The Mad Twerkers of Beaverton Oregon Are Arrested

Pic from Breitbart post linked below

And I don't mean "mad" in the good way...

From Breitbart:

Oregon police were called to the scene of an impromptu dance party on Monday afternoon that got a little too wild be going on in public. 

According to police, Christie Valazquez Coura went to Beaverton City Hall to pay a fine with two friends, Brittany Medak and Leokham Yothsombath. 

After Coura paid the fine, the three women went out to the parking lot and began twerking, the Oregonian reported. 

During the dance party, Medak allegedly began urinating between cars in the parking lot while Yothsombath recorded the whole thing with her cellphone. 

A court employee called the Beaverton police and the trio was arrested on multiple charges including disorderly conduct, cocaine and methamphetamine possession, and offensive littering. 

Medak and Coura are 20, while Yothsombath is 22.

These classy young ladies seem like a bundle of fun. Meth, twerking and public urination... what an unexpected combo.

Meanwhile, Beaverton police are clarifying that twerking is not a crime.

From Oregon Live article by Everton Bailey Jr.:

The Beaverton Police Department is clarifying charges against three women arrested near City Hall on Monday after witnesses saw some of them twerking outside the building and one allegedly urinating in the parking lot and officers found drugs in their possession. 

The department was contacted several times by the public Tuesday with questions about the arrests, said Officer Mike Rowe, a Beaverton police spokesman, particularly about the charges of offensive littering and disorderly conduct. 

"Some people just couldn't wrap their heads around how urinating in the parking lot is offensive littering," Rowe said. 

The department has listed the Oregon Revised Statutes for both misdemeanor offenses on its Facebook page. For the record, the department says, one woman was charged with offensive littering for urinating in a public place and two of the women face disorderly conduct charges because of the disturbance their alleged actions caused. 

Twerking is not illegal in Beaverton, Rowe said.

Well, that's a load off of my mind.

Cover Oregon to Give Up-- Oregon to Likely Use National ObamaCare Exchange

The faithful have failed... after filling their pockets, of course.

Calling it quits after wasting how much money again? It's weird how some companies and individuals made bank off of this travesty. It all must be the Koch brothers or Dick Cheney's fault...


From the AP via Breitbart:

Oregon, once expected to be a national leader in the federal health care overhaul, on Thursday moved to become the first state to dump its troubled online health exchange and use the federal marketplace instead. 

A top Cover Oregon official, Alex Pettit, said fixing the existing system would be too costly at an estimated $78 million, would take too long to implement, and would be too risky. The state's site still isn't fully functional seven months after a failed launch. 

Pettit said switching to the federal system would cost $4 million to $6 million. 

An advisory committee made the recommendation to drop the glitch-filled site for private policies, but suggested that Oregon continue using its current technology for Medicaid enrollments. 

The Cover Oregon board will vote on the recommendation Friday. 

Oregon's exchange is seen as the worst of the more than a dozen states that developed their own online health insurance marketplaces. The state is the only one where the general public still can't use the website to sign up for coverage in one sitting — despite an early start building the site and millions of dollars from the federal government.  

[...]  

Oregon has received a total of $305 million in federal grants to fund its operations from 2011 through the end of this year. As of March, the state has spent nearly $248 million of that money, Cover Oregon interim executive director Clyde Hamstreet said. 

Most of that money went toward the botched portal: $134 million in federal funding was paid to Oracle Corp. for building the exchange, and an additional $7 million was spent on paper processing efforts. Currently, Oregonians must use a time-consuming, hybrid paper-online process to sign up for insurance.

$305 million plus for an utter failure. Way to go guys!

Dan Riehl has a more complete list of Cover Oregon's failures here.

I hope we can all expect this kind of machine-like precision when to comes to the quality of the health insurance, and in their responses to various complications that inevitably arise from medical coverage!

UPDATE: Oregon is a part of the $1 billion dollars of taxpayer money wasted on bad state health insurance exchanges.

The five worst health care exchanges:
Hawaii – $205,342,270
Oregon – $305,206,587
Maryland – $171,013,111
Massachusetts – $179,036,455
Vermont – $172,641,081
Total – $1,033,239,504

Numbers from cms.gov (via Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit linked above)

Way to go Dems!

Did Cover Oregon Create Dummy Websites to Deceive Feds?

"Look, as long as it was Democrats doing this, it's not a big deal. Now if a Tea-bagger was involved, well..."

ObamaCare just keeps getting better, and better, and better....


From KATU News (h/t Instapundit):

You already know the process that led to the failed rollout of the Cover Oregon website was bad.  

But was it criminally bad?

Former Republican state Rep. Patrick Sheehan told the KATU Investigators he has gone to the FBI with allegations that Cover Oregon project managers initiated the design of dummy web pages to convince the federal government the project was further along than it actually was.

If Sheehan’s allegations are true, those managers could face time in jail for fraud.

"One of the allegations that was made was so alarming that it went way beyond a legislative oversight committee and so I did reach out and contact the FBI,” Sheehan said.

"The issue had to do with federal funding and proving some amount of compliance with the federal regulation in order to get funding."

