At the first—and likely only—public hearing on Metro’s “supportive housing” tax measure, one resident asked a question on everyone’s mind: “Our money isn’t being spent the way it should be now, so what assurances do we have that this will be any different?” The question highlights the fact that trust in local government is at […]
Rarely has Oregon’s lack of political leadership been as painfully obvious as it is now on the topic of grid reliability. Most of us take for granted the miracle of electricity. We flip a switch and the lights come on. Computers, air conditioners, smartphones—all powered by the magic of the grid. We don’t care how […]
Samuel was getting old. He had served God his entire life and given leadership to the nation of Israel throughout his adult years. Now, as he approached the end of his life, he assumed that his sons would follow in his steps and provide godly leadership. “But his sons did not walk in his ways. […]
Before getting into Romans, a few observations are in order about the epistles written by the Apostle Paul. He wrote the 13 from Romans through Philemon for sure but I see a number of indications he probably also wrote Hebrews. If so, there are fourteen epistles wherein Paul reveals the Gospel of the Grace of […]
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” – Sun-Tzu The coronavirus – or SARS-CoV-2 – is indeed real and it is causing deaths around the world. But while the stock markets are reacting in typical kneejerk fashion, we would be wise to truly understand the threat posed by the […]
In the course of a recent internet chat about Donald Trump, someone raised an interesting question. What single attribute of our president best encourages those of us who support him while most infuriating those who hate him? Several suggestions were offered, but the one that most impressed me was elegantly simple. The writer identified in […]
The city of Philadelphia kicked Catholic Social Services out of its foster care program because it insisted on placing children in optimal nurturing environments. Both Scripture and sociological research indicate that the best possible environment for a child is in a home with a mom and a dad who are married to each other. Homosexual […]
You may not be able to tax carbon out of existence, but you can tax agriculture out of business. That’s the refrain of Timber Unity, the coalition which sees the resurrection of last year’s cap-and-trade bill as a threat to businesses which have called Oregon “home” for decades. One woman at the Timber Unity protest […]
UN and EU government agencies – and tax-exempt NGOs – have brought a plague of locusts Billions of desert locusts have descended again on East Africa. Crawling first, then sprouting wings and flying in hungry hoards of 40-150 million or more, they are devastating crops and threatening tens of millions of people with lost livelihoods […]
On Monday, the Oregon Senate was scheduled to convene at 11 a.m. to conduct business in the short legislative session. Of the twelve Republican senators, eleven failed to attend, denying quorum and grinding the business of the Senate to a halt. Senate Minority Leader Herman Baertschiger (R-Grants Pass) blasted the President of the Senate for […]
