Show Summary: This week, it is all about the economy with Jonathan Williams from the American Legislative Exchange Council who is on to discuss some troubling economic indicators that the propaganda media won’t tell you about. Are we in the beginning stages of the transition to socialism…? Because this is what it would look like.
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Original Air Dates: June 11, 2022 | Guest: Jonathan Williams
This Week – It’s the Government, Stupid
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
That was the sign Bill Clinton had in the Oval Office. It was a reminder that what really mattered to people was a strong, growing economy, With jobs and opportunities, lower prices and a chance to live the American dream.
Now, with Biden residing in the office, it’s more like “It’s the government stupid.” Because instead of focusing on growing the economy, it’s all about growing government. At all cost.
But as with all government-run economies, we are quickly lurching toward a crash when the big government types will have a reckoning. Government-dominated economies never work.
You are living in the transition stages of a switch from capitalism to socialism. High food prices. High energy prices. Exploding inflation. High crime. And effort to remove guns from law-abiding citizens. This is what the entry to socialism looks like. And to see how it ends up, look at Venezuela.
Jonathan Williams: Troubling Economic Indicators
It’s always a pleasure to have our friend, Jonathan Williams, back on the show. Jonathan is the Chief Economist and Executive Vice President for Policy at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
This week, we walk through the attempted coup of our economy, troubling economic indicators that warn of impending slowdown and potential stagflation. These aren’t some distant economic indicators. These are deeply worrying economic indicators here and now. Like in the housing market.
And we talk about some of ALEC’s other programs. Like their Education Task Force. Which has helped other states enact school choice. Can Oregon get it on the ballot? And get a win? (We’ll have Marc Thielman on next week to discuss the latest ballot initiative for school choice.)
And we talk with him about Oregon’s Republican candidate for governor, Christine Drazan, and what she ought to be focusing on in her economic platform.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Biden Administration Expected to Reinstate Price Controls, Bringing Back 1970s Gas Lines, Experts Warn (Epoch Times June 6, 2022)
Germans warned of further food price hikes: Soaring energy costs threaten the survival of farmers, the industry says (RT, June 8, 2022)
Welcome to communism where you arrest your political opponents: “FBI Raids Home Of Michigan GOP Gubernatorial Candidate And Whitmer Challenger, Takes Him Into Custody” (Daily Wire, June 9, 2022)
Show Summary: 2022 will be all about fighting the woke. First up, we welcome first-time guest, Judge Vance Day, who is running for Position 3 on the Oregon Court of Appeals. If he wins, he’ll be the only Constitutionalist on the court. Then we bring back Scott Shepard, Director of the Free Enterprise Project. With Disney and so many other companies going woke, there is a lot to fight against. Including companies pledging to become Death Companies.
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Original Air Dates: May 7, 2022 | Guests: Judge Vance Day & Scott Shepard
This Week – Warriors Fighting the Woke
That kinda sounds like some zombie apocalypse. But, given that the woke don’t know the constitution, don’t know basic civics (or civility for that matter), don’t know economics, and are only driven by their mindless feelings, maybe it’s appropriate.
This is our final show before Oregon’s May 2022 primary. And this year, elections will be all about fighting the woke. Whether its abortion, free speech, religion, or even things like corporations in politics, it’s all about killing zombies. Er, fighting the woke.
Judge Vance Day: Fighting the Woke Before it was Woke
And when it comes to fighting the woke, Judge Vance Day was fighting the woke before the woke was even known as the woke. While serving as a Circuit Court Judge in Marion County, he recused himself from personally officiating at same-sex weddings, which he felt was against his religion.
This greatly angered the woke, as all must bow before whatever the woke is in favor of today.
So the horde (back then, they were just “progressives”) came after him. They tried, unsuccessfully, to drive him from the bench, cancel his law license, strip him of his possessions, ruin his reputation and even have him imprisoned.
Great people. Let’s totally give their side more power.
Tune in to hear Judge Vance Day’s take on what the Oregon Court of Appeals should be like and how he would handle a leak similar to what we saw this past week as an insider leaked the Roe v. Wade draft opinion.
Scott Shepard: Fighting the Woke Corporations
Let’s face it. The woke wouldn’t exist if they didn’t have access to billions of dollars. Of your taxpayer dollars (thanks to politicized issue-funding, like global warming). And billions of donations directly to woke organizations. Like BLM, Antifa, and any number of woke organizations and chapters.
Scott Shepard’s Free Enterprise Project has teamed up with other organizations to form the Boardroom Initiative. Spearheaded by former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi, who has said companies have “no business” being in politics.
