Tag: socialism

14-43 It’s the Economy, Stupid | Stupid Energy Policies

14-43 It’s the Economy, Stupid | Stupid Energy Policies

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show 14-43 Summary: There are stupid energy policies and then there are Kamala-level stupid energy policies. And they start with a wrong understanding of how the economy works. Not everyone invests in the stock market, not everyone runs a business. But everyone needs energy. Not just energy for your home or where you work but getting there and back. And practically everything bought or sold arrives on a truck. This week, we look at stupid energy policies. If you think things are bad and expensive now, a Kamala win would make things more expensive. And stupider.

I Spy Radio Coverage Map as of April 2024
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, seven times over the weekend, 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 our network of stations.

Original Air Dates: October 26, 2024 | Guest: Frank Lasee

This Week – Stupid Energy Policies

The election finish line is within sight and this week we are looking at the economy, which is the top issue for most voters. In particular, we look at one major aspect of the economy: energy. We zero in on what the Biden/Kamala administration has done to energy prices to make things so much more expensive, which of course impacts everything that people buy and not just their utility bills. Mandates, regulations, and ideology is behind it all. They

They are the kind of stupid energy policies you would expect from someone in charge who does not understand the economy. And certainly has never owned a business.

We welcome back Frank Lasee, a senior policy advisor for CFACT and the president of Truth in Energy and Climate, to talk about the stupid energy policies of the Biden-Harris administration.

Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty: modern day Democrats are Hitler. Or at least want policies just like his. Read “Hitler’s Views on Private Property and Nationalization” from the Mises Institute. You’d swear it was from a recent democrat rally.

The Energy Policies that Hurt You and the Economy

It’s simple. When energy costs more, everything costs more. When energy costs less, prices go down. Unless energy goes down, prices won’t. And the Biden-Harris administration declared war on energy. What direction will prices go?

And did you know that you’re paying for green energy — even when you’re not buying green energy? It’s not just your taxes.

Here’s one example. You might know about carbon credits (a tax on energy). But did you know there are regulation credits? Car companies that can’t sell electric vehicles have to buy these regulation credits from EV companies—and then to absorb that loss, the car companies add the cost of that regulation credit to the cost of the gas-powered cars. So even if you’re not buying an EV, you’re still paying for an EV.

That’s just one stupid energy policy.

But here’s the thing. All the “green energy” mandates, the zero-emissions, the carbon credits, the EVs, and on and on? it will have little to no change on emissions. And they know that. Think about it. Why would you force people to spend money on more expensive energy when they could be spend that money on other things that they need or want? Especially if it’s not going to make any bit of difference.

If it won’t make any difference, the only logical reason is if your side of the aisle is getting an awful lot of money. It’s about money. Forcing you to pay more, so their side of the political aisle makes more.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

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

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

California’s Stupid Energy Policies

  • Newsom’s New Bill to ‘Hold Big Oil Accountable’ – will Fine Local Refineries Up to $1 Million PER DAY, Cause Gas Prices to Spike – Refineries Announce They Are Leaving CA (Gateway Pundit, Oct 21, 2024)*“Price spikes have cost Californians billions of dollars over the years, and we’re not waiting around for the industry to do the right thing,” Newsom said.*The measure will force local refineries to stockpile fuel and if they don’t follow the new regulations they can be fined up to $1 million PER DAY.*The heavy fines will inevitably be passed down to the consumer and cause gas prices to spike.
  • Commiefornia: “For some time, many of us have been ridiculed for suggesting that @GavinNewsom wants to own all California gas refineries. But now we’re seeing it.” Dr. Houman David Hemmati (via X, Sept 26, 2024)
  • California Energy Commission floats the idea of taking over oil refineries. Just like Venezuela. See table 19, Overview of State-Owned Refineries: “The State of California would purchase and own refineries in the State to manage the supply and price of gasoline.” (Emphasis mine.)
  • How will the state manage the slow death of California’s gasoline industry? (Los Angeles Times, September 26th, 2024)

Green Energy Dying?

