Tag: Oregon

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

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

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

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

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

This Week – In the Trenches

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

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

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

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

Great way to build trust, Oregon.

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

Questions about School Choice Funding and Regulations

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

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

The short answer is no. Not in this case.

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

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

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

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

Lawsuit to Block Oregon’s Free Speech Surveillance System

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

School Choice Segments

Oregon Censorship Lawsuit Segments

13-44 Green Hydrogen Can Work – Just Ignore Economics and Common Sense

13-44 Green Hydrogen Can Work – Just Ignore Economics and Common Sense

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Show 13-44 Summary: People have been chasing the elusive dream of hydrogen as a fuel source for decades and decades. Billions have been poured into it before now. But there’s no such thing as a bad idea as long as the government is willing to pour even more billions into it. But now it’s even worse as they chase “green hydrogen.” Tune in to hear why hydrogen isn’t viable as a mass production “fuel,” how it isn’t even a fuel, and even far more expensive than it already is if we try to make it the way the Greenies want. And remember how CO2 is the enemy? Yeah not so much, apparently.

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

Original Air Dates: November 4th & 5th, 2023 | Guest: Frank Lasee

This Week – Why Green Hydrogen Doesn’t Make Sense

Hydrogen has been the elusive clean energy society has been chasing for decades. Well before G.W. Bush threw nearly $2 billion at (which went nowhere), scientists were trying to use hydrogen back into FDR’s days and even before then. (The Hindenburg largely derailed the whole idea.) But if clean hydrogen was a pipe dream, green hydrogen is a fanciful nightmare. Especially if you don’t care about things like economics or common sense.

The elusive dream of green hydrogen. Hydrogen is not cheap. And if not handled well, can go boom. See the Hindenburg.
The Hindenburg derailed hydrogen. Rightly so.

In a nutshell, green hydrogen costs 5–6 times more than current methods and does not return as much energy as it costs to produce.

But why let a few dozen billions of narrow-minded taxpayer dollars stand in your way of your grand vision? Especially when states like Oregon and Washington just got handed a billion dollars each of free taxpayer dollars to create hydrogen hubs.

But First: A Big Win!

Thanks to public outcry, which CFACT helped mobilize, Orsted has cancelled its two planned offshore wind farms in New Jersey waters. The Danish company our American taxpayer dollars was funding, pulled the plug. Despite a $100 million penalty for failing to complete delivery. And wrote off a $4 billion loss. Amazing how these “green energy” schemes cannot work without massive government subsidies.

Public outcry works. Don’t be silent. And let’s do that here in Oregon. See Show 13-42 for more information.

Green Hydrogen Defined

We welcome first-time guest, Frank Lasee, a former Wisconsin state senator, president of Truth in Energy and Climate, and a senior policy advisor to CFACT. As you might be able to tell from the name of his organization, there’s not a lot of truth out there in either climate or energy. And nowhere is that more true than green hydrogen.

First off, hydrogen is itself not really a fuel. It’s more akin to a battery because while it has energy, it first has to be created. It would be a bit like creating oil out of various elements first before drilling for it.

Hydrogen must be made; it is not a fuel. It is a storage device, like a battery. If not handled properly, it can go boom! In a great big ball fire.
– Excerpt from “Hydrogen – Will this Green dream prove an expensive nightmare?” by Frank Lasee

What is green hydrogen? The label “green hydrogen” is all about how the hydrogen is made. There are several ways to make hydrogen. One is a simple electrolysis method, applying a current to water that splits the molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.  Your high school science teacher might have demonstrated this. Another is gasification that extracts hydrogen (and other elements) from natural gas with high-temperature steam.

Green hydrogen is extracted from whatever source but must use “renewable” energy to do so. The most common being pushed right now is to use solar and wind as the energy source.

