Posts on Oregon

On Monday’s “700 Club,” the show looked at the devastating storms that have wracked the Pacific Northwest, and recalled Pat Robertson’s warnings on the show from 2006. After a private retreat, Robertson announced (on the January 5, 2006 “700 Club”) what he said God had told him about the coming year. Perhaps inspired by Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami that hit Indonesia, Robertson listed off all kinds of natural disasters: “earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, the coasts will be lashed by storms and disasters …” Robertson called it “the birth pangs of a more glorious order.”

Of course, it’s 2007 now, not 2006, but nobody’s perfect. Watch:

What else did Robertson predict for 2006? A “successful conclusion” to the Iraq war, “inconclusive” midterm elections, the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court and the retirement of a “liberal” justice, and a strengthening of Bush’s and the Republican Party’s power in Washington. Well, Alito was confirmed, anyway.

Robertson also made his retreat at the beginning of this year, and while 2007 is almost over, there are still a couple weeks left for what Robertson said God had in store for us:

I don’t know if it’ll be in the fall or September or later on, but it’ll be the second half somehow of 2007.  There will be some very serious terrorist attacks.  The evil people will come after this country and there’s a possibility – not a possibility, a definite certainty - that chaos is going to rule.  And the Lord said the politicians will not have any solutions for it.  There’s just going to be chaos.  … It’s going to happen.  I’m not saying necessarily nuclear, the Lord didn't say nuclear, but I do believe it'll be something like that, that'll be a mass killing - possibly millions of people, major cities injured.  I hope I’m wrong and I hope people will pray and that won’t happen, but nevertheless that seems to be what’s coming up.  And then the Lord said he will restrain the evil people, but he will not restrain them necessarily initially.  And, you know, He doesn’t have to restrain people.

More specifically, Robertson warned that “their targets are New York, Washington, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles.”

UPDATE: On Wednesday’s show, the weather-obsessed Robertson responded to recent ice storms by suggesting it might be God’s punishment for hosting talks between Israelis and Palestinians:

Oregon-based religious-right groups are gathering signatures for a petition to rescind two laws passed by the legislature and signed by the governor: one that creates domestic partnerships for gay couples, and a second that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations. Led by David Crowe of Restore America, anti-gay activists are targeting pastors to reach the required signature count by the 25th of this month. “Look, you're offending God if you're not willing to take a stand for his fundamental creation institution, which is marriage,” pled Crowe.

When we last checked in, Crowe was calling the anti-discrimination bill “the most sweeping and culturally devastating law in Oregon history, establishing pagan morality under the guise of a 'civil right,' and imposing it upon all Oregonians under the cover of 'law.’” His ally at the state Constitution Party called the two bills “a recipe for civil war,” adding, “This legislation will lock religious people inside their church buildings and let perversion occupy the rest of the landscape!”

But with time running out to put anti-gay measures on the 2008 ballot, Crowe is trying to outdo himself. His latest e-mail claims that sexual predators “trolling for a good time” in women’s restrooms would somehow be protected under the anti-discrimination law:

Your daughter may pull her panties up to discover a man in the Women's Restroom!

Men's and Women's Restrooms, a thing of the past?

After January 1, 2008 anyone will have access to Men's and Women's Restrooms, no questions asked. Your daughter may pull her panties up to discover a man in the Women's Restroom. He can claim that he felt like a woman that day and be protected by a law passed by the Oregon legislature and signed by the Governor. He may not be homosexual, just out trolling for a good time. It's true! And after January 1, unless you sign the petition to stop this bill, the predator will be protected by Oregon law! …

On January 1, 2008 - unless we ACT - Benson, and others will be free to do the same thing in any public or business restroom or locker room in the State of Oregon! He can claim that he felt like a woman that day and according to Senate Bill 2 he will be protected should you protest!

Thanks to our enlightened legislature, if you protest, he can sue YOU and claim the protections of his behavior under SB 2. He may not be homosexual, just out trolling for a good time! And you and your daughter or son, or your wife, will no longer be protected by current law.

Group promotes teaching creationism in public school.

As Oregon legislators consider two bills regarding the rights of gays and lesbians, local right-wing leaders are in a frenzy. WorldNetDaily.com quotes the state Constitution Party, which warned that the legislation is “a recipe for civil war”:

"Everyone should read this legislation. It clearly gives those who choose non-traditional sexual behavior preference over those with traditional moral values," said state [Constitution Party] Chairman Jack Brown. "This legislation will lock religious people inside their church buildings and let perversion occupy the rest of the landscape!"

The bills? One would establish domestic partnerships; the other would follow 17 other states in barring discrimination based in sexual orientation in housing, public accommodations, public education, and employment.

