On this day, December 29, 1855, the first Oregon Capitol Builting burned to the ground. Arson was suspected and the building had not yet been occupied.
Left-wing activists find a home in the embattled school district
In what some are regarding as, on the one hand an act of defiance, while on the other hand an affirmation of the activist deep state within district administration, the Canby School District has quietly hired a person who is presumably a replacement for Autumn Foster who resigned from the district shortly after the Northwest Observer reported on her posting vulgar comments about former President Donald Trump and actively working to seek the termination of a Newberg School District board member.
It appears that Kristen Wohlers has been hired for the position and the Canby School District has her name listed on the District Staff Directory, but does not have a picture up, nor a job title listed next to her name.
This story started when the Newberg School District voted to remove political symbols like BLM and “gay pride†flags so that teachers and students could concentrate on school subjects. But the school board voted to remove all political flags and symbols -- although there have been no reports of any “Proud Boy†or “III%†flags ever making an appearance in Newberg schools.
The Newberg School District faced a firestorm of criticism, including that of Autumn Foster who was at the time employed by the nearby Canby School District as the Communication Director. Foster has since resigned.
Apparently, the Canby School District approves of Communications Directors who are gifted in the art of communication via social media, especially supporting left-wing causes, as you can see from the included posts.
“The Portland Police Bureau play word games with civil liberties.â€
In another blow to Portland law enforcement, Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Tom Ryan has held that the Portland Police Bureau’s practice of filming and broadcasting protesters via livestreams broadcast internally, such as in the bureau’s situation room and on social media such as Twitter, violates state law that prohibits police from collecting or maintaining information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of people who are not suspected of criminal activity. The court also held that PPB’s livestreams violate an agreement between the ACLU of Oregon and the City of Portland/PPB regarding the collection of information about protestors.
In August of 1988, ACLU and PPB reached a civil settlement agreement regarding the latter’s collection of information about
participants in public demonstrations. Among other things, the Agreement obligated PPB to adopt the following formal policy:
“Portland Police Officers shall not collect or maintain information about the political, religious or social views, associations or activities of any individual, group, association, organization, corporation, business or partnership unless such information relates directly to an investigation of criminal activities, and there are reasonable grounds to suspect the subject of the information is or may be involved in criminal conduct.â€
In this lawsuit against the City of Portland, the ACLU of Oregon and Marie Tyvoll (“Protestor No. 1â€) were represented by ACLU of Oregon pro bono attorneys Edward Piper, Ursula Lalovic, and Joanna Perini-Abbott of Angeli Law Group LLC, Alan Lloyd Kessler and Rian Peck of Visible Law, and Kelly Simon of the ACLU Foundation of Oregon.
Pro bono attorney Edward Piper of Angelia Law Group LLC stated: “We’re very happy with Judge Ryan’s ruling, which shows that the law can keep pace with evolving technology.â€
Pro bono attorney Alan Kessler stated: “The Portland Police Bureau and the Portland City Attorney’s office are accustomed to playing word games with our civil liberties. We are grateful that Judge Ryan saw through the City’s obfuscation and identified the PPB’s practice of filming and live-streaming demonstrators for what it is: an unlawful collection of information about protesters’ free speech activities.â€
After a COVID-19 timeout this week at the Capitol, the clock is running down on lawmakers, led by Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek, to agree on new congressional and state legislative district boundaries by Monday.
As a result of the 2020 census, Oregon will gain a sixth seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. “PlanScore, a nonpartisan online tool that analyzes redistricting proposals for partisan bias, suggests the congressional map Democrats are hoping to pass is heavily favored in their party’s interests.â€
As to state legislative boundaries, even before maps are redrawn, Democrats hold supermajorities–more than three-fifths of the seats–in both the House and Senate. The new maps are expected to further widen the disparity.
Why this matters for Oregon schools.
