Oregon Archives - Page 11 of 12 - The I Spy Radio Show

50 Test Tubes of Competition and Democracy

By Dr Mark | January 30, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Air Dates: January 30 & 31, 2015 | Jonathan Williams (ALEC)

Click the mic to download the show! (Shows are available by Mondays at noon) — To download the show, right-click the mic, then “Save Link As…” or use the handy player below

States are in constant competition for people and businesses — with businesses leaving high tax states and people voting with their feet. Find out why Socialism and “Tax Cronyism” drive people away.

One this week’s show, we give Bernie Sander’s voters a headache.

Over the past ten years New York State has lost millions of residents and thousands of businesses that had all had it with NY’s high taxes and moved to other states. They’ve moved to find a better place to live where owning a business or property isn’t suffocated, to where they didn’t have to feel like they were being held up at gun point by their own state.

Funny how that works, isn’t it? Our entire history is one of moving to better economic conditions. Leaving the “old country” for the chance to make a better, more profitable life. Moving west on the Oregon Trail or the California Gold Rush. People are not chained to their states — and the moment they feel they are, they move.

While Bernie Sanders’ voters may not like to think about economics or the consequences of raising taxes, there are 50 states that all have their own sets of economic policies that have consequences, of action and reaction. And shrewd consumers of democracy can make decisions on where and how they live based on a free market principal—competition is good because it reduces costs and drives efficiency.

In their 8th Edition of Rich States, Poor States, Jonathan Williams and his co-authors, Dr. Author Laffer, and Stephen Moore have once again captured how states make their economic decisions and the consequences of those policy decisions. Policies that impact your pocket book and quality of life and that should influence who you’ll vote into office.

Tune in to find out:
•   What drives a state’s economic success or failure
•   Tax Cronyism and how it ruins free markets
•   Can states or the federal government be run more like a business?
•   Which states have changed their liberal ways to create a strong, pro growth environment

With state and federal elections coming up soon this is a show not to miss.

Links Mentioned

Visit Jonathan Williams’ awesome organization, the American Legislative Exchange Council
While you’re there, visit their State Budget Reform Toolkit — and be sure to send the link to your legislators!
Download a copy of the 8th Edition of Rich States Poor States and visit the RSPS page on ALEC.org for additional resources

Presidential Primaries – A Primer

By Dr Mark | January 23, 2016 | Comments 3 comments

A President Cruz and a Vice President Clinton?

Air Dates: January 23 & 24, 2016 | Greg Leo

With so many candidates running in the Republican primary there have been discussions within the media that there won’t be one candidate who wins enough electoral votes for a clear majority, which would trigger a “brokered convention.” Right away supporters of various candidates, and some candidates themselves, were saying this was a set up and that their candidate would be disenfranchised from a fair selection if the process was turned over to “political insiders” or the “establishment” to make the final choice. But what’s the reality?

And if you think politics is messy now, you won’t believe how they used to do it.

Caucus vs. Primary: Process and Differences

Also, we’re less than 10 days away from the Iowa Caucus, the true, official launch of the presidential primary. This week, we take a deeper look at the entire process of electing a president, the historical context, how the process has evolved, and we’ll examine the shadier side of political conventions in terms of what has happened and what could happen.

On this Week’s Show, You’ll Learn About:

How our Founding Fathers originally conceived presidential election, and the uniqueness of our American system
Why parties were created
Why and when conventions and primaries began
How the primary system works and how it has changed over the years
The modern-day elements of a caucus versus a primary vote and whether a “ground game” is as important as pundits claim
What exactly is a “brokered convention” and the chances of one happening in 2016

And if you don’t think your vote doesn’t matter just remember the highest turn out in a general election, ever, was just 63% of the voting age population. Even more alarming the average voter turnout for a primary has recently averaged about 22%.

Find out how to make your vote count — and why it could matter, even if your candidate doesn’t win.

Is the Oregon Militia Standoff in Burns Oregon Helpful?