“Corporations have no business being on the right or the left because they represent everybody there and their sole job is to build equity for their investors.” – Ed Rensi, former McDonald’s CEO
That is straight out of Milton Friedman who said essentially the same thing. The business of business is to create value (profits) for their shareholders.
Tune in to hear Scott’s battle with woke boards at major corporations. Disney is just the most-well-known example as the woke board just lost some 60 billion in shareholder value. Think there won’t be lawsuits…?
And in the wake of the leaked ruling that could overturn Roe v. Wade, that could see federal protections for abortion removed, some major corporations are already lining up to be Death Corporations.
Maybe zombies is the right term after all.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Vance Day, Candidate for Court of Appeals Position #3
A February 2022 OPB Poll Shows Strong Preference for Republicans and Conservatives
By Dr. Mark Anderson, MBA, DBA (ABD)
There was a poll by OPB back in February 2022 that was 𝘯𝘰𝘵 good for democrats. Especially so given that it was done by OPB and then sat on for over a month.
Here are the highlights.
In a generic ballot of Republican vs Democrat for governor, Republicans win 47% to 29% (with a very large undecided at 23%). That’s a win by nearly 20 points—well outside the margin of error. But, interestingly, when you add an Independent to the mix, Republicans still win — and more people move away from Dem to Independent: Republican = 26% (a 3% shift), Democrat = 16% (a 13% shift), and Independent = 21%. Still a large pool of undecided (37%) when deciding among three candidates but the support for a Democrat and Republican candidates drop across the board but far more from a Democrat candidate than a Republican one. Four times as much, in fact.
This is why Democrats are both furious at and fearful of Betsy Johnson, who is a Democrat but running as an “independent.” Betsy splits the vote and draws far more from the Democrat candidate than from the Republican and not enough to give either the Democrat or the “Independent” candidate a win. She virtually assures a Republican win.
But wait, it gets worse for Democrats
On social issues, the poll shows a very strong preference for a conservative: a 27% preference (very liberal/somewhat liberal, combined) for liberal vs nearly double support, 46% (very conservative/somewhat conservative, combined) for conservative. All those woke social issues Democrats have attempted to shove down the public’s throats is biting them in the backside.
Taxes and economy are always big issues and decisions points in every race. And there is even more support for conservative over liberal on economics, only 22% (very liberal/somewhat liberal, combined) for liberal, and a majority 51% for conservative (very conservative/somewhat conservative, combined).
Also, Oregonians appear to be done with the establishment and career (“experienced”) politicians. When asked if they prefer someone with experience in elected office vs an outsider, 47% preferred an outsider to only 27% preferring a politician with experience in office. That is a huge shift for Oregonian voters, which, like the rest of the West Coast, for decades has tended to prefer candidates with at least some elected experience. That bodes very well for candidates like Marc Thielman for Oregon Governor and Bridget Barton for Oregon.
Finally, it is exceptionally interesting that despite overwhelming Leftist media in Oregon, especially the Oregonian, Willamette Week, and OPB itself, people are seeing through the Leftist lies. When asked about the “seriousness” of right-wing extremism and left-wing extremism, more people saw left-wing extremism as very serious/somewhat serious, 69% (combined), vs right-wing extremism as very serious/somewhat serious, 56% (combined).
In all, this OPB poll is 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 good news for Republicans, conservatives, and outsider candidates.
Show Summary: This week, it’s citizen answering the call, every day people who got fed up with what was happening with our govt and stepped forward to do something. We talk with Dr. Dave Sullivan about his lawsuit against the State of Oregon for refusing to obey its own laws on the School Trust lands. And we talk with Dr. John Di Paola, who is running for Congress in Oregon’s 5th District. As a recently retired orthopedic surgeon, John had more than a bit to say about the government’s mismanagement of covid that endangered his patients.
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Original Air Dates: March 26th & 27th, 2022 | Guests: Dr. Dave Sullivan & Dr. John Di Paola
This Week – Citizens Answer the Call
Listeners of I Spy Radio are very knowledgeable about the Elliott Forest and the State of Oregon’s own attempts to sabotage the School Trust lands. And do everything possible not to obey their own laws. Recently, Oregon voted to effectively take the Elliott offline and remove it from production. And pay OSU to “study” the forest. Which means Oregon has moved it from an income production (an asset) to an expense (a liability).
That’s a violation of the law. The School Trust lands were to be held by the state, log them, and use the proceeds to pay into the School Trust.
We talk to first-time guest, Dr. Dave Sullivan, an emeritus professor, school of business, at Oregon State University. He has stepped up and is suing the State of Oregon for violating the law and their financial responsibility. To the schools. To the taxpayers. And to our school children.