Democrat supermajorities mean education bills do not need bipartisan support. For example, on June 26, the final day of the last regular legislative session, SB 225 passed 23 to 5 in the Senate, and HB 2001 passed 20 to 8. These bills, and others enacted this session, are heavily influenced by left-leaning activists, the teachers union, the Oregon Department of Education, and Governor Brown’s office. It seems parents and students are getting short shrift.
SB 225 is about educational service district funding. But tucked into the legislation is the creation of a new statewide Task Force on School Safety, with membership appointed in part based on status as “historically, traditionally and currently disadvantaged or underrepresented groups.†The Task Force–which has some useful goals like developing a statewide database of school floor plans for emergency responders–must use an “equity-driven approach,†and will look at standardizing school safety statewide, which could limit local control of school safety decisions including school resource officer staffing.
HB 2001 is also about school staffing and was pushed by activist groups including Oregon Partners for Education Justice. It requires a “school district that is making reductions in educator staff positions to retain the teacher with less seniority if the release of the teacher would result in a lesser proportion of teachers with cultural or linguistic expertise.†The underlying goal of the bill, evident in earlier drafts: diversity-ratios and race-based hiring practices.
Scrapping standards shortchanges students.
Other education bills passed during the regular session include HB 2954, which “allows public charter schools to implement a weighted lottery that favors historically underserved students,†and SB 744 which eliminated the essential skills test–reading and math proficiency–required to obtain an Oregon high school diploma.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
SB 744 epitomizes the problems in Oregon public education today. The bill was promoted by the same group that pushed HB 2001, Oregon Partners for Education Justice.
In a breathtaking display of irony, the group claimed that "with SB 744, Oregon can ensure high school diplomas are rigorous, relevant, and truly reflect what every student needs to thrive in the 21st century."
As we wrote in June: “Oregonians should be wary of activist groups claiming–without evidence–that removing requirements makes diplomas more “rigorous.†Removing requirements is not rigor. Rigor is not equity. And equity is not equality or excellence in education. Whether or not adults agree on vocabulary, the bottom line is that SB 744 uses equity as a euphemism for scrapping standards and shortchanging students.â€
ODE prioritizes ideologies over academics.
Over the last year, the Oregon Department of Education, under the direction of Colt Gill, has been busy issuing guidelines about quarantining kids and enforcing mask mandates. And they’ve continued to push ideologies over academics.
In June ODE paid $50K for two Nikole Hannah-Jones webinars, diverting funds from the Every Day Matters program aimed at addressing chronic school absenteeism. At that time we wrote: “The May 7 webinar characterized America’s past as a 400-year-old system of oppression and America’s present as irredeemable due to the ‘legacy of slavery.’ One panelist insisted that ‘slavery hasn’t ended.’†Now local school districts are baking this New York Times-based worldview into their social studies and new “ethnic studies†curriculums.
A more recent example of ODE’s push for divisiveness in the classroom was its September 16 resolution “encouraging solidarity and support for student identities.†“The Board’s resolution calls on the Newberg School Board specifically to reverse course on its efforts to remove BLM and Pride flags from school settings.†Should we hold our breath for ODE to issue a resolution in support of Christian and pro-life identity symbols? Should we be concerned with ODE’s heavy-handed attack on local school boards and their common sense policies which are the last line of defense against the left-leaning ODE and Oregon legislature?
We’ll need to play the long game.
In their editorial today, the Oregonian criticized the “Democrats’ anti-democratic power play†and called the redistricting “shamelessly gerrymandered.â€
So we won’t have a level playing field, but we’ll still need a game plan.
Parental awareness. School choice and alternative education options. Common-sense local leaders like Newberg School Board chair Dave Brown. New leadership in Salem. Better curriculum for Oregon school children. Kids deserve to win.
After failing to get enough signatures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot, Clean Voter Rolls has announced that it attributes that to the fact that it ran into difficulty with key petitioners being quarantined. Janice Dysinger, Oregonians for Fair Elections, issued a press release:
In the short time we had to circulate the referendum petitions, we did not collect enough signatures to get our referenda 302 or 303 on the 2022 ballot. We are concerned for Oregon elections going forward as the majority in charge of the Legislature voted and the Governor signed these bills into law.