By Dr Mark | January 15, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The “Oregon militia” standoff at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, outside of Burns (Harney County) continues and we turn to Stewart Rhodes of Oath Keepers and Rep. Ken Ivory to analyze the deeper, broader issues at stake.

Air Dates: Jan. 16 & 17, 2015 | Stewart Rhodes & Rep. Ken Ivory (UT) | When, Where, and How to Listen

However, let’s be clear: the so-called Oregon militia is not a militia in the true sense of the word. In fact, “Oregon militia” members aren’t even from Oregon. Instead, they’re outsiders from Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, and (God help us) California.

This is especially odd. The so-called “Oregon militia” are themselves outsiders. Unwelcome outsiders. Outsiders who are there to protest lack of local control. Do the so-called Oregon militia members not see the irony here?

Is this about the issue of public lands or about the militia members themselves?

The So-Called “Oregon Militia” in Burns

When they first showed up, the “Oregon militia” claimed they were there to support the Hammonds, a couple of local ranchers who had been convicted of arson. To prove their point, they seized control of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. Except the Hammonds wanted nothing to do with the so-called militia. So next, the Wildlife Refuge Occupiers claimed they were there to protest the federal government and their refusal to turn state lands over to the states. This group of Occupiers from Montana, Arizona, Nevada, and California, now say they won’t leave until the lands are given over to local control.

We talk with Stewart Rhodes, president and founder of Oath Keepers, about the standoff, what he knows about the leaders of the “militia” and his thoughts on the FBI’s handling of this. Could there be agent provocateurs among the militia? Are the militia heroes or interfering?

And then we talk with Rep. Ken Ivory about the larger issue of the transfer of federal lands to the states. We talk with Ken about whether the “protesters” are helpful or hurtful and what impact they might have on the larger issues. Instead of an armed conflict, what else could they have done? Plus. what are some of the latest developments in the transfer-public-lands movement, including legal and economic findings that support the effort.

The Oregon Militia: Unanswered Questions

One question that will be very interesting to watch as this continues to unfold will be this: are all the members of the “militia” who they claim to be? There have already been incidents of undercover FBI agents in the area (see links below). Why? Could this whole situation an effort to undermine the transfer public lands effort?

To reassure the people of Oregon—the real ones—Harney officials County law enforcement should verify identifications as each “militia” member leaves the compound.

EPA Colluding with Environmentalists and Tribes

By Dr Mark | October 21, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Air Dates: Oct 24 & 25, 2015 | Lawrence Kogan & Tom Collier (CEO of Pebble Partnership)

The EPA long ago lost its watchdog status and has turned rabid environmentalist. Now, clear evidence of the EPA colluding with environmentalists and tribes is beginning to emerge—ironically, in what the EPA had hoped to turn into one of its trophy cases: the Pebble Mine.

Show 5-43 will air the weekend of Oct 24th & 25th. Join us as we expose collusion between the EPA and “environmental” organizations, the tribes, and other players.

What’s important to understand in this fight against a government agency run-amok, is that they violated the rule of law and a basic tenet of American freedoms: due process. The EPA, by applying an obscure rule that it had never used before in its four-decades’ old existence and by trying to circumvent the permit process, it was denying Pebble Partnership its due process. Just as though it had arrested someone in suspected of a crime and put them in jail without any Miranda rights, no legal counsel, and so on.

Links Mentioned

Lawrence Kogan’s firm: the Kogan Law Group – tons of great info and articles on the assault by the Enviro-Left on our free market system
Tom Collier’s group – the Pebble Partnership.

Oregon’s health care transformation

By Dr Mark | October 9, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Air Dates: Month Oct. 10 & 11, 2015 | Lisa Lettenmaier

Remember those crazy, heady days of just being able to go to the doctor when you want and then just paying for their services? Yeah, that’s going to change. And it’ll change here in Oregon first.

And remember the good ol’ days when Obama promised savings of $2,500 per family per year?

This week, we take the pulse of the effects of Obamacare on the system. And it’s not pretty.

Tune in to find out what most of Oregon’s elected officials ought to know: how to connect the dots when it comes to Oregon’s health care transformation. And that includes at least one Republican candidate currently running for governor, who came out in favor of Oregon’s CCOs.