“School trust lands were granted to states at the time of statehood for the sole purpose of generating revenue in perpetuity for public education.” – Oregon Advocates for School Trust Lands
Dr. John Di Paola – Fed Up with Congress
John Di Paola had a good, long career as a busy orthopedic surgeon. But never expected the complete mismanagement of covid by the government. As a recently retired orthopedic surgeon, John had more than a bit to say about the government’s covid mismanagement that endangered his patients.
Looking for more information about Dr. John Di Paola and his run for congress in Oregon’s CD5 Head to www.dipaolaforcongress.com
Oregon’s “educators” sexuality workshops, including “The Case for Porn Literacy”
After his planned retirement in July 2020, he finally had some time to start reading and looking around and the more he looked, the more horrified and angry he became. From what was happening in our schools, attacks on small businesses, the border — there was no end of problems.
We talk with John about what else convinced him to run. He shares with us his thoughts on the destruction of America’s education system, which has become an indoctrination center for every whim of the far left. And he talks with us about bringing back businesses to Oregon.
We’ll have to have John Di Poala back on before the election. We really feel we only just scratched the surface with him.
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Research, Links, & Further Information
Dr. Dave Sullivan’s website is Oregon Advocates for School Trust Lands, www.OASTL.org
Show Summary: Economics is always a strange business. But like so much else of American life, the Left is corrupting the economy and using it for their own means. Especially by involving the government. And now, with the Ukraine situation, we’re seeing private businesses waging a private war against Russia — when we’re not even at war with them. Combined with what happened in Canada, is this a foreshadowing of what will happen to our economic freedoms and liberties?
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Original Air Dates: March 5th & 6th, 2022 | Guest: Jonathan Williams
This Week
To quote Bill Clinton, “it’s all about the economy, stupid.”
We take a look at the state of the union speech, the competency of those in charge and their agendas, the economy, and also the economic policies that politicians can win on this year. Even here in Oregon. Plus, with the war in Ukraine, we’re seeing an entire new kind of warfare being waged. Economic warfare on a scale we haven’t seen in ages and in ways we’ve never seen. Private companies waging a private war against a country we’re not actually at war with. Combined with what we saw in Canada, what does this mean for our economic freedoms and liberties?
We talk with Chief Economist, Jonathan Williams, from ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) about what is going on. We talk about the SOTU speech, the competency of those in charge, and private companies blocking you when they don’t agree with your politics. And we’ll look at true economic policies to win on in 2022. Even right here in Oregon.
And don’t miss the discussion about what is happening, on economic terms, in the war between Russia and Ukraine. And what it means for our future economic liberties and freedom.
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Links Mentioned Research, & Additional Info
Jonathan Williams is the Chief Economist and Exec VP at American Legislative Exchange Council. Visit ALEC.org to find out more about what they do and how you can get their policies to your politicians.
Show Summary: Covid has exposed the rot in the system. It was always there but now people are waking up to it. This week, we look at the woke the Left didn’t want you to see. CRT in the classroom (yes, Virginia, it was there all along). Teacher’s union promotes “White fragility” and endorses racism. Plus corporate wokeness and a new congressional scandal so bad that even AOC gets it right.
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Original Air Dates: January 29th & 30th, 2022 | Guests: Kimberly Hermann & Justin Danhof
Exposing the Woke Rot
This week, we’re welcoming back two organizations out on the front lines of liberty, the Southeastern Legal Foundation and the Free Enterprise Project.
SLF recently discovered some documents the nation’s largest teachers’ union, the NEA (National Education Association) tried to hide from the public about what, exactly, they were supporting being taught in America’s classrooms. Now, why would they want to hide that? We talk with Kimberly Hermann about just what they discovered on the NEA’s website. And we talk with her about the continuing battles in the classroom. Including some legal remedies for parents who’ve been contacted by the FBI after they show up at board meetings.
See SLF’s Twitter thread about uncovering the documents the NEA tried to hide. Sickening this is being taught to your kids.
And the Free Enterprise Project continues its fight in the shareholders meetings of America’s wokest companies. How woke? Like Visa still sponsoring the Winter Olympics in China. Despite the fact the U.S. government has boycotted the games because of China’s genocide against its own people. We talk with Justin Danhoff about exposing and fighting the corporate wokeness and he has tools for others to get involved.
Plus, we talk about a new scandal in Congress that is so bad, it might just have you agreeing with AOC of all people. Insider trading. But did you know Congress passed a law to “stop” this, the STOCK Act? Except it doesn’t stop anything. Listen in and find out why.