  • Harris Shifts Her EV Mandates Into Reverse—Until After the Election (The Daily Signal, October 23, 2024)
    • “The push to electrify trucking is even more unhinged. Electric trucks are very expensive to buy and have terrible payload capacity and range.”
    • “Almost everything anyone buys gets shipped on a truck at some point, and the shipping industry will have no choice but to pass these enormous costs downstream.”
    • “Electric vehicle mandates will lead ‘to little to no change’ in greenhouse-gas emissions.”
  • Amazon plans to power Eastern Oregon data centers with nuclear reactors (OPB, Oct 23, 2024)
  • Offshore wind looked like a sure thing for Oregon — until it wasn’t. What went wrong? (OPB, Oct 23, 2024)

Related/Additional

The Irrationality of Western Energy Policies (Watts Up with That, October 21, 2024)

Dumb & Dumber: Germany Wins Prize For World’s Most Idiotic Energy Policy (Stop These Things, Feb 20, 2022)

Biden’s Energy Policy – Dumb and Dangerous (AMAC, July 25, 2023)

 

 

14-34 Oregon’s New Redistribution Scheme: The Climate Protection Plan

14-34 Oregon’s New Redistribution Scheme: The Climate Protection Plan

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show 14-34 Summary: Oregon’s latest wealth redistribution scheme, Governor Kotek’s Climate Protection Plan, is a plan to solve to solve nothing. It is a carbon cap and trade scheme forcing to pretend to cut carbon dioxide emissions. It will have no impact on climate. Zero. None. But it will cost Oregonians millions more every year. In higher food prices. Higher utility bills. And any goods that are shipped and delivered will also cost more. It’s also a plan that Oregonians have directly and indirectly rejected three times before. So why are they doing it?

Be sure to scroll down to the show notes section for the links to submit your comments and tell them no.

I Spy Radio Coverage Map as of April 2024
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, seven times over the weekend, 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 our network of stations.

Original Air Dates: August 24th & 25th, 2024 | Guest: Chuck Wiese

This Week – Oregon’s Climate Protection Plan

This week’s show is a big one — discussing Oregon’s latest scheme to redistribute wealth: the Climate Protection Plan.

The CPP will force a carbon cap and trade program on Oregon’s businesses, which will impact many things you buy and need. Apparently, Governor Kotek and the democrats think that you’re STILL not paying enough on food and utilities, let alone all the other aspects of your life that will be impacted.

This Climate Protection Plan is a scheme that Oregonians rejected directly by turning down a ballot initiative. They rejected it indirectly through their legislature, which wouldn’t pass the bill. And a third time after Governor Brown’s executive order establishing it was tossed by Oregon’s Court of Appeal. Why? Because in her authoritarian zeal to force her belief system on Oregonians, they failed to meet public meeting laws. In fact, the court said the governor and DEQ didn’t appear to even try to meet the public meeting laws.

But the nation’s worst governor, Tina Kotek, (she came in 50th out of 50 in a recent survey) is trying to resurrect it. The DEQ is taking public comment on it right now. And you need to weigh in.

Take action! Head to the Climate Protection Plan page at the DEQ, then scroll down to the public involvement section. If you already know you’re a “no” then submit your comments on Oregon’s CPP by emailing Nicole Singh: cpp.2024@deq.oregon.gov

We interview meteorologist Chuck Wiese to discuss how this CPP will cost Oregonians millions — to solve a non-existent problem.

Climate Protection Plan: the Pretend Solution to an Imaginary Problem

Bad data leads to bad information. Bad information leads to bad decisions. And that’s the foundation of Oregon’s Climate Protection Plan. Chuck Wiese walks us through why the climate change (aka “global warming”) scaremongering is simply wrong.

The whole foundation of Climate Change is that CO2 is warming the Earth and that mankind’s carbon dioxide contribution is causing the warming. Except it’s a wrong idea based on bad information that is based on bad data. And now Oregon’s politicians are forcing a solution to a non-existent problem.

The non-existent problem is that Oregon’ puny CO2 emissions, even if entirely eliminated, is so small (we’re talking hundredths of a percent) that it would make no difference. At all. Especially since China is busily increasing its emissions more than Oregon could possibly cut.

Their solution? A carbon cap and trade scheme. It’s a scam. See the show notes section for lots of information on carbon credits and cap and trade schemes and how they do nothing to fix the “problem” of carbon emissions. As one article says, “Ultimately, carbon credits incentivize the buying and selling of carbon credits, rather than reducing the amount of pollution companies produce. Shell is a classic example of this; the company now has a very lucrative business line of creating and selling carbon credits.”

Yes. It’s all about money. Bilking industries out millions of dollars and redistributing it. Especially to far left environmental “non profits.”