HB 2681, sponsored by Representative Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) allows a registered voter’s name to stay on the active voter rolls for an unlimited period of time, even decades, without voting or updating their voter registration.
HB 3291 allows people to return their ballots by mail postmarked the day of election and received by the county clerk up to 7 days after the election.
These bills will now go into effect. Dysinger says this will further weaken Oregon Election laws. She encourages people to continue to send in what signatures they have collected for Referenda 302 and 303. Every signature helps us build a coalition of voters.
Dysinger feels strongly that “going forward Oregonians need to unite to work for good election laws. We need a trustworthy system that will accurately deliver the will of the people. Oregon needs a Full Forensic Audit. If there are no problems, the forensic audit will show that. Why would anyone resist a check of the system? People who agree with us can let us know at: https://www.Cleanvoterrolls.com.â€
She encourages people to go to www.canvass50.com to help with the canvassing of all 50 states to further the forensic audit of all 50 states. The website is collecting information to determine if everyone who voted had their ballots counted. This is especially true for vote by mail states. The results of the Arizona canvass show that over 173,000 people said they voted but were not counted.
Dysinger is leading a group that invites anyone who has seen or experienced anything questionable or problematic in our elections to email them at info@oregoniansforfairelections.com. They are looking for areas where the problems occur so they can be addressed.
News of the Arizona audit will be released on September 24th at 1 PM on the Arizona Senate Floor. Their report will direct states how to proceed. Dysinger believes it will expose further evidence that the election was flawed and that these flawed practices likely perpetrated by foreign actors, will be evident in other states as well.
She specifically thanks everyone who participated in the effort to try to make sure our elections are accurate and serve the will of the Oregon voters. You can contact her at info@oregoniansforfairelections.com.
Mid-Term Resignation Allows Governor to Appoint Replacement
Governor Kate Brown has announced that she is accepting applications for a judicial position on the Circuit Court for the 22nd Judicial District to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Michael McLane (R-Powell Butte).
The Governor thanked Judge McLane for his dedicated judicial service to Jefferson and Crook Counties, wished him well in his return to private practice in Bend, and announced that she will fill the position by appointment. Judge McLane’s resignation is effective October 10, 2021.
McLane was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2010 and was named Republican Leader in 2013 until after the 2018 elections. He vacated his seat to take a judicial appointment in Crook and Jefferson County in 2019.
Interested applicants should address their completed application forms to Dustin Buehler, General Counsel, Office of the Governor, and email (no mail or hand delivery) those completed forms to Shevaun Gutridge at shevaun.gutridge@oregon.gov. Forms must be received by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 11, 2021.
OHA COVID-19 vaccine breakthrough report
Under the direction of Pat Allen, the Oregon Health Authority is milking the data for all they can get. While the COVID-19 cases are leveling off and hospitalizations are declining, they send out a breakthrough report they hope tells a different story. Breakthrough cases are related to people that are fully vaccinated that get COVID-19 anyway. There were 2,778 breakthrough cases, accounting for 23.2% of all cases between Sept. 12 through Sept. 18.
COVID-19 breakthrough case report released found that 76.8% of the 11,994 reported COVID-19 cases occurred in people who were unvaccinated. But unvaccinated, doesn’t really mean unvaccinated. Unvaccinated persons are defined as people who have not completed a COVID-19 vaccine series, are within two-weeks of injection, or have not received an approved COVID-19 vaccine. Even without fully counting all the vaccinated cases, breakthrough cases have averaged 20% since the week of July 24 totaling 22,879 vaccinated breakthrough cases. Additionally, all the early cases had to have occurred in unvaccinated people, because the vaccine wasn't available to the general public until early this year.