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The backlash against COVID rules should be a lesson for Democrats and Republicans alike: America is still a land of freedom.
‘Catastrophic Moral Crime’: Bari Weiss Goes Viral After Perfectly Explaining Why Americans Are Fed Up With the Never-Ending Pandemic Mentality (Based Politics, Jan 22, 2022)
Kimberly Hermann Segments
Kimberly’s is the general counsel for Southeastern Legal Foundation: SLFliberty.org
NEA hid votes on ‘white fragility,’ Black Lives Matter, reparations amid new scrutiny (Just the News, Jan 11, 2022)
SE Legal Foundation’s Twitter thread on uncovering the documents (Twitter, Jan 10, 2022)
“In our last piece, we detailed successful litigation strategies for battling woke education using the Constitution and Civil Rights Acts. In this piece, we describe lesser-known strategies that can be equally as effective”
“ If a school district forces someone to agree with these statements [that colorblindness is a form of White supremacy], or shuts down disagreement, we step right into First Amendment territory.”
“… your kids have broad First Amendment protection both in and out of a classroom. If a school is going to force a student to say something they do not wish to say, or endorse a belief that they do not endorse, then that is compelled speech. It is unconstitutional.”
“In March of 2021, Mr. Pelosi made the omniscient move of exercising Microsoft call options valued at $1.95 million just two weeks before Microsoft was given a $22 billion contract with the U.S. Army.”
Show Summary: No ghosts but lots of gremlins as democrats try to sabotage the future of America’s economy. It’s no secret the democrats want to transform America’s economy into a socialist one. And their multi-trillion dollar spending bills will do it. So what’s really in the bill? If you think the problems with our supply chain are bad now, wait until the government runs it.
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Original Air Dates: October 30th & 31st, 2021 | Guests: Jonathan Williams & Jana Jarvis
This week: No ghosts but plenty of gremlins and goblins as our own government is looking to sabotage the future of America’s economy. To “transform it”, which is never a good thing. A look at what’s really in the bill — and a look at what it going on with our supply chain.
It’s the Economy Stupid?
Remember when Bill Clinton said that? Except from the democrats, now it’s let’s make the economy stupid. Then again, remember when Bill Clinton used to be seen as “liberal”? Now, he’s downright conservative in comparison.
Imagine AOC in charge of the economy.
And remember Obamacare, and the democrats “deeming it passed”? Yeah. You can look for that kind of trickery to get the multi-trillion-dollar bill through not to transform America’s health care but her economy. How’s that health care “transformation” gone for you? Health care cheaper for you? Or for America?
No. Of course not. But by the federal government seizing control of health care, democrats have been able to use it as a weapon. It’s what we warned you about: environmental policies is how they control business. Health care is how they control people.
Jonathan Williams of ALEC on the Economy
Jonathan Williams is the executive vice president of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC.org), which advises state legislature on how to improve their economies.
We talk about what’s really in the bill. AOC’s 1.5 million “climate corps” troops marshaling businesses down the new green path. A massive overturn of the economy that will weaken, not strengthen it. 87,000 new IRS agents unleashed to snoop through and spy on Americans. (Remember how Obama used the IRS to target his political enemies? Yeah. Now multiply that by 86,0000.
And perhaps worst of all, Janet Yellen’s hair-brained scheme to tax non-existent wealth. She wants to tax “unrealized capital gains.” In other words, tax money that hasn’t been made yet. That’s desperate.
And how long before they do away with “just taxing billionaires” and move on to “all those middle-class people are sitting on unrealized gains in the property values.
Problems in the Supply Chain
In case you haven’t noticed, there are a lot of areas of the country experiencing empty store shelves. How is it that just two years ago, when we had a much better economy under President Trump but we had no supply chain problems like we’re experiencing now? Could it be by design? This article from ZeroHedge alleges it may be. (And it sounds like it to us, too.)
Not to mention that Pete Buttigieg is out there sounding like he’s willing to let supply chain problems continue in an attempt to extort Congressional Republicans and reluctant democrats into voting for the massive spending bills. (See links below.)
So, what is going on with our supply chain? And, the big question: do we need to be worried?
To get to the bottom of that, we talk with Jana Jarvis, president of OTA, Oregon Trucking Associations (ORtrucking.com). She walks us through the problems at the port, what led to them, and some concerns for the near future.
It doesn’t help that there was already a shortage of truckers before the forced pandemic. Now, the Biden administration is targeting truckers and blue collar workers with forced vaccine mandates. The ATA warns that if Resident Biden continues along this path, the industry may lose up to 37% of its truckers.
