On this day, April 29, 2019, a federal judge in Oregon blocked a Trump administration attempt to prevent federally funded health care providers from referring pregnant women to abortion clinics.
1-5:30, $25 adm. Speakers include Phil Izon from Alaska Ranked-Choice voting Education Association, Mark Cook from Colorado IT witness on Tim Sipple case, and Dr. Frank on how to use data to approach clerks. Washington County will give a report on finding dead voters. And others to give information on how to approach counties for in-person voting.
Celebrated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when in the wake of the American Civil War, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas.
“Scratch that veneer to reveal the fear, racism and political ambitionâ€
Thursday January 21, 2021 marks the one year anniversary of COVID-19 in Oregon. Oregon Governor Kate Brown addressed the year in review with a congratulatory speech, and several guest speakers. Brown thanked Oregonians for their sacrifices, and signaled we've reached the end of COVID-19 due to the Moderna and Pfizer gene therapy, distributed for emergency use. Neither the Moderna or Pfizer shots meet the definition of a vaccine, "a suspension of attenuated or killed microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, or rickettsiae), administered for prevention, amelioration, or treatment of infectious diseases."
These experimental medical procedures are still in the phase 3 clinical trial until January 31, 2023. Additionally neither are guaranteed to prevent COVID-19, but thousands have been hospitalized, suffered permanent disability, life threatening complications, and death.
Simultaneously, as Brown gave her state of the State address, painting a happy picture, directors from every county across Oregon met via zoom for their monthly "Health Coalition Meeting", and Antifa smashed in the windows of the Democratic Party of Oregon office. The overarching cacophony of dissenting voices exposed the cracks in the veneer, effectively proving the Governor is either out of touch, or is less than forthright in her assessment of the current state of the State.
During the health coalition meeting county directors expressed their frustration with distribution of the experimental COVID-19 biologics. Sarah Poe, Health Director of Malhuer County stated "we're doing a good job, because we're not doing a good job". Poe then went on to advocate for "some form" of mandated intervention, due to the high level of individuals refusing the recently authorized (for emergency use) COVID-19 shots offered by Moderna and Pfizer. Another large demographic refusing these biologics, is the Black community, and "people of color". In addition to hesitancy issues, and subsequent conversations regarding coercive tactics for forced compliance of an EUA medical procedure, another startling conversation emerged. A very tired looking Dr Paul Cieslak of the Oregon Health Authority, told county directors to "do their best", and "don't worry" about tracking other types of infectious illnesses (other than COVID-19).
Meanwhile, Antifa destroyed the Democratic Party Office in Multnomah County, holding a banner that reads "We don't want Biden, we want revenge. For Police Murders, Imperialist Wars, and Fascist Massacres", and another large sign with big bold letters stating "We Are Ungovernable".
Governor Kate Brown attempted to placate the masses by appropriating Billions to a "Cradle to Career" approach towards public policy, specifically tailored to the "Black, Indigenous, Latino, Lantina, LatinX, Asian, Pacific Islander, tribal communities and communities of color". Services that include invasive "home visiting", whereby Department of Human Services workers, and a county health nurse scope out the home of newly born babies to check on the health and well being of the infant and family. The Oregon Department of Human Services disproportionately removes children of color, housing them in motels, and abandoned prisons as young as six years old. While older children are often shipped out of state to Sequel Youth and Family Services facilities. Kate Brown was in the news, as recently as last year, after being sued for alleged negligence and malfeasance. Mahogany Chambers was brave enough to go to the media with her story of rape, isolation, and abuse.
Leaders within the Black community refer to these types of policy as "the Democrat Plantation". The state of the State address signaled that Kate Brown is going all in, and intends to use the vast majority of Oregon taxpayer money to do it. From cradle to career, Brown has vowed to eradicate inequity and racial injustice by committing more funding to the same exact policies that have created institutional, and systemic racism, labeling anyone who disagrees as a "violent white supremacist".