To which funding is he referring?

Early in its life, Cover Oregon was given a $48 million “early innovator” grant from the federal government. That amount would later grow to $59 million.

There were a few strings attached though.

To keep the money flowing, the website would have to hit specific benchmarks between 2011 and 2013. The state needed to show the feds it had picked a company to provide software and technical assistance; it had to demonstrate that the website was safe from hackers; and, most importantly, it had to show that people could actually sign up for insurance on the website.

The evidence these marks had been reached would be presented during a process called “gate reviews.”

An IT pro from California named Carolyn Lawson, who has since stepped down, was brought in to oversee the project in her role as Oregon Health Authority CIO.

Her team was in charge of presenting the gate reviews.  

Read the rest at the link above.

Fraud, dishonesty, incompetence, and bad design... Pretty much sounds like Cover Oregon is keeping true to the ObamaCare spirit.

Carolyn Lawson, Overseer of Oregon's ObamaCare Exchange, Resigns

What?! Why?! Was it because no one has been able to sign up with the exchange unless they were getting Medicaid? Weird.


From The Oregonian: (via Jammie at JWF):

Carolyn Lawson, the embattled state technology executive who oversaw much of the development of Oregon's troubled health insurance exchange, has resigned for personal reasons.   

It was Lawson, chief information officer at the Oregon Health Authority, who decided the state could manage the complex exchange project itself, rather than hire a private-sector systems integrator, a decision since criticized by her superiors. Lawson also was close to Oracle Corp., the California technology giant that has been blamed for doing shoddy work and repeatedly missing deadlines.  

Nearly three months after the federal deadline for a functional health exchange website, Oregon's exchange has emerged as a technological train wreck and a PR nightmare. The state has paid more than $160 million and a fully functional site remains weeks -- perhaps months -- away.   

State officials have been forced to spend even more money gearing up a massive system of temporary employees and contractors to manually process paper applications for health insurance. 

Lawson started work for Oregon on July 1, 2011. The state paid her $178,992 a year. 

As The Oregonian reported Sunday, the exchange has been plagued by poor work by Oracle. Miscues by state managers have also figured prominently in the exchange's issues.

Wow. That is a lot of money shelled out for abject failure. But was it Flawson's failure? The answer is yes and no.

As Fox News noted:

Oregon leaders bragged for two years that it would have one of the nation's most advanced insurance marketplaces, but they were embarrassed when the online enrollment site wasn't ready to launch on schedule in October. It still doesn't work nearly three months later. 

The exchange has had to rely exclusively on paper applications, and it hired or reassigned more than 400 workers to process them manually. Oregon has been the slowest state to enroll people in private insurance, though the pace has picked up significantly in the past two weeks.  

[...]  

Lawson came under fire a year ago when state lawmakers accused her of misleading them about available technologies. More recently, technology experts and her own boss have laid blame for the problem with her decision to have the state act as the project's systems integrator, a sort of general contractor to oversee the complex integration of disparate parts of multiple vendors. 

Lawson was hired in 2011 to oversee technology projects for the two state agencies that administer health and human services programs. The state had just approved creating a health insurance exchange, and it was tacked onto a separate project to modernize the internal computer systems for both agencies. 

Lawson was responsible for delivering the technology on a very tight schedule. 

The $48 million federal grant funding Lawson's work ran out unexpectedly in May. The development work was hastily handed over to staff at Cover Oregon, a semi-autonomous state agency created to run the exchange business using Lawson's technology.

So Oregon has their highly paid scapegoat and she's back in California. If it wasn't for Lawson, the exchange would be functioning beautifully... Uh, right?

Oregon Signs up 44 People for ObamaCare... After Spending $300 Million

"Another ObamaCare success! Now wait until 80 million or so lose their insurance next year! Then it'll be a real success!"

Why, that's a little less than $7 million per person. What a bargain! I'm so proud...

From The Washington Examiner article by Philip Klein (via Drudge):

Oregon, once touted as a model for President Obama's health care law, signed up just 44 people for insurance through November, despite spending more than $300 million on its state-based exchange. 

The state’s exchange had the fewest sign-ups in the nation, according to a new report today by the Department of Health and Human Services. 

The weak number of sign-ups undercuts two major defenses of Obamacare from its supporters. 

One defense was that state-based exchanges were performing a lot better than the federal healthcare.gov website servicing 36 states. But Oregon's website problems have forced the state to rely on paper applications to sign up participants.  

Another defense of the Obama administration has attributed the troubled rollout of Obamacare to the obstruction of Republican governors who wanted to see the law fail as well as a lack of funding. 

But Oregon is a Democratic state that embraced Obamacare early and enthusiastically. Its outreach effort, which included a folk-style music video featuring a singer playing an acoustic guitar against a colorful and scenic backdrop [yeah, that was a good one-- not as good as the "brosurance" ads, but still good. A problem that arises is that I don't personally recall seeing the ads anywhere except the internet-- where it was generally made fun of...], had been praised among the law's supporters. 

And the more than $300 million in federal grant money the state received to build and promote its exchange topped all but two other states - the much more populous New York and California.

