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.
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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.
Original Air Dates: July 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.
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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.
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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.
Original Air Dates: July 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.
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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 13-28 Summary: This week, we’re checking in with Jennifer Hamaker of Oregon Natural Resource Industries, to hear what happened over at the Board of Forestry’s meeting in Sisters, back in early June. ONRI is focused on stopping the HCP, Oregon’s plan to abandon 53% of its state forests. But it’s more than just abandoning them. Oregon’s HCP would hand them over to an abusive kidnapper.
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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.
Original Air Dates: July 15, 2023 | Guest: Jennifer Hamaker
This Week – Fighting for Oregon’s Forests
We talk with Jennifer Hamaker of Oregon Natural Resource Industries, to hear what happened over at the Board of Forestry’s meeting in Sisters, back in early June. We interviewed her twice in the weeks leading to the BoF meeting (Show 13-19 and Show 13-20) as they worked to stop the HCP. But what happened?
They didn’t win the war but they did win the first battle. Winning outright would have meant the Board of Forestry rejected the onerous Habitat Conservation Plan on the spot. But that’s too much to expect from any bureaucracy. But. They did win a reprieve. And that first battle was a huge win! After ONRI showed up in force, the Department of Forestry pushed back the final decision by a minimum of two months — from September 2023 to November 2023.
Stopping the HCP: Oregon’s disastrous “Habitat Conservation Plan” would abandon over 53% of Oregon’s state forests for over 70 years and end millions of dollars currently generated from sales of timber on state lands.
But is there even more to all this?
We talk to Jennifer Hamaker, the president of ONRI to find out what could be happening behind the scenes and why else the BoF and DoF could be backing away. Because we know it’s not common sense.
Stopping the HCP
It turns out that stopping the HCP is more than just derailing Oregon abandoning the forests. For 70 years. Instead, there’s another element to all of this. Because the HCP doesn’t just abandon the forests. The HCP hands over the forests to a kidnapper.
What’s this, you ask? Yes. The HCP means not just abandoning forests. It hands control of them over the federal government.
We told you there was more to this than meets the eye. Don’t miss this highly insightful show!
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Find out more about Oregon Natural Resource Industries at ONRI.us. And please donate something to help them get the word out, hire an attorney and other critical expenses. Look under the “shop” tab or just go here.
Have you signed the petition to stop Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan? You can do that at OregonStrongerTogether.com. It literally takes less than 30 seconds to say “No!” to government overreach.
It’s back! The ugly, timber-industry-destroying, Al Gore Northwest Forest Plan is getting a revival. “USDA Forms New Forest Advisory Committee” (Northwest Observer, July 8, 2023)
The US has appointed a new panel for Northwest Forest Plan Advisory Committee (OPB, July 12, 2023)
Remember when NASA acknowledged climate change occurs because of changes in Earth’s solar orbit, not because of SUVs and fossil fuels? (Sign of the Times, Aug 30, 2019)
There Is No Climate Emergency, Say 500 Experts in Letter to the United Nations (AEI, Oct 1, 2019)
Milloy climate tweet sets Twitter abuzz; Even Musk admits he is no believer (Junk Science, Jan 2023)
13-25 Education & Capitulation | The One Thing Oregon Parents Have Right Now
Show 13-25 Summary: Conservative Oregonians once again are disappointed by the “republicans” in the senate. With victory assured and merely needing to coast down hill to kill off HB2002, the anti-parental-rights bill, they instead managed to steer into a ditch. Now, HB2002 is law. And the Oregon republican party is celebrating this as a victory? We interview Sen. Dennis Linthicum about what happened and why. But first, we speak with Donna Kreitzberg about education freedom for Oregon: school choice. Since we clearly cannot depend on elected officials to defend parents’ rights, school choice in Oregon is the one thing parents can grab hold of. It’s up to us now.
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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.
Original Air Dates: June 24th & 25th, 2023 | Guests: Donna Kreitzberg & Dennis Linthicum
This Week – Republican Capitulation
Two weeks ago, we interviewed republican Senator Dennis Linthicum. And it was exciting. Republican had won. Their walkout had worked. They had killed off HB2002, the democrats’ anti-parental-rights bill. The bill that would allow the state to indoctrinate kids with leftist propaganda, permanently mutilate children to fulfill the weird sex fantasies of the adults in their lives, and punish people who did not bow to their extremism. It was dead. All hail the republicans!