Meanwhile, centuries of informed consent violations within BIPOC communities, from Tuskegee to forced sterilization, go ignored as conversations regarding coercion take place.
"You don't have to scratch that veneer very hard to reveal the fear, racism and political ambition concealed within"-- Kate Brown
Nick Smith is communications director for the American Forest Resource Council, a group founded in 2013 advocating forest management on federal lands. Based in Portland, the group serves the western states of Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Montana. Previously, Nick worked in the Oregon House under six Representatives. He recently gave a talk focused on forest fires, their causes, effects and solutions.
Oregon is a big part of the nation's wood basket. One million acres of forest burned in Oregon in 2020. The air was fouled, land denuded, watershed quality severely impacted, tree destroying insect infestations greatly expanded, wildlife and their habitat destroyed. Humans and domestic animals lives were threatened, homes were burned to total loss, forestry job opportunities were lost, lumber production diminished, scenic and recreational opportunities erased.
Neither stewards of the land nor environmentalists -- two groups normally at odds -- claimed a positive side to these outcomes. The conditions leading to these fires were mostly preventable. Forest management has the tools to greatly mitigate the incidence of forest fires. The tools can’t prevent drought, lightening and high winds. The tools are logging, thinning, creation of fuel breaks, firefighting with maintained access roads and rapid replanting.
Comparing private timber holdings to federal lands reveals a sharp contrast in outcomes. Planned, controlled forest fires destroy little marketable timber and have smaller environmental impacts which mimic natural cycles. Catastrophic fires have no positive outcomes. With private forests, owners effect forest management policies. Their planning spans activity over many decades due to growth and harvest cycles.
With federal lands both elected and unelected officials impact policy. Those policies are subject to change before a strategic long-term plan is allowed to manifest itself. It's been pointed out that the deterioration of both federal forests and the private timber industry has been underway for 40 years. The Timber Summit of 1994 was to have found a balance between preservation and harvest. Promises to the timber industry made then have not been lived up to. Courts interpreted the law with decisions that favored the environmental interests over proven forest management practices.
Smith said the OSU School of Forestry is strong, but now has some environmentalists on its faculty. Federal forest lands can’t be operated successfully without private industry know-how and personnel. Harvesting, thinning, road construction and fighting fires on federal lands are all done under contract. As federal timber becomes less available, the timber industry shrinks. Less industry infrastructure results in less potential to help the federal government manage its forests. As timber inventory supplies are made less predictable, private investment becomes less likely. To start a sawmill with the technology to compete in todays’ market requires near $80 million. Risk and reward are sufficiently out of balance to justify that investment currently. Over-regulation has led to paralysis. Both the condition of Federal forests and the plight of the timber industry remain in a downward spiral. Proper education on forest management reaches too few policy makers and their constituents. The quality of decision making suffers as a result.
Brown has to backtrack after promising vaccine to too many groups
Governor Kate Brown held a press conference to try to settle the uproar that has fomented as she has waffled between her promises to provide vaccines to seniors on the one hand and teachers on the other, pitting the vulnerable elderly against the deep-pocketed teachers' unions who have supported her in the past.
"I have prioritized protecting seniors since day one of this response and, as a result, Oregon is faring better than nearly every other state in the nation in protecting vulnerable seniors," said Governor Brown. "Oregon has the second lowest COVID-19 infection rate among seniors in the country, and the third lowest death rate among people 65 and older. Just this past week, we completed first dose vaccinations for all seniors living in nursing homes who wanted the vaccine."
The final claim -- completion of the first dose vaccines for seniors in nursing homes -- has been disputed since she made it.
"I first made the commitment at the end of last year to vaccinate Oregon’s educators and school staff, and I reaffirmed that commitment last week. Educators can be vaccinated quickly, district by district. This choice represents a rapid action that will have an outsized impact on Oregon kids. If we were to vaccinate every Oregon senior first, the harsh reality is that many of our educators would not get vaccinated this school year—and Oregon kids would continue to suffer.
