A rally to Open Up Oregon is planned for Saturday at the Oregon Capitol.

A Facebook event post declares

The Oregon Governor and counterparts have pushed too far. They are closing our schools, shutting down businesses, and bullying citizens. Its time we organize together and discuss options to respond to this tyranny. Join us at The Oregon State Capital on August 8th at NOON. Please reach out for volunteer opportunities.

The Rally is scheduled to run from noon to 4:00 and will feature several speakers. You can find out more at the event link on Facebook

Many Oregonians are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the shutdown of economic activity in the state for such a prolonged period of time.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-08-03 09:41:10

Last Update: 2020-08-03 09:41:54

Editor’s note: This is the second of a multi-part series analyzing the latest version of the school re-opening guidelines.

Maybe the uncertainty of school opening in the Fall is causing you to look at options other than your regular old public schools. Maybe you're unhappy with their results. Maybe your child has some issues -- possibly not their fault -- with them. Now might be the time to start looking into home schooling.

Parents who are used to their children being away for six or more hours a day might be thinking to themselves that as much as they care about their children's performance, they simply don't have 30 hours to spend teaching them. You might be surprised at how little time it takes. Well behaved children almost teach themselves. OK, that might be an overstatement, but it's not a full-time job.

The legal requirements are not that complex:

1. Notify the local Education Service District (ESD) of intent to home school (ESD Homeschool Websites) within 10 days of withdrawing from public or private school.
2. Coordinate with Home School Tester(s) to assess student growth at the end of grade levels 3, 5, 8, and 10 (testing begins 18 months after notification)
3. Submit test results to local ESD when requested

The law requires that students who are home schooled be tested. The rules for testing are governed by administrative rule and they aren't very complicated.

You don't have to be a teacher. You don't have to have a college degree. If you're reading this article, you've already proven that you're smart enough to get the job done.




--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-08-01 23:24:46

Last Update: 2020-08-02 18:49:53

Lawyers representing a group of agricultural, business, forest an transportation industry associations have filed a suit in Marion County Circuit Court naming Oregon Governor Kate Brown in her official capacity as Governor of Oregon. The suit alleges that her executive order requiring carbon reduction at state agencies, issued in March of this year is illegal and asking that much of it be declared unconstitutional.

The core of the executive order is found in Section 3A, which the plaintiffs are asking to be declared unconstitutional. It issues a directive to executive branch agencies that they "shall exercise any and all authority and discretion vested in them by law to help Oregon's achievement of the GHG emissions reduction goals." These goals are a reduction of "at least 45 percent below 1990 emissions levels by the year 2035 and at least 80 percent below 1990 emissions levels by the year 2050."

Specifically, the suit alleges that

"[T]he Governor issued Executive Order No. 20-04 [which] unilaterally set a minimum 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for the State of Oregon, and doubled the carbon intensity reduction standard previously established by the Legislative Assembly. EO 20-04 mandates that 16 separate state agencies and commissions, including the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Environmental Quality Commission, adopt rules to achieve those standards. The Governor issued EO 20-04 after the Legislative Assembly, the department of state government charged with making laws, failed in successive legislative sessions to adopt nearly identical efforts to amend the existing statutory GHG goals and low carbon fuel standards found in ORS 468A.205 and ORS 468A.266."

The suit requests:

Plaintiffs are entitled to a judgment...declaring that:

(a) Sections 2, 3.A, and 4.C of EO 20-04 are unconstitutional because they violate Article III, Section 1, of the Oregon Constitution and/or exceed the scope of authority delegated to the executive branch under Article V of the Oregon Constitution.

(b) Section 4.A of EO 20-04 is unconstitutional because it violates Article III, Section 1, of the Oregon Constitution and/or exceeds the scope of authority delegated to the executive branch under Article V of the Oregon Constitution.

Rachel Dawson, a Policy Analyst at Cascade Policy Institute suggests that progress is being made, if emissions are considered on a per-capita basis.


She notes that “When measured on a per capita basis, Oregon GHG emissions in 2017 were actually 21% lower than 1990 levels. We have more than doubled the 10% emissions reduction goal and done so—three years ahead of the deadline.”

The 2019 session was marked by a Republican Senate walkout to deny a quorum over HB 2020, which had passed the House. This bill would have set carbon goals for the entire state, not just state agencies, as the executive order does. Governor Brow's executive order was seen as a way for her to have something to give to her left-leaning environmental lobby in the absence of a bill, which many observers say was not a sure bet to pass the Senate.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-08-01 22:04:20

Last Update: 2020-08-03 12:00:59

COVID-19 has been a godsend for Democrats in Oregon. Back in early March State Republican Legislators successfully foiled Democrat-only supported Cap & Trade legislation. This was not merely a policy win for Republicans but also a political win by a party in the super minority. Poll after poll showed Cap & Trade was unpopular with Oregonians and Republicans captured that enthusiasm to take appropriate steps to kill the bill. Nationally, Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump, having created the best economy in US history and foreign policy success after success, appeared to be on his way to almost certain victory over Joe Biden, whose mental capacity was quickly diminishing, like daylight after sunset.