And it wasn’t just HB2002. Horrible gun bills. Ranked choice voting. The republicans had stopped hundreds of far left bills in their tracks. All they had to do was stay out of the building and the bills were dead. All of them.
But then, less than one week later, the republicans inexplicably gave it all back. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
What on Earth happened? We talk with Senator Linthicum again this week to try to make sense of the mess.
Also This Week: Parents Rights and School Choice
Republicans claim to be for parents’ rights. They claim they want to stop radical far-left woke ideology, especially in schools. But we just witnessed them capitulate on HB2002, which puts the state between parents and their own children. So if republicans can’t be trusted to stand up for the values they claim to hold, what then?
Click for full-size. Note: some rows totals are off due to some studies have multiple findings.
Thankfully, there is a solution for parental rights when it comes to their child’s education. School choice. And because politicians of both parties can’t be trusted to put parents’ rights over the state, the ballot initiatives for school choice in Oregon goes around the politicians. The school choice initiatives will put school choice and the funding for it directly in Oregon’s constitution. No politicians needed. And politicians won’t be able to easily undo it if there is a change in political control.
Actual rights. No politician needed.
Check out this huge list where they are gathering signatures!
We welcome back Donna Kreitzberg to discuss how things are going, and some of the big events they will be at this summer. To qualify for the ballot, the deadline to turn in the signatures is July 5, 2024. Tune in to hear how you can help.
And did you know there are three main “cases” for school choice? The liberal, the libertarian, and the conservative? We most often hear about the first two. But it’s actually the conservative argument for school choice that experts have found to be the most persuasive. Why? Because it focuses on parents’ rights.
Imagine that.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
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].”
13-24 What a Former Communist Activist Can Teach the Right about Winning
Show 13-24 Summary: At a time when Oregon Republican senators had the win locked up, but chose defeat instead, maybe a former communist can teach them something about winning. Farehlee Nelson, a former activist for Earth First and a lobbyist for such organizations as Greenpeace, joins us this week to tell us about her conversion story and her efforts to unify conservatives in Oregon.
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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 17th & 18th, 2023 | Guest: Farehlee Nilsson
This Week – A Former Communist Defects to the Right
Here on I Spy Radio, we’ve interviewed many people who’ve made studying and researching and dissecting and exposing the Far Left their life’s mission. Ron Arnold, Trevor Loudon, JoAnne Nova, Ron Rychlak and Lt. Gen. Ian Pacepa, and too many others to list. But it’s rare that we get to talk directly to a former communist. Who now wants to expose the Left. And teach the Right how to use some of the same successful tactics to win.
Win. In Oregon? Yes, it’s possible. Tune in to hear her journey getting deep into the Left. And her conversion story that woke her up to what the Left was all about.
We’ll have Farehlee back as soon as we can after the Fourth of July. We’ll dig even deeper into tactics and operations. And one thing we’d definitely like to know about: infiltrating your enemy.
Because something is seriously wrong with Oregon’s elected “Republicans.”
Oregon Republican Senate Walkout Update
After last week’s show with Senator Dennis Linthicum, things were looking great to stop HB2002. Not to mention stopping a bunch of other terrible bills Oregon’s democrats were ready to shove through with their slim margins.
All Republicans in the Senate had to do was continue to deny quorum and the bills were dead. Just hang on for another couple of weeks.
But then out the blue, Senate Minority Leader, Tim Knopp, gave in. Strike the colors and raise the white flag. He and at least two other republicans gave the democrats the bodies they needed for quorum.
What happened?
Don’t miss next week. We’ll talk with Sen. Dennis Linthicum to find out what happened.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Farehlee Nilsson’s organization is Unify Oregon – but the website is not yet available. Even so, you can visit UnifyOregon.net and bookmark it to visit it later.
Show 13-23 Summary: Unsurprisingly, the Oregon democrats and their media have been spinning a lot of lies about the Republican Senators walkout. They’re saying Republicans are refusing to come to work. A dereliction of duty. A vacation on the taxpayers’ dime. Weird. What do democrats call not showing up for work when public unions do it? Could it be a “strike”? But the democrats are also lying about why the republican senators walked out. HB2002. The democrats are claiming this is an important, emergency abortion rights bill, given the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. But they’re lying about that too. HB2002 is perhaps the most extreme, Far Left bill ever passed in Oregon. Tune in and keep reading to find out why.