"If we were to reverse that, and prioritize the needs of Oregon kids, it puts a two-week delay on beginning vaccinations for seniors who live independently. I know so many Oregon grandparents are happy to hold out just two more weeks in an effort to help get their grandchildren back into the classroom as quickly and safely as possible.
"I also know there are many Oregonians who are eager to get the vaccine. The harsh reality is we are managing a scarce resource right now. Time and time again this pandemic has forced difficult choices. And even in tough times, I continue to be inspired by the extraordinary ways Oregonians lift one another up and work together."
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In the clip below, which lasts 4:09, KOIN 6 News' Lisa Balick corners the Governor, asking "When it comes to giving out the shots to teachers and other educators why not at least require a school district to have a signed agreement with their teachers' union that their teachers agree to go back this year, if vaccinated?" Governor Brown filibusters with what a great job her administration has done to make schools safer, but no comment on why no agreement. Undaunted, Balick essentially, asks the same, still unanswered question. "But why not a promise to go back, if you get a shot?"
The Governor -- through tightly pursed lips -- brags again about providing schools with support, fails to answer the question, and abruptly ends the press conference.
State Representative Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) has taken a major step in trying to stop Antifa and peaceful protestors from burning the United States flag at their demonstrations and rallies. Representative Evans has introduced HB 2853 this session which will further define criteria for State of Oregon and US flags to be considered “official flagsâ€.
Current state and federal laws already outline size, shape, color, and display order, but not necessarily the materials in which they can be made of.
In the bill, it states that a United States Flag is not an official flag unless it is “manufactured of flame-retardant materialsâ€. This may not not make Antifa, BLM and other left-wing flag-burning protesters and rioters happy. Lighting a flame-retardant United States flag on fire at a midnight peaceful protest will be a bit more challenging.
Although the law only applies to flags displayed at public building and not private businesses or residence, it does move the needle in the right direction to stop the desecration of the United States Flag; and for that we thank you Representative Evans for your vision in introducing this legislation.
The personal income tax “kicker†is a coveted check on legislators over spending. It has been challenged multiple time, but that doesn’t stop legislators from trying again. Rep. Khanh Pham (D-Portland) Rep Jeff Reardon (D-Portland) and Senator Michael Dembrow (D-Portland) are again challenging voters to let them spend more of your money. They have introduced HJR 10 asking voters to end Oregon’s unique “kicker†income tax rebate and instead use the overpayment of tax dollars to boost earned income tax credit payments, which help the state’s poorest workers. The focus on low-income families with dependents under the age of 18 is to silence our objections. Who wants children to go hungry? They forget we have free meals (breakfast, lunch and some dinners) distributed by schools year-round. Even during the pandemic.
Legislators have tried various maneuvers to spend the kicker and not return it to taxpayers. In the 2020 session Democrats voted to pass HB 2975 reducing the 2020 kicker by $108 million. By moving budget items around the Democrats said they could utilize more funds for critical services such as community colleges and higher education. It was a back-handed violation of the Oregon Constitution. That little trick doesn’t work twice or there is something fiscally wrong with the budgets we are given. So, their only option is to again send the idea to the voters to change the constitution.
What is the benefit of the kicker? The kicker law was passed in 1979 to return taxes collected in a prior two-year budget cycle when revenues exceed the forecast by two percent. In 2000 voters made it a constitutional mandate. In the last two biennium’s $1.5 billion was returned in 2018 and $1.6 billion in 2020. That is an economic boost that certainly helped stabilize our economy during the pandemic.
Corporations originally received a kicker too, but in 2012 voters altered the constitutional mandate to redirect the corporate kicker to schools. However, the more we give schools the more program are created that eat up any benefit the classrooms might see. In 2018 the Corporate Excise Tax was also required of businesses to pay into the school budget. And still, we see no relief in the classrooms.
Legislators are masters at playing games with our tax dollars. You might say that giving the kicker to low-income families still gets the money back into the economy. But, consider how many social service programs that families won’t qualify for because of a boost in their income. That allows those funds to be spent some place else that furthers their agenda.