But on the "plus" side, a lot of people signed up for Medicare. So... uh, congrats!

I've never understood why increasing the numbers of people on welfare is considered to be a success. Seems like a sort of a low bar to me... But, it is, after all, the Age of Obama. It's an era where clearing bars so low that they're laying on the floor by spending hundreds of billions of dollars is celebrated.

Just a Reminder: Democratic Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley Promised that You'd Be Able to Keep Your Insurance

A bald-faced lie from Sen. Jeff Merkley: "The HELP Committee bill sets forward a historic plan that will, for the first time in American history, give every American access to affordable health coverage, reduce costs, and increase choice, while ensuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it.”

Just sayin'.

From The Washington Examiner:

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-Oreg.): “[E]nsuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it” “The HELP Committee bill sets forward a historic plan that will, for the first time in American history, give every American access to affordable health coverage, reduce costs, and increase choice, while ensuring that those who like their insurance get to keep it.” (Sen. Merkley, Press Release, 7/15/09)

Now to be fair, Merkley was talking about the Senate's HELP Committee Bill. However I read that monster bill in its entirety and, believe it or not, it was even worse than the ObamaCare law that we got jammed down our throats. Not only was it going to take away your health insurance, it was a Trojan Horse for a single-payer system to be introduced-- so there was absolutely no way anyone was going to keep their current health insurance under what the bill.

So, even in that context, Sen. Merkley is among the lying liars that lie to our faces again.

Oregon Takes Steps to Tax Drivers on Mileage Opening Door to Tracking Drivers

"You can trust him to keep your driving habits private."

If I actually trusted the government to not abuse the information they gather, I might have less of a problem with this. But I don't, so I do.

From Fox News (via Instapundit):

Oregon is moving ahead with a controversial plan to tax motorists based on the number of miles they drive as opposed to the amount of fuel they consume, raising myriad concerns about cost and privacy.

The program, springing out of a recently signed bill, is expected to launch in 2015 on a volunteer basis. But it’s charting relatively new territory, and other states aching for additional tax revenue are sure to be watching closely to see whether to imitate the model. 

The problem for lawmakers is that the existing per-gallon gas tax has hit a point of diminishing returns, as Americans drive less and vehicles become more fuel efficient. The federal Highway Trust Fund, which gives money to states for highway construction and repairs, for example, has needed a congressional bailout four times since 2009, in part the result of no federal gas tax increase in the past 20 years. 

However, economists and civil libertarians are concerned about the Oregon pilot project in large part because some mileage meters can track and record residents’ every vehicular move. 

Rick Geddes, a Cornell University professor, said the basic device is okay because it is simply attached to a vehicle’s computer, which cannot track locations. 

“It’s just like using electricity,” he told FoxNews.com 

However, Geddes said privacy concerns could resurface should governments expand the program and use SmartPhone or apps to track movements and reward motorists who avoid congested roads and drive during off-peak hours.

That's a big concern of mine. There will be a push to control people's driving habits, and, as the need for funds and graft increases, to raise the price for people who have to drive to work at rush hour on congested roads. They get hit with taxes for doing nothing except having to suffer through too much traffic on badly highways and interchanges (especially in and around Portland). Want to drive to work? Then you have to pay taxes-- on top of everything already taken out of your paycheck anyway.

 Mark Perry, a University of Michigan scholar, says the GPS or “black box” system is "particularly untenable.”

“It would force us to surrender our privacy,” Perry, a scholar at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, recently wrote in a column for McClatchy Newspapers. “Each day more and more of us are required to tell government agencies more and more about ourselves. Do we really want the government collecting data about driving habits?” 

Another concern is the cost of tracking devices -- including who pays and how deep the expense cuts into the tax coffers. 

Oregon is purportedly considering several tracking methods for the pilot project’s 5,000 volunteers ahead of the 2015 start date – essentially allowing them to install mileage meters connected their vehicles’ odometers or GPS systems that could better track non-taxable miles on private and out-of-state roads. 

The average cost of GPS is now about $200. 

And a 2012 Government Accountability Office report states the costs of a GPS system for 230 million U.S. passenger vehicles “is likely to greatly exceed the costs of collecting fuel taxes,” absent any reliable studies on the issue.  

[...]  

Critics also say state governments calculating the tax per mile and mailing bills is another cost, and that people who use the most gas-efficient vehicles could pay just as much as those owning gas-guzzlers. 

The Oregon plan -- approved and signed into law this year by the state’s Democrat-run government -- would replace the 30-cents-a-gallon state tax with one for 1.5 cents a mile, for those participating. 

A state spokeswoman said Monday that the project is still in the development stages with officials focused on public awareness, not registration. 

Still, she acknowledge residents with electric cars, who pay no gas taxes, “won’t be running to sign up.” 

The incentive for states to pursue this kind of program could build as cars become more fuel efficient, especially considering President Obama wants new vehicles to get 54.5 mpg by 2025, up from the average now of 23.5 mpg’s. [And he's willing to pay trillions of dollars to Democrat contributors to do it.]

