Featured Stories
Featured Stories
Susan Gallagher, Parents Rights In Education
There is a clear political agenda to destroy the traditional family in America, and it’s facilitated by public schools. Never before have all parents been legally “separated” from their minor children by the government. Until now, the American family was considered to be the foundation of civic life; the smallest form of government, where children are taught responsibility, respect for authority, and national pride.
In 2005 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found in Fields v. Palmdale School District “that the Meyer-
Pierce right [of parents to direct the upbringing of their children] does not exist beyond the threshold of the school door. We conclude that the parents are possessed of no constitutional right to prevent the public schools from providing information on the subject [of sexuality] to their students in any forum or manner they select.” Although, schools claim students can OPT-OUT of offensive curriculum, it has become more difficult because the content is taught in every subject from Health to History. Continue reading
Marlon Furtado
Do you sometimes feel alone and afraid? Do you enjoy meeting new and unexpected challenges? Or are you like me, preferring routine? Do you have a tendency to see life as “a cup half full” or do you find yourself seeing things more as “a cup half empty?”
It’s easy to interpret circumstances and interruptions from our perspective rather than from God’s vantage spot. Let’s look at two widely divergent responses to trouble in 2 Kings, chapter 6. Here’s a little background. Israel and Syria are at war. God forewarns Israel’s prophet Elisha of Syria’s military plans, and Elisha warns the king of Israel. This happens so frequently that the king of Syria expects he has a spy in his camp. Learning that the culprit is Elisha, the Syrian king sends his army at night to capture the prophet.
This is where the story gets so exciting! When Elisha and his servant went to bed, all was safe and quiet. In the morning Elisha’s assistant gets up early and goes outside for fresh air before starting his day. What he saw freaked him out! He ran back into the house to tell Elisha that the city was surrounded by the Syrian army. Frantically, he asked the prophet, “What are we going to do? They are here to kill us! There’s no way out.” Continue reading
A perfect storm is brewing in Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against David Daleiden and his fellow investigators at the Center for Medical Progress (CMP). On Wednesday July 17, federal District Court Judge William Orrick will hear nine motions brought by the pro-life defendants, represented by Life Legal and other legal groups, and one motion brought by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the nine Planned Parenthood affiliates.
Four years ago today, CMP released the first of a series of videos showing Planned Parenthood officials negotiating the sale of baby body parts for profit. Shortly after the release, Planned Parenthood sued CMP and its board members for millions in damages. The abortion giant maintains it had to increase security at many of its affiliates because of a “dramatic increase in the threats, harassment, and criminal activities targeting abortion providers,” including nearly 850 incidents of vandalism alone in July and August of 2015 and a nine-fold increase in “security incidents” following the release. Continue reading
New video documents devastating impact of renewable energy expansion on UK wildlife and countryside.
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Marlon Furtado
Consider the Apostle Paul, King David, and the Prophet Elijah. You might think such godly men never faced discouragement, but each of them did. There was a time when Paul said he “despaired even of life.” One time David’s men talked of stoning him, and he had to “encourage himself in the Lord.” And there was a time when Elijah had suicidal thoughts. Discouragement attacks us all. You may have found discouragement to confront you infrequently and last a short time. Or you may be one for whom discouragement overshadows you daily.
In this blog we are going to follow the Prophet Elijah. His story is recorded in 1 Kings 17-19, covering 3-4 years of his life. I hope to discover some triggers of discouragement, as well as some helpful weapons to battle it. Elijah’s discouragement certainly wasn’t because he didn’t have enough faith. He participated in a number of God’s miracles during that brief span of time. Here’s a list: 1) He commanded the heavens to stop raining and they did, 2) birds air-delivered his meals both morning and evening, 3) his promise to a widow that her food would keep multiplying for years was fulfilled, 4) he prayed over that widow’s dead son, and he came back to life, 5) he saw God respond with fire from heaven in a very public showdown Continue reading
Bryan Fischer
The Republican Party was formed in 1854 to end slavery and protect natural marriage.