David Crowe of Restore America warned of a “moral freefall”:

"The people of Oregon deserve people in office who respect their wishes, not those of a small minority who wish to impose their morality upon others while forcing acquiescence by using the authority of human law, in disregard of God's Law," he said. "Our next step in opposing these bills is a Referral to the people of Oregon. They have the right to approve or disapprove the actions of the legislature."

According to Crowe, the latter bill is “the most sweeping and culturally devastating law in Oregon history, establishing pagan morality under the guise of a 'civil right,' and imposing it upon all Oregonians under the cover of 'law.’” Despite an explicit exemption in the bill for churches and religious organizations, Crowe warned that churches will be “forced to hire homosexuals.” “They're seeking really to gain a foothold for homosexuals into the Christian church with the court's approval,” claimed Crowe.

When Florida televangelist D. James Kennedy asked his viewers to donate towards the production of a TV special on the “harmful effects” of evolution – “everything from the Nazi death camps and attempts to create a super-race to the modern push in many nations for euthanasia” – he warned that “The other side has the entire public school system of America as its platform,” whereas he came armed with only “the national network of television outlets that God has given to us.” While it’s true that most high school science classes stick to scientific curricula on evolution and stay clear of attempts to equate Charles Darwin with Adolph Hitler, the Religious Right’s campaign against the teaching of evolution has its share of recruits across the nation.

After less than two weeks on the job, part-time biology teacher Kris Helphinstine was fired by the Sisters, Oregon school board for drawing his course materials from a far-right creationist website. Echoing Kennedy, Helphinstine’s attempt to “get kids thinking” involved a PowerPoint presentation linking evolutionary science to Planned Parenthood and Nazi Germany. From The Oregonian:

Helphinstine said in retrospect slides of Nazi death camps weren't appropriate for his freshman and sophomore students.

And given a second chance, he said he wouldn't introduce arguments from Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, a group building a Creation Museum in Cincinnati dedicated to teaching a Bible-centric view of natural history.

Answers in Genesis is a straightforward advocate of young-earth creationism; the group is building a Creation Museum in northern Kentucky apparently set to open this summer. The group provides quite a few classroom resources for teaching creationism.

This material was apparently the focus of the teacher’s entire tenure at the school:

One parent, John Rahm, said his daughter reported that only "one day of 10" was devoted to the study of evolution, with the rest devoted to devoted to "Intelligent Design" materials.

"The test as well was 90-plus percent ID material," Rahm said.

It could be a coincidence, but Helphinstine, 27, began his new job only a couple weeks after a right-wing conference convened near Portland, around two hours away. Among the presentations at the 2nd Annual Restore America Conference was “Session for teachers, parents and students” on “Upholding a Christian Worldview in Education.” The speaker was Stephen Williams of Prepare the Way Ministries, based in nearby Bend, which is dedicated to “empower[ing] Christians … to uphold a biblical worldview in our schools and society.” Williams is known for suing the school where he taught fifth grade over his use of “supplemental materials” meant to emphasize the idea of America as a Christian nation.

Featuring Rick Scarborough, Liberty Counsel’s Staver, Janet Folger, and more speaking against judges, “secular, anti-Christian humanism.”

Ward Connerly – who ten years ago spearheaded California’s successful ballot initiative to end affirmative action in education, two years later worked to end it in Washington state, and this year joined the effort in Michigan, where a ban on affirmative action also passed – announced today that he is exploring nine more states: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah. “Three down and 20 to go,” he said in a conference call this morning, referring to the number of states that have ballot initiative procedures.

Connerly was joined by Jennifer Gratz, a white student who sued the University of Michigan after being rejected for admission and who later led the ballot initiative to ban affirmative action outright. Gratz will join Connerly’s American Civil Rights Institute to work on the expansion of these bans. “We've always felt that if we could win in Michigan, we could win anywhere,” she said.

Despite the name of Connerly’s group, efforts like the Michigan ban have been opposed by major civil rights organizations. Connerly did pick up support from one major group: “If the Ku Klux Klan thinks equality is right, God bless them,” he said.

Following Michigan referendum; next target could be Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Missouri or South Dakota.

Says militant Operation Rescue. FRC’s Perkins failures in SD and parental-consent measures in CA and OR “need only minor adjustments,” meaning exceptions. But American Life League says ban failed because of exceptions. National Pro-Life Action Center still optimistic.

So-called “family policy councils.” More here.

In Colorado, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota (“Jail 4 Judges”), reports Washington Times.

“Takings Project” measures in California and elsewhere, largely funded by developer Howard Rich, could dramatically undermine zoning and environmental regulations, not just seizures.