Motorists will still be charged the federal tax under the Oregon program. [emphasis mine]

Sounds like a real winner.

Glenn Reynolds had published a pretty decent take down of these sort of schemes in Popular Mechanics.

The problem is that there are better ways to achieve these goals, starting with the very gas tax that Kulongoski wants to replace. Gas taxes are a pretty good proxy for road usage—the more you drive, the more gas you burn—and there's a bonus: Gas taxes encourage people to use less gas in order to pay less tax, something that's pretty beneficial whether you're worried about greenhouse emissions or just about too much dependence on imported oil. A mileage tax, presumably, doesn't care whether you're driving a Prius or a Hummer, giving no incentive to save. At a time when policy makers are struggling to find ways to reduce emissions and energy consumption, this seems almost perverse. The person who invests a little extra to buy a high-mileage hybrid or diesel would, in effect, be penalized for making that choice. Aren't we trying to encourage people to purchase efficient cars?

Gas taxes are collected at the point of sale, with no privacy risk at all. We might (or might not) trust the government's promises of privacy regarding GPS receivers, but we know that the gas pump can't blab about where we've been. (And with a gas tax there's no need for anybody—drivers, or the state—to shell out for any GPS gadgets, either).

Oregon Legislators Propose Gun Ban, Confiscation & Home Searches

Think I'm kidding?

Check out House Bill 3200

The Hot Air article by Jazz Shaw:

Living in New York, we’re no strangers to really restrictive new gun laws, but you sort of expect that out here. We may have some competition in the race to the bottom, though, if some legislators in Oregon have their way. In fact, if HB 3200 gets passed into law, you may as well pack up and leave the state if you have any interest in Second Amendment rights. Here’s the top line summary.

Creates crime of unlawful possession or transfer of assault weapon or large capacity magazine.
Punishes by maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, $250,000 fine, or both.
Requires current owners to dispose of or register assault weapons and large capacity magazines.

That should be bad enough on its own, but if you really dig into the guts of this bill, it actually gets worse. After spending quite a bit of ink defining “assault weapons” as pretty much anything with cosmetic attachments which look scary to somebody, we get to the meat of the proposal.

Any person who, prior to the effective date of this law, was legally in possession of an assault weapon or large capacity magazine shall, within 120 days after the effective date of this 2013 Act, without being subject to prosecution:
(a) Remove the assault weapon or large capacity magazine from the state;
(b) Sell the assault weapon or large capacity magazine to a firearms dealer licensed under 18 U.S.C. 923 for lawful sale or transfer under subsection (2) of this section;
(c) Surrender the assault weapon or large capacity magazine to a law enforcement agency for destruction;
(d) Render the assault weapon permanently inoperable;

Oh, wait… did I say that was the bad part. I think I actually meant to refer to this truly tasty treat near the very end. After specifying that even under grandfathering you can only have one “assault rifle” and three high capacity magazines, these high level edicts are handed down.

(3) The department shall create and maintain a registry for owners of assault weapons and large capacity magazines who qualify for registration under section 4 of this 2013 Act. The department may adopt rules concerning the administration of the registry, including but not limited to renewal and revocation procedures and storage requirements for assault weapons and large capacity magazines.
(4) The department may conduct inspections of registered owners of assault weapons and large capacity magazines to ensure compliance with the storage requirements of section 4of this 2013 Act.
SECTION 6. This 2013 Act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this 2013 Act takes effect on its passage.

For all the talk I hear from gun control proponents this year about how universal background checks won’t lead to some sort of gun registry, it certainly seems like there are a lot of lawmakers who are interested in doing precisely that wherever they can. (Referring to (3) above that is.) And when it comes to (4) what can we say? We are assured on a daily basis that the authorities aren’t coming to kick down the doors of gun owners, but out in Oregon they are clearly opening the door to unscheduled, uninvited visits to people on the list.
And this is so important… so critical.. so vital… that a state of emergency must be declared to exist so the law will go into effect immediately without any period of review or challenges. Now tell me again why we’re all paranoid crazies making up fantasies about the government?

Update (Ed): Patriot Perspective’s Short Timer adds his own thoughts on this topic, and reminds us what Oregon Democrats think of gun-rights supporters:

But remember, Oregon Democrats like Lee Coleman have assured us that this kind of thing is just paranoid delusion from some people in “Kansas or whatever” so “go screw yourself.”
[emphasis mine]

Remember, if you're worried about this you're delusional, evil, and probably a racist.

Also, it's a super super-duper-red-hot-needs-to-be-done-now!now!now! emergency. If anybody's got any complaints it's too late after it's passed. 

Will it pass? I have no idea. Anything seems possible in the manufactured crisis climate that we live in. The Democrats and The Ministry of Truth media have labored mightily to create uncertainty, fear, division and at times outright hatred in this country. Maybe the gun grabbers will be able to strike while normal people are reeling from record unemployment, a dismal economy and a general distaste for all things political.

Ore. Dem Wu Says Painkillers were to Blame for Erratic Behavior and Sending Pics of Himself in Tiger Costume

Well, at least Democratic Congressional Rep. David Wu didn't say it was because he was dehydrated...

