Show 14-18 Summary: Does anyone remember when the media objectively covered economics. After all, so much of it revolves around data. And yet the mainstream media does everything it can to attack good economies, like we had under Trump, while providing cover for lame economies, driven primarily by government and government spending, like what we have under Joe Biden. So how do you know what to trust and whom to trust? On this week’s show we talk to an economist to help you think like an economist.
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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 4th & 5th, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams
This Week – Despite the mainstream media doing their best to run cover for Biden and his economic policies, there are some troubling signs about Bidenomics. And some of it really troubling. Which is why you’re not hearing those kinds of stories in the mainstream media.
When it comes to the economy, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is Biden’s DEI hiring-equivalent of “Baghdad Bob.”
GDP for the first quarter was half of normal growth and less than half of the previous quarter. Unemployment for April rose with one of the indicators the worst it’s been since November 2021. And yet all we ever hear out of the White House is how great things are. Including a rather startling comment from KJP. According to her, prices are too low. That woman is Biden’s DEI hiring equivalent of “Baghdad Bob.”
But because economic reporting has become so politicized how can an everyday person tell whether or not the economy is doing well — aside from their own subjective experiences? Because their experiences may not be what everyone else is going through.
Think Like an Economist
So this week we talk to an economist—Jonathan Williams, Executive Vice President of the American Legislative Exchange Council, and their chief economist—to help people learn to think a little more like an economist.
What are some of the trigger points to look for? What are some of the more reliable measurements that indicate a good or a bad economy? And what economic levers can they pull to turn an economy around or to keep a good economy going?
And all of that to help people pick the right people to put them in charge to get the economy on the right track
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
And you too can join as a private-sector member!
You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
The Daily Signal reported that under new federal guidelines — released on Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — an employer would be guilty of harassment by requiring someone to use a restroom that corresponds with their biological sex or if someone “misgenders” them.
Show 14-04 Summary: There’s no justice in a “just us” world. Whether you’re talking lawfare for one side but prosecutors are willingly blind for the other side. Or whether you’re talking corporate governance where one side’s ideology is forced onto how companies do business. But the good news is, this kind of discrimination may finally be starting to catch up with the Left.
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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: February 3rd & 4th, 2024 | Guests: Paul Kamenar and Scott Shepard
This Week – Cases Against Trump, DEI Against Common Sense
We talk with Paul Kamenar, the lead counsel for National Legal and Policy Center for his legal analysis about the cases against Trump, the corruption in the Fani Willis office (one of the prosecutors determined to “get Trump”), and the Hunter Biden cases.
And then we talk about the poison of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” that has been pushed by trillion-dollar Leftist hedge funds on corporate America. Except now they’re pulling back on this racist hiring practice. It turns out Boeing’s planes aren’t the only thing whose wheels are falling off. But why now?
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Paul Kamenar Segments 1–3
FBI’s Wray Faces Worst NIGHTMARE As Matt Gaetz Shows Hunter Biden’s SHOCKING Text Message (Tuyền Ơi YT Channel, Jan 29, 2024)*Just imagine if Don Jr. had sent this text instead of Hunter Biden: “I’m sitting here with my father. I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”
Lawyer’s ‘Loan’ to Hunter Biden Violates Legal Ethics (via NewsMax, Jan 25, 2024)*As Hunter Biden’s attorney, Morris is prohibited from lending or giving money to his clients under California bar rules.
Even more Fani Willis corruption? Uncovered Audio Reveals Whistleblower FIRED After Warning Fani Willis About Misuse of Federal Funds (WLT Report, Jan 31, 2024)
“A newly surfaced audio recording reveals that Fanni Willis was warned by a whistleblower in private about her top aide misusing federal funds.”
In 2021, Amanda Timpson, a Fulton County DA employee, informed Willis about the aide’s plans to use “$488,000 federal grant—earmarked for the creation of a Center of Youth Empowerment and Gang Prevention—to pay for “swag,” computers, and travel.”
