Free Republic

Gov. Kate Brown announced Tuesday that Oregonians will be required to start wearing masks in all indoor public spaces regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status -- a move that comes as the pandemic spirals out of control and new projections show COVID-19 hospitalizations could nearly double by September from today’s record numbers. Brown didn’t specify a date for when the mandate will take effect, but she is expected to share more details during a news conference Wednesday. Brown also announced Tuesday that starting as early as Oct. 18 she will require all state employees in the executive branch -- which...

Few people know that new prescription drugs have a 1 in 5 chance of causing serious reactions after they have been approved. That is why expert physicians recommend not taking new drugs for at least five years unless patients have first tried better-established options, and have the need to do so. Few know that systematic reviews of hospital charts found that even properly prescribed drugs (aside from misprescribing, overdosing, or self-prescribing) cause about 1.9 million hospitalizations a year. Another 840,000 hospitalized patients are given drugs that cause serious adverse reactions for a total of 2.74 million serious adverse drug reactions....

House Bill 2238 -- https://legiscan.com/OR/text/HB2238/2021 Relating to private property during emergency; amending ORS 35.350 and 401.188.

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Gov. Kate Brown issued a stern warning Thursday that Oregon businesses who defy her executive orders, which she said have reduced the spread of COVID-19, will face enforcement through fines or even 'Red Warning' closure notices. Red Warning Notices apply to businesses that appear to be in willful violation of the governor’s executive orders or who refuse to take corrective measures, the governor's office said. Such businesses are closed until the hazardous condition is remedied. Violation of a Red Warning Notice results in stiff penalties, they added. Under Oregon OSHA rules, a Red Warning Notice can...

A controversial Detroit Democrat state legislator was stripped of her committee assignments in the Michigan Legislature after releasing a video that appeared to threaten Donald Trump supporters concerned with issues of election integrity in the state on Wednesday. Rep. Cynthia Johnson had contemptuously dismissed election fraud whistleblowers and Trump supporters during a legislative hearing on the process of the 2020 election last week. After receiving backlash for her unprofessional conduct, she released a video in which she implied the use of far-left Democrat thugs to dismiss Americans who demand transparency. Johnson claimed she was being harassed and receiving threatening phone...

Video has emerged that shows a woman claiming to be a teacher yelling and swearing at a group of protesters in Oregon who are demanding that businesses be allowed to reopen amid the pandemic. The clip taken at a rally in Bend on Sunday has been widely shared on social media. In the video, a woman leans out of her car window and appears to yell "kill yourself" at one protester. "I'm a f*****g teacher, I work in schools," the woman shouts. "I teach students, my students' families are dying!" The woman then continues to make obscene gestures towards the...

ALBANY, Ore. - Firefighters and deputies responded to 8 small fires early Monday morning in Linn County. Sheriff Jim Yon said "deputies are investigating several suspicious fires that began early this morning at 2:41 a.m." "Deputies and fire personnel responded to eight different small fires in the areas of Scott Mountain Road west of Sweet Home, Whiskey Butte Drive east of Sweet Home and Washburn Heights Drive outside of Brownsville," the sheriff's office said. "All the fires occurred within a two-hour period." The sheriff said a small white or silver 1990s Nissan pickup with a black canopy was seen in...

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) on Friday refused to explain why she has condemned “armed white supremacists” but not Antifa after an explosion of violence in Portland, telling reporters that her primary goal centers around “eradicating racism.” Following the fatal shooting of Trump supporter Aaron J. Danielson at the hands of a self-identified member of Antifa, Brown released a statement condemning “right-wing vigilantes” and “armed white supremacists” for the escalation of violence in Portland. She did not mention Antifa in her condemnatory statement, prompting questions. “We’ve had some viewers ask why your anti-violence statement this week about ongoing unrest in...

A Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputy seen in a viral video making what the sheriff’s office is calling “inappropriate statements,” while on duty has been placed on administrative leave, the agency announced Saturday. The deputy’s remarks seemed to give credence to the idea that anti-fascists were causing havoc and possibly setting fires, unfounded rumors strenuously debunked by law enforcement. “As soon as I was made aware of this incident, I moved swiftly to place this deputy on leave while we investigate,” Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts said in the release. “The Sheriff’s Office mission is to provide calm and safety especially...

Fires burning near Lincoln City scorch 2,400 acres; officials report favorable shift in winds By Elliot Njus | The Oregonian/OregonLive A group of wildfires in Lincoln County have burned more than 2,400 acres, state fire officials reported, more than doubling in size in the last 24 hours. A shift to southwesterly winds away from Lincoln City has helped firefighters make progress, officials said, though the fire remains uncontained. The winds have pushed the fire spread back toward areas already burned and away from the denser population center of Lincoln City. “Without the strong push behind the fire today, the firefighters...