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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.
Original Air Dates: June 10th & 11th, 2023 | Guest: Senator Dennis Linthicum
This Week – The Truth about Oregon Senate Republicans’ Walkout
Oregon Republican Senators walked out of the legislature in early May 2023. Doing so denied the democrats the needed legislative quorum to pass any bills at all. The reason is simple. The democrats, who lost seats in both the Oregon house and the Oregon senate but still act like they have a super majority, refused to compromise the extreme far left bill, HB 2002. (Sometimes also called HB2002B.) And while HB 2002 alone would have been enough to make any sane person walk out it wasn’t just HB2002. It was also to stop other far-left bills such as HB2005, an anti-Second-Amendment gun grab bill. And bills that would steal Oregonians’ kicker refund. Not just this year but forever.
But make no mistake. The real reason the Republican senators walked out was to stop HB2002.
The Reason for the Walkout: HB2002
HB2002 is perhaps the most extreme far-left ideology bill of all times to come out of Oregon.
Long-time listeners of I Spy Radio already know that under Oregon’s “healthcare transformation,” much of what HB2002 proposes is already in place. Thanks to Oregon’s Healthcare Authority (there’s that Nazi-esque name again), underage girls can already get abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent. Why and how? Because the OHA changed the insurance rules covering children from FERPA to HIPPA.
Remember when you couldn’t get aspirin from the school nurse without your parents’ consent? That’s because the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (or FERPA), acknowledged that parents have the ultimate say about their child’s health. And the raising of them. But the OHA changed the guidelines from FERPA to HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). You might know about HIPPA. Because that’s the health care privacy that guides adult insurance policies.
In other words, the OHA now treats all children as if they are adults. Allowing them to make adult decisions about their own healthcare, including mental health. And parents have no rights to know or to “interfere”. The only right parents have is the right to pay for whatever their child wants.
What Oregon democrats want to do with HB2002 is to codify this extreme, anti-parent, far-left ideology into law. Why? Because laws are much harder to undo.
And let’s not forget. The democrats nearly lost the governor’s office in 2022. This is why the democrats are so willing to sell everything to try to get HB2002 through.
So what’s in HB 2002? Read on.
The Truth about Oregon’s HB2002
The Oregon democrats are desperate to confuse people about HB2002 and what it does. What they say it does is guarantee abortion rights and access. It’s an emergency! Women have to have access now that the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Well. To use one of Biden’s favorite terms, that’s malarkey.
Women already have access to abortion in Oregon. Hell. Women and children can come here from other states and get abortions. For free if they claim they can’t afford it. Those are already in Oregon law. And absolutely nothing about Dobbs or the overturning of Roe v. Wade changed any of that.
If that’s the case, why are the democrats claiming that’s all there is about HB2002 as if guaranteeing “access” to abortion is the sole and only purpose of HB2002. Well, probably they don’t want people to know what’s really in the bill.
What’s in HB2002
So here’s what’s really in the bill. HB2002 would…
Lower the age girls could get an abortion without parental consent to, effectively, zero. Girls can already do this as young as 10. HB2002 makes it age 8 but technically could be lower.
Allow children from other states to come here and get abortions. Yes, HB2002 is a great boon for human trafficking. If girls as young 12 or 10 or 8 are getting pregnant a crime has occurred. HB2002 hides the evidence from police and from parents.
Allow children to get life-altering puberty blockers. without parental knowledge or consent.
It would allow children to get permanent “gender affirming” surgeries. On their own. Without parental consent or knowledge.
Allow teachers to indoctrinate children about gay, lesbian, transgender, and all the rest. Without parental knowledge or consent.
Punish those who oppose any of the above far-left ideologies.
If health care providers refuse or attempt to refuse to provide mental health care that affirms a child’s confusion, they can lose their license.
Health care providers who refuse to perform permanent, irreversible surgeries on children, they can be fined and/or lose their license.