Carbon Dioxide as the Fake Enemy

It’s simple. If Democrats and environmentalists and the far left we’re truly serious about carbon and carbon dioxide they would do a far, far better job of force management. Trees need and suck in carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. Instead, the Democrats and environmentalists and the far left refuse to do proper forest management. They refuse to cut timber. and what happened? Millions of acres have burned putting all that carbon and CO2 back into the atmosphere not to mention all that soot and particles that they claim to worry about.

Tina Kotek’s Department of Forestry literally just took some 57% of Oregon’s forests offline because of their Habitat Conservation Plan. They are not at all serious about carbon dioxide. So don’t listen to them when they lie to you and claim that they care about carbon dioxide.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

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

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Take action! Head to the Climate Protection Plan page at the DEQ, then scroll down to the public involvement section. If you already know you’re a “no” then submit your comments on Oregon’s CPP by emailing Nicole Singh: cpp.2024@deq.oregon.gov.

Oregon State has valid reasons for opposing Elliott forest carbon-crediting scheme (Oregon Capital Chronicle, Aug 20, 2024)

Actually, it’s the DEQ misleading people: “Oregon DEQ says NW Natural is misleading people on state climate program” (OregonLive, Aug 20, 2022)

Learn about carbon credits and cap and trade schemes

  • Great video—good info and simple to understand: Carbon credits are a complete scam (Auto Expert John Cadogan, YouTube Channel, Jan 9, 2024)
  • Exposing the Carbon Credit and Offset SCAM (Belinda Carr, Apr 20, 2022)
  • Carbon Credits Are the Biggest Scam Since Indulgences—How You Can Avoid Being Fleeced (The Burning Platform, June 11, 2024)
  • The Carbon Credit Scam: Financial Cost, Virtue Signaling, Little or No Environmental Benefit (Gateway Pundit, May 24, 2024)
  • Carbon credit scam exposed: carbon markets fail as CO₂ declines (CFACT, Apr 02, 2020)
    • “…the existence of these markets sets up a perverse incentive. To the average climate campaigner, the goal of such a “market” is to eventually bring CO₂ emissions to as close to zero as possible. But for those companies making big bucks off of carbon credits, when the so-called “pollution” falls, so do their profits. They don’t plan on giving that cash flow up any time soon.”
  • Boondoggle: Carbon capture projects are worse than a public nuisance (CFACT, June 8, 2024)
    • This HAS to be one of the dumbest ideas ever: “…a giant carbon sequestration project on and underneath federal land [in Montana’s Snowy River region]. It would be supported by a vast “carbon capture” network consisting of tens and thousands of miles of new pipelines and dozens of remote storage sites.
    • Carbon offsets are an artificial commodity – completely unrelated to the climate or any other tangible asset. They are an open invitation to fraud because it is impossible to say what effect buying or selling them will have on the climate.
  • World’s largest seller of carbon credits EXPOSED as scam operation (Natural News, March 29, 2023)
  • Unveiling the Potential Scam and Fraud of Carbon Credit Schemes (Irfan Nasrullah via Medium, Sept 27, 2023)
  • Even Greenpeace agrees that carbon credits are a scam, calling them “greenwashing” and “window dressing.
    • “Carbon offsetting is truly a scammer’s dream scheme.” And that’s from Greenpeace, true climate change believers
14-28 Data Shows Bidenomics Suffering from Economic Dementia

14-28 Data Shows Bidenomics Suffering from Economic Dementia

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show 14-28 Summary: We’re talking economics and the rather grim picture being painted by the data—if someone actually bothers to look. You know. Like what the media used to do. Hold truth to power. While America’s economy is suffering through economic dementia under Joe Biden, there is not a lot of good news. Not even in supposedly “good” job reports — because they keep revising things down when they think no one is looking. But there are some bright spots ahead. If, and only if, we change who is in charge of our economy. So when will the media stop covering up Joe’s economic dementia?

I Spy Radio Coverage Map as of April 2024
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: July 13th & 14th, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week – Bidenomics: Economic Dementia

Despite the left stream media’s best cheerleading efforts, actual data about the economy is getting out. And it’s not good. Spikes in business bankruptcies. Especially small business bankruptcies. Even personal bankruptcies.

With all the business bankruptcies, and others reporting on the verge of bankruptcy, it’s no wonder that there is also a spike in store closings. If they continue at this rate,

In an America suffering from economic dementia, we need some common sense. Which is why we turn to Jonathan Williams, the Executive Vice President of Policy and the Chief Economist for ALEC. The American Legislative Exchange Council.