How Green Hydrogen is Made

Except there’s a major problem with “green” wind and solar. They do not produce energy 70% of the time. Barely any wind. No wind. Not enough sun. Darkness. But to make clean, green hydrogen at scale takes enormous amounts of electricity. And water. Lots of water.

To make one kilogram of hydrogen (which has roughly the same potential energy as a gallon of gas), you need 13 kg of water to split. The water is heated to 2,000 degrees. That’s a lot of electricity. And then after it’s split, it has to be superchilled to near absolute zero so it can be pressurized and stored. And that takes another 40 kg of water to cool it.

So for every 1 kg of hydrogen produced, it takes 53 kg of water — and a massive amount of electricity.

What happens if the wind’s not blowing? Or it’s night time? You don’t have to be a paid TV scientist to realize this is not a process you can start and stop because of the unreliability of your “green” power sources. Gosh. You’ll have to supplement all intermittent green energy with coal. Or have massive batteries.

The Green Hydrogen Dilemma

One notion to get past the unreliability of so-called green energy and its unreliability is to tap into hydroelectric dams. Which the Pacific Northwest has plenty of. Except for the last decade, the environmentalists have been busily trying to yank them all out. To “save the salmon.”

Now what? Save the salmon or have green hydrogen?

In fact, the hypnotic allure of billions free taxpayer dollars has put a halt on at least one lawsuit to force the government to pull out dams on the Snake River.

Whoops.

But it’s not just the dams. You’ve got California, which on Thursday emptied 7 billion gallons (7,559,743,200 gallons to be precise) of fresh water from its reservoirs into the ocean. Why? To adjust the salinity levels in a delta to “save the fish.” The Delta Smelt. Of which a grand total of zero Delta Smelt have been seen in annual Fall Surveys since 2017.

Well there goes 142,636,664 gallons of hydrogen they could have made.

Fish or dams for hydrogen? What to do, what to do…

Green Energy: It’s All About Money

Tune in to hear how “green energy” is not green. And it’s not really about energy. What it’s really all about is the money.

And it’s not about “Climate Change” either. Why? Because while we’ve been shrieked at about CO2 emissions for two decades, it turns out they will not only sacrifice fish to get those billions. They’re also willing to emit more CO2 to get those billions.

Just like wearing the inappropriate “green” label for green hydrogen, to get the label “clean hydrogen” all you have to do is not emit more than 2 kg of carbon dioxide per hydrogen produced.

Read it for yourself: The National Clean Hydrogen Standard is 2 kg CO2e/kg H2. That’s 2x the amount of CO2 for every one Hydrogen (H2). See page 75 of the H2IQ Presentation from the U.S. Dept of Energy.

Yes. You can emit twice the CO2 you get of hydrogen. So much for CO2 as the enemy.

Don’t miss the show. That’s just one of much of the green hydrogen nonsense.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Articles/Info Mentioned During the Show

  • Frank Lasee’s website is TruthinClimateandEnergy.com. Be sure to check out this website for great articles and information.
  • Major wind energy developer scraps two big offshore projects (NBC News, Nov 1, 2023)
    • The move by Orsted, a Danish company, adds fresh uncertainty to an industry supporters see as a way to help end the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels.
  • Read it for yourself! Page 75 of the H2IQ Presentation (Dec 2021) from the U.S. Department of Energy states “clean hydrogen” allows for twice the amount of CO2 emissions as the hydrogen produced.
  • Interview with Frank Lasee: “Biden Sabotaging U.S. Energy Grid, Warns Expert” (Conversations that Matter, via YouTube, March 13, 2023)
    • Great example of replacing a gasoline car with a solar cars. Now you’re paying for 3 cars to get the same reliability you had in one.
  • Hydrogen – Will this Green dream prove an expensive nightmare? – (CFACT, Oct 26, 2023)
      • Hydrogen embrittles nearly every metal it comes in contact with.
    • Needs 13x more water than hydrogen made, 40x to cool it
    • The hydrogen lobby duped Congress into $9.5 billion for hydrogen hubs and $100s of billions more for subsidies to make it. These hydrogen jobs will last only as long as the subsidies do.
  • Great Analysis! Why Hydrogen Cars Flopped (YouTube, April 12, 2021)
  • The decades-long elusive dream: “The Truth About Hydrogen” (Popular Mechanics, Oct 31, 2006)
  • Study: ‘True Costs’ Of Electric Vehicles Far Higher Than Most Believe (The Daily Wire, Oct 27, 2023)
  • Auto execs are coming clean: EVs aren’t working (Business Insider, via Yahoo News, Oct 26, 2023)