Without a dynamic candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket and without an issue to energize their base, Democrats needed something, and something in a hurry. COVID-19 came at the right time and was an unknown — and people fear the unknown. Democrat leaders didn’t let this crisis go to waste, but instead, have used every opportunity to fan the flames of fear. Oregon Governor Kate Brown, declared a State of Emergency, which may have been approved by most, at first. However, looking back, it has, and continues, to cause unnecessary harm to Oregonians. The Governor’s ability to call a State of Emergency is one thing. For Brown to have the sole authority to extend it, and extend it and preparing to extend it yet again is something else entirely.

This state of emergency all but sidelines the legislature. Private meetings after private meetings take place at the Governor’s request to determine each new policy during this state of emergency: schools being opened or closed, how many people may gather together in one place, travel restrictions, mask wearing — all of these public policies are discussed and decided behind closed doors. One wonders if we still live in a republic or do we now all serve only one leader, her majesty Kate Brown? An open, methodical, sometimes painfully slow but transparent process, are the hallmarks of our constitutionally representative republic. What we have seen since March, well, it is certainly not that.

One policy of grave concern is the Governor’s drive for criminal justice reform. While discussing how to make our justice system more "just", should be on the mind of every legislature, this push has come from well publicized, yet isolated incidents, in Minneapolis and Atlanta, which are not comparable to Oregon's justice system. The Democrat’s new platform to make life just for all, is to Defund the Police and to close State prisons. Let me repeat that. To address the increased violence we are seeing in our cities Democrats want to Defund the Police and close State prisons. Next week two of Oregon’s 14 prisons could be closed. Nearly 500 inmates will be transferred to other prisons throughout Oregon. All of a sudden the Governor’s grave concern for slowing the spread of COVID-19 is put on the back burner to right all the wrongs of America and to appear caring and compassionate. Ironically, it is likely that several of these prisoners will be released, due to lack of space and concerns over spreading COVID-19.

Furthermore, Democrats continue to line up legislation to decriminalize illegal drugs and associated criminal behavior. In Democrat Utopia as long as you do not hurt someone physically, other criminal activity like, theft and vandalism will not be met with jail time, but therapy time -- maybe. The closure of prisons pushes us towards a brave new world, in which criminals are set free due to overcrowding. We will soon hear that our prisons are nearing or at capacity. Therefore new policies must be tried because prisons are too expensive to build and operate. Leaving only the option of privatized, for profit prisons (currently not legal in Oregon) , or holding taxes hostage until the population succumbs to increased exploitation, in exchange for "safety".

It would seem that crime actually does pay, in Democrat run states. But it doesn't have to...

This November Oregonians will have a chance to say no to these criminal justice "reform" policies. Policies that place more importance on the rights of criminals, rather than that of law abiding citizens. It is time to bring balance back to Oregon and November 3rd is the place to start.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-08-01 12:42:15

Last Update: 2020-08-02 08:36:18

--Northwest Observer Meme Team

Post Date: 2020-08-01 12:10:18

Last Update: 2020-08-01 08:12:20

As expected, Governor Kate Brown will convene a Special Session of the Oregon Legislature at 8:00 a.m. Monday, August 10, 2020 to rebalance the state budget by addressing the state revenue shortfall created by the government response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Governor Brown issued the following statement today:

“This crisis has impacted all of us—Oregon families, businesses, non-profits, and local governments have all had to cut costs. The State of Oregon has been tightening its belt as well. With a nearly $1 billion budget deficit in the current biennium, there is more work to do.

“These decisions will not be easy. Oregon has been smart with our reserves and saved for a rainy day, preparing us to weather this economic storm. But if we use too much of our savings now, then we’ll be stuck with an even bigger budget gap for the next biennium. Putting off tough decisions this summer will only leave us with impossible choices next January.

“Unlike the federal government, Oregon must balance our state budget. State and local governments have been left reeling from the economic downturn. For months, we have waited for Congress to take action, and it is still my hope that they will include aid for states and local governments in the coronavirus relief package currently being negotiated.