Fani Willis did not deny the allegations or report the aide. Instead, less than 2 months later, she FIRED the whistleblower…
Letitia James Case
Lawsuit Against Trump is Frivolous, and NY AG Letitia James Proves It (Medium.com, Nov 21, 2024)
Trump levels unsubstantiated claims of collusion against New York AG as civil fraud trial wraps up (AP News, Jan 12, 2024)
Horace Cooper on Fox News: “Airlines, Boeing, Biden Prioritize Diversity Over Safety” (National Center, Jan 9, 2024)
“Have Boeing and other companies in the airline industry sacrificed excellence and safety on the altar of diversity?”
Horace Cooper (from NCPPR’s Project 21): “In my latest book, I mention this dalliance with DEI, this idea that diversity is more important than a meritocracy. I titled the chapter ‘D-I-E’ because THIS CAN KILL.”
The president of the United States has picked Mayor Pete to be in charge of airline safety — again, choosing diversity over the importance of the real reason there’s an FAA, and that’s safety.
Boeing Shareholders Reject Proposal Seeking Ideological Balance on Board (NCPPR, Apr 27, 2020)
Multiple former senior Boeing staffers say they would NOT fly on killer 737 Max planes (Daily Mail, Jan 31, 2024)
Additional/Related
Trump’s lawyers want special counsel Jack Smith held in contempt in 2020 election interference case (AP, Jan 4, 2024)
Judge sets hearing for misconduct claims against prosecutor leading Ga. Trump case (NPR, January 18, 2024)
Fani Willis Scandal: How An Alleged Romantic Relationship With A Prosecutor Could Upend Trump’s Criminal Trial (Forbes, Jan 22, 2024</a
14-04 The Plain Truth in Green Energy: All Things Green Go Red
Show 14-04 Summary: Frank Lasee, the president of Truth in Energy and Climate rejoins us to dig a little deeper into hydrogen (and, in particular, so-called “green hydrogen.” EVs are failing in the marketplace and their sales are tanking. We talk about the truth in green energy — that it wouldn’t exist without massive government bailouts, subsidies, and free cash. And we talk about the rise of the hydrogen-based economy. Get ready for it. Maybe because the public has started to catch on to the green funding scam.
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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: January 27thg & 28th, 2024 | Guest: Frank Lasee
This Week – Truth in Green Energy
We welcome back Frank Lasee—a former Wisconsin state senator, senior policy analyst, and president of Truth in Energy and Climate—to talk about the truth in green energy. And, like so much about “green” it’s all red at its heart. As Frank calls it, it’s “soft socialism.” It would not exist in the marketplace without huge amounts of free taxpayer cash.
Remember how Leftists shrieked about bailouts for the “too big to fail” banks? Funny how they’re completely silent now about bailouts and subsidies for everything “green,” isn’t it. Probably because the Left gets massive amount of funding for its political allies. At the taxpayers’ expense.
Our guest’s website is TruthInEnergyAndClimate.com. Great articles and information. And sign up for their newsletter!
This week, it’s all about truth in green energy. Or rather the lack of it. With other green renewable sources on the decline (especially wind), the newest fad in “green” energy is hydrogen.By the way. Green renewable energy is not green. And it’s not renewable. For every one ton of rare earth mined and refined, 2,000 tons of toxic waste is generated. And much of it radioactive waste. And it’s not renewable either. Unless you’re referring to ongoing taxpayer subsidies to keep them going.
Hydrogen. The New Green Energy Fad?
There have been some new breakthroughs, allegedly, in hydrogen. In particular, with using hydrogen as an energy storage medium. Just how real are these breakthroughs? And are they the bridge to a hydrogen-based economy?
Wait, what happened to the EVs? Weren’t they going to save us? Well, it turns out that EVs are quickly losing any momentum and their sales here and in even in green-mania Europe, sales of EVs are tanking. Perhaps it’s because as more people bought them, they realized how inconvenient they are. Or maybe it was the cold snap these last two weeks. Where thousands of EVs had to be towed. Not because they slid off icy roads or crashed. They simply ran out of charge. Or maybe it was because their owners couldn’t run the heater for fear it would drain the battery and they wouldn’t make it home.
