About the Author
Carl E. Olson
Carl E. Olson is editor of Catholic World Report and Ignatius Insight.
Posted on 08/22/2012 8:21:58 AM PDT by marshmallow
I've now lived in Oregon for over twenty years, having moved here in the summer of 1991 from Montana. I lived in Portland for a few years, during the craziness of the Measure 9 controversy, then in Eugene (my wife's hometown) since 1995. In 1997, the year that we entered the Catholic Church, Oregon became the first to state to legalize assisted suicide, via the "Death with Dignity Act". As I've sometimes dryly noted, when giving talks in other parts of the country, Oregon is that surreal place where you aren't trusted to pump your own gas, but if you'd like to kill yourself, the State is there to assist you.
Oregon is indeed a curious place, politically and culturally: generally speaking, it likes to present itself as a liberty-loving, eccentric haven for free-thinkers who thumb their nose at convention, tradition, religion, and the mores of middle America. In reality, it is more like a State-operated insane asylum in which the inmates are reassured of how open minded, cutting-edge, and truly liberal they are, while their political masters continuously and confidently promote a culture of death, secular homogenization, and narrow minded bullying that is equally breathtaking and bizarre.
As odd as it might sound, I suspect that one reason Oregon's political leaders are able to pull many of the deadly, anti-life stunts they do is because of how jaw-dropping beautiful this state is. People are willing to put up with a lot of craziness in order to live in one of the most gorgeous places in the United States, where they have access to the ocean, beaches, streams, rivers, forests, mountains, and farmlands without the worries of tornadoes, (large) earthquakes, hurricanes, and humidity.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholicworldreport.com ...
have they banned opposition parties yet?
As a native Oregonian, I would suggest you move back to Montana...
He has a few good observations, and at least he’s not from Califonia!
True enough. But now we’ll have to listen to some folks who spent a week in Portland 10 years ago and will present themselves as experts on all things Northwestern...
They're working on it. Despite pockets of resistance, at the state-wide level, Oregon is effectively a one-party state.
Would you say that Carl Olson is lying? Or that he is exaggerating? Or that it is like he says but that you agree with the way it is? Help us out, we non-Oregonians. And what about that self-sterilization thing for 15-year-olds?
You cannot pump your own gas.....????
What the hell....
So does that mean there are no 24 hour gas stations in oregon.....?
Also are they still keeping buggy whip makers employed in that state using the state treasury....
Reminds me of that story in michigan where the union boss said they couldn’t end the positiion of “ferrier (guy who shoes horses) “ because of union rules....
Will they actually fine you if you insist on pumping your own gas? Or will they fine the station... Sounds like a ripe situation for a “I am sparticus” type Tea Party protest at Gas stations and state capitals...
New Jersey is the same way, or at least it used to be when I traveled thru it awhile ago. They had gas pumpers as a means of employing menial skilled workers.
New Jersey is the same way, or at least it used to be when I traveled thru it awhile ago. They had gas pumpers as a means of employing menial skilled workers.
And let us not forget the guy in White City, OR that was arrested a couple months or so back, for capturing rain water on his own property.
I grew up in Oregon in the 50’s & 60’s when it was a conservative state. Since then you can sum up Oregon as a state that was taken over by Californians who were smart enough to leave California, but too stupid to remember why they left.
And no, you cannot pump your own gas.
I've now lived in Oregon for over twenty years, having moved here in the summer of 1991 from Montana. I lived in Portland for a few years, during the craziness of the Measure 9 controversy, then in Eugene (my wife's hometown) since 1995. In 1997, the year that we entered the Catholic Church, Oregon became the first to state to legalize assisted suicide, via the "Death with Dignity Act". As I've sometimes dryly noted, when giving talks in other parts of the country, Oregon is that surreal place where you aren't trusted to pump your own gas, but if you'd like to kill yourself, the State is there to assist you.
Oregon is indeed a curious place, politically and culturally: generally speaking, it likes to present itself as a liberty-loving, eccentric haven for free-thinkers who thumb their nose at convention, tradition, religion, and the mores of middle America. In reality, it is more like a State-operated insane asylum in which the inmates are reassured of how openminded, cutting-edge, and truly liberal they are, while their political masters continuously and confidently promote a culture of death, secular homogenization, and narrowminded bullying that is equally breathtaking and bizarre.