From the AP:

"An Oregon congressman said Tuesday that he accepted prescription drugs from a campaign contributor last October, around the same time members of his staff complained of his erratic behavior.

"Rep. David Wu told The Oregonian in a written response to a query that he had left another kind of painkiller — one prescribed by his doctor for neck pain — in Washington. He said the donor offered him an alternative, and he took two tablets.

"'This was the only time that this has ever happened,' Wu wrote. 'I recognize that my action showed poor judgment at the time, and I sincerely regret having put my staff in a difficult position.'

"Earlier Tuesday, Wu said on ABC's 'Good Morning America' that it was 'unprofessional and inappropriate' for him to send pictures of himself wearing a tiger costume to staff members.
Wu said the photos were taken while he was 'joshing around' with his children in October just before Halloween.

"One photo shows Wu wearing an orange and black striped tiger outfit with pointy ears and striped mittens. Portland newspapers reported that campaign staffers pleaded with Wu to seek psychiatric help in the final week before the November election, but he refused.

"The Oregonian and Willamette Week on Friday, citing interviews with a number of anonymous staff members, reported that the 55-year-old Wu was increasingly unpredictable on the campaign trial and in private last fall, and had several angry and loud outbursts.

"The newspapers reported that campaign staffers were appalled by a series of e-mails sent from Wu's federally issued BlackBerry that included the photo of him in the tiger costume. But more disturbing, staffers said, were e-mails written in the voice of his adolescent children.

"In an October speech to a friendly audience at a meeting of Washington County Democrats, Wu lashed out at his opponent and the media. He also talked his way past a security checkpoint to campaign for votes at the airport around that time, according to reports.

"Wu on Tuesday acknowledged sending the tiger costume photos and said he has sought mental health treatment, including counseling and medication. He said in the ABC interview that he's 'in a good place now,' but he said he ruled out inpatient treatment because he couldn't spend time away from his family.

"'Last October was not a good month. It was very stressful. I did some things, I said some things, which I sincerely regret now,' Wu said.

"The seven-term congressman assured voters he is fit to remain in office."

Of course Wu's fine... I mean, just because your staff wants you to get mental help isn't really much of an indication of a problem or anything... And clearly his odd behavior for October was due to the fact that he took the wrong prescription medications. It could happen to anyone.

I'm a little curious as to what the name and occupation of the campaign contributor who furnished Wu with the prescription pain meds might be. Apparently, he or she contributed drugs in addition to money. But nothing to see here. Move on...

I find it particularly interesting that the AP article completely neglects to mention that Wu is a Democrat. Not once is it said. Instead, the best we get is when the AP states about two-thirds of the way way through the article that "[i]n an October speech to a friendly audience at a meeting of Washington County Democrats, Wu lashed out at his opponent and the media."

Shh. Don't tell anyone, but Wu, the guy in the tiger suit, is a Democrat.

Keep on shilling AP.

Portland Bomber's Friends and Attorney: Mohamud was Encouraged by the FBI

Yeah. Poor old Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the 19 year-old radical Muslim who fully intended to blow up families at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, is a victim of the FBI's nefarious plot to twist young men into terrorists-- or something. At least that's the view voiced by Mohamud's defense attorney (who is just doing his job) and a friend (who does not have that excuse).

From the AP article by Nigel Duara and Tim Fought (via Drudge):

"A defense attorney and friends suspect that a teenager accused of plotting mass killings in Portland was set up - groomed and talked into a plot to detonate what he thought were six 55-gallon drums of explosives in a van.

"But prosecutors led by Attorney General Eric Holder say Mohamed Osman Mohamud plunged into a what turned out to be government sting, dismissing talk of backing out and also exhulting in the mayhem he expected as Portlanders gathered by the thousands last week for a Christmas tree-lighting celebration.

"Mohamud 'was told that children - children - were potentially going to be harmed,' Holder said Monday as the 19-year-old native of Somalia appeared in court and his defenders attacked the government's case.

"Outside the courtroom, a man who has played basketball with Mohamud said the teenager wouldn't have gotten involved in the plot without encouragement from the FBI.

"'If you talk with someone enough, they'll be convinced they need to do something,' said 20-year-old Muhahid El-Naser. He was among a small number of people gathered outside a federal court building about a five-block walk from what the government alleges was the target of the bomb plot last week, Pioneer Courthouse Square."

Huh. "If you talk to someone enough they'll be convinced they need to do something." And I guess that "something" would undoubtedly be to attempt to murder as many innocent civilians as possible for a political statement. Interesting theory El-Naser.

More from the article:

"Inside the courthouse, public defender Stephen Sady was advancing similar arguments as he entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Mohamud.

[...]

"Prosecutors say that agents let the plot string out to its end, with Mohamud feverishly dialing a cell phone number he thought would touch off the bomb, so that they could gather enough evidence to support the single charge he faces, attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.

"Holder also said the FBI was investigating a fire Sunday that destroyed part of an Islamic center in Corvallis, where Mohamud occasionally worshipped while attending Oregon State University.