Be aware. Hydrogen may be the next green energy scam. Tune in and you’ll hear just how out of touch the Biden administration is. And environmentalists with their convoluted, damn the taxpayers, means to go green on hydrogen.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Articles/Info Mentioned During the Show
Frank Lasee’s website is TruthInEnergyAndClimate.com. Be sure to check out this website for great articles and information.
Government “accounting” vs GAAP. Article:”Modified Accrual Accounting: Definition and How It Works” (via Investopedia.com, June 4, 2023)
Public companies cannot use this accounting method for financial statements, but it is widely accepted for use by government agencies.
Public companies cannot use modified accrual accounting because it does not comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
New Discovery Overcomes Major Hurdle in Hydrogen Energy Economy (Oil Price, Jan 6, 2024)
“The new material, a lanthanum hydride compound modified with strontium and oxygen, allows high-rate conduction of hydride ions at room temperature.”
Whoops. Then along came winter → “Not quite noted above is that today’s designs need an above freezing environment. All the time, not just when running. For much of the time and much of the world that is killer. Moreover a freeze would destroy a fuel cell, thus even a rare freeze zone would entail considerable risk. The team hasn’t said anything specific yet. But this is promising.”
THIS → “The U.S. Department of Energy also articulated the prominent Hydrogen Shot initiative in 2021. According to this initiative, the cost of producing clean hydrogen is to come down to $1.0/kg by the year 2030.” But does that $1/kg include the billions of dollars in subsidies to get there? What’s the real cost?
The hydrogen lobby duped Congress into $9.5 billion for hydrogen hubs and $100s of billions more for subsidies to make it. These hydrogen jobs will last only as long as the subsidies do.
“The fact that the world is desperately short of lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries, at the scale they want to force, is dawning on them”
“Wind and solar produce little or no energy 70% of the time.”
Frank Lasee: Joe Biden’s Hydrogen Slush Fund Means More Dollars Wasted On The Green Energy Boondoggle (ShoreNews Network, Feb 26, 2023)
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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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: 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
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.”
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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Profile of Marco A. Hernandez, the judge in the Oregon censorship lawsuit case. First appointed by George W, and then later re-appointed by Obama. In March 2023, he announced he would retire on August 21, 2024 (via Ballotpedia, updated March 2023)
Show 13-44 Summary: People have been chasing the elusive dream of hydrogen as a fuel source for decades and decades. Billions have been poured into it before now. But there’s no such thing as a bad idea as long as the government is willing to pour even more billions into it. But now it’s even worse as they chase “green hydrogen.” Tune in to hear why hydrogen isn’t viable as a mass production “fuel,” how it isn’t even a fuel, and even far more expensive than it already is if we try to make it the way the Greenies want. And remember how CO2 is the enemy? Yeah not so much, apparently.
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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: November 4th & 5th, 2023 | Guest: Frank Lasee
This Week – Why Green Hydrogen Doesn’t Make Sense
Hydrogen has been the elusive clean energy society has been chasing for decades. Well before G.W. Bush threw nearly $2 billion at (which went nowhere), scientists were trying to use hydrogen back into FDR’s days and even before then. (The Hindenburg largely derailed the whole idea.) But if clean hydrogen was a pipe dream, green hydrogen is a fanciful nightmare. Especially if you don’t care about things like economics or common sense.
The Hindenburg derailed hydrogen. Rightly so.
In a nutshell, green hydrogen costs 5–6 times more than current methods and does not return as much energy as it costs to produce.
But why let a few dozen billions of narrow-minded taxpayer dollars stand in your way of your grand vision? Especially when states like Oregon and Washington just got handed a billion dollars each of free taxpayer dollars to create hydrogen hubs.
But First: A Big Win!
Thanks to public outcry, which CFACT helped mobilize, Orsted has cancelled its two planned offshore wind farms in New Jersey waters. The Danish company our American taxpayer dollars was funding, pulled the plug. Despite a $100 million penalty for failing to complete delivery. And wrote off a $4 billion loss. Amazing how these “green energy” schemes cannot work without massive government subsidies.
Public outcry works. Don’t be silent. And let’s do that here in Oregon. See Show 13-42 for more information.