The hospitalizations reported September 23, showed a decrease of 54 fewer hospitalized totaling 381 available beds, and seven fewer intensive care bed patients freeing up 56 available beds. They did not categorize the 12 deaths for the week.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
To date, 4.5% of all known breakthrough (vaccinated) cases have been hospitalized, compared to 5.4% overall, and 0.9% breakthrough cases have died compared to 1.1% overall. The median age of breakthrough cases who died is 81 (range: 36-101). OHA claims the number of vaccine breakthrough cases identified in Oregon remains very small at 0.9% deaths, but they may be hoping you won’t take a closer look or listen to nurses and doctors exposing the unreported vaccinated cases at rallies around the state, which is creating a hospital staff shortage.
Dr. Angela Plowhead has announced her candidacy for Oregon’s new 6th Congressional District seat.
While she currently resides in Marion County, she has years of experience working, living and going to school across much of the Willamette Valley, the Portland Metro area, Central Oregon, as well as Central and Northern Oregon Coasts.
As an Intelligence Analyst in the US Air Force she saw first hand the dangers of allowing Communist and Marxist ideals to permeate a society and the detrimental impacts it had on citizen’s freedoms and daily lives. She has watched these same ideas take root in Portland policies to create chaos, harm business, allow homelessness to go unchecked, and destroy tourism due to defunded law enforcement, who no longer have the resources to keep Portland streets safe.
She sees similar ideology coming out of DC and does not want to see the rest of Oregon or America go down this same destructive path. She says, “I served in the military to protect our freedoms and our constitution from those from the outside and now I am prepared to go to DC to protect it from those within, from those who are attempting to erode the rights our constitution gives us to self-determination, to bear arms, to religious and economic freedoms. Every American deserves the right to improve their circumstances!â€
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Plowhead sees the protections provided by the constitution as essential to her own rise from poverty and racial prejudice to obtain her doctorate in Clinical Psychology and become a small business owner. She has spent her career serving other veterans and lobbying state and federal legislatures for the rights and needs of seniors and people with disabilities. She understands the challenges faced by parents struggling with the current public school system through real life experience advocating in for her own child with special needs.
Angela Plowhead is a Clinical Psychologist, Veteran, and small business owner who has committed her career to serving veterans and being a voice for those who do not have one. She has been married for over 25 years and is a mother of two active boys.
The Portland Police Bureau's Enhanced Community Safety Team (ECST) has reported there were seven shootings in almost 15 hours, beginning just after 2 a.m. through 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
The first shooting occurred at 2: 20 a.m. at SE 67th/SE Ogden Street. Officers responded to reports from several callers regarding multiple shots fired. More than 10 cartridge casings were located. No victims or related property damage was located. Case #21-263320
A couple hours later at 4:30 p.m., at NE 82nd/NE Sandy Blvd, officers responded and learned an individual was shot and wounded. The victim suffered a non-life threatening injury. Officers extensively canvassed the area, but are uncertain exactly where this incident occurred, but believe it was near the Grotto, which is located at 8840 NE Skidmore Street. Case #21-263395
Later in the morning, at 11:09 a.m., officers responded to NE Prescott/NE Sandy Blvd on a shots fired call. Officers discovered multiple cartridge casings in the area. Preliminary information suggests that this was a drive-by shooting. There were no known injuries at this time. Case #21-263604
At 1:54 p.m., Officers responded to a call of an individual with a gunshot wound who walked into a local hospital. The victim suffered a non-life threatening injury. Based on preliminary investigation, the Officers believe the shooting occurred in the 500 Block of NE Multnomah Street. Case #21-263753
Just over an hour later at 3:07 p.m., another individual walked into a hospital with a gunshot wound. The victim was uncooperative with police and suffered a non-life threatening injury. The individual claims the injury occurred at a shooting at an unknown location in Portland overnight. Case #21-263821
At 6:02 p.m., East Precinct responded to this area on multiple reports of shots fired. Multiple people on foot were shot at by suspects in a drive-by style shooting. There were no reported injuries. Case #21-264030
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Shortly after at 6:50 p.m., officers responded to the 5900 block of SE 72nd Avenue on numerous reports of shots fired. Officers located several cartridge casings at the crime scene. A related unoccupied stolen vehicle was located a short distance away after it was involved in a traffic crash. There were no known injuries reported. Case #21-264061
These incidents required significant numbers of officers, sergeants, detectives, and criminalists to investigate, and drained resources for patrol.
