between parents and their own children. So if republicans can’t be trusted to stand up for the values they claim to hold, what then?

Parents Rights - Case Studies Counts - Effects of School Choice Programs
Click for full-size. Note: some rows totals are off due to some studies have multiple findings.

Thankfully, there is a solution for parental rights when it comes to their child’s education. School choice. And because politicians of both parties can’t be trusted to put parents’ rights over the state, the ballot initiatives for school choice in Oregon goes around the politicians. The school choice initiatives will put school choice and the funding for it directly in Oregon’s constitution. No politicians needed. And politicians won’t be able to easily undo it if there is a change in political control.

Actual rights. No politician needed.

Check out this huge list where they are gathering signatures!

We welcome back Donna Kreitzberg to discuss how things are going, and some of the big events they will be at this summer. To qualify for the ballot, the deadline to turn in the signatures is July 5, 2024. Tune in to hear how you can help.

And did you know there are three main “cases” for school choice? The liberal, the libertarian, and the conservative? We most often hear about the first two. But it’s actually the conservative argument for school choice that experts have found to be the most persuasive. Why? Because it focuses on parents’ rights.

Imagine that.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Linthicum Segments (4–6)

  • Bills moving forward after republicans end their walkout: Anti-gun bills, I-5 bridge, tax credits (Taxpayer Association, June, 21, 2023)
  • Post-walkout, another win for democrats: Oregon rent control bill passes out of Senate, heads to House (Portland Biz Journal, June 20, 2021)
  • Oregon lawmakers make deal to end Senate walkout. Here’s how key bills were changed (OPB, June 24, 2023)
    • Not only did republicans get little or nothing, they wiped out the careers of all those senators: “all 10 are expected to be blocked from running for reelection under a ballot measure passed by voters last November.”
    • And there’s this: “The deal is contingent on the GOP agreeing to waive normal procedural rules, a step that will allow Democrats to fast-track hundreds of bills awaiting passage in the Senate.”
  • Oregon lawmakers rush to pass bills backlogged by GOP walkout before end of session (OPB, June 22, 2023)
  • It’s not just Oregon: How to Arrest the Government – Trump’s indictment puts pressure on GOP aspirants to propose sweeping reforms. (Kimberley Strassel, WSJ, June 15, 2023)
    • “The indictment was the straw that broke the elephant’s back, the kick the party needed to get serious [about reforming government].”
13-23 The Truth about the Oregon Republican Senator Walkout | HB2002

13-23 The Truth about the Oregon Republican Senator Walkout | HB2002

Show 13-23 Summary: Unsurprisingly, the Oregon democrats and their media have been spinning a lot of lies about the Republican Senators walkout. They’re saying Republicans are refusing to come to work. A dereliction of duty. A vacation on the taxpayers’ dime. Weird. What do democrats call not showing up for work when public unions do it? Could it be a “strike”? But the democrats are also lying about why the republican senators walked out. HB2002. The democrats are claiming this is an important, emergency abortion rights bill, given the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. But they’re lying about that too. HB2002 is perhaps the most extreme, Far Left bill ever passed in Oregon. Tune in and keep reading to find out why.

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: June 10th & 11th, 2023 | Guest: Senator Dennis Linthicum

This Week – The Truth about Oregon Senate Republicans’ Walkout

Oregon Republican Senators walked out of the legislature in early May 2023. Doing so denied the democrats the needed legislative quorum to pass any bills at all. The reason is simple. The democrats, who lost seats in both the Oregon house and the Oregon senate but still act like they have a super majority, refused to compromise the extreme far left bill, HB 2002. (Sometimes also called HB2002B.) And while HB 2002 alone would have been enough to make any sane person walk out it wasn’t just HB2002. It was also to stop other far-left bills such as HB2005, an anti-Second-Amendment gun grab bill. And bills that would steal Oregonians’ kicker refund. Not just this year but forever.

But make no mistake. The real reason the Republican senators walked out was to stop HB2002.