As odd as it might sound, I suspect that one reason Oregon's political leaders are able to pull many of the deadly, anti-life stunts they do is because of how jaw-dropping beautiful this state is. People are willing to put up with a lot of craziness in order to live in one of the most gorgeous places in the United States, where they have access to the ocean, beaches, streams, rivers, forests, mountains, and farmlands without the worries of tornadoes, (large) earthquakes, hurricanes, and humidity. (We do take our chances with volcanoes.) Of course, it's not as if all Oregonians are ultra-progressive crusaders for euthanasia, abortion, same-sex marriage, and all the other faddish ills of enlightened secularism; there are, in fact, many good, sane people here (even if few of them go to church or practice "organized religion"—Oregon leads the nation "with 25% of its residents claiming no particular religious identity").
But, in the end, Oregon seems deadset on being California, Jr.—or even outdoing California in some ways, as this recent bit of news indicates:
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Forget the milestones of obtaining a driver's license at 16 and being able to legally drink at 21 - getting sterilized at 15 is now the first step in the social maturity process of an American youth.
The "Required Health Plan Coverage Guidelines" set forth by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states: "Non-grandfathered plans and issuers are required to provide coverage without cost-sharing consistent with these guidelines in the first plan year.that begins on or after August 1, 2012.All [FDA] approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity."
Under Oregon State Law, the state's revised statutes (ORS) defines "informed consent" for 15-year-olds independently pursuing reproductive sterilization as being "(a) Based upon a full understanding of the nature and consequences of sterilization pursuant to information requirements set forth in ORS 436.225(1); (b) Given by an individual competent to make such a decision; and (c) Wholly voluntary and free from coercion, express or implied."
Stephanie Zawada, the author of the Catholic Online piece, asks: "So you need parental consent to contract a state-sanctioned marriage under the age of 18 in the U.S., but you, all by yourself, can give full consent to the irreversibility of sterilization at 15? Chances are, you do not even know your future spouse, yet you're already determining his or her fate as well?"
Well, to be fair, thinking ahead and measuring consequences isn't a big part of the dominant Oregon culture; it really is a "live for the moment!" mindset here. So none of this, sadly, is surprising—especially not when you consider the state's political leadership. Oregon's governor, John Kitzhaber, has impeccable pro-abortion credentials; he was re-elected for a record third time despite having a dubious record of accomplishment in any field other than growing the power and influence of the public sector and promoting "choice". While senator, he authored the Oregon healthcare plan (he is an M.D.). “NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, their members and their volunteers", he says, "can trust that I will always be a pro-choice advocate.”
Eugene, where I live, has one of the worst economies in a state that has one of the weakest economies in the nation. Yet the city recently re-elected Kitty Piercy—a former Public Affairs Director for Planned Parenthood—as mayor, even though she thinks higher taxes are the solution to nearly every economic crisis. Piercy touts her "human rights" record even while being staunchly pro-abortion. She also seems to be irony-challenged; last year she said that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance prior to city council meetings was "divisive", infamously remarking, "If there’s one thing the flag stands for, it’s that people don’t have to be compelled to say the Pledge of Allegiance or anything else.” That sort of inanity is deemed intellectually superior by the hippie and yuppie sets who think "Question Authority" bumper stickers are the epitome of daring wit.
All of which to say that Oregon, with this latest news about teenage sterilizations, continues a not-so-grand, radical tradition of anti-life policies and anti-family attitudes. Again, this is hardly surprising—not for a state that "does not have any of the major types of abortion restrictions—such as waiting periods, mandated parental involvement or limitations on publicly funded abortions—often found in other states" (Guttmacher Institute, "State Facts About Abortion: Oregon").
** That would seem to be Olson’s point - that the population of Oregon has a majority of nature-loving nannystate socialists.**
Only Portland and Eugene areas are blue. The rest of the state is Republican — but it is hard to fight the big cities. Eugene is the home of the University of Oregon and the Ducks. Liberal spot to be avoided in my opinion.
“... he was in effect stealing from his neighbors...”
I think that sums up the point exactly. Your property is not yours and what falls on it from the heavens isn’t yours either. It belongs to the state or the “collective”. Sounds just a little socialistic doesn’t it?
Do all his neighbors not get the same amount of rain? Were his neighbors capturing the run-off from his property to live on? Wouldn’t that be considered stealing HIS water? What were his neighbors doing with his water that they couldn’t do while he was collecting, er, stealing it?
I grew up in Medford, and I can attest that it gets enough rain for everyone in the Rogue Valley (which contains White City) - especially if you have the foresight to store some on your property for the occasional 104 degree days in July/August.
Sad for you.
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