The kicker is the voter’s way of controlling over spending by the legislature. When the economy performs well, those that put the work in receive the rebate, it should not reward government.
“Hate and racist violence in Oregon is undeniableâ€
Oregon’s Legislature’s BIPOC Caucus applauded House Speaker Tina Kotek and House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner for their commitment to build a more equitable Capitol. BIPOC stands for “Black, Indigenous and People of Color.†Governor Brown in her State of the State address expanded that “to build back a more just and equitable Oregon in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, historic wildfires, and a long overdue clarion call for racial justice.â€
The Caucus states: “The history of hate and racist violence in Oregon is undeniable.†Referring to Speaker Kotek and Smith-Warner’s statement: "From its very start, Oregon was founded as an anti-Black white utopia. Black people were banned from the state in the Oregon Constitution, and the Oregon Territory itself is land stolen from the Native tribes who had made this region home for centuries. Through deliberate policies—from red-lining to forced displacement for economic development—Black families were literally robbed of wealth and kept from living in many parts of the state for decades.â€
Governor Brown states, “The first step to creating opportunity is recognizing that racism is endemic to our systems, impacting every part of our culture and our economy.â€
What exactly are they referring to? Generally, the suppression of Black people is related to slavery and after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, it lived on with the Ku Klux Klan.
The Oregon that settlers encountered was post-Civil War, it wasn’t until 1865 when the Confederates surrendered that slaves were emancipated. Oregon was not immune from this division over slavery and even before the emancipation Oregon passed a law prohibiting slavery in 1843. The Provisional Government passed Oregon’s first exclusion law in 1844, the temporary governing political structure set up by the first settlers coming over the Oregon Trail. This first law included a ban on slavery and required slaveowners free their slaves. However, African Americans who were granted their freedom, were expelled. In 1849 another exclusion law was passed that allowed black residents already in Oregon to remain, but banned further African American in-migration. This law was in effect until 1854 when it was repealed. In 1857, when a constitution was written in anticipation of statehood, an exclusion clause was included prohibiting new in-migration of African Americans, as well as making illegal their ownership of real estate and entering into contracts or use of courts. Regardless of the passing of the 14th and 15th Amendments, Oregon’s exclusion wasn’t repealed until 1927.
"The Ku Klux Klan grew and faded quickly in Oregon in the 1920s. According to historian Eckard Toy, the klan stories weren’t of burning crosses in their wake. â€The rural klan chapters were known to attend community events to further their cause, which is why there are photographs of the klan passing out Bibles in local parades.â€
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“In spite of the name Ku Klux Klan most people didn't even know that this group was a racist group. They would participate in events under the guise of increasing their fraternal organization numbers. It wasn't until people in the community became involved that they became aware of the racist nature of this group. However, the racism of this group wasn't focused on African Americans, rather it was anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish. In fact, former President Harry S Truman was planning to join the KKK until he found out this information. Most ex-members were ashamed they ever were members," according to Toy.
However, the Portland KKK headquarters managed to win seats in the legislature and local and county offices. They were able to pass legislation prohibiting ownership of land by aliens, aimed at Japanese immigrants. Even though the klans faded away in a few years, it had ingrained a mindset and culture that BIPOC claims has not faded and they remind us: “We do this work on land stolen from indigenous people under a state constitution that, at its founding, specifically banned people of color. We are regularly reminded of this history whenever we sit at our desks on the floors of the Oregon House of Representatives and Oregon Senate, where murals of white settlers and the names of mostly white men hang over our heads.â€
Even though Oregon laws weren’t friendly towards giving opportunities to African-Americans, it never did allow slavery. But. Not being a notable part of Oregon’s history, they still benefit as government has evolved. We can’t change history, but we can learn from it and BIPOC can be their pioneers going forward. What will that look like? The caucus has introduced, drafted or plans to develop more than 40 pieces of legislation. Some good, and some not so good.
Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Happy Valley, introduced HB 2928 to restrict law enforcement use of munitions, which would limit the use of pepper spray to officially declared riots, ban the use of impact projectiles for crowd control except against individuals in specific circumstances and allow people to sue the police for violating those proposed rules. Bynum also has proposals to phase out the cap on damages in lawsuits against police agencies and require thorough background checks — including checking references, a psychiatric evaluation and a racial bias and sympathy test — for all law enforcement hires.
What does equity or inequity look like when it comes to correcting the past? When is there ever a “clean slate†that makes everything balanced?
Governor Brown has issued her annual State of the State address, effectively a list of her accomplishments, while Oregonians continue to suffer because of what some consider to be her poor policy choices.
The address notably lacked specifics on how to address Oregonian’s most pressing challenges such as lackluster vaccine distribution, helping small businesses and working families recover from government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions, wildfire recovery, and getting kids back to school. She used the opportunity of a pre-recorded speech to replace substantive policy proposals with sympathetic interviews. Instead of offering ways to help Oregonians, she decided to shirk responsibility by having other people tell you about the problems we face.
Senate Republican Leader, Fred Girod (R-Lyons) issued the following statement:
“Hidden behind all of the Governor’s flowery words are crushing new taxes on businesses and working families who are already struggling to make ends meet. No amount of sloganeering will unite Oregonians or solve the real issues they face.
“The Governor dedicated much of her time to racial issues. Senate Republicans are committed to ensuring everyone has equal opportunities to succeed, which includes common sense police accountability measures, some of which we have already passed. But the Governor’s lockdowns have done disproportionate harm to minority workers and students, and her failure to uphold the law in Portland has resulted in a disproportionate number of people from our communities of color falling victim to gun violence.
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“Democrats, who have overseen this state for decades, particularly in Portland, need to take responsibility for years of mismanagement.
“As Republicans, we want to get kids back in school and people back to work so they can provide for their families. We want to keep our neighborhoods safe, so people have the opportunity to be their best. Our priority this session will be to solve Oregonians' most pressing issues. As a caucus, we look forward to introducing legislation that will move Oregon forward and help them recover from the crises we face.â€
Mayor Ted Wheeler has announced his appointment of Briannon Fraley as director of the City of Portland’s Office of Government Relations, where she will play a pivotal role in building relationships and leading advocacy. Fraley most recently served as Initiatives Director for the Wild Rivers Community Foundation in Crescent City, California. She will begin her new role on January 25th.
“She will join and lead an outstanding team of professionals and I am excited to work with her to advance our community’s priorities at the State and Federal level.†Mayor Wheeler said.
Before joining the Wild Rivers Community Foundation, Fraley served for eight years as chief governance officer for the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation, also in Crescent City, California. In that role, Fraley was a strategic thought partner and advisor to the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation Tribal Council. She also represented the tribe in compact negotiations, inter-governmental agreements, committees, conferences, negotiations, summits and other related gatherings.
“Briannon’s deep understanding of tribal governments and her experience building strong partnerships across jurisdictions is invaluable as we continue to grow the City’s Tribal Relations program,†Mayor Wheeler said.
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“I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve the people of Portland,†Fraley said. “I’ve spent my career in public service. Ever since I was a child I’ve been engaged in government and my community. My mother was the first-ever woman postmaster in Smith River, California. My aunt was the longest-serving tribal chair of the Tolowa Dee-ni' Nation.†she said.
The Office of Government Relations represents the City on legislative and administrative issues at the regional, state, federal, tribal and international levels. Government Relations advances City policy goals and initiatives through effective advocacy to federal, state and regional governments, and a broad range of non-governmental entities. The office coordinates relations with tribal governments and facilitates policymaking with the urban American Indian/Alaskan Native communities. The office also oversees the city's International Relations Program, which includes Portland's nine sister cities and one friendship city and which welcomes international delegations to Portland on a weekly basis.