The Reason for the Walkout: HB2002

HB2002 is perhaps the most extreme far-left ideology bill of all times to come out of Oregon.

Long-time listeners of I Spy Radio already know that under Oregon’s “healthcare transformation,” much of what HB2002 proposes is already in place. Thanks to Oregon’s Healthcare Authority (there’s that Nazi-esque name again), underage girls can already get abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent. Why and how? Because the OHA changed the insurance rules covering children from FERPA to HIPPA.

Remember when you couldn’t get aspirin from the school nurse without your parents’ consent? That’s because the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (or FERPA), acknowledged that parents have the ultimate say about their child’s health. And the raising of them. But the OHA changed the guidelines from FERPA to HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). You might know about HIPPA. Because that’s the health care privacy that guides adult insurance policies.

In other words, the OHA now treats all children as if they are adults. Allowing them to make adult decisions about their own healthcare, including mental health. And parents have no rights to know or to “interfere”. The only right parents have is the right to pay for whatever their child wants.

What Oregon democrats want to do with HB2002 is to codify this extreme, anti-parent, far-left ideology into law. Why? Because laws are much harder to undo.

And let’s not forget. The democrats nearly lost the governor’s office in 2022. This is why the democrats are so willing to sell everything to try to get HB2002 through.

So what’s in HB 2002? Read on.

The Truth about Oregon’s HB2002

The Oregon democrats are desperate to confuse people about HB2002 and what it does. What they say it does is guarantee abortion rights and access. It’s an emergency! Women have to have access now that the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Well. To use one of Biden’s favorite terms, that’s malarkey.

Women already have access to abortion in Oregon. Hell. Women and children can come here from other states and get abortions. For free if they claim they can’t afford it. Those are already in Oregon law. And absolutely nothing about Dobbs or the overturning of Roe v. Wade changed any of that.

If that’s the case, why are the democrats claiming that’s all there is about HB2002 as if guaranteeing “access” to abortion is the sole and only purpose of HB2002. Well, probably they don’t want people to know what’s really in the bill.

What’s in HB2002

So here’s what’s really in the bill. HB2002 would…

  • Lower the age girls could get an abortion without parental consent to, effectively, zero. Girls can already do this as young as 10. HB2002 makes it age 8 but technically could be lower.
  • Allow children from other states to come here and get abortions. Yes, HB2002 is a great boon for human trafficking. If girls as young 12 or 10 or 8 are getting pregnant a crime has occurred. HB2002 hides the evidence from police and from parents.
  • Allow children to get life-altering puberty blockers. without parental knowledge or consent.
  • It would allow children to get permanent “gender affirming” surgeries. On their own. Without parental consent or knowledge.
  • Allow teachers to indoctrinate children about gay, lesbian, transgender, and all the rest. Without parental knowledge or consent.
  • Punish those who oppose any of the above far-left ideologies.
    • If health care providers refuse or attempt to refuse to provide mental health care that affirms a child’s confusion, they can lose their license.
    • Health care providers who refuse to perform permanent, irreversible surgeries on children, they can be fined and/or lose their license.
    • If you interfere with the operation of an abortion clinic, you can be fined or jailed. “Interfere” is open for interpretation. Does that include simple protesting outside a clinic? Or posting critical social media posts about abortion or clinics?

What you can do about HB2002

Speak up! Don’t be silent!

  • HB2002 has already been voted out of Oregon House but there’s no reason to not contact your representative and let them know what you think about this horrendous bill. Perhaps they didn’t know the details about it. (How many times have we seen politicians vote for bills they didn’t reads personally and merely did what their caucus told them do?) Let them know what you think by using the link below.
  • Contact your senator right now using the link below to let them know you oppose this bill. Ask them why they want to take away parental rights. Ask them why are they helping child traffickers. And ask them why do they think children should have adult rights.
    • Ask your democrat senator if they realize removing parental rights to raise their own children was exactly what the Nazis did. Are they trying to be Nazis? Seriously?
    • Tell your republican senator how much you appreciate their bravery and that you support their walkout.