"Police believe the fire was a case of arson, and they increased patrols around mosques and other Islamic sites in Portland."

I love the way that Islam isn't mentioned in the article until its a victim of a suspected arson. No mention of Mohamud's declaration of jihad (from a speech Mohamud recorded on Nov. 4th as reported by the AP in another article: "To my parents who held me back from Jihad in the cause of Allah," nor his yelling of the Muslim terrorist rallying cry "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is great!") when he was arrested.

You know, I was just waiting for this defense from some of my more conspiracy-minded fellow Oregonians. I should have posted about it yesterday and then looked prescient. I guess these people believe that FBI has nothing better to do these days then to coerce young men into acts of domestic terrorism. But wouldn't it make more sense for the Obama Administration to try to coerce Tea Party member into blowing up families in Portland instead of Muslim radicals? Go figure. I guess those mean old Republicans are running the FBI or something...

Islamic Terrorist's Bomb Plot in Portland Oregon

I'm a bit late on this story, but here it is:

From the AP:

"A Somali-born teenager plotted 'a spectacular show' of terrorism for months, saying he didn't mind that children would die if he bombed a crowded Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, according to a law-enforcement official and court documents.

"He never got the chance. Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested Friday in downtown Portland after using a cell phone to try to detonate what he thought were explosives in a van, prosecutors said. It turned out to be a dummy bomb put together by FBI agents, and authorities said the public was never in danger.

"The case is the latest in a string of alleged terrorist planning by U.S. citizens or residents, including a Times Square plot in which a Pakistan-born man pleaded guilty earlier this year to trying to set off a car bomb at a busy street corner."

The latest in a string of terror plots by US citizens? How about the latest in the string of plots by by radical Islamic terrorists who may or may not be American citizens?

The article goes on:

"On Nov. 4, the court documents say, Mohamud made a video in the presence of one of the undercover agents, putting on clothes he described as 'Sheik Osama style:' a white robe, red and white headdress, and camouflage jacket.

"He read a statement speaking of his dream of bringing 'a dark day' on Americans and blaming his family for thwarting him, according to the court documents:

"'To my parents who held me back from Jihad in the cause of Allah. I say to them ... if you — if you make allies with the enemy, then Allah's power ... will ask you about that on the day of judgment, and nothing that you do can hold me back ...'"

Sounds like a typical American citizen's speech... right?

Not mentioned in this article is the prosecutors story that Mohamud was yelling "Allahu Akbar!" which is Arabic for "God is great!" as he was arrested.

As Michelle Malkin points out Oregon has been particularly uncooperative toward federal efforts to battle terrorism.

From Malkin:

"You may recall that loony Portland officials several years ago threatened to pull out of the Joint Terrorism Task Force under the Bush administration and refused to cooperate with federal efforts to conduct voluntary interviews of of local Muslims in order to uncover terrorist plots."

Great...

Oregon Senator Backing Off from Federal Individual Health Care Mandate-- After Voting for It

Sen. Wyden has apparently decided that Oregonians don't really like economically fascist laws that force Americans to purchase federally regulated health insurance. He reached this conclusion after voting for a law containing such a mandate, as well as featuring such a mandate in his own health care bill-- the Healthy Americans Act.

From the Huffington Post via LibertyCentral.org:

"One of the most innovative voices in the health care debate, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), is accelerating the process of exempting his state from some of the national reforms passed under President Barack Obama.

"The Oregon Democrat is seeking to take advantage of a provision he helped write into the legislation that allows states to set up their own health care systems as long as they meet minimal requirements established by the Department of Health and Human Services. In a letter to the state’s Health Authority office, Wyden announced that he will introduce legislation to accelerate the start date for state waivers from 2017 to 2014, if not earlier for Oregon specifically.

"In addition, he strongly suggested that the state should use the provision to exempt Oregon from the individual mandate, which would penalize those individuals who refuse to purchase insurance coverage. The mandate was a feature of Wyden’s own health care bill but has proved to be remarkably unpopular among voters."

Yes, the individual health mandate was remarkably unpopular. It would certainly seem that Wyden believes that backing off from that single hot button topic will help diffuse the issue. Of course there are a few other aspects of the law that Americans don't like as well... Such as:

1) The fact that federal bureaucracies will determine Americans health care requirements (does anybody really want to start lobbying for their particular maladies, worries, or diseases to be covered?)

2) The fact that the law will cost $1.2 trillion in its first ten years according to the CBO

3) The fact that that it extraordinarily unlikely that Americans will be able to keep their health coverage if they like it (as confirmed by internal administration documents), despite promises to the contrary

4) The fact that Americans' health premiums will rise under ObamaCare

5) The fact that the government will ration health care much in the way Britain's National Health Service does

Strangely, Wyden doesn't seem to have any answers for these concerns... but hey Oregon will be able to opt out of the mandate-- just as long as all Oregon health care plans conform to the federal government's national guidelines that will change from year to year as the federal boards change coverage requirements yearly. Well, that makes everything better, doesn't it?

This law must be repealed. No compromises.