If you interfere with the operation of an abortion clinic, you can be fined or jailed. “Interfere” is open for interpretation. Does that include simple protesting outside a clinic? Or posting critical social media posts about abortion or clinics?
What you can do about HB2002
Speak up! Don’t be silent!
HB2002 has already been voted out of Oregon House but there’s no reason to not contact your representative and let them know what you think about this horrendous bill. Perhaps they didn’t know the details about it. (How many times have we seen politicians vote for bills they didn’t reads personally and merely did what their caucus told them do?) Let them know what you think by using the link below.
Contact your senator right now using the link below to let them know you oppose this bill. Ask them why they want to take away parental rights. Ask them why are they helping child traffickers. And ask them why do they think children should have adult rights.
Ask your democrat senator if they realize removing parental rights to raise their own children was exactly what the Nazis did. Are they trying to be Nazis? Seriously?
Tell your republican senator how much you appreciate their bravery and that you support their walkout.
How to do all that? Easy! Just go to this Oregon legislative map, enter your address, and there you go. The link will conveniently give you their contact info, including phone numbers and emails. Start writing, stop being silent. This only stops when enough people raise their voices.
When contacting your representative and senator, remember: be firm. But be polite.
The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version
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Dennis Linthicum Newsletter: Irreversible Harm (May 29, 2023)
From Senator Bonham: Protesting the Unconstitutional Actions of the Majority Party (May 9, 2023)
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hasn’t convinced Republicans to return to Salem as walkout continues (OPB, May 23, 2023)
“ Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, pledged his members would return on June 25 — the day the session is scheduled to adjourn under constitutional deadlines — in order to pass ‘lawful, substantially bipartisan budgets and bills’.”
Cutting Early Kicker Checks part of negotiations with Boycott Republican Senators (KATU, May 30, 2023)
“…the May revenue forecast predicted the 2024 kicker rebate would grow to a record $5 point 5 billion dollars. But some [democrat] lawmakers want to ask voters to end the annual taxpayer payout.”
Boycotting Oregon senators believe loophole will allow them to win another term (OPB, May 30, 2023)
Show 13-21 Summary: This week, we speak with Pastor Richard Peil out of Bend, Oregon. Pastor Peil is trying to wake up Christians to what is happening in politics and to motivate churches and Christians to get involved and stop hiding from society. America not only has a moral vacuum problem, the Left is filling that vacuum with secular state morals. As in dictated by the state. Some, like Oregon’s HB2002, mandating your beliefs are not allowed if it interferes with political ideology. It’s time to activate the church. But why do some pastors keep their churches silent? Even advocating they stay out of politics. Is that really what the Bible teaches?
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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.
Original Air Dates: May 27, 2023 | Guest: Pastor Richard Peil
This Week – Activate the Church
Throughout history, when society loses its moral compass, the Church has stepped into the fray. From early Christians displacing Rome’s debauchery to Colonial times when Christian revivals paved the way to America’s founding. Christians and the Church have led the way on morals and societal ethics. So where is the Church now when America is under siege? Why so silent? Are Christians, and pastors, really going to sit out this fight for America’s soul? As the political Left assaults our children with every kind of immorality? Really?
It’s time to activate the church. And that means more than just prayer.
Where is the Church When America Needs Her?
This week, we talk with Pastor Richard Peil who leads the Victory Baptist Church in Bend. He came to our attention when he and two dozen other pastors spoke out against Oregon’s horrid HB2002 bill on the steps of the capitol. HB2002 would codify what is already being done via administrative rules dating back to Kitzhaber’s “Health Care Transformation.”
Yes. While people are shocked that HB2002 will allow girls as young as 8 to get abortions without parental knowledge or consent, long-time listeners of I Spy Radio know that has been going on for years. Kitzhaber’s Oregon Health Authority changed insurance and required disclosure from FERPA to HIPPA. Under FERPA, parents had to be told everything that was done to their child. (Remember when you were in school and you couldn’t even get an aspirin without your parents being consulted? That’s why.) But under HIPPA, state agencies and schools treat kids like they’re adults. Parents not only don’t have to be consulted. They have no right to know.
What is new is HB2002 wants to not only codify that into actual law — not just and administrative rule — Oregon democrats in the legislature want to be able to fine anyone who doesn’t agree with their ideologies and “morals.” Do democrats really think cutting parents out from a parent-child relationship is the right thing to do? The moral thing to do?