Economic Dementia: Did you know?
Under Bidenomics, 27% of Americans say they skip meals due to rising food costs.And 39%  skip meals to make house or rent payments

It seems there is no end of bad economic indicators. (Just take a gander at the show notes below.) A spike in bankruptcies. Cruelly keeping interest rates high Thousands and thousands of store closures. Including discount stores. (How bad is Bidenomics when people can’t even afford to shop at discount stores?) And regulations weighing down businesses. And in the middle of all that Joe Biden and the democrats want to raise taxes? That’s not just economic dementia. That’s economic suicide.

The only way out is to change the people in charge. Because if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, then electing the same politicians is political insanity.

The left-stream media and democrats have signaled (okay, shouted) they want Dementia Joe to go. CNN, if you can believe it, just fact-checked Biden’s “high-stakes news conference”. Yes. CNN!

Be on the lookout. Joe Biden’s economy has been terrible ever since he’s been in office. But the media has been providing propaganda cheerleading to convince you otherwise. Bt when the left-stream media stops covering for Joe’s economic dementia? That’s when you’ll know the knives are out.

Because no one wins an election when the economy is in the toilet.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

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

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Jonathan Williams and ALEC Links

  • Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
    • Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
    • And you too can join as a private-sector member!
    • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
  • How did Oregon do in the 2024 edition of Rich States, Poor States?
  • Jonathan’s op-ed in The Daily Caller: “Biden’s Pledge To Let Trump’s Tax Cuts Die Has Stirred Up A Hornet’s Nest” (Daily Caller, June 10, 2024)
  • Those blue states that have seen the light: Hawaii and Connecticut: “‘Blue’ States Make Fiscal Progress: Jonathan Williams on American Radio Journal” (via ALEC, June 27, 2024)

Economic Dementia Links & Info

  • Department of Interior shuts down millions of acres of Alaska to all oil, gas and mining activity (Just the News, July 8, 2024)
    • Biden’s Department of Interior blocked 28 million acres of federal land in Alaska from any oil or gas development or mining
    • Biden’s Interior also blocked a 200-mile gravel road that would have connected mining districts in West Central Alaska to a highway that runs through the middle of the state.
  • Bidenomics: 27% of Americans Say They Skip Meals Due to Rising Cost of Food (Gateway Pundit, July 6, 2024)

We have so many economic dementia links, let’s break them into sub-categories.

GDP

Jobs

  • Peter Schiff: More Doom in the Data (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2024)
    • It was especially bad for manufacturing jobs: Zero manufacturing jobs were created in May. And 8,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in June.
  • Payrolls Rise 206K After Huge Downward Revisions As Unemployment Rate Jumps To Three Year High (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2024)
    • May jobs revised from 272K, to 218K (-54K; -24.8%)
    • April jobs revised from 165K to 108K (-57K; -34.5%)
  • June Jobless Rate Triggers Sahm Rule: Recession Imminent? (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2024)

Bankruptcies & Store Closures

  • Business Bankruptcies Jump 34 Percent in First Half of 2024 (Epoch Times, July 8, 2024)
    • In the first half of this year a total of 3,016 commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcies were filed — an increase of 34% from last year
    • Small business filings rose by 61%
    • [Lumber Liquidators] Home improvement chain mulls bankruptcy (Daily Mail, July 8, 2024)
  • US retail bloodbath continues as store closures hit 2,600 so far this year – here’s the full list (UK Daily Mail, May 8, 2024)
  • The death of the dollar store: 99 Cents Only and Family Dollar to shutter hundreds of stores in ‘retail apocalypse’ (Daily Mail, May 26, 2024)
  • Nationwide discount retailer with 1,400 stores sparks fears of mass closures as it mulls bankruptcy (Daily Mail, July 5, 2024)
    • Big Lots has used up most of its cash on hand because of the losses so far this year — on top of  the last two years
    • Big Lots said all of this raises substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue.
    • How bad is Bidenomics when people can’t even afford to shop at discount stores?
  • Wilco says it could lay off 70 people, close hazelnut processing facility (Statesman, July 8, 2024)
  • Kroger-Albertsons selling 186 Oregon, Washington stores in merger bid (KOIN, July 10, 2024)

Oregon’s Own Economic Dementia

 

 

13-39 Marxism in America | Cultural Marxism in our Schools and Spending

13-39 Marxism in America | Cultural Marxism in our Schools and Spending

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show 13-39 Summary: Thanks to Joe Biden and the party formerly known as “democrats,” Marxism in America is on the rise. In our economy and in our society. We see it in our schools, as states push woke ideology on our children. And now, Marxism is a a core part of teacher hiring practices. We see it in government regulation. And a key element of Marxism is to break a country so it can be refashioned into a socialist utopia. Except they don’t exist and have never existed. But with our out-of-control government spending, we’re about to go broke.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: September 30th & October 1st, 2023 | Guests: James Hirsen and Joe Penland, Sr.