Congressman Schrader's Telephone Town Hall is Buggy Pt. 2

Once again my local congressional rep had a "telephone town hall," and once again the whole thing was buggy. I wish these people would please get their act together...

The event began at 6:00 pm. tonight. I received my phone call from them (the only the way I know of to participate) at 6:25, so I missed half of it. About ten minutes in or so, Congressman Schrader was unable to hear any of the callers and he kind of stumped around for a bit while the technical problem was addressed. He also assured us all that this was the first time this has happened (not so-- his teleconference in August was also buggy).

This is the second telephone town hall I've participated in (out of three that I know of). It is also the second time that I received the call late (this time significantly late), and the second time I was unable to ask a question due to technical problems. At least I could hear it this time...

0 for 2 guys! Not a good average.

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley Pushes for Obamacare Reconciliation

Oregon's Jeff Merkley is one of four Democratic senators urging Reid to press on with Obamacare and a public option.

From CBS news:

"Four Democratic senators, including two facing potentially challenging election campaigns this year, are asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use reconciliation, a procedural maneuver requiring only 51 votes, to push for a public health insurance option.

"Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) signed a letter to Reid saying they support this plan for four reasons: the cost savings the public option is estimated to achieve, continued public support for the public option, the need for increased competition in the insurance market and the Senate's history of using the reconciliation process for health care reform.

"'Put simply, including a strong public option is one of the best, most fiscally responsible ways to reform our health insurance system,' the letter says. 'Although we strongly support the important reforms made by the Senate-passed health reform package, including a strong public option would improve both its substance and the public’s perception of it.'"

The article fails to mention a couple of difficulties with this proposal, but Clifton B. at Another Black Conservative mentions them.

"The three biggest stumbling blocks to reconciliation are:

"1. Can a Public Option be passed using the rules of reconciliation? Remember reconciliation is for budgetary procedures; legislation for a Public Option might not fit into those confines.

"2. Are there 50 Democrats willing to use the reconciliation? Reconciliation will look like doing an end run around the will of the people. Even with all these retirements that have produced Dead Men Walking (senators who do not have to face the wrath of the voters come November) are there still 50 Democrats willing to try reconciliation?

"3. Is there enough time? Since reconciliation allows for unlimited amendments, Republicans can draw out the process indefinitely by simple offering one amendment after another."

I'm beginning to think of Obamacare as Jason or Michael from those slasher flicks. You think it's dead, but then it just keeps popping back up. And you know how in those movies sometimes it's some foolish teenagers messing around with black magic or something that resurrects the psycho, and then they're the first ones that get skewered or whatever when the villain rises? Well, it looks like Merkley, Bennet, Gillibrand, and Brown are working to fulfill that part this time around. We'll see if their careers get skewered over this.

Probably not, but who knows?

Jeremy Jordan and Measure 11

Check out this post in NW Republican. Frankly it's a bit shocking. I've been so wrapped up on national politics, I've been quite negligent in keeping myself informed on more local issues.

This story is horrendous.

Jeremy Jordan was sentenced to 70 months in prison after jumping into a car and running down a man on a bicycle while attempting to flee the scene of an attempted robbery (he was trying to steal beer following the cashier's refusal to sell it to him). He was highly intoxicated at the time. Blood drawn from him five hours after the accident was at a .12 BAC (the legal limit in Oregon is .08). It is conservatively estimated that at the time of the crash he was at .20 BAC. The bicyclist he ran down was merely passing by, apparently intoxicated, but writing straight, on the correct side of the rode and with his bicycle's light on.

Mr. Jordan ran down the man, never slowed, while fleeing the scene. He did this despite the fact that the bicyclist's body destroyed the windshield of Mr. Jordan's car, and he had to drive eight miles with his head stuck out the car's side window in order to see.

The bicyclist was severely injured. In the words of District Attorney Schrunk "The victim suffered devastating head-injuries, internal injuries, and many broken bones, including his legs. He was in a coma for several days, and the doctors believed he would die. He spent about six months in various medical and rehab facilities, including a month in Emanuel, and had to re-learn how to talk, walk and recognize his wife and family (he still has overwhelming cognitive issues, speech problems, and uses a cane or walker-this is a man who was an outdoor enthusiast, a hiker, biker, and world traveler). He is now a completely different person and will have a caregiver for the rest of his life."

So basically a drunk man (Mr. Jordan) attempts to buy beer, physically tries to steal it when the grocery refuses to sell it to him, scuffles with the clerk and elderly security guard, flees the store on foot into the neighborhood. He comes back ten minutes later, either angry or scared, jumps into his car and runs down a passing bicyclist as he floors it out of the parking lot. Without a pause, he drives home leaving the man for dead, locks his damaged car in his garage, and is soon after arrested by police since his licence plate had knocked off by the impact of the bicycle.

Oh, and Mr. Jordan has a history of violence and drunkenness (despite his assertion that has has no history of violence). Again from District Attorney Schrunk "First, there is his prosecution for Assault IV in 2002 in Washington. Like his 2004 DUll, it was diverted and ultimately dismissed, as was a charge of Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer, but he pled to the assault and was supervised for one year on probation. In 2000 he was arrested for Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct, and Criminal Mischief. He pled guilty to Resisting Arrest, was placed on 18 months probation, and the other two charges were dismissed. In addition to this criminal history, Jordan has a juvenile record that includes Theft I in 1995, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle in 1991, and Burglary I in 1989."