Green Hydrogen Defined
We welcome first-time guest, Frank Lasee, a former Wisconsin state senator, president of Truth in Energy and Climate, and a senior policy advisor to CFACT. As you might be able to tell from the name of his organization, there’s not a lot of truth out there in either climate or energy. And nowhere is that more true than green hydrogen.
First off, hydrogen is itself not really a fuel. It’s more akin to a battery because while it has energy, it first has to be created. It would be a bit like creating oil out of various elements first before drilling for it.
What is green hydrogen? The label “green hydrogen” is all about how the hydrogen is made. There are several ways to make hydrogen. One is a simple electrolysis method, applying a current to water that splits the molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Your high school science teacher might have demonstrated this. Another is gasification that extracts hydrogen (and other elements) from natural gas with high-temperature steam.
Green hydrogen is extracted from whatever source but must use “renewable” energy to do so. The most common being pushed right now is to use solar and wind as the energy source.
How Green Hydrogen is Made
Except there’s a major problem with “green” wind and solar. They do not produce energy 70% of the time. Barely any wind. No wind. Not enough sun. Darkness. But to make clean, green hydrogen at scale takes enormous amounts of electricity. And water. Lots of water.
To make one kilogram of hydrogen (which has roughly the same potential energy as a gallon of gas), you need 13 kg of water to split. The water is heated to 2,000 degrees. That’s a lot of electricity. And then after it’s split, it has to be superchilled to near absolute zero so it can be pressurized and stored. And that takes another 40 kg of water to cool it.
So for every 1 kg of hydrogen produced, it takes 53 kg of water — and a massive amount of electricity.
What happens if the wind’s not blowing? Or it’s night time? You don’t have to be a paid TV scientist to realize this is not a process you can start and stop because of the unreliability of your “green” power sources. Gosh. You’ll have to supplement all intermittent green energy with coal. Or have massive batteries.
The Green Hydrogen Dilemma
One notion to get past the unreliability of so-called green energy and its unreliability is to tap into hydroelectric dams. Which the Pacific Northwest has plenty of. Except for the last decade, the environmentalists have been busily trying to yank them all out. To “save the salmon.”
Now what? Save the salmon or have green hydrogen?
In fact, the hypnotic allure of billions free taxpayer dollars has put a halt on at least one lawsuit to force the government to pull out dams on the Snake River.
Whoops.
But it’s not just the dams. You’ve got California, which on Thursday emptied 7 billion gallons (7,559,743,200 gallons to be precise) of fresh water from its reservoirs into the ocean. Why? To adjust the salinity levels in a delta to “save the fish.” The Delta Smelt. Of which a grand total of zero Delta Smelt have been seen in annual Fall Surveys since 2017.
Well there goes 142,636,664 gallons of hydrogen they could have made.
Fish or dams for hydrogen? What to do, what to do…
Green Energy: It’s All About Money
Tune in to hear how “green energy” is not green. And it’s not really about energy. What it’s really all about is the money.
And it’s not about “Climate Change” either. Why? Because while we’ve been shrieked at about CO2 emissions for two decades, it turns out they will not only sacrifice fish to get those billions. They’re also willing to emit more CO2 to get those billions.
Just like wearing the inappropriate “green” label for green hydrogen, to get the label “clean hydrogen” all you have to do is not emit more than 2 kg of carbon dioxide per hydrogen produced.
Read it for yourself: The National Clean Hydrogen Standard is 2 kg CO2e/kg H2. That’s 2x the amount of CO2 for every one Hydrogen (H2). See page 75 of the H2IQ Presentation from the U.S. Dept of Energy.
Yes. You can emit twice the CO2 you get of hydrogen. So much for CO2 as the enemy.
Don’t miss the show. That’s just one of much of the green hydrogen nonsense.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Articles/Info Mentioned During the Show
Frank Lasee’s website is TruthinClimateandEnergy.com. Be sure to check out this website for great articles and information.
Major wind energy developer scraps two big offshore projects (NBC News, Nov 1, 2023)
The move by Orsted, a Danish company, adds fresh uncertainty to an industry supporters see as a way to help end the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels.
Read it for yourself! Page 75 of the H2IQ Presentation (Dec 2021) from the U.S. Department of Energy states “clean hydrogen” allows for twice the amount of CO2 emissions as the hydrogen produced.