This Week – Cultural Marxism

In the wake of World War 1 and the disaster of Russia’s Marxist revolution, which left millions of dead Russians, Marxists the world over began to realize Marx focused too much on economics and not enough on culture. So they began infusing Marxism into culture, like how it was “greedy” to be successful. Or that the family unit needed to be attacked and torn down. So people would turn to the State as their family. And on and on it went. Until we arrive at today’s situation. Where Marxism in America is everywhere, even if you don’t know it.

But cultural Marxism isn’t just in Hollywood films and classrooms. Now it’s a hiring criteria for teachers. We check in with best-selling author, James Hirsen, about yet another new Marxist attack on our country: “Cultural Marxism Being Used in Teacher Hiring.”

That’s the title of James’s terrific new article—among many others. Check out all of his brilliant and insightful commentary on his website, JamesHirsen.com.

Marxism in Our Government

Thanks to FDR, who flooded the federal government with socialists, and to Harry Truman, who flooded the federal government with National Socialists (a.k.a., “Nazis”), our federal government — wait for it — is flooded with Marxists. Socialists, communists, and full-blown Marxists.

As a result, the conversion of our one-time-American government to Marxism is nearly complete. And we’re quickly speeding down the tracks to the last stop on the line.

Marxism in America isn’t always hidden. Sometimes, it’s right in our faces. Like our spending on socialized giveaways.

Our federal government has been spending trillions outside of its budget. Whenever you spend more than you budgeted, you have a deficit. And we’ve been spending about 20-30% beyond our budget every year for decades. Our national debt, which stands at $33 trillion (and growing fast), is the accumulation of all those years of spending more than our income.

We welcome first-time guest Joe Penland Sr., a successful businessman who also has over 26 years of banking experience. For the last year, he has been trying to wake Americans up to the tipping point of debt we are fast approaching.

All that debt and for what? When a business borrows, it’s typically to buy land or equipment. Hard assets. Which they will then use to generate more money. Effectively, they are borrowing the means to pay off the money they are borrowing. Not so with government. We are giving money away and getting no assets in exchange for those giveaways. (Unless you consider votes for more giveaways to be an asset.)

We talk to Joe about the hard decisions ahead.

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.

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Joe Penland’s Segments

Related Marxism in America Info

  • The Deep State Behind the Deep State (Liberty Sentinel, Sept 26, 2023)
  • Marxism hates the family structure. Check out this article: “AI girlfriends are ruining an entire generation of men” (The Hill, Sept 26, 2023)
    • It’s the statistics here that are so troubling: “America desperately needs people to have more babies, but all the signs are pointing toward fewer relationships, fewer marriages and fewer babies. There have been 600,000 fewer births in 2023 in the U.S. relative to 15 years ago. The number of children per woman has decreased by more than 50 percent in the last 60 years.”
    • “In 1940, there were 42 workers per beneficiary of Social Security. Today, there are only 2.8 workers per beneficiary, and that number is getting smaller.”

 

 

America needs its Faith Warriors. Time to Activate the Church
13-21 It’s Time to Activate the Church | Christian Soldiers for the Win

13-21 It’s Time to Activate the Church | Christian Soldiers for the Win

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

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?

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

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

  • 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.
  • No, Romans 13 is not about obeying the governing authorities (Craig Greenfield, May 11, 2018)
    • Romans 13… [has been] used to make sure we are all being obedient citizens, which historically has led Christians into all KINDS of problems
  • Should Christians Always Submit to the Government? (Crossway.org, Apr 24, 2022)
    • “Governmental tyranny is a potential evil, but so is anarchy. “Subjection” means recognition of authority and compliance with it.
socialism - how it's marketed, how it is
12-42 Teeing up the Election: That Tick on America’s Back

12-42 Teeing up the Election: That Tick on America’s Back

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show Summary: Socialism is a parasite that only survives because it lives off the blood of capitalism. It does not create wealth, it creates ruin. It has tried and failed. Oregon has been seeing its effects for decades. But this election, it could all change.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: October 15th & 16th, 2022 | Guest: Sen. Dennis Linthicum

This Week – Socialism: The Prosperity Parasite 

When you think about it, socialism is a parasite that only survives because it lives off the blood of capitalism. Socialism does not create wealth, it creates ruin. It has tried and failed in many countries, leaving destruction in its wake. But those pushing it here in America and especially in Oregon, are only able to promote it because those pushing it are funded by the profits (and taxes) generated from capitalism.