John McCain meets with ISIS — What does John McCain meeting with ISIS have to do with health care transformation? Listen to the show!

Democrats are already funneling billions of taxpayer dollars to Democrat-friendly “non-profits” who help get Democrats elected, who then funnel even more money to Democrat-friendly “non-profits” (like the $500 million in federal funds to Planned Parenthood or the $22.2 billion from global warming). Just wait until they start siphoning off from the $1.2 trillion we spend on health care.

Highlights from this week’s show:

Examples of fraud in the system
Potential areas for fraud
How Oregon’s CCOs are incentivized to stop people from going to the doctors and why they’ll do it
How much health care is about to go up
What the transition from fee-for-service to “outcome based” health care will mean for you and your health

Links Mentioned

Lisa Lettenmaier’s website: www.healthsourcenw.com
John McCain article & photos: ISIS brags about links to John McCain, which we reported 2+ years ago (and, yes, we’re aware the NY Times disputes this particular photo is ISIS — but note how they crop the photo to cut off the guy who is a member of ISIS, the one known as “The Cannibal”)
Example of Medicaid Fraud – $30 million for ambulance rides that never happened
March 2015, Statesman Journal : the skyrocketing costs of drugs and medications
More of Oregon’s health care transformation —health care reimbursement will be based on “quality outcomes” (that bureaucrats will decide…)
CCOs : Lurching into a County Near You (June, 2012) – Get a baseline understanding of what a CCO is and why it matters
CCOs: Forced Compliance (Sept, 2012) – CCOs have the potential for real—dare we say it?—evil.
Our previous show (Show #5-15) on CCOs & cost overruns with Oregon’s health care transformation

Devolution – Public Lands Transfer to States

By Dr Mark | September 11, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Air Dates: September 12 & 13, 2015 | Jonathan Williams & Karla Jones

Devolution is defined as “the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration.” When it comes to the transfer of public lands here in the U.S., this means the federal government giving control of federally held public lands to the states in which those lands reside. Why is this important? Jobs.

With more than 98 million Americans continuing to be out of the workforce, the jobs resulting from a public lands transfer to states means more than ever that the federal government honor their promise to relinquish control of the public lands held in trust. At one time, Illinois and Missouri both had more than 50% of their land controlled by the federal government when they entered statehood. Now, the federal government holds only 1% and 4%, respectively. So why do they maintain control of so much public lands states west of the Rockies—on average, more than 50% of these states? Why should Illinois get to have 99% of their land and Oregon gets less than 47% of its land?

94 million Americans out of work - the U.S. economy as of September 2015 has clearly fallen off a cliff. Time for a public lands transfer to states. — US Economy off a cliff. Time for a public lands transfer to states.

We’ve talked in the past with Ken Ivory and it’s seemed a little theoretical at times: what would it be like if the states got their lands back? Now we some direct evidence of what it would look like from our neighbor to the north: Canada.

We’ll start by talking with Jonathan Williams of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) about the continuing record numbers of Americans not working and the state policies that consistently work to put people to work; policies that ALEC advocates. We’ll then talk about a federal policy that needs to happen: a public lands transfer to states. Karla Jones, also with ALEC, walks us through the process. We’ll examine the roadblocks and hurdles to making this happen, astonishing examples of federal mismanagement to private land management, and then look at how this has unfolded in Canada.

Sorry, environmentalists; it wasn’t the end of the world.

Links Mentioned

If you’re not visiting American Legislative Exchange Council on a regular basis, you’re missing out on a huge amount of incredible information — policies that your state ought to be implementing if they want to be successful. Don’t you want your state to be successful? Of course you do! Then visit alec.org.
Read ALEC’s State Lands report, which we discuss with Karla Jones. (You can download a copy for easier reading; see the Download PDF link on the right-side of the page.)
Heritage Foundation article, “1,000 people per day: Why Red States are Getting Richer and Blue States Poorer“

This week in light of the tragedy in Southern Oregon, we're airing a "best of" I Spy, a show on what brings us together

Show 5-26 Annual Fourth of July Show

By Dr Mark | June 25, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Show 5-26 | Air Dates: June 27 & 28, 2015

Note: In light of this week’s tragedy in Southern Oregon, we’re putting aside politics and partisanship, recognizing that people need space to heal and come together. So we’re re-airing our annual Fourth of July show, to give people some space and time to heal.