Imagine for a moment if all the truckers walked off the job in areas where there are mandates. Imagine the impact of that. I mean, talk about a people’s revolution. Just park the trucks and say no more until you get rid of these mandates. ALL of them.
Is it time for a drive out? A national walk out by truckers? If any industry could force that kind of change, it’s the truckers.
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AOC, Democrats want to create ‘Civilian Corps’ to battle climate change (NY Post, May 5, 2021)
AOC: $10B Taxpayer-Funded Climate Change Corps Would Create 1.5M Jobs (Brietbart, May 7, 2021)
Really, AOC? Try to use math. That’s only $6,666 per “job.” What are they going to do, just send stimulus checks to democrats?
The real costs: 1.5 million activists × $40,000 per year (avg) = $60 billion. Every year. “Free” jobs for democrats. Who do you think they’ll donate to? Or campaign for? And that doesn’t even include healthcare or a lifetime of taxpayer funded pensions.
“The reality is the only way we’re going to get to a place where we work through this transition is if everyone in America and everyone around the world gets vaccinated,” [Deputy Treasury Secretary] Adeyemo admitted in an interview with ABC News.
THIS: Transportation Secretary Pete stated, “…The overall ‘Build Back Better’ vision is designed to reduce inflationary pressures. So if you care about inflation, you ought to care about not just the supply chain issues… but also the provisions in ‘Build Back Better’ like paid family leave, … making it easier to afford childcare, [or] community college, that are going to give us a stronger labor force and help us deal with that major constraint on economic growth.”*Sounds a lot like Blackmail to me.
Ports of LA, Long Beach to Fine Firms Over Container Backlog (Newsmax, Oct 25, 2021)*“In an effort to ease congestion at the nation’s busiest port complex, officials said Monday that they will start fining shipping companies whose cargo containers linger for too long at marine terminals.”
Horrifying: California In-N-Out Shut Down Permanently for Refusing to Check Customers’ Vaccination Status (Epoch Times, Oct 27, 2021)
Show Summary: Two state senators in Oregon call for a grand jury investigation into the willful misconduct by government officials by manipulating the covid data. It’s all about driving fear. Plus, a look at how we got here with Obamacare and Oregon’s own version, The Oregon Health Care Transformation.
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Original Air Dates: Sept 18 & 19, 2021 | Sen. Dennis Linthicum & Patti Milne
This Week: Call for Grand Jury Investigation
Last week, Senator Dennis Linthicum surprised us when he casually mentioned he was heading to a press conference to discuss his call for a grand jury into covid-19 malfeasance.
Wait. What now…?
So of course we needed to have him come right back to talk about this. Dr. Henry Ealy and Leah Wilson have both called for a grand jury investigation into public officials’ willful misconduct by manipulating — fear mongering — the data, which has driven the panic-demic.
How We Got Here
It’s been just over 11 years since the democrats forced Obamacare on the nation. Or “Deemed it passed” as Nancy said. Which led to the democrats seeing massive losses in 2010. And losing both the house and the senate.
A couple years later, Oregon went through its own “Healthcare Transformation”, which put Oregon’s own version of Obamacare into place, in case Obamacare was ever tossed out.
So we thought it would be a good idea to look back at how we got here. How did we move from a free-market system for health care to one that now seems to think it can order you to inject yourself with experimental vaccines?
We talk with former county commissioner, Patti Milne, who was in the thick og the battle as democrats pushed through Oregon’s grand scheme. Except here’s the thing: they had willing (duped) allies in their republican counterparts.
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Links Mentioned
Grand Jury Press Release & Info
The Press Release: Oregon Senators File Formal Grand Jury Petition Calling for Investigation into CDC’s Willful Misconduct to Hyperinflate COVID-19 Data Following Federal Law Violations (Stand for Health Freedom, Sept 16, 2021). Includes:
Uttar Pradesh, India Announces State is Covid-19 Free Proving the Effectiveness of “Deworming Drug” Ivermectin (Gateway Pundit, Sept 15, 2021)
The 33 districts in Uttar Pradesh, India have now become free from COVID-19 government informed on Friday. The recovery rate has increased up to 98.7% proving the effectiveness of Ivermectin as part of the “Uttar Pradesh Covid Control Model.”
The active caseload in Uttar Pradesh is down to 269, while the percentage of active cases against the total confirmed cases is 0 per cent. The active caseload, which was at a high of 310,783 in April, has reduced by over 99 per cent.
And this state is one of the five lowest Covid cases of all states in India. And it’s despite having only a low vaccination rate of 5.8% fully vaccinated compared to the USA that has 54% fully vaccinated.