Oregon has been seeing socialism’s effects for decades. But this election, it could all change.

By the way. We used to call Oregon the Petri Dish of Leftist politics. Now it’s the Wuhan Lab of Leftist politics.

Senator Dennis Linthicum on Socialism in Oregon

We welcome back Senator, Dennis Linthicum (SD-28, Klamath Falls) to talk about socialism and its effects in Oregon. As a state senator in Oregon, he sees the policies pushed by the democrats, many of whom are socialists or wannabes. They just haven’t come out of the closet yet. But once Oregon is full socialist, they’ll drop the mask.

Be sure to get Dennis’s newsletter. It’s easy! Just send an email to dennis@electdennis.com to sign up

During the interview, we focus on four broad policy issues: society (education, crime, attacks on the family, etc.); economics (we’re living it under Biden); environment (spotted owl, the Klamath area has been under assault for decades, timber); and healthcare. On health care, Oregon just got a billion dollars to experiment with Medicaid, expanding it to virtually everything because, you guessed it, global warming.

And, Measure 111, is on the ballot this year. It would make universal health care permanent in Oregon by making it a constitutional right.

Remember. Environmental laws are how they control businesses. Healthcare is how they control people.

That’s how they seized such broad control during covid.

Don’t miss this in-depth examination of socialism and it’s impact on Oregon. We have this year to stop it. And, for once, things are looking good.

Be sure to check out the Featured Reading section in the links section for five great articles describing socialism.

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

Featured Reading: Socialism
History Lesson For Millennials: Here’s Why Socialism NEVER Works (The Federalist Papers, Feb 22, 2016)
Socialism Destroys Lives and Would Destroy America – It’s That Simple (The Western Journal, October 26, 2018)
Socialism’s Historical Destruction of the Environment (Case for Conservatism, October 10, 2022)
5 Ways Socialism Destroys Societies (Townhall, Feb 25, 2014)
Socialism: Destruction, starvation, tyranny, and death are cool again (Babalú Blog, September 19, 2018)
Socialism Will Always Destroy Democracy (The American Conservative, June 7, 2019)
Or watch: Klavan Explains Why Socialism Kills Countries (Daily Wire, July 24, 2018)

  • See the Cato Institute’s Report Card on America’s governors. Notice how the entire Left Coast gets an “F”: “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors 2022” (Cato Institute, Oct 12, 2022)
  • [Canada’s healthcare hellscape is now offering assisted suicide to wounded veterans] Veterans Affairs says worker ‘inappropriately’ discussed medically assisted death with veteran (Global News Canada, August 17, 2022)
  • ‘Abandoning People’: Canada’s Broadening Assisted Suicide Law Dangerous for the Vulnerable, Critics Say (The Epoch Times, August 24, 2022)
  • NHS Waiting List Tops 7 Million for First Time Leaving 1 in 8 People in England Waiting for NHS Treatment (The Daily Skeptic, Oct 13, 2022)*Wait up to 8 hours for an ambulance
  • Canada is Euthanizing the Poor (via VK.com, Aug 16, 2022)
  • Euthanasia is Now a Leading Cause of Death in Canada, And Ethicists Are Freaking Out (Daily Caller, Aug 12, 2022)
    • “[Canada’s] broad eligibility has led to more than 10,000 Canadians being euthanized in the most recent year for which data is available, making it the sixth leading cause of death in the country, the AP reported.*Matthew Yglesias: “Canadian institutions seem to be using euthanasia legalization to avoid the expense of caring for the disabled.”
  • Disturbing: Experts troubled by Canada’ euthanasia laws (AP News, Aug 11, 2022)
  • Euthanasia in Belgium and the Netherlands: On a Slippery Slope? (Research Gate, JAMA Internal Medicine, Aug 2015)
  • Dr Pierre Kory on Disillusionment (drtrozzi.org, Oct 12, 2022)
    • “I did not understand we were striking at the very heart of the pharmaceutical industry”
  • How surrogacy is transforming medicine (UnHerd, Oct 6, 2022)
What to do about our many healthcare crises. It is just one healthcare crisis after another.
Our Many Healthcare Crises, Part 2 | The Root Cause of Many of Them