Amazingly, Mr. Jordan is now part of a campaign to overturn the popular Measure 11 (wikipedia article here) under which he was sentenced.

From I AM COYOTE at NW Republican "Mr. Jordan wrote a letter to Governor Kulongoski (another enemy of the rule of law) asking for help in repealing Measure 11, the measure under which Mr. Jordan received his sentence. The letter, which was the basis of the story in The Big Ho and HO-P-B, portrayed Mr. Jordan as an innocent victim of the system, who received far too harsh of a sentence given the nature of his crime."

The post has both the letters of Mr. Jordan and District Attorney Schrunk. As to be expected, the disparity between them is enormous. Most particularly cloying in Mr. Jordan's letter is what follows: "What I did was reckless and stupid, but not intentionally violent. My problem is alcohol. I would never have made any of those bad decisions in a sober state. I even tried to prove to the court that I am serious about staying sober by voluntarily completing a 90-day treatment program. But the court and the DA mocked my efforts and still would not budge off of the Measure 11 charge. It makes me wonder why it’s so important to them that I serve a mandatory sentence."

Mr. Jordan attempted to rob a store, then ran down a bicyclist as he fled. This is not intentionally violent?

Distirct Attorney Schrunk responds "Defendant states in his August 2009 letter to Oregonian colunmist Susan Nielsen that he was unaware of his 'alcohol problem' until after the crash. First, this misses the point. The 'problem' is not the alcohol, but instead Mr. Jordan's violent and reckless acts that night directed at three victims, starting with the robbery and ending with his driving into a vulnerable human being and leaving him lying in the road. He claims in his letter to you not to have acted violently, yet clearly he did, and the alcohol is his excuse. While he has an alcohol problem, and I'm sure he knew that, he claims that, after his 2004 arrest for DUI1, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Speed Racing, and Refusing a Breath Test, and receiving the privilege of entering a DUII diversion program to treat this alcohol problem (with dismissal of all the charges) he failed to take the program seriously, choosing instead to treat it as 'a joke.' Well, it was not a joke. Instead, while he had the chance to get treatment and get sober, attend the Victims' Panel (which involves victims of DUn drivers telling them what other DUI1 drivers did to them), and take his problem seriously, he chose instead to call this secondchance "a joke," with devastating results for our victim.

"Apparently to prove his point that his prior diversion was a 'Joke," defendant had posted on his MySpace page before the crash photos of him drinking, including one of him drinking beer while at the wheel of a car. The page was taken down quickly after his arrest, but the victim's family downloaded the photos before the page was removed. These photos clearly prove defendant's view that drinking and driving itself is 'a joke.' These photos are available should you care to see them."

Mr. Jordan continues "I believe the community would be well served if Measure 11 could be reformed to give first-time felons like me an opportunity to participate in a rehab program such as AIP, which provides focused drug and alcohol treatment, while suspending up to two years of a remaining prison sentence. In addition, 20% – 30% in good time/work time would also be motivating toward successful rehabilitation into the community. Why not offer such incentives to allow offenders to prove if they are ready to be a part of society again? As it is now, there is nothing for Measure 11 offenders to do here and nothing to prove, which leaves the door open to gang lifestyle and other criminal behavior.

"My opinion is that Measure 11 should be reserved for violent repeat offenders. First-time offenders should have the opportunity to turn their lives around. Current Measure 11 inmates should receive psychological assessment and review of their crime to determine eligibility of any time-reducing programs.

"I support your efforts in Measure 11/mandatory sentence reform. To see the real face of a Measure 11 offender and the impact this had on my family, please visit our blog at 70months.wordpress.com, where this letter will be shared with a readership that supports Measure 11 reform."

Inherent in Mr. Jordan's letter is the idea that Mr. Jordan is the victim, that Mr. Jordan is not really responsible for his actions, that the alcohol was in control. The bicyclist was likewise a victim, barely mentioned, and only some thing for Mr. Jordan to take heroically take responsibility for after the fact, after he was sentenced, and during his campaign to reduce his time in jail.

Mr. Jordan's new found sense of responsibility is a bit hard to take. Where was the responsibility following his other DUI? Where was the responsibility during his "joke" rehabilitation? Where was his responsibility as he drove home with his head stuck out the window, looking past the shattered glass and pieces of the man he had just run down? Where was this sense of responsibility in Mr. Jordan following the accident? Was it there as he locked his car in his garage? Was it there as he spent several hours not reporting the accident, undoubtedly hoping that the police would never come?

Ah yes... With this sterling example, surely Measure 11 should be reformed. The tragedy of Mr. Jordan's incarceration is just too much to bear.

And Some Oregon News Making Me Proud...

Check out this post from NW Republican via Michelle Malkin.

Does anybody actually READ the bills before testifying or voting on them anymore?

But they're so long and the language is really dry and tough...