The [Indian] government notification reads, “Doctors are advising to take ivermectin 12 mg to contain the impact of pandemic. This medicine is quite effective in protecting from covid-19. Therefore, we appeal each and every citizen to have this tablet.”
Idaho Doctor Sees 20-Fold Increase of Cancers
Idaho: U.S. doctor reports a ’20 times increase’ of cancer in vaccinated patients: ‘Post-vaccine, what we are seeing is a drop in your killer T-cells, in your CD8 cells’ (WND, Sept 15, 2021)
Dr. Cole said that vaccines seem to be triggering serious autoimmune issues, and described the situation as a “reverse HIV.”
“Cole explained that two types of cells are required for adequate immune system function: ‘Helper T-cells,’ also called ‘CD4 cells,’ and ‘killer T-cells,’ often known as ‘CD8 cells,'” the report said. “According to Cole, in patients with HIV, there is a massive suppression of ‘helper T-cells’ which cause immune system functions to plummet, and leave the patient susceptible to a variety of illnesses. Similarly, Cole describes, ‘post-vaccine, what we are seeing is a drop in your killer T-cells, in your CD8 cells,'” Those, he explained, “keep all other viruses in check.”
UK Hospitals Bribed to put Patients on Pathway to Death (2012)
Hospitals bribed to put patients on pathway to death: Cash incentive for NHS trusts that meet targets on Liverpool Care Pathway (UK Daily Mail, Oct 25, 2012)
Show Summary: Politics, not “science” drove Oregon’s shut down. And its reopening. As restaurants and lodging businesses struggle back in Oregon, there is a twisted road ahead through a minefield of politics. Worse, business’s usual ally, Republicans, aren’t up for the fight.
Yet.
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Original Air Dates: July 10, 2021 | Jason Brandt & Mike Nearman
We just finished celebrating Independence Day. But we’re not free from tyranny in Oregon. Not as long as there are big-government types who want to—and believe it is their right to—control every facet of your life. And businesses. All must be in line with the great gods of government.
While it’s nice of the Dear Leader to give us our God-given rights back, there’s the aftermath of all that destruction. And there is no light switch to just switch things back on again.
Oregon Restaurants and Lodging
That’s perhaps nowhere more true than in Oregon’s hospitality industry. Apart from churches, these were among the first to bear the brunt of Oregon’s abuse of power. Churches can (mostly) reopen and pick things up again. (Hopefully wiser and less trusting of Big Government.)
But that’s not true for small businesses that have now complicated supply chains. Or hiring part- and full-time workers. Or back rents and leases to pay. Not to mention paying taxes on the little money they did earn. Talk about rubbing salt in their wounds.
Jason Brandt on the Getting Back to Normal
Let’s be clear. There is no “normal” any more. Not when the governor of Oregon (or any other state) retains ultimate power that is unchallenged by a weak legislature. One held for decades by democrats who were all too happy to play along with the power grab. And be their own little dictator, shutting down access to the People’s House. So much for democracy, eh democrats?
But Jason Brandt is the President and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association. And despite the wreckage caused by the governor’s abuse of power, his job is to help his members try to pick up the pieces of their lives and businesses.
We talk with Jason about the complications and navigating the minefield in the road ahead. Faced with labor shortages and rehiring in the face of ongoing uncertainty, how do restaurants and hotels pick up and move forward. All that and more in the face of ongoing uncertainty.
Because here’s the thing. What happens if she just shuts it all down again?
Mike Nearman: Et tu Brute?
With the democrats power grab, you would think that republicans would stand up to it. But, sadly, this current crop of republicans did their best doormat impression. Sure, they talked. But did very little. And most of what they did do appeared to be cowering in the corner or make backroom deals for cash that bypassed the normal budget oversight.
Basically, they were the camp guards at the concentration camps. Hey. Don’t blame them for just doing their jobs, right?
Did they use the one power they had—walkout and deny quorum—to stop a single bill? No. But they did manage to negotiate a deal with democrats to get millions of taxpayer dollars for their districts in exchange for not stopping bills or even slowing them down. They also got a token “equal” seat at the table on redistricting.
Sure. Because the democrats actually gave up the final say on redistricting, right? Do these self-proclaimed “strategic thinkers” honestly believe they’ll have the final say on a sixth congressional seat?
The Current Crop of Republicans
Perhaps all one needs to see the level of thinking of the current crop of republicans is to see how they managed Representative Mike Nearman.
Let’s review. The democrats shut down the capitol building and protesters showed up, not liking it. They were locked out. And Oregon and Salem police surrounded the building — straight out of Cold War era Soviet Bloc.