The Oregon Department of Education has released updated graduation statistics for the 2019-2020 school year. The results, which concluded that graduation rates rose by nearly 3% since the year before, reflect a lower standard than previous years. Attendance was hardly tracked, students didn’t receive traditional grades, and school districts did not require standardized testing.
Senate Republican Leader, Fred Girod (R-Lyons) released the following statement:
“Schools and students went through and overcame many difficulties during the pandemic. But for the Governor and her Education Department to pretend that these new statistics somehow indicate a higher quality of education for our kids, particularly for our minority communities for whom we know the impact of school closures was disproportionate, is ridiculous. We should not rely on statistics from a year that caused so much disruption to education to give us insights on how well our schools are doing at educating our kids.
“It is pretty easy to artificially inflate graduation rates when you don't know if kids showed up to school or learned anything when they did. It’s easy to give someone a diploma when we change grading to pass/no pass. These standards simply reflect a lower standard.
“The only way to have an accurate look at how our kids are learning is to get them back into the classroom with regular instruction. Additionally, we must do all we can to make sure teachers get voluntarily vaccinated.â€
The Department of Education has been criticized by many over the years for not making critical data accessible to the media and the public.
Imposed on businesses for the privilege of doing business in Oregon
The Department of Revenue is reminding business owners that once they have more than $750,000 in commercial activity in 2021, they have 30 days to register for the Corporate Activity Tax unless they have already registered. Registration for CAT is a one-time requirement, however, and businesses that registered in 2020 do not have to register again.
Registrations for Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax have topped more than 20,000 in its first year. Through Wednesday, 20,546 businesses had registered for the CAT, which was created by the Oregon Legislature in 2019 to raise funding for education.
The CAT is imposed on businesses for the privilege of doing business in Oregon. It applies to all types of business entities including those located inside and outside of Oregon. The CAT is measured on a business’s commercial activity, the total amount a business realizes from transactions and activity in Oregon. Businesses with taxable commercial activity in excess of $1 million will have Corporate Activity Tax to pay. The tax is $250 plus 0.57% of commercial activity greater than $1 million after subtractions.
Taxpayers expecting to owe $10,000 or more for 2020 must make estimated payments. Fourth quarter 2020 estimated payments are due February 1. Returns are due April 15. For tax year 2021 and beyond, taxpayers expecting to owe $5,000 or more must make estimated payments. Estimated payments for 2021 are due April 30, August 2, November 1, and January 31, 2022. Returns are due April 15.
Training aids to assist with registration, calculating the tax, and making payments can be found on the CAT page of the Department of Revenue’s website. Taxpayers with general questions about the CAT can email cat.help.dor@oregon.gov or call 503-945-8005.
The Capitol is still closed, but you can testify on bills remotely
The Oregon Legislature has released instructions on how to provide live public testimony to Legislative Committees. Previous to this, it was possible to view committee hearings or to submit written testimony, but until now, there was no way to actually testify.
Once a bill is scheduled for a public hearing, you can register to speak at the hearing. It is not possible to register to testify before the bill is formally scheduled. You must register in advance to provide verbal testimony during a committee or subcommittee meeting. Registration closes at the start of the meeting.
There are three ways to register:
Look up the committee or subcommittee meeting agenda on the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) website and follow the testimony registration link on the agenda. The system will send you an email with a registration meeting link and instructions for delivering your verbal/video testimony using the Microsoft Teams platform.
Look up the committee or subcommittee meeting agenda on the OLIS website and call the listed toll-free number. The phone system will provide you with a phone number and access code to call into the meeting and deliver your verbal/audio testimony.
On the day of the hearing, come to the public access station outside of the State Capitol building to deliver your testimony into a publicly provided laptop. Please note that this option is intended for those who do not have internet access or an available phone.
Before the public hearing, use the MS Teams meeting link or phone number to join the committee or subcommittee meeting at least 5 minutes prior to the meeting start time. You will “wait†in a virtual lobby until staff admits all participants into the meeting, shortly before the public hearing begins.
If you are joining the meeting with an MS Teams link, please:
Join the meeting with your camera off and microphone muted and stay in that mode until you are called on by the Chair to speak.