Great example of replacing a gasoline car with a solar cars. Now you’re paying for 3 cars to get the same reliability you had in one.
Hydrogen – Will this Green dream prove an expensive nightmare? – (CFACT, Oct 26, 2023)
Hydrogen embrittles nearly every metal it comes in contact with.
Needs 13x more water than hydrogen made, 40x to cool it
The hydrogen lobby duped Congress into $9.5 billion for hydrogen hubs and $100s of billions more for subsidies to make it. These hydrogen jobs will last only as long as the subsidies do.
“The fact that the world is desperately short of lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries, at the scale they want to force, is dawning on them”
“Wind and solar produce little or no energy 70% of the time.”
Frank Lasee: Joe Biden’s Hydrogen Slush Fund Means More Dollars Wasted On The Green Energy Boondoggle (ShoreNews Network, Feb 26, 2023)
Show 13-42 Summary: Do you remember how environmentalists used to want to “save the whales”? And they were angry at “greedy corporations”? Now, those same environmentalists have figured out they can make billions from taxpayers by forcing states to take definitely-not-green offshore wind farms. Whales be damned. Calling it “green” doesn’t make it environmentally friendly. Calling it “saving the planet” doesn’t make it less greedy. This week, learn about the expensive, inefficient, and environmentally damaging wind farms the Biden administration is eager to shove down states’ throats. And how to fight back. Because right now, they’re trying to shove a windfarm off Oregon’s Southern Coast.
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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 21st & 22nd, 2023 | Guests: Craig Rucker & Jennifer Hamaker
This Week – The Lunacy of Wind Farms
It’s always easy to spend someone else’s money. Just ask any politician. It’s even easier to spend it if those billions (trillions!) you’re spending are going to people who will help re-elect you. Ever since I Spy Radio’s first year in 2011, we recognized that the environmental movement had become anti-development, anti-free-market, and decidedly anti-American.
It just so happens another organization got its own start with much the same realization: The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. Or CFACT. CFACT started back in 1985 and since then, they have grown into one of the most trusted, most respected sources of real information and real action to push back against the Far Left environmental movement. And win.
Right now, the Biden administration is giving out billions of free taxpayer dollars in a spending spree making the $130 billion (and counting) to Ukraine look like pocket money. Biden is shoving 100s of billions into wind farms. And, in particular, offshore wind farms.
CFACT on Offshore Windfarms
This week, we welcome Craig Rucker, the president and co-founder of CFACT, to talk about green energy, the billions the Left is making from it, and the billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on these offshore wind farms.
If you are not familiar with CFACT, you should be. Check out their great work, articles, videos, and a lot more on cfact.org.
And if you’re looking for good, reliable, and real facts about “green energy,” Global Warming, and more, be sure to visit CFACT’s Climate Depot.
It turns out these offshore wind farms are most definitely not environmentally friendly. On the East Coast, where there are already more than 3,000 wind farms spread out of 2.3 million acres. And since then, whales have been washing ashore, dead, in unprecedented numbers. Including the highly endangered Right Whale, of which there are less than 300 animals remaining. Why? Here’s a hint. It’s not Global Warming. The only thing that changed in their environment were these wind farms.
But what can we do to stop these? Especially here in Oregon, where greedy developers and government bureaucrats eager to spend 100s of billions of mandated taxpayer dollars have their sights on Oregon’s beautiful Southern Coast.
Tune in to hear how CFACT is successfully fighting back. And how the economics of “green” isn’t green when they start losing taxpayer subsidies.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has targeted Oregon’s pristine Southern Coast for one of Biden’s costly offshore wind farms. We bring back Jennifer Hamaker, the president of Oregon Natural Resource Industries (or ONRI), to talk about this multi-billion-dollar windfarm project.
Jennifer, whose family on her dad’s side were commercial fishermen, talks to us what it’s like to grow up in a fishing family. What the way of life means to them. And how these offshore wind farms will endanger that way of life, the fish and birds and mammals in the sea, and the coastal communities.