Video captured Mike Nearman opening a side door, and walking out, which allowed protesters to enter the building. Democrats then acted horrified that protesters (compare Antifa’s and BLM’s 100+ days of violent rioting against the Federal Building in Portland) had entered their building. And so they demanded Mike be shot. Politically speaking.
And the republicans went along with it. The House resolution to expel Mike needed two-thirds. Which meant at least 3 republicans needed to vote with democrats.
Except they all did.
Political Fallout? In Oregon?
Rep Bill Post, claimed they had no choice. Imagine if the democrats had let Antifa into the building. What then.
Yeah, that’s good excuse making for voting like a democrat. They could have voted to sanction. They could have done all sorts of things. But expelling a sitting member over a misdemeanor in an acting “uniting” with democrats (who let slide misdemeanors and even sexual assault slide by with nary a whisper) was a stupid move.
The problem with politics in Oregon, or any state for that matter, is voters as a group have short memories.
It’s why bread and circuses have such power. Voters will forget that the democrat governor destroyed their businesses. Or their friends’ businesses. As long as voters get a few tidbits (that they’re paying for), they’re fine with status quo.
Will republicans who voted against Mike pay a price? It would be nice if they did. No incumbent is SO vital that they can’t or shouldn’t be replaced.
None.
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Links Mentioned
Jason Brant (Segments 1–3)
Find out more at Oregon Restaurants and Lodging Association (ORLA): OregonRLA.org
The June 26th news release, “Oregon Hospitality Freed from Restrictions No Later than June 30: There is no light switch. It will take years to build back what was lost.” (ORLA Blog, Jun 25, 2021)
“Simply put, are there tasks that technology can do (perhaps better than humans) that can be easily and inexpensively implemented? The answer is a resounding yes – with machine learning and artificial intelligence.”
“In the end, what I believe will come out of the pandemic is not necessarily higher wages, but a greater reliance on technology as an interface between management and staff as well as restaurants and their customers.”
Oregon restaurants push for fewer COVID-19 restrictions (KVDR, Jan 28, 2021)
Jason Brandt, the CEO of ORLA says the group is calling on the state to ease restrictions adding the science isn’t there to keep restaurants restricted to take out and delivery only.
“The vast majority of the states in our country have indoor dining open right now and they are finding ways to really manage the virus in a multifaceted way,” Brandt said.
He says the Oregon food service industry accounts for less than 1% of all workplace outbreaks in the state and 4.7% of Oregon’s overall outbreaks, but operations remain shut down.
The Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association Is Suing the State Over the Recent Dining Room Shutdown (Eater, November 20, 2020)
“Ousting Nearman via House Resolution 3 would require two-thirds support. Democrats hold a majority with 37 seats, meaning three Republicans would have to join them in voting in support of the resolution.”
One republican’s explanation for voting against fellow republican Mike Nearman (Facebook, June 10)
“How would you vote? What if a House Democrat had allowed Antifa into the Capitol? Would you vote to expel him or her? That is what we face. That is why we call for Mike to resign.”
Mike Nearman got the most votes from the PCPs who voted for his successor
SB 865: Prohibits person from simultaneously serving as holder of state office and as officer of state central committee of political party. Had it passed, recently elected to the ORP chair and treasurer, Senators Heard and Linthicum, would have had to step down.
Show Summary: It’s true economics isn’t the most exciting topic in the world — that is, until everything starts blowing up. Then you’ll wish you’d paid attention.
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This Week: Economics isn’t always exciting — unless things are blowing up. Or it’s a horse race.
We welcome back Jonathan Williams, Chief Economist and Executive Vice President of Policy of the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC has just released their 2021 Rich States, Poor States guide for 2021, an annual guide to the 50 states’ economic outlook. Talk about good, bad, and ugly. Look no further than how the states are competing with one another.
The Overall U.S. Economy & Economics
Before we narrow down to the states, we first look at the overall economy. This is a bit of a continuation of the last time Jonathan was on, when we talked about the democrats’ shift to what we call “non-reality economics.” The democrats’ plans are an explosion of taxes and spending sprees (what did we just say about exploding economics…?).
That discussion, was about the radical shift we’re seeing the democrats trying desperately to push on the U.S. Which, sadly, takes a hard left turn away from what has made America successful. It’s a fantasy land where debt has no meaning, money is infinite, and all we need to do is print money and borrow until every there’s a unicorn in every garage and a leprechaun in every pot.
But the problem democrats always run into is simple one. Reality. And there’s proof, thanks to the 50 test tubes of democracy that make up America.
