State of Oregon - Measure 118

Vote ‘NO’ on Measure 118.

This will increase the taxes on businesses and corporations in Oregon. It is a sales tax! The additional costs (taxes) will increase the cost of goods and services in Oregon. The companies cannot, and will not, absorb the higher taxes. These costs will be added to the prices of the goods you purchase.

Many companies and establishments will be forced to close down. Their sales will drop to the point they can no longer stay in business.

One of the evils of this measure is the legislature is bribing you. They say their will bring in so much money that you will get a tax rebate. Your cost of living will jump up because of the increased taxes - and they will give it back to you. Yeah! Right! This is a bait-and-switch promise. There may be a rebate after the first year, but then the Legislature will absorb all that money to increase the budgets of the state funded activities. And guess what - there just isn’t any left for you the tax payer.

Vote ‘NO’ on Measure 118.

State of Oregon - Measure 117

Vote ‘NO’ on Measure 117.

The main effect of this measure is to steal your vote!

In our present system, whichever candidate gets the most votes tallied, wins. It may not be a majority, especially if there is more than one candidate. It’s been done this way for many years, probably since the start of our nation. I understand that my candidate may not win. I can accept that (I may not like it, but at least my vote was ‘heard’).

In the proposed new system, if no candidate gets a majority of the votes, there is a complicate process that determines the ‘winner’. It works something like this: a committee takes the votes cast for the last place and shifts them to the next-to-last place candidate. You, the voter, have no say in this! This process is repeated until a candidate is bequeathed enough votes to have a majority is reached. Got that? Someone for whom you did not vote now has your vote to make a majority. My vote is taken from me and handed to another.

The opportunity for election fraud and cheating is too easy to ignore. Who knows what machinations will occur behind those closed doors? This is so complicated the government is going to spend millions of dollars to devise the system and to ‘educate’ us.

Why would you be surprised is fraud is perpetrated? Doesn’t this sound suspiciously like the way the Democrats decided who their presidential candidate would be? A person who did not win a single nomination election or a single vote cast was handed the presidential candidacy, while actual candidate was shoved aside.

Another reason to vote “NO” - the City of Portland is adopting this balloting system to elect their new governing body. If the City of Portland likes it, it must be bad.

By-the-way: A run-off election between the top two voted-for candidates in the field is simple and cheaper than this monstrosity. Plus, you will know your vote is counted - win or lose.

Vote ‘NO’ on Measure 117.

State of Oregon - Measure 116

Vote ‘NO’ on Measure 116.

This ballot measure provides for an ‘independent’ commission to set salaries for some of Oregon’s public officials - Governor, Secretary of State, etc. There are no checks and balances for this commission. The Legislature has no recourse or input on the commission decisions. The salaries set by the commission take place immediately, without review.

This is a power grab. There is no one or nothing to stop the setting of exorbitant salary increases.

Vote ‘NO’ on Measure 116.

State of Oregon - Measure 115

Vote ‘YES’ on Measure 115.

It provides of impeachment of state government officials that mirrors the U.S. Constitution.

Moral State of Our Leaders

Reading the Bible recently, in 1st and 2nd Kings, there is a main theme running through these historical writings: The moral state of the king directs or determines moral state of the people. The spiritual nature of the leaders is seen in the populace. The people follow the king’s lead. For example, king Jehoram “did what was evil in the Lord’s sight”. The king set up worship of idols of false gods! The people began to worship, nationwide, the idols, so the nation slid into evil.

Note: the religious leaders did little to try to stop the descent of the nation into sin. To be sure, there were prophets who spoke out to “turn from their wickedness and their wicked ways”. Occasionally there were towns or cities who did not follow when the king turned against God. For example, the town of Libnah did not approve the king turning to worshipping idols, and did not do the same. The kings and priests did not heed the prophets’ warnings.

This behavior was not (and still is not ) limited to Israel and Judah. Now this principle - people follow their leaders in all cultures are nations, to this very day. Leaders who operate without regard to the Lord and His ways rule with harshness, terror, and death.

This is a truism for all civilizations. Seldom, if ever, do the people rise up and demand to be led better. Looking at history, kingdoms and tribes on every continent have devolved into evil and damaging practices - both religious and secular.

For example, the Aztec empire was one of torture and death - early explorers found huge mounds of bones and skeletons surrounded their ‘temple’. In the Middle East, the nations’ religious ceremonies sacrificed their children, killing and burning them. In the Greek pantheon of gods, cult prostitutes were common. Rome was especially cruel in the way they treated subjects - the ‘Circus’ was battles between prisoners, and was famous for the statement, “We who are about to die salute you” - ‘games’ in the coliseum with killing, death, and crucifixion of any who would oppose their rule.

The French Revolution ended in a brutal war, with beheadings (including their queen and several of the leaders of the revolution). During the ‘Great Enlightenment’ there were riots, murders, the rebels turning on each other, death by guillotine with crowds cheering at each grisly death.