Apparently so. Like we said. Now is the time to activate the church!
Romans 13
Pastor Piel got politically activated when Oregon’s authoritarians and wannabe dictators tipped their hand during covid. As a pastor, he saw first hand what the state wanted to do. And how they felt they had all the rights and churches had none. Despite the First Amendment. He watched as pastors at some churches willingly obeyed the government without question. And now, some of those churches have closed permanently. That’s why he’s working hard now with other pastors to activate the church and get them involved. Before it’s too late.
But that experience led him to dive deeper into the Bible. Especially on the proper roles between the church and government. Some Christians and even pastors believe the church should submit to the government. And they cite Romans 13 as the source for that argument. But what does “be subject to” really mean?
Marxism in the Church? Yes!
Pastor Peil also spent 10 years in the Navy, working for naval intelligence, back during the Cold War. His job was to intercept and monitor Soviet communications. And he got to see up close and first hand the threats communism and Marxism pose to America. Little did he know that experience would prepare him for the ministry. Or the current fight.
Why? Because he’s seen the influence of Marxists infiltrating churches and seminaries to destroy — or at least disable — the church from within. Because if they can hamstring the church, and replace Godly morality with secular immorality, America won’t be able to stand. The Founders knew that the Church was necessary for society. The government didn’t, and shouldn’t, set the moral tones of society. They always saw that as the church’s role.
And that’s why we need to activate the church. America needs its faith warriors.
Attention Christians! America needs you to get involved in politics. Now more than ever.
Things Christians can Do — Right Now
As mentioned during the show, here are three things you can do right now:
Sign the petition to stop Oregon Department of Forestry’s disastrous plan to abandon forests for 70 years. It takes 30 seconds to do. Go to OregonStrongerTogether.com and sign! Why? It will take state forests offline from timber harvests, removing 10s of millions of dollars every year from beneficiaries that depend on those timber harvests. Where will the state make up that money? More taxes, more fees. And don’ think the Leftist democrats aren’t eyeing ways to tax churches.
Download and sign the petition to get the school choice initiatives on the 2024 ballot. Give parents the option to take their child out of woke, anti-Christian, anti-American schools. Woke teachers can’t indoctrinate kids who aren’t there. Head to EducationFreedomforOregon.com. Note that because these are ballot initiatives, digital signatures are not allowed, and the petition sheet must be printed and mailed back. Hundreds of thousands of signatures are needed. You can even be a signature gatherer! See website for details.
Contact your state representative and senator and tell them NO on HB2002. Don’t know who they are or need their contact info? That’s easy. Just go to this Oregon map, enter your address, and there you go. Start writing, stop being silent.
BONUS “to-do”: donate to both of those organizations! They are both raising funds for an advertising campaign. $25 or $50 or more will help them buy an ad, which in turn will be seen or heard by 1,000s of people!
Don’t wait. Act right now.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Pastor Peil’s church is Victory Baptist in Bend, Oregon. Their website is VictoryforYou.church. (Live services are streamed if you don’t have a home church.)
Get involved! Don’t be silent! It’s easier than ever now to let your voice be heard on bad — and the occasionally good — legislation. Head to olis.oregonlegislature.gov, type the bill number into the search bar (upper right), and you can send in your testimony.
Show 13-20 Summary: This week, we welcome back Jennifer Hamaker from ONRI to continue our discussion about Oregon’s latest plan to lose money. Because Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan will do both. Over 640K acres will be impacted. A loss of millions and millions to schools, emergency services, and so many other agencies that depend on those timber sales. And how are they going to replace those lost funds? Some schools have already said they will have to shut down. And of course, unmanaged forest lead to forest fires, so there goes all that potential revenue. Literally up in smoke.
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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 20th & 21st, 2023 | Guest: Jennifer Hamaker
This Week – Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan, Pt 2
We welcome back Jennifer Hamaker, the president of Oregon Natural Resources Industries (ONRI), to continue our discussion about Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan. Or HCP.