According to its first platform, the objects of the party’s concern were the “twin relics of barbarism — Polygamy, and Slavery.” Abraham Lincoln led the Union to abolish the second relic and Congress abolished the first by denying statehood to the Mormon territory of Utah until it renounced polygamy.
Mormon leadership received a timely vision instructing the LDS church to do that very thing. Utah prohibited polygamy in its state constitution and was added to the Union. My home state of Idaho, due to the Mormon/polygamy question, was also required to forbid any recognition of polygamous marriages in its first state constitution in 1890. Continue reading
When my mother became very ill years ago, her insurance provided home healthcare. However, my sister and I were very much involved. We frequently took over on weekends and evenings during the week. The illness was quite prolonged, and caregivers came and went along with good days and bad. She had a hospital bed in her family room. There were sliding glass doors that looked out upon the back yard in which she loved to putter about on better days. Mom enjoyed the butterflies most of all; particularly the large, yellow Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.
The Sunday before she died, I sat with her, talking. I was hoping I could somehow reach her. Warm sunshine filled the room. I had opened the sliding doors to let in the warmth. A butterfly drifted close to her bed for a brief heart-wrenching moment. I began to tell her a story about an incident that occurred when I was a teacher in the early 60’s. Late in the fall of that school year, one of my second graders brought a large green caterpillar into class. We decided to see if we could provide it with an area in which to make a cocoon. Continue reading
Marlon Furtado
Winetasting has become a popular pastime in Oregon, as wineries have sprouted up throughout the countryside. Apparently, our state’s climate is conducive to the growth of tasty grapes and wines. The landscape boasts so many wineries now, that you can spend an entire weekend sampling the fruit-of-the-vine at different ones.
In the second chapter of Mark in your Bible, some people had asked Jesus why His disciples were not fasting. He answered, “No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins.” In Jesus’ day, grape juice was placed in animal skins that had been sewn shut. As the juice fermented, the skin would stretch, much like blowing up a balloon.
At first glance, it seems odd to discuss winemaking as a reply to that question. But Jesus used this illustration to teach one of the MOST IMPORTANT TRUTHS about salvation. It makes sense when we look back into the history of Israel. Continue reading
July 11, Noon, Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland OREGON
A peaceful gathering of law abiding volunteers, turned into nothing less than criminal harassment dominated by a rag tag group of ANTIFA activists. While Parents’ Rights In Education (PRIE) members, a non-profit organization dedicated to defending parents’ rights to direct the education of their children, gathered on the steps of the Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland, Oregon, waiting for an interview with KPTV12 reporter Debra Gill, they were attacked by the angry mob, Youth Liberation Front.
Because the PRIE group were attending a 9th Circuit hearing at the Pioneer Courthouse across the street from the public park, it seemed perfectly normal to plan a gathering there during the Noon hour, grab a bite to eat, and talk with the citizens about issues. Continue reading
Helen Cook
When did you last hear a child profess his love for spinach?
Oregon’s Farm-to-School program awards grants to school districts across Oregon to give them the funds needed to purchase fresh foods from local farms and vendors. Advocates hope that by using the words “fresh” and “local,” K-12 students will nurture a healthier taste for fruits and veggies. This hope prompted legislators to budget almost $15 million for the program at the end of the 2019 session.
This is a significant increase from the program’s $200,000 budget in 2012, largely because legislators rephrased the bill to allow entities separate from Oregon school districts to accept grants. This technical rewording allows for summer meal programs, nonprofits, and even the local vendors selling food to the districts to accept grant money.
But frozen foods benefit students more than local produce does. Frozen fruits and veggies have equal or superior nutritional value and lower costs. This is important for school districts who prepare meals by the thousands.
Since the program’s main benefit is not Oregon’s students, I suggest the state reevaluate the expensive Farm-to-School program to be more cost-effective and call this current grant program what it is: a subsidy for local vendors.
Helen Cook is a Research Associate at Cascade Policy Institute, Oregon’s free market public policy research organization.