And then there is everyone’s bogeyman - Hitler - who turned a mostly peaceful nation into a horrifying Nazi regime which sent people to death camps. Plus look at any communist nation with millions and millions and millions of people killed by their godless leaders.

You might say we have grown and matured. Really? It isn’t hard to find cruelty and awful practices all around us. Consider the criminal gangs and cartels in South America and Mexico. The feckless leaders in Canada are not beacons of hope and morals.

Our country is being led by people who do not do right. We do not have a king, but the President is our national leader, mostly secular; but in truth, the actions of the President (or Vice-President) display the spiritual depravity of the USA’s leaders. No longer do they feign to do right while going in the wrong direction. They openly and brazenly lie. Our news organizations do not call attention to the truth. This is a version of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’. We are told they are doing a wonderful job, except it is not a story, but is deadly and dangerous. We hear, “He is the smartest, sharpest president in our history” (paraphrased), as we watch him stumble and bumble and stare blankly into space. We are told, “This is the best economy in 100 years”, except the cost of every thing is 15-50% higher than four years ago. Another lie, “The mask will protect you from Covid,” when you know the virus would have to be the size of a golf ball to be stopped by those paper masks. How about the call for ‘reproductive rights’? These boil down to ‘let us kill your babies!’ We are descending from off-base or wrong, down to corruption and open evil. And not the least is the ‘sexual revolution’ where we see our children being groomed to perversion, or mutilated and permanently harmed trying to turn boys to girls, or vice-versa.

These are not isolated incidents. These are just a few examples of the corruption and depredation that is happening right now in our

We do not need to follow these leaders who would take us away from Judea-Christian principles. We need to speak up, stand up and let people know there is a better way to live. We are all sinners and in need of Jesus Christ in our lives. It is important for us to be heard in the public square, and championing life through Jesus Christ.

We have a great opportunity. Some polls and surveys have shown that the USA is becoming more and more unchurched, or unaffiliated with churches. Perhaps the largest ‘church’ in our nation is worship of self. I don’t know if people are merely unchurched and uninterested in having a religious faith, or if they are becoming hostile to Christianity. I do believe the modern media - both entertainment and news - are working hard to turn people against the church. That is our opportunity - to share Christ and what He has done for us personally. It’s not about church, but it’s all about Jesus Christ.

Choose Today

We are at crossroads in our nation at this point in time. The upcoming election season will be a defining moment. If we choose poorly, there may be no recovery. God has placed before us several situations which are warnings, redlines of danger for us and our country. How we react to these warnings will show the spiritual condition of our nation. God spoke to the Israelites just before they crossed over the Jordan River into the promised land, the land of Canaan. Moses's last message urged them to follow God's commandments. The message also threatened them - warning them that doing as they pleased, not following God's commands, would prove to be dire. Look at what He said to them - Deuteronomy 30:11-19 "This commandment I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it too remote... 15 "Look! I have set before you today life and prosperity on the one hand, and death and disaster on the other. 16 What I am commanding you today is to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live... 19 Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!

God told them that what He wanted was not difficult, it was not a secret. It did not require mystic knowledge, or a special dispensation to know what to do. He had given them clear instructions. "Love God. Obey His commands." It is frightfully simple. Sometimes these simple commands are so 'in your face' that we tend to think, "Nah! That can't be right! There must be more I need to do." He gives them stark choices, Life or Death. All creation knows what He wants from them, from us. We cannot say, "We didn't know! Who told us?" He can turn to the rocks and trees, fish, birds, animals, angels and planets, and raise his eyebrow and say, "Really?" He will get a resounding reply, "Love God. Obey His commands."

We are in a similar situation in today's world. God has placed several redlines of warning for our country. God is warning us to choose wisely. If we fail, God will judge us as He has done with other rebellious people. These must not go on. First - Planned Parenthood harvesting and selling baby body parts. Second - the persecution and slaughter of Christians by Muslim extremists in the Middle East and Africa. Third - Our government (the United States of America) flaunting corruption and willful ignoring and breaking of laws.

First - Is there any greater evil than murdering babies for profit? Yes! Murdering babies with the intent of collecting bits and pieces to sell. It is supposedly for a good cause. What cause is worth dismembering a child? What cause is good enough for people to munch on salad while joking that a Lamboghini was a preferred payment for baby body parts? We are killing and dismembering the most innocent and defenseless. Over 1.2 million babies were aborted (killed) last year. That is about 15 Charleston church shooting tragedies per hour. We were shocked at that tragedy. That is about four Colorado Theater killings per hour. We wept for the dead in that tragedy. More babies are killed by abortion per hour than shooting deaths in Chicago in a year. Our nation is becoming a culture of death. God has warned us to protect the most innocent. We are not. This cannot continue.