ASHLAND, Ore. — The Almeda Fire started on the North side of Ashland. Police say it’s believed to have sparked at the BMX park by Almeda Street and Michelle Avenue. We’re told investigators spent the day speaking with witnesses and neighbors trying to verify where the fire started and how. Whether it was intentionally set or not is still to be determined, but police say it is a criminal investigation. One person was discovered dead in the area where the fire sparked.

Some Wisconsin state officials aren’t fooling around when it comes to the spread of COVID-19. In an email to employees sent out on July 31, the head of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources not only reminded employees of Gov. Tony Evers’ mask order going into effect on Aug. 1, he also said that every DNR employee must wear a mask ... even while on a teleconference. “Also, wear your mask, even if you are home, to participate in a virtual meeting that involves being seen — such as on Zoom or another video-conferencing platform — by non-DNR staff,” Preston Cole...

Nowadays it’s difficult to have a conversation without folks shouting at you or getting angry that you may have a different perspective from their perspective. Western society has, over the years, increasingly viewed opposing ideas as threats or dangerous instead of seeing the marketplace of ideas as a critical piece to a free, sane, and safe society. Furthermore, our overindulgence on social media, click bait articles, and Facebook debates has not aided us well in fostering critical thinking. It’s actually solidified identity politics. We aren’t reading books or journals anymore. We aren’t reading well thought out articles or trusted field...

(Update: Adding 2nd video, poll, local reaction, Deschutes County health official comments) SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In a bid to halt a surge in COVID-19 cases across Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown took two major steps Monday, banning most indoor gatherings of more than 10 people and extending the current face covering requirement to outdoor spaces where physical distance cannot be kept. She said starting Wednesday, she will extend the statewide face covering requirement to apply in all outdoor spaces where people can not stay at least six feet apart from others who are not from their own household. Brown said...

<p>PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Protesters who took to the streets in Portland for the 22nd consecutive night tore down a statue of George Washington that was erected in the 1920s.</p> <p>The demonstrators placed a sticker on the head of the statue that read “You are on Native land" and also spray-painted the statue's pedestal.</p>

Says no arrests or tickets for no mask, but her order 'is enforceable' SALEM, Ore. (AP/KTVZ) — Beginning next Wednesday, Oregonians in some of the state’s most populous counties will be required to wear face masks when they are in public indoor spaces, such as grocery stores and shops, to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The new face covering mandate pertains to residents in Clackamas, Hood River, Lincoln, Polk, Marion, Multnomah and Washington counties. Although the new requirement is set to go into effect in less than a week, it remains unclear what repercussions people face if they do...

(Update: Adding Kevin Mannix comment) High court rules against churches challenging COVID-19 restrictions, says executive orders did not violate 28-day time limit SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Oregon Supreme Court ruled Friday that a Baker County judge erred in ruling that Gov. Kate Brown’s executive orders relating to the coronavirus pandemic violated a 28-day statutory time limit and had therefore expired. Friday's decision directs Circuit Judge Matthew Shirtcliff to vacate the preliminary injunction he'd issued while the Baker County case – seeking a declaratory judgment and permanent injunction – was pending (which the Supreme Court had previously stayed). The governor’s...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Baker County Judge Matthew Shirtcliff announced Tuesday that he will not vacate his injunction that made Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's stay-at-home orders temporarily "null and void." The Oregon Supreme Court issued an alternative writ of mandamus Saturday, which said that Shirtcliff had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to either vacate the injunction or explain why it should remain in place. Since Shirtcliff chose to stand by his original ruling, the state must file a brief with the Oregon Supreme Court by Thursday, May 28 and the plaintiffs must file briefs by Tuesday, June 2. Shirtcliff's decision tossed out...

The Oregon Supreme Court Monday evening issued a stay blocking a decision earlier in the day by Baker County Circuit Court Judge Matt Shirtcliff that temporarily stopped the state from enforcing Gov. Kate Brown's executive orders restricting certain activities due to the coronavirus pandemic. That means the executive orders will remain in effect statewide. After a 20-minute hearing Monday morning at the Baker County Courthouse, Shirtcliff granted a preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the governor May 6. The next step is for attorneys from both sides to submit responses to the Supreme Court related to...

Huge win for churches, ministries, businesses and the people of the great state of Oregon! Bend, OR – Prepare the Way Ministries and Bend Community Church, along with churches, businesses and individuals across Oregon, applaud the decision out of the Baker County Circuit Court today declaring that Governor Kate Brown violated the Oregon Constitution in her emergency declarations and authoritarian executive orders. The Judge ruled that churches, businesses and individuals have been irreparably harmed by Gov. Brown’s unconstitutional orders. It is time that the free exercise of religion be respected and pastors across the state of Oregon be allowed to...