Free Republic

The Daily Signal has exclusively learned that the government agency responsible for enforcing Oregon’s anti-discrimination law appears to be working closely with a powerful gay rights advocacy group in its case against Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Communications between the agency, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the LGBT organization, Basic Rights Oregon, raise questions about potential bias in the state’s decision to charge the Kleins with discrimination for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. In April, a judge for the agency recommended the Kleins be fined $135,000. Communications obtained...

The Daily Signal has exclusively learned that the government agency responsible for enforcing Oregon’s anti-discrimination law appears to be working closely with a powerful gay rights advocacy group in its case against Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. Communications between the agency, theOregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, and the LGBT organization, Basic Rights Oregon, raise questions about potential bias in the state’s decision to charge the Kleins with discrimination for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding. In April, a judge for the agency recommended the Kleins be fined $135,000. Communications obtained through a public...

Turon Lamont Walker is accused of shooting three people after someone "eyed" him at the Last Thursday street fair on Thursday, May 28, 2015.Sgt. Don Livingston, a supervisor of the city's gang enforcement team, and his investigators were still busy gathering police reports and examining evidence from last week's shootings when bullets scattered the crowd and wounded three people at the jampacked Last Thursday street fair in Northeast Portland. "We're playing catch-up here," Livingston said in the aftermath of the latest violence. "They're coming in so fast." The shooting Thursday night pushed gang violence response calls to 64 this year...

Last weekend was Memorial Weekend, honoring our fallen soldiers who lost their lives defending our country and our flag. Last weekend a US Forest Ranger came through our campground at Devils Elbow, which is Idaho Panhandle National Forest Land. He told our camp host, Butch & Sharon, they had to take down their US Flag. He refused. I don't know the outcome of his refusal, their is a chance he will loose his job. But he states he will not take down his flag. We also do not know if this ranger was acting on his own, or if this...

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Klamath Falls Field office of the Lakeview District will be hosting an open house to learn about the Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP)/Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Western Oregon. The open house meeting will be held the evening of May 26, 2015, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Shilo Inn Suites Hotel located at 2500 Almond Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon. BLM employees will be on hand to answer questions, provide information and listen to concerns. There will also be a demonstration on how to use the interactive maps and other online resources...

Proposals set the stage for debate over federal health law’s impact. Major insurers in some states are proposing hefty rate boosts for plans sold under the federal health law, setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law’s impact. In New Mexico, market leader Health Care Service Corp. is asking for an average jump of 51.6% in premiums for 2016. The biggest insurer in Tennessee, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, has requested an average 36.3% increase. In Maryland, market leader CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield wants to raise rates 30.4% across its products. Moda Health, the largest insurer on the...

Oregon became the third state in the United States to ban gay conversion therapy, a practice that has attracted much debate. Democratic Gov. Kate Brown signed the bill into law earlier this week, though an ex-gay group has protested and called the bill "child abuse." CNN reported on Wednesday that the bill signed by Brown, the first openly bisexual governor in the U.S., will block therapist from offering conversion or reparative therapy on individuals who are younger than 18. Laws against the practice have also been made in California, New Jersey, and Washington D.C. While the American Psychological Association has...

Oregon is about to embark on a first-in-the-nation program that aims to charge car owners not for the fuel they use, but for the miles they drive. The program is meant to help the state raise more revenue to pay for road and bridge projects at a time when money generated from gasoline taxes are declining across the country, in part, because of greater fuel efficiency and the increasing popularity of fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars. Starting July 1, up to 5,000 volunteers in Oregon can sign up to drive with devices that collect data on how much they have...

Oregon is about to embark on a first-in-the-nation program that aims to charge car owners not for the fuel they use, but for the miles they drive. The program is meant to help the state raise more revenue to pay for road and bridge projects at a time when money generated from gasoline taxes are declining across the country, in part, because of greater fuel efficiency and the increasing popularity of fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric cars. Starting July 1, up to 5,000 volunteers in Oregon can sign up to drive with devices that collect data on how much they have...

The 41-year-old recently completed a master's degree at Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry, where he was the first Muslim to ever enroll. "I was looking for a place to be accepted as myself and to be the true face of Islam, though I am not the best follower," Polovina said. . . . . Studying the Bible with the other students, almost all Christians, was a little uncomfortable at first, he said. But he quickly settled into sharing his own perspective and appreciating the overlaps. There are many similarities between Islam and Christianity, he said, from moral values...