These shootings are ongoing investigations and any additional information will be released at the direction of ECST.
On September 21st Dallas, Oregon Police learned of, and began investigating, potential threats that students were allegedly making towards each other at Dallas High School. The investigation involved talking with numerous students and staff.
As the investigation progressed, more allegations were discovered and investigators learned additional students were possibly involved. All allegations identified were appropriately investigated.
Some allegations revolved around students making verbal threats to shoot each other. Police and school staff ultimately determined there were no immediate threats or dangers posed to staff or students.
After the initial response, a Dallas PD detective and school staff spent at least ten hours over the past two days interviewing everyone involved. The investigation determined there are no credible threat towards any students or staff at this time. It was also determined that the involved persons did not have firearms on school property, nor did they have access to firearms.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
This case remains under investigation and juvenile, referrals (charges) for potential crimes involved are pending. Persons with first-hand information who has not already spoken with authorities are asked to contact Detective Jordan Schrock at 503-831-3516."
Additional information has since come to light that the teen threatening other schoolmates and School staff has access to firearms, as he keeps posting updated threats and images to his social media page with proof that he, indeed, has access not only to a firearm but a cache of bullets as well.
Dallas PD has been advised of this new information, and is silent on whether they plan on doing more investigating or whether arrests will be made.
Speaker Tina Kotek adjourned the House of Representatives earlier this week due to a positive COVID case being reported from within the Capitol. She said in her statement to the sparse attendance of members on the floor that, “We are working with the Governor’s office and the Oregon Health Authority to make sure that testing is available to the individuals who were close contacts of the positive case. It is also our understanding that individuals that have been vaccinated do not need to quarantineâ€.
What is unclear is “who†advised the Speaker that vaccinated people did not need to quarantine.
According to the CDC website, people who are fully vaccinated and who have had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, should get tested 3-5 days after exposure, even if they don’t have symptoms. If they then test positive, they should isolate for 10 days.
A 14-day quarantine is the safest option to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others.
If the local public health administrator or designee recommends a shortened quarantine period that balances the risk of disease spread with the impacts on individuals from a longer quarantine, individuals may end quarantine:
10 days after their last exposure to a person with COVID-19 if they remain asymptomatic
or
After 7 days, with a negative test result by an antigen or nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) collected within 48 hours before ending quarantine in individuals who remain asymptomatic.
“Quarantine should start as soon as you know you’ve been in close contact with someone who is sick with COVID-19 or who has tested positive for the virus. Stay home for 10 days after your last contact with someone who has COVID-19. Even if you test negative for COVID-19 or feel healthy, you should stay home (quarantine) because symptoms can show up from 2 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. You might test negative during this time because there may not be enough of the virus in your system yet.â€
The only other possibility is that the Speaker was advised by and is following the guidelines of the county in which she and her constituents live. The Multnomah Health Department website says that,
“If you have been fully vaccinated seek testing if you have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19. If you are fully vaccinated, you do not have to quarantine if you’ve been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 or who has tested positive for COVID-19, unless you develop symptomsâ€.
After the close of the session, members received an email from staff in the Speaker’s office stating that,
“On Thursday (9/23/21), members and staff who are close contacts will be able to receive both rapid and PCR tests in Salem. We expect this will allow individuals to receive test results by no later than Friday afternoon. The House will then convene on Saturday morning.
This timeline will ensure that members who require tests will have the opportunity to get results back. It will also allow enough time for the House to confirm quorum and complete its work by voting on the bills that the Senate passed for House considerationâ€.