If time permits, committee staff may be able to quickly test your video and audio.
If you are not familiar with MS Teams, spend a few minutes reviewing the user interface ahead of time. The Microsoft support link may be helpful.
If you are calling into the meeting or joining with teams, you can
Join the meeting with your microphone on mute until you are called on by the Chair to speak. At that time, press *6 to unmute.
Be aware that when you call in, your phone number will be displayed on the live stream of the committee or subcommittee meeting.
During the hearing your camera and microphone should be off/muted until you are called upon to testify.
If you are watching the meeting live stream on the Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) website, close the live stream when public testimony begins and listen to the meeting on MS Teams or your phone instead (live streams have a time delay, and you may miss your name being called).
When the Chair calls on you to speak, turn on your camera (optional) and microphone (*6 on your phone to unmute) and provide your testimony.
Follow any instructions from the Chair for your testimony. This may include a time limit; in some cases, the Chair will use a chime to indicate when you need to finish.
If you do not respond when called on to speak, or you encounter technical difficulties, you may not be able to testify. If this happens, you may submit your testimony in a written format up to 24 hours after the scheduled start time of the committee meeting at which you planned to testify.
When your testimony is finished, the Chair may ask that you stay in the meeting to answer questions from committee members.
When you are done with your testimony, turn off your camera and mute your microphone/phone. You may leave the meeting and continue to watch the meeting on the OLIS live stream. Or you may remain in the meeting to continue listening and watching with your camera and microphone off. If the meeting is at capacity, you may be removed from the meeting upon the conclusion of your testimony to allow others to join.
People testifying remotely are subject to the same rules of decorum as an in-person meeting at the Capitol. Anyone who chooses not to follow the rules for remote testimony established by the committee Chair may forfeit their opportunity to testify. At the direction of the Chair, you may be removed from the meeting if you continue to disregard the Chair’s instructions.
Links and Phone Numbers
Oregon Legislature’s Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov
Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1
Questions about the legislature, legislative process, or other government agencies:
Email: help.leg@oregonlegislature.gov
Toll-free number: 1-800-332-2313
The tech giants all made their wealth by way of capitalism
Only one or two years ago, we in the U.S. found it incredible that Chinese citizens could not find references to “tank man†when they searched the internet. We couldn’t imagine living in such a country. How could it be that the government, in coordination with tech companies, could completely remove the ability of its citizens to find certain information? In this, the “information age�
But just like that, we’re there. The big tech monopolies Apple, Google and now Amazon are censuring and removing access to information they don’t agree with and groups that might threaten their hold on power. It started slowly some years ago with YouTube ‘demonetizing’ channels but now the censuring grows exponentially. This week it’s this group, next week it’s that. Maybe you are against ownership of firearms by ordinary citizens so you are ok with web sites where firearms are discussed or even bought and sold legally being removed from one platform and being unable to find another hosting provider. Maybe you don’t like people discussing the deals made between the Biden family and countries who are a national threat to the U.S. and you are ok with sites removing access to any such information. Maybe you don’t like people presenting information to the public about the claimed illegal activity that occurred in the 2020 general election. But make no mistake: if you empower them, anyone will be able to occupy the chair they are in now and one day they will come for you and any discussion of what you believe is important. Further, on the off chance that any of these people, like those who initially claimed the Earth was round and were mocked, turn out to be right, you will have done yourself a grave disservice by removing your own access to their information. It’s a form of slow suicide.
No one who is confident in their knowledge or position, would ever feel the need to silence dissenting voices. They would welcome it, knowing that they possess superior arguments. Only the weak, who know they probably can't win an argument, will seek to silence dissent.
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No one who has studied history will find censorship novel; every Marxist revolution in history has employed the control and limiting of information as one of its key tactics, as an informed populace will never accept communism. But they may find it surprising that it has happened here, in the last bastion of freedom, in what was designed to be, and was, the freest country in the world. A place people would risk their lives to get to, for the freedom and opportunity they so longed for. And they might be surprised at the number of people who failed to learn about history and are supportive of censorship because those currently wielding it align with their beliefs. “Useful idiots,†who do not comprehend that at some point they will be the target if power like this is allowed to exist and be used by anyone.