Last week, we learned the basics about Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan. Or should we say, Oregon’s Disastrous Habitat Conservation Plan. because it’s not going to do what they think it will. Probably because most environmentalists are angrily typing away about the forests. From downtown Portland’s coffee shops. What do they know about Oregon’s state forests? Well. They’re read a lot, one supposes. But have they worked there? Have they worked at mills? And we don’t mean the coffee kind.
It Grows Back, Stupid
Oregon’s School Trust Fund was set up when Oregon became a state. It would provide an ongoing source of funds for schools when the state sold timber harvested from state lands. But now, elected and non-elected democrats and environmentalists and activists want to end that. They’d love to wean the state off this fully renewable, fully sustainable perpetual income. Yes, democrats. The trees grow back. But why earn money when you can just tax them for it?
Jennifer walks us through what Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan will do to the forests. And the state’s School Trust Fund. There are over 200 public beneficiaries who get millions from this fund. Schools and police and fire and other services. All of that money is about to disappear. If this HCP goes through.
So, how do they plan on replacing those funds? Just where are they planning to get new funds from?
One guess: taxes.
Plan of Action to Stop ODF’s HCP
So how do the sane people of Oregon stop Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan? By speaking up. By letting the Oregon Department of Forestry know what you think of their plan.
And that’s easy! Head to www.OregonStrongerTogether.com and sign the petition. It literally takes 30 seconds to do. At the top of the page, you’ll see “HCP Petition” go there. Fill out the simple form with your name and address. That’s it. Done.
ONRI is looking for more people to head to Sisters, Oregon, on June 7th to be there, in person, at ODF’s public meeting about their HCP. Pack the room. For more details, head to ONRI.us. Please note that at this time, the ODF is keeping the exact time and meeting place a secret. That’s why you should head to ONRI’s webpage and sign up for alerts. Just scroll down the page and look for the big “subscribe” button.
Finally, and definitely not least, please donate to ONRI to help alert people to what is happening. ONRI is trying hard to get the word out but needs donations to buy ads on radio, tv, and digital spaces. Whether $25, $50, or more will help them buy an ad or two. Some websites looking for support say, “buy me a coffee.” Think of this as buying them an ad.
And what’s really cool is the ad you help them buy can be heard by 1,000s of people. So help them out! Head to ONRI’s website. The donate button is under the store tab. Or you can click here and jump to it.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Mentioned During the Show
Jennifer is the president of ONRI. And please help them spread the word with a donation (look for the link under the “shop” tab).
ONRI’s Facebook post on the current beneficiaries that will lose funding if the HCP is adopted.
Woman choked and raped by ex-boyfriend after dispatcher informs her there are no cops to help – and instead tells her to ask attacker to leave (UK Daily Mail May 23, 2013)
Cash-strapped law enforcement agencies in Oregon stop answering calls, sending officers: ‘If he … assaults you, can you ask him to go away?’ (NY Daily News, May 23, 2013)
This. “The Trump Administration’s position on State and local government approval prior to federal land acquisition … has now been eliminated by Biden [through an executive order]. That Order claims that allowing local governments to have a voice in land acquisition directly impacting their counties “undermined” the program.” Wow.
Will “Fly-Over Country” Have a Voice to Protect Private Property Rights under Endangered Species Act (Karen Budd-Falen, Apr 5, 2021)
“This agreement is likely the first step at trying to eliminate regulations that give State governments, local governments, and Indian Tribes a greater voice in designation of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act… These 2020 regulations require[d] the Fish and Wildlife Service to substantively consider ‘economic, national security and other relevant impacts’ of the designation of critical habitat on private property and federal lands.”
13-19 The Left Ruins Everything | How DEI and HCP kill what they claim to help
Show 13-19 Summary: This week, it’s two examples of woke ideologies destroying what their proponents claim to be trying to help. The Left’s destructive helpful policies. But do they really care about results? And is there a perverse incentive to fail? We talk DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) and its impact on corporations and organizations. Especially the military and how DEI is sabotaging things there — and on more levels than just military readiness. Then we talk about the Oregon Department of Forestry’s HCP (habitat conservation plan) that it schemed up. It’s a disastrous plan for Oregon’s forests that definitely will not save them and will lead to huge economic losses. Not to mention catastrophic forest fires. This must be the Left’s George Bush-ism. “We must kill the forests to save the forests…”
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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 13th & 14th, 2023 | Guests: Christian Watson & Jennifer Hamaker
This Week – The Left’s destructive helpful policies
King Midas had the “golden touch.” The Left has “the death touch.” Killing everything it touches. Especially things it claims it is trying to help. Look what they’ve done with race relations. Look what they’ve done with women’s equality. Or any number of programs that do far more actual harm than actual good.