And for what? A multi-billion-dollar wind farm that will only generate about 1.2 gigawatts of electricity. So greedy green companies can make billions, endangering the marine life environmentalists claim they want to protect, only to generate not even 10% of Coos Bay’s yearly electric? Really?
Help Stop Oregon’s Planned Offshore Wind Farm
ONRI is helping organize resistance to the offshore wind farm scheme. They have gotten the word out about public meetings. And are alerting people to get their public comments in to oppose this windfarm.
They kind of hide the comment button. (Click for full size.)
And it’s been working. There has been so much push back, especially at these public meetings, that the bureaucrats have pushed back the deadline for public comments until October 31, 2023.
Don’t be silent! Public outcry has been proven to stop these ugly, expensive, colossal taxpayer swindles. Skeptical? Then listen and learn.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Craig Rucker from CFACT (Segments 1–3)
Craig Rucker’s organization is The Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow or “CFACT.” Visit them at cfact.org.
Be sure to read Craig’s excellent op-ed in The Hill: “A New Study Zaps Biden’s Plan to Transform the Electrical Grid” (Craig Rucker, The Hill, October 3rd, 2023)
“The problem is not the addition of wind and solar. The problem is the subtraction of coal, gas and other dispatchable resources [that] we need during this transition…The grid has to have power being fed into it every second of every minute of every hour of every day to keep the lights on.”
Want good information to push back against Climate Change insanity and the cult of Global Warming? Then you definitely will want to go to Climate Depot, a project of CFACT.
Green cannot survive without massive taxpayer dollars: “New York denies offshore wind developer request to raise rates, throwing more projects into doubt” (Just the News, Oct 13, 2023)
Do you like eating? Do you like having a house? What about your electronics? They all came from natural resources — farming, fishing, logging, mining. Help protect Oregon’s Natural Resource Industries. ONRI. Donate, join, stay informed at ONRI.us.
13-38 Get Educated – School Choice, Woke in Corporate Boardrooms
Show 13-38 Summary: This week, it’s about getting an education – and pushing back on the woke society is pushing on us. In our school systems and pushing back on woke corporations, like Disney, that think they know better about what society needs than what we Americans think. But what happens in those board rooms? And just how much power do activist shareholders have — who want to make a company go woke or, conversely, stop a company going woke? We also catch up with the effort to get real school choice on the ballot here in Oregon. And how a terrible personal accident has reignited the effort.
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.
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: September 23rd & 24th, 2023 | Guests: Donna Kreitzberg and Scott Shepard
This Week – Get Educated on Woke
This week, we are talking about woke in the corporate boardroom. And its negative impact on a corporation’s share prices and profits. So why do they do it? And when it comes to going woke even when it hurts shareholders, there is no better example of Bob Iger’s transformation of Disney and marching to the Left’s ideology. And did he set up his hand-picked successor, Bob Chapek — only to swoop in and clean up the mess he himself left?
But first, we talk about real school choice. We catch up with Donna Kreitzberg to hear how things are going to get real school choice on the ballot for Oregon’s 2024 general election. Education Freedom for Oregon just came through their summer events. So how did they do? How far along are they in their petition drive?
Have you signed one yet? Head to this link to download a signature form — then print it, sign it, and and mail it back.
We also wanted to talk to Donna because she recently had a horrible accident, that required her to be life-flighted out of the Montana wilderness. Hear how this personal tragedy has reignited her passion to get this on the ballot and to help kids get out from schools where they feel trapped.
And did you know real school choice will not only help kids trapped in bad schools but it can help free teachers too. Tune in to find out how.
Get Educated: On Woke Corporations and their Boardrooms
The Supreme Court recently overturned affirmative action as a gate for higher education. But what impact with that ruling have on woke corporations and their DEI initiatives? DEI being “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” DEI also being Leftist codespeak for, “exclude people who don’t share our political ideology.”
Yes, Bud Light gets the attention when it comes to “go woke, go broke.” But Disney is the true leader when it comes to going woke. Think about it. Did Bud Light ever have the pro-family, pro-America reputation that Disney once had. And Disney is now actively pushing a woke, transgender ideology at kids. Bud Light isn’t exactly pushing their products at kids.
Disney’s DEI for employees—but not the board? (click image for full size). Source.