The memo points to the real reason for rushing testing and going against all Federal, State and local health department recommendations. Testing quickly, 3 days after exposure, will “allow enough time for the House to confirm quorum and complete its work by voting on the bills that the Senate passed for House considerationâ€.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The vote on the redistricting maps must take place by midnight on Monday the 27th or the maps go to the Secretary of State, for the Oregon Legislative maps, and a committee of Retired Oregon Supreme Court Judges for the Congressional maps. The House Democrats want their maps -- not anyone else’s. They need quorum, they need to vote, and they need to do it quickly.
If the Speaker follows the CDC guidelines, she must test everyone, vaccinated and unvaccinated that were close contacts within 3-5 days of exposure (Thurs – Sat). Waiting till the 5-day mark only leaves her Sunday and Monday to move the redistricting bills.
If the Speaker follows the OHA guidelines, all known close contacts would quarantine for 14 days or could possibly be reduced by local officials to 10 days after exposure if the person is not sick or 7 days with a negative test. This is not an option because time would run out to pass the maps.
If the Speaker follows the Marion County Health Department guidelines which recommend a 10-day quarantine after contact, even if the test is negative, that is also not an option because time would run out to pass the maps.
So, the Oregon Legislature will once again follow what Portland does by apparently following the Multnomah County Health Department rules.
Senate procedures regarding COVID-19 protection have come under fire.
Senator Dallas Heard (R-Winston) was called out of order by Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) for not wearing a mask.
Senator Brian Boquist (I-Dallas) submitted a vote explanation on SB 881 which, in addition to calling out the proposal as failing "all the legal and judicial prerequisites," he describes Senator Courtney's action against Senator Heard, as well as other actions and behaviors on the floor.
Just like in June 2019, the Democrat supermajority attempted to create a political media deception to deflect the legal deficiencies of the bill. I watched Senate majority staff request the Secretary’s’ floor staff to harass Senator Heard for not wearing a mask on the side aisle. Then President Courtney (Democrat) found Senator Heard out of order for not wearing a mask in the gallery, theoretically due to medical risks. However, for the record, the Senate President Courtney placed contaminated wooden signs on all desks today but members could not distribute floor letters regarding SB 881 debate. This happened dozens of times during the regular Session. Other leadership materials were placed on the members desks as well despite contamination prohibitions in the same presidential rules. President Courtney had over 20 members signing nearly a hundred picture posters at three different floor desks. Member after member, sheet after sheet, same felt markers ... zero sanitation. The perfect super spreader again in violation of the presidential rules. I personally saw almost every member shaking hands and giving hugs for which I did not refuse any Democrat handshake or hug. Dozens of head to head meetings and arm wraps. Floor and aisle chairs were back to inches apart. There was zero social distancing as OLIS video can easily prove. Many Democrats off the camera removed masks at breaks as well as Republicans. Pictures will even show the Presiding Officer without a mask. The President encouraged member staff not to attend supposedly due to medical concerns. President Courtney, Senator Wagner, and select individuals were complete hypocrites in an effort to deflect the debate on SB 881 for pure partisan political purposes not any medical reason what-so-ever.
The Senate passed SB 881 by a vote of 18-11. It passed another measure on redistricting, SB 882 by the same margin.
U.S. Congressional candidate Alek Skarlatos has taken note of Oregon Speaker of the House Tina Kotek's removal two Republicans from the House Redistricting Committee, saying that it was done to ensure the process favors the Democratic Party.
“Oregon Democrats promised to work with Republicans on redistricting, but now they are breaking their word and rigging the electoral system to ensure that these districts will create as many Democrat elected officials as possible, while silencing those who disagree. Redistricting is supposed to balance each district by population, instead Democrats are using it as a tool to game the system, gain more power and advance their liberal agenda. The Democrats went as far as to propose a map that would place four congressional districts in the city of Portland, a district that crosses the Cascade Mountains to include a portion of the city of Portland and the city of Bend, and splits seven counties in 9 different ways. This is textbook gerrymandering being pushed just to aid one political party.â€
Skarlatos is expected to run next year against 12-term incumbent Peter DeFazio in what is currently the 2nd Congressional District.
ODE prioritizes ideologies over academics.