To talk about the Left’s destructive helpful policies, we welcome first-time guest, Christian Watson. He is the national spokesman for Color Us United, a non-profit whose mission is a color-blind America. One of the more recent attempts to “help” minorities and other woke demographics is DEI. Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Christian walks us through what it’s supposed to do. But also what it really does. And it’s not pretty.
One of the worst impacts of DEI is the impact it’s having on the military. And military readiness. Not to mention the impact it’s having on racial minorities. You know. The people DEI is supposed to help. Tune in to hear why this is boomeranging on Left. They’re like Wile E. Coyote that way.
ONRI Fights HCP
There’s no end of acronyms this week. DEI. ESG. ODF. HCP. And ONRI. Oregon Natural Resource Industries, an organization dedicated to activate and support the grassroots within the natural resource industries. We welcome another first-time guest, Jennifer Hamaker, the president of ONRI, to talk about this scheme from leftists within the ODF. And nowhere is the Left’s destructive helpful policies more on display than their environmental policies.
Like, “let’s lock up the forests and stop harvesting trees!” And then the forests burn down because there’s been no management. Oh, but it’s Global Warming! Really? If Global Warming is making everything drier, then you should be doing more forest management not less. And the latest of the Left’s destructive helpful policies is a HCP that Oregon’s Department of Forestry schemed up. An HCP. A “habitat conservation plan” that will do far, far more damage than good.
Oregon’s Habitat Conservation Plan
Make no mistake. This is a disastrous plan. On every level. Economically, environmentally, and logically. The Oregon Department of Forestry’s HCP (habitat conservation plan) will take Oregon’s state forests offline for 70 years. It will impact 634,000 acres. And by not logging, it will strip millions and millions of dollars from entities that currently receive shares from Oregon’s timber harvests.
You can help stop this! SIGN the petition opposing the HCP here: OregonStrongerTogether.com. It only takes a few seconds to do. Don’t be silent!
Help ONRI fight the ODF’s HCP! They need help to raise funds for a media campaign to expose this disastrous plan for Oregon’s state forests. Visit ONRI.us and look under the “Shop” button to donate (or just jump to it right now). Any amount helps!
Be sure to join us next week as we continue our discussion about this disastrous HCP. Next week, we’ll dig into the details. Especially the personal impacts this will have across Oregon.
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Christian Watson Segments
Christian is the spokesman for Color Us United, an organization dedicated to a color-blind America. We are all for that.
Jennifer is the president of ONRI. Visit ONRI.us to learn more about what they do. And please help them spread the word with a donation (look for the link under the “shop” tab).
ONRI’s Facebook post on the current beneficiaries that will lose funding if the HCP is adopted.
Related Info on the Left’s destructive helpful policies
Christian Watson from “Color Us United,” a group whose mission is a color-blind America (Michelle Tafoya via YouTube, Nov 8, 2022)
Excellent article: “The wind and solar power myth has finally been exposed: The necessary miracle doesn’t exist” (UK Telegraph, May 10, 2023)
Solar and wind “plans have a single, fatal flaw. They are reliant on the pipe-dream that there is some affordable way to store surplus electricity at scale.”
“Wind farms cost about $1.5 million per MW. So the cost of battery storage would be astronomical: 80 times greater than the cost of the wind farm! A major additional constraint would be that such quantities of batteries are simply not available. Not enough lithium and cobalt and other rare minerals are being mined at the moment.”
13-17 What are Oregon Democrats Up to Now? | Legislative Lowlights
Show 13-17 Summary: Oregon democrats continue to find new ways to emulate Nazis. You, your children, and certainly your money belong to the state. Democracy dies when democrats are in charge. It’s our monthly legislative update with Sen. Dennis Linthicum — hitting all the highlights and lowlights. Okay. There really aren’t any highlights. And the democrats STILL want to rob Oregon families of an average $5,200 kicker refund because they’ve discovered new ways to spend.