We talk with Scott Shepard, the director of the Free Enterprise Project, which is the original and premier opponent of the woke takeover of American corporate life. Disney is back in the news as its revenues continue to crater, losing money on woke, box office flops, and bleeding Disney+ subscribers. And even at its parks, its one source of profits, attendance is down.
Could it be because they’re pushing transgender at kids even at their parks? Nah! Couldn’t be that!
We also talk with Scott about a broader view of corporations and their boardrooms. If, say, an activist shareholder wanted to take a corporate woke, could they? Just how much power do they have? Or what if a shareholder wanted to protect a pro-America company from an activist board?
You never knew corporations and free enterprise could be so interesting and entertaining.
The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Donna Kreitzberg’s Segments (1–3)
Donna’s school choice organization is Education Freedom for Oregon. Donate, volunteer, spread the word. And sign the petitions!
Bob Iger Reveals His Master Plan to Restore the Magic at Disney (Bloomberg, Feb 9, 2023)
Bob Iger Isn’t Having Much Fun: Eight months after returning as Disney’s CEO, he is straining to put out fire after fire, including streaming losses, an activist investor and TV woes (WSJ, July 14, 2023)
Is Bob Iger screwed up at Disney because of woke content, the removal of Disney+ content, and the possible sale of Lucasfilm? (David Mullich, via Reddit, June 15, 2023)
Iger is (or was) considering a run for the presidency.
Bob Iger Lambasted For CNBC Comments About Strike: “He Came Out Of Retirement To Make $54 Million In Two Years And Says This” (Deadline, July 13, 2023)
One tweet: “Hollywood writers, on average, are paid $69,510 a year. Bob Iger is paid $74,175 a DAY.”
Show 13-30 Summary: Lisa Lettenmaier, a former accountant and current insurance expert, has been tracking Oregon’s healthcare system for decades. We take a deep dive with her into Oregon’s healthcare system and the completely unsustainable path its on — unless you want to eventually spend every penny on “free” healthcare.
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.
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 29th & 30th, 2023 | Guest: Lisa Lettenmaier
This Week – Oregon’s Healthcare is Unsustainable
This week, we’re looking into Oregon’s health care system. And, in particular, the tidal wave of spending, endless spending, we’re dumping into what Oregon thinks is a “free” system. Or that’s the goal. It will just take a few hundred billion to get there — and another few hundred billion to keep up the illusion of “free.”
Oh, and doctors are looking to form a union. Because that always makes government expenditures go down, right? Yikes.
We talk with Lisa Lettenmaier, our go-to expert on insurance as well as the inner workings and financial health of the healthcare system.
Diagnosis: the patient is sick.
Oregon’s Healthcare Transformation
There’s a saying I’m sure you know: “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” Along those lines, “Those who do not learn from Oregon are doomed to repeat its mistakes.”
Oregon’s forest management polices often lead to more forest fires. Which is stupid because all we need to do is to do something. Like the most obvious: open the forests up and let timber companies harvest — especially in areas prone to fires. Plus the government makes money. Twice. They get a payment from the sales of timber and they get all those taxes from good-paying jobs and companies making profits.
But the government would rather not do that (logging sounds like hard work) so they would rather spend money on putting out forest fires than make money doing things that would prevent the problem.
Oregon is pretty much setting its health care system on fire. And, once again, it’s a problem they caused — and then they set it on fire.
Tune in to find out just how bad it all is. Yes, the state of Oregon’s healthcare system will make you sick.
The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version
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
Lisa Lettenmaier’s company is Health Source NW. You’re going to pay the same rates whether you buy directly or through Lisa, so why not get the expertise you need to find the plan you want?
Show 13-29 Summary: This week, we’re looking into Bidenomics and what’s happening in the wider economy, what’s supposedly real (allegedly booming) and what’s real (it’s not booming). We also take a look at the hand-in-glove relationship between Big Government and Big Business — as they partner to make each other stronger, bigger, and more powerful. Meanwhile, there’s small businesses and the taxpayer but government’s relationship with them is more hand-in-pocket. And, as one might expect, Oregon dropped two spots in the latest Rich States/Poor States ranking of state economies. We discuss why.