“We need to preserve critical services like health care, education, and senior services during this pandemic. And, we must do more to address the disparities in state support for Oregon’s underserved communities, particularly our Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color. I would like to thank legislators for beginning this work already, and I look forward to rolling up our sleeves and crafting an updated budget that serves all Oregonians.”

Despite passing numerous police reform bills in the last special session, Governor Brown also noted her support for what she describes as "urgent legislation that builds on matters considered in the first special session", including additional police accountability reforms.

Governor Brown has already proposed $150 million in General Fund savings for the biennium. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, state agencies have worked to find efficiencies by reducing non-critical spending, delaying new programs, halting non-essential travel, and leaving positions unfilled. Governor Brown is convening the special session under her authority pursuant to Article V, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution.

Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod (R-Stayton) countered, “Senate Republicans have been willing to work on the budget since before the governor called the first special session earlier this summer. If we diverge from the stated purpose of addressing the budget, this second special session will make a mockery of the legislative process yet again. “Policy bills should be off the table. The focus should be on the budget.”

Critics of the last special session noted that most of the “police reforms” were of little consequence. Some, even legislators like Sherrie Sprenger (R-Scio) -- a former Deputy Sheriff -- took exception to the tribute to Black Lives Matter placed into the text of each bill.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-07-31 21:41:48

Last Update: 2020-07-31 21:42:34

Ever since the “Defund the Police” movement began, many observers have wondered aloud if this policy was to be taken seriously or if it were nothing more than over-the-top hyperbole. After all, one of the most fundamental functions of government at all levels is public safety.

For a time, it seemed that common sense would prevail and, after some municipal self-searching, some measures would be taken and some statements would be made, and everything would return to normal -- including the fact that law enforcement is done by human beings, and imperfect human beings make mistakes. We appropriately have high expections for law enforcement and when they fail, we hold them highly accountable, as we are with Derek Chauvin who is alleged to have killed George Floyd, as well as his fellow officers. Their legal prospects are bleak.

The center of the storm, Minneapolis, Minnesota -- the site of the death of George Floyd -- went first, and blinked. It passed a resolution to amend the city charter, but the changes are small. It puts the police under control of a civilian, appointed by the mayor, instead of the mayor himself. Other than that, the changes are aspirational and symbolic. There is no police departement in Minneapois any longer. They have replaced it with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention.

Hopes turned to Seattle, the home of CHAZ or CHOP or whatever that short-lived new country was called before it was put out of its misery. The emerald city is considering a resolution with a little more bite. It, too, renames its police department to Department of Community Safety & Violence 14 Prevention. It removes 9-1-1 communications, Emergency Management, Harbor Patrol and Parking Enforcement from under the police -- as if this is what communities of color need.

Portland ought to be next. The site of the battle for the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse still reeks of tear gas and graffiti. Portland City Commissioner Joanne Hardesty doesn't take a back seat to anyone, when it comes to justice. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler is tough enough to attend the riots and (some say) purposely get himself tear gassed, but it remains to be seen if he's tougher than Hardesty on policy.

One ironic twist is that while all these proposals fall under a movement named “Defund the Police,” all of them call for more studies, more personnel, more costly shuffling of the bureaucracy, all of which mean more spending. Just not on police.




--Staff Reports. Robert Borger contributed to this article.

Post Date: 2020-07-31 18:54:26

Initiative Petition 1 proposed for the 2022 election, is collecting signatures to limit the legislature from declaring a bill to be an emergency which prevents a citizen’s challenge. The petition requires a bill designated as an emergency to pass with a two-thirds vote, exempting constitutional provisions.

One of those constitutional exemptions is Article X-A in response to a “catastrophic disaster” declared by the Governor within an emergency legislative session.

If you’ve followed Governor Brown’s response to the pandemic, she has used Oregon statutes to override the Oregon Constitution in her declaration of a “catastrophic disaster.” The Oregon Supreme Court supported her actions even though it defies the authority of grammar principles in constructing her argument.

If the “Emergency Clause” hadn’t been abused for fake emergencies, we would not have the “Gross Receipts Tax” costing Oregonians $2.5 billion in added taxes, the largest tax increase in the state’s history.

If there were no fake emergencies, the legislature could not have overridden Measure 88 passed by 66% of Oregon voters repealing a 2013 law giving drivers licenses to those unable to show proof of legal residence.

The emergency clause on HB 2975 prevented a citizen’s initiative to challenge the legislature from taking $108 million from taxpayer’s kicker.

Then there are the legislative bills that had fake emergency clauses that caused the Republican legislators to walk out in 2019 and 2020 sessions. Heading that list is “Cap and Trade.” Not far behind are the gun bills and forced vaccinations. Part of the insult of “Fake Emergencies” is that the party in power owns all branches of government. They can do whatever they want. Abuse of the emergency clause at this point begins to look like spiking the ball after going ahead by eight touchdowns.