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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: April 29, 2023 | Guest: Sen. Dennis Linthicum
This Week – Oregon Democrats: Killing Democracy
Have you noticed that when democrats get in charge of something, the first thing they do is want to kill democracy?
But it didn’t always used to be this way. Democrats used to be about individual rights, civil rights, free speech, and so much more. Even Robert F. Kennedy recently pointed this out. Modern-day democrats have destroyed what the party used to be for.
Now, put them in charge, and their inner Nazi suddenly comes out. Democracy is about all voices. But democrats want to eliminate opposition. (Like the FBI going after Trump before, during, and after his presidency.) And not just politicians. Even every day citizens who don’t fall in line. (Like all those parents targeted by the FBI for daring to stand up to woke.)
The democrats hate being called Nazis. That’s their term for everyone else. But they hate it because it’s so blazingly true. That’s what they hate.
Monthly Legislative Update with Sen. Dennis Linthicum
This week, we talk with Senator Dennis Linthicum about the latest from the legislature. It’s not pretty. Not least of which because Oregon democrats, like Senator Dembrow, are steamed that things like democracy are happening. He’s ticked that republicans are slowing down the 1000s of bills democrats want to ram through. Dembrow hates that republicans have any say at all, apparently.
We talk parents rights. (Oregon democrats want to take them away.) And taxes—democrats can’t get enough of them. The business climate in Oregon. (Oregon democrats are trying to drive businesses out, apparently.) And we talk about that kicker refund. (Democrats want to spend it.)
There’s a business poll that came out recently and we get Sen. Linthicum’s take on it. It is not pretty. The thing is, Oregon democrats seem to not understand even basic economics. But why do you need economics if the government can just take everything, control the means of production, ensure only party loyalists are in business, and then tell people what they can and can’t buy.
You know. Just like the Nazis.
Oregon Democrats: Stealing your Kicker Refund
Oh, and that kicker? It’s not chump change. It kicks in whenever the state rakes in more than 2% above what they had budgeted. This year, it was 4% more. And the way it works is that it’s not based on what you paid. Instead, the giant pie (some $2 billion this year) is divided evenly among Oregon taxpayers. And this year, that’s about $5,200 per family.
But Oregon democrats have come up with new things they just have to buy. With your money. So watch for them to delay handing it back right up until the budget needs to pass. By law, the budget must be balanced. (Thank God Oregon democrats can’t just print money!) And legislators must balance it before the legislature can adjourn. So watch for Oregon democrats to try to strong arm republicans to spend all or some of the kicker to make up the difference or they can’t adjourn and go home.
Don’t miss this week’s show. Lots to discuss. Including Oregon democrats gleefully opening the door to Oregon becoming a “deathstination.” Happily willing to provide abortions and euthanasia for people from other states where killing isn’t allowed.
Get involved! Don’t be silent! It’s easier than ever now to let your voice be heard on bad — and the occasionally good — legislation. Head to olis.oregonlegislature.gov, type the bill number into the search bar (upper right), and you can send in your testimony.
The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version
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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info
Critics shred Biden for claiming ‘our nation’s children are all our children’: ‘Absolutely wrong’: Biden’s claim echoed Hillary Clinton’s ‘It Takes a Village’ (Fox News, Apr 24, 2023)
Legislature logjam as guns, abortion, rent control bills percolating (Bulletin, Apr 24, 2023)
Amid uncertainty in leadership, some PCC faculty are worried the nursing program could close (OPB, Apr 23, 2023)
HB 2002B – seeks to codify government-sanctioned secrecy between parent and child by providing abortions and “gender affirming” interference for children. Without a parent’s knowledge. Compliments of the Oregon democrats. (Note: Senators like Kim Thatcher, writing in her newsletter, aren’t quite correct on this. That level of secrecy already exists in Oregon statutes thanks to HB3650, which ushered in the grand, “Oregon Healthcare Transformation.” Which she and a bunch of other republicans voted for.)
41% of respondents say they’re considering closing, selling or moving their businesses because of taxes, Oregon’s regulatory environment or a combination of the two.
Only 18% of respondents believe that state lawmakers care about the success of their businesses.
Only 7% (wow!!) of respondents believe the state’s business climate will improve in the coming year.