How to do all that? Easy! Just go to this Oregon legislative map, enter your address, and there you go. The link will conveniently give you their contact info, including phone numbers and emails. Start writing, stop being silent. This only stops when enough people raise their voices.

When contacting your representative and senator, remember: be firm. But be polite.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Why we’re denying quorum in Oregon’s Senate (Washington Examiner, May 29, 2023)
  • Read the June 2023 ORP Legislative Update (PDF), which discusses HB2002 and other horrible bills worth walking out over
  • Dennis Linthicum Newsletter: Irreversible Harm (May 29, 2023)
  • From Senator Bonham: Protesting the Unconstitutional Actions of the Majority Party (May 9, 2023)
  • Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hasn’t convinced Republicans to return to Salem as walkout continues (OPB, May 23, 2023)
    • “ Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, pledged his members would return on June 25 — the day the session is scheduled to adjourn under constitutional deadlines — in order to pass ‘lawful, substantially bipartisan budgets and bills’.”
  • Cutting Early Kicker Checks part of negotiations with Boycott Republican Senators (KATU, May 30, 2023)
  • Kicker theft SJR 26 would be blow to charities (Taxpayer Assoc of OR, June 1, 2023)
    • “…the May revenue forecast predicted the 2024 kicker rebate would grow to a record $5 point 5 billion dollars. But some [democrat] lawmakers want to ask voters to end the annual taxpayer payout.”
  • Boycotting Oregon senators believe loophole will allow them to win another term (OPB, May 30, 2023)
  • Paychecks, perks continue for absent senators amid GOP-led walkout (Oregon Capital Chronicle, May 30, 2023)
  • Federal Subpoenas Issued to State Agencies (Willamette Week, June 7, 2023)
13-21 It’s Time to Activate the Church | Christian Soldiers for the Win

13-21 It’s Time to Activate the Church | Christian Soldiers for the Win

Show 13-21 Summary: This week, we speak with Pastor Richard Peil out of Bend, Oregon. Pastor Peil is trying to wake up Christians to what is happening in politics and to motivate churches and Christians to get involved and stop hiding from society. America not only has a moral vacuum problem, the Left is filling that vacuum with secular state morals. As in dictated by the state. Some, like Oregon’s HB2002, mandating your beliefs are not allowed if it interferes with political ideology. It’s time to activate the church. But why do some pastors keep their churches silent? Even advocating they stay out of politics. Is that really what the Bible teaches?

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: May 27, 2023 | Guest: Pastor Richard Peil

This Week – Activate the Church

Throughout history, when society loses its moral compass, the Church has stepped into the fray. From early Christians displacing Rome’s debauchery to Colonial times when Christian revivals paved the way to America’s founding. Christians and the Church have led the way on morals and societal ethics. So where is the Church now when America is under siege? Why so silent? Are Christians, and pastors, really going to sit out this fight for America’s soul? As the political Left assaults our children with every kind of immorality? Really?

It’s time to activate the church. And that means more than just prayer.

Where is the Church When America Needs Her?

This week, we talk with Pastor Richard Peil who leads the Victory Baptist Church in Bend. He came to our attention when he and two dozen other pastors spoke out against Oregon’s horrid HB2002 bill on the steps of the capitol. HB2002 would codify what is already being done via administrative rules dating back to Kitzhaber’s “Health Care Transformation.”

Yes. While people are shocked that HB2002 will allow girls as young as 8 to get abortions without parental knowledge or consent, long-time listeners of I Spy Radio know that has been going on for years. Kitzhaber’s Oregon Health Authority changed insurance and required disclosure from FERPA to HIPPA. Under FERPA, parents had to be told everything that was done to their child. (Remember when you were in school and you couldn’t even get an aspirin without your parents being consulted? That’s why.) But under HIPPA, state agencies and schools treat kids like they’re adults. Parents not only don’t have to be consulted. They have no right to know.

What is new is HB2002 wants to not only codify that into actual law — not just and administrative rule — Oregon democrats in the legislature want to be able to fine anyone who doesn’t agree with their ideologies and “morals.” Do democrats really think cutting parents out from a parent-child relationship is the right thing to do? The moral thing to do?