More than reforming an emergency clause is needed. It takes a lot of funding and volunteers to challenge legislation. Voters passed the death penalty nine times, and Measure 11 in 1994 that forced stiffer sentencing guidelines on the most serious person-crimes. But still in 2019 the legislature passed SB 1013 reclassifying crimes in order to avoid more convictions that carry the possibility of the death penalty in most cases, and loosen sentencing guidelines. This bill is open to challenge, but how many times do the voters need to speak before heard?

The No Fake Emergencies petition isn’t a complete answer, but it does uphold the First Amendment for Oregon voters with the right to challenge legislation when our legislators are off base.




--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-07-31 17:28:05

We have been indoctrinated through fear to wear face diapers. If you do not have or been exposed to COVID-19, then a face covering does not “save lives” from you not wearing a mask. Everyone is walking around with contaminated masks breathing in their own toxic air supposedly preventing breathing in the infectious COVID-19 virus. But research says it doesn’t protect you from the virus, only prevents you from widely spreading it. Wearing a face covering may even be worse for you, collecting virus particles on a cloth covering that you continue to breath in longer than a short exposure passing someone infected.

Forget about the virus, breathing carbon dioxide (CO2) can be pretty dangerous, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They say, “inhaling high levels of CO2 may be life-threatening. Hypercapnia (carbon dioxide toxicity) can also cause headache, vertigo, double vision, inability to concentrate, tinnitus (hearing a noise, like a ringing or buzzing, that’s not caused by an outside source), seizures, or suffocation due to displacement of air.” There is a lot of evidence that most face-coverings are ineffective as protection against COVID-19. So what happens when people in gyms start fainting brutally hitting their heads, or they drive into oncoming traffic? What liability does the state have for permanently impairing your child from toxic fumes? Any state liability means taxpayers foot the bill.

Now comes the point of disposal. If face coverings are so effective, why do we not hear about disposing of them as infectious materials? Household hazardous waste includes infectious medical materials, and are not accepted at hazardous waste dumps. In some counties you can request a special container for a fee to dispose of medical infectious materials and improper disposal is considered a public health and safety hazard with a potential fine of up to $500. The Marion County Energy from Waste Facility (EFW) takes in each year approximately 700 tons in Marion County alone and 1,200 tons servicing other counties. Their disposal system effectively destroys any bacteria and diseased materials through incineration at 1800° to 2200° F. Can you imagine the increase in tons that masks would add?

So why isn’t mask disposal an issue to the Governor? The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends masks be treated as medical waste, and not throw them away with other garbage. “Used masks have respiratory secretions on them and can be dispersed and transmitted through the air.”

There is little research on survival rates for the virus on masks, but we can make some reasonable assumptions. Similar fibers such as papers, tissues, paper towels and toilet paper can detect the live virus for three hours and paper money can be detected up to four days. Cardboard surfaces will retain the virus for 24 hours. What is clear is that COVID-19 is terminal on masks within about four days at the most. The longest life is seven days on some plastics, which could be part of some masks, particularly shields. With such a short life span, why does WHO recommend medical waste disposal? Is it part of their scare tactic?

COVID-19 legal immunity could be on the agenda for the next special session. Instead of solving the problem, maybe just make it illegal. Could it be that Governor Brown knows that face coverings are all about power and control and have very little to do with preventing the spread of COVID-19? Why do healthy people need to wear masks if they aren’t spreading anything? Do you think making children wear a face covering conditions them to government control?


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-07-31 16:45:46

Last Update: 2020-07-29 16:45:56

Editor’s note: This is the first of a multi-part series analyzing the latest version of the school re-opening guidelines.

The Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority have released an extensive revision of Ready Schools, Safe Learners: Guidance for School Year 22020-21, a 74 page tome on what metrics need to be met before a school can re-open. The document is quite comprehensive and takes into account various non-traditional educational environments and some of the less-common aspects of education. Approximately half of the document is set in green type, indicating that it is new or changed.

Cryptically, the section numbering starts with 0 -- something found more in the basements of Computer Science labs than in the fields of health or education. Nonetheless, the sections of the documents include:

• 0. Community Health Metrics
• 1. Public Health Protocols
• 2. Facilities and School Operations
• 3. Response to Outbreak
• 4. Equity
• 5. Instruction

Some critics have pointed out the misuse of the term "guidelines." Most of the work is not a suggestion. Each page has a footer that reads “Checkboxes () indicate requirements; arrows (⇨) indicate recommendations.” There are far more checkboxes than arrows, be assured. The term “required” appears 80 times in the document.