Our Many Healthcare Crises, Part 2 | The Root Cause of Many of Them

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show Summary: When Obamacare was passed (rammed through without a single Republican vote), it was supposed to fix health care and lower costs. All those savings, remember? What happened? But there are more problems and more spending than ever. This week, we continue our talk with healthcare-system expert, Lisa Lettenmaier, but zero in on the two root causes of many of, if not all of, our many healthcare crises.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: August 6th & 7th, 2022 | Guest: Lisa Lettenmaier

This Week – Our Many Healthcare Crises

We continue our deep dive into the problems plaguing our health care system—the many healthcare crises and the ever-growing expense. How is it that we are spending more than ever — by far! — on healthcare and yet it’s just one crisis after another? 

But this week, we zero in on the two main problems. And they should be no surprise, really, for anyone who has followed I Spy Radio’s many shows on healthcare or for anyone who has a lick of common sense. The two root causes are money and government. Particularly, government interference.

Healthcare crises in the UK: "My cousin had to deliver his child because the ambulance said they’d take 4 and a half hours to come for his wife. What is the UK coming to? He had to watch a YouTube tutorial on how to deliver a baby."
Healthcare crises in the UK. THIS is what they want to emulate?

We bring back our healthcare system expert, Lisa Lettenmaier. Lisa is currently an insurance agent and owns Health Source NW. But her background is in accounting, overseeing budgets and forecasting for major companies. So when she looks at the healthcare crises, she is viewing it not just from an insurance standpoint but from a systemic-analyst’s viewpoint.

Need healthcare and not sure where to turn? Give Lisa a call. Her website is www.HealthSourceNW.com.  She helps individuals and businesses throughout Oregon and SW Washington make sure they have the right coverage for when, God forbid, they really need it. Will your policy cover what you think it does? 

The Root Cause of So Many Healthcare Crises

This week, you’ll also hear an extended opener from I Spy Radio host, Mark Anderson, on the government’s interference — sabotage, really — of the normal free-market forces that would normally lower cost and improve care. Mark walks you through what a free market system would look like. Hint: we don’t have one now (remember Obama et al. when they were pushing Obamacare:  “the free market failed”?), not in health care. And he walks you through the government interfering with the free market, much of which can be traced back to a 1943 IRS ruling.

If you didn’t already think “they” are destroying things on purpose, you’ll believe it after this show. No one, no government, makes this many “mistakes” on purpose.

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

What to do about our many healthcare crises. It is just one healthcare crisis after another.
What to do About Our Many Healthcare Crises | Part 1

What to do About Our Many Healthcare Crises | Part 1

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show Summary: We are dumping billions upon billions into our healthcare system. But there are more healthcare crises than ever. What’s going on? We talk with health care system expert, Lisa Lettenmaier to find out what’s happening and why there are so many crises. Next week, we’ll look at the root cause of so many of these problems and what can be done.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: July 30th & 31st, 2022 | Guest: Lisa Lettenmaier

This Week – Our Many Healthcare Crises

We are diving deep into the problems plaguing our health care system. The many healthcare crises and the ever-growing expense. How is it that we are spending more than ever — by far! — on healthcare and yet it’s just one crisis after another? 

Does anyone even remember that we were promised that Obamacare would fix all this? And cost less?

We bring back our healthcare system expert, Lisa Lettenmaier. Lisa is currently an insurance agent and owns Health Source NW. But her background is in accounting, overseeing budgets and forecasting for major companies. So when she looks at the healthcare crises, she is viewing it not just from an insurance standpoint but from a systemic analyst’s viewpoint.

And it’s not good.

We talk with Lisa about the many healthcare crises right now but focus on three in particular that are the most troubling. Including the mental health crisis, which, in many ways, is emblematic of the other system-wide problems.

We’ll continue this deep dive next week and focus in on the root of all these crises. Which has changed everything—and not for the good.