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.
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 22nd & 23rd, 2023 | Guest: Jonathan Williams
This Week – Bidenomics Killing Capitalism
It’s no secret that socialists hate real capitalism and the free market system because it means government is not in control. People are. And it makes the little guy wealthy and independent of government. And that’s the mortal enemy of socialism.
Enter Bidenomics. Which is the perfect (for socialism) answer to capitalism. Bidenomics marries Big Government with Big Business providing the socialist kill shot for capitalism.
Under Bidenomics, Big Business flourishes. Why? Because Big Government squeezes out Big Business’s competitors by using regulations to choke smaller companies’ profits while Big Business plays by different rules. In a regulation-heavy market, guess who wins? The ones who can afford the most lawyers and lobbyists.
Take a listen to this brief video mentioned during the show to see how Bidenism is causing a lurch toward monopolies in the banking sector. To squeeze out their smaller competitors. (The original tweet is from Dr. Peter St. Onge.)
Jonathan Williams of ALEC
We talk Bidenomics with Jonathan Williams, the Executive Vice President of Policy and Chief Economist for ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is the nation’s leading economic policy think tank, working directly with state legislators to pass free-market solutions to Big Government’s constant overreach.
Jonathan discusses what’s really happening with Bidenomics. No surprise, the Biden admin is on full spin mode trying to make people disbelieve the evidence of their own eyes. Inflation, high prices that keep getting higher, and more. But we’re told but the Bidenomics priesthood this is all a good thing.
And we talk about the corruption happening now in Washington, D.C., which Jonathan likes to call, the Land of Make Believe. Did anyone ever expect to see this much corruption and no one do anything about it? Not even pretend to be interested?
And what about that lurch away from capitalism to monopolism — where Big Government works hand-in-glove with Big Business to kill off their competitors.
Finally, we talk about ALEC’s latest Rich States, Poor States edition, which came out in April 2023. Oregon dropped a couple of spots. Which probably surprises no one who lives in Oregon. But find out why.
The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version
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
Visit Jonathan Williams’ terrific organization, American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC. And urge your state representatives and senators to get become part of ALEC.
Disney CEO Bob Iger in ‘damage control’ mode over possible sale of ABC, ESPN (NY Post, July 19, 2023)
Millions of U.S. Jobs Are at Risk From Climate Policy: Joe Trotter in Delaware Valley Journal – American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC, June 22, 2023)
Kotek doles out 22% raises, $1500 inflation bonus (Oregon Catalyst, July 19, 2023)*The end result is the latest agreement for these Oregon government employees which includes a 6 point 5 percent raise this December and another 6 point 5 percent raise in 13 months. Other employees will be getting between 13 and 22 percent raises. It also includes a one-time $15 hundred dollar bonus to handle inflation.
Not Mentioned but Related
Field Office, Defaults on $73.8 Million Loan (Willamette Week, July 17, 2023)*Field Office, a 2 hundred 90 thousand-square-foot office complex near the Willamette River, have defaulted on their $74 million dollar loan. It’s due to being unable to find enough tenants.
Oregon Doctors seek to form a union (Oregon Catalyst, July 17, 2023)*Doctors seek unions due to being pressured and negatively impacted as they’re forced to accept more patients. More and more doctors are being forced into consolidation and away from smaller, family care environments. Along with more rules and legal requirements. A result from heavy handed taxes, fees, red tape, and legal impositions imposed by governments.As Oregon hospitals lost nearly half billion dollars in just a half year.
Lebanon considers asking voters for new tax (Democrat Herald, July 17, 2023)*Lebanon elected officials are considering raising taxes to avoid depleting the city’s general fund by 2024 and operate at a deficit by 2026. The city was up against a $1 point 2 million dollar shortfall when its fiscal year started this July.
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?
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.
The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version
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
Donna’s organization is Education Freedom for Oregon. Visit their website for more information, to volunteer, to sign petitions, and to donate to help the cause. Be part of the change you want to see!
School Principal Quits Job to Home School Her 3 Kids On A 10-Acre Homestead: ‘I Wanted To Raise Thinkers’ (ZeroHedge, June 19, 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].”