A plan that will close nearly 2,000 miles of public roads that have previously been open for use by the people of Mesa County is creating a public backlash against the Grand Junction field office of the federal Bureau of Land Management. The BLM’s resource management plans (RMP) regulate the access and types of traffic allowed on roads on public lands. Road maintenance and seasonal closures are also detailed in such plans. But the most recent RMP in Mesa County indicates the BLM’s intent to limit access to public roads which have traditionally been open to motorized, horse, and foot...

Now that Oregon’s SB 941 has been signed by the Governor, gun rights activists have banded together and are organizing a facebook event page for a rally entitled “SB 941 I Will Not Comply Demonstration“. The rally is set for May 30th, at the Capitol building in Salem, and will feature a host of speakers. SB 941 is the “universal background check” bill, meaning that if you want to trade guns with your next door neighbor whom you’ve known for 10 years, you must both submit yourselves to background checks and get permission from the state police before the exchange...

New author Reba Riley's debut memoir "Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome" wrestles with spiritual injuries and the power of name. After abandoning the conservative evangelical faith of her childhood, Riley felt anger toward all religion. But it was giving faith a second chance -- trying 30 religions in a year, to be exact -- that opened the door to healing. The Cincinnati writer will be in Portland May 17 sharing her story alongside the bestselling author of "The Shack" at the "Where's God When..." event in Southeast Portland.

Senate Democrats on Tuesday delivered a stinging blow to President Obama’s trade agenda by voting to prevent the chamber from picking up fast-track legislation. A motion to cut off a filibuster and proceed to the trade bill fell short of a 60-vote hurdle in the 52-45 vote. Sen. Tom Carper (Del.) was the only Democrat to back it. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) switched his vote from yes to no to reserve his ability to return to the measure at a later date. Fast-track is a top legislative priority for the White House, but it has run into significant...

Two Oregon teenagers who sought to force state lawmakers to work harder on a plan to reduce carbon emissions and help stave off climate change have struck out a second time with a state judge. On Monday, Lane County Circuit Court Judge Karsten Rasmussen agreed with the state argument that a judge lacks authority to essentially rewrite state laws. He also rejected the teens' central arguments. The case was filed in 2011 when plaintiffs Kelsey Juliana and Olivia Chernaik were 15 and 11 years old. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum says she's pleased. Plaintiffs' lawyer Christ Winter declined comment.

Twenty-seven senators want President Obama to block federal agencies and contractors from asking job applicants about prior criminal convictions. The senators, including 26 Democrats and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), want Obama to take executive action to "ban the box," referring to a question on job applications that asks if an applicant has any convictions. "We ask you to require federal contractors and agencies to refrain from asking job applicants about prior convictions until later in the hiring process," they said in a letter to Obama on Monday. "This policy would eliminate unnecessary barriers to employment for all job...

(CBSNews) — An Oregon family traveling with a 15-year old autistic girl was kicked off a flight this week for what the airline calls a “disruptive” situation. The family calls it an outrage. Video shot by a fellow passenger and posted to YouTube showed Salt Lake City airport police removing the family from a United Airlines flight last Tuesday, after the pilot made an emergency landing. The girl’s mother, Donna Beegle, was shocked when officers explained why. “He said, ‘Well, the captain doesn’t feel comfortable flying to Portland with your daughter on his flight,” Beegle told CBS News. The trouble...

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging President Barack Obama to cancel a planned visit to Nike’s headquarters over the low wages it pays foreign workers. Obama is scheduled to travel to the sneaker giant’s Beaverton, Ore., headquarters Friday, part of the president’s effort to galvanize support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade deal between the United States and 11 other countries, including Vietnam — where Nike manufactures most of its shoes. “Given Nike’s legacy of offshoring American jobs and exploiting low-wage workers, I would strongly encourage you to cancel this meeting,” Sanders wrote in a letter to Obama Wednesday....

(CNSNews.com) - President Barack Obama said at a fundraiser in Portland, Ore., yesterday that young foreign nationals who are in the United States illegally but on whose behalf he has decided not to enforce the immigration law are “Americans just like our kids, except they don’t have the right documents.” “We still got to make sure we get comprehensive immigration reform passed in this country,” Obama said . “ I couldn’t be prouder of the work that we’ve done through executive actions to make sure that our young DREAMers--young people who were brought here as children and are Americans...

Ever since the 2012 massacre at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Conn., gun-control advocates have worked hard to close so-called “loopholes” in background-check laws. Not all the efforts have been successful; gun-rights advocates say such measures are needlessly burdensome and do little to stop violent crime. But last year, Washington state residents voted to toughen the state’s background-check laws. And now the Oregon legislature has done the same. On Monday, the Oregon House voted 32-28 in support of Senate Bill 941, which requires background checks for all purchasers of guns through private sales. Currently, background checks in Oregon are...