Oregon’s Green Hydrogen Scheme

More of Frank Lasee’s Terrific Articles & Interviews

  • Bidenomics Is Scarier Than A Haunted House On Halloween (Frank Lasee, Oct 31, 2023)
  • Interview with Frank Lasee from Truth in Energy and Climate (Alliance for Free Citizens, Sept 7, 2022)
    • 8,000 square miles of solar panels to make enough electricity for the U.S. plus 1 million wind mills. We have 75,000 now.
    • Bi directional batteries – so the cars can power the grid, which got its power off the grid.
  • Joe Biden’s Hydrogen Slush Fund Means More Dollars Wasted On The Green Energy Boondoggle (ShoreNews Network, Feb 26, 2023)
  • Don’t Buy Green Hydrogen Hype (Iowa Climate Science Education, Apr 12, 2023)
  • Bidenomics at Work: ‘Green’ Hydrogen Is a Very Expensive Waste of Money (RealClearEnergy, Oct 6, 2023)
  • Frank Lasse article: “The Expensive Impossibility of Green Hydrogen From Part-Time Wind and Solar” (Truth in Energy & Climate, October 25, 2023)
    • “The fact that the world is desperately short of lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries, at the scale they want to force, is dawning on them”
    • “Wind and solar produce little or no energy 70% of the time.”
  • Frank Lasee: Joe Biden’s Hydrogen Slush Fund Means More Dollars Wasted On The Green Energy Boondoggle (ShoreNews Network, Feb 26, 2023)

Related Stories

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Week – Oregon’s Election Disinformation Monitoring System

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

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

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

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

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

Oregon’s War on Free Speech

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fighting Back Against Oregon’s Surveillance

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

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

That’s the point of free speech.

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

What You Can DO About Oregon’s Election Censorship

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

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

Contact Information for Oregon Secretary of State, Elections Division

Email – elections.sos@sos.oregon.gov​

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

Contact Information for Oregon County Elections Officials

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

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

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

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

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

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

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

 

 

13-42 Winds of War: Billions from Offshore Wind Farms – and Fighting Back

13-42 Winds of War: Billions from Offshore Wind Farms – and Fighting Back

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Show 13-42 Summary: Do you remember how environmentalists used to want to “save the whales”? And they were angry at “greedy corporations”? Now, those same environmentalists have figured out they can make billions from taxpayers by forcing states to take definitely-not-green offshore wind farms. Whales be damned. Calling it “green” doesn’t make it environmentally friendly. Calling it “saving the planet” doesn’t make it less greedy. This week, learn about the expensive, inefficient, and environmentally damaging wind farms the Biden administration is eager to shove down states’ throats. And how to fight back. Because right now, they’re trying to shove a windfarm off Oregon’s Southern Coast.

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

Original Air Dates: October 21st & 22nd, 2023 | Guests: Craig Rucker & Jennifer Hamaker

This Week – The Lunacy of Wind Farms

It’s always easy to spend someone else’s money. Just ask any politician. It’s even easier to spend it if those billions (trillions!) you’re spending are going to people who will help re-elect you. Ever since I Spy Radio’s first year in 2011, we recognized that the environmental movement had become anti-development, anti-free-market, and decidedly anti-American.