The tech giants all made their wealth by way of free market “capitalism,†but are now in bed with the communists who would remove the ladder and the spectrum of states of being it provides and replace it with the two-tiered system that communism brings where a small group become incredibly wealthy and all others sink into poverty, servitude, disease, desperation, darkness and death. They think that by joining forces with the Marxists they will be protected, that they and their friends and families will be able to keep their status while they prevent anyone from competing with them. But Marxism leads only to one place: where the wealth stops being created, and is divided again and again as it grows smaller and smaller, and the group with the power becomes smaller and smaller and more and more vicious until it consists of just one person who literally decides who lives and who dies.
This is where North Korea is today. If we allow anyone to censure and remove information from public access, we move closer to that nightmare at an increasingly breakneck pace. There is a point of no return, and when information can be controlled and removed by any person or group, that point is crossed. We are on the edge now. No one person or group of people acting in coordination should have the power to remove access to information. If it were just one publisher and a reader could get their “book†from another, then it is the right of the publisher to refuse to publish a given book. But when one company controls the vast majority of what people are able to see, and worse when the tech companies act in coordination as they now do in order to control not just the vast majority but effectively all of the information, it is a matter of national security that they be broken up so as to remove their ability to do this.
This applies to you, U.S. Senators and Representatives. You have a critical task before you: break up big tech and remove their ability to remove access to information. We did this with the services provided by railroads, and with the oil and phone companies last century but this was done in a time when people had access to information and were aware of the state they were in and what needed to be done. The forces of evil who would protect their comfort and power at the cost of the Nation’s future are so much bigger, so much faster and so much more lethal than they were then. If you don’t do it now, the people won’t even know that they have fallen under the control of a sinister power they cannot see and won't be able to remember a time when it wasn’t so. They won't even know that there was such a time.
Smith said the OSU School of Forestry is strong, but now has some environmentalists on its faculty. Federal forest lands can’t be operated successfully without private industry know-how and personnel. Harvesting, thinning, road construction and fighting fires on federal lands are all done under contract. As federal timber becomes less available, the timber industry shrinks. Less industry infrastructure results in less potential to help the federal government manage its forests. As timber inventory supplies are made less predictable, private investment becomes less likely. To start a sawmill with the technology to compete in todays’ market requires near $80 million. Risk and reward are sufficiently out of balance to justify that investment currently. Over-regulation has led to paralysis. Both the condition of Federal forests and the plight of the timber industry remain in a downward spiral. Proper education on forest management reaches too few policy makers and their constituents. The quality of decision making suffers as a result.
However, the Portland KKK headquarters managed to win seats in the legislature and local and county offices. They were able to pass legislation prohibiting ownership of land by aliens, aimed at Japanese immigrants. Even though the klans faded away in a few years, it had ingrained a mindset and culture that BIPOC claims has not faded and they remind us: “We do this work on land stolen from indigenous people under a state constitution that, at its founding, specifically banned people of color. We are regularly reminded of this history whenever we sit at our desks on the floors of the Oregon House of Representatives and Oregon Senate, where murals of white settlers and the names of mostly white men hang over our heads.â€
This is where North Korea is today. If we allow anyone to censure and remove information from public access, we move closer to that nightmare at an increasingly breakneck pace. There is a point of no return, and when information can be controlled and removed by any person or group, that point is crossed. We are on the edge now. No one person or group of people acting in coordination should have the power to remove access to information. If it were just one publisher and a reader could get their “book†from another, then it is the right of the publisher to refuse to publish a given book. But when one company controls the vast majority of what people are able to see, and worse when the tech companies act in coordination as they now do in order to control not just the vast majority but effectively all of the information, it is a matter of national security that they be broken up so as to remove their ability to do this.