It’s our Annual Fourth of July show! This week on I Spy Radio, it’s time to put aside politics, time to put aside partisanship and take some time to celebrate America, our history, and our common heritage.

This week, we welcome back communications consultant and amateur historian, Greg Leo, whose special passion is the Fourth of July, its history, and the many events and celebrations that have happened on the Fourth.

On this year’s show, we revisit the origins of Independence Day celebrations and traditions, and then trace them through early Westward expansion, the Oregon Trail, and on into modern-day celebrations. Don’t miss the 1852 Fourth of July celebration at Independence Rock on the Oregon Trail, taken from a pioneer journal.

At Independence Rock on the Oregon Trail

Next week, we will re-air this week’s show—with a special twist.

Links Mentioned

Newell House – see their events page for the 2015 Fourth of July celebration
“The Pioneer Fourth of July” published by Indiana Magazine of History, 1912.
Read some excerpts from pioneer journals that recount July Fourth celebrations at Independence Rock on the Oregon Trail
Find your ancestors! Here is a great list of genealogical sites (many of them free) to get you started
Some great resources can be found at Sons of the American Revolution, the SAR Library, and especially Fold3.com, which focuses on military-related genealogical records

This week on I Spy Radio - Obamacare vs healthcare

Show 5-25 Obamacare vs Healthcare

By Dr Mark | June 17, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Air Dates: June 20 & 21, 2015 | Grace-Marie Turner

The Supreme Court will decide soon what to do about the Obamacare subsidies, which some say are the backbone to the entire law. What will it mean for the healthcare system if Obamacare is, to use Obama’s words, “fundamentally transformed”? We talk with Grace-Marie Turner of the Galen Institute about what the Court’s potential rulings could mean.

Obamacare advocates like to say we need to keep Obamacare because the Republicans haven’t come up with any plans to replace it. But this is a straw man arguement because a bad “comprehensive” plan is not inherently a better situation than a series of plans. It implies the healthcare system must be run by the federal government without stopping to ask whethere it should be meddling in your health care in the first place.

One aspect of Obamacare that many people haven’t heard of — including Oregonians — are School Based Health Centers. These “health clinics” are not what they seem. Like so much of the tripe pushed by the radical Left, what they claim is different, very different, than what they are. We talk with Nancy Traherne of the Rogue Vally Republican Women, which invited Mark Anderson to speak at their June 24th luncheon. (Note: If your organization would like Mark to come discuss how to fight back against SBHCs, please contact Karla Davenport for booking information.)

Links Mentioned

School-Based Health Centers presentation in Grants Pass, Oregoin
Rogue Valley Republican Women’s Facebook page
Grace-Marie Turner’s organization, the Galen Institute
Stay up to date! Be sure to check out their fantastic project, Obamacare Watch, a news aggregator for all things Obamacare.
Grace-Marie’s book is Why Obamacare is Wrong for America

Show 5-17 Why Oregon Fails at Economics

By Dr Mark | April 27, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Air Dates: April 25 & 26, 2015

This week, it’s about economics. Yeah, yeah. Don’t groan. You need to know this stuff. Otherwise, you’ll be boondoggled into thinking raising taxes is good. Or that raising minimum wage doesn’t impact businesses. Or big government works. Or any number of progressive ideologies. Next thing you know, you’ll be believing global warming and then it’s all down hill from there.