It just so happens another organization got its own start with much the same realization: The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow. Or CFACT. CFACT started back in 1985 and since then, they have grown into one of the most trusted, most respected sources of real information and real action to push back against the Far Left environmental movement. And win.

Right now, the Biden administration is giving out billions of free taxpayer dollars in a spending spree making the $130 billion (and counting) to Ukraine look like pocket money. Biden is shoving 100s of billions into wind farms. And, in particular, offshore wind farms.

CFACT on Offshore Windfarms

This week, we welcome Craig Rucker, the president and co-founder of CFACT, to talk about green energy, the billions the Left is making from it, and the billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on these offshore wind farms.

If you are not familiar with CFACT, you should be. Check out their great work, articles, videos, and a lot more on cfact.org.
And if you’re looking for good, reliable, and real facts about “green energy,” Global Warming, and more, be sure to visit CFACT’s Climate Depot.

It turns out these offshore wind farms are most definitely not environmentally friendly. On the East Coast, where there are already more than 3,000 wind farms spread out of 2.3 million acres. And since then, whales have been washing ashore, dead, in unprecedented numbers. Including the highly endangered Right Whale, of which there are less than 300 animals remaining. Why? Here’s a hint. It’s not Global Warming. The only thing that changed in their environment were these wind farms.

But what can we do to stop these? Especially here in Oregon, where greedy developers and government bureaucrats eager to spend 100s of billions of mandated taxpayer dollars have their sights on Oregon’s beautiful Southern Coast.

Tune in to hear how CFACT is successfully fighting back. And how the economics of “green” isn’t green when they start losing taxpayer subsidies.

Don’t miss: Conservation Nation’s (a CFACT project) video, “Save the Whales from Ocean Industrialization.”

Offshore Wind Farms off Oregon’s Southern Coast

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has targeted Oregon’s pristine Southern Coast for one of Biden’s costly offshore wind farms. We bring back Jennifer Hamaker, the president of Oregon Natural Resource Industries (or ONRI), to talk about this multi-billion-dollar windfarm project.

Jennifer, whose family on her dad’s side were commercial fishermen, talks to us what it’s like to grow up in a fishing family. What the way of life means to them. And how these offshore wind farms will endanger that way of life, the fish and birds and mammals in the sea, and the coastal communities.

And for what? A multi-billion-dollar wind farm that will only generate about 1.2 gigawatts of electricity. So greedy green companies can make billions, endangering the marine life environmentalists claim they want to protect, only to generate not even 10% of Coos Bay’s yearly electric? Really?

Help Stop Oregon’s Planned Offshore Wind Farm

ONRI is helping organize resistance to the offshore wind farm scheme. They have gotten the word out about public meetings. And are alerting people to get their public comments in to oppose this windfarm.

Screenshot public comment page for BOEM's offshore wind farm off Oregon's Coast
They kind of hide the comment button. (Click for full size.)

And it’s been working. There has been so much push back, especially at these public meetings, that the bureaucrats have pushed back the deadline for public comments until October 31, 2023.

Submit your public comments today about the planned offshore wind farm off Oregon’s coast. Go here for the main page to read the document if you’d like. Note that they kind of hide the comment button (see the picture before you head there). Or just go here to jump directly to the comment page.

Don’t be silent! Public outcry has been proven to stop these ugly, expensive, colossal taxpayer swindles. Skeptical? Then listen and learn.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

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

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Craig Rucker from CFACT (Segments 1–3)