Apparently so. Like we said. Now is the time to activate the church!

Romans 13

Pastor Piel got politically activated when Oregon’s authoritarians and wannabe dictators tipped their hand during covid. As a pastor, he saw first hand what the state wanted to do. And how they felt they had all the rights and churches had none. Despite the First Amendment. He watched as pastors at some churches willingly obeyed the government without question. And now, some of those churches have closed permanently. That’s why he’s working hard now with other pastors to activate the church and get them involved. Before it’s too late.

But that experience led him to dive deeper into the Bible. Especially on the proper roles between the church and government. Some Christians and even pastors believe the church should submit to the government. And they cite Romans 13 as the source for that argument. But what does “be subject to” really mean?

Marxism in the Church? Yes!

Pastor Peil also spent 10 years in the Navy, working for naval intelligence, back during the Cold War. His job was to intercept and monitor Soviet communications. And he got to see up close and first hand the threats communism and Marxism pose to America.  Little did he know that experience would prepare him for the ministry. Or the current fight.

Why? Because he’s seen the influence of Marxists infiltrating churches and seminaries to destroy — or at least disable — the church from within. Because if they can hamstring the church, and replace Godly morality with secular immorality, America won’t be able to stand. The Founders knew that the Church was necessary for society. The government didn’t, and shouldn’t, set the moral tones of society. They always saw that as the church’s role.

And that’s why we need to activate the church. America needs its faith warriors.

Attention Christians! America needs you to get involved in politics. Now more than ever.

Things Christians can Do — Right Now

As mentioned during the show, here are three things you can do right now:

  1. Sign the petition to stop Oregon Department of Forestry’s disastrous plan to abandon forests for 70 years. It takes 30 seconds to do. Go to OregonStrongerTogether.com and sign! Why? It will take state forests offline from timber harvests, removing 10s of millions of dollars every year from beneficiaries that depend on those timber harvests. Where will the state make up that money? More taxes, more fees. And don’ think the Leftist democrats aren’t eyeing ways to tax churches.
  2. Download and sign the petition to get the school choice initiatives on the 2024 ballot. Give parents the option to take their child out of woke, anti-Christian, anti-American schools. Woke teachers can’t indoctrinate kids who aren’t there. Head to EducationFreedomforOregon.com. Note that because these are ballot initiatives, digital signatures are not allowed, and the petition sheet must be printed and mailed back. Hundreds of thousands of signatures are needed. You can even be a signature gatherer! See website for details.
  3. Contact your state representative and senator and tell them NO on HB2002. Don’t know who they are or need their contact info? That’s easy. Just go to this Oregon map, enter your address, and there you go. Start writing, stop being silent.

BONUS “to-do”: donate to both of those organizations! They are both raising funds for an advertising campaign. $25 or $50 or more will help them buy an ad, which in turn will be seen or heard by 1,000s of people!

Don’t wait. Act right now.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Pastor Peil’s church is Victory Baptist in Bend, Oregon. Their website is VictoryforYou.church. (Live services are streamed if you don’t have a home church.)
  • Get involved! Don’t be silent! It’s easier than ever now to let your voice be heard on bad — and the occasionally good — legislation. Head to olis.oregonlegislature.gov, type the bill number into the search bar (upper right), and you can send in your testimony.
  • No, Romans 13 is not about obeying the governing authorities (Craig Greenfield, May 11, 2018)
    • Romans 13… [has been] used to make sure we are all being obedient citizens, which historically has led Christians into all KINDS of problems
  • Should Christians Always Submit to the Government? (Crossway.org, Apr 24, 2022)
    • “Governmental tyranny is a potential evil, but so is anarchy. “Subjection” means recognition of authority and compliance with it.
13-18 An Unforced Error Opens Oregon to Change | Shemia Fagan Scandal