Second - Can we with clear conscience stand by while Muslim extremists are beheading, burning alive, shooting, crucifying people who do not believe in Islam. They are especially cruel to Christians, but do not spare women, girls, homosexuals, or those who disagree with their cult of Islam. Do you want to talk about 'war on women'? Consider Boko Haram, or ISIS. Are you concerned about justice for gays? Homosexuals are being thrown off of roofs in ISIS controlled towns. We cannot say we do not know what they are doing.
Some of the accusations against the Germans during the Holocaust were they feigned ignorance of the slaughter of the Jews. They did not have the advantage of the internet or the 24-hour cable news, so they might not have known. However, there is the report that the church members sang louder each Sunday morning to drown out the sounds of the death trains rumbling by on the way to the ovens. To our shame, America turned its back on Jewish refugees, refusing their entry into the country. Our response to the ISIS situation is eerily similar.
We are becoming acclimated to the horrific violence of these religious zealots. We were shocked to the core when we saw the first beheading. Sickened at the immolation of a caged prisoner. Disturbed when more than twenty were beheaded on the beach. It has not gotten better. This week ISIS tied people on top of bombs (IEDs) then blew them up. What has been our response? Hold up handwritten signs with some inane 'hashtag'. Pathetic. We have not demanded our government do something. We cannot continue doing nothing. But on the other hand, perhaps we believe our present administration would do nothing even if we demanded it.

Third - Our governmental leadlers - mayors, governors, legislators, the president and his administration openly and brazenly flout the laws of the land. Of all the countries in the world, the United States is a product of the people and laws. Lincoln said it best, "of the people, by the people..." We have chosen our leaders, whether they be corrupt, incompetent, greedy, or honest, forthright, with good character. At present we have very few of the latter. Whether it is the President, or the Speaker of the House, or the mayor of a city - we need honest people of good character leading us. We don't need liars. We don't need power-hungry narcissists. We cannot say that it is their fault, not ours. God had a warning for the people of Israel. He let them know that it was not just the king's fault, or the priests. The problem fell on all of the people. See Jeremiah 32:32,33 - "...the people of Israel and Judah have made me angry with all their wickedness - their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, and especially the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem have done this wickedness. 33 They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. I tried over and over again to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction."
The political/government leaders, the religious leaders, the business leaders and the common man were all deep into sin.
Is America any different right now? One of the people running for President has spent a lifetime lying. If you need an example, start with the attack on our Benghazi Embassy. Or, what about secreting communications on a personal server, rather than using the government servers as proscribed by law. What about the majority leaders of the Senate, both Democrat and Republican bending the rules for personal gain rather than the good of the citizens of the country. We also see the legislators willing to put off until later, years or decades later, solutions to major problems. This is similar to king Hezekiah of Judah seeking approval of the Babylonians, rather than God. The Lord chastised the king, telling him the kingdom would be stripped away. Hezekiah's response? "Hey, at least it will happen after I am gone." Doesn't that sound like kicking the can down the road? This is related in chapter 39 of Isaiah, the punch line found in Isaiah 39:8 - Hezekiah said to Isaiah, "The LORD's word which you have announced is appropriate." Then he thought, "For there will be peace and stability during my lifetime."

We no longer have any 'wiggle room'. The warnings are clearly before us. We must decide - do we say and do nothing, hoping the problems will fall on our nation after we are dead and gone? We must decide - can we stand by and be silent while babies are being torn asunder? We must decide - can we be quiet because at least the slaughter of believers isn't happening here? Do we let the power brokers drive our government into the sewer because we won't speak up, speak out, and vote? Joshua challenged the Israelites after they began to setlle down in their land. Joshua 24:15a - If you have no desire to worship the LORD, choose today whom you will worship. We need to live our faith, not just in church on Sunday, but in the world. Joshua 24:15b - But I and my family will worship the LORD! If we don't do this, God will withdraw His blessing from us. Choose today whom you will serve. Choose life. Or, choose death.

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(note: Thank you Glenn Beck for the idea and the inspiration for the above.)

Another Major Failure in Oregon's Legislature

Senator Jeff Kruz (R-Roseburg) sent the following E-Newsletter to describe the frustration he experiences working with the Democrats in this session of Oregon's Legislature. A combination of corruption in the governor's office, plus hubris in the Democrat dominated Senate and House, plus rigid environmental wackos, and incompetence and corruption in ODOT led to the failure of the recently tabled Transportation bill.
Corruption: see the Kitzhaber debacle.
Hubris: the Democrats rammed the low carbon fuel bill through the House and Senate, ignoring valid objections from the Republicans.
ODOT: the department refused to cooperate in the joint working sessions, and did not provide needed data to verify the proposed plan until too late, which scrapped the limited coorperation that existed.

The following is the letter from Senator Kruz.
I thank him for his diligence.