Good Economies: How NOT to do it
Sometimes, to know what to do, it helps to know what not to do. And look no further than New York State, which had the worst response to covid and lost a congressional seat due to people fleeing the Empire State. And now new York will punish the people and businesses that for some reason haven’t left. Yet.
We talk with Jonathan about his terrific article in the National Review, “The Fallout from ‘Progressive’ Budgets in New York.” There has been a massive shift in who pays for things. Now, instead of New York being in debt to cover its debt, everyone else gets to go in debt to cover New York’s debts.
And that’s the direction we as a nation are headed. Where there is a fundamental shift in who pays for things: everyone is paying for everyone else. That’s socialism. Marxist ideology pushed onto America.
Socialism only survives as long as it is able to feed off the success of capitalism
– Mark Anderson
Rich States, Poor States
Why and how economies and economic policies work is sometimes beyond people’s wheelhouse. But everyone understands competition, right? Who’s best. Who’s worst. And who’s on the way up and who’s on the way down.
Courtesy Rich States, Poor States, 2021 Edition. (Click image for full size.)
That’s where Rich States, Poor States comes in. (You can download your own copy right here.) RSPS is a look back at the states’ economic performances over the last 10 years—of available data. This year, its’ a look at 2009–2019.
The backward-looking economic performance ranking examines how well states did. Oregon, from 2009–2019, really didn’t do too bad. This ranking looks at three variables: a state’s gross domestic product, their absolute domestic migration, and non-farm payroll.
Take a look at Oregon’s charts. And look at how well they’re correlated. As the state did better and better, culminating in 2015, people moved in (especially in 2016). Payrolls went up. And then, as Oregon’s GDP declined, there went the people. And payrolls dropped.
See? Economics isn’t too hard.
Oregon’s Economic Outlook
When it comes to Oregon’s economic outlook ranking, every year we’re like “please don’t embarrass us, please don’t embarrass us…” And then there we are. Near the bottom. Again. But it’s even worse this year.
You’ll have to tune in to hear just how bad. (Or, you could cheat and go right to Rich States Poor States to find out.) But here’s a hint. We beat even our idiot neighbor to the south in some categories. In fact, in the worst possible category. And we’re worse than New York State in some categories. You know, the one state we just mentioned. How not to run an economy.
Although at least the beat us to the bottom for the worst outlook. Hey. You gotta look for the positive right?
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.
Links Mentioned
Jonathan’s organization is American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Be sure to check their new and improved website which now features terrific, insightful articles and videos: www.alec.org
Rich States Poor States. You can download the latest (2021) edition, or explore previous ones.
“New Census Report: Americans Continue to Vote with Their Feet in Favor of Economic Opportunity” (ALEC, Apr 26, 2021)
Inflation is happening, despite what lies the Biden administration is spewing. See the Consumer Price Index charts.
Did You Know…?
The Fed has been pumping (printing) money into the economy. But something new happened in 2020. Now, they are buying corporate bonds. This is a direct investment into select corporations. Here’s a hint. It’s not mom-and-pop shops. It’s gigantic companies that don’t need the money, but the Fed is rewarding them anyway.
The Fed says it is going to start buying individual corporate bonds (CNBC, June 15, 2020)
Why is the Fed buying up mortgages? At $40 billion per month. Is this why the housing market keeps exploding? “Understanding the Federal Reserve Balance Sheet” (Investopedia, Mar 19, 2021)
Related Links
The Fed Should Get Out of the Mortgage Market: Even central bankers are starting to wonder why they’re adding $40 billion of housing debt every month. (Bloomberg Opinion, May 11, 2021)
“Why exactly is the Fed still increasing its holdings of mortgage-backed securities by $40 billion a month when Chair Jerome Powell himself has said that “the housing sector has more than fully recovered from the downturn”?* “The Fed has gobbled up almost $2 trillion of MBS since March 2020, which is more than its total aggregate purchases in any of its previous quantitative easing episodes.”
At an average home mortgage price of $250,000, the fed backs the mortgage on some 8 million homes. Yikes!
What Is An Agency MBS And How Does The Federal Reserve’s Purchase Of MBS Affect Mortgage Rates? (Quicken Loans, Feb 19, 2021)
“A mortgage-backed security (MBS) is a pool of home loans, often packaged by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae, sold on the open bond market to investors. The investors who buy the securities then receive the payback on a monthly basis when homeowners make their principal and interest payments.”
Difference Between Agency and Non-Agency Mortgage-Backed Securities (The Balance, Jul 15 2020) – “Agency” simply means an dept of the federal govt, or MBS that become backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S.