With guests Jonathan Williams of American Legislative Exchange Council and Jan Meekcoms of National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Always fun talking with Mark Anderson @ispyradioshow about #oregon #tcot. I just wish Oregon had a better outlook https://t.co/d6TcClSnnp

— Jonathan Williams (@Taxeconomist) April 25, 2015

Links mentioned

ALEC – American Legislative Exchange Council. One of the good guys. You can tell, because the political Left hates them so much they think one of the Baldwin boys needs to rename himself.
NFIB – National Federation of Independent Businesses. Here’s the state chapter for Oregon (have you joined yet??) and the national organization.
Download your own copy of Rich States, Poor States and take a look at how your state is doing (you might want your legislators’ number on speed dial)
A quick one-sheet verview from ALEC on Oregon’s outlook (this link opens a PDF)
NFIB-Oregon is holding its Day at the Capital on April 29. More info.
Both of these fine organizations offer memberships. Why not join them and add your voice to the chorus of conservative voices trying to safeguard your economic freedom?

Additional Links & Info

Talk to liberals? Not sure how to answer their unicorns-and-fairies myths about the minimum wage? Here’s a great Forbes article (by an NFIB economist no less) that debunks progressive myths.

Rally ‘Round the Flag Event

When: Saturday, June 20, 2015, 10am – 4pm
Where: Fairgrounds, Cottage Grove, Oregon
Cost: Free!

Here in Oregon, we have a strong heritage of using our natural resources wisely. But well-intended yet weak-minded “environmentalists” believe they are “protecting” the environment by not touching it–or allowing anyone else to harvest them. Worse, our lands are being controlled by people out east who’ve never set foot on them and have no idea about how to manage them; people who’ve been persuaded by the well-funded environmental lobby that we should never touch these lands.

Oregon Citizen’s Lobby invites you to join them for a fantastic day of speakers, networking, and fun! And a chance to learn more about the effort to transfer control of the federal lands to the people who know best how to manage them: Oregonians.

The event will feature prominent leaders in this effort, booths, networking opportunities, and a panel discussion to answer your questions.

Featured Guests:

Rep. Ken Ivory (UT) of the American Lands Council
Noah Wall, FreedomWorks Grassroots Director
Jeff Kropf, Oregon Capital Watch
Mark Anderson, host of I Spy Radio
David Hunnicutt, Oregonians in Action
Dennis Linthicum, former Klamath County Commissioner

Battle for Public Lands

By Dr Mark | April 21, 2015 | Comments 3 comments

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

To download the show, right-click the mic, and then “Save Link As…” or use the handy player below

Air Dates: Jan 10 & 11, 2015

The federal government holds title to 640 million of acres of land, mostly west of the Mississippi. In some states, this is more than 60% of all land within their borders. The battle as to who should own that land, whether the feds or states, has been going on since before the 1900s. Why does this matter? They represent trillions of dollars of economic activity.

This week on I Spy Radio, we talk with Rep. Ken Ivory (UT) about the continuing battle to force the federal government to honor their promise to transfer land to the states in which it belongs. We start by getting some clarification and history on exactly who legally owns the land: the feds or the states? We also discuss on-going battles in states like Utah—which threw down the gauntlet, demanding their land by Dec. 31, 2014—and Wyoming, which had 1 million acres unilaterally seized by Obama’s EPA. Find out what counties can do, why Canada is already transferring control of its land to its territories, and what strategies and tactics the new Republican-controlled Congress is likely to pursue.

Links mentioned

The American Lands Council – be sure to sign their petition to let lawmakers know this matters to you!
Great resource on the issue of the transfer of federal lands: American Lands Council FAQ’s.
Utah passed HB 148 in 2012, demanding the federal government transfer ownership of the land to Utah. Here’s a link to more info on HB 148 (via Constitutional Defense Council)
1 million acres seized from Wyoming by Obama’s EPA 1 million acres seized from Wyoming by Obama’s EPA & an update regarding lawsuit by WY against the EPA’s actions
Politifacts article: Napolitano: Unconstitutional for Fed to own land.

Related Links

The battle over federally held lands is an ongoing effort – Lawmakers from 9 states gather in Utah, discuss ways to take control fed land.
Why this matters: EPA wants to assert control over any land that gets wet.
An interesting timeline of land-use laws in Oregon.