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

Rising prescription drug prices (OregonLive, July 20, 2022)

Oregon agency sets virtual public hearings on 2023 health insurance preliminary rate decisions (KTVZ, July 23, 2022)

Healthcare and ambulance services deal with capacity crisis (KGW, July 22, 2022)

Profits of the pandemic: Moderna gives Boston’s property market a shot (Daily Mail, July 23, 2022)

WA hospitals facing ‘unsustainable’ financial losses, in danger of cutting services (Seattle Times, July 21, 2022)

Left’s Latest Health Care Scheme Will Worsen Inflation, The Deficit, And Your Insurance (The Federalist, July 25, 2022)

Difficulty Paying Bills Tops Pandemic High in US Census Survey (Yahoo News, July 25, 2022)

Covid Relief Spending by the Federal Government (via USASpending.gov, retrieved July 28, 2022)

2021 year in review - democrats destruction and hope for 2022
2021 Year in Review: Democrats’ Political Boneyard | Hope for 2022

2021 Year in Review: Democrats’ Political Boneyard | Hope for 2022

By | | Comments 0 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | TuneIn | RSS | More

Show Summary: Our year in review: as bad as 2021 has been, it turns out it was the year of proving the Right was right. Lockdowns to mandates to passports, Russia collusion, CRT and so much more — they weren’t conspiracies. Will Oregon reject democrats in 2022? Listen to hear about the monkey wrenches democrats are tossing in the gears to sabotage Oregon.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

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

Original Air Dates: December 11th & 12th, 2021 | Guest: State Senator Dennis Linthicum

This week: Senator Dennis Linthicum (OR SD-28) joins us for our year in review as we  look back at 2021 and take a look ahead at 2022.

A Year in Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Democrats

Last week we talked with Alek Skarlatos about the democrats’ gerrymandered congressional districts. This week we look a little deeper. Yes, the democrat gerrymandering is a problem but there is another monkey wrench they threw in the elections gears in 2021.

Actually, it’s more of a sledgehammer.

Be sure to check out the resources below for more info on China’s social credit score system democrats want to bring to the U.S. If you thought CRT was bad…

We also look ahead at 2022 and the challenges ahead. There are some great Republican candidates for governor. And, yes, there is a potential monkey wrench there too. Betsy Johnson. While she would be a far better democrat candidate than the ultra far left Tina Kotek or the so-called “moderate” carpetbagger Nicholas Kristoff, she’s running as an independent. Not a democrat.

That says a lot, doesn’t it?

Because she must not believe an independent-minded blue-dog democrat can win in Oregon. At least not get the win in the democrat primary. How will a third-party candidate impact the race? Split the votes and ensure a democrat win? Or split the democrats and let a Republican slip by?

We also look ahead to 2022. What are some of the key issues for Republicans to run on and attract both non-affiliated voters. And even democrats? Here’s a hint: we talked about one of them last week.

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.

References & Further Reading

China’s Social Credit Score

  • Video: China ranks ‘good’ and ‘bad’ citizens with ‘social credit’ system (France 24, YT channel, May 1, 2019)
  • China’s social credit system spreads to more daily transactions (Brookings Institute, June 18, 2018)
    • “China has stated that all 1.35 billion of its citizens will be subject to its social credit system by 2020, and travel restrictions for low-scoring citizens is only one of many to come.”
    • “…a poor Chinese social credit score can lead to bans from travel, certain schools, luxury hotels, government positions, and even dating apps.”
  • Chinese Social Credit Score: Utopian Big Data Bliss Or Black Mirror On Steroids? (Forbes, Jan 21, 2019)
    • “…government agencies and private companies are collecting enormous amounts of data about e.g. an individual’s finances, social media activities, credit history, health records, online purchases, tax payments, legal matters, and people you associate with in, addition to images gathered from China’s 200 million surveillance cameras and facial recognition software.”
  • China’s new ‘social credit system’ is a dystopian nightmare (NY Post, May 18, 2019)
    • “Not only are you publicly humiliated in the ticket line, you are then forced to travel by slow train. What should have been a three-hour flight becomes a 30-hour, stop-and-go nightmare. All because the government has declared you untrustworthy. ”
    • “A low social credit score will exclude you from well-paid jobs, make it impossible for you to get a house or a car loan or even book a hotel room. The government will slow down your internet connection, ban your children from attending private schools and even post your profile on a public blacklist for all to see.”
  • UK Study on kids 23%:  COVID rules are blamed for 23% dive in young children’s development: Disturbing study shows scores in three key cognitive tests slumped between 2018 and 2021, with face mask rules among possible culprits (UK Daily Mail, Nov 26, 2021)
    • New study executed by Brown University found face masks and other social distancing measures may in fact impede on children’s development
    • A whopping 23 per cent drop in IQ scores since the start of the pandemic

2021 Year in Review: the Right was Right