  • Craig Rucker’s organization is The Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow or “CFACT.” Visit them at cfact.org.
  • Be sure to read Craig’s excellent op-ed in The Hill: “A New Study Zaps Biden’s Plan to Transform the Electrical Grid” (Craig Rucker, The Hill, October 3rd, 2023)
    • “The problem is not the addition of wind and solar. The problem is the subtraction of coal, gas and other dispatchable resources [that] we need during this transition…The grid has to have power being fed into it every second of every minute of every hour of every day to keep the lights on.”
  • Want good information to push back against Climate Change insanity and the cult of Global Warming? Then you definitely will want to go to Climate Depot, a project of CFACT.
  • Don’t miss: Conservation Nation (a CFACT project) video, ” Save the Whales from Ocean Industrialization.”
  • “Save the whales” CFACT boats protest offshore wind construction (CFACT.org, Rucker, July 25, 2023)
  • Green cannot survive without massive taxpayer dollars: “New York denies offshore wind developer request to raise rates, throwing more projects into doubt” (Just the News, Oct 13, 2023)
  • Bill Gates sees ‘a lot of climate exaggeration’ out there (Fortune, Sept 20, 2023)
  • Climate Activists Cutting, Burying Trees (Epoch Times, Oct 13, 2023)

Jennifer Hamaker on Oregon’s Offshore Wind Farm Scheme (Segments 4–6)

 

13-30 An Unbelievable Number | Oregon’s Healthcare Transformation

13-30 An Unbelievable Number | Oregon’s Healthcare Transformation

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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

 

 

13-28 How Not to Destroy Oregon’s Forests

13-28 How Not to Destroy Oregon’s Forests

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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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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)
  • Video (Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities)
  • 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)

 

Oregon democrats go full Nazi
13-17 What are Oregon Democrats Up to Now? | Legislative Lowlights

13-17 What are Oregon Democrats Up to Now? | Legislative Lowlights

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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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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.

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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)
  • But what about Oregon? Parental Rights Bills Sweeping the United States (The Epoch Times, Apr 22, 2023)
  • Former Trump appointee: ‘Bureaucratic administrative state must be brought under control’ (Legal Newsline, Apr 5, 2023)
  • Actions to Protect Our Kids: Combating the Woke in our schools and institutions (Cody Benson, March, 2023)
  • How does Oregon’s ‘kicker’ tax rebate work? (KGW, Apr 7, 2023)
  • The Death of a Proposed Beer and Wine Tax Highlights Vast Differences in Oregon’s Taxes on Intoxicants (Willamette Week, Mar 29, 2023)
  • But, wait! It’s not dead yet! “Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission considers doubling tax on hard alcohol” (Oregon Capital Chronicle, Apr 17, 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.)

That Oregon Business Climate Survey

  • Survey: Small Businesses Feel Overtaxed and Overwhelmed (OBI & Oregon Chamber of Commerce, Mar 2023). Some of the lowlights:
    • 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.

Not discussed but you might find interesting…

13-16 Advancing Freedom | Taking Sides in the War on the American Republic

13-16 Advancing Freedom | Taking Sides in the War on the American Republic

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Show 13-16 Summary: This week, it’s all about advancing freedom. We have two guests. One is Kevin Stark from Hillsdale College, talking about his book, War on the American Republic, and how the political Left has managed to seize power while convincing the Right to give up power. Plus, an inside look at prosecutors and DAs and attorneys general with Indiana’s former AG, Curtis Hill. But what brakes are there for rogue prosecutors like the Manhattan DA who indicted President Trump? If any. And a weird case of Nazism meets adoption. Right here in Oregon.

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Original Air Dates: Date, 2023 | Guests: Dr. Kevin Stark & Curtis Hill

This Week – It’s a War on the American Republic

War on the American Republic - how liberalism became despotismIt’s not just a title for Dr. Kevin Stark’s new book, War on the American Republic: How Liberalism Became Despotism. There really is a war on the American Republic. As we say so often here on I Spy Radio, the fight for freedom is an everyday fight.

Dr. Kevin Stark from Hillsdale College joins us this week to discuss the origins of this fight. And how the Left has gone from a political movement that embraced essential freedoms like individual rights and freedom of speech to one where they will lock you up if you speak up.