13-18 An Unforced Error Opens Oregon to Change | Shemia Fagan Scandal

Show 13-18 Summary: The Shemia Fagan scandal broke this week and could have some far-reaching impacts — even the effort to get school choice in Oregon. Remember, the secretary of state oversees elections. And that means ballot initiatives like school choice. We ask Donna Kreitzberg about school choice’s ground game, some of the obstacles they have to overcome, and some of the reaction they’re already getting from signature gatherers out in the field. And, perhaps the biggest challenge ahead: countering the misinformation the other side has already been and will be putting out there in the months ahead. And then, a big political scandal rocked Oregon this week. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan was forced to resign. But is there more to Shemia Fagan scandal than what we’ve seen in the mainstream media?

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: May 6th & 7th, 2023 | Guests: Donna Kreitzberg & Marc Thielman

This Week – Shemia Fagan Scandal

For those who knew Shemia Fagan, the scandal that rocked Oregon politics this past week is probably no surprise.

In case you missed it, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan got caught in a highly inappropriate side hustle. She was accused of taking $10,000 per month from a company her office is supposed to be overseeing. And she even did an audit of them. She did recuse herself from the audit. Except she lied about when she recused herself, not doing so until after the audit was completed. Oh, and did we mention she was also getting $30,000 per contract she secured for them?

That’s quite a bit of money for someone only making $77,000 per year. More than her entire salary. What could possibly be wrong with that? Well, pretty much everything from an ethics standpoint. You don’t take money from a company you’re supposed to be overseeing. Because that looks like a bribe. And you should not lie about your interactions with them. Because for someone who has (had) her law license, she definitely should have known better.

And isn’t that weird too. She suddenly re-applied for her law license back in February, a month before news of this broke into the public. Did she know the proverbial writing was on the wall then? Again, she should have known better—and, one assumes, did know—the moment she took the money.

Democrats and their Long Knives

democrats fight fascism by being fascistsA one-time rising star in the democrat party, democrats suddenly turned on Fagan. After initially denying any wrongdoing, democrats pushed Fagan to resign. Which she reluctantly did, Because even on the way out the door she still didn’t see anything wrong with what she did.

What was going on? And is there more to this story? And what now? As Secretary of State, Fagan had her fingers in a lot of pots. Including the Tim Sippel case, whom Washington County had sued to block the release of a voter database. Fagan swooped in out of the blue to join the lawsuit to block the release. Because nothing screams open, honest, and trustworthy like blocking the public from seeing what’s inside a public database. No. Nothing to see there. Peasants.

We talk with Marc Thielman, the former superintendent for the Alsea School District and candidate for Oregon governor, about the Shemia Fagan scandal. Was Governor Kotek using the scandal to eliminate a political rival? Don’t forget, the news about the Shemia Fagan scandal just happened to break in the Willamette Week. A paper Oregon’s attorney general’s husband just happens to own.

Gee. Weird coincidences.

We also talk with Marc about the school choice ballot initiatives, of which he is the chief petitioner.

Get involved! Head to EducationFreedomforOregon.com to download petition signature sheets and help them with a donation. Real school choice will bring desperately needed generational change to Oregon by breaking state-sponsored indoctrination in Oregon’s education system.

School Choice: Boots on the Ground

Before we talk with Marc, we talk with Donna Kreitzberg, who is spearheading the effort to get real school choice on the November 2024 ballot.

To get school choice in Oregon, it will be an uphill battle. Not least of which will be the financial hurdles. They will need at least $15 million to combat the misinformation, lies, and distortions the education lobby will put out there to desperately keep the status quo. Meaning they don’t want parents to decide where to send their children. Why is that, exactly? Shouldn’t everyone want parents to make the best choices for their children? Including the best education that best suites their children’s needs?

Donna talks to us about the operational and practical side of the fight. Like, what are her signature gatherers hearing from people about school choice? Yes, this will be a battle. Like, at a recent presentation in Portland, some liberal moms were initially opposed to the effort. But after the meeting, they came up and asked Donna how they could help. Tune in to find out what brought them around.

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Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

The Shemia Fagan Scandal