OK, let’s cut to the chase. Is your kid going back to school -- back to a brick-and-mortar building -- in the Fall? The Governor, despite all the positive vibes she tried to project, pretty much told you “no.” Her way of sugar-coating it was to repeat over and over that “School in the Fall is not going to look like a traditional school year.” This is the new vocabulary of leadership: When you fail, introduce it as the “new normal.”

If you don't believe that analysis of her press conference earlier this week and want to read it in black and white, this is what the document says:

Returning to In-Person Instruction Through the On-Site or Hybrid Instructional Models

For a school to return to in-person instruction through the Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE) OnSite or Hybrid Instructional models, the metrics below, which consider local as well as statewide conditions, must be met:

1) Schools must be in a county that is no longer in baseline phase to consider in-person instructional models. At this time, no Oregon counties are in baseline phase.

The following County Metrics must also be met for three weeks in a row:

• Case rate: ≤10 cases per 100,000 population in the preceding 7 days
• Test positivity: ≤5% in the preceding 7 days

AND 2) The following State Metric must be met three weeks in a row:

• Test positivity: ≤5% in the preceding 7 days

Want some science to down that bitter pill? This chart is included with the bad news.

Approximate COVID-19 Case Rates in Other Countries When They Re-Opened Schools
Country	Date	New cases per 100,000 per day	New cases per 100,000 per 7 days (week)
Denmark	4/15/20	2.6	18.2
Germany	4/29/20	1.3	9.1
Netherlands	5/11/20	1.5	10.5
France	5/11/20	0.9	6.3
New Zealand	5/15/20	<0.1	<0.7
Australia	5/11/20	<0.1	<0.7
Oregon*	5/25/20	0.8	5.6
Oregon*	7/20/20	6.9	48.3
*Oregon data included at two different time intervals for comparison.

One wonders if the results in Oregon are being driven by a different level of testing or reporting. It just doesn't seem like things are all that bad in Oregon.

Smart parents who find this unworkable are looking for different options. For certain, there is one schooling option that won't look all that different than last school year. That's home schooling.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-07-30 18:25:06

Last Update: 2020-07-30 21:25:28

--Northwest Observer Meme Team

Post Date: 2020-07-29 21:08:26

Rural Oregon counties have launched Move Oregon’s Borders for a Greater Idaho, a movement to make themselves part of Idaho by moving Oregon’s borders. Fifteen counties are circulating petitions for the general election. On July 18, Wallowa County reached their first goals to put their initiative on the Wallowa County ballot in November 2020 elections.

Mike McCarter, President and Chief Petitioner of Move Oregon’s Borders for a Greater Idaho, appeared on Fox & Friends first on July 21 said “a large number of decisions are made in the Willamette Valley including Portland and rural Oregon would like to align itself with a state that is used to dealing with rural counties and rural concerns… We would like to choose who governors us.” In a setback, U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane, ruled against Move Oregon’s Border’s request for more time and a reduction in the number of signatures due to the COVID pandemic. He determined that the group had not made much of an effort to obtain signatures. But McCarter says the group is more than halfway to its goal in Jefferson, Union and Douglas counties and believes it’ll secure a ballot spot in Sherman County. (That county only requires 60 signatures.)

Move Oregon’s Border wants to make its case on the ballot of each of the counties the group would like to see as part of a Greater Idaho. Most of the counties petitioning have double the number of registered Republican than Democrats, but non-affiliated voters are growing to significant numbers in all counties. If all or any of the 22 targeted counties vote to move themselves into Idaho, the Oregon and Idaho legislatures, and ultimately the U.S. Congress, would have to give their approval.

It doesn’t help Oregon’s case that Governor Kate Brown had a different understanding when speaking with Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf on jurisdiction in Portland. Governor Brown agreed to address the violence in Portland by sending in State and local police in a phone call with Secretary Wolf, and that federal agents would leave after streets are secured. Blithely, the Governor tweeted that “federal government has agreed to withdraw federal officers from Portland.” Wolf retorted, "As I told the Governor yesterday, federal law enforcement will remain in Portland until the violent activity toward our federal facilities ends. We are not removing any law enforcement while our facilities and law enforcement remain under attack."

Who really wants to live in an Oregon that doesn’t put the safety of citizens and property in perspective? Even if you’re not Christian, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” is universal when it comes to infringing on someone’s rights. It’s difficult to accomplish change within the rule of law when leadership is non-existent. But isn’t that the challenge that Ben Franklin gave all Americans when he said, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-07-29 19:02:41

Last Update: 2020-07-29 19:03:17