Don’t miss: You can take a free online course about the American Left, based on Dr. Stark’s book, from Hillsdale College

Weaponization of the Justice System

Speaking of war, there’s a war within our justice system. It’s been weaponized. We welcome Curtis Hill, the former attorney general for the state of Indiana. While there, he prioritized fighting corruption. If only rooting out corruption within the justice system was a priority of the justice system.

We ask about the structure and controls within the justice system. How it operates. What kinds of controls there are. Who oversees whom, and so forth. And what kind of brakes are there in the system to deal with prosecutors like Alvin Bragg? Who make political enemies their highest priority rather than actual criminals on the streets.

Are republicans and democrats treated differently? And is the way to fix the system is for republicans to treat democrats the way they treat republicans?

And we ask his opinion on a strange case in Oregon of a woman being denied an adoption because she was Christian. Yes. It’s Nazism in Far Left Oregon.

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Guest 1: Kevin Stark, Segments 1–3

Guest 2: Curtis Hill, Segments 4–6

 

 

13-13 Fixing What Ails Oregon | Education, School Choice & Election Integrity

13-13 Fixing What Ails Oregon | Education, School Choice & Election Integrity

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Show 13-13 Summary: It’s about education, school choice, and voter integrity and how all of that is being undermined — but what we can do to fix it. Our guest is Marc Thielman, who has his hands in all of those pots and doing the stirring. So much of what ails Oregon right now can be fixed by better schools that teach real civics and history. To get there, the path is Real School Choice. And to get there, we need election integrity. What it really boils down to is we need education freedom in Oregon.

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Original Air Dates: April 1st & 2nd, 2023 | Guest: Marc Thielman

This Week – The Wrong Kind of Power

Oregon does not have an independent, superintendent of state schools. Thanks to John Kitzhaber and easily duped Oregon voters, that elected position was removed and absorbed under the dictator’s office. Oops. The governor’s office.

But that’s what really happened, isn’t it? More and more power consolidated under wannabe kings and queens. What is it with the Left and democrats — who claim they want democracy — grab all the power under a single person’s rule.

But can you believe that even with all that power in one person’s hands, now they want even more power. And it truly is just about control.

What’s Needed: Education Freedom in Oregon

So much of what ails Oregon right now can be fixed by better schools that teach real civics and history. (Two of the things socialists hate most.) To get there, the path is Real School Choice, which would allow parents to use the money already assigned to their child and send them to a school that works best for their child. And to get there, we need election integrity.

Join the fight for education freedom in Oregon! Get Real School Choice on the 2024 ballot. Head to Education Freedom for Oregon to download petition signatures and donate — even just $10, $25, or $50 is a big help!

This week we talk to Marc Thielman who is actively involved with all three of those issues. If you remember, Marc is the former superintendent of the Alsea School District. Which, we might add, was the one and only school district standing up to the governor’s and state’s overreach during covid. Marc defied the state and gave teachers and students options. (How dare he!) He did not enforce mask mandates (what?!). And kept kids in school (the outrage!). Oh. And they had a 500% enrollment increase. And not one covid case traced back to the school.

Marc Thielman on Education, School Choice, and Election Integrity

Perhaps its because Marc Thielman and the Alsea school board defied the state — successfully — that Tina Kotek think she needs even more power over schools. This, a recommendation from Melissa Goff. Who, if you didn’t know, was the superintendent of the Greater Albany Schools District. “Former” because she was such a little tyrant and bully that she was run out of her position. But now she is Kotek’s “education adviser.”

That’s like Stalin advising Chairman Mao.

Tune in to hear Marc talk about this power grab, the school shooting at The Covenant School, the damage transgenderism is doing to people, and, of course, election integrity. We saw blatant cheating in Arizona in 2022. Just in your face cheating. But the Arizona supreme court upheld one of Kari Lake’s complaints and sent back to lower court for review.

How much cheating has to happen before the courts take notice and uphold the law? Could this finally be the foot in the door?

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